Late December.
Jiang Man absorbed all the Flawless Golden Origin Pills and successfully filled his first gourd.
He was practically standing at the threshold of the Foundation Establishment early stage.
With a little more effort, he could officially advance from Beginner to the early stage.
But.
That was only how it felt.
Actually advancing would not be easy.
There was a bottleneck, just as there had been when he broke through from the sixth layer of Qi Refining to the seventh.
The way to break through it should be much the same: raising the level of his physical body and Spiritual Level.
Once he finished absorbing the Flawless Origin Nurturing Pills and Flawless Spirit Stabilizing Pills, his first-layer foundation would be thoroughly consolidated.
Advancing should become a little easier.
He just did not know what level his body and spirit needed to reach to break through the bottleneck.
"No wonder Senior Sister Yu thought I wouldn't be able to enter the Secret Realm. Advancing really is rather difficult."
Jiang Man made an estimate. Further progress would require a substantial amount of pills, as well as unceasing effort.
Reaching the Foundation Establishment mid-to-late stage in a year or two would take plenty of Spirit Sources.
But there was still time. He could take it slowly.
Besides, his Fate Pattern was chasing him from behind, leaving him no room to slack off.
Still, Cloud Glow Peak seemed even cleaner lately than before.
There were fewer and fewer clouds and wisps of mist in the sky.
The night had become clearer, too.
Across the entire Sect, Cloud Glow Peak was probably the only place where the stars filling the sky could be seen so clearly.
Jiang Man drew a deep breath, looked up at the stars, and asked, "Old Huang, what should I