Chapter 186: Serving Concubine Establishes Foundation, Pursues Evil Cultivator

186. Chapter 186: Serving Concubine Establishes Foundation, Pursues Evil Cultivator

"All right, Ziyu, let's go out."

Xiao Zhangqing said with a smile, then made an encouraging gesture toward Lin Zixi, and turned to leave the cultivation chamber.

Even though Lin Ziyu still felt uneasy inside, she could only follow Xiao Zhangqing and depart.

From behind, Lin Zixi shouted loudly, "Lord, rest assured, I won't disappoint you!"

Buzz~ the cultivation chamber's formation shuts down.

Xiao Zhangqing turned his head to look at the worry‑lined Lin Ziyu, smiled reassuringly, and said, "Don't worry, your sister's talent is no worse than yours; establishing the foundation isn't too difficult for her."

Indeed, that's the case.

The Foundation Establishment Realm is a threshold that countless Scattered Cultivators see as a heavenly chasm; crossing it is like ascending to the heavens.

Because once a Scattered Cultivator moves from the Qi Refining Realm into the Foundation Establishment Realm, it's not merely a breakthrough in cultivation; it also brings a drastic shift in status and standing.

In small cultivation markets, the Foundation Establishment Realm is the absolute elite, the object that all factions vie to recruit;

In some minor cultivation families, the Foundation Establishment Realm is the cornerstone guaranteeing the clan's prosperity, even earning the title of a Foundation Establishment 'Ancestor'; even in the major Core Formation sects, those at the Foundation Establishment Realm can hold positions such as steward or elder; and in Liyang Immortal City, one of the most prosperous places in the Cultivation World, the Foundation Establishment Realm already places one among the upper class, allowing a carefree life, and if one possesses a special skill or has deep accumulation at this stage, even the city lord's residence will court them!

So.

This threshold is enough to block ninety‑nine percent of Scattered Cultivators.

But for core disciples of great families or major sects, the Foundation Establishment Realm is not difficult!

As long as one does not have a low‑quality spiritual root or extremely poor talent, the chance of establishing a foundation is relatively high.

After all, with a high‑quality spiritual root, aided by a Foundation Establishment Pill, the success rate exceeds ninety percent, and even without the pill there is still hope; with a mid‑quality spiritual root, if one reaches full Qi Refining at sixty years old, taking a Foundation Establishment Pill can bring the success rate up to forty‑to‑fifty percent.

So, for Scattered Cultivators with mid‑quality spiritual roots, what blocks their foundation success is not talent but resources: Spirit Stones and Foundation Establishment Pills.

The Lin sisters, ever since they followed Xiao Zhangqing, especially after arriving in Liyang Immortal City, have resources for cultivation that are comparable to, if not surpassing, those of core disciples of the major Core Formation sects.

It's not just the Foundation Establishment Pill; the various heavenly materials and earthly treasures they use in cultivation are far more valuable than a single pill, their foundation is extremely deep, effectively supplementing some spiritual‑root talent.

With such generous conditions, the success probability for a mid‑quality spiritual root can reach seventy‑to‑eighty percent, or even higher.

Moreover, Lin Zixi's spirit is excellent, unlike her sister Lin Ziyu, who can be indecisive.

Therefore, Xiao Zhangqing believes Lin Zixi's chance of establishing a foundation should be higher than Lin Ziyu's.

…

After Lin Zixi began her breakthrough, in less than half a day, the cave residence started showing foundation‑establishment phenomena.

This shows her accumulation is extremely deep and her foundation is solid, so she easily broke through the full Qi Refining bottleneck and officially began the breakthrough.

However, this place sits on a third‑tier spirit vein, where the concentration of spiritual Qi is so high that the spiritual Qi needed for foundation establishment is insufficient to cause a noticeable disturbance, so at first the cave's formation almost completely concealed it; the outside world could not perceive it, only Xiao Zhangqing and Lin Ziyu knew.

Until three days later, the spiritual pressure emanating from the cultivation chamber suddenly changed—that characteristic shift occurs when gaseous mana begins condensing into liquid mana.

At this stage, Lin Zixi's usual foundation and accumulation are of little use.

It now depends on the quality of the spiritual root.

If one has a high‑quality spiritual root, even without a Foundation Establishment Pill there is still a good chance of completing it unaided.

But Lin Zixi only has a mid‑quality spiritual root, clearly insufficient.

Fortunately, she had long known the foundation‑establishment process; after sensing the difficulty of the transition, she decisively took a Foundation Establishment Pill.

With the pill's effect, the breakthrough, which had shown signs of stagnation, instantly surged past the barrier and became smooth again.

The heavenly and earthly spiritual Qi poured continuously into the cultivation chamber, and the foundation‑establishment anomaly began to spread outward.

If this occurred in a second‑tier cave residence in Liyang Immortal City, anyone establishing a foundation would be a big deal, attracting much attention and envy.

But in a third‑tier cave on the main peak of Liyang Mountain, seeing a foundation‑establishment anomaly would hardly raise any eyebrows.

It lasted another half a day. The gathering of spiritual Qi abruptly stopped, and the liquid mana spiritual pressure of the Foundation Establishment Realm streamed out of the cultivation chamber, indicating that Lin Zixi had completed the most crucial step of foundation establishment, with her internal mana now converted to liquid form.

Next comes the Soul Transformation and the metamorphosis of the flesh.

Reaching this point actually means that the foundation is more than half complete; the most dangerous barrier has passed, and the Soul Transformation and flesh metamorphosis only require maintaining one's spirit while cooperating with heavenly‑earthly spiritual Qi and liquid mana to reshape the body.

Thus, after another two days, the activity in the cultivation chamber vanished completely, the formation opened wide, and Lin Zixi's figure gracefully walked out.

Lin Ziyu, who had been waiting outside for a long time, immediately greeted her, unable to hide the joy in her eyes, and asked, "Did the breakthrough end smoothly?"

Lin Zixi's eyes also showed obvious excitement and satisfaction; she nodded and said, "Very smooth. I told you, sister, my foundation establishment will definitely have no problem!"

Then she hurriedly asked, "Where is the Lord?"

Their demeanor was like that of a little girl awaiting praise and recognition. The two sisters, having cultivated to this day, had shifted from initially yearning to become stronger and gain self‑protection in the Cultivation World to now not wanting to leave Xiao Zhangqing or disappoint him.

So after the breakthrough, the person Lin Zixi most wanted to see was second only to her sister Lin Ziyu; Xiao Zhangqing was the top priority.

"Lord has been protecting you these past few days, seeing you pass the toughest mana barrier, and then yesterday the Ancient City Lord came to request, so you went out together…" Lin Ziyu looked at her sister's ready‑to‑'present treasure' expression and couldn't help but laugh and shake her head.

"Ah, what trouble does the Ancient City Lord have that he can't solve himself, needing the Lord to intervene?" Lin Zixi's enthusiasm waned, and she pouted slightly in complaint.

Lin Ziyu said, "It seems that recently a powerful Demon Sect Evil Cultivator arrived near Liyang Immortal City, rampaging and slaughtering caravans traveling to and from the city, Scattered Cultivators, and cultivators venturing out. This Evil Cultivator not only possesses Core Formation Realm strength but also employs extremely cruel methods; his killings aren't merely for profit but appear to be cultivating some malevolent divine skill. Both the Ancient City Lord and Valley Master Su of Baihua Valley personally led the pursuit for over a month, yet he kept escaping. That's why the Ancient City Lord came to request the Lord to descend and see if he can ambush this beast…"

…

…

Seven days later.

Four hundred li south of Liyang Immortal City lies a mountain range called Shuangfeng Ridge.

This place is home to a cultivation family, the Jin family.

The Jin family is not large; it has only one elder at the Foundation Establishment Initial Stage, while there are dozens of members at the Qi Refining Realm, and countless ordinary descendants—thousands in total—forming a small town at the foot of Shuangfeng Ridge called Jin Family Town.

A foundation‑establishment family, even in a remote area, counts as a respectable force.

However, in the heartland of the Da Yu cultivation world, adjacent to Liyang Immortal City, a foundation‑establishment family is nothing special.

At this moment, three rather striking men and women entered an inn in the ordinary town at the foot of Shuangfeng Ridge.

As members of a foundation‑establishment family, even without spiritual roots and unable to cultivate, their knowledge surpasses that of ordinary mortals.

Because they frequently interact with many cultivators, and this town often hosts passing cultivators who temporarily stay, cultivators are not unfamiliar to them.

It's just that the three of them today, inexplicably, gave the innkeeper a sense of an unattainably lofty aura.

Even though they showed no threatening aura, they did not stir deep awe in his heart.

He had never felt this feeling, even from an elder of his clan.

One must know that the clan's elders are all at the Late Stage of Lian Qi!

"These two men and one woman, the three seniors, could they be the legendary Foundation Establishment cultivators like the ancestors?"

"Are the three Foundation Establishment cultivators coming to Jin Family Town enemies or friends? Do they intend harm to our Jin family, or are they merely passing through?"

The innkeeper felt uneasy, dared not be slow, sent the waiter away, and personally went forward to greet them.

Fortunately, the three cultivators were quite easygoing, made no excessive demands nor caused trouble, merely ordered some wine and dishes, and sat at a window-side seat on the second floor.

The innkeeper bowed and stepped back, then promptly reported the matter up the chain, asking the clan's opinion on whether to come and inspect.

"It's already the eighth day, and three consecutive attempts at waiting for a hare have all failed. Will that Yin Third Young Master really come to Twin Peak Ridge?" Xiao Zhangqing poured himself a drink and asked the other two.

That's right.

These three are Xiao Zhangqing, Gu Zongyuan, and Su Wushuang, who are out hunting a Demon Sect Evil Cultivator.

The Baihua Valley led by Su Wushuang, back then under the deterrence of Xiao Zhangqing and Gu Zongyuan, could not relocate the sect to Liyang Immortal City; she originally intended to seek other third‑tier spirit veins, but after years of searching found none suitable.

In the end, having no other choice, they simply occupied that second‑tier superior spirit vein as Baihua Valley's gate, placing most of the disciples and the elders of the Pseudo‑Nascent Soul Realm there.

As for Su Wushuang and the two Early Nascent Soul Supreme Elders of Baihua Valley, they spend most of their time renting third‑tier cave dwellings in Liyang Immortal City for cultivation.

Regarding this, Gu Zongyuan did not make things difficult for Su Wushuang.

After all, the two Nascent Soul cultivators residing in Liyang Immortal City are acting within the rules, and it will not affect the layout of Liyang Immortal City.

At most, it merely adds a powerful neighbor near Liyang Immortal City, which is a good thing for the city, capable of deterring many petty troublemakers.

Just like this time, that Demon Sect Nascent Soul Evil Cultivator caused chaos near Liyang Immortal City, killing many of its cultivators, and likewise many Baihua Valley disciples met a tragic end, including several elite Foundation Establishment disciples and elders of Baihua Valley.

Thus, the hunt for the Evil Cultivator 'Yin Third Young Master' is no longer just a matter of Liyang Immortal City; the master of Baihua Valley, Su Wushuang, also takes personal action.

Only.

Although this Yin Third Young Master is not exceptionally strong, being only at the Early Nascent Soul stage, he is extremely adept at evasion techniques.

In recent months, Gu Zongyuan and Su Wushuang have blocked him several times, but he always escaped unscathed, making capture impossible.

Having no other way, Gu Zongyuan asked Xiao Zhangqing to step in and help.

Because in that battle with Zhu Qingyun years ago, Xiao Zhangqing's evasion technique amazed them; even Zhu Qingyun, at Late Nascent Soul, was slightly inferior. (End of chapter)