Breaking Through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, Forging a Fifth-Grade Dao Platform

Watching the divine beast essence blood floating silently in the air, Ye Lin carefully stored it away into his Spatial Ring.

He then took out ten Demon Scorpion stingers and headed toward the Mission Pavilion; he intended to submit his mission and begin his closed-door cultivation immediately afterward.

Everything was ready, save for the east wind; he had to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm within twenty days.

Upon arriving at the Mission Pavilion, Ye Lin placed the ten stingers on the table before him, startling Sun Xiao, who had been fast asleep, into a sudden wake.

"Senior Brother, I am here to submit my mission."

Sun Xiao looked at Ye Lin, then at the stingers before him. It had only been three hours since Ye Lin had accepted the mission.

To complete a Fifth-Grade mission in just three hours? It gave him an unreal feeling.

"Right... right, I will get your reward for you."

Sun Xiao verified the authenticity of the stingers repeatedly, then took a deep look at Ye Lin before walking toward the corridor to the side.

A few minutes later, Sun Xiao placed a large cloth bag in front of Ye Lin.

"Eighty Low-Tier Spirit Stones, count them."

"No need, I trust you, Senior Brother."

Ye Lin smiled, tucked the bag away, and headed toward his residence.

"Hiss, rumors outside say he is only at the eighth level of Qi Refining. Seeing him now, this man's schemes run deep."

Watching Ye Lin's disappearing back, Sun Xiao drew a sharp breath.

At the eighth level of Qi Refining, he could venture alone into the Demon Scorpion Valley—a place that even Foundation Establishment cultivators feared—and slaughter nine Demon Scorpions of the ninth level of Qi Refining? He would sooner die than believe it.

"I must never offend this person in the future."

Sun Xiao thought to himself.

"Hoo, time to begin the breakthrough."

Ye Lin sat cross-legged on his bed, surrounded by Low-Tier Spirit Stones. He took the divine beast essence blood from his Spatial Ring and swallowed it in one gulp. The surrounding Low-Tier Spirit Stones began to emit dense spiritual energy, which surged into Ye Lin's body.

"Merge for me."

Ye Lin let out a soft shout. Beneath his Dantian, a Dao Platform slowly began to condense, and the divine beast essence blood gradually fused into it.

Suddenly, the previously dim Dao Platform burst into brilliant light, its fiery red radiance illuminating his entire Dantian.

Under the influence of the divine beast essence blood, the Dao Platform shattered and reformed, shattered and reformed. With every reconstruction, it grew twice as powerful as before.

Furthermore, waves of incomparably powerful aura emanated from the Dao Platform.

The transition from the Qi Refining Realm to the Foundation Establishment Realm was a qualitative change, a leap in the level of life.

Upon breaking through to Foundation Establishment, both the purity and quantity of the spiritual energy in the Dantian were dozens of times greater than at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Moreover, the quality of spiritual energy within the Dao Platform of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was far superior to that of the Qi Refining stage; the power contained within them was worlds apart.

Using the same technique, a Foundation Establishment cultivator could unleash power over a dozen times greater than a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

If a Foundation Establishment cultivator's spiritual energy did not run dry, killing a Qi Refining cultivator was like slaughtering a dog.

No matter how monstrous one was in the Qi Refining stage, in front of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, one remained nothing more than an ant.

Just like that, five days passed quietly.

Within Ye Lin's Dantian, a fiery red Dao Platform had been fully forged. Light shimmered upon it, radiating waves of profound aura.

Looking from afar, this Dao Platform seemed like a product of the heavens—flawless and perfect, as if it were not a thing of the mortal world.

Furthermore, five rays of light hovered upon the walls surrounding the Dao Platform, representing the five elemental attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Seeing this, Ye Lin felt a surge of joy. This was the hallmark of a Fifth-Grade Dao Platform: the imprints of the five elements. These basic elemental imprints that composed the world could only be produced by a Fifth-Grade Dao Platform.

This meant that anything below a Fifth-Grade Dao Platform would lack these five elemental imprints, making it impossible to attain immortality in this lifetime.

At this moment, the mass of spiritual energy above the Dao Platform began to be compressed by the power of the platform, condensing bit by bit.

Drip, drip, drip.

Then, drops of liquid began to fall from the spiritual energy mass onto the Dao Platform.

Like the prelude to a storm, the mass of spiritual energy resembled dark clouds.

The next moment, the storm arrived in full force. Drops of liquid poured down from the entire mass onto the Dao Platform, and soon, the liquid filled the entire platform.

The Dao Platform held the liquid steadily, remaining perfectly stable.

This was a distinct characteristic of breaking through from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage: the liquefaction of spiritual energy.

When the spiritual energy mass finally vanished, leaving only the pool of liquid within the Dao Platform, this was spiritual liquid. The spiritual energy contained within it was the sum total of the energy of dozens of ninth-level Qi Refining cultivators.

At this moment, the Dao Platform shone with brilliant light, and the spiritual liquid within it rapidly diminished as countless strands of terrifying spiritual power began to sweep through Ye Lin's entire body.

This spiritual power began to strengthen every part of Ye Lin's physique: his bones, meridians, skin, and blood vessels.

"So comfortable."

Although Ye Lin's eyes were closed, he could feel his body slowly growing stronger.

The sensation was extremely pleasant.

"Foundation Establishment Realm, success."

Three hours later, Ye Lin snapped his eyes open.

Instantly, a wave of air surged outward, overturning countless items in the room.

Ye Lin examined his own body, feeling an immense sense of fullness.

It was as if he possessed an inexhaustible supply of strength.

"No wonder Foundation Establishment cultivators can slaughter those in the Qi Refining stage at will."

Ye Lin stood up, feeling the terrifying power within his body, and muttered to himself.

In the Foundation Establishment Realm, the amount of spiritual power contained is dozens of times that of the ninth level of Qi Refining, and the physical strength is several to even ten times greater, with the soul also being significantly enhanced.

The lifespan of the Qi Refining stage is at most one hundred and fifty years, while in the Foundation Establishment Realm, it extends to three hundred years—a full doubling.

With such a long lifespan, one can witness the rise and fall of mortal dynasties; thus, mortals refer to those in the Foundation Establishment Realm as terrestrial immortals.

"Life and Death Three Swords, Life from One Sword."

At this moment, Ye Lin narrowed his eyes, formed his right hand into a sword finger, and slashed forward. Instantly, a burst of Sword Qi surged into the courtyard.

A loud crash echoed, and a trench five meters long and half a meter wide appeared in the center of the courtyard.

"Now, even without using a long sword, I can unleash Sword Qi."

"And this power could easily kill my former self, even though I only used thirty percent of my strength."

"Too strong, truly too strong."

Ye Lin was somewhat mesmerized by this power.

Without breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, one can never know how terrifying it truly is.

"Hah, I wonder how I would fare against Lin Zisheng now?"

At this, the corners of Ye Lin's mouth curled upward slightly.

"Right, I've been in seclusion for eight days, and there are twelve days left until the Inner Sect competition. I should use this time to stabilize my realm."

Ye Lin looked at the trench in the courtyard, waved his hand casually, and the ground instantly returned to its original state.

This was the divine might of the Foundation Establishment Realm; one can clearly perceive and utilize the five elemental components that make up the world.

And those who possess a Fifth-Grade Dao Platform are even more sensitive to these five elements.

After tidying everything up, Ye Lin turned and stepped into his residence, taking out a Mid-grade Spirit Stone to begin absorbing it and stabilizing his realm.

When he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, all his Low-Tier Spirit Stones were consumed; now, he was so poor he only had three Mid-grade Spirit Stones left.

Just like that, twelve days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, the entire Azure Cloud Sect Inner Sect seemed to experience an earthquake, all because the mysterious Tenth Elder of the Azure Cloud Sect Inner Sect had emerged from seclusion.

Rumors circulated that this Tenth Elder possessed Golden Core cultivation and was highly likely to take on disciples during the Inner Sect competition.

Instantly, the entire Inner Sect was in an uproar. Who wouldn't want to become the disciple of a Golden Core cultivator? A Golden Core expert is the pinnacle of combat power within a radius of ten thousand miles.

Becoming the disciple of a Golden Core cultivator meant not only an abundance of resources but also the ability to walk sideways—unimpeded—across those ten thousand miles.

On this day, Ye Lin had just finished his seclusion, and after stepping outside and hearing the news, he fell into deep thought.

"A Golden Core expert, the most mysterious Tenth Elder?"

After a moment of contemplation, Ye Lin headed toward the main hall. Today was the day of the Inner Sect competition, and as an Inner Sect disciple, he had to be present.