On the first day of entering the Foundation Establishment Stage, Lu Li felt how terrifying the Foundation Establishment Stewards were.
According to the rules of the Yin Yang Sect, he had to go to the Steward Hall for a simple report, and then he could go down the mountain for training.
But the journey was long, so he still needed to prepare for a long time.
During this time, Lu Li felt how severe the harassment from several Foundation Establishment Elders was.
“Um… Master Wanqiu… no, Senior Sister Su, are you sure the Su family wants to propose to me?” Lu Li looked at the red invitation on the table and couldn’t help but feel a headache.
“Of course, my younger sister is fifty-five this year, at the early Foundation Establishment stage, in the prime of her youth and beauty.” As Su Wanqiu spoke, she caught sight of Lu Li’s twitching mouth. “Ah, I forgot, Junior Brother Lu is only eighteen this year.”
“Yes, Senior Sister Su, to me, that’s the age of a grandma!” Lu Li suppressed the urge to retort. “And Senior Sister Su, why do you still have red invitations to take out?”
“There are a total of forty-five Foundation Establishment Stewards in our Yin Yang Sect. Considering that some are out on training missions and some are assigned to manage Hundred Immortals Town, there are currently fifteen in the sect.” Su Wanqiu placed seven or eight red invitations on the table. “All of them are at the age of fifty or sixty, in their prime… ahem… all are quite talented Foundation Establishment cultivators.”
“Forget it, I don’t want to get married right now.” Lu Li looked at the ages written on them, the huge numbers making his eyes hurt.
Admittedly, rationally Lu Li understood that Foundation Establishment cultivators have a lifespan of two hundred years. Fifty or sixty was indeed equivalent to a twenty-year-old girl. But when he thought that it was almost two or three times his own age, he still couldn’t accept it.
“I’ll just focus on my cultivation.” Lu Li was organizing a large pile of books on the table. “By the way, Great Master, do you have any inheritance that’s a bit more convenient? I can’t get through all these books.”
“There is, but it requires a certain amount of merits to exchange. You’ve just entered Foundation Establishment, and although you are our Saintess, you have no merits at all.” Lin Yin was also sorting through the cultivation techniques in her storage ring. “I originally thought you’d take at least two years, so I didn’t prepare anything.”
“We can take it slowly. No rush.” Lu Li looked at the books piled almost to the sky. His divine sense swept over the complex secret arts, and even with the help of his divine-grade Spiritual Root, he had a headache.
“No need to rush.” Lin Yin stacked several hundred books in a corner. “This is the first batch.”
“Huh?!”
“Wanqiu, go to the Library Pavilion and bring the rest of the books here.” Lin Yin flipped her fingers and tossed out a purple token. “Take my token and go. I’ve already done a preliminary sorting earlier.”
“Yes, Master.” Su Wanqiu nodded and bowed, then stepped on her Light Gauze and left the courtyard.
“Next, I’ll tell you what you need to pay attention to during Foundation Establishment cultivation.” Lin Yin sat cross-legged. “You are now at the early Foundation Establishment stage, the so-called Refining Self phase. You need to inject abundant True Yuan into all four hundred and eight acupoints.”
“During this period, you will need to continuously take Foundation Building Pills.” Lin Yin placed a porcelain bottle on the table. “This is the simplest step. Even for someone with poor talent, as long as a major family consumes two thousand Foundation Building Pills, they can succeed.”
“Over two thousand…” Hearing this number, Lu Li couldn’t help but think of cultivators from major families. ‘Could they really just eat Foundation Building Pills like rice?’
“But Foundation Building Pills require ten-year-old Heavenly Fire Fruits and Earth Vein Flowers, so they aren’t easy to refine either.” Lin Yin continued explaining. “When you enter Foundation Establishment and travel through the Immortal Realm, you can use Spirit Stones or Foundation Building Pills as basic currency, but that’s not the key point…”
“For me, it should be cultivation level, right?” Lu Li said.
“Not exactly.” Lin Yin shook her head instead. “It’s the question I asked you before: why do you cultivate immortality?”
“This…”
“You were once a martial artist. When you held a sharp blade, you could naturally decide the life and death of those who were helpless. When facing evil people in the wilderness, your heart naturally made a decision.” Lin Yin explained slowly. “But once you refine Qi and enter the immortal gate, you transcend the mundane. With a wave of your hand, a village or a town can be completely annihilated.”
“That’s why we forbid Qi Refining disciples from going down the mountain. They can only interact at the Mountain Gate and some market squares in Hundred Immortals Town… However, your arrival, Lu Li, may force us to slightly revise the sect rules and allow Qi Refining disciples to also go down for training. Although their minds and schemes are immature…” Lin Yin sighed. “But that’s a matter for later. At Foundation Establishment, you can feel how powerful your cultivation is compared to Qi Refining, right?”
“Yes, the True Yuan in just one acupoint is more than three times that of the Qi Refining 13th layer.” Lu Li nodded.
“That’s very important. Even if you achieve great success in the early Refining Self phase, it’s equivalent to over three thousand times the cultivation of a 13th layer cultivator.” Lin Yin said, looking at a hanging painting on the wall. “If they wish, they can bring disaster to a region, occupy a mountain as a king, and escape instantly when encountering danger, making them hard to catch.”
“For other cultivators, they have thirty to forty years to experience and think about these issues. But you, Lu Li, are only eighteen. There are many things you haven’t thought through clearly.” Lin Yin reached out and patted Lu Li on the shoulder. “I hope you’ll think carefully.”
“Yes…” Lu Li lowered his head, feeling the pressure in Lin Yin’s words.
Hearing this, Lu Li could understand.
He had been at the Mountain Gate all along and hadn’t felt his own power. ‘If I used the Charm Technique, even a mortal-world dynasty would change accordingly.’
“Alright, no more serious talk.” Lin Yin let go. “Your downhill training trial is to go to the Northern Domain. It just so happens that the Yao race is in turmoil there, and they also have the Mind-Viewing Mirror you want.”
“When will I return then?” Lu Li asked.
“Fifteen years.” Lin Yin said, but seeing Lu Li’s expression, she couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s right, you’re only eighteen… How about this: come back when you reach the late Foundation Establishment stage.”
“Master, don’t be surprised if I come back in half a year.”
“That would be a good thing too. History would see the first Golden Core cultivator under twenty.” Lin Yin said. “Considering your outstanding talent, I’ll briefly explain the stages of Foundation Establishment.”
“The second stage of Foundation Establishment is called Dragon Emergence.” Lin Yin opened a book on the table. “It corresponds to the thirty-three passes of the spine. This is the refinement of essence.”
“Dragon Emergence…” Lu Li looked at the illustration of a human spine, which indeed resembled a great dragon clinging to the back.
“That’s right. Once Refining Self is accomplished, you form a sea of True Yuan. Then you refine the thirty-three passes upward, like climbing heavenly steps.” As Lin Yin spoke, a faint illusion appeared in the air. “Each step requires nine cycles of refinement. Of course, if you wish, one cycle is possible, or eighteen cycles, but… lifespan is not unlimited.”
“In short, nine is the ultimate number.” Lin Yin said, then turned a page and pointed to the next image. “Finally, there is Jade Liquid, where you condense the divine sense in your mind into liquid, preparing for the subsequent Golden Core.”
“To achieve Golden Core, you need to possess all three—essence, energy, and spirit. Water with jade liquid, dragon returning to the abyss, qi sea forming a whirlpool.” Lin Yin finished. “That’s roughly it.”
“This disciple thanks you for your teaching.” Lu Li bowed deeply to the ground, sincere in his heart.
Just a few short words had enlightened him completely.
“That is what I should do.” Lin Yin looked at Lu Li, who raised his head again. “Also, I look forward to the moment you reach the Golden Core Stage.”
“This disciple will work hard, striving to become the first Golden Core under twenty in history.” Lu Li grinned.
“Then you can watch those three-hundred-year-old senior brothers and sisters come to propose to you.”
“Huh?”