Chapter Thirty: Charging Toward Golden Maple Monastery

A surge of energy, many times stronger than before, erupted from him and shot straight into the sky. An immense and terrifying power swept through the world, while the true essence within him transformed from a trickling stream to a roaring river—Liu Junhuai had succeeded in forging his foundation.

His dantian continued to operate wildly, refining and purifying the true essence, with his cultivation slowly growing. Another half hour passed before the dantian ceased its absorption, stabilizing at the early Foundation Establishment stage. Liu Junhuai stood tall, feeling the newfound strength within him, and could not help but throw his head back and let out a long, triumphant roar.

After his mood calmed, he looked down at the silver broadsword lying on the ground—the very weapon that had nearly cost him his life. Gritting his teeth, he summoned the sword to his hand, wiped away the residual spirit, and refined it as his own.

Spiritual sense swept out from the Myriad Phenomena Tower; only two of the four remaining members of Golden Maple Monastery were nearby. Slipping quietly from the tower, Liu Junhuai suppressed his aura and, using the cover of trees, silently approached one of them. With a flash, the kitchen knife flew forth—a savage blade aura appeared behind the mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The cultivator’s senses flared as he leapt, but the blade aura had already enveloped him. With a sickening sound, his body below the waist was sliced into several pieces. Before the upper half could hit the ground, another slash severed him at the neck, and his head tumbled down.

Liu Junhuai swiftly collected the storage ring and dashed toward the other early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. That man, now on alert, let out a piercing whistle and leapt onto his flying sword.

Liu Junhuai tossed the broadsword into the air, leapt high, and landed atop it, channeling his true essence to pursue the fleeing cultivator. The Heaven-grade broadsword far outstripped his previous Earth-grade flying sword, and with his power now increased tenfold, he closed the gap in an instant. Ugly and clumsy as it looked, the blade, wielded for the first time in concert with his gold-element energy, unleashed a frenzy upon the cultivator, grinding him to dust—so thoroughly that even his storage ring was destroyed.

Liu Junhuai had no time for regret. Pressing the broadsword beneath his feet, he dove straight into the endless forest below, leaving the two Golden Maple disciples, summoned by the alarm, standing dumbstruck amidst the bloody remains.

He did not flee far into the forest, but circled back, pressing himself against the back of a tree, waiting for another opportunity to strike.

The two disciples hesitated, staring at the place where Liu Junhuai had vanished. Grinding their teeth, they chose not to pursue, but instead landed elsewhere and hid.

From his hiding place, Liu Junhuai heard the red-faced, bearded man called Shen Yi say, “Our fellow disciples haven't arrived, and now only two of us are left. How could he have killed the others so quickly?”

“You were a bit late,” the other replied. “I saw his back just now—he’s not at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, he’s already at Foundation Establishment.”

Shen Yi shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what he is. If we don’t kill him, we can’t go back. That kid's gone mad, bent on revenge. Didn’t you see? Nine Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounded him, three are already dead. If the head abbot doesn’t intervene, the whole Golden Maple Monastery will be finished sooner or later.”

“You’re right. How did we provoke such a fiend?”

“It was the young abbot, of course. The one who was supposed to kill him never showed up, but nearly half our Foundation Establishment cultivators are dead. And Lin Baicheng—always arrogant, now dead, dragging the whole monastery down with him.”

Hearing nothing secret or useful, Liu Junhuai saw little point in waiting to ambush them. He turned and soared away on his sword.

Half an hour later, under the leadership of a white-bearded Core Formation elder, more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators and a hundred Qi Refinement disciples arrived. By the time they spread their net and began searching, Liu Junhuai was already flying toward the Golden Maple Monastery’s stronghold—the Golden Maple Valley.

By the time he reached the valley, several hundred miles away, night had fallen. The monastery was nestled halfway up the mountainside. With most disciples already gone, the vast complex was lit only by a few scattered lamps, as if foreshadowing impending decline.

Landing atop the peak, Liu Junhuai replenished the true essence spent in flight. The Myriad Phenomena Tower now seemed shrouded by a new, invisible barrier, as if a tavern had closed for renovations—his mind sensed it would be accessible again later. Resigned, he set up a spirit-gathering array atop the mountain to restore his energy.

Three hours passed in his temporal formation. Rising, Liu Junhuai’s eyes flashed with resolve—the slaughter was about to begin.

Lin Qianhe, the abbot of Golden Maple Monastery, was tending his wounds in a side hall of the inner courtyard. Most of those left behind were stationed outside, and the defensive formations were already activated.

Suppressing his aura, Liu Junhuai appeared silently by the outer courtyard wall. The third-tier mountain-guarding formation had weak points any second-tier array master could find. Creating a gap just wide enough for one person, Liu Junhuai slipped inside, blade in hand, melting into the darkness.

His first encounter was with three late-stage Qi Refinement disciples, minor leaders just returned from arranging defenses. As they walked, they chatted, oblivious to the shadow flickering behind them. The blade flashed—one was stabbed through the side, and before the other two could react, their heads rolled across the ground.

After stowing the bodies, Liu Junhuai faded once more into the night.

In less than a breath, he appeared outside a lamp-lit room. He quickly set a small barrier at the door, then kicked it open and entered. The ninth-level Qi Refinement cultivator inside thrust out his sword, but Liu Junhuai’s true essence knocked it aside. Sliding along the blade, he spun in close, and the kitchen knife flashed, spraying blood.

He doused the lights and slipped through the back window into the lower courtyards.

Making his way to the inner sanctum, Liu Junhuai had already slain dozens, now standing before the side hall where Lin Qianhe nursed his wounds.

Smelling blood, Lin Qianhe burst out with a roar, sword in hand, charging at Liu Junhuai.

Liu Junhuai, noting Lin Qianhe’s now-healed right arm, sneered, “Did you ever expect, when you came to kill me, that I’d be here today? Taking a life on a mere suspicion—how bold of you! To make a man like you head of the monastery—aren’t you afraid a thousand years of foundation will be lost? You and your dead son are cut from the same cloth—dragging others down even in death.”

Lin Qianhe halted, furious. “And how are you any different? If you seek vengeance, take it on me. Why slaughter my disciples?”

“And what are your disciples doing now?” Liu Junhuai retorted, pointing to the monks hurrying over. “If a few can’t kill me, you send more. If you do wrong, you must bear the consequences. Your reckoning begins with them.”

With that, he filled his body with true essence, gripped his kitchen knife, and charged into the crowd.

Instantly, blade aura filled the air, each flash bringing a spray of blood and flesh. The clash of battle and cries of agony filled the grounds.

The Five Elements Chaos Blade was a weapon made for slaughter; its aura swept through the crowd, unseen and colorless, harvesting limbs and lives. Life was snuffed out in silence, while terror spread amidst the ceaseless screams. The disciples of Golden Maple Monastery were plunged into utter despair, yet could not escape the web of blade aura.

Liu Junhuai moved among the throng, and, growing impatient as dawn approached, summoned the Heavenly Lotus Heartfire. As he unleashed a flurry of shattered blades, flames soared into the sky. The burning disciples ran in panic, setting the surrounding buildings ablaze.

Lin Qianhe’s heart bled. Liu Junhuai, purposefully avoiding him, darted through the crowd. His injured body could not keep up. Watching his disciples’ despairing faces as they died, Lin Qianhe was suddenly overwhelmed with regret.

He thought of his mutilated left ear, the nine Foundation Establishment elders who had tried to slay Liu Junhuai, and his own son’s arrogance and insults before death.

It was only when he saw his own silver broadsword plunged into his chest, his hollow eyes meeting Liu Junhuai’s face—once furious, now slowly calming—that Lin Qianhe truly knew terror.

The culprit stood over the carnage. Looking at the blood and bodies, Liu Junhuai felt a pang of guilt. Reflecting on right and wrong, a wave of weariness and emptiness washed over him. He stood dazed, his mind blurry.

He was not born a killer. But in a world where the strong preyed on the weak, only greater strength could protect oneself. When others drew blades against you, your only choices were to submit or to fight back. Kill, and your victims have their own families and sects—an endless cycle of life and death that was the world of cultivation.

Either you shaped this world, or it shaped you.

As his thoughts churned, Liu Junhuai’s gaze gradually cleared, his mind sharpening. As if enlightened by some unseen force, he suddenly achieved understanding. In his sea of consciousness, the golden sphere burst forth, expanding under a flood of golden light. His spiritual sense now covered two hundred miles—his Heavenly Sight advanced.

Only now did Liu Junhuai feel the true increase in his Foundation Establishment power. His progress had been too rapid, his foundations unstable. This accidental enlightenment brought a complete transformation, laying a solid base for future advancement and eliminating hidden dangers.

On the path of cultivation, true progress began only at Foundation Establishment. Divine sense and sword flight both emerged at this stage, and the dantian’s energy began to transform from vapor to liquid—the very root of the immortal path.

The miraculous existence of Heavenly Sight had allowed Liu Junhuai to develop divine sense at just the fourth level of Qi Refinement. The heaven-defying Nine Transformations Heart Sutra gave him Foundation Establishment power at the eighth level of Qi Refinement. The appearance of the Mixed Gold Goblet and the Five Elements Chaos Blade allowed him to slay foes far above his level.