Calamity Messenger

Chapter 451: Chapter 378: Dragon Blood Hua Mei Dao Foundation

"Freshly established Foundation, instead of hastening to condense fortune and nourish your Dao Foundation, you choose to attack a Secret Realm?"

True Man of Locking Dragon asked in confusion, "Even if you possess Infinite Divine Power, can your Qi Blood Divine Soul and Dao Foundation essence truly withstand it? Fortune and misfortune are interdependent; it seems to me you should refrain from indiscriminately using Divine Powers. With your talent and intellect, even without Infinite Divine Power, your future is limitless, so why rush for immediate gains?"

Yan Qing understood that True Man of Locking Dragon was indeed advising him out of goodwill. In the worldview of local messengers, immense power inevitably comes with a heavy price, even in Foundation Establishment.

For a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator, unleashing ’Rainfall Torrent’ might require several days of recuperation, let alone Infinite Divine Power.

As for Divine Power limited to one day, it is of little significance to a Foundation Establishment Zhenren. Even though a Foundation Establishment Zhenren has limited lifespan, they have at least a hundred years, and tokens will gradually be acquired.

Using Infinite Divine Power to its limit seemed to True Man of Locking Dragon like a groom on his wedding night taking stimulants, foolishly exhausting oneself at the beginning of a long and promising future.

"I’ve always acted with my own reasoning," said Rabbit Heroine. "Today, I’m here to raid a Secret Realm, not to listen to an old aunt nagging. I simply need you to clear the Medicine King Valley Secret Realm, its environment and resources all yours; or join me in raiding the Secret Realm, splitting the treasure chests fifty-fifty."

"What if I don’t wish to?" True Man of Locking Dragon squinted his eyes.

"I can still achieve my goal," Rabbit Heroine replied. "The Secret Realm is not the property of any one family, you may refuse, I may not accept!"

Yan Qing didn’t plan to explain to True Man of Locking Dragon that Rabbit Heroine had only one day for Foundation Establishment; all that mattered was finding a Fourth-Turn Secret Realm for a round. If True Man of Locking Dragon didn’t agree, he would become truly angry, as time was precious and couldn’t be wasted.

The reason for choosing True Man of Locking Dragon was that with the Pharmacist’s Wish, relations were easier, True Man of Locking Dragon had saved them before and could cooperate, and tempering with her posed no moral burden for him.

"Fine, but the girl must promise me one thing," True Man of Locking Dragon looked at Pharmacist’s Wish.

"What thing?" asked Pharmacist’s Wish.

"If you get into trouble with her in the future, don’t reveal that you’re from the Yao Family," True Man of Locking Dragon sighed helplessly, "The Yao Family is large and influential, unlike you two who are uninhibited."

The Secret Realm is indeed born of heaven and earth, but so are mountains, forests, and fields; yet they have the Court, landlords, and powerful forces occupying them.

Mortal Secret Realms are monopolized by military towns, and Foundation Establishment Secret Realms are similarly coveted by various major forces. It’s rare to see someone like Rabbit Heroine, openly intending to take a piece. Especially since new Foundation Establishments have roots, families, and personal belongings, and the Central Plains are not devoid of empty Fourth-Turn Secret Realms, like Liangshan Marsh and Shu Dao Mountain, why confront established Foundation Establishers?

Some might wonder, if Secret Realm resources are infinite, what’s wrong with letting others use them? But Foundation Establishment raids aren’t completed in a day or two. A cautious attack taking a month isn’t unusual.

If it’s only one attack, fine, but what if it needs two or three?

Too many attacks leading to proficiency and comfort, what if others find this Secret Realm to be the most efficient and comfortable to raid? Driving them away now would not just offend but create hostility.

Thus, there’s an unwritten rule in the Central Plains Foundation Establishment circle that without the host family’s permission, you cannot raid other families’ Secret Realms, nor force others to give up theirs.

The last Foundation Establishment like Rabbit Heroine was Si Wuxie, who after stealing two Fourth-Turn Secret Realms, became the Central Plains’ top Demon Cultivator, chased by the three founding Emperors, ending up in remote mountains and wilderness.

The reason True Man of Locking Dragon agreed was that Rabbit Heroine was as unrestrained as Si Wuxie; not agreeing could lead to upheaval. Initially, she thought the connection with Pharmacist’s Wish and Rabbit Heroine was deep enough that losing Exotic Iron was acceptable in exchange for two Foundation Establishments for the future Zhou Kingdom. But now she felt a bit intimidated—Rabbit Heroine’s lawlessness and Pharmacist’s Wish’s ability to hide in the Thief’s House without fear of being found, suggested these sisters might cause great disturbances.

Yet she didn’t intend to fully agree.

"Do you only want to attack the Fourth-Turn Secret Realm?" True Man of Locking Dragon asked. "If there’s a Fifth-Turn Secret Realm more suitable for your skills, would you go for it?"

Rabbit Heroine said, "I thought you’d choose the most familiar Medicine King Valley Secret Realm."

"Have you forgotten why I imprisoned you?" True Man of Locking Dragon showed no hesitation in his vigilance, "I’d be crazy to allow you into the Medicine King Valley Secret Realm."

"Actually, the heir of the calamity isn’t so readily capable of purifying a Secret Realm..."

"I don’t care; I’ll only take you to other Secret Realms. If you insist on entering Medicine King Valley Secret Realm, then today’s my time to spend it with you."

"Go to the Fifth-Turn Secret Realm," Rabbit Heroine said, "How long does it take? I only have one day, not much time for traveling."

"If I go, it only takes one hour," True Man of Locking Dragon’s expression turned subtle, "If you’re willing to accept being carried by my Lock Chain..."

"Of course not."

Only madness would entrust oneself to True Man of Locking Dragon’s Lock Chain, which Yan Qing had tested before; even ’Heaven-Covering’ from Bingzi Pepper Forest couldn’t break free. Once caught, you’re really at someone’s mercy.

Rabbit Heroine held Pharmacist’s Wish’s hand, "You go ahead, we’ll keep up with you."

"Girl, you’re going too?"

"Dragon and Snake Seven Kills’ ’Seven Kills Fate’ can save me once," Pharmacist’s Wish said with determination, "Before activating ’Seven Kills Fate’, I’ll seize the opportunity with all I’ve got."

Before, Pharmacist’s Wish wasn’t this eager; she was ready for several years of Third Transformation Perfection. But with a task urging her and Yan Qing showing exceptional prowess—the latter had more impact on Pharmacist’s Wish as she knew Yan Qing’s level well, and never expected that in six days he mastered Master Skills.

Even though Yan Qing attained Divine Techniques and acquired the Foundation Establishment Pill, she wasn’t so jealous; but Master Skills... Proudly standing among combat peers, how could Pharmacist’s Wish accept being surpassed by Yan Qing in her strongest field? If things continued, wouldn’t she be defeated by Yan Qing? Unacceptable!

There’s no better way to hone skills than facing challenges above one’s level. With Rabbit Heroine and True Man of Locking Dragon present, this was unquestionably the best opportunity; Pharmacist’s Wish wasn’t lacking in courage for adventure.

The three left Yao Shi Mountain City and after more than an hour, arrived at an estate hidden in the mountains and forests.

Most of the people in the manor were ordinary elderly folks, and the arrival of the True Man of Locking Dragon didn’t stir much commotion; the steward alone came out to guide him.

"The Fifth-Turn Secret Realm isn’t as precious as the Fourth-Turn Secret Realm, which makes attacking it frequently difficult." The True Man of Locking Dragon proactively explained: "Even I haven’t completely cleared this secret realm."

"This is a cave secret realm, with narrow terrain and flying monsters inside. Our maneuverability is quite limited, but this point is an advantage for you."

Looking at the light blue vortex in the cave, Yan Qing thought to himself, Aunt Yue, you’re really blind; this is nowhere near a Fifth-Turn Secret Realm.

"Chongming Cave"

"Background: Drinking celestial nectar, devouring demons, the Chongming Bird was once a revered beast by the people. While escaping capture by the elders of the Celestial Return Sect, it suffered a major injury infected by the Mad Corroding Dragon Poison, which left it unable to heal. Its blood attracted the birds and beasts in the cave, causing them to transform into Mad Corroding Beasts."

"Challenge Level: 40~49 (Hard)"

"Challenge Size: Up to 8 participants"

"Objective: Kill the Beast ’Mad Erosion Chongming Bird’"

It was Yan Qing’s first time seeing a hard secret realm, which implied that it would definitely yield precious tokens and have a higher drop rate for various rare resources. However, the strength of the monsters inside would far exceed the ordinary.

No wonder the True Man of Locking Dragon thought it was a Fifth-Turn Secret Realm. Local messengers couldn’t see the system introduction; they could only assess the difficulty by comparison. Secret realms with power levels surpassing the Fourth-Turn and comparable to the Fifth-Turn would naturally be classified as the Fifth-Turn Secret Realm in their eyes. In reality, this is harder than a normal Fifth-Turn Secret Realm because each elite in the hard realm has a kill mechanism, such as the Steel Death Penalty’s sharing mechanism. Without a complete messenger team, it’s nearly impossible to conquer.

What, I’ve unlocked Infinite Divine Power? Well, then there’s no problem.

Before entering, the True Man of Locking Dragon reminded: "You’ve just established your foundation. Aren’t you going to gather fortune first? Even a tiny bit of fortune is like sweet dew for the Dao Foundation. When the Dao Foundation is clouded by fortune, don’t blame me for not warning you."

This wasn’t the first time the True Man of Locking Dragon mentioned fortune; previously, the Realm Giant Deer had said something similar. Yan Qing was puzzled by this; he had never played "Messenger" and only had a partial understanding of Foundation Establishment.

Now he opened the Rabbit Heroine’s character page, turned to the [Dao Foundation] page, and vaguely speculated.

"Dragon Blood Hua Mei Dao Foundation"

"Dao Foundation Divine Techniques: Candle Tear Red"

"Dao Foundation State: 41% damaged ↓ (Minor Peculiar Wind Erosion, -0.03% per hour)"

"Dao Foundation Level: Level 40 (Spiritual Essence = Divine Soul ×1)"

"Dao Foundation Inner Scenery: Dragon Blood Hua Mei Position: Any creature with an explicit Dragon Race bloodline of a level no higher than yours will face suppression from your position; against dragon blood creatures, you can deal up to 41% additional damage and cause up to 41% chance of panic in the target, while the Divine Technique [Candle Tear Red] has up to 4.1% chance to cause a fatal effect (the higher the dragon blood creature’s level, the lower the effect)."

"Dao Foundation First Forbidden Holding: Dragon Reversal:

Desired actions: Slay dragon blood creatures, slay dragon messenger, slay dragon-shaped divine technique user.

Avoid: Traveling with dragon messenger."

"Dao Foundation Second Forbidden Holding: Dragon Fiend:

Desired actions: Incorporate Earth Demon Slaying Knife, Earth Demon Swordsmanship Manual, Earth Demon Tongyou Secret Record into tokens.

Avoid: Incorporating Earth Evil Wind-controlling Ear Pendant, Earth Demon Cloud-Calling Fan, Earth Evil Water-Walking Ring into tokens."

"Dao Foundation Third Forbidden Holding: Greed for Wealth:

Desired actions: Consume Emerald Green Crystal, Crimson Blood Stone, Black Claw Diamond, Emerald, Blue Enchanting Tears and other precious gemstones.

Avoid: Being without gemstones."

"Dao Foundation Fourth Prohibition: Candle Palace:

Desired actions: Use [Candle Tear Red] divine technique to create a dwelling and reside for rest.

Avoid: Being without a fixed residence (Late idling in the wild for over an hour)."

"Dao Foundation Fifth Forbidden Holding: Dragon Devouring:

Desired actions: Consuming dragon meat and dragon soul.

Avoid: Consuming other demonic creatures."

...

"Dao Foundation’s 20th Forbidden Holding: Seeking Joy:

Desired actions: Drink fine wine, savor fine food, drink and kill, enjoy scenery.

Avoid: Consuming no alcohol for a day, abstaining from food for a day."