The Three Foundation Establishment Gates

After reuniting with the clan leader, Kong Wenxuan boarded the Feather Boat with him, and the two set off for the clan's home at Peacock Ridge.

This time, they made no stops along the way, and the Feather Boat traveled at full speed. They returned to the Lineage in a single day.

Once they arrived, the clan leader, Kong Changgeng, did not let Kong Wenxuan show himself publicly. Instead, he took him straight to the ancestral hall halfway up the mountain, where he first led him in paying respects to the ancestors enshrined there. As he bowed, he murmured:

"After a hundred and fifty-eight years, another member of the Kong Household is preparing to perform Star Inlaying during Foundation Establishment and raise our Lineage's bloodline to the rank of a Ninth-Grade True Spirit. Ancestors, please bless us!"

Kong Wenxuan bowed alongside the clan leader. Though he had greater faith in himself, he could not help but murmur a prayer as well, asking the ancestors for their blessing.

After paying his respects, Kong Changgeng took down the Star Stone from the very top of the altar, beside Ancestor Jianling's memorial tablet, and placed it in Kong Wenxuan's hands.

"Wenxuan, this Star Stone was left behind when our Lineage's Peacock True Spirit Star fell. Keep it on you. It should help when you perform Star Inlaying."

"Yes, clan leader!" Kong Wenxuan did not refuse and accepted the Star Stone at once.

The clan leader then took several jade boxes and bottles of pills from his Storage Bag and handed them over. "The pills in these bottles are all for assisting Foundation Establishment. Some increase or restore Law Power, some strengthen or restore the body's Qi and Blood, some stabilize the Sea of Consciousness after it has been opened, and others can help you suppress the demonic nature in the Peacock Bloodline."

"As for these jade boxes, they contain Spirit Stones, Vermilion Fruits, spiritual incense, talismans to assist with Foundation Establishment, and other such things."

"Use them all when you attempt Foundation Establishment and Star Inlaying. Every little bit of help is worthwhile."

"Yes. Thank you, clan leader." Kong Wenxuan did not refuse the resources the clan had prepared for him, either.

Although Foundation Establishment was mostly his own affair, Star Inlaying was undoubtedly a matter of great importance to the entire Lineage. Thus, he did not refuse any of the resources it had prepared for him.

After paying respects to the ancestors and preparing the resources, the clan leader led Kong Wenxuan to a secluded cultivation chamber beside the spiritual spring at the mountain summit. Kong Wenxuan went straight into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage, still showing no intention of meeting the other clan members, not even his parents.

This was to prevent word of his attempt at Foundation Establishment and Star Inlaying from leaking out and drawing the Du Household's attention.

After all, the rumors that had emerged from Demon-Suppressing Pass had already spread through all the servant-cultivator lineages in Cuckoo County. Even Kong Changgeng had no choice but to be on guard against the Du Household.

Inside the secluded chamber, Kong Wenxuan took Spirit Stones from the jade boxes the clan leader had given him and placed them on the formation laid out there for cultivation and breakthroughs, then activated it.

The surrounding Spiritual Qi, along with the Spiritual Qi in the spiritual spring and the Spirit Stones, began to converge on the chamber, steadily increasing the concentration within.

As the Spiritual Qi grew denser, Kong Wenxuan took two Vermilion Fruits from one of the jade boxes and consumed them one after the other. He refined them into Law Power, increasing the Law Power in his Dantian's sea of Qi, while continuously tempering the five Five Elements Divine Swords within it in preparation for his breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

His eldest uncle and the others had picked a total of eight ripe First-Tier Superior-Grade Vermilion Fruits in the persimmon forest in the mountains south of Demon-Suppressing Pass. Four had been given to the Du Household as tribute. Of the other four, Kong Wenxuan had eaten two to raise his cultivation and sent two back to the Lineage.

He had not expected the clan leader to have saved those last two Vermilion Fruits as well. Now they were being used for his Foundation Establishment attempt, which meant Kong Wenxuan had used all four of the Lineage's Vermilion Fruits.

Seven days later, the Spiritual Qi in the secluded chamber had reached its highest concentration. He had also thoroughly refined the two Vermilion Fruits, and his Dantian's sea of Qi was full of Law Power, at its peak.

Without hesitation, Kong Wenxuan took several sticks of spiritual incense from a jade box, lit them, and placed them in the incense burner in a corner of the chamber. He then took a pill from a jade bottle and swallowed it to strengthen his body's Blood Qi.

In the Jade Slips passed down through the Lineage, he had read every account of experience with breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. All of them mentioned that Foundation Establishment had three gates.

They were the Physical Body Gate, the Law Power Gate, and the Sea of Consciousness Gate-or, in other words, the three gates of essence, Qi, and spirit.

For bloodline cultivators, once they awakened their bloodlines and mastered their Bloodline Divine Abilities, most cultivated Law Power as their primary pursuit. Even so, their bodies would also grow stronger under the effects of their ever-increasing bloodline power and improving Bloodline Divine Abilities.

Though they certainly could not compare to cultivators who specialized in body refinement, bloodline cultivators' bodies were never weak. Generally, their physical strength was seventy to eighty percent that of Demon Beasts at the same stage.

That was usually enough to get them through the Physical Body Gate when attempting a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage. For that reason, Kong Wenxuan had not specifically refined his body during the Qi Refinement Realm.

Now, as he attempted the breakthrough, he only needed to take some pills to increase and restore his body's Blood Qi.

Scree! Scree!

With his body's Qi and Blood pushed to their peak, Kong Wenxuan circulated the bloodline power within him. At once, the cries of a peacock rang out.

A five-colored peacock, three feet tall and cloaked in five-colored light, emerged from his body. Trailing five-colored, five-element peacock feathers behind it, it flew three circles around Kong Wenxuan and raised its head, letting out cry after cry. Finally, it plunged straight into his Dantian's sea of Qi and joined with the Law Power filling it.

The second gate, the Law Power Gate!

Clang! Clang! Clang...

When the five-colored peacock entered the Dantian's sea of Qi, the five Five Elements Divine Swords floating there, ceaselessly absorbing, releasing, and tempering Law Power, all rang out. They swept up and swallowed all the Law Power in the Dantian, then flew to meet the approaching peacock, merging directly with the five colored peacock feathers trailing from its tail.

In an instant, the five feathers of the peacock cloaked in five-colored light became the Five Elements Divine Swords. They rose and spread open-Peacock Spreads Its Tail!

Countless streaks of five-colored Sword Qi and five-colored sword light erupted from the Five Elements Divine Swords in the Peacock Spreads Its Tail formation, sweeping over and covering the entire peacock.

Scree! Scree!

The five-colored peacock now seemed to have become a five-colored divine sword. It raised its head and cried clearly, then spread and beat its wings, flying upward and charging straight at the Sea of Consciousness, which had yet to be opened!

The third gate, the Sea of Consciousness Gate!

Thus, this third gate, the Sea of Consciousness Gate, could be called the most difficult and dangerous gate in the process of Foundation Establishment.

As for the struggle between human nature and demonic nature, and the danger of falling and becoming a Demon Beast, those were matters for after the Sea of Consciousness had been opened and Foundation Establishment had succeeded.

Therefore, the most dangerous part of Foundation Establishment was the final Sea of Consciousness Gate.

Many cultivators lacked sufficient cultivation or preparation. Even with their Blood Qi, bloodline power, and Law Power combined, they could not break through the chaos of the Sea of Consciousness, let alone open it and form Spiritual Consciousness.

For Kong Wenxuan, however, these were not much of a difficulty.

The five-colored peacock, bearing the Five Elements Divine Swords, plunged into the chaos of the Sea of Consciousness like a sharp sword. It raised its head and gave a clear cry, its tail feathers spreading in Peacock Spreads Its Tail as the five Five Elements Divine Swords struck out in succession.

The Azure Wood Divine Sword used Sword Light Differentiation, transforming into twenty-seven streaks of azure sword light that slashed into the chaos of the Sea of Consciousness.

The Black Water Divine Sword used Sword Momentum Like the Tide, surging into the chaos of the Sea of Consciousness like a raging river of sword light.

The Yellow Earth Divine Sword, a heavy sword without an edge, great skill without artifice, struck down like a divine mountain or towering peak, cleaving into the chaos of the Sea of Consciousness.

The Crimson Fire Divine Sword used Sword Qi Thunderclap, blasting into the chaos of the Sea of Consciousness like a scarlet meteor, rolling thunder following in its wake.

The White Metal Divine Sword used Refining the Sword into Threads, transforming into a thread of golden sword light that sliced through the chaos of the Sea of Consciousness with utmost sharpness.

Crack! Crack! Crack-crack... Boom! Rumble...

No matter how solid or powerful the chaos of the Sea of Consciousness was, it could not withstand the combined assault of the five Five Elements Divine Swords. First came the sound of cracking, followed by booming explosions. The entire chaos of the Sea of Consciousness was opened as though heaven and earth were being sundered.

The heavens began to rise and the earth began to settle. A world within the Sea of Consciousness began to open, and Spiritual Consciousness began to be born within it, gathering and growing!

He had successfully broken through the Sea of Consciousness Gate!

Kong Wenxuan had opened his Sea of Consciousness, formed his Spiritual Consciousness, and advanced to the Foundation Establishment Stage.