Chapter 154: Foundation Establishment

「Ah...

The Grand Void Ancestor waved his hand: «If it's not about me, then fine… you two go!

«Your matters, you settle yourselves!

«I won't get involved!

He Pingsheng and Xuan Yang left the main hall.

«Hehehe… little brother! Xuan Yang said: «Truly moving…»

He Pingsheng said: «Yes, back then I still took your old master's ship to that secret realm!

«Now, we're already brothers!

«Come on, come on!

The two entered the side hall.

He Pingsheng pulled out two books.

The first: The True Scripture of the Xuan Sect for Calming the Heart.

The second: The Devil's Seed Soul Method.

«Which one do you cultivate? He Pingsheng asked Xuan Yang.

These two scriptures each had advantages and drawbacks.

The True Scripture of the Xuan Sect for Calming the Heart, He Pingsheng had only copied three chapters: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core.

The benefit was that it was an Xuan Sect technique.

The Devil's Seed Soul Method was a demonic technique, but its advantage was completeness—it had four chapters, including the extra 【Nascent Soul Chapter】.

«This one! Xuan Yang extended his withered hand and took the True Scripture of the Xuan Sect for Calming the Heart.

«I doubt I'll ever break through to the Nascent Soul realm in this lifetime!

«So three chapters are enough!

«Oh! He Pingsheng said: «Alright, elder brother… wait a moment, I'll copy it for you, then deliver it personally in a couple of days, is that fine?

The copy in He Pingsheng's hands was incomplete.

When he originally copied it, he deliberately made a few errors.

So that anyone who obtained it couldn't cultivate it.

But now that the one seeking the scripture was Xuan Yang, He Pingsheng had no intention of tricking him—he held a decent impression of Xuan Yang.

«Fine! Xuan Yang said: «Then I'm in your debt, little brother!

«Hehehehe… thank you, little brother!

«From now on, within the Grand Void Gate, if you run into any trouble, anything I, Xuan Yang, can handle—just say the word!

Xuan Yang was an Elder of the Internal Affairs Hall.

The Internal Affairs Hall held great power—he oversaw the entire Grand Void Gate's treasuries, mines, and resource allocation among disciples.

Of course, Xuan Yang's own strength was no small matter.

«Elder brother! He Pingsheng asked: «What happened with that Hou family matter last time? I heard you acted?

«Hehehe…»

Xuan Yang chuckled: «Of course we wiped them out—what, were we supposed to keep them for the New Year?

«Wiped them out? He Pingsheng was astonished: «Did you wipe out the Beast Taming Sect too?

«What are you thinking? Xuan Yang gave He Pingsheng a scornful look: «The Beast Taming Sect has two Great Nascent Souls and a fourth-rank protective array—do you think a few of us Golden Core cultivators could wipe them out?

«I'm talking about the Hou family!

«The Beast Taming Sect blamed everything on the Hou family, so we didn't hold back—we wiped them out in an instant!

«Heh… turns out the Hou family are actually your elder brother's descendants!

«Elder brother? He Pingsheng asked: «Which elder brother?

Xuan Yang said: "Dead… much older than the eldest disciple—he was the Master's disciple when the Master was still in the Foundation Establishment stage, and has been dead for seven or eight hundred years!"

«Still, little brother, I must warn you! Xuan Yang said: «Though we wiped out the Hou family, the Beast Taming Sect is not to be underestimated!

«If you ever encounter a Beast Taming Sect disciple in the future, be careful!

Xuan Yang added: «We have a grudge with them!

«A grudge? He Pingsheng asked: «Is it deep?

Xuan Yang said: «Deep as the sea!

«Our two sects are close neighbors—we once fought over a spirit stone mine!

«You know our Master was called the number one in the entire Dao Xuan Alliance in his youth—he struck once and slew the Beast Taming Sect's own Nascent Soul Elder.

«That dispute ended, and the mine became ours—the Grand Void Gate's!

«Though the Ancestor is invincible, times change—the Beast Taming Sect's descendants have proven far more capable than ours—they've produced two Great Nascent Souls!

«They currently fear the Ancestor and dare not act—but just imagine what will happen when our Master ascends to immortality…»

«Sigh…»

«Then it will surely be a bloodbath!

Xuan Yang left.

He Pingsheng now had a clear sense of the Beast Taming Sect.

After seeing Xuan Yang off, He Pingsheng personally copied a full set of the first three chapters and the summary of the True Scripture of the Xuan Sect for Calming the Heart and delivered it to him.

The following days were uneventful.

He Pingsheng lived in dread for another two years, yet still found no sign that the Grand Void Ancestor intended to possess him.

He had even begun to think the Ancestor had no such plan.

But a gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.

He Pingsheng still daily plotted a perfect escape plan in his mind.

Yet Qiao Hui Zhu's 【Hundred Conceal Talismans】 still hadn't arrived.

He couldn't wait any longer.

Break through.

Because whether it was Spirit Refining, Body Refining, or the five dantians, He Pingsheng had all reached the peak of Qi Refining Level Twelve.

In the side hall, He Pingsheng reached out and pulled out a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Quality: Superior!

This Foundation Establishment Pill was obtained from Elder Xuan Yang.

He'd given the old bastard a Heaven-class Spirit Refining scripture—was asking for a Foundation Establishment Pill too much?

He hadn't brought out the Ultimate Foundation Establishment Pill.

Under the Ancestor's watchful eye, he dared not.

First, try with the Superior one.

What if he succeeded?

He swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill and began frantically channeling the Li Huo True Method to refine its boundless energy.

Guided by his will, the energy surged like waves, relentlessly striking an invisible barrier within his body.

Once!

Twice!

Three times!

Then—suddenly, clarity.

The barrier shattered.

Foundation Establishment—achieved!

«I… I'm at Foundation Establishment Level One?

He Pingsheng opened his eyes in delight.

He felt everything around him had changed.

His spiritual sense had grown.

Ordinarily, a Foundation Establishment Level One disciple's spiritual sense reached a hundred zhang.

But now, He Pingsheng's spiritual sense had leapt directly to three hundred zhang.

Such a powerful feeling.

«Hehehe… it actually worked! He Pingsheng nearly thought he was dreaming.

He pinched his thigh hard.

Sssss…

Not a dream.

Foundation Establishment!

The realm countless Qi Refining cultivators dreamed of.

Not to mention, reaching Foundation Establishment doubled one's lifespan—if not killed by calamity, one could live peacefully to nearly two hundred years, even without further breakthroughs.

This feeling was truly wonderful.

«You broke through! Just as He Pingsheng was beaming, the Grand Void Ancestor's voice suddenly appeared: «Perfect—you've reached Foundation Establishment, come here and try making a second-rank array plate with me!

He Pingsheng's face instantly fell: Damn it.

You knew I broke through this fast?

The key is... how did your voice reach me all the way from this distance?