Chapter 34: A Joyous Occasion

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Compared with the Qi Refining stage, Foundation Establishment brought about a profound transformation in Li Ji'an's dantian. The magical power within now circulated without end, its might and density utterly beyond comparison.

“As expected, this is not a gap that quantity alone can bridge.”

With a slight circulation of his magical power, Li Ji'an felt terrifyingly strong.

“Your goodwill is deeply appreciated. I shall remember it. Please return for now; we shall gather again once I emerge from seclusion.”

His magical power surged as he sent his reply to everyone congratulating him outside the cave abode.

When they had met a little over a month ago, he had still needed to address them respectfully as seniors. Now, at last, he could speak to them as equals, and the burden was considerably lighter.

He then sent voice transmissions to Tong Yaoyao and Zhao Shuyao as well, thanking them for protecting him during his seclusion.

Now that Foundation Establishment had been achieved, he merely needed to spend some more time in seclusion consolidating his realm. There was no longer any need to worry about being disturbed.

Only after everyone outside the cave abode had dispersed did Li Ji'an carefully review and summarize the experience and insights he had gained from his first Foundation Establishment in this lifetime, making preparations for his next life in advance.

“His magical power is sufficiently pure, but not sufficiently dense. The cultivation method is the primary reason. In my next life, I must cultivate a more profound method.”

“There is still room for improvement in my physical body. If I could attempt Foundation Establishment with the body of a second-tier body cultivator and contain twice as much spiritual energy, perhaps the spiritual pressure would be sufficient.”

“My soul is more than adequate, with strength to spare. I need only proceed step by step.”

“The primary function of a Foundation Establishment Pill is merely to make up for one's shortcomings. If one's own strength is sufficient, would it not be better to proceed without one?

“What exactly was that faint, mysterious sensation I experienced before taking the Foundation Establishment Pill?

“If I do not take one in my next life, can I seize that fleeting opportunity? What benefits might it bring?”

…

After finishing his summary, Li Ji'an once again sensed the results of his Foundation Establishment in greater detail.

There was no need to mention his dantian or magical power.

His soul had improved further as a result of completing Foundation Establishment, faintly approaching the level of the late Foundation Establishment stage. This was within his expectations.

His physical body had not changed. To advance to second-tier body cultivation, he would need to undergo further tempering with a second-tier demon core.

He then made a horizontal comparison.

“My aura of magical power… seems even stronger than Yan Qingwan's was twelve years ago.”

“When Xiao Changfeng established his foundation last year, his aura did not seem as strong as mine is now.”

After carefully recalling and comparing them, Li Ji'an felt somewhat surprised.

Unless the other two had used secret techniques to conceal their auras, he felt that the aura of his magical power now surpassed theirs.

“Could there truly be differences in the strength of Foundation Establishment?”

Over the years, he had consulted a great deal of information concerning Foundation Establishment.

One theory held that Foundation Establishment itself could be superior or inferior: there were inferior Dao Foundations, superior Dao Foundations, and even Heavenly Dao Foundations. It was also said that these distinctions affected subsequent realms.

However, many great experts had rejected this theory. Among them was the late Golden Core ancestor of the Azure Cloud Sect. He had observed the differences between the Foundation Establishment of many core disciples and inner disciples within the sect, yet had found no obvious pattern. This empirical evidence led him to reject the theory.

According to him, after Foundation Establishment, all cultivators' dantians were fundamentally alike. The only difference was the strength of their magical power, which had nothing to do with the quality of their Foundation Establishment and should instead be influenced by their cultivation during the Foundation Establishment stage and the quality of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Yet some ancient texts recorded only that Foundation Establishment was related to one's Dao path, without mentioning any distinction in quality.

This claim, however, had also been rejected by the ancestor of the Myriad Arts Palace, the most powerful cultivator in the entire Azure Firmament Domain. At the Nascent Soul stage, he had declared that he had never sensed any influence from Foundation Establishment on the Nascent Soul realm.

“Could it truly be as the Azure Cloud Sect's ancestor said? Could the grade of the Foundation Establishment Pill have affected the strength of one's magical power after successfully establishing a foundation?”

After giving it some thought, Li Ji'an compared the differences between himself and Yan Qingwan.

He and Yan Qingwan cultivated the same method, and neither had taken any breakthrough pills during the Qi Refining stage. Judging solely from the state of their magical power, the greatest difference was that he had used a premium Foundation Establishment Pill, while Yan Qingwan had used an inferior one.

Having personally experienced the process of Foundation Establishment, he was certain that the pill's principal effect was to provide the dantian with additional magical power and increase the spiritual pressure.

“It should be so!”

After reasoning it through, Li Ji'an arrived at a highly probable conclusion.

The premium Foundation Establishment Pill had provided more magical power and greater spiritual pressure, resulting in magical power that was stronger and denser once condensed into liquid form.

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Xiao Changfeng's magical power had already been exceptionally strong. Although he had received no assistance from a Foundation Establishment Pill, it had nevertheless surpassed the additional magical power Yan Qingwan had gained from taking an inferior pill.

After reaching this conclusion, Li Ji'an felt fortunate, and even more grateful to Little Fire Spirit.

The quality of a Foundation Establishment Pill affected not only the likelihood of success, but also the strength of one's foundation afterward.

“I established my foundation at the age of thirty-seven in this life, and because I took a premium Foundation Establishment Pill, my starting point is unexpectedly high. I must not squander this advantage.”

Having confirmed the results of his Foundation Establishment in this life, Li Ji'an began to look ahead and formulate his plans for the future.

“In this life, I shall seek to form a Golden Core with all my strength, so long as doing so does not compromise my safety!”

One must plan for the present in order to plan for a lifetime.

And without planning for a lifetime, how could one plan for immortality?

Moreover, now that he had successfully established his foundation, his vitality had become considerably more vigorous. Conservatively speaking, his lifespan was at least two hundred and fifty or sixty years.

He had at least two hundred years left before he would age backward into youth.

Of course, in his previous life, when he had nourished the queen ant with his blood and qi, he had already understood that expending blood and qi could also hasten the reversal of aging. He could even reasonably infer that certain secret techniques, such as Blood-Burning Escape, which consumed vast quantities of blood, qi, and vitality, could advance the process by a great many years.

Strictly speaking, the upper limit of when he could reverse his aging was controlled by his cultivation, but the lower limit had always remained in his own hands.

If doing so would benefit his ultimate goal of becoming an immortal who would live through ten thousand lifetimes, he could reverse his aging a hundred years ahead of schedule.

However, as things stood, there was no meaning in doing so. Moreover, every additional reversal of aging represented another enormous crisis and challenge.

No matter how thorough the arrangements were, how could they provide the same sense of security as possessing sufficient strength oneself?

“Golden Core Formation!”

Having established his next goal for this life, Li Ji'an's gaze became resolute.

Foundation Establishment was divided into the early, middle, and late stages, with each stage bringing about a qualitative transformation.

Whenever such a transformation occurred, the might and density of one's magical power increased substantially.

The higher the realm, the greater the difference brought about by each qualitative change.

According to numerous records, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator possessed more than twice the strength of an early-stage cultivator, while a late-stage cultivator was twice as strong as one in the middle stage.

“With my middle-grade spiritual root aptitude in this life, and considering the cultivation method I practice, reaching perfection in the early Foundation Establishment stage will likely take at least thirty years.”

After recalling the many records and combining them with his own circumstances, Li Ji'an gained a clear understanding of himself and made a realistic assessment.

“Even if I can reach the perfection of Foundation Establishment and qualify to attempt Golden Core Formation, it will probably be a century from now.”

And that did not even include the two major bottlenecks of the Foundation Establishment stage.

These two bottlenecks were more difficult than those of the Qi Refining stage. Even superior-grade spiritual roots could not avoid them; only earth spiritual roots and those above them were exempt.

Li Ji'an was not particularly worried about the bottlenecks of Foundation Establishment, however. According to the records, aside from basic resources such as spiritual veins and Daoist sanctuaries, these bottlenecks primarily concerned one's state of mind and comprehension rather than the refinement of magical power. Many people needed to enter the mortal world to gain experience, or else retreat into seclusion and ponder in solitude.

Because repeated reversals of aging had enhanced his comprehension, he had confidence in himself.

“The cultivation world is subject to constant upheaval. No one can say what will happen over the next hundred years. I am still lacking a way to protect my Dao path.”

Now that his goal had been set, the next step was to determine how to ensure that he could achieve it safely.

Based on his analysis of combat and killing in the cultivation world, Li Ji'an believed the safest method was to fight from an extreme distance by commanding spirit beasts, controlling puppets, or arranging formations in advance. One might not even need to meet one's opponent face-to-face. This not only reduced the likelihood of injury and death, but also avoided the possibility of forming grudges and being hunted down.

The next-best method involved talismans and magical artifacts, controlled from a distance to engage in battle.

Such methods could be used in emergencies, allowed one to avoid close contact with an opponent, and consumed relatively little of one's own strength.

The method below that was direct spell combat. This required one to fight personally and consumed a great deal of energy.

The worst method was close-quarters combat by a body cultivator, along with certain secret techniques and cultivation methods designed for melee attacks.

The cultivation world was full of strange and unexpected abilities. There was no guarantee that an opponent did not possess some hidden trump card. If one engaged in close combat and the other party suddenly produced a divine artifact, there might be no chance to escape.

However, when Li Ji'an prepared his own methods of protecting his Dao path, this order was reversed.

First and foremost, he had to ensure that his physical body could withstand a fatal blow at a critical moment. This was the key to guarding against hidden attackers, and his deepest trump card—one he would not reveal under ordinary circumstances.

Second, he absolutely had to master one or two escape techniques, allowing him to withdraw at the first moment of danger. The Crimson Dragon Escape that Yan Qingwan had previously taught him was precisely such a technique.

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Third were talismans and magical artifacts.

Now that he had successfully established his foundation, his magical power was dense and his soul was comparable to that of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. He had to make progress in second-tier talismans. Although they were not his most fundamental trump card, they would certainly be his most powerful source of offensive strength.

If he could draw late second-tier offensive talismans, he would possess the offensive power of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

His final trump card, and the outermost layer of his defenses, was Gua Gua.

As for the formation inheritance Granny You had passed on to him, he temporarily had no spare energy to study it. Moreover, that inheritance only reached the first tier, so it was of limited use to him now that he had entered the Foundation Establishment stage.

“A second-tier body cultivator requires the core of a second-tier Golden-Armored Beast… The difficulty is too great. I shall put it aside for now.”

“Within the region, it is difficult to find any profound cultivation methods for the Foundation Establishment stage.”

“Second-tier talismans… I should first pay a visit to the talisman inheritance given to me by the Grand Elder.”

“Gua Gua's inferior bloodline has already reached the second tier thanks to the wholehearted assistance of Little Qiao and the Fire Spirit. Barring an unexpected opportunity, there is likely no possibility of further advancement.”

…

A month later, the transformation of his dantian was complete, and his Foundation Establishment realm had stabilized. Li Ji'an emerged from seclusion.

“Manager Qi offers his congratulations on behalf of the main family! It is only a small gift; I hope you will accept it.”

Manager Qi had accurately estimated the time and was waiting outside.

The moment Li Ji'an emerged from the cave abode, he presented him with a scarlet spirit ginseng. It was an auxiliary ingredient for a low-grade second-tier pill and the primary ingredient in a Beauty-Preserving Pill. Worth roughly three hundred spirit stones, it was particularly difficult to obtain.

It was no light gift.

“Manager Qi, you are too kind.”

Li Ji'an accepted it with a smile. For an ordinary Foundation Establishment wanderer with whom one was not especially close, a gift worth three hundred spirit stones was somewhat excessive. But for a second-tier alchemist who had once refined a supreme-grade pill, it was hardly significant.

Moreover, Li Ji'an understood exactly what Manager Qi wanted.

If the Immortal City could gain another second-tier alchemist, it would bring the city greater popularity and profit.

“Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Li. This is a small token of my regard. Please accept it.”

“Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Li. Your future is boundless.”

…

Those able to settle in the inner city of the Immortal City were, by and large, Foundation Establishment wanderers who possessed extraordinary skills in some field. Their demand for second-tier pills was greater, and they were more willing to befriend a second-tier alchemist who had refined a supreme-grade pill.

Likewise, Li Ji'an was interested in the inherited skills of several among them and was willing to cultivate their acquaintance.

In any case, he had already become famous when he refined that supreme-grade pill, whether he had wanted the attention or not. And his goal in this life was to form a Golden Core. With more than two hundred years ahead of him, he might even outlive these older cultivators. For now, he had no urgent need to consider his next reversal of aging.

“I thank you all for your goodwill. I shall host a small celebratory banquet another day. I hope you will honor me with your presence.”

After exchanging pleasantries with the many fellow artisans—

“Xie Gui pays his respects to Senior Li. On my master's orders, I have brought a modest gift to congratulate Senior on successfully establishing his foundation.”

Xie Gui kept his head lowered as he held out a jade bottle in both hands.

“Master Zou has been thoughtful. Please convey my thanks to him.”

Li Ji'an had encountered many people with Alchemist Zou's temperament and felt no particular emotion toward him.

Xie Gui hurriedly bowed and let out a long breath.

Previously, Alchemist Zou had relied on his seniority to slight and offend Li Ji'an. When he heard a month ago that Li Ji'an had successfully established his foundation, he had become deeply anxious, fearing that Li Ji'an would hold a grudge.

Yet Li Ji'an had actually addressed him as “Master Zou” in front of everyone, and Xie Gui immediately set his mind at ease.

No sooner had he sent Xie Gui away than another person appeared, which surprised Li Ji'an somewhat.

“Jiuchan represents the Liu family in congratulating Fellow Daoist Li on successfully establishing his foundation. May your immortal path flourish.”

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