Third-Rank Foundation Establishment
Yang Haoyu sat at the head of the table, looking down at the many talented members of the Lineage. She was deeply gratified.
Back then, she and her four siblings had followed their father, Yang Canglang, in laying the foundations of their enterprise on Purple Moon Mountain. Two hundred years had passed, and generation after generation of clansmen had multiplied and prospered, making the Lineage ever stronger.
Although a setback eleven years ago had dealt the Lineage a devastating blow and left two Foundation Establishment Cultivators dead in battle, its roots remained intact, and its prospects were still bright.
"Oh, right, Dang Mo, have any new Tier 2 members appeared among the Purple Moon Wolves?"
"No, but several First-Tier Superior-Grade Purple Moon Wolves are on the verge of breaking through. I'd like the Lineage to allocate fifty thousand Spirit Stones' worth of resources to buy demonic cores, spirit medicines, and other Spirit Items to help them break through."
"I'll give you eighty thousand Spirit Stones. The Purple Moon Wolf Clan shares weal and woe with our Yang Household. Whenever the Yang Household gets a share, we can't forget them. If the Purple Moon Wolf Clan needs anything in the future, just follow the Lineage rules. There's no need to make a special report."
Yang Haoyu gave him careful instructions, her words showing just how much importance she attached to the Purple Moon Wolf Clan. None of the other elders objected, however.
The Yang Household's Purple Moon Wolves were unlike the guardian spirit beasts of other households. The Yangs genuinely treated the Purple Moon Wolves as members of the Lineage. Not only were all their contracts equal Blood Contracts, but their usual supply of resources had never run short.
And what was given and what was received had always been equal. The Purple Moon Wolves repaid the Yang Household with loyalty and dependability as solid as iron.
"This nephew will carry out your orders!"
Yang Dangmo sat down, his face alight with joy.
Afterward, under Yang Haoyu's direction, the elders made adjustments concerning the Yang Household's development, dealing with matters large and small, inside and out.
They addressed past shortcomings and rewarded the managers of the major shops that were doing well. Yang Tianjiu received particular praise, making Ninth Granduncle Yang Dangkai and Tenth Uncle Yang Qiongqi glow with pride and bringing them great honor.
Two hours later, the Lineage meeting ended, and the elders departed one after another. Yang Tianyou also returned home.
Since he had no Second-Rank Communication Talisman, Yang Tianyou had to write a letter and tie it to a spirit pigeon's leg. It was for his good friend Jinge.
First, he thanked him for introducing him to the Gold and Silver Alliance. Second, he invited him to visit Purple Moon Mountain and informed him that he had been transferred away from Yellowstone Market.
After the spirit pigeon flew off, Yang Tianyou returned to his room and began taking stock of his current possessions.
He picked up his Storage Bag and gave it a gentle shake, scattering numerous Spirit Items across the floor.
At present, Yang Tianyou possessed:
One Second-Rank Low-Grade Law Artifact, the Heaven-One Talisman Water Bottle.
Four First-Tier Superior-Grade Law Artifacts: the Twin Blades, the Sky-Piercing Blade, the Dragon-Pattern Shield, and the Sky-Treading Boots.
Nearly ten First-Tier Superior-Grade talismans, including Golden Sword Talismans, Golden Shield Talismans, Blazing Gold Talismans, and Communication Talismans.
Other First-Tier Superior-Grade Spirit Items: one Three-Origin Spirit Gathering Formation, five bottles of Savage Wilderness Giant Elephant Essence Blood, seven Qi-Nourishing Pills, one Dark Moon Netherwolf Inner Core, one Purple Moon Wolf Legacy Core, two bottles of Restoration Pills, two bottles of Qi-Replenishing Pills, as well as Spirit Materials and medicines such as Heavenly Wolf Flower and Crystal of Chilling Edge.
Besides these high-grade Spirit Items, Yang Tianyou had even more First-Tier Middle-Grade and Low-Grade Spirit Items. Most were no longer of much use to him, however, so he planned to contribute them to the Lineage in exchange for contribution points.
Although he was now first in the Lineage's succession order and did not need to worry about resources before Foundation Establishment, his parents received no such treatment.
By his reckoning, Yang Qiongchu and Duan Hongyu were already fifty. Both had four Spirit Roots, and the most they could achieve in this life was the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement—and that was only if they had ample resources.
When Qi Refining cultivators attempted Foundation Establishment before the age of sixty, their physical condition generally did not become a hindrance.
But after sixty, a Qi Refining cultivator's physical condition would decline rapidly. After ninety, without a great fortuitous opportunity, there was almost no hope of breaking through.
Qi Refining cultivators had a lifespan of one hundred and twenty years, while Foundation Establishment Cultivators gained another hundred years. If his parents could break through to Foundation Establishment, they could spend another hundred years with him.
So he would save up more contribution points and exchange them for two Foundation Establishment Pills for his parents when the time came. With his own additional support, if one attempt failed, they could try twice. Yang Tianyou had forty years to work at it, and he would surely be able to help his parents break through.
Besides those things, Yang Tianyou had also obtained two First-Tier Superior-Grade Law Artifacts and seven First-Tier Middle-Grade Law Artifacts from the Zhao Household's Affiliated Cultivators he had killed earlier, along with some pills, spirit medicines, Spirit Gold, and other items, as well as over seven hundred Spirit Stones.
As for the Yang Household's Purple Moon Pavilion goods those people had stolen, Yang Tianyou had already handed them over to the Lineage.
Counting those seven hundred-odd Spirit Stones and the ones left over from the auction, Yang Tianyou had over a thousand Spirit Stones, close to two thousand, in his possession.
Being first in the succession order only meant that the Lineage would provide the resources for his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. But Yang Tianyou was also a Talisman Maker, and if he wanted to improve his Talisman Crafting grade, even with the aid of his Great White Gold Eyes and the Jade Register Heavenly Book, he would need a great deal of blank talisman paper and spirit ink to practice with.
He would have to pay for all of that himself, so this amount of Spirit Stones was still far from enough.
After some thought, Yang Tianyou decided to sell the two confiscated First-Tier Superior-Grade Law Artifacts to the Lineage as well, exchanging them for contribution points. He would then use those points to buy materials from the Lineage and make blank talisman paper and spirit ink, thereby improving his Talisman Crafting skills.
Lastly, there was the crucial question of his own cultivation. Yang Tianyou took a black-covered book from his Storage Bag. On its cover were the words, "The Great Dao of Immortal Cultivation: Foundation Establishment!"
Yang Tianyou opened the book and read it carefully. An hour later, he put it away thoughtfully. "So there are differences in Foundation Establishment too!"
According to The Great Dao of Immortal Cultivation: Foundation Establishment, Foundation Establishment was the beginning of the Immortal Dao. Strictly speaking, it was the realm where the path of immortal cultivation truly began.
If immortal cultivation was like building a house, then Foundation Establishment was the process of laying its foundation. The Qi Refining realm before it was merely the gathering of materials.
Of course, the Qi Refining realm was also indispensable. Without materials, there was no way to build a house.
And a foundation naturally had to be as sturdy as possible. Only a sufficiently strong and stable foundation could bear the pressure from above and allow one to travel farther on the immortal path.
How, then, could one build a firmer foundation?
The book described three tiers of Foundation Establishment.
First was establishing one's foundation independently, without the help of any Spirit Items.
Foundation Establishment Cultivators who did this had the weakest foundations. If one wanted to lay a solid foundation relying solely on the spiritual power one had cultivated, unless one practiced a legendary Immortal Method, one would certainly be inferior to cultivators who used Foundation Establishment Pills and various Spirit Items to replenish their own essence and strengthen their foundations.
Wealth, Companions, Land, and Dharma—wealth came first for precisely this reason. There was no reason a so-called independent Foundation Establishment should yield a deeper foundation than one built at great expense and with the expenditure of numerous resources.
Moreover, independent Foundation Establishment was extremely dangerous. Breaking through to Foundation Establishment would draw in incomparably violent Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to cleanse the body. During this process, if there was no Foundation Establishment Pill to protect the Spirit Veins and flesh, nine out of ten cultivators would die with their meridians severed inch by inch.
Even those who succeeded would suffer grievous damage to their vitality and need to spend a great deal of time nurturing their meridians back to health.
As for the claim that independent Foundation Establishment widened the meridians, that was utter nonsense. The meridians did widen, but they were also damaged. Could that still be called a benefit?
Only under the protection of the abundant life Qi in a Foundation Establishment Pill could the meridians be reshaped amid destruction, forging meridians that were sufficiently tough and broad.
Destruction without rebirth was nothing but courting death.
The second method was to use only a Foundation Establishment Pill, at most supplementing it with some First-Tier pills and Spirit Items to ensure that the process went smoothly.
With this method, cultivators could absorb the abundant vitality contained in the Foundation Establishment Pill during the process, making their own essence more robust. As a result, their strength after breaking through was often twenty to thirty percent greater than that achieved through the first method.