Chapter 132: Life as an Umbrella
In the instant the lamp went out, all of the light vanished, and the countless grues erupted into cackling laughter. Filled with unprecedented greed and longing, they lunged toward Xu Qing.
However, also in that instant, a light flared that surpassed the Spirit Breath Lamp by many times over. In fact, it wasn’t even possible to compare them. One was like a firefly, the other was like the brightly shining moon. The light swept out to fill the entire cave with brightness like that of daytime!
The grues let loose bloodcurdling screams as they were instantly transformed into ash.
In front of Xu Qing appeared a burning lamp that looked like a black umbrella. Of course, it was none other than the precious treasure he had taken from the Merfolk, the life lamp. The lamp had not been lit; the brilliant light that shone out from it came from the lamp itself. It looked like it was burning, yet actually wasn’t.
Even unlit, it was shocking to the extreme, and its light covered Xu Qing with such intensity that the grues in the area were like moths that flew into a flame. Though some survived at the outskirts, none of them dared to get close after that.
The brilliant light also gave Xu Qing some clues about the dharma apertures.
As spirit power rushed through him, his mind spun and his body shook violently. At the same time, he found the final two dharma apertures!
120 apertures!
Throughout the entire history of Seven Blood Eyes, no one had ever sensed 120 dharma apertures. And it was only possible to sense the apertures during the breakthrough process. Therefore, it was generally accepted that, however many you sensed in that moment, that was your limit going forward.
It wasn’t just rare for someone to sense 120 dharma apertures in Seven Blood Eyes. It was also the case in most great sects and organizations.
However, in the information in Xu Qing’s jade slips, 120 was actually called the ‘theoretical’ limit for dharma apertures. Though there was no information indicating there was anything past that, after sensing the 120th dharma aperture, Xu Qing realized that 120 actually wasn’t the limit. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to detect beyond 120 at the moment. He would have to open all the apertures before he could explore what was beyond.
What was more, he got the feeling that if he broke past that point of 120, then finding more dharma apertures would result in heaven-shaking, earth-toppling transformations.
He took a deep breath, his heart filled with anticipation. However, he also knew that now wasn’t the time to contemplate those matters. He could worry about them later.
In that case, I’ll start the second step. It’s time to open my first dharma aperture of Foundation Establishment!
He reached out, took his final Foundation Establishment Pill, and consumed it. His spirit sea exploded like the raging tide, rushing directly toward his first dharma aperture. Xu Qing felt like he was being pummeled, like an enormous beast was smashing into him at high speed. It almost seemed like his body might collapse. However, it was also to his surprise that his 1st dharma aperture immediately opened!
The opened dharma aperture became like a point of light, a burning flame that started sucking in spirit power until it became a vortex.
Rumbling sounds echoed out as dramatic transformations occurred to his energy. Burning like fire, it expanded rapidly. At the same time, a brightly burning thread of highly compressed fire appeared within the vortex. That thread was the dharma force of Foundation Establishment! It surpassed the great circle of Qi Condensation by a huge amount, to the point where they were on completely different levels.
As it rose up, glittering with dazzling light, it emitted shocking heat that seemed reflected in Xu Qing himself. The spirit sea in his dharma aperture vastly surpassed anything from an ordinary cultivator. Clearly, his work to push his spirit sea to 1,500 meters had been worth it. And given that his dharma aperture could fit a 1,500-meter spirit sea, it was little wonder that his dharma aperture surpassed anything that an ordinary cultivator could form.
As Xu Qing’s aura transformed, the dharma force coursed through him, provoking extremely dramatic transformations. It started with his meridians, which became tougher. Furthermore, it was possible to see countless natural striations within him. Next was his flesh. As the dharma force flowed through it, it transformed on a substructural level. Then came his bones and organs, all of which became tougher. And all of them, along with this flesh, came to bear natural striations. This was a dharma body!
When cultivators stepped into Foundation Establishment, their life force leaped to a higher level. They turned what was mortal into something dharmic!
As his dharma body formed, and his dharma force proliferated, he began to emit fluctuations that surpassed Qi Condensation. As they rolled out explosively, he opened his eyes, which shone with violet light.
According to what he’d read in the jade slips, when a disciple who had a Forbidden Sea dragonwhale reached Foundation Establishment, they would be able to open their 2nd dharma aperture more quickly than average.
During the actual process of the breakthrough, opening a 2nd dharma aperture would result in a second opportunity to refine the body. And it could only happen then. After the breakthrough point, opening more dharma apertures wouldn’t result in any changes.
It was a precious opportunity, and in some ways, that 2nd dharma aperture became like a second life.
Xu Qing threw both of his hands out, and his dragonwhale appeared, which had reformed after his previous grievous injuries. Forcing it down into the size of his fist, he put it in his mouth and swallowed it. A moment later, the snakeneck dragon emitted a cheerful cry as it rushed toward his 2nd dharma aperture.
Rumbling sounds echoed out as the 2nd dharma aperture opened!
The snakeneck dragon charged inside, transforming into a 1,500-meter spirit sea vortex. Flames raged, and a second thread of dharma force appeared! When it appeared, it swept through him and once again transformed and blessed his body.
The shadowy grues surrounding him looked more greedy than ever, but when they tried to approach, the life lamp kept them at bay.
But then, an unprecedented sinister wind erupted, like a tempest. It was as if some mighty fiend had risen up from within the grues, and was trying to extinguish the lamp. Although the grues could not blow out the fire, they did manage to weaken it. And as it weakened, that unseen fiend seemed to get very excited, and howled noiselessly. Then it unleashed a projection that, in the blink of an eye, shot toward Xu Qing’s forehead.
However, as the life lamp glittered brightly, the projection was forced to abandon its assault and shrank back.
Then, Xu Qing’s shadow, which he had suppressed earlier, seemed to catch a whiff of an appetizing aroma, and shot toward the projection. Before the projection could return to where it came from, the shadow arrived and gobbled it up.
As the fiend’s howls faded, the shadow burped and then looked back maliciously at Xu Qing. In the end, though, it shivered a few times and seemed to reconsider taking action. It remembered being viciously suppressed, and as a result, didn’t dare to make a move. Returning to Xu Qing, it once again assumed its bored and bedraggled countenance from before.
Meanwhile, the grues in the area all trembled like fish in the face of a shark. Then, all in the same moment, they vanished.
Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked down at his shadow.
The shadow shivered, and more cracks appeared on it. Whether it was real or an act, Xu Qing didn’t know. Narrowing his eyes, he examined himself. His dharma body was still being blessed, and rumbling sounds filled him from the beating of his heart.
It sounded like war drums.
At the same time, the second thread of dharma force combined with the first.
That new unified thread of dharma force made Xu Qing burn even brighter as the two spirit seas in his two dharma apertures continued to produce more dharma force. After filling him completely, it seeped out into the open.．
His aura was now far beyond what it had been in the past. In fact, it surpassed comparison. And in terms of level, if he encountered another Foundation Establishment cultivator right now, then that person’s dharma apertures wouldn’t be nearly as dazzling as Xu Qing’s.
The point of opening dharma apertures is for life flames! 30 dharma apertures allow you to form your first life flame! One life flame is the true early Foundation Establishment. Two life flames is mid Foundation Establishment. Only by forming life flames can one truly unleash the signature power of Foundation Establishment cultivators, the profound radiance state!
As Xu Qing knew from his jade slips, Foundation Establishment cultivators didn’t keep their life flames ignited for long periods of time. After all, being in the profound radiance state was extremely draining. That said, the profound radiance state provided incredible amounts of battle prowess. That was why most Foundation Establishment cultivators with life flames only used them in battle.
That was why I was able to beat Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior. He hadn’t opened his 30th dharma aperture. I need to get to that point as quickly as possible!
Xu Qing’s eyes shone with both vigilance and anticipation. The vigilance was from the fact that he now knew Foundation Establishment cultivators were more complicated than he had realized. The anticipation was from knowing that after opening enough dharma apertures, he could enter the profound radiance state. And then there was his life lamp!
Even the great sects and organizations long for life lamps. One such lamp contains the power of an entire additional life flame. That said, in order to use the lamp I have, I first need a life flame. Only then can I ignite it within me.
In other words, once I form my first life flame, I can then put it onto the life lamp. With that foundation for my life flame, I’ll actually have the power of two life flames, allowing me to crush anyone in early Foundation Establishment. And I bet that, given the profundity of my dharma apertures, I’ll be able to stay in the profound radiance state for much longer than average. [1]
Eyes flashing like lightning, he picked up the life lamp. As its light reflected in his eyes, they seemed to burn even more brightly.
Next, I need to put the life lamp inside of me. That’ll be the safest thing.
The dharma force within him erupted out of his 2 dharma apertures. Placing his hands over the life lamp caused it to become slightly transparent. Then he used the dharma force to merge it into himself. As his dharma force came back inside his body, he sensed the life lamp in his dantian region, like a black umbrella. It abounded with profound mystery, and as it slowly opened and closed, it pulsed with a baleful aura.
After the life lamp pulsed brightly, then darkened back and forth a few times, it settled down. It had become part of Xu Qing’s body, and as it did, a feeling of ancient times settled into him.
Just barely visible above Xu Qing’s head was the image of a black umbrella, like an imperial canopy, tapping into the fires of heaven to emanate a screen of protection around him. Beneath that umbrella, Xu Qing felt incomparably safe.
At the same time, his dharma apertures experienced a blessing. The spirit seas within them rotated faster, and the speed of production for his dharma force increased.
It was now possible to sense some of the aura of that black umbrella within his dharma force. It seemed wild and ancient, and burning hot. As it spread through Xu Qing, he felt like he was being scalded. In fact, at that moment, his clothes crumbled into ashes. The cave temple filled with intense heat, causing the walls to crack. And then the rainforest outside started steaming. Trees burst into flames then crumbled into ashes. Before long, the intense heat spread out to the entire rainforest.
As steam roiled up, the ground became parched. And soon, all the trees had been burned into ashes, for a range of over 9,000 meters!
Within that area, the shocking heat made the land look like it had been scorched by drought for a thousand years!
In the middle of that drought-scourged area, the soil around Xu Qing’s cave had already been baked into black crystal. And he sat in the middle of it all, eyes closed peacefully as he meditated.
If someone else in Foundation Establishment was able to look inside of him in that moment, they would be flabbergasted to realize that their dharma apertures were small while his were enormous. Furthermore, he had a black umbrella inside of him protecting his soul. The glow of the black umbrella completely encompassed him, and within that glow it almost seemed possible that there existed heavenly palaces.
After a long time passed, Xu Qing opened his eyes.
1. Given the description of how the life flame and life lamp work together, it makes sense that the lamp would resemble real-life ancient Chinese oil lamps like this. Combine that with images from previous footnotes about Chinese umbrellas and ‘imperial canopies’ in chapter 123 and you should have fertile inspiration to imagine what the life lamp looks like. ☜