Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen – Bodily Foundation

The morning passed in a flash; after half a day of interaction, the male and female cultivators who had made eye contact began to pair off and wander around Ke Lai Peak, courting each other, while the others kept chatting casually, hoping to spark love.

The servant disciples hurriedly cleared the leftover wine and fruit trays from the tables—most of which were their own leftovers. With the beauties ahead, they had no chance, and the servants turned their jealousy into appetite.

According to Wei Yuning, the afternoon was no longer a "tea party" but the time for a "talent showcase."

In the morning everyone was meeting for the first time, so good looks were most popular; later it became a contest of personality, cultivation, and techniques. Of course, the matchmaking gathering was not a martial tournament—fighting would spoil the mood—so, following the precedent of the previous two gatherings, each would display their powers by attacking wooden dummies serving as targets.

The servants rearranged the tables and chairs into two rows of seats, then formed groups to fetch wooden dummies from the adjacent warehouse. The wooden dummies were not ordinary wood but were made from a strange timber called Sunken Gold Wood, a plant that grows atop metal veins; its wood is far denser than the vein's metal and extremely resilient, flashing brighter under magical attacks—the greater the damage, the brighter the glow.

Because Sunken Gold Wood is extremely hard to work and grows slowly, the wooden dummies are essentially whole saplings uprooted, stripped of branches, leaving the trunk, and set onto a metal base.

Man Niu was very strong; other servants needed at least three people to lift a dummy, but Man Niu could do it alone, and with Wei Yuning lending a hand, the two easily moved the first dummy to the site.

Hong Zhi happened to pass by, nodded encouragement at the pair, and made Man Niu so delighted that he began humming a tune.

At noon there was a one‑hour break. The servants went to the main dining hall, while the cultivators taking part in the matchmaking followed Steward Hong Zhi and Fairy Yun Yan to a better venue.

While eating, the two unexpectedly ran into Qing Fei. Recently, because the Qingluan Sect had been buying large quantities of pills from the Yunyin Sect, the alchemy workshop disciples were working overtime, so they hadn't seen her for a long time.

To Wei Yuning's surprise, Qing Fei brought excellent news: the Foundation Pill had been successfully refined, and there were two batches, both successful.

"My master's master helped; he said my talent is great and decided to teach me alchemy personally, and—" Qing Fei hesitated, "I might become an inner disciple!"

"What?" Man Niu was stunned.

"Brother Niu, one per person, you take yours!" Wei Yuning said. He would have been satisfied with a single portion, but giving the extra to Man Niu seemed fair; as Qing Fei's and Man Niu's statuses diverged, Wei Yuning, though not confident in Man Niu, still offered what help he could.

"I don't want it; I want to establish the foundation with my own ability!" Man Niu hesitated a moment, then insisted.

Seeing Man Niu's stance, Qing Fei wore a helpless expression, and Wei Yuning was speechless.

"Brother Niu, you really don't want it?" Wei Yuning took the jade bottle in front of Qing Fei, waved it toward Man Niu, and asked.

Man Niu turned his head and ignored Wei Yuning.

"Then I'll take it!" He popped the cork, inhaled deeply, and a strange fragrance filled his nostrils; just that scent made his body feel a special sensation, as if spiritual energy and flesh were more in sync.

He tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and the two azure pills rolled into his mouth, instantly turning into liquid and sliding down into the depths of his throat.

"You… are crazy, how can you eat two?" Qing Fei nearly screamed, but she quickly lowered her voice after noticing the fellow disciples dining nearby.

"I've read the description of the Foundation Pill; two pills increase the chance of successful foundation, right? Moreover, my visualization object is already fully formed and can fully withstand the impact of the spiritual liquid," Wei Yuning said calmly.

"But… how is the environment here suitable for foundation? Also, taking two at once raises the probability far less than taking one twice; don't you know that?" Qing Fei shouted, keeping her voice low.

"Hold on, Qing Fei… senior sister, I think I've already succeeded in establishing the foundation!" Wei Yuning was a bit stunned himself; he could clearly feel his flesh and spiritual energy fully merged, the hallmark of the Foundation stage, yet there was a difference, because his golden giant pine visualization still hovered outside his body.

Half an hour later, the three met Elder Xu Ye in the Transmission Hall of Dan Yao Peak.

"Strange, strange, strange!" Elder Xu Ye said three times after examining Wei Yuning, then furrowed his brows and remained silent for a long while.

After a while, Xu Ye finally emerged from his contemplation and said, "Indeed, Yuning has established the foundation. He clearly didn't follow the usual bodily foundation path, yet he achieved a bodily foundation; his body seems to have been completely transformed by a top‑grade spiritual spark before forcibly undergoing a bodily foundation. However, as far as I know, the best spiritual spark in the Jiuyun Peak vein on Bi Yi Island is only a low‑grade spark, which makes this impossible! Even so, it shouldn't happen this way… Could it be… could you be a naturally spiritual body? Impossible, impossible—I saw you last time…"

"Elder, elder, we still have to help with the matchmaking gathering this afternoon; perhaps you could think it over here while we leave. If we're late, Steward Hong Zhi will scold us," Wei Yuning said, indifferent to whether the foundation was bodily or spiritual, since the 120‑year lifespan was already securely in hand.

"Alright, you may go first; I'll keep thinking. Hmm… a naturally spiritual body can also establish a spiritual foundation; the Patriarch is above, so this would be a dual foundation. I need to inform Elder Tai Chong…"

Seeing Elder Xu Ye muttering to himself and not attending to them, Wei Yuning gestured outward to Man Niu and Qing Fei, and the three left the Transmission Hall.

"What exactly is a top‑grade spiritual spark?" After leaving the Transmission Hall, Wei Yuning asked Man Niu and Qing Fei.

Man Niu shook his head, and Qing Fei thought for a moment before saying, "I think Master mentioned that a top‑grade spiritual spark is roughly equivalent to an immortal stone!"

"Immortal stone? How many spiritual stones does one need to buy one?" Wei Yuning asked.

"Get lost!" Qing Fei snapped. She was already accustomed to Wei Yuning's neuroticism, yet she was still quite irritated.

Qing Fei returned to the alchemy workshop, while Man Niu and Wei Yuning went back to Ke Lai Peak to continue their chores.