Chapter 111: Foundation Establishment – Middle
Outside the Spirit Gathering Hall, the rumbling sound of the test formation activating suddenly echoed.
Li Changsheng awoke from his meditation, followed the sound with his gaze, and saw outside the hall a massive ball of chaotic light blocking the entire passage into the hall.
Through the hazy mist of the light formation, he could see a blurred figure in a magic robe undergoing the test.
“Finally, I hope this fellow disciple can pass the test,” Li Changsheng thought to himself.
He turned his head and saw that his fellow disciples, seated on cushions like himself, had similar expressions, also hoping in their hearts that this person could pass the test.
Although someone had arrived, the Overseeing Elder and duty disciples in the Spirit Gathering Hall remained indifferent, immersed in their cultivation.
Only Li Changsheng and others, whose cultivation had reached a bottleneck, could only maintain their peak condition while watching their fellow disciple in the formation advance with difficulty in the darkness.
“Senior Martial Brother, do you know how long this test will last?”
Seeing that the newcomer had not passed the test for a long time, Li Changsheng couldn’t help but ask the middle-aged outer disciple sitting beside him.
“I dare not accept the title of Senior Martial Brother. I am merely a few years older and can only break through to Foundation Establishment now, which is truly a cause for shame.”
The middle-aged cultivator replied modestly before answering:
“This mainly depends on the person themselves. I walked in this formation for a full three days before passing the test and entering this hall.”
“If this fellow disciple in the formation cannot pass, they might even get injured and return empty-handed.
Fellow Daoist, it’s best not to place too much hope on this person. Ten people are almost gathered now, so there’s no need to rush, just wait patiently!”
Hearing this, Li Changsheng also gathered his mind and no longer held too much expectation for the man.
The experience of this middle-aged cultivator was indeed ample. His words hit the mark. After about two or three hours, the formation’s operation ceased.
However, the fellow disciple challenging the formation failed to pass and returned utterly defeated and empty-handed.
But a loss in one area can be a gain in another.
After another two days, amidst the anticipation of Li Changsheng and the others, a spirited female cultivator exuding a sharp aura broke through the formation and entered the hall.
“All of you, wake up!”
The Overseeing Elder, a Golden Core stage cultivator, suddenly stopped cultivating and, with a clear and majestic voice, awakened everyone in the Spirit Gathering Hall.
She sat cross-legged on a high platform, flicked the silver-tasseled whisk in her hand, her black and white eyes gleaming, like the cold light refracted from ten thousand years of Ice Soul, scanning everyone in the hall, and said with slightly parted red lips:
“All duty disciples, prepare the Spirit Gathering Formation for the Breakthrough Foundation Establishment matter.”
“All outer disciples, remember the waiting of these past days. Know that breakthroughs cannot be rushed or impatient; everything should happen naturally, and that is superior grade!”
“Alright, step forward in order and receive your Foundation Establishment Pills!”
The ten disciples who came to break through to Foundation Establishment lined up and, one by one, approached a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, handed over their Identity Jade Plaques, and received a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Li Changsheng subtly observed that besides disciples like himself who received a Foundation Establishment Pill for free.
There were also those who deducted a massive amount of Contribution from their Identity Jade Plaques, and some even paid both Contribution and Spirit Stones to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill.
He immediately understood that among these ten people, some were attempting Foundation Establishment for the second time, and some were even fully purchasing Foundation Establishment Pills for their third attempt.
Besides giving a significant boost to merging Essence, Qi, and Spirit when they converge, the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Its most important function is to protect the meridians, dantian, spiritual sense, sea of consciousness, blood qi, and channels of the person breaking through.
This ensures that even if the breakthrough fails, the person will not suffer too much damage, their Path of Cultivation will not be ruined, and they can continue to cultivate and attempt another breakthrough.
Since someone purchased a Foundation Establishment Pill for the third time, it meant they had already wasted two pills.
“I hope I’m not that unlucky and can succeed in one attempt.”
Li Changsheng prayed inwardly, hoping for a one-time breakthrough even if he had two Foundation Establishment Pills.
Following the duty disciple, Li Changsheng arrived at a secret room on one side of the hall.
“After you enter this secret room, the door will be completely sealed. It can only be opened from the inside or by an Elder. There is no other way.”
“You can find a place to break through with peace of mind; there will be sufficient spiritual energy supply.”
“Alright, you can go in now!”
The duty disciple gave a few instructions and watched Li Changsheng enter the secret room.
Inside the secret room, Li Changsheng looked around.
The entire secret room looked like a spacious basement. The surrounding walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of strange stone material with not a single seam.
After Li Changsheng entered the secret room, the door was firmly locked.
Immediately, within moments, a thick, visibly white spiritual mist began to spread throughout the secret room.
The mist grew denser and the spiritual energy more concentrated. Li Changsheng reached out and grabbed a handful, immediately feeling his palm become wet.
He opened his palm and saw that the spiritual energy had actually liquefied!
After meditating and regulating his breath, Li Changsheng’s state was at its peak. He took out two Foundation Establishment Pills and placed them before him.
One of them was a reward from the Garden Master of the Hundred Herbs Garden, a three-pattern Foundation Establishment Pill, with ninety percent efficacy, a supreme grade among Foundation Establishment Pills.
The other was a Foundation Establishment Pill just given to him by the duty disciple. It had only one crimson pill vein and seventy percent efficacy, ranking as superior grade.
As for the pill to be used for his breakthrough, Li Changsheng naturally prepared to take the best one.
He put the crimson-patterned Foundation Establishment Pill into his game backpack and placed the flower stand containing the three-pattern Foundation Establishment Pill before him.
At the same time, Li Changsheng opened his rest backpack and placed the light point rewards in the first few slots of his game backpack.
If his magical power or spiritual energy became insufficient during the breakthrough, he could directly open the light point rewards to provide support.
With all preparations made, Li Changsheng crushed the flower stand, swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill, and activated a light point:
【 Congratulations to the Player for Obtaining Twenty Days of Cultivation Reward! 】
Strands of spiritual energy rewards instantly appeared in his body, refined into magical power by the Small Five Elements Spirit Technique.
As his magical power grew, Li Changsheng began to circulate the cultivation technique with all his might, mobilizing all his magical power to impact the bottleneck.
Once, twice, thrice…
The surging magical power, like a Jiao Dragon dancing wildly in a great river, continuously impacted and gnawed at the bottleneck of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Simultaneously, this violent magical power was also impacting Li Changsheng’s meridians.
However, having undergone tempering from the Body Refining Magic Formula and Gu Worms, Li Changsheng’s meridians were as firm as rocks, remaining completely still under the impact of the magical power.
“Bang!”
With a loud explosion, a wave of air erupted in the secret room!
Rolling spiritual energy was flung outwards, striking the stone walls of the secret room.
But in an instant, the nearly liquefied spiritual energy surged back towards Li Changsheng, forming a massive vortex and pouring into Li Changsheng’s body.
The bottleneck was broken, but the Three Foundation Establishment Barriers had only just begun!
