Chapter 221 - 218: The Return
The process of breaking through from the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Peak to the Soul Emergence Realm is also called Foundation Establishment.
Foundation Establishment, as the name implies, is about building a foundation. The quality of its completion determines the difficulty of a Cultivator’s future path of cultivation and the ultimate heights they can achieve.
If one can cultivate and strengthen their Divine Soul before their breakthrough, causing it to reach the point of Soul Emergence and Body Separation ahead of time, then when beginning the Foundation Establishment breakthrough, they can absorb Heaven and Earth Treasures, seize their Five Elements’ fortune, and forge a Spirit Body...
Whether or not a Spirit Body is formed is the threshold for whether one can advance to the Profound Pill Realm in the future...
This information is top secret. Top-tier major powers like the Yuqing Sect have jointly and deliberately sealed it off, making it nearly impossible for it to circulate in the outside world. This is even true within the Shen Clan... Therefore, if you form a Spirit Body, you must never, ever reveal it carelessly before others.
This is the Element Locking Dust Concealment Skill. It can completely seal the aura of a Spirit Body, preventing even the slightest leak during battle. After successfully forming a Spirit Body during the Foundation Establishment Stage, you must diligently practice this technique...
In Dawan Village,
Shen Changchuan held a Jade Slip, browsing the information within. His expression was grim, and his eyes flickered with uncertainty.
This Jade Slip was the very one he had taken from the Storage Bag that Shen Chong had tossed to him.
「A short while ago,」
After leaving Qi Family Town, Shen Changchuan and Nangong City had returned to Dawan Village.
After the matter was concluded, Nangong City said he had other business and didn’t want to impose, so he prepared to take his leave.
Since he had things to do, Shen Changchuan didn’t press him to stay.
However, as payment, he gave Nangong City several Storage Bags from the Ninth Layer Realm Cultivators he had killed back in Qi Family Town.
Nangong City, of course, firmly refused, but Shen Changchuan insisted and forced them on him.
Finding Shen Zeyu’s whereabouts had undoubtedly solved a major problem for Shen Changchuan. He had to be thanked.
「After Nangong City left,」
Shen Changchuan took stock of his remaining spoils and also opened the Storage Bag that Shen Chong had given him.
The contents stunned even Shen Changchuan, a man who thought he had seen it all.
Ten Middle Grade Spirit Stones.
Twenty thousand Ordinary Spirit Stones.
And an assortment of various Spirit Medicines.
The Ordinary Spirit Stones and Spirit Medicines were fine, but the most important things were these ten Middle Grade Spirit Stones.
The Spiritual Qi concentration of Middle Grade Spirit Stones was over a hundred times greater than that of Ordinary Spirit Stones.
They were also purer and easier to absorb, providing excellent support for a Cultivator’s cultivation.
Such items were already on par with ordinary Spiritual Objects.
They were extremely precious Cultivation Materials even for Soul Emergence Realm Cultivators; they rarely ever fell into the hands of those in the Qi Introduction Realm.
With these ten Middle Grade Spirit Stones,
Shen Changchuan was confident that within a month, he could raise his cultivation to the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Late Stage, or even the Ninth Layer Peak!
And yet,
these were not the most valuable items.
In Shen Changchuan’s eyes,
the most precious thing was the information contained in the accompanying Jade Slip!
’Foundation Establishment, Spirit Body... As expected, the established elite will instinctively create higher barriers to prevent newcomers from reaching their level...’
’Directly killing potentially threatening young geniuses is undoubtedly the stupidest method. Sealing away key information and hoarding the vast majority of Divine Sense cultivation Secret Techniques is undoubtedly simpler and more efficient...’
A slightly mocking smile touched the corners of Shen Changchuan’s mouth.
’No wonder I couldn’t find any Secret Techniques for Divine Sense cultivation in the Shen Family’s Scripture Pavilion back then.’
’Secret Techniques that can temper and enhance the Divine Soul have likely been completely collected and sealed away by the top powers, just like the secrets of forming a Spirit Body during Foundation Establishment!’
With this two-pronged approach,
no matter how numerous the outside Cultivators were or how large their population base was, they could never pose a threat if they couldn’t advance to the Profound Pill Realm.
Moreover,
even if someone had heaven-defying luck, obtained an inheritance from a predecessor in some Ancient Grotto Heaven Ruins, learned the secrets of Foundation Establishment, and successfully formed a Spirit Body during their Soul Emergence breakthrough,
or even received a heaven-defying opportunity that allowed them to reforge their body and form a Spirit Body later in life after missing the chance during their Soul Emergence Foundation Establishment,
the top powers weren’t without recourse.
They could easily find them through the unique aura of a Spirit Body,
either to kill them,
or to absorb them into their own systems and make them one of their own.
And if a few slipped through the net, it didn’t matter.
Because the cultivation path from Soul Emergence to Divine Travel, and then to Profound Pill, was incredibly arduous.
Those who could truly reach the realm of a Master Profound Pill as a Loose Cultivator were as rare as a phoenix’s feather!
One or two lone Profound Pill Loose Cultivators could pose no real threat to the major powers at the top.
Furthermore,
if a Loose Cultivator who reached the realm of a Master Profound Pill were to establish a family or sect to pass on their knowledge,
for the sake of their descendants, they would likely join the ranks of the top powers with a tacit understanding, helping to seal the secrets of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Body and the methods for training the Divine Soul...
’Sigh, there’s a trap at every step!’
’Without the backing of a major power, a profound inheritance, or the guidance of a famous master, it’s virtually impossible for Loose Cultivators and Martial Artists to reach the peak on their own!’
Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but sigh deeply at the thought.
This feeling intensified after he carefully studied the method for forming a Spirit Body recorded in the Jade Slip.
The Jade Slip described the process of forming a Spirit Body in great detail.
It specifically noted that when forming a Spirit Body during Foundation Establishment, one must pay attention to the fact that both the Heavenly and Earthly Treasures used and the Spirit Body being formed must be compatible with one’s Cultivation Technique.
For example, there was that one young prodigy from the Yuqing Immortal Sect. In the Qi Introduction Realm, he took a whole year to advance a single layer, all because he needed to master a certain Nine Yang Technique that would allow him to form the Nine Yang Body upon his Soul Emergence breakthrough...
If the Cultivation Technique and the Spirit Body were incompatible, the success rate of forming the Spirit Body would be very low.
If the intended Spirit Body conflicted with the elemental attributes of one’s own Cultivation Technique, the most likely result would be self-detonation and death!
Thus, even if a talented Loose Cultivator stumbled their way to the step of forming a Spirit Body, a lack of relevant information would most likely lead them to their own demise.
The good news, however, was that,
as the Entry Level technique of the former hegemon of the Southern Domain, the Xiangshan Sect, the Xiangshan Qi Cultivation Technique,
was so balanced and moderate, with no strange characteristics, that during Foundation Establishment, one could freely choose a Spirit Body to form based on whatever Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects they had obtained. There was no restriction that it had to be compatible with the technique...
It was only at this moment,
that Shen Changchuan had a sudden realization.
No wonder the Xiangshan Qi Cultivation Technique had seemed so mediocre to him, yet had served as the Xiangshan Sect’s Entry Level Cultivation Technique.
’Sure enough, the more ordinary something seems, the more extraordinary it truly is!’