Cultivating Immortality in a World of Chaos

Chapter 6: The Pursuit of Foundation Establishment

“A Foundation Establishment Pill!”

Fang Xi’s face also reflected longing, but as he watched the crowd growing increasingly frenzied, rushing to purchase paper talismans and magical artifacts before leaving the market, his heart turned icy.

Entering an arcane realm for opportunities was not just about facing its inherent dangers; one must also contend with fellow cultivators and potential raiders.

The allure of Foundation Establishment could test even bonds of family, friendship, or master-disciple relationships, often proving them fragile under such pressure!

Thus, Fang Xi avoided the bustling crowd and slowly made his way back to his spirit field, simultaneously pondering the matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill!

Achieving Foundation Establishment is arduous. Mastering foundational cultivation techniques to perfection by age sixty is merely the basic requirement.

Beyond that lie three major hurdles:

First, the Blood and Qi Barrier! During Foundation Establishment, a cultivator’s physique must be robust, their blood and qi vigorous, without any latent injuries. It is widely believed in the cultivation world that after reaching sixty years old, even if a cultivator achieves mastery at the peak of Qi Refinement, they struggle with Foundation Establishment due to declining blood and qi vitality.

Secondly, there’s the Magical Energy Barrier, requiring ample reserves of magical energy. Insufficient power makes it challenging to meet the demand of condensing magical energy into liquid form.

Lastly, the birth of Divine Sense is essential!

Qi Refinement cultivators possess only spiritual awareness, which can be used for introspection and reading jade slips, but lacks external application capabilities.

In contrast, Foundation Establishment cultivators develop divine sense, enabling them to perceive surroundings over several dozen meters, greatly enhancing both combat tactics and cultivation practices.

Any medicinal pills or items aiding these three stages could be considered Foundation Establishment spirit items!

“In ancient times, cultivators seeking Foundation Establishment would individually search for suitable spirit items to overcome each barrier. For instance, using elemental fiendish energies to temper their physical bodies, along with blood and qi-enhancing pills, could help breach the first checkpoint… Similarly, for the magical energy stage, specific techniques were employed. As for divine sense, it’s rumored that rare treasures like Pure Heart Lotus and Warm Jade Hearts were highly effective…”

“However, such heavenly spirit items are exceedingly scarce, and many of them are even valuable for Core Formation cultivators, making it wasteful to use them solely for Foundation Establishment…”

“Fortunately, a millennium ago, the renowned Pill Dao grandmaster True Monarch Shuntong developed the ‘Foundation Establishment Pill’ formula. This pill stabilizes blood, qi, and qi passageways while dramatically increasing magical energy and fostering divine sense. With just one pill, the chances of successful Foundation Establishment increase by thirty percent, and even if the attempt fails, it prevents fatal damage to the cultivator’s meridians…”

“It’s crucial to note that even for ancient cultivators, achieving Foundation Establishment was akin to facing nine deaths for one chance at survival. Without those extraordinary spirit items, ordinary ones typically only offered a modest twenty to thirty percent boost in success probability…”

“True Monarch Shuntong has truly bestowed immense benefits upon the cultivation world for millennia, serving as a prime example of surpassing the ancients… Although calling someone from a thousand years ago ‘modern’ does sound somewhat odd…”

Fang Xi’s lips twitched slightly, but then he recalled that Yuan Soul True Monarchs were said to live over a thousand years, making it reasonable.

Considering they might still be alive, how could they not be considered modern?

Amidst the bamboo grove,

emerald-like leaves fluttered down, carefully collected by Fang Xi.

The leaves of Jade Bamboo had no significant use; they were merely attractive, resembling jade closely. Typically, spirit farmers would discard them outright.

However, Fang Xi could bring these to the Great Liang World, where they’d be more valuable than gold leaf.

After all, even exchanging for mundane silver or gold at the market required spirit crystals!

He continued inspecting his spirit fields and approached a vibrant green jade bamboo stalk, striking it with a single palm.

Snap!

A branch fell promptly, and as he peeled back the bamboo skin with both hands, crisp grains of spirit rice emerged inside!

This Jade Bamboo Rice grew within the bamboo tubes, harvested after winter dormancy and gathered in spring, currently still quite tender.

Fang Xi picked up a few grains of spirit rice, placed them in his mouth, and began chewing like an experienced old farmer, occasionally nodding. “Sweet upon tasting, abundant spiritual energy, free from insect damage. Come next spring, it should easily merit a ‘good’ rating.”

This was the foundation of his livelihood, not something to be taken lightly.

After completing his inspection of the spirit fields, Fang Xi suddenly felt inspired. Taking a deep breath, he unleashed a series of rapid palm strikes.

Bang! Bang!

In the next instant, crisp sounds echoed through the air.

Amidst the snowy landscape, only palm shadows danced rapidly.

Suddenly, Fang Xi shifted from palms to kicks, his movements ghostly swift. Like a serpent slithering over pristine snow, he gracefully maneuvered towards a pine tree.

Crack!

His right foot arced high, then descended with boneless fluidity, akin to a striking snake.

The bark of the pine tree cracked, sending splinters flying as a deep whip-like mark appeared on its surface.

“So this is…the power of blood and qi?”

After a prolonged moment, Fang Xi stopped, exhaling a large puff of white breath.

Driven by impulse amidst the falling snow, he had practiced martial arts and unexpectedly gained insight into controlling his body’s blood and qi flow.

This marked his entry into Great Liang’s Qi and Blood martial arts!

With persistence, he could fully master it and reach the first transformation stage of blood and qi control!

“I’m not inherently gifted in martial arts, yet I effortlessly harnessed my blood and qi just now…” Fang Xi murmured, his eyes slightly gleaming. “It seems…in a world with abundant spiritual energy, progress in martial training accelerates!”

He gazed at his clenched fist, momentarily lost in thought, recalling the sensation of controlling his blood and qi moments ago.

“According to Master Mu… beyond the Three Transformations of Blood and Qi, there exist even stronger realms, comparable to those achieved by dojo masters… At the level of a dojo master, one can fully condense their blood and qi, remaining immovable as a mountain. In daily life, they appear ordinary, but with a single movement, they unleash power akin to demons or gods. With such control, despite reaching old age, their blood and qi do not diminish in the slightest, only dispersing upon death…”

‘Doesn’t this mean…’

Fang Xi’s eyes gradually lit up. “If I attain the dojo master’s realm, my blood and qi will be locked, unaffected until my demise… Thus, I wouldn’t need to fear the hurdle of achieving full Qi Refinement before sixty?”

“In other words, even if I attempt Foundation Establishment at seventy, eighty, or even ninety years old, insufficient blood and qi won’t hinder me. At least, that aspect would no longer pose a problem.”

“This mastery of Qi and Blood martial arts is practically equivalent to having a third of a Foundation Establishment Pill!”

“As expected, harnessing resources from two worlds, exchanging what’s lacking, and complementing strengths and weaknesses, just by playing it safe and quietly developing, I can surely grow stronger!”

A subtle smile tugged at Fang Xi’s lips.

Since his transmigration, he had never felt such unwavering confidence about his future!

In the Shack Area, Fang Xi was taken aback by the chaotic scene unfolding around him.

Even Old Man Mai solemnly produced a slightly damaged low-grade magical artifact - a flying sword - and stepped out of his home.

“Old Man Mai, where are you heading?” Fang Xi couldn’t resist asking.

“To Violet Serenity Mountain, of course!” Old Man Mai grinned, revealing gaps between his yellowed teeth, with a hint of ferocity in his smile. “At my age, one must take chances in cultivation… You know, when I was young, I had an opportunity but hesitated. Now, every night, regret gnaws at me like a hundred claws tearing at my heart…”

Hearing this, Fang Xi realized there was no point in trying to dissuade him; the old man had already made up his mind firmly.

Despite his reservations, Fang Xi added, “Well then, may you succeed in reaching Foundation Establishment…”

Considering Old Man Mai’s visibly weak constitution, Fang Xi genuinely doubted his chances.

“Haha… I’ve long since given up on reaching Foundation Establishment myself, but in the mortal realm, I have a clever little grandson, unlike me…”

With a wave of his hand, Old Man Mai departed casually.

As he left, it seemed he wanted to create a favorable connection for his grandson’s future.

“Old Man Mai…” Fang Xi exhaled a white breath, watching as snowflakes covered the departing footprints.

He didn’t know what opportunity Old Man Mai had missed in his youth, but clearly, regret had haunted him all these years.

Now, if he didn’t seize this chance, life would truly become unbearable for him.

‘If I hadn’t obtained my golden finger, would I still go?’ Fang Xi stood at the doorway, like a statue, silently questioning himself.

Living an ordinary life at the bottom of the cultivation world versus striving for a slim chance at Foundation Establishment and subsequently rising above in that same world - the choice didn’t seem difficult.

‘No matter what, I’ll spend the next few days practicing behind closed doors.’

Sighing, he returned home and shut the door behind him.

Three days later.

In the Great Liang World.

Fang Manor.

“Ha!”

Fang Xi, dressed in close-fitting training attire with his muscular arms bare, flexed as veins bulged like wriggling worms beneath his skin.

“Baiyun Palm!”

With a sudden shout, he unleashed a rapid sequence of palm strikes on the wooden post before him.

Thud! Thud!

After a series of dull impacts, faint marks appeared on the post.

Mu Piaomiao stood nearby, watching with astonishment in her beautiful eyes. “Your progress… is remarkably fast!”

“Master Mu, how does my palm technique look?” After completing his set, Yue Gui promptly approached to wipe Fang Xi’s sweat; he tossed the handkerchief aside casually while asking.

Mu Piaomiao took a deep breath. “Fang-gongzi, your innate talent far exceeds my expectations. You must already be intermittently sensing your blood and qi, right? Within about a month, mastering your blood and qi should pose no issue at all, allowing you to enter the first transformation stage.”

“That’s excellent news.” Fang Xi smiled.

He had confirmed that cultivating Qi and Blood martial arts in the southern wilderness’s cultivation world showed significantly greater progress, with a speed at least three to four times faster than here!

“It might be due to the difference in spiritual energy concentration between the two realms,” Fang Xi speculated internally.

In Fang Xi’s mind, a vague plan was already taking shape.

“Once you achieve the first transformation of blood and qi, Fang-gongzi, you’ll become a formal disciple of the Baiyun Dojo. This will grant you access to cultivation techniques for second and third transformations, along with support through secret medicinal remedies,” Mu Piaomiao stated solemnly.

“Many thanks, Master Mu.” Fang Xi nodded and instructed Yue Gui to present a gift.

“This is… far too valuable, isn’t it?” Mu Piaomiao looked at the jade piece shaped like a bamboo leaf, his eyes twitching slightly.

Such exquisite jade could easily be worth several tens of silver taels, more than what most middle-class families in Blackstone City would spend in a year!

Even Mu Piaomiao couldn’t help but think this disciple was thoughtful, realizing that he genuinely seemed willing to pay generously when needed.

“I hope Master finds it acceptable.”

Fang Xi smiled brightly. After all, it was just a casually picked leaf, perfect for boosting goodwill.

Later in the afternoon, when She Lei arrived, Fang Xi repeated the gesture similarly. However, as She Lei took hold of the vibrant green bamboo leaf, Fang Xi detected a hint of greed and malice in his eyes.

As a cultivator, Fang Xi’s senses were sharper than those of ordinary people. The martial artist, believing he had hidden his true nature well, found himself exposed effortlessly before Fang Xi.