Chapter 12
Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Foundation Establishment Realm (1)
After waking from sleep, Do Mun-hyang and I celebrated safely retrieving the dharma treasure from the secret chamber by drinking Spirit Liquor.
In the past, Do Mun-hyang would demurely pour liquor into a cup and sip it delicately, but after hanging out with me and drinking over the past few years, now she grabbed a gourd bottle and chugged it down with practiced ease.
"Haaa~!"
Do Mun-hyang, having refreshingly downed the Spirit Liquor, ate the side dishes bought from the market with her slightly flushed face.
Do Mun-hyang liked sweet liquors with complex aromas, and her favorite side dish was spicy stir-fried peanuts.
I liked any kind of meat, so I ate the skewered grilled meat she bought while drinking the spicy, intensely aromatic Spirit Liquor.
We thus drank together, celebrating our hardships.
"You'll soon reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, right?"
When Do Mun-hyang congratulated me like that, I nodded while looking at the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle.
The Deep Roots Luxuriant Branches Art had the ability to convert all spiritual energy into the purest attribute-less spiritual energy.
Thanks to that, High Heaven Sect disciples didn't need to gather spiritual energy matching their spiritual roots when advancing from the Refining Qi Realm to the Foundation Establishment Realm—they could simply draw in all the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and transform it into attribute-less spiritual energy.
Of course, since this attribute-less spiritual energy couldn't be liquefied into spiritual power, they had to learn a new technique upon reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm... but it was undeniably an advantage that they didn't have to hunt around for spiritual energy matching their root's attribute.
That was why Do Mun-hyang said I could soon reach the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The pure water spiritual energy from the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle would be easy to convert into attribute-less spiritual energy, so my cultivation speed would undoubtedly quicken.
"What technique do you plan to acquire? I heard from Master that you're learning Buddhist techniques alongside it...?"
"Hm. To advance realms, you do need a specialized technique."
I told Do Mun-hyang that I had some ideas about the new technique I'd learn, but in truth, I had no intention of attempting a Foundation Establishment breakthrough right away.
To reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, one needed to liquefy the spiritual energy in their body into spiritual power.
'Once you form spiritual power, all the attribute-less spiritual energy gathered by the Deep Roots Luxuriant Branches Art will convert into that spiritual power, so the moment I learn a Foundation Establishment technique, I won't be able to use the Deep Roots Luxuriant Branches Art anymore.'
So before challenging the Foundation Establishment breakthrough, I planned to first use the Deep Roots Luxuriant Branches Art to bring my metal spiritual root to Refining Qi Realm perfection, then break through to Foundation Establishment sequentially with both roots.
A few days after sharing our joy with Do Mun-hyang, I clutched my stiff waist and opened the stopper of the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle, left alone in the eastern part.
If I had the Refined Flying Sword, it would have been dangerous, but Do Mun-hyang had agreed to hold onto it until I reached the Foundation Establishment Realm. I'd stored just the sword in an empty storage pouch, sealing it away so it couldn't absorb any spiritual energy.
"As expected. It's incredibly pure water spiritual energy. Mun Yoo couldn't cultivate with spiritual energy anyway, so he must not have been interested in the secret chamber's spiritual energy...?"
I placed the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle nearby, closed my eyes, and began cultivating.
The water spiritual energy pouring from the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle converted into attribute-less spiritual energy faster than any other and flowed into my spiritual root. Over the course of a month of nonstop cultivation, I filled my dragon spiritual root completely with attribute-less spiritual energy.
I then began converting that massive amount of attribute-less spiritual energy into the energy of the Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art, raising my metal spiritual root's realm.
Thanks to the experience of forcibly breaking through a bottleneck previously with Do Mun-hyang's help and multiple Vessel Completion Pills, I could raise my metal spiritual root's realm more smoothly than expected.
However, since I was forcibly elevating a five-element spiritual root's realm with the aptitude of a three-element spiritual root, it still took time. It required two years to bring my metal spiritual root to the 10th layer of the Refining Qi Realm.
With both roots now at Refining Qi Realm 10th layer perfection, I steeled my resolve and began the Foundation Establishment breakthrough.
'I hope this works.'
There were several methods for a Foundation Establishment breakthrough.
The best was, of course, to simply break through naturally. If you trusted your aptitude, there was no better way.
Another was consuming a Heaven-Breaking Pill for Foundation Establishment.
The Heaven-Breaking Pill was an elixir that aided breakthroughs for each realm. Rumor had it that the sect which first created it named it so obscurely—hiding everything but its effect—to keep the ingredients and refining method secret.
The Foundation Establishment Heaven-Breaking Pill forcibly liquefied the spiritual energy in one's body to force a realm breakthrough. But its immense potency came with a heavy price: without sufficient poison resistance preparation, the toxicity could permanently damage the body, making it impossible to consume pills thereafter.
Alternatively, one could use formations to artificially create an ideal breakthrough environment or have a higher-realm cultivator bestow enlightenment to force the breakthrough—but these artificial methods also carried side effects.
So, if possible, I wanted to break through alone, without any aids.
'This damn cultivation world is way too harsh on the untalented.'
With such thoughts, I first separated the pure attribute-less spiritual energy filling my dragon spiritual root into water, fire, and wood spiritual energies.
Then, starting with the abundant water spiritual energy from the Vast Bounty Gourd Bottle nearby, I gathered it into a single point, compressed it, and began converting it into spiritual power.
"Kuh... ughhh...!!"
Elevating spiritual energy—not just gathering it into a point, but sublimating it into a higher form—was no easy task.
It was like the agony of lungs bursting, heart tearing, and brain numbing from exhaustion during a full sprint. Converting spiritual energy to spiritual power wrung my soul with excruciating pain.
"U, aaaagh...!!!"
A scream tore from my lips unbidden, and even a moment's torment threatened to scatter the gathered spiritual energy.
I clenched my teeth until blood filled my mouth, stifling the screams by force, and focused every nerve on the spiritual energy.
How much time passed?
It felt like a single incense stick's time, or perhaps a full day or more.
When I came to my senses, my overgrown bangs obscured my vision, and thick beard covered my mouth, but I ignored such trivialities and kept compressing the water spiritual energy—over and over.
At first, the water spiritual energy merely gathered in a small point, but soon its density surged, and like coal under immense pressure turning to diamond, it began slowly liquefying with a blue gleam.
Each bit of water spiritual energy turning to water spiritual power brought horrific pain from my spiritual root. It was as if a massive iron lump coursed through my veins, shredding every nerve.
"Uwaaaaaagh!!!"
Screaming in agony, I didn't let myself miss a single moment of the water spiritual energy turning to water spiritual power. Suddenly, the pain eased, and the conversion speed accelerated.
Without pause, following the principles of the five elements, I used the created water spiritual power to empower the wood spiritual energy.
I roughly manipulated the surging wood spiritual energy and gathered it into a point, refining it into wood spiritual power.
"Cough! Hack!!"
At that moment, a gush of blood erupted from my mouth.
Slightly cracking my eyes to check, I saw it was black, dead blood rather than bright red, so I closed them again and refocused.
Thanks to my prior experience with water spiritual power, the wood spiritual energy refined into wood spiritual power far faster than the water had. A green droplet formed beside the blue one in my spiritual root.
By the time I'd finished the wood spiritual power, blood streamed from my eyes, nose, and mouth.
Without stopping, I used the wood spiritual power to empower the fire spiritual energy and began refining it into fire spiritual power.
Fire spiritual energy, more violent than the other two, brought a pain like my entire body igniting.
Blood pressure spiked, my brain throbbed as if exploding, terror surged—but stopping now would waste all the painstakingly refined water and wood spiritual powers.
Resolved to die if need be, I refined the fire spiritual power, and the moment its refinement completed...
Boooom!!
A brilliant light exploded deep in my mind, radiating outward and revealing everything to me.
Sitting still without a mirror, I could inspect my entire body; I sensed a tiny insect crawling in a corner of the eastern part; I could even see the scenery beyond.
Without light, I discerned shapes and colors clearly.
Each second ticked by vividly.
Above all, I could perceive the spiritual energies of heaven and earth as plainly as my palm lines and wield them as easily as my limbs.
'This is... Divine Sense!'
Realizing that, I knew I'd broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and opened my eyes.
Vast euphoria flooded me. I felt invincible, like I could do anything.
Clinging to that euphoria, I closed my eyes again and began the metal spiritual root's breakthrough.
The metal spiritual root's breakthrough was easier than the dragon root's.
Foundation Establishment Divine Sense was already settled in me, making spiritual energy manipulation easier than moving my own limbs.
Thus, I succeeded far faster than with the dragon root, and as five droplets of spiritual power took form in the metal spiritual root, I felt the auspicious golden light of the Five Skandhas Enlightenment Art fill it.
With all breakthroughs complete, I opened my eyes and quietly examined the new sensation—Divine Sense—settled in my soul.
'...Divine Sense comes in two as well.'
With two spiritual roots and two breakthroughs, I could operate two separate Divine Senses.
Moreover, when the metal root broke through, my Divine Sense's size and strength doubled abruptly—meaning mine was twice as powerful as that of peers at my level.
I stood up.
Just moments ago, I'd been in agony, vomiting blood, yet after succeeding, my body was perfectly restored as if nothing had happened.
Slowly exiting the eastern part, I tested my new Foundation Establishment strength by forming the Blazing Palm Seal hand sign and thrusting my palm toward the distant river.
With spiritual energy turned to spiritual power and wielded by Divine Sense rather than mere intent, the Blazing Palm Seal roared to full power for the first time and shot toward the river.
Boooom!!
Striking the river instantly, the Blazing Palm Seal vaporized the entire waterway.
"Hahaha."
Explosive steam from the river cloaked the area in thick fog. The sight of one person's power so easily altering terrain and weather etched itself vividly in my mind.
Unable to hold back, I burst into laughter—then suddenly realized how much time had passed since starting the breakthrough and jolted in shock.
"Holy crap, the breakthrough alone took three years."
Does that mean I've been in closed-door cultivation for five years total?
Feeling a strange emptiness at the swift passage of time, along with my lifespan extended to 200 years, I mused that those years were merely 1/40th of my life—a peculiar sensation.
"So this is why cultivators obsess over breakthroughs..."
I could understand why cultivators fixated on cultivation and why mortals desperately sought to become one.
I had become a cultivator.