Chapter 843: Foundation Establishment Enlightenment
Half a day later, Ye Mo felt his cultivation essence stabilize. He retrieved his herbs to prepare the foundation establishment pills. While he sensed he could reach the foundation establishment state without them, he decided to create a batch as a precaution. He attributed his swift ascent to stage 9 peak to his exceptionally solid foundation, built during years of cultivation in a low-spirit chi environment. This solid base had allowed him to rapidly absorb the abundant spirit chi in his current location.
The immense spirit chi whirlpool attracted numerous beasts, including the bear. However, Ye Mo's formations kept it undetected. The other beasts, intimidated by the bear's power, avoided its territory. Feeling secure from interruption, Ye Mo proceeded.
He had learned all his pill concocting techniques—herb refinement, fire control, pill formation, and pill collection—at the Magical Herb Sect from Luo Ying. However, since cultivating the Three Birth Chant, he'd developed his own method, building upon his sect training but bearing his unique imprint. He envisioned eventually establishing a completely independent system. Through the Three Birth Chant, he'd come to understand that herb refinement and pill collection were paramount in pill concoction.
Possessing all necessary ingredients, Ye Mo utilized his Shen Nong cauldron, its surface now shimmering with circulating spirit chi, a far cry from its initial dullness. Focusing his mind, he began crafting the foundation establishment pills. He refined the herbs, transforming them into pure liquid under the Three Birth Chant’s influence.
Three hours later, the liquids began to merge. The intense spirit chi enhanced his process, allowing the herbal liquids to seamlessly coalesce under his control. An hour later, a faint aroma emerged, signaling imminent pill formation. It was, surprisingly, effortless; even the chi-increasing pills hadn't been this easy.
Six perfectly formed, crisp green foundation establishment pills materialized within the Shen Nong cauldron, neatly stored in a jade bottle. Ye Mo was pleased; although not overly difficult to produce, they were still spirit level 1 pills. He mused that a superior flame might yield more, higher-quality pills in less time. This spurred a decision: he needed to find a superior flame to elevate his pill mastery.
He subsequently produced two more batches, resulting in eighteen pills total. Eight were allocated to Song Yangzhu and Ye Ling, carefully placed in separate jade bottles. His work completed near midnight, Ye Mo prepared for foundation establishment.
This time, an even larger spirit whirlpool formed, drawing only a cursory glance from the unmoved bear. Having already converted over 90% of his chi into cultivation essence at stage 9, his breakthrough proved significantly easier than for others. As his cultivation essence surged towards the foundation establishment barrier, blocked meridians opened automatically, absorbing vast quantities of spirit chi, rapidly transforming it into cultivation essence.
Ye Mo felt his meridians expand, his dantian’s cultivation essence condensing. However, at the final barrier, he lacked momentum. He realized, despite his solid foundation—a foundation which had enabled him to even sense the final barrier, a feat that would have otherwise taken a year—he still needed more. He consumed a foundation establishment pill.
The pill dissolved into spirit liquid, causing his meridians to expand drastically. His previously sluggish cultivation essence coalesced, shattering the final barrier with a light cracking sound. An intensely comfortable and powerful sensation washed over him. He had reached foundation establishment state! While he'd experienced this once before, this time, the feeling was far more pleasant. Foundation establishment, the foundation of immortal dao, refined impurities from his body, releasing an unpleasant odor.
Calming himself, he stabilized his foundation establishment state power. His cultivation essence increased significantly, expanding his spirit sense to encompass a 100-kilometer radius – a range far surpassing the 40-kilometer limit of a typical foundation establishment master. This surprised him greatly, though he'd anticipated heightened spirit sense from the Three Birth Chant, the magnitude still astounded him.
Retracting his spirit sense, he found his cultivation essence had already reached the foundation establishment state level 1 middle stage. Without pausing, he consumed the Purple Lotus and resumed practicing the Three Birth Chant, entering a deep meditative cycle. His cultivation essence flowed freely, and the incomplete Three Birth Sword Ray gradually sharpened.
He recognized a flaw in his cultivation method; his approach to activating and controlling the sword ray was inefficient. While powerful, his technique was slow and wasteful. The true method, he realized, was spirit sense and willpower control, allowing instantaneous activation of countless sword rays, ultimately capable of forming complex shapes, leaving opponents vulnerable.
Overjoyed, he focused intensely. Mastering spirit sense control of the Three Birth Sword Ray would grant him unparalleled power within his stage. He realized his cultivation essence should support the spirit sense in controlling the sword ray, rather than powering it directly. He exclaimed, “So this is the true Three Birth Sword Ray!”
His battle power had exponentially increased. He discovered he'd already reached foundation establishment state level 2 tertiary stage. His rapid advancement astonished him, but he decided to forgo the second Purple Lotus for now, recognizing its capacity for only two levels of advancement.