Xie Zhaolin gritted her teeth against the burning pain in her arm, pressing on through the thick black mist. Every step felt like walking on a blade, the baleful qi around her twisting and writhing like a living thing, clawing at her meridians.
"This body…" she bit down hard, cold sweat trickling down her pale cheeks, "is still too weak…"
Suddenly—
"Buzz—"
A strange humming echoed ahead.
Xie Zhaolin froze, spotting dozens of ghostly green lights slowly materializing in the mist, floating like will-o'-the-wisps.
Baleful qi bees!
These fist-sized venomous bees gleamed like metal on their wings, their stingers glinting with deadly chill. They were hypersensitive to living energy, and once they locked onto a target…
She immediately held her breath, contracting her aura, inching backward cautiously.
But—
"Buzz! Buzz buzz!"
The swarm suddenly erupted in chaos, their hums sharp and piercing. It was as if some unseen command had been given—they shot toward her with terrifying speed!
"Damn it!"
Xie Zhaolin formed hand seals, black qi condensing rapidly into a protective barrier around her, yet—
"Shk!"
The lead baleful bee's stinger pierced straight through, sinking deep into her shoulder. The venom spread instantly, and her vision darkened. She nearly collapsed to her knees.
"Hss!"
Clenching her teeth, she formed a black qi blade in her right hand, slashing fiercely at the swarm. More bees surged forward relentlessly. She fought and retreated at the same time, soon cornered against a rocky wall.
"At this rate…" She panted, cold sweat pouring from her forehead. Self-detonating talismans could clear a path, but the explosion might attract something far worse.
Just as life and death teetered, she caught sight of a narrow crack in the rock wall!
"All or nothing!"
She lunged toward the fissure, triggering the explosive talisman hidden in her sleeve.
Boom!
The shockwave scattered the bees temporarily, and she squeezed into the rock crevice. The space was tight, forcing her to curl up and hide her aura completely.
Outside, the buzzing of the enraged baleful bees gradually faded, finally dissolving into the dense black mist.
"Phew…"
She exhaled deeply, noticing that her robes were soaked with cold sweat. Using the faint light in the crack, she examined her injury. The skin around the bee sting had turned a strange blue-black. Worse, the residual baleful venom had spread, spiderweb-like black veins creeping along her entire left arm.
"I have to…"
She quickly stuffed a detox pill into her mouth, but as soon as it touched the air, its surface darkened instantly. In this corrosive environment, the medicine's power drained away, barely making an effect.
"Damn it!"
Pain shot through her again. She gritted her teeth, slicing a small cut on her fingertip. Black-red blood dripped onto the ground with a sizzling, corrosive hiss.
The baleful qi here even corrupted blood!
Three days later, Xie Zhaolin finally purged the poison from her body, but she was utterly exhausted. Leaning against the rock wall, she listened to the howls of beasts and the whistling of baleful winds outside, releasing a long, ragged breath.
She knew that with her current strength, reaching the ancient cultivator's cave deep within Blackwater Abyss was nearly impossible. The outer baleful qi alone made every step a struggle, let alone the hidden baleful beasts and wandering spirits in the black mist. For a moment, doubt crept in—had she come too early? Was she too impatient?
But she crushed the thought viciously.
"Since I'm here, there's no turning back!"
Her teeth sank into her lower lip. In her ears, the jeering voices of the Hehuan Sect disciples rang out again:
"Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator dares come here? Looking for death!"
Their disdainful gazes and mocking smirks slithered around her heart like venomous snakes. Her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood that she didn't even notice. This humiliation, this helplessness… it reminded her of herself three hundred years ago, just entering the Dao—weak, lowly, trampled on by everyone.
"I swore… I swore! Never again will I taste this kind of shame!"
She drew a deep breath, lifting her head. Her eyes burned with near-mad obsession.
"If I can't go deeper… Then this body will adapt right here!
Completely!"
Her fingers formed hand seals, black qi swirling around her palms, seeping into the rock walls.
Crack—
The hard stone slowly fractured under the black qi's erosion. She widened the narrow crack little by little until it was big enough to sit cross-legged.
"Phew…"
She settled in, closed her eyes, and began running the Xuanyin Foundation Technique. The baleful qi in Blackwater Abyss was a hundred times denser than outside. Dangerous, yes, but perfect for tempering her body with her Xuanyin cultivation.
"Hss—"
The moment the baleful qi entered her body, the pain cut through her like blades, ripping her flesh and prying open her meridians. It was nothing like the weaker qi she had absorbed outside.
Xie Zhaolin bit her lip, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She couldn't stop. She couldn't retreat.
"Again!"
The more it hurt, the better the effect. Meridians grew tougher with each tear and repair. If she couldn't even endure the outermost qi, how could she ever go deeper into Blackwater Abyss?
"Not enough… still not enough!"
She ran her cultivation technique frantically, letting the baleful qi ravage her body. Her meridians tore and healed repeatedly, bones groaning under the strain.
"To gain power… you must pay the price!"
Only when her meridians were strong enough could she withstand greater power, achieving the perfect state when breaking through Foundation Establishment!
In her past life, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, she knew better than anyone—the Foundation Establishment stage was the true starting point. The firmer the foundation, the higher the future potential. Even a tiny flaw would become a fatal weakness later.
Black qi surged around her. She intentionally drew in more baleful qi. Pain rolled over her like tidal waves, her vision bleeding red, consciousness blurring. Meridians tore under the savage qi, then forcibly healed under Xuanyin Technique. The torment made blood seep from all seven orifices.
But Xie Zhaolin laughed—fierce, insane laughter.
"This pain…" she licked the blood from her lips, "it's nothing compared to what Yu Xiaotang sent me through the Tribulation…"
Half a month later, she slowly opened her eyes. A restrained brilliance gleamed within. Her meridians had widened over twice their previous size. Her skin shimmered with a strange dark glow, the mark of a body tempered by baleful qi.
"The results…" she stretched, "even better than I expected."
Fingers flexing, she could clearly feel the surging power within. Now, she could easily resist the outer baleful qi, and even temporarily draw on the surrounding qi for her own use.
"It's time."
Xie Zhaolin condensed her aura, slipping silently out of the crack. The dense black mist still churned, but now it fed her body instead of threatening it. She inhaled lightly, letting the threads of black mist seep into her meridians, bringing sharp sting and power. She hadn't gone far when a familiar buzzing suddenly cut through the air!