Foundation Establishment

So Blue Star really wasn't the only planet in the universe with life? The ancestors of the Dragon Kingdom's people had actually come from outer space! The civilization of the Dragon Kingdom was, at its core, an extraterrestrial civilization!

And the reason he'd lost his memories when he was twelve was that aliens had performed the Soul Search Technique on him.

Zhang Shuai suspected that the mutations in his body—being able to survive electric shocks and not needing to eat or drink, but needing to recharge to replenish his energy—might all have been caused by the Lesser Creation Pill the aliens had given him.

Their conversation had also revealed another piece of information: Spirit Root talent!

Zhang Shuai had the talent of four Spirit Roots: water, wood, fire, and metal!

So, the reason Zhang Shuai had broken through the limits of the human body and become immensely strong after practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist was that he possessed Spirit Root talent. By that logic, were all the people across the country who had broken through after practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist over the past few months and been recruited by the 749 Bureau gifted with Spirit Roots and qualified to cultivate immortality?

The revelations shook Zhang Shuai deeply. His emotions churned, and it took him a long time to process everything before he finally calmed down.

Since the 749 Bureau already had so many people cultivating immortality, once they made progress, the balance of power in the world would surely undergo tremendous changes. If Zhang Shuai wanted to gain something from the coming upheaval, his most urgent priority was to start cultivating as soon as possible and improve his strength.

Over the next few days, Zhang Shuai studied the human acupoint diagram on the USB drive. The names of the body's acupoints were marked in alien script, giving him a breakthrough in deciphering the language. He compared the alien characters with modern Dragon Kingdom characters.

Then he slowly worked on deciphering the Small Heavenly Cycle Art.

Ten more days passed, and Zhang Shuai finally finished deciphering the Small Heavenly Cycle Art.

He felt a deep sense of accomplishment. He had only an elementary-school education, yet he had managed to decipher alien script all by himself—something that would have taken a team of the country's top professors specializing in ancient writing. It was nothing short of a miracle!

Zhang Shuai believed his translation of the Small Heavenly Cycle Art was probably accurate. Now that he had deciphered it, there was no need for him to audit classes at Hanjiang University anymore. His main priority was to start cultivating.

According to the Small Heavenly Cycle Art, cultivation was divided into three major realms. The first was the Initial Realm, the second the Dao Realm, and the third the God Realm.

Each major realm was further divided into three minor stages. The Initial Realm, for example, consisted of Foundation Establishment, Qi Nourishing, and Soul Fusion.

The Dao Realm consisted of the Dao Seed, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul stages.

The God Realm consisted of Spirit Transformation, Void Void, and Tribulation Transcendence.

The first stage of cultivation was Foundation Establishment.

The Small Heavenly Cycle Art explained that Foundation Establishment required Spirit Stones.

Spirit Stones were stones that contained the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The gray stone Zhang Shuai had obtained from the Japanese female spy was a Spirit Stone.

In his room, Zhang Shuai warmed up by performing the Big Dipper Long Fist once. Then he sat cross-legged, held the Spirit Stone in his hand, and began cultivating according to the meditation method in the Small Heavenly Cycle Art, calming his mind until it was as still as a deep, ancient well.

Before long, Zhang Shuai felt a warm current rising from below his abdomen. It had to be the Innate Qi in the Sea of Qi Acupoint that the Small Heavenly Cycle Art described.

Zhang Shuai carefully guided the current from the Sea of Qi Acupoint past Quchi, through Zhongwan, into Zhongfu, and up to Baihui...

He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly felt a scorching current flow from the Spirit Stone in his right hand. It slowly entered his body through his palm.

As soon as the current entered his body, it swiftly merged with the Innate Qi already inside him and grew stronger in an instant, beginning to circulate throughout his body.

Zhang Shuai felt as though a ball of fire were burning inside him.

Hot!

So hot!

Wherever the current passed, Zhang Shuai felt wave after wave of tearing pain inside his body. His meridians and acupoints expanded under the current's force, growing larger and stronger. It was both itchy and painful, as if countless ants were gnawing at his bones and meridians.

The pain alone would have been bad enough, but the itching was unbearable.

The sensation was pure torture!

Zhang Shuai desperately resisted the urge to scratch as he repeatedly guided the current to strike his Sea of Qi Acupoint.

Under the current's repeated impacts, the Sea of Qi Acupoint kept expanding, swelling like a balloon being inflated.

The balloon grew larger and larger. At one moment, Zhang Shuai suddenly couldn't hold back and let out a roar. He felt as if a sharp weapon had pierced through some part of his body, sending a stabbing pain through him.

A dull thud seemed to reverberate inside him. The balloon had finally reached its limit and burst.

The Sea of Qi burst open, and the Dantian appeared!

Zhang Shuai was overjoyed. He had completed the crucial step of Foundation Establishment: opening the Sea of Qi and the Dantian!

As the Sea of Qi burst, the enormous force unleashed sent the scorching current surging straight toward Zhang Shuai's head, like water blasting from a high-pressure hose.

Boom!

It felt as if a thousand-pound hammer had struck Zhang Shuai's head. His ears rang, and stars danced before his eyes.

Before Zhang Shuai could recover, a second wave of impact came right on its heels.

Boom!

A burst of excruciating pain hit him. Zhang Shuai's vision went black, and he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

Hungry!

So hungry!

He didn't know how much time had passed, but an intense hunger pang roused Zhang Shuai.

His head hurt, and his stomach was empty!

He needed to recharge and replenish his energy.

But Zhang Shuai was puzzled. Only seven days had passed since he'd last recharged. Based on his experience, a single charge should have lasted him a whole month. How could he be hungry after just seven days?

It seemed cultivation consumed a tremendous amount of energy. He'd run out so quickly.

He'd better clean himself up first, then find somewhere to recharge. As for cultivation, there was no need to rush. He could take it slowly.

He had probably failed at Foundation Establishment this time, but that didn't matter. He could try again. As long as he persevered, Zhang Shuai believed he would succeed sooner or later.

Huh? Where was the Spirit Stone?

Zhang Shuai immediately searched for it. He only had that one Spirit Stone, and it was essential to his cultivation. He had to keep it safe.

But to his astonishment, the Spirit Stone was gone!

How was that possible?

Nobody else had come into the room. Before he passed out, he had clearly been holding the Spirit Stone. So where had it gone?

This was too strange. How could such a big stone suddenly disappear? Had it grown legs and walked away?

Soon, Zhang Shuai's gaze fell on the floor.

A shallow pile of gray powder lay on it.

An unbelievable thought occurred to Zhang Shuai: Had the Spirit Stone run out of energy and crumbled into powder?

Blue Star had no spiritual energy, and cultivation required it. If he wanted to cultivate on Blue Star, then he could only use Spirit Stones.

But now Zhang Shuai had lost his only Spirit Stone. How was he supposed to cultivate from now on?

He had deciphered the Small Heavenly Cycle Art. Foundation Establishment was within reach. He was on the verge of becoming a cultivator from the legends...

But at this critical moment, his Spirit Stone was gone!

A profound sense of loss welled up inside Zhang Shuai. He had spent half a year working toward cultivating immortality, but now that he had no Spirit Stone, hadn't his path to immortality been cut off?