Chapter 196: Starting Foundation Establishment

Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Starting Foundation Establishment

He hadn’t just set up a heap of Talismans; he had also rigged up many small traps, just in case.

He had also secretly added extra materials to the Arrays.

Finally, he secretly released the Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect.

’You little thing... you nearly killed Zong Ziqi before, making a great enemy of him. But you were also nearly killed by Zong Ziqi and his master, so that grudge is more or less canceled out.’

’Now you’re under my control and won’t cause any more trouble. Still, I can’t let Zong Ziqi see you so easily. Even if Zong Ziqi saw you and said nothing, it would still create a knot in his heart.’

In fact, the reason Jiang Xu had dared to save Zong Ziqi from those three villains was the confidence this Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect gave him.

In a way, this meant the Mother-Child Spirit-Devouring Insect was something of a half-savior to Zong Ziqi.

And so, Jiang Xu placed the Spirit-Devouring Insect inside his seclusion cave, letting it protect him.

After making all these arrangements, Jiang Xu solemnly took out a precious Foundation Establishment Pill from the Storage Bag he kept close to his body.

This Foundation Establishment Pill had a deep, violet-gold luster. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, and light flowed within it, making it resemble a clear and translucent Purple Jade Pearl.

Upon closer inspection, one could see minuscule Runes spinning and flowing inside the Foundation Establishment Pill. Although these Runes were formless and intangible, they were imprints woven from Magical Power and the rules of heaven and earth.

Faint fluctuations of Spiritual Qi swirled around the Elixir, as if it possessed Life Force, emitting a soft hum in the quiet cave.

When Jiang Xu decided to use the Foundation Establishment Pill to complete the critical stage of Foundation Establishment, he had fully considered the risks and difficulties of breaking through on his own.

If an Immortal Cultivator chose to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage naturally, they would not only face a high probability of failure during the Magical Power compression process but also risk suffering irreversible damage.

For example, in the process of forcefully compressing the Magical Power in their body to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, improper control could cause irreversible damage to their Dantian, and in severe cases, even affect their future Cultivation path.

And at the critical moment of converting Spiritual Power into Divine Sense, the slightest mistake could cause their soul to lack the strength to endure and collapse, with unimaginable consequences.

For Jiang Xu, however, the first two risk factors were somewhat reduced.

He had mastered a Perfect Level Healing Technique, allowing him to quickly self-heal even if his Dantian was damaged. Furthermore, he had already completed the transformation of Spiritual Power into Divine Sense, so that hurdle was no longer a problem for him.

But the last one truly struck a vital nerve for Jiang Xu.

If he failed to break through, Jiang Xu would lose Essence, and his Lifespan would shorten.

And it wouldn’t just be the consequence of a reduced Lifespan; the acquisition rate of his Limit-Breaking Points would also decrease.

The Foundation Establishment Pill offered all-around protection, so for Jiang Xu, it was something he absolutely had to use.

Jiang Xu meditated peacefully for a day and a night until all distracting thoughts had vanished. He raised his essence, qi, and spirit to their fullest state, achieving perfection in everything.

After all preparations were complete, Jiang Xu finally took the nearby Foundation Establishment Pill and, without the slightest hesitation, consumed it.

BOOM—!

The Elixir entered his mouth and instantly transformed into a warm current that flowed down his throat.

The immense medicinal power within the Elixir rapidly shot through all the meridians in his body. Wherever it passed, his blood and qi surged and his essence flared, finally reaching his Dantian!

As this immense medicinal power converged in his Dantian, the already full and saturated Mana Fog, catalyzed by the Foundation Establishment Pill, was like dry wood meeting a blazing fire. It rapidly expanded and grew active, ceaselessly producing new Magical Power.

But strangely, the total amount of Magical Power in his Dantian had already reached twice its maximum capacity, and it was still being continuously generated.

Logically, Jiang Xu’s Dantian should have been stretched to the breaking point by this enormous amount of Magical Power, just like before.

Even though Jiang Xu could heal injuries to his Dantian, he couldn’t stop its expansion on his own.

But now, Jiang Xu discovered his Dantian showed no signs of expanding. All the Mana Fog was confined within that narrow, unexpandable space.

Jiang Xu didn’t know what was happening when he discovered this, but he knew it must be related to the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Sure enough, upon close observation, he discovered a thin film with a violet-gold luster coating the inner wall of his Dantian.

It was this film that prevented his Dantian from expanding, confining all the Magical Power within it.

Gradually, the Mana Fog generated by the Foundation Establishment Pill increased. Since his Dantian was already full of fog, this Mana Fog could only be slowly and steadily compressed, continuing its progression toward a liquid state.

As the Magical Power continued to compress, Jiang Xu could clearly feel its purity constantly increasing. Although its volume was shrinking, its energy density was growing exponentially.

Jiang Xu knew that only when the Mana Fog was completely compressed into liquid Magical Power would he have passed the first of the Foundation Establishment Three Gates.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xu quickly controlled the Cultivation Technique seed formed by his Cangmu Skill, making it continuously absorb and expel the Mana Fog to accelerate the compression process.

But as soon as he controlled the Cultivation Technique seed, Jiang Xu noticed something strange.

The seed’s absorption and expulsion rate was astonishingly fast, even dozens or hundreds of times faster than before!

It was as if it had been stimulated in some way!

Jiang Xu froze.

’Stimulated?’

He stopped looking at the Cultivation Technique seed and turned his attention to the other Magic seeds he possessed.

He saw that every single Magic seed, just like the Cultivation Technique seed, was undergoing some unknown transformation!

The Seed of Concealed Breath’s appearance was more elusive than before, as if it had merged with its surroundings, seemingly vanishing within the gradually thickening Dantian.

The Seed of Spiritual Eyes, which resembled an eyeball, now appeared more animated. It was like a real eye—clearer, more translucent, and with a profound gaze, as if it could see through everything within the Dantian.

The Seed of Golden Light...

The Seed of Lightweight Body...

These five seeds shone brilliantly in Jiang Xu’s Dantian, simultaneously changing and enhancing their own power as his Magical Power changed form.

’So these Perfect Level Cultivation Techniques and Magic can also undergo some kind of change when my Great Realm increases...’

Jiang Xu mused.

He didn’t know the specifics of this change.

Did they only change by *experiencing* the Realm breakthrough process, or would they change simply because his Realm had increased?

If it was the former, then Jiang Xu had really lost out big time.

He still had over a hundred Limit-Breaking Points.

He had been saving them specifically to see if he could raise his Skill Levels again after reaching Foundation Establishment.

If it was indeed the former, he would have missed the chance for over a dozen of his Magic spells to transform.

However, Jiang Xu felt it was most likely the latter.