76: Chapter 76 Foundation Establishment Grade Three, Earth Vein Elixir

Chen Qingyuan swallowed a First-Order High Grade Spirit Recovery Pill prepared by the old man and began to sit cross-legged to regulate his breathing and restore his Spiritual Qi.

Over the years, the old man had spared no effort in preparing items for Xie Jinshu to use when clearing trials. Although he had come in a hurry, who could blame him when he had such a good daughter-in-law!

An hour later, with the aid of the Medicinal Pill, his Spiritual Qi had quickly recovered, and only then did Chen Qingyuan slowly stand up.

His gaze immediately turned to where the Sword Puppet had vanished, and he saw three stone platforms appearing out of thin air.

Floating above each stone platform was an item: a bulging Storage Pouch, a jade bottle, and a sealed wooden box.

They were protected by a shield of Spiritual Qi.

"These are the rewards for clearing the trial, but unfortunately, I can only choose one of the three."

Chen Qingyuan moved his thoughts, and his Divine Sense swept over the light shields outside the three items in turn; relevant information immediately flooded into his mind.

He first inspected the Storage Pouch. The moment his Divine Sense touched it, he perceived that inside were exactly five thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, shining with brilliant Spiritual Qi and piled up like a mountain.

"Five thousand Spirit Stones... No wonder Father was able to start from scratch back then, purchase a Spiritual Mountain in the Lifeng Plain, and establish the family business of the Chen family. He must have chosen this item back then."

A huge sum of five thousand Spirit Stones—even Chen Qingyuan was somewhat tempted at this moment, let alone Chen Renhai back then.

Next, his Divine Sense landed on the jade bottle. A more complex piece of information came through, causing his expression to suddenly freeze, followed by a look of astonishment.

"Earth Vein Spirit Liquid?! It's actually this!"

Earth Vein Spirit Liquid is formed by the gathering of the essence of a Spiritual Vein. It can only be nurtured in small amounts over long periods in the specific Spiritual Eye locations of a few Spiritual Veins above the second order, making it extremely precious in the world of cultivation.

The value of this single bottle alone is likely on par with a complete foundation establishment pill.

The greatest miraculous effect of this item is its ability to widen a Cultivator's Qi acupoints, allowing them to contain more Spiritual Qi.

A Cultivator's Qi acupoint capacity is mostly predetermined at birth; Acquired Cultivation Techniques can only refine and condense Spiritual Qi, but it is extremely difficult to change its "capacity."

Earth Vein Spirit Liquid is precisely a rare Heaven And Earth Treasure that can directly expand it.

Of course, fortune and misfortune are intertwined; this item also has its drawbacks!

After the Qi acupoints are widened, the Spiritual Qi required to fill them naturally increases, which will cause the speed of Cultivation to slow down accordingly.

Based on the amount in this bottle, it is enough to expand his Qi acupoints by ten to twenty percent, which means his future Cultivation speed will also decrease by ten to twenty percent.

However, Chen Qingyuan did not care about this at all!

He possessed the Aptitude of dual Spiritual Roots, so his Cultivation speed was already far superior to ordinary people. More importantly, he had the "Taiyi Talisman Scripture" and the "Spirit Transformation Talisman" that could directly increase Cultivation efficiency!

He was completely unafraid of this impact.

If he could use this Spirit Liquid to consolidate his Foundation, combined with the characteristics of the "Three Revolutions Primordial Condensation Art," his total magical power would undergo a qualitative leap, and within the same rank, his Spiritual Qi's robustness would likely be unrivaled.

Furthermore, this was not the greatest benefit that the Earth Vein Spirit Liquid brought him!

On the path of cultivation, Foundation Establishment is the first true chasm.

Throughout history, countless Cultivators have stopped here, becoming the regret of a lifetime!

And Foundation Establishment requires passing three barriers in succession: the Divine Soul barrier, the magical power barrier, and the Physical Body barrier.

In the ancient era, Cultivators only needed to Cultivate these three barriers to Perfection to attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment; this was the method of "Pill-less Foundation Establishment."

However, with the changes in the environment of heaven and earth, the Spiritual Qi in the current cultivation world is far less abundant than in ancient times, leading many Cultivators, especially those with four Spiritual Roots, five Spiritual Roots, or even some with three Spiritual Roots, to find it difficult to Cultivate all three barriers to Perfection before the age of sixty, wasting away their years.

Precisely because of this, the foundation establishment pill came into being.

Its greatest function is to use the power of the Medicinal Pill to compensate for a Cultivator's deficiencies in the Divine Soul, magical power, or Physical Body. Even if the three barriers are not at Perfection, one can use the medicinal power to forcibly break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

Similarly, after the foundation establishment pill appeared, gradually, another path evolved in the cultivation world—"Spirit Object Foundation Establishment."

That is, a Cultivator mainly Cultivates one or two of the barriers, then finds a specific Heaven And Earth Treasure to make up for the remaining shortcomings.

For example, if one could find a second-order Low Grade "Li Fire Bead," the pure fire power contained within it could help a Cultivator whose Divine Soul and Physical Body have reached Perfection, but whose magical power is slightly lacking, to fill in the final piece and successfully reach Foundation Establishment.

It is just that whether it is Foundation Establishment via a foundation establishment pill or via a Spirit Object, the effect is significantly inferior to Pill-less Foundation Establishment, so there is the saying of High, Middle, and Low three grades of Dao Foundations.

Not to mention that the current Chen family cannot afford a foundation establishment pill!

Even if they could!

Chen Qingyuan's ambition lay in the Dao, and he wanted to take the path of Pill-less Foundation Establishment. That was why he would take a soul nurturing pill to nourish his Divine Soul, choose the "Geng Metal Body Tempering Method" to temper his Physical Body, and then use the Three Revolutions Primordial Condensation Art to improve his magical power.

If he could then use the Earth Vein Spirit Liquid to consolidate his magical power Foundation, widen his Qi acupoints, and assist the "magical power barrier," his hope for Foundation Establishment might increase by another ten percent!

As for the third reward, inside that wooden box was a Medicinal Pill named the Youth Retention Pill.

This pill can allow the user to retain their youth forever, with their appearance unchanged, which can be considered a priceless treasure for those who need it.

But for Chen Qingyuan, who had his heart set on the Dao and focused more on practical value, the attraction of this item was truly not great!

He immediately made his choice without hesitation and reached out to take the Earth Vein Spirit Liquid.

And at the very moment he took it away, all the stone platforms and Spirit Objects disappeared!

"Rumble!" A loud noise arose, and he saw the wooden stairs leading to the second floor beginning to form out of thin air!

"Creating things out of thin air; I wonder just how strong this Xuan Yuan Sect was back in the day!"

While feeling moved, he stepped up and headed toward the second floor of the Trial Tower.

Meanwhile, in another independent space within the Trial Tower,

Xie Jinshu's figure was suspended in mid-air, her clothes fluttering.

Her hands were forming a sword seal, and Spiritual Qi was surging violently around her.

With the operation of the "Splitting Light and Transforming Shadow Sword," countless solid and sharp sword shadows appeared behind her, their tips pointing directly at a roaring Giant Ape Puppet below.

"Sword Shadow Splitting, go!"

Only a clear shout from her was heard, and she pointed her jade hand forward.

In an instant, the sky full of sword shadows was like a torrential rain, and also like a galaxy pouring down, sweeping toward that Ape Puppet!

"Clang, clang, clang—puchi!"

The Ape Puppet waved its giant arms to block, the sound of metal clashing ringing endlessly in the ears, but in the end, two fists were no match for ten thousand swords, and it was soon pierced and torn apart by the countless sword shadows, finally collapsing with a boom and dissipating into pure Spiritual Qi.

Jinshu's figure slowly drifted down from mid-air, beads of fragrant sweat seeping from her forehead, and her breathing carried a hint of panting.

There was no joy in successfully clearing the trial; her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes were filled with endless worry.

"The guardian Puppet of this first stage is already so fierce, its strength is already close to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining... I wonder how things are on my husband's side..."

In the Secret Realm, she dared not be careless and immediately took a Medicinal Pill to restore her Spiritual Qi!

After her strength had fully recovered to its Peak, she then looked at the three rewards that had appeared before her.

When her Divine Sense swept over one of the jade bottles, a light of surprise immediately erupted in her eyes!

"foundation establishment pill!"