Chapter 11 Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Stage

Fortunately, nothing else went wrong with the crops in the field. The wheat and soybeans growing on the inferior spiritual soil were thriving, and the millet and yellow millet growing on the inferior spiritual soil were also growing well.

In contrast, the rice seedlings grew much slower.

They are spiritual-grade crops, requiring a lot of spiritual energy. If there isn't enough spiritual energy, they won't grow as fast.

Li Chang'an was also worried about this, fearing that one morning when he stepped out of the bamboo house, he would see the rice seedlings withered because they had lost their spiritual energy.

Fortunately, although the rice seedlings are growing slowly, they are in good condition.

In the past two days, Li Chang'an has turned over another four mu of land, intending to use it to plant cabbage, bok choy, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes.

Besides eating it ourselves, we can sell the surplus or use it to raise pigs.

The seeds for all four crops were bought from the same store and arrived in two days.

The deliveryman this time was Xie Kuling, whom Li Chang'an hadn't seen for about ten days.

"The Jade Glory Grass you gave me last time worked very well, thank you," Xie Kuling said gently as he handed over the package.

"I already thanked you on WeChat, why did you come here in person to thank me again?"

Xie Kuling smiled and said, "There's been a lot of rain lately, and the little guys from the Qingfeng Sect caught a cold. They only recovered thanks to your Jade Glory Grass and are back to their lively selves."

"So I think I should thank you again."

"Little guy?" Li Chang'an asked in confusion.

Xie Kuling explained: "Some of these are children who have lost their families. The Qingfeng Sect has always had the tradition of adopting these children; otherwise, given the Qingfeng Sect's current status, it wouldn't have so many disciples."

Li Chang'an nodded and said "Oh".

"But..." Xie Kuling continued, "Jade Glory Grass is still too precious, and there are only a few plants in your immortal mountain..."

"I'm trying to get them to reproduce. It's okay, you're being too polite by saying that again."

Xie Kuling frowned. "The reproduction of Jade Glory Grass requires a lot of spiritual energy, which is probably not an easy task."

Li Chang'an touched his temple: "Haha, yeah, I only found out recently. But we should give it a try."

Xie Kuling was stunned for a moment, "I thought..."

He still thought Li Chang'an knew.

"If I had known, I should have asked you when you gave it to me."

"Don't worry about it." Li Chang'an smiled without any concern. "I recently found some low-quality spiritual soil. I'll use it to grow Jade Glory Grass, which will be somewhat useful."

"Inferior spiritual soil? May I take a look?"

"certainly."

Li Chang'an hugged the express delivery box and laughed heartily.

He led Xie Kuling through the bamboo forest to his bamboo house.

Outside the bamboo house, he enclosed a yard with a bamboo fence, and placed the flowerpots for planting magnolias in the yard.

Xie Kuling examined a flowerpot and gently touched the inferior spiritual soil inside.

Li Chang'an added, "I also have some inferior spiritual soil in my field. Look, it's right under those crops that grow very fast."

Xie Kuling turned his head and looked in the direction Li Chang'an was pointing.

Those crops were much taller than those in ordinary soil, and they were quite eye-catching.

Xie Kuling observed for a moment and said, "It truly lives up to its reputation as a sacred land."

He looked at Li Chang'an: "Spiritual soil only existed six thousand years ago. Even if it's of inferior quality, it would be unique in the Cangxuan Realm today."

“Even inferior spiritual soil is rich in spiritual energy, which promotes plant growth and can be planted regardless of the season. However, the spiritual energy in inferior spiritual soil will also be lost. I remember that a hundred years ago, the three upper sects still had a few kilograms of inferior spiritual soil, but now it has become ordinary soil as the spiritual energy has been lost.”

Li Chang'an was taken aback: "The spiritual energy of inferior spiritual soil will be lost?"

“Yes.” Xie Kuling nodded. “Unless there is a way to improve the quality, it will be basically stable once it reaches the good grade. Above the good grade spiritual soil, there is said to be superior spiritual soil and immortal spiritual soil.”

As Xie Kuling spoke, a hint of longing unconsciously crept into his tone.

"Legend has it that a handful of celestial soil can turn a vast wasteland into fertile land."

Li Chang'an was also somewhat dazed, "So amazing..."

Xie Kuling smiled regretfully: "Yes, it's just a pity that we can never see each other again."

However, it's already quite good to be able to find inferior spiritual soil.

Xie Kuling went to the fields again and touched the inferior spiritual soil with great anticipation.

After seeing him off, Li Chang'an sat in the courtyard and fell into deep thought.

I don’t know if the basic manual has its limitations, but those golden particles didn’t tell him that the spiritual energy of inferior spiritual soil would be lost.

Or perhaps, it was precisely because he acted according to his own will and didn't specifically think in that direction that the basic manual wouldn't give him the answer.

Come to think of it, even the Blade Spirit senior didn't tell him!

Although it might be because he didn't ask.

Li Chang'an smiled helplessly.

He glanced at the inferior spiritual soil in the flowerpot beside him and suddenly had a brilliant idea: could this inferior spiritual soil be taken outside and sold as high-grade fertilizer...?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the black sword in the corner emitted a sword cry.

Li Chang'an's neck stiffened, and before the black sword could be held to his neck, he hurriedly said, "Just a thought! Not for sale!"

The black sword then stopped and circled around him once.

"Sigh." Li Chang'an sighed.

He couldn't sell the spiritual creatures that originally existed in these sacred mountains, but he could give them away—for example, the Jade Glory Grass he gave to Xie Ku Ridge.

What was his previous incarnation, this deity, really thinking?

If it were a foolish reincarnation, those spiritual beings would probably have been coaxed into giving them all away long ago.

...

Living a life of farming in the sacred mountains was lonely yet fulfilling.

The array outside the entrance to the immortal mountain has been set up for more than half a month, but all those who come are cultivators in the Qi Refining stage.

As Li Chang'an's cultivation level improved, more low- to mid-level Qi Refining cultivators were blocked from entering.

The number of cultivators coming to the pool is gradually decreasing.

On this day, a man in his thirties came to the pond, which had been quiet for two days.

He only looks young; in reality, he is ninety years old and his cultivation level is above Foundation Establishment.

He was simply dressed, tall, and exuded an undeniable sense of authority.

“Xuanling Immortal Mountain, Li Chang’an.” The man looked at the entrance to the immortal mountain and sneered.

"Let me have a go at you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man leaped into the entrance to the seven-colored fairy mountain.

As soon as the man stepped into the bamboo forest, he saw a figure flying over.

He turned away unhurriedly, raising an eyebrow: "Joke, they're right, you like to catch people off guard. That's not honorable at all."

Li Chang'an's palm strike missed its mark. He steadied himself and stood on the ground, looking at the man: "When you people covet the spiritual treasures in the immortal mountain, you're not exactly aboveboard either, are you?"

Besides, why should we dictate the opponent's methods when fighting?

The man wasn't angry at all; instead, he laughed heartily and said, "You're right, I don't deny it."

"Then there's nothing more to say." Li Chang'an circulated his spiritual energy. "Make your move."

After saying that, Li Chang'an rushed towards the man and struck out with a palm imbued with spiritual power, hitting the man's right chest hard.

This time, the man did not dodge; when he struck down with his palm, his body didn't even sway.

Li Chang'an frowned, sensing something was wrong, and quickly stepped back.

Although he didn't use much spiritual power, that palm strike still had power; it wasn't just a weak blow.

Sure enough, the moment Li Chang'an stepped back, the man vanished from his spot and appeared in front of Li Chang'an as if by teleportation.

Before Li Chang'an could react, the man punched him in the shoulder.

That punch also carried spiritual power. The pain instantly spread from his shoulder throughout his body. Li Chang'an was even sent flying backward a distance, breaking several bamboo stalks before he could dissipate the force and stop.

Li Chang'an clutched his aching left shoulder and stared warily at the man.

This person is definitely not in the Qi Refining stage, but he couldn't tell exactly what level of cultivation he was.

That punch nearly shattered his bones; now his left hand hangs limply, unable to exert any strength.

The man looked at Li Chang'an smugly: "Your cultivation level is too low. This is the correct way to use that move."

A surge of anger ignited in Li Chang'an's heart.

The correct way to do this? Standing in a sacred mountain and lecturing him in this tone, this guy really has a face as big as a basin!

Li Chang'an gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and circulated his spiritual energy.

He stepped back on the bamboo, his body suddenly springing forward, rushing towards the man.

"Do I need you to teach me?"

The man smiled, thinking that he was going to try the same trick again, so he simply stood still, arms crossed.

However, as Li Chang'an approached, his thumb, ring finger, and little finger curled up, and he drew a talisman in the air with his sword finger.

In the blink of an eye, golden runes took shape before his eyes, and a burst of flames surged toward the man.

As the burning sensation drew closer, the man's eyes widened. Although he tried to dodge, his left arm was still burned by the flames. In an instant, the sleeve was burned to ash, and a large red mark was left on the skin of his arm.

The man clenched his right fist, and the veins on his arm bulged.

He glared at Li Chang'an with displeasure.

This kid actually has a hidden skill of drawing talismans out of thin air!

Drawing talismans out of thin air—which talisman master in the Cangxuan Realm can do that now?

Indeed, what were those Qi Refining stage cultivators who came before? They weren't worthy of Li Chang'an using this move.

The man suppressed his disdain, bent down, and assumed a posture of readiness.

A huge axe appeared in his right palm. He twisted his wrist, and the axe drew an arc in the air, bursting into flames.

The next instant, his figure vanished, and he teleported back to Li Chang'an.

As the massive, flaming axe came crashing down, Li Chang'an dodged it, but after regaining his footing, he glanced behind him.

This absent-minded behavior made it seem as if she didn't even notice the man.

The man couldn't help but get angry. "We're fighting, what are you doing, daydreaming?"

After saying that, he raised the axe and chopped at it again.

Li Chang'an dodged, and the man swung the axe around and chopped at him again.

After several such attacks and dodges, Li Chang'an gradually exhausted his strength.

He clutched his lower abdomen and gasped for breath, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He had used up almost all his spiritual power to draw that fire talisman just now, and now he was too weak to avoid it next time.

Li Chang'an stared straight at the man. When the man slashed at him again, he channeled his spiritual power, clenched his right fist, and blocked the attack with his arm.

The scorching heat was right up to his face when the axe collided with his arm!

"boom--"

The spiritual energy collided with the spiritual energy, and a burst of air blasted outwards. Li Chang'an was also affected and flew out, crashing heavily to the ground and rolling around.

He lay on the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Just now, if he hadn't desperately channeled his spiritual energy, he probably would have been cleaved in two by that axe.

However, the current situation doesn't seem to be very good.

But despite the excruciating pain all over his body, it was not as painful as when he left the immortal mountain and faced death.

So, it's nothing.

Li Chang'an gritted his teeth, braced himself with his elbows, and struggled to stand up.

The man frowned: "He can still stand up."

Li Chang'an didn't speak, but pressed his dantian and raised his hand.

He began to draw the talisman stroke by stroke, but this time his movements were much slower.

The man gave a cold laugh and released the axe.

"Since you refuse to admit defeat, then I'll show you the difference between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment."

The axe hovered at his side, then quickly turned sideways and swung in a circle towards Li Chang'an.

Is it a magical artifact?

Li Chang'an suddenly laughed: "If that's the case, then your Foundation Establishment stage isn't all that impressive."

The man was puzzled and assumed that the man was provoking him.

"What about adding this?" The man made a hand seal, and a snake-shaped flame rushed towards Li Chang'an.

This flame is quite similar to the fire talisman that Li Chang'an drew earlier.

The fire snake and the flaming axe approached, but Li Chang'an did not dodge. He even lowered his hand and stopped drawing talismans.

Are we just resigning ourselves to our fate and waiting to die?

The man was taken aback.

Li Chang'an cannot die; if he dies, Xuanling Immortal Mountain will also disappear!

The man felt a pang of regret, but the next second he heard the piercing sound of weapons clashing.

"Zheng—"

A black sword withstood the axe's blow, simultaneously creating a barrier to block the fire serpent. Then, with a flick of the sword tip, it sent the axe flying back towards the man.

The axe was back in the man's hands.

Li Chang'an breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, then bent down and pulled a bamboo whip from the ground.

His eyes sharpened, and he brandished his bamboo whip, thrusting it at the man like a sword.

The man met the bamboo whip with his palm, and with a palm strike imbued with spiritual power, he sent Li Chang'an flying. But the next second, the black sword attacked from the right.

He quickly used his spiritual power to control the axe to meet the black sword, while on his left, Li Chang'an's bamboo whip, imbued with spiritual power, swept down towards him.

Boom! Here we go again!

This happened several times, and the man gradually grew impatient.

He seemed to have the upper hand, managing to blast Li Chang'an away, but in reality, he was already feeling the strain.

Why is that bamboo whip in this kid's hand getting harder and harder to handle? Is it really that fierce?

Besides, isn't he in the Qi Refining stage? His spiritual energy should have been exhausted long ago!

However, in that moment of distraction, Li Chang'an's eyes sharpened, and golden light flowed in his eyes.

He channeled all his spiritual energy and teleported away like a cannonball.

With a loud "crack!", the man was struck hard on the left arm by the bamboo whip and flew sideways, breaking several bamboo stalks in the process.

The man lay on the ground, spitting out blood in disbelief, clutching his throbbing left arm.

His arm, having been burned and whipped with a bamboo whip, was broken and could no longer be lifted.

Just as the man was about to get angry, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that a dark cloud had suddenly appeared in the previously bright and clear sky.

The man stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "You actually broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage!"

What else could those dark clouds be but the tribulation clouds that appear when breaking through a cultivation level?

No wonder this kid got fiercer the more he fought.

"You..." the man exclaimed incomparably, "You brat, you actually took me as your foundation stone!"

Li Chang'an didn't understand his words, but his expression remained unchanged, and he raised the bamboo whip again.

The man gritted his teeth, his fingers loosely clenched, summoning the axe.

More and more calamity clouds gathered, and the sky darkened.

The flames from the axe in the man's hand grew brighter and brighter. He roared and charged forward.

However, just as he was about two meters away from Li Chang'an, a powerful pressure was released from behind Li Chang'an.

"Boom!" The man's strong body collapsed to the ground like a frog, unable to move even a finger.

"Wha...what happened..."

The man looked up at Li Chang'an with resentment.

Li Chang'an stood with his back to the light, so his expression was not visible.

A cold, sharp voice rang out: "Get out."

As soon as the voice fell, the man's body flew up as if he had been kicked in the stomach, flying out of the entrance to Xuanling Immortal Mountain and crashing into an open space outside the clear pool.

The man coughed up blood, tilted his head back, and fainted.

Before he lost consciousness, only one thought remained in his mind: This Li Chang'an is not right!

Inside the Xuanling Immortal Mountain, Li Chang'an turned to look at the sword spirit.

"Senior, what brings you here?"

Didn't we agree that he shouldn't take action unless absolutely necessary?

The sword spirit looked at him, its voice indifferent: "Li Chang'an, your tribulation clouds have arrived."

"Cataclysmic clouds?" Li Chang'an was stunned and looked up at the sky.

Are those the ones?

There were also faint glimmers of golden light within those dark clouds.

"Yes," the sword spirit said in a deep voice, "You are about to undergo tribulation; you cannot defeat him."

This statement explains why he made his move just now.

Li Chang'an understood.

He threw away the bamboo whip in his hand, then asked somewhat blankly, "Senior, what should I do now?"

"Li Chang'an, this tribulation is both a test and an opportunity for you."

The sword spirit gazed intently at him, "Your destiny is bound to the Xuanling Immortal Mountain after you inherit it. The deeper your cultivation, the more spiritual energy of the Immortal Mountain will be restored."

"At the same time, the spiritual energy of the sacred mountain will also nourish you and help your cultivation level rise."

No wonder he reached the Foundation Establishment stage so quickly.

Li Chang'an listened in a daze, and only after the sword spirit finished speaking did he ask in confusion, "Why are you only telling me now?"

The sword spirit's gaze remained calm: "Before today, I wasn't sure how far you could go."

Eight celestial clouds gradually appeared in the sky.

The sword spirit didn't say anything more, grabbed Li Chang'an by the collar, and flew to the edge of the rice paddy.

The calamity cloud now consisted of nine pieces, slowly overlapping each other.

The sky was dark and gloomy, and a gust of wind made it hard to even stand.

The sword spirit released Li Chang'an and said, "Circulate your spiritual power!"

Although Li Chang'an didn't react immediately, he did as he was told.

Immediately afterwards, a golden light flashed through the clouds of tribulation.

"Boom!"

A bright bolt of lightning bypassed the sword spirit, as if it had eyes, and struck only Li Chang'an!

"Ah!!" Li Chang'an looked up and cried out in pain uncontrollably.

This ordeal! How could it be more painful than facing death?!

"Boom!" Another bolt of lightning struck, as if it were about to tear the dark sky apart.

Li Chang'an gritted his teeth, his face contorted in a grimace as lightning struck.

These bolts of lightning seemed to reassemble his body piece by piece; apart from pain, he could feel nothing else.

As bolts of lightning struck his body, Li Chang'an repeatedly circulated his spiritual energy.

My head felt numb, and my soul felt like it was being torn apart.

"Boom!"

The ninth bolt of lightning struck, and all was silent.

The calamity clouds gradually dissipated, and the warm sunlight continued to appear in the sacred mountain, gently enveloping the people by the rice paddies.

Li Chang'an's clothes were torn, and his skin looked like it had been burned; there wasn't a single unscathed spot.

He suddenly knelt on one knee and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The black sword flew over and circled around him, protecting him.

As it rotated, a faint golden light surrounded Li Chang'an. Li Chang'an closed his eyes and sat cross-legged in meditation.

The sword spirit stood to the side, gazing into the distance.

An hour later, the charred burns gradually healed completely. Li Chang'an opened his eyes, golden light flowing in them.

He looked at the bamboo forest opposite and seemed to see bamboo leaves slowly falling and three little pigs sleeping in the pigpen.

It seemed as if he could hear the sound of fish swimming in the Ningjing River and the sound of his crops growing.

Then, he heard the sword spirit's voice:

"Li Chang'an, you succeeded."

He successfully broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage and officially embarked on the path of cultivation.

A note from the author:

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