89: Chapter 89 Cross-Level Contact, Immortal Tea Breaks Through Realms

Lu Changyuan did not board the reef immediately.

He first put away the spirit boat, then signaled for Lu Hu to lower his blade, before stepping onto the sea surface and bowing from a distance of three zhang.

"Junior Lu Changyuan, greetings, Senior."

Lu Hu followed suit.

His movements were much stiffer than usual.

It wasn't out of fear.

It was his body's instinct telling him that the person before him, who looked like an ordinary old man, could not be measured by the blade.

The white-haired elder smiled: "I'm just someone selling goods, no need for such heavy formalities."

"Some people outside like to call me Elder Tianji, you can just call me that as well."

Lu Changyuan felt a slight shock in his heart.

Elder Tianji.

Exactly as the Jade Slip had indicated.

But his face revealed no extra expression, he only said: "Junior is here on a presumptuous visit because there is an item I wish for Senior to examine, and I also seek a path of survival suitable for my territory."

"No rush."

Elder Tianji pointed to the opposite side of the wooden table, "Sit first."

Lu Changyuan walked over.

Lu Hu, however, stood where he was, unmoving.

Elder Tianji glanced at him: "You sit too."

Lu Hu subconsciously looked at Lu Changyuan.

Lu Changyuan nodded.

Only then did the two sit down before the wooden table.

The table was very small.

The tea was also coarse.

There was even a chip on the rim of the cup; in no way did it look like something a Soul Transformation powerhouse would use to entertain guests.

But as soon as Lu Changyuan sat down, he found the sound of the sea around him had moved further away.

It wasn't that he couldn't hear it.

It was as if the entire sea area had been gently pushed back a step.

Blue Moon Island, Jubao Pavilion, the Old Seal Bid Case, the 6,400 quota replenishment, the purification liquid test—those heavy matters weighing on his heart were still there, but they were no longer chaotic.

Elder Tianji poured a cup of tea for each of them.

The tea was turbid and yellow.

The tea leaves were coarse and old.

A piece of stem floated at the bottom of the cup.

Lu Hu stared at the cup of tea, watching it very seriously, as if judging whether it contained poison.

Elder Tianji was amused: "Rest assured, if I wanted to harm you, there would be no need to put anything in the tea."

Lu Hu's face stiffened.

Lu Changyuan picked up the teacup: "Senior is right."

After saying this, he took a sip directly.

The tea entered his mouth.

Bitter.

Very bitter.

It was like stuffing the coarsest leaves from an entire old tea mountain into his mouth.

But as soon as the bitterness went down his throat, it suddenly dissolved.

It wasn't sweetness.

It was a stream of Qi, clear to the extreme, falling from his throat into his Dantian, then spreading out through his Meridians to all four limbs and bones.

The True Yuan in Lu Changyuan's body, which had been slightly restless due to consecutive battles, traveling, and forcibly protecting the boat, was smoothed out layer by layer by that stream of Qi.

Subsequently, it felt as if an old shell deep in his Dantian had been gently tapped.

Crack.

The sound was very faint.

Yet in his Sea of Consciousness, it rang like thunder.

The Bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage had actually loosened at this moment.

Lu Changyuan's eyes suddenly focused.

He didn't speak, immediately sitting cross-legged and upright.

Spiritual Qi surged in from all directions.

It wasn't that the Spiritual Qi on this reef was abundant.

It was that the cup of tea had twisted the medicinal power accumulated in his body, the Evil Qi remaining from the battle that hadn't been digested, the gentle Foundation left by the nine-leaf world-purifying lotus, and the sharp edge pressed out by successive life-and-death situations into a single force that could surge upward.

Going from Foundation Establishment Middle Stage to Late Foundation Establishment Stage wasn't simply having an extra layer of spiritual power.

It was a steadier Qi Sea, a sharper Divine Sense, and more refined control of True Yuan.

Throughout the journey to Blue Moon Island, Lu Changyuan had relied on Opportunity, combat, and resources to push himself up; his Foundation wasn't shallow, but it was too rushed. The three-day desperate defense of Xuangui Island had stretched the taut string within him to its limit.

This cup of tea didn't forcibly pull his Realm up.

It only loosened that string by an inch.

And so, the parts that should have broken through, broke through on their own.

The Qi Sea expanded with a boom.

The True Yuan originally coiled in his Dantian was compressed, cleansed, and spread out again, like a sea revealing a deeper hue from beneath the dark clouds.

The aura around Lu Changyuan rose inch by inch.

Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Peak.

Late Foundation Establishment Stage.

Steady.

No vanity.

No violent surge.

It was just like a sword that had been sharpened for a long time, finally scraping away the last layer of rust.

Beside him, Lu Hu had just finished the tea; before he could even lament the bitterness, he was startled by the movement within his own body.

He wasn't about to break through a major Realm.

But his blood and True Yuan after Foundation Establishment were thoroughly washed by this cup of tea. The hidden injuries left from practicing with the blade in his early years, the congestion left from fighting hard on Xuangui Island, and the fatigue from straining himself while settling the population these past few days—all of it seemed to be flushed out from his bone joints by a stream of warm water.

Lu Hu let out a muffled groan, the veins on his forehead bulging.

He endured and didn't cry out.

He just clenched his fists tightly, letting that stream of Qi slowly flush away the old knots in his Meridians.

Half an incense stick later, Lu Changyuan opened his eyes.

He first inspected his Qi Sea internally.

Confirming that his Realm had stabilized, he stood up and bowed solemnly: "Many thanks for the tea, Senior."

Lu Hu also stood up, cupping his fists with great weight: "Many thanks, Senior."

Elder Tianji waved his hand: "It's just a cup of coarse tea."

"Being able to break through is because you were already at the door."

"My tea at most just helped you unlatch the door."

He spoke lightly.

But Lu Changyuan wouldn't truly treat it as coarse tea.

Late Foundation Establishment Stage.

This step was too timely for him.

After Xuangui Island, he only had the last Golden Core Jade Slip remaining in his hand. The White Bone Armored General was not dead, Jubao Pavilion was starting to reach out, the Old Seal Bid Case was surfacing, and the population of Blue Moon Island was skyrocketing. If he had remained at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, he could still do many things, but his confidence to hold the ground would have been half a step short.

Now, that half-step was filled.

And it was filled cleanly.

Elder Tianji held the teacup and smiled at him: "You saved that white jade Dragon Whale earlier, was it to show me?"

Lu Changyuan answered steadily: "I did have that consideration."

Lu Hu's eyelids twitched.

At a time like this, to speak so directly?

Elder Tianji, however, smiled even more happily.

"Not bad."

"If one does good deeds without any ulterior motive, that is called a Saint."

"To clearly have something to seek, yet still know not to burn bridges, that is called being able to accomplish things."

He looked into the depths of the sea mist, "The little one's maternal clan is not far from here. If you had killed it to take its core, you could still see me today, but the things I would sell to you would be thirty percent more expensive."

Lu Hu felt a chill go down his back.

Lu Changyuan's heart also sank.

Elder Tianji continued: "This Star Sea is much larger than what you see now. The beasts in the sea, the veins under the reefs, the goods from outside the heavens, the people passing by—none of it is calculated by a single blade or price before your eyes."

"You have killed quite a lot along the way."

"But you can still distinguish when to kill and when to let go."

"This point is better than many people who hold up the banner of benevolence and righteousness but have nothing but rotten accounts in their hands."

Lu Changyuan did not argue.

He had indeed killed many people and beasts.

From pioneering Blue Moon Island to the desperate defense of Xuangui Island, he had never stood on compassion.

But the "distinguishing" that Elder Tianji spoke of was exactly what he had been doing all along.

What can be consumed on the spot.

What must be raised.

What is a gain when the blade falls, and what is a broken path when the blade falls.

These things are harder than simple good and evil.

Elder Tianji put down the teacup: "Speak, what have you brought?"

Lu Changyuan didn't immediately take out the Star-Falling Sea Eye bone fragment.

He first took out the terrain map of Blue Moon Island, the total census of the replenished population, and a bottle of purification liquid sample.

"Junior's territory is on Blue Moon Island."

"Originally just a small island in the Outer Sea, recently due to military exploits and the chaotic situation, the population, ships, warehouses, and berths have increased sharply. Currently, there is a war damage replenishment quota of 6,400 people, 600 Low Grade sea-carrying beasts, 47 small cargo ships that can be dismantled and repaired, and the accounts show over 2.86 million Low Grade Spirit Stones, along with various berths, warehouse sheds, and escrow contracts."

"But the core Foundation on the island is insufficient."

"Spirit plants, Spirit Beasts, sea area purification, food for the population, long-term trade routes—every aspect lacks a root."

He spoke quickly, but not chaotically.

Elder Tianji listened and picked up the bottle of purification liquid.

He pulled out the stopper and sniffed.

"A byproduct of purification-type thunder bamboo?"

Lu Hu's eyes tightened.

Lu Changyuan's expression remained unchanged: "Senior has a Wisdom Eye."

"The root is too small, and the heat is too immature."

Elder Tianji shook the bottle, "But the direction is right. Low Grade battlefields, shipyards, armor plates, talisman paper—all can be used. Don't rush to sell it off; first nourish the roots, then nourish the pot, and finally nourish the standard."

If Su Qingli were here, she would likely record this sentence into the ledger immediately.

Lu Changyuan's heart also stirred slightly.

Nourish the standard.

These four words were more important than selling for any amount of Spirit Stones.

Elder Tianji flipped through the terrain map again.

"Blue Moon Island, the water veins are cold, the reef plate is fragmented, the spiritual field base is poor, but the Outer Port is quite good. The island is small, the population is large, and there is residual demonic tide filth in the near sea. thunder bamboo can purify filth, but one plant cannot support it."

"What you lack is not a powerful Magic Treasure."

"It is a set of foundational items that can allow people, ships, fields, Spirit Beasts, and medicine workshops to all move upward simultaneously."

Lu Changyuan cupped his fists: "That is why Junior has come to ask Senior to examine it."

After speaking, he finally took out the jade box.

The three layers of sealing talismans were peeled off.

The black bone fragment lay quietly in the box.

The starlight around the reef flickered very lightly the moment the bone fragment appeared.

Elder Tianji's originally casual eyes froze for the first time.

He reached out and took the bone fragment.

He wiped his fingertips across the edge of the bone fragment.

The half-breath residual map floated out, then quickly collapsed back.

Deep in the sea mist, there seemed to be a very distant sound of the tide.

Elder Tianji looked at it for a long time.

Then he looked up at Lu Changyuan.

"A residual map of the Star-Falling Sea Eye."

"And it's a fragment that has been grazed by the Black Tide and pulled out by the old key of the Xuangui Northern Vein."

"Little guy."

He smiled.

"The things you have brought out are quite interesting."