101: Breakthrough Foundation Building

Sweat trickled down Lin Yan's cheeks, dampening his clothes.

His complexion alternated between flushed and pale, while the Spiritual Qi within his body surged like a violent river, crashing repeatedly against that invisible barrier.

On the morning of the fifth day, when the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone upon Lin Yan, a qualitative change finally occurred within his Dantian.

The originally scattered Spiritual Qi began to rotate rhythmically, forming a massive vortex of Spiritual Qi.

At the center of the vortex, wisps of special Spirit Patterns began to condense; these Spirit Patterns resembled the most ancient runes in Heaven and Earth, containing infinite mysteries.

"Now!" Lin Yan's mind jolted as he guided the Spirit Patterns in his Dantian to circulate along a specific trajectory.

The Spirit Patterns grew more numerous and dense, intertwining until they finally formed a perfect ring.

This ring of Spirit Patterns hovered in the center of his Dantian, resembling a miniature Taiji diagram, emitting a soft yet powerful radiance.

The Spirit Patterns forming a ring signified the Dao Foundation! This was the mark of a successful Foundation Establishment.

However, this was only the beginning.

The ring-shaped Spirit Patterns continued to evolve, transitioning from a flat plane to a three-dimensional form, eventually transforming into a three-inch-tall Spirit Platform that hovered within Lin Yan's Dantian.

The Spirit Platform was crystal clear, with profound runes flowing across its surface, emitting a faint golden light.

The Dao Foundation forming a platform meant it was a Spirit Platform, a characteristic of a Fourth-Grade Dao Foundation or higher!

Just as the Dao Foundation Spirit Platform formed, a strange resonance suddenly emanated from the depths of Lin Yan's Sea of Consciousness.

The resonance came from the two Needle Sword Pine Seeds before him and the Azure Blade Willow tree not far away.

Lin Yan's mind jolted, and he immediately split off a wisp of consciousness to respond to these resonances.

In his perception, both the two Needle Sword Pine Seeds and the Azure Blade Willow tree were emitting a special kind of fluctuation, creating a wondrous resonance with his Dao Foundation.

What surprised him even more was that this resonance was not one-way, but two-way; his Dao Foundation was likewise influencing these three spirit plants!

"Is this… the resonance of a Lifebound Spirit Plant?" Lin Yan was shocked, but felt even more joy.

"A Lifebound Spirit Plant can only be refined during Foundation Establishment; it is truly profound…"

A Wood Spiritual Root Foundation Establishment Cultivator can choose a spirit plant as their Lifebound Spirit Plant, establishing a connection at the level of their Origin with it.

The Lifebound Spirit Plant can grow together with the Cultivator, and even share cultivation and insights to a certain extent.

Cultivators with other Spiritual Roots also have similar methods.

However, refining a Lifebound Spirit Plant has a very high threshold.

If one cannot comprehend Sword Intent or half-step Sword Intent, one cannot resonate with the spirit plant and thus cannot proceed.

Yet at this moment, Lin Yan's Dao Foundation was resonating with all three spirit plants simultaneously, which meant that all three spirit plants had the potential to become his Lifebound Spirit Plant!

But one can only choose one Lifebound Spirit Plant.

Lin Yan immediately immersed his consciousness within them, carefully perceiving the characteristics of these three spirit plants.

In the state of deep resonance, the three spirit plants displayed their deepest Origin to him without reservation.

First was the Fifth-Grade Needle Sword Pine Seed; it contained sharp Sword Intent and seemed capable of enhancing attack penetration, but it was slightly singular.

Then there was the Sixth-Grade Needle Sword Pine Seed; its Needle Intent was more condensed and carried a trace of the tenacity of pine and cypress, offering both offense and defense, with impressive potential.

Finally, there was the Azure Blade Willow; the Sword Intent it contained was the most compatible with Lin Yan's own, both possessing that agile and elegant quality laced with sharpness.

More importantly, the potential displayed by the Azure Blade Willow tree far exceeded the other two, and its Sword Dao fluctuations were extremely deep and vast.

Lin Yan could feel that this Azure Blade Willow was more extraordinary than he had imagined, containing immense vitality and room for growth.

"Azure Blade Willow…" Lin Yan murmured to himself, establishing a deeper connection with the willow tree with his consciousness.

In his perception, the Azure Blade Willow tree seemed to have gained consciousness.

It absorbed the essence of the earth through its roots and captured the Spiritual Qi of the sky through its branches and leaves.

Every willow leaf contained Sword Intent, and every willow branch was like a sharp sword.

Perhaps because he had been influenced by the Azure Blade Willow during his daily cultivation, his Sword Intent resonated with the Azure Blade Willow very naturally, as if they were one and the same.

"It will be you, Azure Blade Willow!" Lin Yan's mind settled as he made his choice.

The Azure Blade Willow was the most compatible with him, and the Azure Blade Willow was still in the process of mutation.

Barring any accidents, when the Azure Blade Willow mutated into a Seventh-Grade spirit plant, his Dao Foundation would also be able to advance further.

Lin Yan guided the Sword Intent contained within his Dao Foundation, transforming it into an invisible bond that tightly connected the Azure Blade Willow tree to himself.

Following the formation of this bond, the Azure Blade Willow tree immediately responded.

Wisps of emerald green willow leaf essence detached from the parent body like living things, flying toward Lin Yan's Dao Foundation.

The moment these willow leaf essences fused into the Dao Foundation, the scene within Lin Yan's Dantian changed drastically.

On the originally crystal-clear Dao Foundation Spirit Platform, a three-inch-tall phantom of the Azure Blade Willow slowly emerged.

This phantom was vivid and lifelike, its willow leaves swaying gently in the breeze, its branches pointing toward the sky like swords, emitting a faint cyan light.

"It's done!" Lin Yan was overjoyed, but immediately composed his mind, focusing on stabilizing his Dao Foundation.

The appearance of the Azure Blade Willow phantom immediately had a positive impact on Lin Yan's Dao Foundation.

Under the enhancement of the Azure Blade Willow, the Dao Foundation Spirit Platform became more solid; the originally somewhat illusory Spirit Patterns became clearly visible, emitting a golden light.

The originally Fourth-Grade Spirit Platform Dao Foundation advanced further, reaching the Fifth-Grade.

When Su Wan Yue underwent Foundation Establishment, this was the level of Dao Foundation she achieved.

But Lin Yan's Dao Foundation did not stop there.

Because the Azure Blade Willow was a Sixth-Grade spirit plant.

As the connection between the Azure Blade Willow and Lin Yan's Dao Foundation grew tighter, a powerful vitality surged from the Azure Blade Willow phantom, pouring into the Dao Foundation Spirit Platform.

Under the influence of this vitality, the Dao Foundation Spirit Platform actually began to sink slowly, eventually rooting itself like a seed, deeply embedded within Lin Yan's Dantian, solidifying into a physical entity!

The Spirit Platform transformed from virtual to real, a Sixth-Grade Dao Foundation!

"Boom!"

A powerful aura erupted from within Lin Yan's body, stirring the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

The originally calm space suddenly twisted, and the Spiritual Qi beside the field ridges was stirred as if by an invisible hand, forming a massive vortex of Spiritual Qi that frantically gathered toward Lin Yan's location.

The clouds in the sky began to rotate rapidly, forming a massive vortex of Spiritual Qi.

The clouds were dyed a cyan-green color, as if steeped in the Sword Intent of the Azure Blade Willow.

In the distance, several birds were startled by this sudden phenomenon in Heaven and Earth, flying away in panic in all directions.

In Lin Yan's courtyard, Little Fatty Xu Shuangyuan stood respectfully outside the pavilion.

Before him, the Grand Elder sat on a stone stool inside the pavilion, quietly sipping tea.

On the second day after Lin Yan began his seclusion, the Grand Elder had come here to act as Protector.

At this moment, sensing the commotion, he flashed and appeared outside the courtyard.

"Not bad, a Breakthrough. It's just unclear what grade of Dao Foundation it is." A trace of a smile appeared on the Grand Elder's face.

Xu Shuangyuan followed him out, looking at the phenomenon in the sky, his face displaying uncontrollable surprise and joy.