After emerging from the excitement of his breakthrough, Wei Zhong realized that more than three months had already passed since he established his foundation.
Time really flew by. He had not felt it at all.
Wei Zhong gathered the aura spilling from his body. Having only just entered Foundation Establishment, he could not yet control it freely.
The market probably had already forgotten this old farmer. And those few mu of Spirit Fields—Wei Zhong had been gone for over three months, so according to Azurewood Sect rules, they should have been reclaimed.
Going back now would not help anything. He might as well spend some time properly consolidating his cultivation.
With that thought, Wei Zhong closed his eyes, circulated his cultivation art, and once more sank into cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, another month passed. Wei Zhong rose from the cultivation room, stretched lazily, and let out a comfortable groan.
Cultivation really was exhausting. His gaze shifted slightly as he turned his attention to the Status Panel.
Name: Wei Zhong Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Layer One (5%) Cultivation Arts: Spring Autumn Water Refining Art · Proficient (42%); Nourishing Body Art · Proficient (83%) Lifespan: 115/240
In merely one month of consolidating his cultivation, he had pushed his Foundation Establishment Layer One progress forward by 5%. That speed was truly astonishing.
But Wei Zhong understood that his usual cultivation would not be so easy and swift. This was merely the effect of striking while the iron was hot, taking advantage of having just established his foundation while his realm remained unstable.
Furthermore, the Foundation Establishment realm was divided into nine layers. According to the records in Senior Bai He's Jade Slip, this was the realm division of the new method.
Unlike the methods of ancient times, which only divided Qi Refining into specific layers, while later stages were split into the three broad phases of early, middle, and late.
The new method had its advantages. Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and even the later Core Formation and Nascent Soul realms were all divided into nine layers. It was more convenient for him to spend points on levels too, was it not?
Still, out of tradition, cultivators nowadays often used the broad phase designations as well, such as early-stage or mid-stage Foundation Establishment, to describe another's realm.
Wei Zhong shook out his robes and exhaled a breath of Stale Qi.
The proficiency progress of the Spring Autumn Water Refining Art could be called extraordinarily fast. A single Foundation Establishment breakthrough had raised it from 18% Proficient to 42%, and that had taken only four months.
The Nourishing Body Art had been somewhat neglected due to his Foundation Establishment, but it had still risen to 83%, not far from the Master level.
More importantly, there was his lifespan.
The moment his Foundation Establishment succeeded, his lifespan immediately soared to two hundred and forty years. His bone age was only a little over one hundred now, so he was in the prime of life, with plenty of time left to squander—no, to cultivate.
Now that he had achieved Foundation Establishment, he could finally relax a little. In the past, he had always worried that some major figure would discover his secret. His sense of security had been severely lacking.
Now, once he activated the Years Dao Method, spending twelve years of lifespan on a single casting would give him Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment. Two castings would exchange twenty-four years of lifespan for Late Stage Foundation Establishment. Forty-eight years would let him step directly into Core Formation, enough to be called a True Person.
In this world of cultivation, he would already be someone capable of founding a sect.
Though the realm could only last for a mere hour, it was still an ace up his sleeve, a king bomb.
Ordinary cultivators could hide no more than one or two minor arts, while he possessed a Dao Method. To conceal an entire major realm—who could compare with him?
"Go home, go home."
He still had to go check on his Spirit Fields. Though the Spirit Rice within was not worth many spirit stones, he was, after all, a dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator. Surely no one would dare occupy them, right?
Walking out of the cultivation room, Wei Zhong looked at Da Jin, who was gurgling at him, and smiled.
With a raise of his hand, he produced a bottle of Spirit Feeding Pills.
"I have successfully established my foundation. I'm happy today, so this is your reward."
After saying that, Wei Zhong froze, as though he had forgotten something.
Slapping his forehead, he took a birdcage from the Spirit Beast Bag. Inside was a listless Nine Colors.
He had actually forgotten to let it out while establishing his foundation.
He had left it in the Spirit Beast Bag for a full four months. For Nine Colors, who spent all year watching the stars and gazing at the moon, what kind of torment had that been?
Fortunately, upon sensing the abundant spiritual energy within the grotto-heaven, its humanlike expression relaxed for a moment.
But then it was startled by the large fish beside the pond. With two gurgles, it flew from the cage, flapping its wings as it hovered in the air.
Da Jin had thought Wei Zhong had found it some little snack and was thrusting its huge mouth toward the birdcage.
Wei Zhong laughed and scolded it.
"You lazy bird, no matter how this old man teased you before, you never made a sound. Yet now this fool scared a gurgle out of you."
Wei Zhong tossed a bottle of Spirit Feeding Pills into the air, and Nine Colors caught it in its little beak.
Then he rubbed Da Jin's plump fish head and said quietly,
"Get along well."
With a flicker, he left the grotto-heaven.
Within the grotto-heaven, Da Jin seemed to understand that the bird above its head was not food, but its companion.
It shifted its fat body, fetched a lotus pod from the pond, and held it in its mouth. After releasing two meaningless gurgles, its simple-minded gaze fixed upon the Motley Parrot in the air...
Riding his flying sword through the skies, Wei Zhong found that every passing Qi Refining cultivator dared not look directly at his face, afraid that this Foundation Establishment senior might have a fiery temper.
They could only watch from afar as his escape light flew at a speed far beyond the Qi Refining level, their faces carrying one part reverence and nine parts envy.
In the end, Foundation Establishment cultivators stood on a different level.
Standing atop his flying sword, Wei Zhong sighed.
The spiritual power of Foundation Establishment was exceptionally abundant, so naturally his speed while flying on a magic artifact was extremely swift. The only problem was that the magic sword beneath his feet was of too low a grade.
It was still the mid-grade first-rank magic sword Wei Zhong had bought decades ago. Paired with a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him, it seemed rather cheap.
Come to think of it, he had not yet searched the Storage Bags of Liu Di and the other two. Later, he could see whether they contained any suitable magic swords.
Wei Zhong flew into Bright Moon Market, where the gatekeeping disciples saw an unfamiliar cultivator entering and moved to stop him.
He did not make things difficult for the two minor Qi Refining cultivators. After showing them his Spirit Field token, he entered without issue.
"I never expected him to be a newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even a spirit farmer can establish his foundation—what incredible luck."
"Lower your voice. Senior has not gone far yet. Be careful he hears you, or you'll bite off more than you can chew."
The latter hurriedly covered his mouth.
Meanwhile, the Azurewood Sect disciple opposite him thought that he ought to report this to the sect quickly. Perhaps he could earn some merit from it. Thus, he blurted out,
"A new Foundation Establishment cultivator has appeared in the market. I'm going to report to the elder. Keep watch here for now..."
Wei Zhong did not return to his Spirit Field courtyard. Instead, he first went to find Ning CanKun.
"Brother Chu!"
At the sight of Wei Zhong, Ning CanKun was overjoyed. He hurriedly rose from his rattan chair, stepped forward, and said warmly,
"I heard that after collecting your pills that day, you headed outside the sect. You had not returned for four months, and I thought something had happened to you. Now you've finally come back. As for that Foundation Establishment...?"
Wei Zhong smiled casually and spread his arms slightly, revealing his Foundation Establishment cultivation beyond all doubt.
"Of course it succeeded."
"Good, good. Then I ought to address you as Senior."
Wei Zhong smiled.
"Brother Ning, you jest. Why should we brothers be so formal with each other? We agreed to drink together. Come, try my improved Green Vine Intoxication."
At the mention of Spirit Wine, Ning CanKun's eyes seemed to shine, and drool nearly trickled from the corners of his mouth.
"Then I'll have to give it a proper taste."
The two promptly sat down in a corner, drinking Spirit Wine as they discussed the major events of recent days.
Ning CanKun took a sip of wine.
"Brother Chu, there is no need to worry about those few mu of Spirit Fields. According to the rules, if a spirit farmer goes unseen for three months, the fields must be reclaimed. But I used my authority to hold the matter down.
"I also hired people to tend the crops in the Spirit Fields. They even harvested a batch during these past days. After deducting the hiring costs, these spirit stones were left."
As he spoke, he took out several dozen spirit stones and placed them on the table.
Though those spirit stones meant little to Wei Zhong, Ning CanKun's friendship was exceedingly precious.
Wei Zhong smiled and took most of them, then pushed the rest back before Ning CanKun.
The latter did not refuse and put them away.
"I still have to thank Brother Ning."
Ning CanKun waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for courtesy.
"Brother Chu, you may not know what happened while you were away. Four months ago, an Inner Sect Disciple from the sect's Pill Hall suddenly vanished.
"It was originally only a minor matter, but he happened to be a first-rank alchemist, so the sect attached importance to it."
Wei Zhong understood that the other man was giving him a warning. Pretending surprise, he said,
"A first-rank alchemist is no small figure. How could he simply vanish?"
Ning CanKun nodded.
"Who knows? Perhaps he was unlucky enough to encounter that Robber Cultivator and died, body and Dao both extinguished."
Wei Zhong sighed.
"The cultivation world truly is cruel. Even joining a Golden Core sect like Azurewood Sect cannot guarantee peace and safety."
Ning CanKun rubbed his somewhat flushed, swollen face and asked,
"What are Brother Chu's plans after establishing your foundation? Will you continue as a Rogue Cultivator, or join our Azurewood Sect? I have some connections, after all..."
Before he could finish, an announcement sounded from outside the door.
"Elder Xu of the Azurewood Sect Law Hall has come to visit!"
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