Conditions for Foundation Establishment

Cups clinked ceaselessly in the private room.

"Brother Hu, you've been cultivating the longest. Could you tell us what resources we need to prepare for Foundation Establishment?"

Tiezhu asked earnestly.

Everyone else leaned forward in anticipation. They all knew a little, but none had studied the matter closely.

Wang Hu kept nothing to himself and told them everything he knew in full.

"Foundation Establishment is the process of turning the Spiritual Power in your Dantian from a gas into a liquid. Once it's all converted, you'll have made a successful breakthrough."

"It sounds simple, but doing it is fraught with a thousand hardships and ten thousand difficulties."

By his reckoning, there were three key conditions for Foundation Establishment.

First, one needed a place to cultivate that was full of Spiritual Qi.

During Foundation Establishment, the Dantian absorbed vast amounts of Spiritual Qi, liquefying it into Spiritual Power within the body.

If the Spiritual Qi ran dry or the supply failed to meet demand, the breakthrough would be in jeopardy.

Second, one needed to gather the corresponding five-element spiritual materials to nourish one's Spirit Roots.

The more completely they were nourished, the more stable the Dao foundation one built.

The more varied a person's Spirit Root attributes, the more spiritual materials they needed to gather.

Someone like Tang Zhan, who had water and fire dual Spirit Roots, only needed to gather spiritual materials of two attributes.

Some people with Heavenly Spirit Roots needed to nourish only a single Spirit Root. Once it was fully nourished, they could immediately attempt Foundation Establishment. This, too, was a testament to their talent.

Qin Fei's heart sank when he heard this.

He had a Pseudo Spirit Root, which meant he had four Spirit Roots: metal, wood, water, and fire.

Didn't that mean he had to nourish all four attributes to perfection before Foundation Establishment if he wanted to build a stable Dao foundation?

Wang Hu saw his concern and explained with a smile:

"Nourishing your Spirit Roots only affects how strong your Dao foundation will be. It doesn't affect your chances of breaking through. More is better, but there's no need to force it."

"Those five-element materials are extremely hard to gather. Just do what you can."

Only then did Qin Fei breathe a sigh of relief.

"What about the third condition?"

"You should all know the third one. It's the famous second-tier pill, the Foundation Establishment Pill."

"To be honest, the odds of Foundation Establishment are very low. Ninety-nine out of a hundred cultivators at Qi Refinement Perfection fail to break through. At that point, they can only rely on the power of pills."

"The Foundation Establishment Pill is widely recognized as a supreme medicine for Foundation Establishment. It can increase your odds of breaking through by a full ten percent. But it's priceless and rarely available, and the major powers hold a near monopoly on it. You'll have to find a way to get one yourselves."

Wang Hu let out a long sigh. When he was young, he had seen one at an auction organized in Shangyu Market.

He still remembered the frenzied bidding as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.

That Foundation Establishment Pill had ultimately sold for the astronomical price of eight thousand Spirit Stones and ended up in the Lin Household's hands.

Not long afterward, the Lin Household's third elder announced that he had successfully reached Foundation Establishment.

When Wang Hu finished, everyone drew a sharp breath.

They had known Foundation Establishment was difficult. Among Shangyu Market's million residents, there were no more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators.

But now that they knew why, every one of their hearts sank to rock bottom.

Could I really reach Foundation Establishment in this lifetime?

They could not help searching their hearts.

Qin Fei, however, remained resolute. He had the Heavenly Craft Creation Pavilion; if even he lacked confidence, he might as well give up cultivating for immortality.

The only thing that posed some difficulty was how to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The pill was priceless and rarely available; Spirit Stones alone could not buy one.

Still, Qin Fei was in no hurry. He was only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, and he had plenty of time to find a way.

They chatted for a while longer, and the conversation inevitably turned to the secret realm.

With the appearance of the secret realm's core area, the Rogue Cultivators in Shangyu Market had reached a fever pitch.

"Have you heard? A tower has appeared right in the center of the core area. It's a hundred and eight stories tall!"

"That's right. I also heard that whoever reaches the top can obtain the inheritance left behind by the Heavenly Secrets Sect. Who knows how many Rogue Cultivators are dreaming of soaring into the heavens in a single bound!"

Qin Fei's heart stirred at this.

Could the Heavenly Secrets Sect's inheritance be the Divine Soul Sensing Chapter?

No, that's not right.

If that were the case, Yunxiu would not have invited him to explore the secret realm.

"Those Foundation Establishment cultivators have all joined in. Reaching the top shouldn't be hard, should it?"

"You're mistaken. I hear the mechanisms inside the tower are so ingenious that brute force can't break them. Everyone's still going around in circles!"

The conversation grew lively, and everyone forgot the pressure brought on by the difficulty of Foundation Establishment. The atmosphere around the table gradually warmed.

As it turned out, after Fairy Caiyi and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators entered the core area, they fought several fierce battles.

The Lin Household had originally held the advantage in overall strength, but after Daoist Fuchen arrived, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

The Daoist's strength reached the heavens; he had actually forced Fairy Caiyi onto the defensive.

Twenty years ago, during the great war between the humans and the barbarians, Fairy Caiyi had fought three opponents alone and slain two of the same realm as her.

Who would have thought that, as one mountain rises higher than another, she would find herself on the rare receiving end of a beating against Daoist Fuchen?

Fairy Caiyi seemed to have known this would happen beforehand. She had focused on keeping him tied up in a drawn-out fight, preventing the Lu Household from widening its advantage.

While they fought, quite a few bold people began making their way toward the hundred-story tower at the center.

Only then did the Foundation Establishment cultivators stop fighting and head toward the tower themselves.

Qin Fei secretly clicked his tongue. Just from their descriptions, he could tell how fierce the struggle in the secret realm was.

He could not help feeling fortunate that he had not agreed to Yunxiu's request.

If he had gone in, the aftershock of some Foundation Establishment cultivator's fight might have finished him off.

"Who do you think will win this time?"

"I don't know, but one thing's certain: whoever wins, it'll be a huge blow to Shangyu Market."

At that, everyone fell silent.

They had finally enjoyed a stretch of peaceful days, only for Shangyu Market's two great Foundation Establishment Lineages to come to blows. What if the barbarians took advantage of the situation and attacked?

Humanity's overall strength was not actually inferior to the barbarians', but the tradition of infighting had continued for generations.

No matter who ultimately benefited, it was always the Rogue Cultivators at the bottom who suffered.

Qin Fei shook his head and said:

"There's no use dwelling on it. Now that we've reached Late Qi Refining, we should hurry and prepare the resources for Foundation Establishment. If we can reach Foundation Establishment, we'll be able to protect ourselves no matter how Shangyu Market changes."

Everyone agreed with him. Even Old Zhang and Xu Meiniang nodded.

They chatted a while longer before going their separate ways.

When Qin Fei returned to the puppet scrapyard, the first thing he did was take out the Yama Pendant and post several tasks to collect materials with the four attributes of metal, wood, water, and fire.

Although Wang Hu had said that very few people could nourish their Spirit Roots to perfection and that he should simply do what he could, Qin Fei did not intend to give up.

His aptitude for cultivation was already poor. If he failed to build a powerful Dao foundation as well, his future cultivation would likely face obstacles.

In the long run, even if it delayed his Foundation Establishment, he had to do his best to nourish his Spirit Roots to perfection.

This was a long-term goal that could not be achieved in a single step, so he had to start preparing early.

Just as he was posting the tasks to collect five-element spiritual materials, the Yama Pendant suddenly blazed with light.

A deep voice came from it, devoid of the slightest emotion.

"Underworld Bureau Seventy-Seven, assemble at the Heavenly Mystery Secret Realm in three days."

"Task objective: map the internal structure of the hundred-story tower and the murals on each corresponding floor."

Qin Fei's heart jolted. Frowning, he asked:

"I didn't accept any related task. Has there been a mistake?"

The deep voice sounded again:

"The one-year term has expired. A mandatory task has been assigned automatically."

"If you refuse, Impermanence will come in person to reclaim the Yama Pendant."

P.S. Tomorrow is Tuesday, so there'll be three updates. I hope my fellow Daoists will show some support and keep following the story for Huanghun. I'd be deeply grateful.