Chapter 209: Breaking Through Foundation Establishment, the Northern Campaign Against the Xiongnu

"Your Majesty, just practice diligently."

"At the beginning of cultivation, one must calm the mind and focus; we have to set out tomorrow, so you may try a little tonight, but not overdo it."

Gu Shanhe gave that reminder and then floated away.

The next day, the great army set out.

Ying Zheng's imperial carriage was a specially made six‑horse carriage, spacious and splendid.

However, what made the accompanying civil and military officials, even Meng Tian and Wang Jian, constrict their pupils was—

State Teacher Gu Shanhe rode in the same carriage as His Majesty the Emperor!

Although we have long known the State Teacher's transcendent status, sharing the imperial carriage—this honor…has never existed before!

But on second thought, the State Teacher is a living immortal; the Emperor treating him with the respect due a master does…also make sense?

Everyone suppressed the shock in their hearts, keeping this special honor firmly in mind, and their awe of Gu Shanhe grew tenfold.

The carriage clattered, the horses whinnied.

The massive army, like a black torrent, surged out of Xianyang and headed north.

Inside the spacious carriage, the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.

Ying Zheng clearly had not slept all night; his eyes were blood‑shot, yet his spirit was unusually exhilarated.

He followed the method of the Human Emperor's World‑Stabilizing Scripture, holding a top‑grade spiritual stone, attempting to sense and guide the ethereal, elusive "spiritual energy".

At first he had no clue, and irritation gradually grew.

But when he calmed his mind and silently recited the text, he felt the carriage beneath him bearing the empire's authority, and sensed outside the carriage the murderous aura of two hundred thousand Great Qin elite warriors gathered together, along with a faint "national destiny".

At a certain moment, he seemed to capture an extremely subtle yet truly existent breath, seeping from the spiritual stone and the dim void into his body.

"It's done!"

Ying Zheng was ecstatic inside, but dared not be distracted, continuing to guide that breath along the script's pathway.

Though slow, it was indeed true that he stepped onto that threshold that countless emperors have sought but never attained—

the Qi Refinement stage, even if only at its entry.

Gu Shanhe, meanwhile, kept his eyes closed, seated cross‑legged on the other side of the carriage.

He was cultivating, and at the same time "spending".

His consciousness sank into the system; seeing an emotional‑value balance of tens of millions, he began exchanging hard currency for power—top‑grade spiritual stones.

Gu Shanhe spent one million emotional value, directly exchanging for ten stones, which he piled into a small heap in the system space, the pure spiritual energy nearly overflowing.

Then, he activated the Heavenly Dao Immortal Scripture, absorbing the spiritual energy from the top‑grade stones at an almost plundering speed.

The carriage jolted, and time passed amid the clatter of wheels against the official road.

Gu Shanhe's aura, in Ying Zheng's occasional startled glimpse, grew ever deeper, ever…harder to grasp.

Like a deep pool, its surface calm while within it brewed raging waves.

Ten days later.

A faint "crack" sound, audible only to himself, emanated from within Gu Shanhe, as if some barrier had been shattered.

Qi Refinement Ninth Level Apex! It's achieved!

He opened his eyes; the bottleneck of Foundation Establishment was now clearly visible.

He needs a deep retreat, a single burst of effort, to strike at Foundation Establishment.

Only after Foundation Establishment does one truly step onto the Dao of Immortals, capable of commanding objects to fly and wielding greater divine abilities.

"Your Majesty," Gu Shanhe began, "I need to meditate for several days to strike the barrier. Please prepare another carriage for me."

Ying Zheng snapped out of cultivation, and without hesitation said, "Very well! I will arrange it at once!"

At this moment, he trusted Gu Shanhe completely, even bearing the respect a disciple holds for a master.

He immediately ordered a sturdy supply wagon, which carried important documents and was originally for close attendants to rest, to be emptied, then laid with a thick soft felt rug, serving as Gu Shanhe's "quiet chamber".

Gu Shanhe moved into the new carriage and set up a simple sound‑blocking seal.

Then he took out the previously exchanged top‑grade Foundation Establishment pill.

The pill, the size of a longan, was a chaotic hue, its surface bearing naturally flowing cloud patterns, emitting an exotic fragrance that cleared the mind.

He did not hesitate, swallowed the pill, and again activated the Heavenly Dao Immortal Scripture.

The Foundation Establishment pill transformed into a torrent of drug force, massive as the sea yet gentle and mellow, instantly surging into his limbs and bones, merging into the dantian's Qi Sea.

The Qi Refinement energy, already filled to the limit, under the guidance and compression of this external force, began to rotate violently and condense, transforming toward a higher‑level energy form—True Essence.

The process was not easy.

His meridians throbed with pain, the dantian seemed about to burst, and his spirit also bore pressure.

But the Heavenly Dao Immortal Scripture's method is subtle, the Foundation Establishment pill's drug force is pure, and Gu Shanhe's Dao heart remained steadfast.

Three days and three nights, neither eating nor drinking, neither moving nor speaking.

On the fourth morning, the sunrise just rose.

"Hum—"

An invisible yet clear ripple, centered on the carriage where Gu Shanhe sat, gently swayed outward.

The draft horse pulling the carriage snorted uneasily, and the surrounding elite guards felt an inexplicable chill in their hearts, as if some terrifying presence had awakened.

The ripple flashed and vanished.

Inside the carriage, Gu Shanhe slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were clear, like a newborn infant's, yet as deep as an ancient cold well.

Within his body, the originally gaseous spiritual energy had fully transformed into a more condensed, power‑amplified liquid True Essence, slowly flowing through meridians that had widened and become several times more robust.

At the center of the dantian's Qi Sea, the truly existent "Dao Foundation" prototype had already been forged.

Foundation Establishment stage, achieved!

A slight shift of thought, and the body seemed as light as nothing.

He tried to mobilize his true essence, operating according to the Wind‑Controlling Method recorded in the Heavenly Dao Immortal Scripture.

In the next instant,

His body slowly drifted away from the seat in the carriage, hovering a foot above the interior!

"Flight…"

Gu Shanhe's mouth twitched into a faint smile.

Although he still cannot fly in the air for long periods or over great distances, this hallmark ability means he has truly entered the ranks of cultivators.

Many spells that cultivators in the Refining Qi stage could not wield, or could only use with half the effort, can now be attempted.

For example… more refined Sword‑Controlling, wider‑range Divine Sense probing, and even some simple Five Elements minor arts.

He lifted the seal and pushed open the carriage door.

"National Teacher!"

Ying Zheng, who had been personally leading troops to guard beside the carriage, immediately sensed it and drove his horse over.

He keenly felt that the Gu Shanhe before him seemed somehow different.

He couldn't pinpoint it, but the aura was more ethereal, and the gaze clearer.

Standing there, though showing nothing deliberately, he nonetheless inspired an involuntary awe.

"Congratulations, National Teacher, on your refined cultivation!" Ying Zheng said sincerely.

He himself was still at the entry level of cultivation, so he could better appreciate its difficulty.

Gu Shanhe closed his sect for three days; his breath transformed, clearly indicating great gains.

"A modest achievement."

Gu Shanhe nodded lightly, his gaze turning toward the vast northern horizon.

"We're almost at the Xiongnu territory, aren't we?"

"The scouting horse reported that by tomorrow afternoon we can reach the outer grasslands where Touman Chanyu's royal court lies."

Meng Tian spurred his horse forward to report, his tone steady, though battle intent flickered in his eyes.

Touman Chanyu's royal court.

The Xiongnu scouts (they call themselves "Arrow‑tube Warriors") had long relayed the news of the Qin army's massive northward march.

Touman Chanyu was not initially very alarmed.

Although the Qin were strong, they usually built fortifications and defended; they rarely ventured out of the passes to seek decisive battle.

Moreover, the steppe was vast, and Xiongnu cavalry came and went like the wind; if they couldn't win, they could simply retreat.

He gathered the leaders of a dozen or so surrounding tribes, mustering three hundred thousand cavalry.

(In reality, about two hundred thousand were combat‑ready, the rest being support troops or the elderly and weak.)

Preparing to give the far‑coming Qin army a "surprise"—

using mobility to harass and exhaust the Qin army, then seeking a chance for a decisive battle.