As he studied the ancient writing, he could vaguely sense it expressing something. His mind sank into the words and murals, and without his noticing, the Evergreen Technique began circulating on its own. A glimmer of understanding seemed to dawn in his mind, and Chen Ming hurriedly sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused on it.
Just then, a thread of dark green light stretched from the rock wall to Chen Ming's head, as though transmitting something.
Chen Ming suddenly felt a stream of energy pouring in through the top of his head, accompanied by a string of written information. It seemed to be a cultivation method called the Heaven and Earth Art. Its opening section closely resembled the Evergreen Technique, and he silently followed its circulation.
As the energy continued flowing in, the meridians inside Chen Ming's body steadily widened. The spiritual energy in his dantian also began increasing, gradually changing from pure white to grayish white, then from grayish white to black. Finally, it began compressing until it formed a single droplet.
"I did it! I've reached Foundation Establishment!"
With his spiritual energy transformed into a droplet resting quietly in his dantian, Chen Ming let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes. He had never expected to reach Foundation Establishment just like that, and cried out in excitement.
Feeling the changes in his body, he found that his physical toughness and strength had increased at least tenfold. Now, he felt certain he could easily slay that Iron-Armored Boar if he faced it again.
He threw a few punches, then looked back at the writing and murals on the rock wall. At some point, they had vanished. The wall was now smooth and even, while a layer of dust had appeared on the ground.
Chen Ming truly had never imagined that he would reach Foundation Establishment so easily, so suddenly, and so inexplicably.
He continued forward, and the passage ahead grew dark. Suddenly, he seemed to step on something.
A lightning-like flash appeared ahead, and a silvery-white creature the size of a finger, looking somewhat like an electric eel, shot straight toward Chen Ming.
Chen Ming hurriedly dodged aside. Then dozens more flashes of lightning blazed and shot toward him, forcing him to retreat repeatedly.
Behind him, the creature that had just flown past sank into the ground and vanished.
After testing it repeatedly, Chen Ming discovered that once he retreated beyond a certain distance, those creatures stopped attacking!
Unable to venture farther for the moment, Chen Ming thought it over. A mere thirty contribution points were not worth the risk, so he turned and left.
Chen Ming returned to Iron Bamboo Peak and went to the External Affairs Hall to find Deacon Li, telling him that he had reached Foundation Establishment and wanted to enter the Inner Sect.
Deacon Li was stunned once again. Chen Ming had only joined three days ago-how had he suddenly reached Foundation Establishment?
Could Chen Ming be an unparalleled prodigy? Usually, advancing from the Qi Refining Realm to Foundation Establishment requires at least six months to a year of secluded cultivation. Those with poorer aptitude not only need to take Foundation Establishment Pills, but might not succeed even after taking them. As far as I know, some need at least four or five Foundation Establishment Pills before they can establish their foundation.
What he did not know was that, without Chen Ming's fortuitous encounter beneath that mountain peak, his fake spiritual root would have required at least five or six Foundation Establishment Pills for him to advance.
"Come, I'll take you there!"
After a moment of stunned silence, Deacon Li promptly rose and led Chen Ming out of the External Affairs Hall. They took a mountain path on the right and headed up toward the Inner Sect.
The Inner Sect was situated near the summit and was relatively less spacious than the outer sect. They arrived at the Inner Affairs Hall, where they saw a deacon dressed in orange.
Deacon Li struck up a conversation with the other deacon and explained Chen Ming's situation. The deacon then helped Chen Ming exchange his identity jade token and took out two sets of red disciple robes, handing them to him.
Afterward, the deacon took out a black Soul Token, engraved Chen Ming's name and status on it, and instructed him to inject his soul power into it. With that, the basic formalities were complete.
The Inner Sect also had a mission hall and was much the same as the outer sect, except for the addition of a Cultivation Method Pavilion. After changing into his inner sect disciple robes, Chen Ming eagerly made his way there.
The Cultivation Method Pavilion had three floors, but inner sect disciples at the Foundation Establishment Realm could only enter the first. Inside, Chen Ming found the Sword Control Technique and saw that it cost only ten contribution points. He then browsed the other cultivation methods and spells.
After looking over the shelves, Chen Ming shook his head helplessly. All the other cultivation methods and spells cost at least a thousand contribution points. He took the Sword Control Technique back to the entrance and showed it to the elder overseeing the cultivation methods. After ten contribution points were deducted, he turned and left.
Iron Bamboo Peak actually had very few inner sect disciples. Even with Chen Ming, its newest addition, there were only fourteen in total-the fewest among the Falling Moon Sect's seven main peaks.
Not only that, it also had the fewest inner sect elders: just seven Golden Core elders.
Chen Ming arrived at the inner sect residential area, where there were quite a few houses. He found an empty one at the far edge and went inside.
After giving it a quick cleaning, he picked up the Sword Control Art and began reading. It contained only four short pages, and Chen Ming finished it before long.
Once he finished reading, he began practicing.
After three days of practice, Chen Ming could already fly proficiently on his sword.
"Chen Ming, how's your Sword Control Technique coming along?"
A girl with twin ponytails and lively eyes came skipping over from nearby. Looking innocent and adorable, she approached Chen Ming and spoke.
"Senior Sister Fengling, why are you up so early today? I've pretty much got the hang of it!"
Chen Ming smiled at the newcomer as he replied.
Over those three days, Chen Ming had gotten acquainted with all thirteen of his senior brothers and sisters. The girl before him was Li Fengling, ranked thirteenth, with an early Foundation Establishment cultivation base.
Ranked first was Yang Jielin, followed by Ma Dongchen in second, Li Mei in third, Zhang Ziyou in fourth, and Ye Shuncai in fifth. All were at late Foundation Establishment. Lin Hao, Lin Lie, Dongfang Mobai, Li Yao, Yu Chang, Shen Yueru, and Xu Changming occupied sixth through twelfth place, and all were at Middle Foundation Establishment.
"In that case, come down the mountain with me!"
Li Fengling's eyes darted as she said this with a smile.
"I've got nothing to do anyway, so sure! Let's go!"
Chen Ming considered it briefly, then deployed his flying sword and headed down the mountain.
"Wait for me!"
Seeing Chen Ming deploy his flying sword and head down the mountain, Li Fengling hurriedly took her own flying sword out of her Storage Bag and sent it flying, chasing after him.
"Where are you planning to go, Senior Sister?"
Chen Ming slowed slightly and hurriedly asked Li Fengling as she caught up.
"Come on! Just follow me!"
With that, Li Fengling took the lead.
They flew past Wan'an City and headed east. After about an hour, passing three towns along the way, they arrived at a city and stopped.
"Senior Sister Fengling, what are we doing here?"
Chen Ming looked at Fengling City in bewilderment and asked.
"You'll know when we get there."
Li Fengling spoke with an air of mystery.
Li Fengling headed toward the Red Maple Forest, with Chen Ming close behind, and they arrived beside a lake.
"Take this!"
Li Fengling stopped there, took out a piece of Talisman Paper, and handed it to Chen Ming.
Just as Chen Ming accepted the Talisman Paper, he saw Li Fengling raise one of her own and slap it forward. Ripples spread through the air, and she stepped inside.
Seeing Li Fengling suddenly disappear, Chen Ming copied her and slapped his talisman forward, but none of the ripples from before appeared.
Chen Ming picked up the Talisman Paper and examined it, puzzled. He tried several more times, but the result remained the same.