CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER 72 QI CULTIVATION PEAK

Ever since settling in the underground factory, Lu Yan had immersed himself completely in cultivation.

In two days, he broke through to the sixth level of Qi Cultivation, and five days later, he overcame the bottleneck of the Late Stage of Qi Cultivation and entered the seventh level.

Within just half a month, Lu Yan had traversed a path that most Loose Cultivators could not complete in a lifetime, successfully breaking through to the tenth level of Qi Cultivation, which is the peak of Qi Cultivation in conventional terms.

Once one steps into the tenth level of Qi Cultivation, there is an opportunity to impact the Foundation Establishment Realm; the vast majority of Loose Cultivators will try every means to acquire a Foundation Establishment Pill, hoping to break into the Foundation Establishment Realm with its aid.

However, sect disciples, in pursuit of a more perfect Foundation Establishment, will step into the eleventh level, or even the twelfth.

Just like the earlier stages of Qi Cultivation, the so-called eleventh and twelfth levels of Qi Cultivation are also about accumulating Magical Power, which is a painstaking process, requiring an enormous amount of resources for each level beyond the tenth.

The resources consumed just to break through from the tenth to the eleventh level of Qi Cultivation could cultivate several cultivators at the tenth level, not to mention the twelfth level.

Even most disciples under Cyan Simurgh Sect only stop at the eleventh level of Qi Cultivation.

Only those who aim from the start to become the personal disciples of the elders after breaking through Foundation Establishment will attempt to break through to the twelfth level to enhance their foundation.

Normally, a disciple who has been cultivating since childhood and can break through to the twelfth level of Qi Cultivation before the age of twenty-five is considered a genius. Once breaking through Foundation Establishment, one has a high probability of becoming a personal disciple of the elder, indicating the difficulty involved.

And how long did it take Lu Yan in the cyber version to break through from the sixth level to the twelfth level of Qi Cultivation?

The answer is one and a half months!

Under the ample supply of spiritual energy in the underground factory, Lu Yan’s Magical Power increased more than tenfold in just one and a half months, and his cultivation reached the astonishing twelfth level of Qi Cultivation, merely a step away from the Foundation Establishment Realm.

With an ample supply of spiritual energy, Lu Yan didn’t even need to consider running the full cycle; he only needed to breathe and assimilate the spiritual energy.

Under this virtually unrestricted enhancement, Lu Yan’s cultivation speed was terrifying, a speed that might not even be reached by a Nascent Soul Old Monster restarting their cultivation.

If what happened here were to be communicated back to the Xianxia version, this underground factory would be enough to attract Divinity Transformation Old Monsters to compete for it.

Now, this place was exclusively Lu Yan’s cyber paradise!

...

In the underground factory, Lu Yan, sitting cross-legged in the center, exhaled slowly, ending his day’s cultivation.

The huge vortex of spiritual energy within the factory also gradually calmed down as Lu Yan stopped breathing, and the spacious factory was once again filled with abundant blue spiritual energy.

Lu Yan’s eyes twinkled slightly, and a virtual progress bar appeared before him.

[Version update progress: 25.7%]

In a month and a half, the version update progress reached a quarter, and Lu Yan’s stay in this version was roughly half a year.

Although the duration had doubled, it was ultimately still within a controllable range.

In the past month and a half, Lu Yan had not been cultivating all the time.

The industrial-grade spiritual energy was too violent, so after assimilating spiritual energy for a period of time, Lu Yan needed to stop to rest, to avoid losing control over the rapidly growing Magical Power.

Taking advantage of these cultivation intervals, Lu Yan made some alterations to the original underground factory, dismantling those rusty production lines and sending them to the warehouse, leaving only the vast factory as Lu Yan’s cultivation ground.

Calming the restless Magical Power within him, Lu Yan felt that his Magical Power growth had almost reached the limit of the Qi Cultivation Stage, and the next step should be considering matters of Foundation Establishment.

Foundation Establishment is the first critical hurdle that cultivators need to face. Before this, the realm of the Qi Refining Stage can be conquered either by piling on resources or through painstaking effort, but Foundation Establishment is not that simple.

For sect disciples, this is the gap between the outer and inner sect.

And for Loose Cultivators, stepping into Foundation Establishment is truly entering another world.

Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivators, whether joining some small and medium sects as outer sect deacons, or being hired as a guest elder by a certain power, can receive favorable treatment.

Even occupying a Spirit Vein and establishing a family of cultivation that lasts for hundreds of years is not out of the question.

A Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator has a life span of three hundred years, which is vastly different from the two-hundred-year lifespan of a Qi Refining cultivator.

To truly take this step from mortal to immortal, the vast majority of cultivators will choose to take the precious Foundation Establishment Pill, leveraging its medicinal power for Foundation Establishment.

Using external forces to build the foundation of cultivation undoubtedly affects the foundation, and those who take the Foundation Establishment Pill are often unable to form a Golden Core, which is a well-known consensus among sects.

Therefore, the outstanding disciples in major sects mostly choose to break through to the eleventh level of Qi Cultivation, using abundant Magical Power to forcefully break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Cultivators who succeed in Foundation Establishment this way are considered Human Dao Foundation Establishment, with a future hope of glimpsing the Golden Core Realm.

And if one further breaks through to the twelfth level of Qi Cultivation, they can attempt to perceive the artistic conception to achieve the Earth Dao Foundation Establishment.

Ji Xingyao, during the Qi Refining Stage, perceived the Celestial Human Sword Intent and subsequently achieved Foundation Establishment through Sword Dao, becoming the first person in the Cyan Simurgh Sect in the last century, often hailed as having the posture of a Nascent Soul.

An Earth Dao Foundation Establishment is almost certain to become a true Golden Core, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Obviously, Ji Xingyao’s case belongs to the category of mishaps, as a pursuing force led her to mistakenly enter a forbidden area, damaging her foundation. Otherwise, with her talent, she could have stepped into the Golden Core Realm long ago.

As for the Earth Dao Foundation Establishment, above it lies the legendary Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, which is an achievement of a Heavenly Dao foundation through the Power of Heavenly Dao.

The Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment is merely an illusory legend; throughout the entire Xianxia version, only the legendary Immortals are said to have reached such a realm, but its authenticity is still questionable.

Reflecting on all the information about Foundation Establishment, Lu Yan, sitting cross-legged, slowly raised his right hand, and Magical Power began to emerge in his palm.

The surrounding blue spiritual energy began to recede, and the majestic Magical Power forcibly suppressed all the spiritual energy within the factory, clearing a pure area without any spiritual energy in the center of the factory.

With a slight movement of thought, a flame suddenly appeared inside the factory, and a large bonfire suspended in mid-air illuminated the entire factory.

This was a first-rank inferior Spirit Fire Technique, but with the strong supply of Lu Yan’s Magical Power, it could fully exert a power not inferior to attack spells.

With a light wave of his right hand, the Hundred Soul Banner in the storage bag fell into Lu Yan’s hand. The banner unfurled, and eight hundred fierce ghosts and three-headed main souls all appeared, filling the castle with ghostly mist.

Using his twelfth-level Qi Cultivation to control the top-grade Magical Artifact Hundred Soul Banner with over eight hundred fierce ghosts, Lu Yan felt no pressure at all, finally able to unleash the full might of this banner.

"My current Magical Power is already close to that of a typical Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator breaking through from the tenth level of Qi Cultivation. With such abundant Magical Power, as long as enough spiritual energy is provided, Human Dao Foundation Establishment is achievable.

As for the Earth Dao Foundation Establishment, which requires the comprehension of artistic conception, I have no direction."

Lu Yan’s face showed contemplation.

He thought about how crucial Foundation Establishment is for his future development—whether to directly use his abundant Magical Power foundation to forcefully break through to a higher cultivation level in the cyber version for greater benefits, or to calm down and seek the opportunity for Earth Dao Foundation Establishment?

At this moment, a quick knock on the gate of the underground factory suddenly echoed.

Lu Yan’s eyes sharpened as he dissipated the Spirit Fire floating in mid-air and quickly recalled the eight hundred fierce ghosts surrounding the entire castle back into the Soul Banner.

Meanwhile, outside the door, Quentin was pacing back and forth anxiously, his face a complex mix of grief and fear.

As the door opened, Quentin took a deep breath, preparing to voice his question.

But when he saw Lu Yan standing behind the door, an inexplicable fear surged in his heart.

Although Lu Yan hadn’t changed his blue long shirt or his appearance, he gave Quentin a sense of fear akin to confronting an Upper-Rank Spiritual Ability User directly.

The words he initially wanted to say faded away, but eventually, Krin overcame his instinctual fear with his impoverished rationale.

He spoke quietly:

"Sir, your spiritual energy tax is about to be overdue!"