The next step, from the foundation establishment sixth layer to the foundation establishment seventh layer...
Zhou Qing gathered his thoughts, his expression solemn.
The passage from the foundation establishment sixth layer to the foundation establishment seventh layer was the bottleneck between the middle and late stages.
Breaking through it was even harder than advancing from the early stage to the middle stage.
Once he crossed that bottleneck, he would become a foundation establishment late stage senior cultivator.
Whether in qi condensation, foundation establishment, or core formation, it was all the same.
Late-stage cultivators held an overwhelming advantage over those in the early and middle stages, which was why they were called senior cultivators within their realm.
When facing a foundation establishment middle stage cultivator, a foundation establishment early stage cultivator could still escape even if they could not win.
But a foundation establishment middle stage cultivator facing a foundation establishment late stage senior cultivator? There was a very good chance they would be killed outright.
The same held true in the core formation stage.
That was why late-stage cultivators were called senior cultivators.
With my middle-grade spiritual root aptitude, I could very well be stuck at the peak of the foundation establishment middle stage for decades, even a century. When that happens, there'll be no need to weigh this and that. I'll just take a Realm-Breaking Pill. If it burns through my potential, so be it...
Zhou Qing thought to himself.
Had he possessed a high-grade spiritual root, he might still have considered avoiding the Realm-Breaking Pill and preserving his potential for an attempt at core formation.
But with a middle-grade spiritual root... within the foundation establishment realm, that aptitude ranked only in the lower middle. Against the bottleneck between the middle and late stages, it would prove painfully inadequate.