376: Chapter 386 Foundation Building!

Su Ming's face instantly turned as pale as paper, and sweat the size of beans mixed with blood seeping from his pores instantly drenched his layered clothes.

"Now!"

Lin Yu's phantom figure abruptly solidified above the xuantian ring. His previously lazy expression now carried an unprecedented air of solemnity and killing intent. His hands swiftly formed seals, the afterimages of his fingertips almost forming a continuous blur, as he roared:

"Stars Enter Fate, Descend—"

Boom!

Atop the Immortal Cave, the seven skylights that were merely shedding starlight suddenly erupted. Seven silver pillars of light, as if enraged by some force, instantly tripled in size. Carrying a biting chill and vast, oppressive might, they plunged straight down along the seven star-patterned steel rods.

The Array Patterns on the ground were gradually lit up from the center outwards.

The previously gentle, flowing earth energy instantly boiled under the impact of the starlight. The Spiritual Qi within the Immortal Cave also converged towards Su Ming's Dantian.

The seven streams of starlight directly poured into Su Ming's body, converging within his Dantian. They were forcibly twisted and compressed by the Formation, ultimately transforming into an invisible, colossal silver hammer that smashed down fiercely onto Su Ming's dao foundation.

"Pfft—"

Su Ming opened his mouth and sprayed out a mist of blood. The blood mist was instantly pulverized into nothingness by the violent Spiritual Pressure surrounding him the moment it left his body.

Under the terrifying external force, his Dantian, which was on the verge of collapse, was forcibly "clamped" shut. The earth vein spiritual milk that had been about to scatter and flee was as if pressed down by an invisible, powerful hand, with nowhere to escape. It was then brutally squeezed into the densely packed cracks.

Using the power of the stars as the hammer and his own flesh and blood as the mold, the pure and thick earth vein spiritual milk was forcibly "forged" into every inch of the scars on his dao foundation.

"Ah—!!"

Su Ming threw his head back, a low roar unlike any human sound erupting from his throat.

This pain was a hundred times more agonizing than when he had dispersed his cultivation and started anew. It was as if someone was pouring molten gold to cast his internal organs, filling the gaps in his bones.

Every inch of his Meridians was burning; every piece of flesh and blood was being restructured.

"Endure it! Don't pass out!"

Lin Yu's voice, like a great bell, resonated directly within the depths of Su Ming's nearly scattered consciousness, "Do you want to be a leaky bucket for the rest of your life, or do you want to be an iron barrel? It all comes down to this one last push! Bite down and hold on, damn it!"

Although his words were fierce, Lin Yu's soul body was trembling violently at this moment. He stared fixedly at the chaotic energy storm at Su Ming's Dantian, having already prayed to all the gods and buddhas in his heart.

This was actually a huge gamble.

If Su Ming's willpower slackened even slightly, or if the medicinal properties of the earth vein spiritual milk were a fraction more violent, this kid would instantly turn into a human firework, blasting a hole straight through the Star Gazing Cliff.

"Scientific cultivation, scientific cultivation... This isn't very scientific, but it sure is very cultivational..." Lin Yu muttered to himself for encouragement while frantically mobilizing his Soul Power to protect Su Ming's heart meridian, "High-pressure grouting technology is a mature process in civil engineering. There's no reason it shouldn't work on a Dantian... probably."

Just as Su Ming's consciousness was about to be drowned by the boundless pain.

A sudden change occurred.

The "border guarding true seal" that had been lying dormant deep within his Sea of Consciousness, silent ever since he brought it back to the Sect, seemed to be awakened by this familiar earth vein aura.

Hum.

At Su Ming's chest, the dark red star-shaped mark suddenly lit up.

A desolate, ancient fluctuation, carrying an aura of bloody warfare, swept out from the mark. This power was not strong, yet it carried an indescribable "ruling" force.

The earth vein spiritual milk, which had been rampaging and unruly within Su Ming's body, instantly quieted down the moment this aura appeared, as if subjects who had seen their monarch.

That violent destructive force vanished, replaced by a docile, rhythmic pulsation.

It was the breath of the earth.

Guided by this pulsation, Su Ming's body, which had been tensed to the extreme, miraculously relaxed for an instant.

"This is..."

Lin Yu's eyes widened as he looked at the halo of indigo and earthen yellow intertwining at Su Ming's chest. He couldn't help but curse, "Holy shit? This true seal has this kind of function?"

With the intervention of the "border guarding true seal," the originally extremely perilous "violent gap-filling" instantly transformed into a delicate "artistic processing."

In the inner vision world.

The amber-colored earth vein spiritual milk began to flow along the cracks on the Dantian wall in an incredibly profound trajectory.

The originally crimson, ferocious cracks were filled with the golden spiritual liquid. Under the continuous hammering of the stellar power, this liquid rapidly cooled and solidified, ultimately merging seamlessly with Su Ming's original Dantian wall.

Golden patterns spread across the Dantian, like exquisite kintsugi craftsmanship, repairing a shattered porcelain vessel to be even stronger and more imbued with Dao charm than before.

Time seemed to lose all meaning at this moment.

After an unknown length of time, the light on the seven star-patterned steel rods began to gradually dim, and the pressure within the Immortal Cave slowly subsided.

Su Ming still maintained his cross-legged posture, but his aura had undergone a world-shaking change.

The rotating vortex of Qi that was originally within his Dantian had now completely disappeared. In its place was a tranquil, mirror-like lake of liquid spiritual power.

The lake was not large, but its waters displayed a profound indigo hue, viscous like mercury. At the bottom of the lake, faint golden patterns could be seen interweaving into a net, firmly locking this spiritual power lake in place, as solid as a fortress.

This was Foundation Establishment.

The foundation of the Great Dao begins beneath one's feet.

Su Ming slowly opened his eyes.

In that instant, the originally dim Immortal Cave seemed to flash with a cold lightning bolt. Deep within his pupils, an indigo light flickered and vanished, seemingly mixed with a faint trace of golden radiance.

He lowered his head and looked at his own hands.

The bloodstains on his skin had long since dried and scabbed over. As he gently clenched his fist, the layer of scabs fell off like withered skin, revealing the skin beneath—as fair as a newborn's, yet faintly gleaming with a jade-like luster.

Without needing to deliberately mobilize it, the Spiritual Qi in the surrounding heavens and earth seemed to have found its destination, rushing towards him joyfully, entering his body through his pores. This feeling of smoothness was an experience he had never had during the Qi Refinement Stage.

"How do you feel?"

Lin Yu's voice carried some fatigue, but more than that, an unconcealable pride, "I told you my plan would work, right? What do you call this? This is called 'finding life in death,' this is called the miracle of industrial repair!"

Su Ming did not speak.

He tried moving his fingers—it hurt.

Su Ming slowly stood up. His movements were light, yet carried a composed and steady poise.

He raised his hand and gently pointed towards the Void Realm.

Without any incantation or seal-forming.

At his fingertip, a droplet of indigo water materialized out of thin air.