Chapter 11

Wu Tie leaned against the wall, sitting at the base of the wall.

Lao Tie laughed loudly beside him. Unlike before, when he kept his mouth shut and made sounds for no reason, this time Lao Tie opened his mouth, his two rows of big teeth opening and closing, laughing loudly with an extremely resonant voice.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha…… Grandfather I…… am really happy……"

"This shameless bastard, yet he died in front of Grandfather I……"

Deep cultivation, amazing, right?

Strong ability, amazing, right?

High position, amazing, right?

"Ha, ha, ha, ha…… dead!"

Lao Tie's jaw opening and closing, his whole head shaking, his laughter echoing in the hall, exceptionally creepy.

Wu Tie tilted his head to look at Lao Tie, looking at his hysterical laughter.

After a long time, a long time, Wu Tie softly said: "Actually, you're sad, right?"

The laughter stopped abruptly, Lao Tie with a "dang" sound tightly shut his mouth. Electric current flowed on a big tooth, Lao Tie coldly said: "Kid, don't talk nonsense, Grandfather I basically has no heart…… how could I be sad?"

Wu Tie patted Lao Tie's head: "But, you're sad, right?"

Lao Tie stubbornly said: "Grandfather I, I'm very happy."

Wu Tie immediately retorted: "You have no heart, how can you be happy? So you're actually still sad, right?"

Blood Light flickered in Lao Tie's eye sockets, then his thirty-two neat white teeth simultaneously sprayed a strand of extremely fine electric light, "hiss" striking Wu Tie's thigh.

Wu Tie let out a miserable howl, his whole body spasming as he fell to the ground, his hair standing up strand by strand, countless tiny electric sparks joyfully jumping between his hairs, making a "crackle" sound.

"You, still want revenge?" Lao Tie asked coldly.

"Want!" Wu Tie endured the pain from his muscles spasming all over, gritted his teeth and straightened his body.

"Want, then you must listen to Grandfather me." Lao Tie said word by word: "Even if I say dog feces is fragrant, you must believe dog feces is more fragrant than stewed old hen with red dates and wolfberries!"

"What is a dog?" Wu Tie blankly: "Red dates? Wolfberries? Old hen?"

Lao Tie fell silent for a moment, then his thirty-two neat white teeth again sprayed streams of electric light, cleanly and neatly knocking Wu Tie to the ground.

"Heh, an unruly child won't listen unless beaten. Spare the rod, spoil the child—this is truly a maxim, simply the truth!" Lao Tie laughed happily, one eye fixed on Wu Tie, the other turning toward the crystal ball where Yang Jian was, locking in place for a long time.

"Tch…… Grandfather I has no heart or lungs…… how could I be sad? I don't have that function……" Wu Tie twitched on the ground, Lao Tie murmured softly: "Feelings, what a bastard!"

Wu Tie shivered as he stood up; this time he kept his mouth shut and said nothing.

Lao Tie this guy has too many tricks, strikes hard, shows no mercy despite him being a child; Wu Tie is basically afraid of him.

"Pick me up, go to that door opposite." Lao Tie said coldly: "Kid, see your luck."

Wu Tie's body stiffened a bit, then he picked up Lao Tie and walked toward the opposite wall holding him.

If there is what Lao Tie said, a treasure that can boost his cultivation efficiency, Wu Tie could soon have enough strength to take revenge, right?

If not……

Would it take twenty years to complete Foundation Establishment?

Wu Tie shivered, quickening his pace—would his enemies be dead of old age by then? How could he possibly wait that long.

The door opened.

Likewise, it was a pallid white metal hall.

The hall interior was very spacious, with only a few scattered items that glowed all over with strange crystal light, like crystal-cast oddities. Besides that, compared to the outer rooms, the hall, which was several times larger, was empty and bare, not a speck of dust on the floor.

"Ah…… oh……" Lao Tie grunted: "Kid, there's good news and bad news; which do you want to hear?"

Wu Tie's heart clenched violently, he cleared his throat and asked: "What's the bad news?"

"Here, there is no Foundation Establishment elixir." Lao Tie said bluntly: "Probably correct, this is the last batch of emergency reserves of the Ancient God barracks…… so, in here, you see, it's empty, many resources that should be present have not been allocated."

After a cold snort, Lao Tie cursed: "Even this Ancient God barracks itself, its functions are incomplete…… it doesn't even know what's in its own warehouse, and I don't know what it's good for."

No Foundation Establishment elixir?

"Foundation Establishment elixir!"

Wu Tie remembered that name; this is the treasure that can speed up his cultivation, letting him quickly raise his realm.

"None…… then what about me?" Wu Tie's body swayed.

"The good news is, which guy delivered a set of alchemy equipment here?" Lao Tie directed Wu Tie to hold him as they approached a strange device several meters high, wide, and tens of meters long, its whole body wrapped in a thick layer of white transparent crystal.

"As long as there are enough materials, it can refine Foundation Establishment elixir." Lao Tie said: "As for the formula, I have it…… well, I am also a ninth-generation medical-type Ancient God soldier in the Bian Que lineage, so I still have this basic data."

Lao Tie, with a strange tone, continued: "All the materials can be found outside; along this way, I've already discovered many."

"But…… the most important material……" Before Wu Tie could be happy, Lao Tie's "but" lifted his heart midair: "I can help you gather all the materials needed for a Foundation Establishment elixir. After that, it's up to you."

"Rely on myself?" Wu Tie's body twitched; not yet understanding what he would face, he curiously asked Lao Tie: "What is the most important material?"

"Blood and flesh!" Lao Tie said word by word: "Those venomous snakes, lizards, spiders, snails, field mice, bats, bugs outside…… their flesh and blood, about a thousand catties, can be used to make one Foundation Establishment elixir."

"Blood and flesh?" Wu Tie shivered.

A thousand catties of blood and flesh exchanged for one Foundation Establishment elixir, he inexplicably felt the machine before him become much more sinister and terrifying.

"What do you think?" Lao Tie countered: "What do you think Foundation Establishment is? Foundation Establishment, forging a perfect body to lay the most perfect foundation for future cultivation. What does a perfect body need? Nutrition and energy!"

"Foundation Establishment elixir is to provide you with the purest nutrition, the most active energy, stimulating your body to perfectly absorb these nutrition and energy, combined with the Foundation Establishment process to transform your body toward the most perfect state." Lao Tie said quickly: "So, blood and flesh equals Foundation Establishment elixir, any problem?"

Wu Tie shook his head.

He understood Lao Tie's words.

Because Grey Master had told him, his father and elder brothers never wasted a bit of food. Because their powerful physiques and extraordinary strength all required large amounts of eating to provide sufficient energy.

"Blood and flesh equals Foundation Establishment elixir, I understand." A thousand catties of blood and flesh, combined with other materials, can refine one Foundation Establishment elixir; Wu Tie firmly kept this in mind.

Two hours later, Wu Tie, holding Lao Tie, struggled to climb out of the pit.

Red beams flickered in the mushroom thickets and fern forests, the red light Lao Tie shot from his eyes had astonishing lethality, easily slaying large numbers of creatures.

In just a quarter hour, Lao Tie precisely killed enough prey for a thousand catties of blood and flesh; Wu Tie panted, making dozens of trips back and forth, finally delivering these prey to the hall where the alchemy device was.

Along with what was sent back, there were also other materials needed to refine the Foundation Establishment Elixir.

Three types of moss with different colors.

Seven types of mushrooms obviously poisonous.

Two types of ferns said to cause severe consequences if consumed.

Also a few drops of venom extracted from the fangs of a black-ringed snake, the silk sac of a deadly venomous spider, and two gray mist spiders with anesthetic saliva.

These strange materials, together with a thousand catties of game, were thrown into the alchemy apparatus; a layer of white light enveloped the whole device, and in less than a snap of a finger, accompanied by a faint "ding" sound, a small door slid open on one side of the apparatus.

A tray slowly extended; inside the transparent crystal cup on the tray, half a cup of emerald-green viscous liquid gave off a strong, pungent aroma.

This is the Foundation Establishment Elixir.

Wu Tie gazed at the Foundation Establishment Elixir with fervent eyes.

This represents the hope of rapid cultivation, represents swiftly growing strength, and represents Wu Tie gaining the power to take revenge on his enemies.

"Father… elder brother…" Wu Tie clenched his fists, his body trembling violently.

Lao Tie was placed on the ground by Wu Tie; seeing Wu Tie like this, Lao Tie gave a dry laugh: "Although I know my mouth is low… but I can't help saying…"

"Little guy, these game were just shoved straight in… heh, not washed clean, fur, entrails, and other unclean things… heh, drinking it takes some guts!"

Wu Tie lowered his head to look at Lao Tie, picked up the crystal cup, and gulped down the Foundation Establishment Elixir in one swallow.

Viscous, slippery, with an extremely rich aroma.

Upon entering the mouth, the Foundation Establishment Elixir was quickly absorbed partly by the oral mucosa; in the throat, moreover, about half of it was rapidly absorbed; half a cup of elixir, amounting to less than one tael, after entering the abdomen, was completely absorbed by the body in the span of a single breath.

Threads of strong heat flow spread from the mouth, throat, and abdomen to every part of the body.

The skin began to flush red; Wu Tie clearly felt his strength increasing, his breath becoming much hotter.

"Foundation Establishment, forging a perfect bodily foundation."

"What is a perfect bodily foundation? Strength, constitution, agility, spirit."

"That is, strength must be great, vitality strong, speed fast, energy abundant."

"Blood qi condenses essence, essence transforms into gang, gang qi permeates the body…" Lao Tie chuckled: "Earlier I heard you talk about your family's cultivation stages… truly a bunch of worthless brats… this stage division is no different from what it was in my grandfather's day, is it?"

While laughing, Lao Tie's eyes flashed with Blood Light; a vast curtain of light surged forth, and the figure of a person clad in white tight-fitting armor appeared once more.

"Foundation Establishment Form, first move, begin!" a sweet, gentle female voice rang out, and the white figure also began to move.

Wu Tie instinctively followed the white figure's movements, performing each form in turn. The motions were slow and gentle, full of natural harmony; the female voice carried a strange rhythm, and Wu Tie unconsciously matched his breathing to its rhythm, beginning a rather rhythmic respiration.

One inhale, one exhale, one inhale, one exhale…

The heat flow transformed from the Foundation Establishment Elixir, following Wu Tie's movements, gently flowed to every corner of his body.

Like spring wind turning to rain, moistening silently.

Also like mercury poured onto the ground, reaching every minute corner.

Gentle, slow, yet leaving no corner untouched, with no blind spots.

The human body has two hundred and six bones, six hundred and thirty-nine muscles, nearly six billion muscle fibers, and if all the nerves from head to toe were linked end to end they would stretch nearly four million li…

Wu Tie's family heirloom, the Heaven-breaking Fist, is overbearing and rigid, swift and fierce; its cultivation speed is extremely rapid, yet it only trains a specific few dozen bones and about a hundred muscles.

The Foundation Establishment Form is gentle and slow, comprising a total of twelve hundred different postures and motions, yet it can perfectly mobilize the entire body, exercising every minute detail.

"Foundation Establishment Form… theoretically the most perfect method of foundation establishment… but it takes too long to show results… a pity it's so slow…" Lao Tie muttered, looking at Wu Tie drenched in sweat like rain, his skin burning red: "But… we're not short on time, right, little guy?"

"If perfect Foundation Establishment is possible, why not give it a gamble?"

Lao Tie chuckled: "Grandfather I had already fallen into despair… lying in that dirt mound, how many years without seeing a soul… I thought all hope was utterly gone, never expecting… you would actually be sent in here…"

"Grandfather I never believed in gods or fate… but now my stance has wavered a little."

"You helped Grandfather I struggle out of despair… having endured such despair, why not take a gamble?"

"Although it's only theory… I choose to believe…"

"As long as we can achieve perfect Foundation Establishment…"

"You must achieve perfect Foundation Establishment… Grandfather I… still wants to give it a try."

The light, gentle female voice echoed in the great hall; the Foundation Establishment Form continued, move after move, the motions becoming ever more gentle and slow, each posture held for longer and longer.

Within Wu Tie's body, faint vibrations of tendons and bones could gradually be heard.

His body began to make minute self‑adjustments, slowly approaching a certain 'perfect bodily form'.

This will be an extremely long and arduous process.

The Foundation Establishment Elixir is still taking effect.

Sweat kept dripping; on the white metal floor, tiny blue electric lights flickered, and the sweat that fell vanished instantly, leaving the floor immaculately clean, free of any dust.

Wu Tie breathed slowly; the exhaled air was faintly gray, carrying a sharp, fishy odor.

The Foundation Establishment Form gradually progressed to the one hundred and eighth movement.

This posture stretches like a bow, lying sideways on the ground, with only the left elbow and left heel touching the floor.

Wu Tie maintained this posture; his spine quivered minutely like a nimble long snake. He thus fell asleep while holding this pose.

The one hundred and eighth posture is the limit of his ability now.

The Foundation Establishment Elixir has already evenly diffused throughout his body, nourishing every minute component.

Exactly one thousand catties of blood‑flesh and other materials, refined into nutritional essence, are rapidly merging into Wu Tie's scrawny frame of less than sixty catties.

"Crack…"

A faint sound came; Wu Tie's body was undergoing a growth spurt.

Beneath the skin, muscles twitched minutely; nutrients brimming with vigorous life were stimulating muscle growth.

The strange posture of the Foundation Establishment Form ensures these muscles can maintain optimal shape.

Lao Tie's eyes' red light dimmed; he stood still on the ground, waiting patiently.

"Grandfather I… am very patient…"