Chapter 159 - 159 157 Advancing to Foundation Establishment
Chapter 159: Chapter 157: Advancing to Foundation Establishment Chapter 159: Chapter 157: Advancing to Foundation Establishment Qin Feng was overjoyed upon hearing this.
The essence of Earth Milk was gentle and often used by alchemists to neutralize various Spiritual Medicines as an auxiliary material for Alchemy.
Although it was far from being a top-level heavenly resource, it was still a rare find.
Moreover, due to its gentle properties, it could be directly absorbed and refined to enhance one’s True Yuan, stabilize the meridians, and for his current situation, it was undoubtedly the most suitable treasure for cultivation and advancing through the ranks.
Li Miao Zhen led him into the cave, taking two turns, and at the end of the passage, she formed a hand seal, breaking the seal she had left behind.
As the prohibition was lifted, Qin Feng immediately felt a surge of rich Spiritual Energy rushing toward him.
Looking up into the cavern, he saw a space tens of feet in diameter.
…
The ceiling was covered with stalactites of various lengths, nourished by Spiritual Energy all year round, crystal clear and shimmering with multicolored Spirit Light, making the whole cave dazzlingly beautiful.
“This place is quite beautiful.”
Qin Feng couldn’t help but praise.
“Mhm.”
Li Miao Zhen nodded slightly, “If it weren’t for the fact that this place is situated within a Secret Realm, I would have considered turning it into a private residence.”
Qin Feng glanced at her, his yearning for the treatment of Inner Sect True Disciples growing even stronger.
Such a place rich in Spiritual Energy was merely seen as suitable for a private residence by Li Miao Zhen; he couldn’t imagine what the abodes of True Disciples were like.
After thinking it over, he said, “Perhaps Sister can arrange it in advance.
If the Sect elders really refine this Grotto Heaven, maybe you can actually claim this place.”
“Hehe, forget it, it was just a casual remark.”
Li Miao Zhen laughed lightly and pointed to a small pool in the depths of the cave, “There, that pool contains the essence of Earth Milk.
Go and cultivate on your own.
I’ll be here to protect you; you can break through without worry, and no one will disturb you.”
Qin Feng looked in the direction she was pointing.
The pool was about one zhang in size, filled with milky white liquid, and a layer of mist floated on the surface.
That was the Spiritual Energy emitted by the essence of Earth Milk; because it was so concentrated, it had formed into Spiritual Fog.
“Thank you for your kindness, Sister.
Then, I shall go and cultivate.”
Saying so, Qin Feng walked toward the pool and, to Li Miao Zhen’s astonishment, directly jumped into it.
“You…why did you jump in?”
Qin Feng was puzzled, “Didn’t Sister ask me to come and cultivate?”
“I told you to go and cultivate, but I didn’t tell you to take a bath!
You’re just advancing from the peak of Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment; a bit of the essence of Earth Milk would be enough.
Do you think you can absorb and refine the entire pool?”
“Ah?”
Qin Feng was somewhat bewildered, “I thought that using the essence of Earth Milk for cultivation meant I had to soak in the pool.
Should I get out now?”
Li Miao Zhen looked at him speechlessly and eventually waved her hand helplessly, “Fine, fine, you’re already in there, just continue cultivating inside.
This way of cultivating is indeed stronger than simply consuming it.
Hehe, originally, I was thinking of leaving this place for disciples who come in later, to help them use the essence of Earth Milk here to advance.
With what you’ve done, won’t the future disciples be drinking your bathwater?”
Qin Feng’s expression was awkward, feeling a bit embarrassed inside.
He had thought utilizing the essence of Earth Milk for cultivation was like the medicinal baths of the past, where one immersed their entire body.
Only now did he realize his lack of knowledge had caused him to become a laughingstock.
He gave a light cough to suppress the embarrassment in his heart.
The essence of Earth Milk was pure and gentle, and it was not going to be unusable just because he went in once.
After calming his spirit, he sat cross-legged in the pool, closed his eyes, began circulating his Cultivation Technique, and started cultivating.
Li Miao Zhen was right; cultivating while sitting in the pool of Earth Milk essence truly had a better effect.
He could clearly feel streams of gentle Spiritual Power entering his body through the pores, and although this Spiritual Power was not as pure as the energy refined by the Demon Refining Pot, it contained a moist and nurturing quality that the energy in the pot lacked.
The nurturing energy constantly moistened his Physical Body and meridians, making his body more robust and the flexibility of his meridians stronger, able to withstand even more violent impacts of True Yuan.
He circulated his Cultivation Technique over and over again, the True Yuan that he had thought to be already perfected became even purer and more substantial with the infusion of the Earth Milk essence.
The vaporized True Yuan grew denser, almost to the point of seeming to drip out like water.
As he continued to practice his technique, the True Yuan within his Dantian also spun and compressed wildly.
This consumption was immense, and the strain on the Dantian and meridians was equally substantial.
Under such strenuous circulation, he could not hold on for long.
If he couldn’t advance to the Foundation Establishment within three hundred and sixty circulations, he would have to stop immediately to repair the damage to his Dantian and meridians caused by the overloading circulations.
Although many cultivators at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm prepare a plethora of Elixir Pills and spend many days in seclusion when advancing to Foundation Establishment, making it seem like a grand affair, no matter how long the seclusion, they are merely preparing for that last moment of advancement.
However, this step stumps the vast majority of cultivators at the Qi Refining Realm.
Due to various limitations, the lack of resources, or insufficient strength of their meridians, few can withstand such long and rapid circulation.
Some, driven by desperation, push themselves too hard, leading to their meridians shattering and their bodies exploding, resulting in death—a not uncommon sight.
Ordinary cultivators at the Qi Refining Realm have limits to their daily cultivation time; they can’t meditate and refine Qi all day long.
Indeed, if they continuously absorbed Spiritual Energy for many days, the first thing that would give out would be their meridians and Dantian.
Even if one can endure it, the True Yuan they cultivate without meticulous refinement will contain many impurities and lack purity.
This is why many cultivators at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm linger in that stage for so long, only beginning to prepare for advancement after many years of polishing.
However, while Qin Feng was cultivating, the Demon Refining Pot provided him with a great amount of pure Spiritual Energy, invisibly saving him considerable time in refinement.
Therefore, his cultivation speed was fast, yet his True Yuan remained very pure.
Now that he intended to advance, with the inexhaustible supply of Earth Milk Essence, he naturally didn’t need to go into seclusion for as long.
Moreover, cultivating in the pool of Earth Milk Essence was even more effective than most elixir pills that assisted with Foundation Establishment.
Finally, as he ran his cultivation technique fervently, the foggy mist in his Dantian became increasingly dense, until with a thunderous rumble, it condensed into a droplet of True Yuan.
Liquification of the True Yuan was one of the signs of achieving Foundation Establishment.
Next, he not only needed to convert all his fog-like True Yuan into liquid form, but also to use this True Yuan to nourish his physical body, bones, viscera, and to supplement his Divine Soul.
After repeated refinement and nourishment, he could finally establish a true Daoist Foundation.
This was a long process, with the specific timeframe depending on the individual.
The whole realm of Foundation Establishment was about laying the groundwork for future cultivation.
Before ancient times, cultivation realms were not divided as finely as they are now.
Foundation Establishment was just that, the foundation for constructing the Taoist body.
Only if the foundation was solid enough could one hope to achieve higher realms in the future.
Should one be hasty during Foundation Establishment, treating it merely as one cultivation realm among others, and focusing solely on hastening cultivation speed, they would eventually feel the effects of a shaky foundation as their cultivation level rose.
This would limit the heights they could reach in the future.
Although the True Yuan in his body had liquefied, this also left his once full Dantian feeling empty.
He needed a large amount of Spiritual Power to fill it; thus, he remained soaked in the Earth Milk Essence pool.
Under the nourishment of a vast amount of Earth Milk Essence, the True Yuan within his body visibly grew.
It went from a few sparse droplets of liquefied True Yuan to a pigeon egg-sized mass, until a feeling of distension and pain transmitted from his meridians, prompting him to slow down his actions.
But he didn’t stop cultivating completely.
Instead, he absorbed and refined gradually.
In secret, he directed some of the Earth Milk Essence into the Demon Refining Pot, aiding the Fire Ape and Spiritual Vulture in healing their internal injuries, and he also set aside some for his other Spiritual Beasts.
As the Iron Armor Rhinoceros was too large and would not greatly benefit from eating just a few, he didn’t waste the Earth Milk Essence on it.
He gave most of the Earth Milk Essence he collected into the Demon Refining Pot to the Swallowing Sky Toad and Ruyi Golden Snake, as these two were the Spiritual Beasts he valued most.
Especially the Ruyi Golden Snake, his Lifebound Spiritual Beast, naturally, the stronger it was the better.
He didn’t mind piling all his treasures onto it.
It was just a pity that it was too small now, even if soaked in the pool of Earth Milk Essence, it could not absorb much.
The real glutton was the Swallowing Sky Toad; a good part of the Earth Milk Essence Qin Feng collected into the Demon Refining Pot ended up in its stomach.
Although it had not yet reached Foundation Establishment due to its vast need for internal space, despite absorbing so many treasures, it had already reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm.
Qin Feng felt that feeding the Swallowing Sky Toad a few more Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts should enable it to advance.
In fact, the Swallowing Sky Toad’s true strength would come in the later stage when it understood the methods of utilizing the Principle of the Space Dao.
Even if it hadn’t comprehended the Dao Principle in the Demon Core Realm, it could already begin to employ Space Power, unmatched by ordinary Demon Core Realm Demon Beasts.
After a while, Qin Feng opened his eyes.
Spirit Light flickered within them, subsiding only after several moments.
Feeling the strength of his physical body and True Yuan, far stronger than before, happiness surged within Qin Feng.
He finally attained Foundation Establishment!
Once, many cultivators aimed for Foundation Establishment as their objective, and cultivators from small families like the Qin Family were no exception.
By cultivating to the Foundation Establishment Realm, one could enjoy a lifespan of two hundred years and become the pillar of their family.
It wasn’t that they didn’t aspire to cultivate to higher realms; it was simply that cultivation was too difficult.
Over ninety percent of cultivators were unable to pass Foundation Establishment, and most of those who cultivated to the Foundation Establishment Realm managed to fashion a Daoist body after decades to a century of effort that was only average.
Without a large number of precious resources to assist their cultivation, it was difficult for them to cultivate their Daoist body to perfection, hence unable to advance to the Golden Core.
If not for the aid of the Demon Refining Pot in his cultivation, with his level of talent, Qin Feng would’ve done well to have reached the Qi Refining Middle Stage by now.
Then he would have been like most Qi Refining Realm cultivators, slowly progressing to the Qi Refining Late Stage after ten or twenty years of cultivation, and eventually refining the True Yuan bit by bit until he had the chance to attempt Foundation Establishment, likely not until he was in his thirties or forties.
But chances come as they do.
With the Demon Refining Pot, he was destined to stand out from ordinary cultivators; otherwise, such a treasure would be greatly undervalued.
With a splash, Qin Feng leaped from the Earth Milk Essence pool.
In midair, he gracefully rotated, and the Earth Milk Essence he stirred up returned neatly to the pool under the binding of his True Yuan without spilling a drop.
Landing, his Qingluo Robe was clean and dry, showing no sign of being drenched.
Li Miao Zhen studied him for a moment and nodded in appreciation, “Not bad, the foundation is stable, the True Yuan is profound.
Keep cultivating hard, making your foundation even stronger, and do not rush to advance.”
Qin Feng quickly made a respectful gesture, “Thank you, Senior Sister, for the guidance.
If it weren’t for Senior Sister bringing me to such a precious place, I’m afraid my Foundation Establishment would have been delayed substantially.”
“It’s what you did before that was of great benefit to the Sect, and you established such meritorious service.
Bringing you here to cultivate is nothing much; consider it a small reward,” Li Miao Zhen replied.
Glancing at the pool of Earth Milk Essence, which was now more than half a foot lower, she commented with amusement, “I just didn’t expect you to consume so much Earth Milk Essence.
If everyone cultivated like you, I’m afraid this pool of Underground Palace’s essence wouldn’t withstand a few disciples’ consumption and would be drained.”
Qin Feng felt a bit embarrassed, “Uh…
mainly, I have several Spiritual Beasts that consume a lot of resources, which is quite laughable to Senior Sister.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Li Miao Zhen waved her hand dismissively and said, “This place is of no use to me; it was supposed to be used by you and other disciples who are about to advance.
If you consume a little more, it’s not a problem.
Let’s go, take me to see the Junior Sisters at Creation Peak.
I’ve long heard of the Confusing God Flower’s reputation; I would’ve never thought I’d actually have a chance to see such a rare treasure.”