Engagement, Foundation Establishment Ceremony!

Your father has liquefied all his spirit energy, and is only one step away from breaking through to Foundation Establishment by condensing his Spirit Platform. Unfortunately, your father's Dao luck isn't very good; after several years and multiple attempts, he still hasn't succeeded in condensing it.

The clan's Great Elder is also in the process of liquefying his spirit energy, but he has only managed to liquefy eighty percent of it so far, still two percent short.

The Second Elder's spirit energy liquefaction isn't even half complete...

As for the Third Elder, your grandfather merely sighed and didn't mention him.

You suspect the Third Elder must have done something to cause your grandfather such disappointment, possibly related to the Third Elder's dark, panda-like eyes. Of course, this is just your intuition.

It seems the path to breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm is incredibly difficult. Otherwise, the Great Elder and Second Elder wouldn't still be stuck at liquefying their spirit energy, and your father wouldn't have failed to condense his Spirit Platform for so long...

In the third year, the third month, everything was still calm. This only strengthened your belief that the Fire Cloud Evil God was trapped in the Secret Realm and unable to escape.

This month, you diligently cultivated and attempted to liquefy your spirit energy. You discovered that after liquefying all your spirit energy, you couldn't even condense a single drop of spirit liquid.

From the Foundation Establishment insights you received from your grandfather, you learned that this was because you had broken through to the ninth level of Qi Cultivation too recently and hadn't allowed your spirit energy to settle, resulting in unstable spirit energy.

You spent another month consolidating your spirit energy.

In the third year, the sixth month, you successfully condensed spirit liquid, but you only managed to condense thirty percent of your spirit energy.

In the third year, the twelfth month, you stayed indoors because you were busy condensing the eighth tenth of your spirit energy.

Speaking of which, your ability to condense spirit liquid so quickly is largely thanks to the help of your parents and grandfather. Over these past few months, your parents have given you two extra Yellow Grade High Rank Qi Gathering Pills each month. You suspect these were their own monthly cultivation resources.

You were reluctant to accept them at first, but your mother specifically comforted you, saying that neither of them were in a hurry to break through their cultivation. Your mother had just broken through to the ninth level of Qi Cultivation and needed time to stabilize her cultivation, while your father needed to condense his Spirit Platform and couldn't use these pills. Therefore, they were giving them to you, who needed them the most right now.

You had no reason to refuse, so you cupped your hands in thanks. Your mother smiled and said you were still so formal, reminding you that they were your parents and the people in this world who wished for your betterment the most.

You were deeply touched.

Your grandfather also gave you a bottle of Yellow Grade High Rank Qi Gathering Pills, containing five pills. He said he had sorted them out and no longer needed them since he had already reached Foundation Establishment, so he was gifting them to you.

You immediately saw that your grandfather had prepared these specifically for you. He might have exchanged his own contribution points for them at the clan, yet he spoke so casually about it. Truly remarkable.

You accepted them with a wry smile and kept it in your heart.

In the fourth year, the first month, a piece of news shook the entire clan!

Your father successfully condensed his Spirit Platform and broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm!

Your Mu Family now had two Foundation Establishment Realm experts guarding it!

You specifically went to see your father and found him beaming, happily chatting with your grandfather and a group of elders.

It was rare to see your father so happy, as if he had shed a heavy burden.

You also went to offer your congratulations.

Your father even shared his unique experiences with condensing his Spirit Platform with you, and you listened with great interest.

Your grandfather decided to hold a Foundation Establishment ceremony for your father in a month's time. At the same time, a betrothal banquet would be held for you and Zhang Yutong of the Zhang Family.

You suddenly felt that this might be too soon. After all, you hadn't even seen Zhang Yutong's face yet, only hearing that she was a proud daughter of heaven and exceptionally beautiful.

However, before you could speak, your father and the clan elders had already agreed for you. You knew that perhaps in the face of family interests, your own personal thoughts were no longer important.

But you deeply understood that for you, this was both a constraint and a responsibility.

You didn't overthink it, channeling all your unhappiness into the motivation for diligent cultivation.

A month later, through your relentless cultivation, you successfully condensed ninety percent of your spirit energy. However, you felt that this final step was even more difficult, as if countless hands were dragging you back, preventing you from moving forward.

In the fourth year, the second month, the clan did not hold their usual Clan Competition because there were more important events to celebrate: your father's Foundation Establishment ceremony and your betrothal banquet with Zhang Yutong.

This was the most joyous day for the Mu Family.

During the day, Muye Mountain opened its gates wide, inviting all the forces in Jinzhou County to attend your father's Foundation Establishment ceremony.

Representatives from various major forces arrived as invited. You were responsible for welcoming guests alongside your mother. The representatives from major and minor Qi Cultivation forces kept you busy.

You saw the old ancestor of the Zhang Family, an old acquaintance, accompanied by a beautiful young woman.

The woman had an incredibly soft appearance, with curved eyebrows and slightly upturned outer corners of her eyes. When not smiling, she seemed to hold a hint of coyness, and when she smiled, her eyes sparkled with light. Even the small tear mole at the corner of her eye seemed to come alive. Her hair was not styled in an elaborate bun, but loosely tied in a hanging bun, secured with a red gold hairpin inlaid with rubies. Three delicate silver chains dangled from the end of the hairpin, each tipped with a tiny parasol leaf silver ornament that chimed softly with her every step, making her gait seem even lighter. Her earrings were a pair of mutton-fat jade parasol leaves, their edges smoothed to a rounded finish, resting against her ears. They swayed gently with her turns, accentuating the whiteness and slenderness of her neck.

She wore a newly made goose-yellow soft silk dress, with light green parasol leaf patterns embroidered on the collar and cuffs. The needlework was fine, and the tips of the leaves were adorned with silver threads that shimmered with a faint light in the shadows of the corridor.

You could feel that every gesture she made exuded the elegance unique to a young lady from a distinguished family.

You guessed her identity: Zhang Yutong!

You inwardly marveled; she was indeed beautiful and captivating.

After greeting the Zhang Family's old ancestor, you immediately invited her inside. A fleeting, imperceptible purple light flashed in the old ancestor's eyes. She said softly, "Good boy, not far from Foundation Establishment Realm, are you?"

You weren't too surprised. After all, you had previously learned from your grandfather that this Zhang Family old ancestor possessed pupil techniques. Seeing through the cultivation of a mere Qi Cultivation stage boy like you would be simple.

However, the Zhang Family old ancestor's words made Zhang Yutong, who was beside her, tremble slightly. She had also guessed your identity. Someone that her own ancestor paid special attention to must be Mu Xingqi, the one she was betrothed to!

But she hadn't expected you to be so young and already on the verge of Foundation Establishment? Everyone in the Zhang Family had always said she had unparalleled talent and a high chance of breaking through to Golden Core in the future, but even she had only recently broken through to the eighth level of Qi Cultivation!

Is this Mu Xingqi even human?

"..." Mu Xingqi in reality had a dark expression