45: Chapter 45 Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment

Time passes like a white horse galloping past a crevice, hurrying by; it feels as if yesterday was still before one's eyes, within reach, yet looking back today, it has already become ethereal smoke and clouds, leaving only memories.

By this time, three full months had passed since the Spiritual Root testing ceremony in Jinzhu Town, which had stirred the hearts of ten thousand Mortals.

Deep within Xuanling Lake, the karst cave at the bottom of the lake was dark and damp, isolated from all the clamor of the outside world.

Only a spring eye in the center of the karst cave emitted a hazy and mysterious glimmer, illuminating this tranquil space.

The spring water was clear to the bottom, and above the surface, a layer of light blue Spiritual Qi mist swirled, like smoke and gauze, slowly flowing as if it possessed life, playing in the water.

On the rock walls surrounding the karst cave, countless stalactites of various shapes were attached. At the tips of some stalactites, drops of crystal-clear spirit dew condensed, occasionally gathering into beads that fell into the spring, emitting a crisp and melodious "ding-dong" sound.

In this silent place, this sound seemed exceptionally ethereal, like the music of nature, cleansing one's Divine Soul.

The air was filled with dense yet gentle Spiritual Qi. Li Changqing took a deep breath and felt a coolness penetrate straight into his lungs, while the Meridians throughout his body faintly resonated as if cheering with joy.

The purity and density of the Spiritual Qi here were far superior to the outside world by several times, making it the perfect place to attempt a Breakthrough for the Foundation Establishment Bottleneck.

This was also one of the reasons why Li Changqing, after careful consideration, did not choose to make his Breakthrough on the second-order Spiritual Vein of the Family grounds; he needed a more secluded and purer environment.

Li Changqing sat cross-legged on a specially made cold jade meditation cushion beside the spring eye. He had been sitting in meditation and regulating his breathing here for three full days, tempering his Spiritual Qi to the most perfect state of the Peak of the Qi Refinement Stage. His Divine Soul was clear as a mirror, unstained by dust.

He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slightly. Looking back at the past, he had endured many hardships. From the year he was six, when he was tested and found to have a Spiritual Root, he had embarked on this thorny path of Cultivation without looking back, and thirty-three years had passed since then.

Through more than thirty years of arduous Cultivation, enduring the cold of winter and the heat of summer, he had never slackened. Now, his Cultivation had finally reached the Peak of the Qi Refinement Stage. His Spiritual Qi was full and solid, and his Dantian seemed to have transformed into a vast ocean, with no more room for improvement, waiting only for that final push.

At this moment, two crucial treasures for assisting in a Foundation Establishment Breakthrough were floating in front of him: the first was the foundation establishment pill, which the Family treasury had issued according to regulations when he went to report to the Family after breaking through to the tenth level of Qi Refining a few months ago.

This was an ironclad Family rule set by the third-generation head of the Li Family, Old Ancestor Li Zekang, which had been strictly followed to this day:

"As long as a clansman with the blood of the Li Family flows through their veins reaches the tenth level of Qi Refining before the age of sixty, the Family treasury, provided it has foundation establishment pills, must not withhold or deduct them for any reason. This is to prevent those in power from developing crooked selfish motives and to ensure the Family's legacy is passed down."

"For clansmen who reach the tenth level of Qi Refining between the ages of sixty and eighty, all Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators of the Family will make a comprehensive assessment based on the inventory of foundation establishment pills in the Family treasury, as well as the clansman's character, Foundation, and value, to decide whether to bestow a foundation establishment pill."

Currently, in the Li Family treasury, excluding the one Li Changqing had received, there were three foundation establishment pills remaining, each one extremely precious.

The foundation establishment pill before Li Changqing was about the size of a pigeon egg. Its body was a warm, jade-white color, with a surface as smooth as mutton-fat jade. Faint natural patterns formed by Spiritual Qi encircled it, as if it contained the profound truths of heaven and earth.

When at rest, this Medicinal Pill appeared to be an ordinary pill, but under Spiritual Qi probing or specific lighting, one could see fine, dense Spiritual light flowing ceaselessly inside, like swirling nebulae, symbolizing the concentrated essence of heaven and earth and the stable Spiritual Qi structure within.

The foundation establishment pill felt slightly warm to the touch, as if it were breathing Spiritual Qi like a living thing, emitting an elegant and distant medicinal fragrance that made one's Divine Soul tranquil and all distracting thoughts vanish upon smelling it.

Although its quality was not the legendary High Grade, it was still a standout among Medium Grade, sufficient to support a Cultivator with a solid Foundation in successfully making a Breakthrough.

The other key item was a mature two-leaf purple lingzhi.

This second-order Spirit Medicine had a plump body, was rich in purple luster, had an imposing Spiritual Qi, and possessed immense medicinal power.

He had never directly consumed such precious Spirit Medicine during his regular Cultivation, in order to avoid developing a drug resistance to the same type of Spirit Medicine.

Taking it out now to use as the strongest aid for his Foundation Establishment Breakthrough could not be more appropriate.

He took another deep breath, and the moist air rich in Spiritual Qi within the karst cave flooded his lungs, bringing a refreshing coolness.

First, he slowly reached out and picked up the two-leaf purple lingzhi that was fully mature and had reached five hundred years of age.

When his fingertips touched the warm, jade-like body of the lingzhi, a faint, vibrant herbal fragrance instantly permeated the air, refreshing his heart and mind.

He did not chew it but instead circulated his Spiritual Qi, guiding the Spirit Medicine to slowly dissolve in his mouth and merge into his abdomen.

A gentle, warm current was born, not scorching or violent, but like the warm sun of spring shining on snow and ice, seeping into his limbs and bones bit by bit, finally gathering at the Sea of Consciousness between his eyebrows.

His Divine Soul felt as if it were soaked in warm spirit liquid, becoming exceptionally solid and stable. His perception of the outside world and his own body became increasingly clear and sharp, as if he could hear the sound of his own blood flowing.

After the medicinal power of the purple lingzhi had completely integrated into his body, laying an incredibly solid Foundation for his Physical Body and Divine Soul, Li Changqing's expression became unprecedentedly solemn.

He slowly extended his right hand and solemnly placed the warm foundation establishment pill in his palm. The Medicinal Pill felt slightly warm in his hand, as if it were breathing Spiritual Qi like a living thing. He no longer hesitated, his eyes firm, and he placed the foundation establishment pill into his mouth.

Once the Medicinal Pill entered his abdomen, there was initially no abnormality, as if it were just an ordinary sugar pill.

But just a moment later, an indescribable, scorching torrent suddenly erupted from the depths of his Dantian!

This torrent was not merely heat, but highly concentrated, almost materialized essence of Spiritual Qi, like a volcano that had been dormant for ten thousand years suddenly awakening, releasing world-destroying energy.

The frenzy of Spiritual Qi transformed from the foundation establishment pill instantly rushed into his Meridians. The Meridians, which were originally broad and tough for a Cultivator at the Qi Refinement Stage, now seemed miserably narrow in the face of such massive Spiritual Qi.

The massive Spiritual Qi surged and roared, bringing a tearing, bloating pain, as if it were about to burst his body apart.

The purple lingzhi he had consumed beforehand began to play a key role, continuously providing gentle energy, helping Li Changqing stabilize his Foundation and alleviating the pressure on his Meridians.

He was also fully prepared, immediately exerting all his effort to operate the secret Cultivation Technique of the Family, guiding this violent Spiritual Qi to circulate with difficulty along the established route of the Great Circulation.

At the same time, the dense external Spiritual Qi provided by the Spirit Eye Spring was also being frantically absorbed by him and turned into his own use. As the internal and external Spiritual Qi merged, the momentum became even more massive.

In an instant, the Spiritual Qi mist within the karst cave gathered toward him at a speed visible to the naked eye, forming a huge, rotating vortex of Spiritual Qi, as if it were a gateway to another world.

The assault formally began; the Bottleneck of the Peak of the Qi Refinement Stage, like an invisible yet incredibly solid barrier, lay between his Dantian and the shackles of a higher Realm, blocking his path forward.