Chapter 115: The Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment

Qin Ming raised his hand, activating the second-tier superior defensive formation with full force.

Then, he closed his eyes and entered deep meditation.

His thoughts drifted, recalling the scenes of his past struggles—laboring tirelessly before crossing over, barely surviving in the slums after arrival, exploited and oppressed as a spiritual farmer under the Lingyu Sect, living on the edge of despair, fearful and helpless amid a harsh environment, cautious as if treading on thin ice, encountering his first encounter with cultivators who preyed on others.

Later, he began planting spirit herbs and studying alchemy.

He met one person after another, each encounter vivid in his mind—some filled with hatred, others with friendship.

Now, all of these seemed like fleeting clouds of the past.

Foundation Establishment, or "Building the Base," is the first major milestone on the long path of cultivation.

Countless cultivators spend their entire lives striving with all their might, yet fail to cross this crucial hurdle.

Qin Ming opened his eyes; they were clear and bright like a radiant moon, and a powerful conviction arose within him.

After accumulating so much over time, his foundation was now incredibly profound.

Externally, he benefited from a second-tier middle-grade Spirit Island's excellent spiritual vein environment, providing ample spiritual energy needed for foundation establishment.

In his hand was the foundation-establishing spiritual artifact "Heavenly Fire Essence," which could increase the success rate by another twenty percent.

Moreover, he had refined the rare and precious "Supreme Foundation Establishment Pill," a treasure seldom seen in the cultivation world.

Internally, he had met all the requirements to break through the three major barriers of foundation establishment for cultivators.

The first barrier: the Vital Energy barrier.

When striking foundation establishment, the body's qi and blood must meet certain conditions to endure the influx of celestial spiritual energy.

The body must be intact, with abundant qi and blood; any concealed injuries, hidden illnesses, or deficiencies would cause the spiritual energy to flood back like a dam breaking at an ant’s nest, unable to withstand the pressure, leading to catastrophic failure.

Thus, foundation establishment is ideally achieved before the age of sixty; attempting it in old age, when qi and blood have deteriorated, greatly increases the risk of spiritual energy backlash, resulting in uncontrollable magical power surges, destroyed meridians, and death.

Qin Ming had already established his physical foundation, and his qi and blood had been refined to the level of innate fierce energy, so he had no worries in this regard.

The second barrier: the Mana barrier.

During the Qi Refining stage, mana exists in a mist-like state; in the Foundation Establishment stage, it condenses into a liquid state.

The transition from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment involves condensing the mist-like mana into liquid form.

The purer and more abundant the mana, the easier it is to complete this transformation.

Overconsumption of pills during Qi Refining can lead to accumulated pill toxins or use of inferior grade pills, resulting in impure mana.

Fortunately, although Qin Ming had taken many mana-enhancing pills previously, after switching to the "Ancient Tree Longevity Technique," his mana had been repeatedly purified and refined, becoming extraordinarily pure, with reserves comparable to an early Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He had also avoided using any grade-breaking pills or marrow-washing pills, instead relying on cultivation techniques during his breakthrough from late Qi Refining.

The third barrier: the Spirit barrier.

Qin Ming’s spirit had already fully transformed into a divine consciousness during Qi Refining, several times stronger than ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The birth of divine consciousness facilitates controlling the mana within the dantian’s qi sea, compressing it into liquid state.

This was Qin Ming’s greatest advantage.

He had further cultivated a postnatal spiritual body—the Supreme Wood Body—whose efficiency in converting external spiritual energy rivaled that of superior spiritual roots.

Now, Qin Ming’s vitality, spirit, and energy were nearly perfect in all three aspects.

“If I don’t succeed in foundation establishment now, it would be an affront to justice itself!” Qin Ming’s expression was resolute as he immediately took out a delicate porcelain bottle.

Tilting it, he revealed a supreme foundation establishment pill emitting a remarkable medicinal aura, etched with eight ethereal patterns.

Without hesitation, he swallowed it in one gulp.

Then, he tilted his head back and drank the "Heavenly Fire Essence," the foundation-establishing spiritual artifact.

With these two rare treasures alone, his success rate had risen to sixty percent.

Exhaling deeply, Qin Ming brimmed with confidence and began to run the "Ancient Tree Longevity Technique," charging with all his might toward the peak!

The surrounding spiritual energy began converging, forming a vast vortex above Qin Ming’s head.

In truth, for cultivators with extraordinary talent, foundation establishment pills were not essential.

For example, cultivators with heavenly spiritual roots could easily build their foundation without external aid.

Those with earthly spiritual roots also had a considerable chance of success without taking foundation pills.

The foundation pill was a blessing for ordinary cultivators like Qin Ming.

Those with inferior spiritual roots had scarcely any chance to break through on their own.

The primary effect of the foundation establishment pill was to greatly enhance a cultivator’s efficiency in converting spiritual energy through their spiritual roots during breakthrough, further compressing mana.

It also protected their meridians.

Even if the first breakthrough attempt failed, as long as the meridians remained unharmed, the cultivator could try again.

Without the pill’s protection, the spiritual energy influx could damage meridians, causing hidden illnesses or even death, making the risk of failure extremely high.

Therefore, even geniuses preparing to break through foundation establishment would ready such pills to minimize risk at all costs.

Half an incense stick’s time passed.

Boom!

The vortex of spiritual energy in the sky expanded once more; Qin Ming seemed to stand at the center of a spiritual storm.

At this moment, even the second-tier superior formation could not conceal such a phenomenon.

...

Under the Moonwatch Island, the farming couple Wu Jiang and Mu Ruyin, attracted by the grand celestial spectacle, looked up in shock toward the main peak.

“This…”

“Such a spiritual energy vortex phenomenon.”

“Fellow Daoist Qin is attempting foundation establishment!”

“It seems he’s reached the most critical moment.”

Wu Jiang’s expression was full of awe, his heart in turmoil.

Mu Ruyin covered her mouth in astonishment, her eyes wide, speechless for a time.

In the Moonwatch Lake, the Xuan Shui Crocodile, who shared a bond with Qin Ming, seemed to sense its master was breaking through a major realm.

It hurriedly shook its head and rushed up to the Spirit Island, guarding outside the formation to protect Qin Ming.

Fortunately, Moonwatch Island lay in the far north of the Lingqi Archipelago, seldom frequented by people.

No one noticed the island’s astonishing celestial phenomena.

Rumble!

Vast spiritual energy surged and poured down like mountain collapses and tidal waves.

No matter how the roaring waves battered him, Qin Ming’s body stood unmoved.

A cyan rune lit up on his brow.

Instantly, it transformed into a massive phantom image identical to Qin Ming, floating behind him.

With the appearance of the cyan phantom, the efficiency of converting spiritual energy through Qin Ming’s spiritual root multiplied several times, continuously transforming into cyan mist-like mana.

The cyan mist mana flowed like rivers merging into a vast lake, unceasing.

It grew denser and grander.

At this moment, a flash of insight crossed Qin Ming’s mind.

Suddenly inspired, his divine consciousness sank above his dantian’s qi sea, beginning to manipulate and compress his mana.

Gradually,

Drip, drip!

Drops of cyan liquid mana fell like gentle spring rain.

At his dantian, they gathered into a clear pool of cyan liquid mana.

As the "Ancient Tree Longevity Technique" circulated through his meridians, the liquid mana coursed through, repeatedly cleansing blockages.

This was the marrow-stripping process that facilitated breakthrough to the foundation establishment stage.

Several days passed.

The spiritual energy vortex dispersed gradually.

A blush of rosy clouds rose, casting a glow over Moonwatch Island.

In the spirit field beneath the main peak,

A surge of foundation establishment spiritual pressure emerged, accompanied by the vibrant life force of ancient wood in spring.

Qin Ming, like a great ancient tree, resonated with his life plant, the Everlasting Vine, as if traveling through the river of time, leaving no trace of aging.

From this moment on,

Qin Ming officially stepped onto the path of true cultivation.

His lifespan doubled once more.

From over two hundred and ten years to more than four hundred and twenty years.

More than twice that of an ordinary foundation establishment cultivator.

Inside Qin Ming’s body, the abundant liquid mana cultivated through the "Ancient Tree Longevity Technique" far exceeded that of his peers, comparable to a mid-stage foundation establishment cultivator.

Furthermore,

His divine consciousness expanded from tens of zhang to several times that, covering an area of one li radius.

After advancing to foundation establishment, he quickly concealed his mana aura.

The technique he practiced possessed strong concealing effects.

When Qin Ming concealed his aura, he seemed like a withered piece of wood; upon scanning with divine consciousness, no precise cultivation level could be discerned.

He could nearly hide an entire major realm.

As long as he avoided encounters with the Golden Core Patriarch or deliberate probing, no suspicions would arise.

...

Qin Ming waved his hand, gathering the items on the ground.

He restored the second-tier formation to normal levels.

Opening the formation, he stepped out.

“Congratulations, Daoist Qin, on your foundation establishment!”

“No, no! It should be Senior Qin!” Wu Jiang and Mu Ruyin cautiously congratulated him.

The cultivation world was strictly hierarchical; even though they were close, they dared not speak casually without Qin Ming’s consent.

Until this moment, both were still in a state of disbelief.

Their usually inconspicuous island master had suddenly leapt forward, breaking through to become a great foundation establishment cultivator.

However, Wu Jiang’s sharp mind had long foreseen this day.

Others looked down on Qin Ming’s four-element pseudo-spiritual root, but Wu Jiang did not.

Having lived alongside Qin Ming on the island for so many years, Wu Jiang had an inexplicable intuition that Qin Ming would one day transform like a dragon.

He just hadn’t expected it to come so soon.

“Heh, Daoist Wu, no need to be so formal.”

“Just call me Daoist friend.”

Having broken through to foundation establishment and greatly increased his strength, Qin Ming was in exceptionally good spirits.

He then took out a bottle of spirit pills and tossed it to the Wu couple.

“Consider this a token of good luck. You’ve watched over the Spirit Island all these years, running here and there. This is a bit of a reward.”

Wu Jiang opened the porcelain bottle, his face lighting up with joy.

He and Mu Ruyin both bowed deeply to Qin Ming.

“Thank you, Daoist Qin, for the pill!”

“In the future, if Daoist Qin has any orders, I will obey without question!”

Wu Jiang, ever clever, recognized that this was a golden opportunity to show loyalty.

“If you say so, Daoist Wu. I won’t ask you to risk life and limb,” Qin Ming said, then shifted tone, fixing the couple with a cold gaze.

“Also, you two must keep my foundation establishment breakthrough a secret for now.”

Wu Jiang quickly sobered from his joy, nodding earnestly.

“Yes, yes! Daoist Qin, rest assured, we will comply.”

Qin Ming nodded in satisfaction.

He was not afraid of news about his breakthrough spreading, but wished to avoid unnecessary troubles.

Now, even facing ordinary mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, he was confident of victory.

No longer would he be timid and cautious as before.

Nonetheless, discretion was always wise.

After all, in the Wei Kingdom’s cultivation world, cultivators like Huangfu Qi and Lin Zixiao, both Foundation Establishment disciples, were still beyond his reach.

Moreover, Lin Zixiao bore a deadly grudge against him.

He still had to bide his time on Moonwatch Island, farming and developing steadily.

One day, he believed he would outlast and overcome them all.

Grateful thanks to the esteemed benefactor 160719153609810 for the generous 500 coin reward!