Foundation Establishment

The Ghost-Faced Spider finally died beneath Lin Sui's God-Slaying Finger.

A strand of grayish-white spider silk clung to Lin Sui's hair. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he was breathing slightly hard. Before him, the spider's enormous body crashed to the ground, kicking up a gust of air.

Lin Sui had battled the Ghost-Faced Spider for an hour, and the fight had long since roused his anger. Icy killing intent burned in his eyes as he looked at the huge dent in the armor on the spider's head, where his finger had crushed its skull.

A nearly black vortex coiled around him. Lin Sui slowly exhaled. Could this be the Slaughter Qi produced by killing a target of the required level through slaughter?

He formed a hand seal, grabbed it, and refined it. A quarter of an hour later, he obtained a dark crystal twice the size of a millet grain.

After extracting the spider's inner core, he leaped into the air and flew toward his next target.

As his cultivation increased, the God-Slaying Finger grew more powerful. Lin Sui looked forward to seeing its effect after he reached Foundation Establishment.

This training expedition in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range lasted three whole years.

The youth leaping through the forest had shed his childishness and grown as tall as a young man, standing nearly half a head taller than Su Fuxi.

Master and disciple made their home in the Demonic Beast Forest and did not return to the Azure Cloud Sect once.

Every seven days, they returned to the Purple Flower Valley Market and rented a room for medicinal baths. Their days followed the same routine over and over, until the day Lin Sui needed to break through to Foundation Establishment.

In this world, cultivators had to undergo a lightning tribulation each time they broke through to a major realm, starting with Foundation Establishment. Tribulation lightning tempered the body; it was both a tribulation and a gift from the Heavenly Dao.

Each major realm had a corresponding tribulation. For example, one faced nine bolts of heavenly lightning at Foundation Establishment. Since Foundation Establishment was the foundation for entering the Dao and the first realm, the number of tribulation lightning bolts was nine times its realm number.

Thus, the Foundation Establishment lightning tribulation consisted of one set of nine: nine bolts in total.

All cultivators at the same level faced the same number of tribulation lightning bolts, but their quality and power varied from person to person and could change.

Naturally, Su Fuxi could not let him undergo Tribulation Transcendence at an inn in the market.

She picked Lin Sui up and headed straight for the Demonic Beast Mountain Range.

With her acting as his Dao guardian, there was naturally no need for any other defensive formations. Just in case, Su Fuxi gave Lin Sui a defensive jade slip.

Dark clouds suddenly blanketed the valley, and wind, rain, lightning, and thunder raged together. Lightning brewed within the heavy clouds. Then the clouds slowly began to spin, forming a vortex that blotted out the sky and sun. The power of the Heavenly Dao contained within it seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth.

Su Fuxi could not help drawing a breath. She felt this spectacle was already much like her own Golden Core lightning tribulation.

During her Foundation Establishment lightning tribulation, she felt as though she had been struck nine times by ordinary lightning. It had not been particularly difficult to get through, but afterward, the sight of lightning made her scalp tingle. She really had been struck until she feared it.

She was not the protagonist. Every tribulation was a trial of life and death!

Lightning really did strike her body. Being struck by heavenly lightning was no joke; if their luck was poor, many cultivators were reduced to flying ash on the spot.

That was why she had Lin Sui strengthen his foundation: so he could withstand the lightning tribulation head-on.

Only a heaven's chosen who had grown strong truly had hope of attaining the great Dao.

With a rumble, a fist-thick bolt of lightning shining with blue light struck straight down from the vortex of dark clouds and hit Lin Sui.

In Su Fuxi's experience, the first three bolts were the weakest and could be used to temper the body. After that, each bolt was stronger than the last, and cultivation was needed to break the lightning apart. One could then draw it into the body or disperse it entirely.

She had explained all of this to Lin Sui in detail, but exactly how he handled it was up to him.

Perhaps because he had persisted with Blood Refining Body Tempering, Lin Sui seemed hardly bothered. Only with the last two bolts did he break them apart slightly before continuing to draw the lightning in to temper his body. He passed the tribulation smoothly and with ease.

Afterward, rich spiritual energy rushed into his body, thoroughly cleansing his meridians and marrow. He successfully reached Foundation Establishment.

Lin Sui's clothes were in tatters, his hair was scorched black, and his appearance was not fit to be seen.

He vanished from before Su Fuxi in the blink of an eye. When he reappeared an incense stick's time later, he was neatly groomed and clean, standing properly before her.

"Master, your disciple has finally entered the Foundation Establishment Stage." Lin Sui lowered his head slightly to look at Su Fuxi. His expression was composed, but his shining eyes remained fixed on her, as though he was hoping for a little praise.

Su Fuxi merely nodded, one hand behind her back. "Not bad. Since you've reached Foundation Establishment, let's return to the sect and inform the sect master."

"Yes, Master." Lin Sui's eyes dimmed slightly. Annoyed, he took a simple, ancient-looking black sword from his storage bag and held it easily in his hand. "But your disciple still needs three days to refine this sword."

Su Fuxi nodded. "Mm."

He had told himself to be composed; he was no longer a child. After reminding himself of that, Lin Sui put his thoughts aside and immediately sat down cross-legged.

He drew his spiritual sense out from between his brows, wrapped it around the Mystic Sword, and channeled his cold spiritual power into it, beginning to refine his sword.

Three days... Su Fuxi often saw him holding this sword. Presumably, after spending so much time together, the sword had grown familiar with him, which was why he said he needed only three days to refine it enough to ride it.

He could forget about refining the sword completely in less than three months. To her surprise, however, Lin Sui actually did refine it completely.

The blade had now entirely shed its dullness, and all the talisman papers had fallen away. Light rippled over it; it was a sword of extraordinary quality, with a trace of eerie sword intent of its own. An ordinary touch would cause injury.

Su Fuxi glanced at the Mystic Sword circling Lin Sui, a red halo shimmering around it, and was speechless for a moment. Forget it. I don't want to talk to geniuses like them anymore.

"Let's go!" She took a step, and a flying sword instantly appeared beneath her feet. Bearing her along, it became a streak of rainbow light and shot out of the forest and into the sky.

Lin Sui hurriedly stepped onto the Mystic Sword he had finished refining. Blue sword light flashed as he followed closely behind.

Only after they left did two plainly dressed Foundation Establishment cultivators emerge from the forest. One said enviously, "Now that's an immortal master!"

The other sighed. "Yes! She accompanied her disciple in training for three whole years and personally acted as his Dao guardian. To have a master like that... We wandering cultivators can only envy him..."

The great hall of Azure Cloud Peak.

"From this day forward, our Azure Cloud Sect has gained another Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Li Yuanqing looked at Lin Sui with great satisfaction. He took out a spiritual pill, which flew toward the young man below the dais and hovered before him.

"This is a second-tier Spirit-Concentrating Pill, a gift for your Foundation Establishment. Cultivate diligently from now on. You may go with your master!"

"Yes. This disciple thanks the sect master for his gift."

Su Fuxi saluted the sect master and withdrew, with a quiet Lin Sui following behind her.

"Only after breaking through to Foundation Establishment can one be said to have truly set foot on the path of the Dao. Lin Sui, do not let down your natural talent or the sect master's expectations."

One tall and one short, the two stepped onto the rope bridge, one behind the other. The once-pitiful, timid boy had now grown into a fine, upright tree, walking steadily behind the slightly shorter woman.

Hearing her words, Lin Sui paused briefly. A fierce wind howled through the cliffs, lifting the hems of their robes. Looking at her familiar figure, he suddenly realized she was no longer as tall as she had once seemed.

He nodded, then remembered she could not see him and said, "Yes, your disciple will remember. I certainly won't let the sect down..."

He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "The sect master's expectations... What about you, Master?"

Su Fuxi abruptly stopped and slowly turned halfway around, raising her eyes beneath the purple silk to look at him. She spoke as though casually:

"Me? Naturally... I hope you succeed in your cultivation. Lin Sui, a first-generation disciple of Chongming Pavilion-you're a genius."

"Yes, your disciple certainly will not let down your teachings."

The wind grew stronger, their sleeves fluttering and snapping as they continued quietly across the long rope bridge.

From behind, Su Fuxi had the graceful bearing of an immortal. She wore very few ornaments in her hair, save for the white jade hairpin she wore year-round. As the wind blew, her dark hair danced with the purple silk ribbon, every detail like a painting.

Lin Sui had seen her like this countless times.

If this was what cultivating immortality for a lifetime was like, he would not find it lonely.

Looking back on these years of cultivation, from their first meeting to their arrival at the sect, his master had been too perfect, like a bright moon shining on him alone.

In cultivation and daily life, she cared for him like family, looking after his every need.

The words "respect one's master and honor the Dao" weighed on his heart, yet they could not stop faint, secret, presumptuous thoughts from arising.

This was fine too: master and disciple together for a lifetime, just the two of them.

"Master, why did you take Lin Sui as your disciple?"

As they stepped onto the stairs, Lin Sui looked at Su Fuxi's back and could not help asking.

Su Fuxi paused for a moment. Without looking back, she said with a hint of a smile, "Naturally, I took a disciple because I wanted one. Besides, it would have been a pity to let talent like yours go to waste."

Lin Sui frowned inwardly. So it was because of his talent.

Otherwise...