A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

「Six months later, in a cultivator’s abode in Jingyang Market.」

Lü Zhong sat motionless and cross-legged on a cushion, a small, empty porcelain bottle resting before him.

Just a moment ago, he had taken his second Foundation Establishment Pill.

The Foundation Establishment Pill contained a massive amount of Pure Spiritual Energy and had a potent catalytic effect. The moment he took it, the pill flared to life like a raging furnace. While releasing a sea of Spiritual Qi, it also began to transform the star-like vortex of the Qi Sea within his Dantian.

The strands of gaseous Spiritual Power that formed the vortex began rapidly collapsing toward the center. He hurriedly circulated the Gathering Element Technique, and the speed of the collapse immediately increased.

Throughout this process, Lü Zhong felt a familiar, bone-deep agony.

After all, the process of Foundation Establishment was a complete rebirth, a process of Washing Marrow and Changing Scripture.

In ancient times, Foundation Establishment was considered the start of the Immortal Dao. It signified that a cultivator had achieved initial success and had formally set foot upon the path to Longevity.

For this reason, Foundation Establishment Cultivators are also known as ”True Cultivators.”

Time ticked by. Under the influence of the Foundation Establishment Pill, the vortex in his Dantian continued to collapse. At its core, the level of his Spiritual Power was steadily rising.

Lü Zhong gritted his teeth and held on.

He continuously circulated the Four Spirits Technique, drawing in Spiritual Qi from the outside world. He refined it into Spiritual Power and used it to temper his meridians, making them wider and more resilient to accommodate the liquid True Essence to come.

In the midst of this, a portion of the Foundation Establishment Pill’s power was diverted to help protect his meridians.

The collapse continued.

At last, the first drop of liquid True Essence appeared!

Lü Zhong’s focus surged. Forcing himself to ignore the excruciating pain wracking his body, he immediately took control of that drop of True Essence.

The last time he attempted Foundation Establishment, this was the step where he had failed. He had exhausted too much of his mental and physical energy during the initial stage of cleansing his body, leaving him unable to control the True Essence within him.

Like a game of Snake, the liquid True Essence extended outward, devouring all the gaseous Spiritual Power in its path. The initial small droplet gradually grew larger and larger.

Eventually, a small ”puddle” formed.

The pain wracking his body instantly receded like the tide.

In its place came an indescribable, overwhelming bliss.

His entire being felt as if it were floating in a warm, amniotic fluid, returning to the most blissful moments of existence.

Lü Zhong was thrilled to discover that his Divine Sense was rapidly strengthening. Its range shot up from the initial ten zhang to the one hundred zhang expected of an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, finally stopping at one hundred and twenty zhang.

With no time to celebrate, he immediately turned his Divine Sense inward to inspect his Dantian.

He was stunned to see that all the Spiritual Power within his Dantian had been converted into a viscous, liquid True Essence.

True Essence, also known as Magical Power, is another hallmark of having stepped onto the Immortal Dao.

”I can’t believe I actually succeeded in Foundation Establishment!” Lü Zhong murmured to himself.

He casually cast a Qi Observation Skill and found his perception of the world had grown sharper. He could now clearly make out individual dust motes in the air. Objects that once appeared devoid of Spiritual Qi now emanated a faint glow upon closer inspection. This also explained why Foundation Establishment Cultivators could so easily see through a Qi Refining Cultivator’s Breath Concealing Skill.

It was a difference dictated by their fundamental level of power.

’There’s more...’

With a flick of his wrist, a shroud of air instantly condensed around Lü Zhong.

He summoned the Golden Devourer Sword with a flip of his hand and, without hesitation, activated its ”Armor-Piercing” Divine Technique, stabbing it at the shroud around his body.

CLANG! The Golden Devourer Sword was sent flying.

Upon closer inspection, the so-called barrier was actually formed from countless streams of air, which served to deflect and repel attacks.

”This... is this the Gang Qi unique to Foundation Establishment True Cultivators?” Lü Zhong gloated inwardly.

He tried again with the Shuo Jin Sword, and without exception, the attack was deflected once more.

He finally understood why Qi Refining cultivators were utterly helpless against a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator. This Gang Qi, he figured, was one of the main reasons.

As long as an external attack did not exceed its threshold, the Gang Qi would not break. It could be maintained until the Foundation Establishment True Cultivator’s True Essence was depleted, granting them a massive advantage against Qi Refining cultivators.

Combine that with a Divine Sense range of a hundred zhang and True Essence that was several orders of magnitude more potent than Spiritual Power.

These three factors combined were what allowed a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator to completely dominate any Qi Refining Cultivator.

Unable to contain his joy, Lü Zhong finally reined in his excitement and focused his mind.

He recalled the *Heling Feixing Scripture* from the Flying Star Inheritance. Now that he had achieved Foundation Establishment, he could begin cultivating directly from the Foundation Establishment Chapter.

The Foundation Establishment Chapter of this technique had nine layers, corresponding to the early, middle, and late stages of the realm.

Each of these three sub-realms came with its own Secret Skill to master.

These were Star Yang Gang, Star Pulling Skill, and Star Fusion Burst.

Star Yang Gang was a technique for gathering Qi and refining it into one’s Gang Qi. It could convert his initially attributeless Gang Qi into Star Yang Gang Qi, which boasted far greater defensive power. It also possessed the long-lasting nature characteristic of Flying Star Magical Power, allowing the Gang Qi to recover with exceptional speed.

The Star Pulling Skill, which could be learned at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, was one of the inheritance’s core Secret Skills.

When cast, this skill could create a powerful gravitational pull, as if moving the stars themselves. In practice, it was excellent for either pulling an opponent closer or abruptly increasing one’s own speed.

As for Star Fusion Burst, it was an offensive Secret Skill.

Through an extended casting time, one could gather all the True Essence in their body into a single point, then unleash it with terrifying power comparable to a single strike from a Golden Core cultivator.

Lü Zhong’s eyes burned with desire as he looked at the descriptions of the latter two Secret Skills.

Unfortunately, for now, he could only look, not touch.