Chapter 104: Early Foundation Establishment

"Almost there."

In the small building at Qingya Garden, Du En thought this to himself at this moment.

His current level of cultivation accumulation is Qi Refining Perfection 99/100; he is just a tiny bit short, and as long as he completes his cultivation exercise one more time, he can achieve a breakthrough in his realm.

"They say there will be an anomaly, so there should be quite a big commotion, but at this point, it doesn't really matter anymore."

That Du En was able to switch to cultivating the Firm Spirit Art is not something a normal Qi Refining Perfection cultivator could achieve, and coupled with the fact that he reached Qi Refining Perfection in just a few short years, regardless of whether Ren Li provided pill assistance, it proves one thing to outsiders.

His comprehension is excellent!

It is just that his spiritual root aptitude is lacking, but good comprehension allows one to fully grasp cultivation arts and accelerate the speed of cultivation; thus, triggering an anomaly during a breakthrough is very normal and logical!

It is just that, clearly, this is not the best-case scenario.

"It's coming out!"

The stagnant mana suddenly underwent a drastic change!

However, at this moment, the condensation of mana was actually still continuing, only it was no longer piling up, but rather mixing into the gel-like, vigorous, and refined mana, with its proportion rapidly reaching one-tenth.

Like a dam burst by a raging flood, the propulsion erupting from the depths of his mana led his surging Qi and blood through his meridians toward the lower dantian sea of Qi in the human body.

The existing crystal dust had already built a Dao foundation, while the mana and Qi-blood continued to refine spiritual energy and earthly power, causing new crystal dust to constantly condense, stacking up piece by piece like bricks and tiles.

The cultivation efficiency will also visibly decline!

Regarding such a theoretically perfect situation, predecessors actually had insights long ago, and Du En is currently following their example.

The earth egg wrapping around Du En began to crack, having already stopped absorbing spiritual energy just a moment ago.

Thump-thump!

The mana that had filled his meridians and dantian was now exceptionally condensed and refined; although it still appeared in a gaseous state, it was compressed, resembling a gel, and interspersed with bright, pure crystal dust.

At the same time.

A certain previously sealed internal void space was easily breached and entered by Du En's mana, connecting into the meridian network to become a new place for storing and hiding Qi.

Had he known Du En would rise to prominence so quickly, he should never have played that cat-and-mouse game; he should have just killed him outright!

The condensed crystal dust was no longer just a little bit here and there, but was filling into the depths of the lower dantian sea of Qi, forming a crystal-clear, pure, and bright foundation, which was then rapidly further tamped down and accumulated.

A type of spiritual body, the embryonic form of a Firm Spirit Body!

These anomalies were retracted and hidden by him in the blink of an eye.

In daily life, that overly condensed mana, having lost the lower dantian—which acts like a heart to gather and pump out mana—would find it difficult to maintain spontaneous circulation.

However, there are limitations; it cannot penetrate magic tools of the same rank and is obviously interfered with by mana... He quickly adapted to and accepted this new sense, and after scanning the entire range, he directly retracted half of it.

Nervous? Expectant? Jealous? Hateful...

It continued to pile up until it reached twenty percent of the depth of the lower dantian sea of Qi, and only then did it stop.

What a pity, what a pity, everything is too late, everything is too late!

"Deposit below, store Qi in the gate."

"Only Foundation Establishment Mid-stage..."

Because Du En's foundation is truly deep, if he does not take advantage of this moment to open up a new place for storing and hiding Qi, then in the subsequent Foundation Establishment stage, as the lower dantian sea of Qi is gradually filled, the space for pumping and accumulating mana will only become less and less, eventually leaving only the internal capacity of the meridians.

Gaseous mana and liquid fresh blood—the actual simultaneous movement of Qi and blood—started from the heart palace, swept outward, swallowed spiritual energy, further nourished and strengthened, and like a hot knife through butter, carried out a drastic and thorough cleansing of the old body.

Thump-thump!

So-called Foundation Establishment is just like this.

This is actually not impossible; practicing the art can still drive the circulation of mana and allow one to continue cultivating.

Middle dantian, Crimson Palace Golden Gate!

Open another dantian!

Thus, there was a description in the Firm Spirit Art of the best-case scenario for the Foundation Establishment stage.

This crystallization and radiance clearly affected the human heart, which accompanies it and reflects the virtual and the real.

In an instant, this bright red, solid heart also began to become crystal clear.

Success comes naturally, no outside help needed!

Crack, crack, crack...

The concurrently cultivated body: fresh blood is vibrant red, muscles are solid, bones are hard, and the heart beats like muffled thunder amidst surging Qi and blood, sounding dull; every beat pumps out vigorous heat, making the internal temperature of the human furnace increasingly high, unable to ever cool down.

The stewards who were watching closely, with their divine sense densely covering the area, bore the brunt of it; one by one, they were instantly blinded and dazed, failing to capture the truth of Du En's situation at the first moment.

Various signs indicated that he was about to succeed!

Well, He Bo's mood is very clear: he is mad with hatred!

The earth egg suddenly exploded, and the aftermath of the mana raged.

Du En saw this scene from afar; just now, from the upper dantian in the center of his head that had not yet been opened, the divine sense newly born from his soul could survey everything within forty zhang of his body, and he saw the stewards' expressions and situation clearly.

As the expansion and integration of the Crimson Palace were completed, the changes to the solid heart ended, and the two synchronized to exert pressure together.

Only a faint "crack" sound was heard.

Especially He Bo, who was injured on top of his injuries, could not help but bleed from his mouth; subconsciously wanting to maintain his dignity, he reached out to cover it with his hand.

Thump-thump!

And incidentally gave He Bo internal injuries.

"Ugh..."

External vital force, internal gestation of spiritual opportunity.

【Cultivation: Qi Refining Perfection (100/100)】

The mana seemed to have stopped changing and reached a state of fullness, but Du En did not hesitate; he directly steered it, turned the spearhead, and headed straight for the middle of the human body, the center of the chest, where the heart is located.

The stewards watching closely from afar, as well as He Bo, who was stabilizing his injuries with wide, bloodshot eyes, were all watching intently and fixedly, their divine senses covering the area, unable to articulate what they were feeling at this moment.

This side was naturally also in a state of fullness and stagnation, and at this moment, being pushed and pressed so fiercely, it naturally began to crazily condense crystal dust!

Bit by bit, piece by piece, the speed grew faster and faster; the mana accumulated originally was clearly not enough, so, he gathered and guided the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth, refining it fiercely to fill the void!

Consequently, the spiritual Qi of the outside world began to stir, being frantically swallowed and drawn in; at the same time, the Firm Spirit Art, while switching to the Foundation Establishment cultivation method, also stirred up the power of the earth, bursting forth from deep underground, mixing and intertwining with each other, finally forming that ten-foot-tall earthen egg, as if gestating something, producing fetal movements.

The divine sense of a normal early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator can only survey fifteen to eighteen zhang; he left a range of just over twenty zhang, which is a perfectly suitable scope, indicating his good comprehension and strong soul.

Breakthrough!

This cultivation session is complete.

With a bang.

The cultivation method was fine-tuned once more to this optimal state, and immediately, mana accelerated into the middle dantian, the Crimson Palace, rapidly deepening and widening it, and during this process, there were clear signs of infiltration and crystallization.

It was mixed crystal dust, embedded into it during this process.

Turning back again to peer into himself with divine sense, there was not the slightest obstacle.

In fact, after more than a year of settling, those who knew about his affairs had all, in a subtle and gradual way, accepted the situation of his good comprehension, even Tang Yiping's side was the same!

Therefore, Du En did not have the slightest hesitation at this moment and immediately continued to cultivate with his whole heart.

At this moment, his crystal bones and spiritual marrow, tough skin and hard flesh, and visceral blood were translucent; even his hair was very lustrous, shining and gleaming.

"The only thing inside the body that cannot be seen now is the upper dantian in the skull, that dwelling place of the soul."

Once his cultivation level is higher later on and he opens the upper dantian, he will naturally be able to see it, so Du En is not anxious now and calmly concludes his cultivation.

(End of this chapter)