Morning. Bed Chamber.

Gradually opening his eyes, Bubai discovered Xiao Lan's beautiful iceberg face roaming around his...

Well, nothing iffy going on here! Promise!

It's just that, in that moment, a sudden inspiration struck Bubai: No matter what cultivation techniques he finds in the Book Pavilion, in the end, he must definitely select one related to wood... preferably morning wood.

Ahem.

In his previous life, he had often heard rumors and tales disparaging cold beauties, claiming they were no fun with their stoic expressions.

Now, he recognized those assertions as mere lies and utter nonsense!

It wasn't until he experienced the pleasure of being served by a beauty with a cold demeanor that he understood why many CEOs desired a beautiful, professional secretary. The voluntary service of such an arrogant, independent beauty undoubtedly stroked a man's ego in a profound way.

As Xiao Lan sat up, Bubai couldn't resist stroking the cheeks of the cold face that showed him her notes on the completed conference.

This cold, yet lovely face - still so expressionless despite her actions, could it be…

But such a beautiful face, it can’t be, right?

Shelving his stray thoughts, Bubai leaned in and dotingly planted a kiss on her forehead, “Rest well. I’ll leave things in the tower to you, Xiao Lan.”

After she accepted his decision with an expressionless face, Xiao Lan obediently laid back onto the bed, closing her eyes and surrendering to rest after another exhausting night of serving as his cultivation secretary – a role she willingly took on, informing and guiding him on the path of cultivation based on her experience and unrestricted knowledge base...

Naturally, he had benefited greatly, even learning some basic auxiliary techniques, such as the Fingertip Water technique.

Alas, Xiao Lan had a water-attribute spiritual root. Thus, most of her techniques were not compatible with him.

Sigh, the difficulties of the untalented...

Clambering off the bed, Bubai's gaze met Wei Yi, who had been patiently waiting in the room with his neatly folded outfit.

“Good morning, master. Let Wei Yi help you get dressed.” She offered a smile and a slight bow before moving to assist him in dressing.

Though his attire was humble and coarse, the treatment he received was akin to royalty...

After she donned his upper garment, Wei Yi knelt down... to help put on his pants, obviously.

Bubai affectionately petted the clever girl's head.

Facts are: while Xiao Lan was good, after the demonic training from WeiWei, Xiao Lan alone was unable to fully satisfy him.

And this intelligent woman was aware of how to capitalize on these opportunities, earning his willingness to indulge her.

However, moving forward, he decided to mostly let her eat her meals normally.

Despite the affordability of contraception pills, he preferred to save whenever possible. Habits from his days of arduous days of toiling.

Wei Yi skillfully slid on Bubai's pants before she stood up and reported, “My sister has prepared breakfast for the master and is waiting downstairs.”

Bubai nodded and walked past Wei Yi.

After casting a brief glance at the still-sleeping Xiao Lan, Wei Yi followed along in silence.

Lounge.

Seated at the table, Bubai partook in the dried rations prepared for him.

Despite having an ample supply of spirit rice that would allow him a more luxurious meal, he chose not to hastily expose his secret wealth.

Maintaining a backup for unexpected situations was a principle he adhered to as a cautious man.

Moreover, with the availability of better training options at the moment, the supplement of spirit rice was unnecessary. Therefore, he opted to conserve his spirit rice, and maybe he could put them to good use once he had determined his path moving forward.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

After finishing his meal, Bubai glanced down at Wei Er as she consumed the remainder of her breakfast. She then showed her gratitude. “Thank you for the meal, master.”

Now, this was the life.

North District. Book Pavilion.

Entering the grand hall, Bubai noticed the slumbering Granny Shu and hesitated to disturb her again.

For now, he already asked all the questions he had in mind.

Politely saluting to acknowledge her presence, he proceeded to sneak off towards Section C with soft steps.

Returning to the Foundation Establishment methods room, Bubai resumed his exploration, now checking through the opposite end.

“Nearly a week had passed since I first came here… now, I’m finally almost done.”

Picking up a scroll, he casually unfurled it, only to discover that only a small section of text occupied the parchment, leaving the rest of the scroll blank, “Another fragmented method.”

At first glance, there seemed to be an abundance of methods available in the room.

But as he ventured through the aisles, he noticed that many methods were fragmented, either with unknown names, unclear descriptions, and sometimes were even represented by just a single jade slip or scroll.

Honestly, he thinks these traps shouldn’t be mixed in here… but there must be a purpose behind their presence.

“Maybe these are tailored for those willing to take a gamble?”

There are always those who trust their own judgment in the hope of stumbling upon a heaven-defying technique.

Unfortunately, he lacked the guidance of a wise grandpa in a mystical ring. There was also no almighty system nor memories from an upper world to help him discern the authenticity and practicality of the various techniques.

He also harbored no illusions about his ability to intuitively comprehend and mend broken techniques, as some prodigies could. Banking on elusive epiphany was just as good as waiting for the rabbit by a tree stump.

So, he only systematically surveyed the array of fragmentary methods, mentally noting those that piqued his interest. He will revisit them if he ever had spare contribution points in the future.

Alas, even after bypassing these methods, the search still consumed a considerable amount of time.

It was just too challenging to determine which option suited him best.

It wasn’t due to a lack of suitable methods. Rather, it was the multitude of factors he had to consider that made the decision difficult.

The Foundation Establishment Art wasn't as simple as just unlocking the barrier to one’s cultivation.

It was a factor that determined the depth of a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s cultivation base and a link in the development of their spiritual sense!

Spiritual sense was an important part of a cultivator’s kit in the upper levels. Within the scope of their spiritual sense, cultivators would have many useful abilities.

Sensing and control aspects of their internal body, perceiving the environment, freely manipulating their refined gear - assuming it had the functionality of remote control…

Thus, the larger the scope of the spiritual sense, the better.

Naturally, this scope varied depending on various factors: the cultivator’s talent, the depth of their established foundation and the method used to establish it.

Some methods notably had effects on spiritual sense, while others were geared toward other aspects.

This highlighted the significance of selecting a good Foundation Establishment method.

Not only that, this must be a cautious choice because there was no turning back.

In contrast to the Qi-refinement realm, where cultivators could easily switch techniques to gather Qi quickly, Foundation Establishment was a permanent decision.

Once a method was chosen, the path was typically fixed, and altering the method was not an option.

At most, cultivators could complement their chosen method with compatible skills and techniques or supplement it through personal research.

On top of this, he also had to consider the Golden Core road afterwards.

Compatibility with the established foundation was crucial, as any conflicts will leave no leeway during the breakthrough process.

This is why the Foundation Establishment methods with proven Golden Core breakthrough routes were so popular.

Finally, he had to take into account the danger of establishing a foundation.

Failure during Foundation Establishment carried severe consequences, a high likelihood of leading to death or mental disability for the remainder of one's life.

Regarding the factors that could lead to failure, the key advice given was to choose a method that aligned with one's own spiritual roots.

As for further details… Bubai had to choose a method to know more.

There were probably many more pits hidden behind the paywall, but at least it was clear that he should not choose a method that fails to align with his own attribute.

Now, Bubai believed he was nearing the point where he could finalize his decision on his Foundation Establishment method...

After numerous rounds of additions and eliminations, his primary focus had finally settled on a few wood-attribute-related methods.

All of these hinted at possessing a subsequent method to break through into the Golden Core realm.

“The Arboreal Bliss Dreamcatcher Art: Gather memories of pleasure, transforming them into illusory dreams to trap enemies. Establish a Yin Yang Wood foundation to create a forest of dreams, plundering the wet dreams of entrapped enemies to nurture the forest. This foundation heightens the cultivator’s affinity towards dream-related spells and techniques, in addition to those rooted in the attribute of wood.”

A method focused on illusions and dreams.

“The Pleasurewood Body Refinement Art: Refine the body using essence collected from women, enhancing the body’s toughness and secretion of pleasure-inducing hormones. Establish a Yin Yang Wood foundation to heighten vitality, recovery, toughness, and resistances of body. This foundation heightens the cultivator’s affinity towards martial arts and spells and techniques rooted in the attribute of wood.”

A body-refinement method.

“The Seed of Pleasure Art: Nurture a seed in women and transform them into slaves of pleasure, controlling them to do the cultivator’s bidding. Establish a Yin Wood foundation to nurture a forest of women. With a planted seed, plunder their life and cultivation over time, eventually transforming them to obey the cultivator's will. This foundation heightens the cultivator’s affinity towards spells and techniques rooted in the attribute of Yin and wood.”

A much darker version of the Sun Furnace technique, insidiously leeching off women with a seed, operating with a sinister resemblance to a long-term poison.

Bubai couldn't be certain about the nature of Foundation Establishment methods in orthodox sects, but he could reasonably assume they wouldn't be as morally dubious as the ones he encountered here.

Nevertheless, these were his best options, and all of them remained rooted in the general concept of dual cultivation.

Now, it was just a matter of how deep into the abyss he was willing to fall. Which one should he choose?