At the foot of the mountain, inside the Wooden Hut.
Limuqun was sitting cross-legged on a meditation mat, focusing intently on cultivation.
The pill he had just swallowed transformed into Spiritual Power-laden nectar, sliding down his throat to his shining Immortal Foundation.
There, the Immortal Foundation digested, purified, and converted it into Spiritual Power unique to Limuqun, spreading throughout his limbs and bones.
Feeling the surging, vibrant Spiritual Power within, Limuqun opened his eyes in satisfaction and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Very good, this feeling of growing stronger every day is truly wonderful!
During his time atop Congealed Fat Peak, he had hardly cultivated properly.
First, he was tossed around by Luo Dan’er to do miscellaneous chores, and then his mind was disturbed by Luozhilan’s Hypnotic Grand Array.
The last time he managed to focus and cultivate properly was before he ascended the mountain, when he refined Zuo Qiu Li’s Purple Mansion Fragment.
But the immense Spiritual Power in that Purple Mansion Fragment had pushed his cultivation up two minor realms, all the way to Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
Such a fortuitous opportunity—followed by those wild experiences on Congealed Fat Peak—ended up helping him solidify his foundation instead.
So, it could be said he hadn’t wasted any time.
However, Limuqun had already lingered at Foundation Establishment Late Stage for a while.
Now that his realm was stable, his primary goal was to break through to Foundation Establishment Perfection.
But at the thought of Foundation Establishment Perfection, a glint of contemplation flickered in his eyes.
There was an old saying in the Cultivation World:
Late Stage is the Moat, Perfection the Barrier.
The Moat is easy to cross; the Barrier, hard to bridge.
Though “Late Stage” sounds difficult, as long as there’s enough Spiritual Power, the gifted can pass through easily, while the less talented only need to put in more effort—nearly everyone can cross it.
But Perfection is the Barrier.
The Barrier can’t be leapt; no matter how much of a genius you are, you can only grind away at it bit by bit, slowly cultivating.
Thus, this realm tests not only talent, but also temperament.
One can’t afford impatience or slackness.
Many geniuses used to smooth sailing have often fallen at this juncture, never managing to step into the realm of Perfection for the rest of their lives.
As for advancing from Foundation Establishment Perfection to Purple Mansion, that’s no longer called a Barrier—the Cultivation World calls it the Moat, the Heavenly Moat.
Limuqun didn’t bother thinking so far ahead for now.
For now, he had to focus on the present and give his all to breaking through to Foundation Establishment Perfection!
With a wave of his hand, the two Storage Bags on the wooden table flew before him.
One was left to him by Jiang Wan’er, the other given by Luozhilan before he descended the mountain.
He glanced at both Storage Bags, thought for a moment, and casually put away the latter.
Sure, the pills Luozhilan gave were of higher quality.
But I just want to use Jiang Wan’er’s “Buyout Fee” to cultivate!
I want to etch this feeling into my heart—turning grief and indignation into motivation, so I can work twice as hard on cultivation!
He picked out a pill, popped it into his mouth, and began guiding his Immortal Foundation to absorb the Spiritual Power.
When it came to patience in cultivation, Limuqun was actually quite confident.
They all said breaking through to Foundation Establishment Perfection was as tedious as grinding tofu in water, but he didn’t mind at all; in fact, he rather enjoyed it.
Cultivation should have both hardship and sweetness!
Otherwise, if everyone’s path was smooth and easy, then there’d be no professional gap between those at the upper and lower echelons.
That just wouldn’t do!
As he entered deep meditation, the steady, fine rhythm of his breathing gradually filled the Wooden Hut.
In the mountains, time is meaningless. Immersed in cultivation, Limuqun forgot the cycles of spring and autumn.
The sun and moon revolved outside the hut, day after day.
Deep in cultivation, Limuqun had long forgotten the passage of time, truly becoming like one of those Peach Blossom Spring folk—ignorant of the Han, indifferent to Wei and Jin.
He repeated the process of taking pills, digesting Spiritual Power, taking more pills, digesting again—only feeling his cultivation rising like a tide with each passing day.
There was no lack of pills, and no one to disturb him.
This was a life of humble fulfillment—a small perfection greater than all!
The only blemish was that Zuo Qiu Li in his Sea of Consciousness still hadn’t woken up.
Limuqun opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a turbid breath.
He sent his spiritual sense sweeping through his Sea of Consciousness.
There, wrapped in a pale yellow aura, the little fox that Zuo Qiu Li had become was still sleeping soundly, unresponsive to the outside world.
Though the two always used to bicker and tease each other, now that he couldn’t hear Zuo Qiu Li’s voice, Limuqun instead felt a strange emptiness in his heart—a sense of loneliness he couldn’t quite describe.
“Hurry up and wake up. Even a turtle wouldn’t sleep this long, you know?”
A chibi Limuqun formed of spiritual sense appeared beside the little fox, grabbing her soft, warm tail and giving it a good rub.
After indulging for a while, he slowly withdrew from the Sea of Consciousness.
He was about to resume cultivation when his Immortal Foundation suddenly trembled in protest.
It was… complaining.
“Hm?”
Limuqun frowned and used his spiritual sense to probe the anomaly.
“What’s gotten into you now?”
The chibi Limuqun glared at his Immortal Foundation.
The sunlike Immortal Foundation flickered, and a thought slowly formed in Limuqun’s mind:
“So full… too full. Can’t take any more.” Sigh.
Looks like I’ve been cultivating too intensely lately—my willpower might endure, but my body can’t keep up.
I’d better rest for a while, let the Immortal Foundation recover—call it a holiday for it.
Ending his meditation with a wry smile, Limuqun stood up and stretched his limbs.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he hurriedly fished out the Ancient Scroll named “Dragon and Phoenix Harmonizing Art” from his Storage Ring and began to read it intently.
What? You say this is too much?
Nonsense—in my previous life, I had to memorize vocabulary during meal breaks just to pass the university entrance exam.
Now I’m cultivating immortality—studying a technique during rest is completely normal, isn’t it?
But Limuqun, who had opened the Ancient Scroll brimming with confidence, only read a few pages before his head began spinning.
The densely packed characters seemed to pour into his brain through his eyes, crowding his mind until it throbbed in pain.
Forcing himself to finish the scroll despite the discomfort, Limuqun nearly passed out the moment he closed it.
It took him a long while before the dizziness subsided.
But when he came to, he realized he couldn’t remember a single word from the Ancient Scroll.
?
I don’t buy it!
Bracing himself against the risk of fainting, the provoked Limuqun read the book once more.
He immediately began to retch violently.
After vomiting for a good while, the discomfort finally faded. He cast a Cleansing Spell to remove all traces.
Zhilan didn’t lie to me.
This technique isn’t just difficult—
It’s like climbing to the heavens!
Yet, at the same time, he confirmed that the technique’s quality was truly top-tier.
If he could master it, he might even stand a chance against opponents of higher realms.
He picked up the scroll again, pondering how to study it, when suddenly a streak of white Spiritual Power shot out from its fiery aura.
This was the wisp of divine sense Luozhilan had left behind?
Sensing Limuqun’s gaze, that divine sense wobbled in the scroll, as if saying: “You can’t figure it out, right? Come on, ask for help! I can teach you how to cultivate it.”
Hmph.
Limuqun promptly covered the divine sense.
So what if it’s hard?
Can it possibly be harder than group theory, calculus, complex analysis, functional analysis, and geometric topology?
Luozhilan, don’t underestimate my world-shaking intelligence!
I’ll master this technique on my own, just you wait!
Half an hour later, Luozhilan stood at the entrance of the Wooden Hut, beaming as she looked at the pale, exhausted Limuqun.
With concern, she asked, “Disciple, what’s wrong? Have you run into some trouble?”
“Master, please guide me!”
Limuqun couldn’t stop vomiting and fainted on the spot.