The Ambition of the Foundation Establishment Pill and the Material Dilemma

In the laboratory, the "humming" pill production line had temporarily fallen silent.

The air still held a faint medicinal fragrance, mingled with the scent of metal and machine oil.

Lin Fan sat cross-legged in the corner with the silver-gray "Z-1 Alloy Flying Sword Prototype" resting across his knees. With eyes half-closed and fingertips lightly touching the blade, he channeled a thread of imperceptible True Qi into the weapon, performing his daily, unwavering maintenance ritual.

Bulma was busy scribbling on a holographic screen nearby, excitedly drafting the concept art for her "Super-Cool-Intelligent-Multifunctional Flying Sword 2.0," muttering to herself, "...add a plasma thruster here... build a shockwave generator into the hilt... and the energy shield projection module is a must..."

Time slipped away in this strangely harmonious atmosphere.

Suddenly, the aura around Lin Fan faltered.

He slowly opened his eyes, his brows knitting together in a subtle frown.

His mid-stage Qi Refining True Qi, bolstered by his diligent practice and the aid of pills over these past days, had reached a state of fullness and perfection. It could advance no further; he had hit the limit of the mid-stage and encountered a bottleneck.

It was as if a stream had reached its capacity; without a dam to expand the reservoir, it could not grow by even a fraction.

The subsequent chapters of the Great Dao Source Scripture seemed to sense his state, naturally manifesting within his sea of consciousness: To break through the Qi Refining stage and establish a Dao Foundation, one must condense a more powerful force to scour and widen the meridians, reshaping the very foundation. This process is fraught with difficulty and danger; if one has a [Foundation Establishment Pill] to assist, it can protect the meridians, purge impurities, and significantly increase the success rate, even influencing the future reach of one's Dao path.

However, the formula for this [Foundation Establishment Pill]...

Lin Fan "looked" at it closely, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Main ingredients: Three drops of [Earth Core Jade Essence]—born from the essence of the earth, extremely pure and dense, the foundation for consolidating one's base. One ounce of [Extraterrestrial Star Iron]—containing the primal power of the stars, peerless in sharpness, capable of breaking through barriers and opening meridians.

One [Millennium Snow Lotus Heart]—extremely cold and pure, capable of cleansing meridians and clarifying the soul.

One [Phoenix Feather]—containing the vitality of nirvana, protecting the heart meridians and resisting inner demons.

Half a cup of [Dragon Blood Essence]—the dragon essence is tyrannical, stimulating potential and strengthening the physique.

There were several auxiliary ingredients as well, none of which were ordinary.

Lin Fan: "..."

He silently ran through the formula in his mind, then recalled the mainstream style of this world—muscles, energy blasts, aliens, high technology...

Earth Core Jade Essence? Where was he supposed to dig that up?

Could a drill even reach the Earth's core? Extraterrestrial Star Iron? Could it be refined from meteorites?

Millennium Snow Lotus? Did such a thing exist on Earth? Would a lotus frozen in a refrigerator for a thousand years count?

A phoenix? A dragon? Did such mythical creatures exist in this world? He had just killed a dinosaur, though...

The items in this formula sounded completely incompatible with this world, a mix of technology and martial arts!

It was even more absurd than pulling an immortal pill out of a Hoi-Poi Capsule!

"Sigh..."

Lin Fan couldn't help but let out a soft sigh, rubbing his brow.

The cultivation bottleneck was right before him, and the method to break through was known, yet he was stuck on these impossible materials.

Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice.

His soft sigh was immediately caught by Bulma's sharp ears.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Lin Fan?"

She looked up from her cool flying sword design, looking over with curiosity. "Trouble with the maintenance? Is the energy resonance frequency off? I told you we needed to add a harmonic generator..."

"It is not the flying sword."

Lin Fan shook his head, pondering for a moment, and decided that this matter ultimately had to fall on Bulma, the local "insider" and "major financier."

He carefully chose his words, trying his best to "translate" the items in the formula into concepts Bulma could understand.

"My cultivation has reached a critical juncture, and I require a special 'energy catalyst' to assist in the breakthrough."

Lin Fan said slowly, "It is just that some of the core materials required to refine this item... are quite rare and difficult to find."

"An energy catalyst? A breakthrough?"

Bulma's eyes lit up instantly. She was now extremely sensitive to any words Lin Fan uttered related to "energy" or "cultivation." "Is it even more powerful than a Body Strengthening Pill? What materials do you need? Just say it! Even if they aren't on Earth, I'll launch a spaceship to an alien planet to dig them up!"

Seeing her eager expression, Lin Fan felt a little more at ease and, relying on his intuition, gave a vague description of the characteristics of those main ingredients:

"One is... a liquid mineral containing extremely pure and deep earth energy, likely buried deep within the earth."

"One is a special metal from an extraterrestrial meteorite, containing unique stellar radiation energy."

"One is a plant core that grows in extremely cold regions, of immense age, containing pure life energy."

"One is... the feather of a bird-like creature containing powerful life force and fire energy."

"And one is... an essence of blood from a dragon-shaped creature, possessing immense life energy and tyrannical characteristics."

As he described each one, Bulma quickly recorded, searched, and cross-referenced them against her database on the computer beside her.

"Liquid earth energy? Samples from ultra-deep well drilling? Magma extracts?"

"Extraterrestrial radiation metal? That's easy! My family's warehouse has plenty of meteorite slices! I'll test them one by one later!"

"Ancient plant from the extreme cold? Samples from under the Antarctic ice sheet? Or perhaps super-ancient plant seeds from the West City gene bank?"

"A powerful flame bird? A special creature from a volcanic region? Could it be a phoenix? Wait, isn't that just a myth?!"

"Dragon-shaped creature blood?! Would dinosaur blood work? Do you want some that just died? I'll have my dad contact the Paleontology Research Institute!"

Bulma muttered to herself while searching, her brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

The first few items were manageable; although difficult to find, at least there was a direction. But the last two were becoming increasingly absurd!

"Lin Fan... are you sure this recipe is correct?"

Bulma looked up, her expression strange. "These last few items sound like they were copied out of a fairy tale... exactly what kind of ancient, wicked technique are you cultivating?"

Lin Fan's expression remained unchanged. "The Mysteries of the Great Dao are beyond the comprehension of the mundane world. Perhaps the names differ, but substances containing similar energies may well exist."

That was the only way he could explain it.

Bulma stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly slammed her hand on the table. "Whatever! It sounds super interesting! Way more exciting than hunting for Dragon Balls!"

She immediately became energized, her fingers dancing across the keyboard. "I'll start by mobilizing the global geological satellites and the Mineral Exploration Database to search for underground veins with high-energy signatures! Then, I'll have my dad's Aerospace Company pull the orbital data and composition reports for all near-Earth meteorites! I'll check with the Polar Expedition Team, too! As for those last two..."

She rubbed her chin, her eyes darting around. "Flame bird... dragon blood... maybe they exist in outer space? I'll have my dad increase investment in deep-space exploration! And while I'm at it, I'll hack into the databases of every Mysterious Creature Research Organization on the planet!"

Watching her list over a dozen search plans in an instant, even considering extraterrestrial mining and hacking, Lin Fan once again marveled at the power of wealth and technology.

"In that case, I shall have to trouble you, Miss Bulma."

Lin Fan cupped his hands in thanks. Although the hope felt slim, at least he had a lead.

"Leave it to me!"

Bulma patted her chest in assurance, but then leaned in with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But come to think of it, Lin Fan, if you manage to refine that 'Foundation Establishment Pill'... can you give me one to study? Just one! I promise I won't take it apart... or, well, I'll try not to break it!"

Lin Fan looked at her eyes, which were brimming with scientific fervor, and smiled helplessly.

"If it can truly be refined... then I see no reason why not."

He would have to find the materials first, though.

Lin Fan looked out at the sky over West City, feeling that his Path to Foundation Establishment was destined to be intertwined with the technology and adventures of this world.

The Path to Foundation Establishment, it seemed, would be anything but smooth.