Chapter 30

Foundation Establishment

With the jugs of fruit juice scattered neatly around him in a circle, Leo sat cross-legged once again and closed his eyes, imagining himself inwardly. Taking the shimmering strands of milky-white Qi from the center of himself, he began to guide them once again. Though the route was simple, it was rather exhausting--mentally and physically.

However, each time he got tired, he reached for a jug of the juice and took a few swigs, replenishing lost energy and Qi. Bit by bit, he felt the quantity of Qi grow--from a small, pebble-sized bundle, to a slightly larger pebble-sized bundle. As for whether he was growing stronger or not, he was entirely uncertain.

Beyond simply focusing on guiding the strand of Qi through himself, he pondered on his wants of this life; for now, he was entirely content being here, in the forest, cut from the rest of the world, spending his days feeding animals and completing their random quests. At some point, however, he would leave this place and enter the unknown, outside world. Would he still be content being a nobody? Probably.

Ultimately, he wanted a life void of stress and boredom--he wanted to explore the world, visit all the breathtaking vistas it had to offer, meet all manner of unique people, and understand it as well as he understood Earth. There was beauty in his ignorance, he realized--starting from the blind corner of the world, he had a lifetime of places to explore, foods to eat, and people to meet.

At some point, he entered a strange haze--it wasn't quite the state of enlightenment, merely its ersatz. He'd stopped thinking about guiding the strand of Qi and was doing it unconsciously. Bit by bit, Qi in his dantian expanded and began to crash against the walls.

Unbeknownst to him, he'd reached a bottleneck--the dividing wall between Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment Realms. Most cultivators of the world were more than half his age when they met this barrier, though few, if any, were as relaxed about it.

After all, though the strength difference wasn't terribly incomprehensible between the two realms, the passage determined a good amount about one's future potential as a cultivator.

Animals gathered around Leo who'd, eerily, began to levitate above ground--there was a strange, kaleidoscopic glow embossing his frame, vapors of white smoke dancing around him like flames. He began to emanate a peculiar hum, low and droning, as an image of a banyan tree appeared behind him--it was a barely discernible mirage, though its roots ran beneath him and into the maw of the world, while the sprawling canopy remained perfectly symmetrical. It looked like a looming shield over him, shading him from the sun and basking in the glow he was exuding.

The mirage faded as quickly as it appeared, and Leo landed on the ground as the tension between animals seemed to have vanished; they returned to their nests and homes and lives, as though nothing transpired.

[Consumed whilst breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm]

[ guarantees Perfect Ascension]

The windows faded before Leo could open his eyes and see them.

Inwardly, he felt the sense of peace and serenity that he'd never felt before in his life--they were fleeting, however, and once they were gone, they left a strange, almost aching yearning in their place.

Sighing, he opened his eyes and saw a rather massive window floating there that startled him. There was a lot of information, and he never knew when it would vanish, so he quickly committed it all to memory.

[Congratulations on breaking past the boundary of Mortality and beginning your Immortal Journey]

[You have reached 'Foundation Establishment Realm' -- just as spires ascending toward the skies cannot hold the weight of the winds without firm foundations, so those in pursuit of Immortality cannot do so without a Foundation]

[Excess Qi had expanded and strengthened your meridians]

[Excess Qi had expanded and strengthened your dantian]

[Excess Qi had purified, strengthened, and evolved your Spirit Roots]

[ ---> ]

[Your vitality has been increased!]

[Your strength has been increased!]

[Your Qi has been increased massively!]

[Your lifespan has been increased!]

[You may now project Qi in elemental forms!]

[...]

[Congratulations on passing the first barrier!]

[System Level: 2]

[System XP: 13/20]

[...]

[Additional rewards: , , , ]

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

[ -- crafted from the finest Qi-purified steel, it is neither the sharpest nor the most durable, but it is a weapon trusted by many. Infusing Qi into it will allow you to form a tether and control it with your mind. The distance, power, and maneuverability are dependent on the quality and quantity of your Qi]

[ -- a vaunted treasure of the weak, the talisman will protect the wearer from a singular, lethal attack. Can block an attack from a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator]

[ -- contains trace amounts of Laws of Dao. Can study it for insights into the function behind the form]

[ -- contains trace amounts of True Wood Qi. Can study it to reveal the source. Absorbing True Qi of the elements increases the chance of successful Nascent Ascension massively, in addition to allowing the formation of Perfect Nascent Soul]

[... your journey, however inconsequential, towards Immortality has just begun. As a bonus, a temporary list of possible System purchases with XP will be available for the next 2 hours. You may only make one purchase of your choice]

[1. -- contains trace amounts of True Fire Qi (Cost: 10 XP)

2. -- keeps you from being hungry for 7 days (Cost: 5 XP)

3. -- project the image of your sword threefold and strike in the direction (Cost: 12 XP)

4. -- temporarily suspend Qi exhaustion. Lasts 10 seconds. Become severely hampered after expiration for 1 minute (Cost: 10 XP)

5. -- learn how to build a basic wooden cottage. Comes with the following furniture: a bed, a praying mat, a bench, a chair, a dining table, a storage chest (Cost: 13 XP)

6. -- allows for automatic preparation of the simplest of meals (max of 3 ingredients). Extremely slow, cumbersome, and lacking in taste (Cost: 1 XP)

7. -- increase the speed at which you gather Qi by 25% for 1h. Effect is increased to 40% for 2h for your Disciples (Cost: 8 XP)

8. -- strike out with an open palm and coalesce Qi into a slow-moving fire palm (Cost: 13 XP)

[Good luck, and don't die!]

Leo rubbed his eyes rather comically as he tried to put to memory all the information that he got. Four items seemed to fall out of the blue sky and land in front of him immediately after--a very simple-seeming sword, about thirty-five inches in length and two and a half fingers wide. It shimmered beneath the sunlight, its edges appearing cold and deadly. Its guard was rather simple and flat, and its handle was wrapped in leather.

Besides it was a piece of paper no larger than a palm of a hand with a strange, runic character written on top of it that Leo didn't recognize. However, he quickly picked up the talisman with great care and shoved it into his robes--it was a life-saving treasure, after all! Even if he didn't know exactly how strong someone at a Nascent Realm was, usually, in the cultivation world, it tended to be the starting realm of the big shots!

The last two items were rather similar--both were almost like seeds of a fruit, very rough to touch. The was purely white and seemed aglow with strange sheen. If Leo looked at it directly for longer than just a couple of seconds, he began to feel light-headed and dizzy. As such, he set it aside for when he wanted to experience such states.

The , on the other hand, seemed no different from any random seed--in fact, Leo was half-tempted to plant it and see what sprouted out in a few years. However, just like the , there was something about it, almost like someone drew blinds on what was 'inside', preventing him from seeing it.

For a moment, however, he set aside all four of the rewards and focused on the window in front of him. If he could, he'd buy them all--but he could only buy one. Though the cauldron was initially tempting, seeing its shortcomings eliminated it quickly. It was likely the sort of tool that was used in a war to produce massive quantities of food regardless of speed and quality.

He was also tempted by the cottage, as he was tempted by the true energy pill, and even the --though, he had to admit that the only reason he was tempted by it was for the fantasy of shooting fire out of his hands, as the art itself seemed remarkably useless.

Ultimately, and without too much contemplation (as he feared he'd make a selfish choice), he ended up buying ten . To him, at least, it was the best choice, both short-term and long-term. So long as Yue didn't betray him and ran off with the feather, she was his greatest safety net. Making her strong was making him strong--and she seemed like someone who could easily sit for two hours, wholly unmoving, to make full use of the pill.

As soon as he made his choice, he saw his System XP dwindle back down to 5, causing him to sigh. It was a devil's game, he realized--though he was desperate to level it up and unlock new functions, the temptation of buying things... was too big.

Right then, ten pills appeared in his lap--they were small and perfectly round, and a quick sniff revealed that they had a rather sweet and alluring scent. Though he was tempted to pop one in right then and there, he endured and put them away as well.

Standing up, he stretched and enjoyed his bones cracking like thunder. There was one thing he was desperate to test out, which prompted him to pick up the sword and close his eyes.

The leather handle was perfectly comfortable to the touch, and he guided the strands of Qi from within him towards it--unlike while he was in Qi Condensation Realm, the speed at which he gathered Qi was just about six times faster. Within a second, a strand shot through his meridians and into his palm, entering the sword right after.

As he let loose the grip and opened his eyes, he saw the sword floating in front of him, suspended in midair. A child in him awoke as his lips stretched out into a massive grin--guiding the thin, Qi tether between him and the sword with his mind, he began moving it around. He all but burst out into sonorous laughter at the sight, but as he got distracted, the tether broke and the sword fell down.

However, even that wasn't enough to ruin his mood--he was able to control a sword with his mind! If he got good enough with it, didn't that mean that he'd be able to jump on top of it and fly?! Naturally, he wouldn't go too high--what if he fell?! However durable his body was, it was certain to break from a high fall.

He began to hum a rather pleasant tune while gathering materials for his next creation--the sword scabbard! He was certain he knew how to make it!... probably!