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Did that count as successfully giving his water and fire spiritual energy the first stage of the PUA treatment? A little joy stirred in Bian Chunchou's heart, but he quickly came to his senses. Oh, right. My Foundation Establishment is fake.

Never mind, then. Might as well keep going, now that we're here.

"Me too. I've found that using my blade feels more... silky-smooth. That word works here, right?"

"You're copying the way I talk now? Senior Brother Chen, I'm impressed."

Chen Zui promptly fell silent and calmly began restoring his spiritual energy. The spiritual energy in the Forest Secret Realm was denser than outside, so recovering naturally took less time.

Compared with the other two's cheerful optimism, the ever-cautious Wen Xu showed little excitement. He had noticed it too: after his cultivation was forcibly raised, his sword techniques flowed more smoothly. In the Qi Refining Stage, riding the wind still required conscious effort. Now it was almost as natural as breathing.

He was even certain that if they encountered a Hyena Ghost Vine now, they would not need to fight it for six hours.

But was that the only difference between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment? Why, then, were so many people stuck at the threshold of advancement, unable to find a way through? The sudden rise in his cultivation left Wen Xu uneasy, just as he had felt when he was forced off a cliff and stumbled into the Cultivation Realm.

To him, both were pies that had fallen from the sky.

When he was younger and still begging, he would have been happy to receive someone's charity. Now it only made him more wary.

"I've rested enough. That Hyena Ghost Vine is roughly at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. We—"

Before Wen Xu could finish, Chen Zui