Chapter 70: Stepping into Foundation Establishment! Fire is Burning Hot!

The true flame entered his body along the breathing rhythm he had adjusted, surging through his nostrils, throat, and every respiratory passage.

That heat flowed like a slender stream along his meridians, bringing an unprecedented sense of fullness wherever it passed.

Finally, that wisp of fire slipped quietly into his dantian.

“Is this… yang fire energy?”

A profound, indescribable insight surged within Jiang Ye.

He closed his eyes and silently felt the slender, almost imperceptible yet undeniably real yang fire energy within his dantian.

It was weak—so weak it seemed ready to vanish at any moment—yet it undeniably existed within his dantian.

The first breath… succeeded.

A faint smile curled at the corner of his lips.

If that old man in the Scripture Hall knew he had cultivated a wisp of fire energy in the blink of an eye, Jiang Ye could only imagine the expression on his face.

But he quickly shook off that absurd thought and settled his mind to continue absorbing the fire energy.

The sunset slowly sank; the clouds on the horizon shifted from golden-red to deep purple, then faded into dark gray.

Jiang Ye’s breathing grew even steadier, like the ebb and flow of tides, quietly harmonizing with some rhythm of heaven and earth.

One wisp after another of yang fire energy flowed into his body with his breath, drifting slowly along his meridians, finally converging into his dantian.

When the sunset left only its final glimmer, the golden crow illusion in his eyes finally vanished, and the fiery sun reverted to an ordinary celestial disc.

His breathing rhythm ceased abruptly.

“I’ve absorbed about ten wisps of fire energy…”

Feeling the warm, fulfilling heat within his dantian, Jiang Ye nodded silently.

He looked up at the sun, about to vanish entirely beyond the horizon, and in his aged eyes flickered a trace of confusion as he murmured softly:

“Was that golden crow… just an illusion…?”

The sun sank completely; night arrived swiftly.

Jiang Ye slowly rose to his feet, shook his head slightly, and stopped pondering the complex question.

Without the sun, he needed to brew the secret herbal decoction and cultivate the Golden Body Art.

He had arranged his schedule perfectly.

During the day, when the sun was up, he practiced the Qi-Nourishing Method to cultivate fire energy.

After nightfall, he brewed the secret herbs, honed his hardening art, and occasionally practiced the Blood Moon Blade.

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.

On this day, at noon.

A figure sat cross-legged in the open space at the center of the Tiankui herb garden, gazing up at the great sun above.

The sunlight was blinding, yet he made no effort to avoid it; his eyes half-closed, mouth slightly open, his breathing rhythm alternating between slow and fast, light and heavy, as if inhaling and exhaling some invisible presence.

It was none other than Jiang Ye.

At this moment, his cultivation had reached a critical juncture.

Within his dantian, the yang fire energy accumulated over seven days was no longer mere wisps of flame—it had coalesced into a roaring sea of fire.

Crimson-gold flames churned and leapt within his dantian, nearly filling the tiny space to bursting.

Now was the time!

It was time to embrace the energy and form the core!

Jiang Ye knew that if he didn’t form the core now, the cultivated fire energy would overflow.

He swallowed a Blood-Replenishing Pill to restore his vital essence.

Then, he sank his spirit into his dantian and whispered softly: “Condense!”

At his will, the sea of fire transformed instantly.

The churning flames, as if receiving an unspoken command, began collapsing inward, spiraling, and coalescing.

They were no longer scattered sparks—they coalesced into a colossal vortex of flame, spinning furiously around the center of his dantian.

Each rotation made the fire energy denser, purer, heavier.

The spinning grew faster; the flames grew brighter.

Finally—

BOOM!!

A silent detonation exploded deep within Jiang Ye’s spirit.

The flame vortex shrank to an absolute extreme, compressed into a single point.

A dazzling point of interwoven gold and crimson light.

No larger than a grain of rice, yet brimming with indescribable heat and power.

It floated quietly at the center of his dantian, rotating slowly, each turn releasing a faint, almost imperceptible warmth that nourished the surrounding meridians and flesh.

The core is formed!

Jiang Ye suddenly opened his eyes.

In his aged eyes, two flickering shadows of crimson-gold flames flashed briefly, then slowly faded.

He exhaled a long, clear breath—this breath carried a faint heat, dispersing into the air.

“Is this… the Foundation Establishment realm?!”

He slowly stood up, feeling the unprecedented power within his body.

The tiny core in his dantian acted like an inexhaustible source, continuously emitting warm true qi.

This true qi was utterly different from the strength he had cultivated before.

More condensed, more obedient to his will—as if a single thought could send it surging out of his body to strike from afar.

He raised his hand, fingers slightly spread.

A slender thread of crimson-gold true qi emerged from his palm, flickering like flame.

Jiang Ye stared at the crimson-gold true qi in his palm, and for the first time, a genuine smile appeared on his aged face.

Foundation Establishment—achieved!!!

Host: Jiang Ye

Lifespan: 70/150

Strength: Foundation Establishment (Initial Stage)

Destiny: Ascending the Divine Staircase [Effect 1: Extraordinary Comprehension!]

Mastered Qi-Nourishing Method: Great Sun Heavenly Flame Qi-Nourishing Method (Beginner, 8/1000)

Mastered Wu Gong: Five Animal Fist (Perfected), Blood Moon Blade (Mature, 166/5000), Golden Body Art (Beginner, 318/1000)

Mastered True Intentions: Tiger’s Gait Like Illness, Spirit Monkey’s Thousand Transformations, Startled Deer Leaves No Trace, Wind-Riding Flight

Glancing at the system panel, Jiang Ye smiled with satisfaction.

Ordinary martial artists who formed their core lived two full lifespans without illness or disaster.

Yet his lifespan exceeded that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators by thirty years.

The Five Animal Fist was not practiced in vain! Xu Qinghuan’s true yin was not taken either!

“Huh?!”

The moment he thought of Xu Qinghuan, Jiang Ye suddenly felt his fire energy was extremely intense.

Since practicing the Golden Body Art and the Great Sun Heavenly Flame Qi-Nourishing Method, his body had grown stronger and stronger, his internal yang energy surging ever higher.

He was about to burst!