Chapter 311: First Foundation Establishment

Wang Yu had the Tai Yuan system extrapolate the next three levels of the Fire Spirit Technique because the "Wang Yu" logged into the lobby had already broken through to Qi Condensation Level 12 and faintly sensed that, with ample cultivation pills and medicine, this body could still advance further.

The Golden Core elder Zhan Chan Lao Zu had also said that after Qi Condensation Level 10, the goal is to purify one's spiritual energy—the more refined the energy, the greater the advantage for breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

So he deduced that Qi Condensation Level 12 wasn't untrainable, but it was already more than sufficient for Foundation Establishment; spending more time on higher levels was an utterly foolish endeavor for those striving to break through before their optimal age, and no one would ever consider it.

He guessed that the high-level cultivators who created Qi Condensation techniques stopped at Level 12 because they believed Level 12 was sufficient, hence never released higher-level Qi Condensation incantations.

After consideration, Wang Yu still felt the probability of failing Foundation Establishment under current conditions was high.

If he failed Foundation Establishment, he might suffer minor meridian damage, or worse, regress in realm, and the next attempt might be years away.

After much deliberation, he used his second temporary extrapolation permission to see if he could extrapolate one more level of the Fire Spirit Technique's subsequent incantation, further refining his spiritual energy and slightly increasing his chance of success.

The Tai Yuan system truly delivered: building on the vast amount of Qi Condensation technique data he'd collected, it not only extrapolated Level 13 of the Fire Spirit Technique, but even added two more levels, reaching Level 15.

After consuming numerous rare pills in the login lobby, Wang Yu had only recently brought this body to Qi Condensation Level 15.

At this point, he had nearly consumed every cultivation pill the real world could produce; this body had accumulated far beyond imagined drug tolerance, leaving only the top-grade Panic Pills—whose potency was still astonishing—with slight room for further enhancement.

As for poison buildup, the later three levels of the Fire Spirit Technique had thoroughly purged it from this body, eliminating the need for the grueling medicinal baths required in the real world.

Yet all this was not Wang Yu's greatest gain.

His greatest gain was that, after reaching Qi Condensation Level 15, this body clearly sensed the Foundation Establishment bottleneck and gained a fleeting opportunity to attempt the breakthrough without using a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Foundation Establishment Pills were second-rank pills, producible only by second-rank pill masters, whose main ingredients were tightly controlled by cultivation sects; even if scattered cultivators possessed the formula, they could not brew them.

Wang Yu could not replicate Foundation Establishment Pills on the login interface; otherwise, he would have attempted Foundation Establishment the moment he reached Qi Condensation Level 10.

He had long realized that any injury sustained on the login interface's body would fully heal upon the next login, costing only a small amount of Star Mind Energy.

Now, this Qi Condensation Level 15 body, its spiritual energy so refined, resembled a volcanic crater brimming to overflowing—just a slight nudge would trigger a total eruption, spontaneously initiating Foundation Establishment without any pill as catalyst.

It seemed others claimed Foundation Establishment Pills were necessary only because their spiritual energy had not been refined to the extreme, had not reached the critical threshold of liquidation.

Wang Yu pondered, and crimson auroras surfaced across his skin as he activated the Fire Spirit Technique to its full capacity, accelerating the assimilation of the top-grade Panic Pills.

He had come this time with the firm intention of using this body to attempt Foundation Establishment.

Wang Yu had calculated clearly: even if he failed Foundation Establishment on the login interface, he would lose only a bit of Star Mind Energy, but if he succeeded, those hard-won experiences would greatly increase his probability of breaking through in the real world.

At this moment, under the technique's refinement, the Panic Pills continuously released fine threads of pure spiritual energy, seeping into every meridian, adding a tiny bit more to Wang Yu's spiritual energy.

Yet this slight increase ignited his entire body.

The next instant, Wang Yu heard a deafening "boom" in both ears, and his whole body burst into flame.

The latent spiritual energy in every meridian surged into boiling chaos, rushing violently toward his dantian, relentlessly compressing the energy within until it began to liquefy on its own.

This process was like a heavy mech charging at full power—barely controllable in direction, utterly impossible to stop.

One drop, two drops, three drops…

Wang Yu clearly felt the frantic extraction of spiritual energy from every part of his body, the dantian swelling, every meridian feeling as if sliced by a thousand blades; his limbs trembled involuntarily, beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his face.

"Overclock"

Wang Yu could no longer endure—he growled low, entering Overclock Synchronization Mode, his senses exploding in intensity while he shut out the overwhelming pain flooding his body.

But all this was merely the beginning of the Foundation Establishment process.

…

Half a day later, a flash of white light swept over Wang Yu's vision, returning him to the real-world alchemy chamber of his cave; his aura remained unchanged, but his face was pale, his eyes dim and listless.

"I failed."

"Was it because I lacked a Minor Spirit Gathering Array to simulate purer spiritual energy, or because I didn't take a Foundation Establishment Pill or any other Foundation Establishment catalyst?"

Wang Yu pressed his hand to his forehead, easing the dull throb in his skull.

His Star Mind Energy had clearly been partially depleted; recovery would take at least two days.

This attempt at Foundation Establishment on the login interface had naturally failed—only half the spiritual energy had liquefied before the rest exploded, destroying most of his dantian.

Such severe injuries, if sustained in the real world, would not only cause realm regression but likely render future cultivation impossibly difficult.

Yet on the login interface, it amounted to nothing more than a minor drain of Star Mind Energy.

Wang Yu had indeed learned valuable lessons from this attempt and planned to return to the login lobby after two days, once his Star Mind Energy recovered.

At that moment, a yellow transmission talisman shot through the door with a "whoosh," vanished in a flash, and landed steadily in his hand.

Wang Yu raised an eyebrow, pinched the talisman between two fingers, and flicked it; the talisman burst into flame, and from within came the grave voice of Wan Shan:

"Senior Brother Wang, I've confirmed who the Yun family has sent to challenge you—it should be He Wenda, who only recently became a True Disciple two years ago.

He hails from the White Tiger Line and was, in recent years, the most renowned Inner Sect disciple; three years ago, at the Four Sects Qi Condensation Disciple Exchange Competition, he single-handedly crushed disciples from the other three sects, his momentum nearly matching yours in your prime.

Crucially, He Wenda, like you, has not yet achieved Foundation Establishment.

The Yun family will surely have him challenge you; as fellow True Disciples, if you lose to a junior, the Yun family will have grounds to force you to relinquish your True Disciple position—Senior Brother Wang, prepare yourself."