"Injured Primordial Qi? Perhaps... perhaps..."
Zhiwei looked earnestly at her master:
"Master, damage to one’s foundation is a serious matter. Over the past month, I’ve noticed that you haven’t been as energetic as before. Something feels off..."
Good heavens!
Zhiwei’s observational skills are truly keen!
Though Chen Ye is robust and has various supplements, the constant strain does result in a slight decline.
"Ahem, I am well aware."
Chen Ye waved his hand, pretending to be profound,
"Some cultivation impasses seem to be losses but are actually breakthroughs. You need not worry."
To prevent his keen disciple from discovering anything else, Chen Ye swiftly changed the topic.
He picked up the spirit porridge on the stone table, took a sip, and praised:
"This spirit rice porridge is cooked to perfection, soft and sweet, with the Spiritual Qi retained. Zhiwei, your fire control has indeed become more refined."
Upon hearing her master’s praise, Zhiwei’s tense face softened, and a faint curve appeared on her lips.
"As long as Master likes it."
The girl took the empty bowl from Chen Ye’s hand, intending to refill it.
However, Chen Ye suddenly reached out and gently pressed her wrist.
"M-Master?"
Zhiwei trembled slightly, looking at Chen Ye in confusion.
Chen Ye’s eyebrows gradually furrowed, and his tone grew more serious:
"Zhiwei."
"Disciple is here." Seeing her master’s solemn expression, Zhiwei quickly composed herself.
"How long do you intend to suppress it?"
Chen Ye released his hand, staring at her intently,
"The Spiritual Power within you has long been over ninety percent liquified, your Divine Sense is full, and your aura is harmonious. You’ve reached the limit of the Qi Refining Stage. If you weren’t deliberately suppressing it, you should have established your Foundation a month ago."
"This kind of suppression is excessive! Do you intend to burst your meridians?"
Exposed by her master,
Zhiwei gritted her teeth and eventually raised her head, a stubborn look on her face:
"Master, it’s not that this disciple is unaware of the severity."
"It’s just... I’ve read ancient texts, and an ordinary cultivator can attempt Foundation Establishment when their Spiritual Power is fifty percent liquified. Sixty percent is considered talented, seventy percent, a prodigy. I heard True Inheritor Bai achieved Foundation Establishment at ninety percent... I want to see if I can go a step further!"
So that’s how it is.
When Chen Ye undertook Foundation Establishment, he was but a grassroots cultivator, unaware of these distinctions, and simply proceeded.
It wasn’t until preparing for Foundation Establishment today,
that Chen Ye deliberately reviewed sect records and learned of this maxim.
Though he didn’t know of this back then,
he journeyed the cultivation path seamlessly with his familiarity panel.
Ultimately laying a flawless ten-layer Tao Foundation.
However,
in the process of today’s Foundation Establishment, the previously reviewed texts proved useless.
That’s because this approach differed from ordinary cultivators — she used the Heavenly Spirit Fire as her foundation for establishment.
Chen Ye nodded.
He understood Zhiwei’s determination but remained concerned for her well-being.
Thus he said:
"Give me your hand."
Zhiwei obediently extended her slender wrist.
Chen Ye placed two fingers on her pulse, his Divine Sense like a thread, tracing through her meridians into her Dantian Energy Sea.
At this probing, Chen Ye’s brow first furrowed, then relaxed.
Within Zhiwei’s Dantian, the previously gaseous Spiritual Power had been transformed into exceedingly thick Spiritual Liquid.
This liquid was crystal clear, untainted by impurities, and so full as to resemble a jade bowl brimming with water, unable to hold even a drop more.
Where is this ninety percent?
This is evidently the legendary ten-layer Perfection, the true form of Flawless Dao Foundation!
In fact, due to her intense suppression, ripples appeared on the liquid’s surface, as if on the verge of bursting.
Chen Ye withdrew his hand and looked at his anxious disciple, couldn’t help but lightly flick her smooth forehead with his finger.
"Thud."
"Ow!"
Zhiwei dumbly touched her head; her master seldom flicked her, usually doing so with Qing Jun instead.
However, the touch from the master felt unexpectedly pleasant...
"Silly girl."
Chen Ye shook his head, chuckling,
"You’re far beyond prepared. You’ve reached the pinnacle of perfection, as round and full as can be."
"According to ancient texts, the purity and density of your Spiritual Power already amount to ten layers. Such a foundation is extremely rare, even within Lingyin Sect, et al. the entire Immortal Cultivation Realm."
It was indeed as Chen Ye said.
Though Zhiwei’s cultivation appeared effortless, she was truly remarkable.
She was meant to be the true child of destiny in this world!
At Lingyin Sect, those considered True Inheritors achieved only Seventh-Layer Foundation Establishment.
Claimed to be the most gifted in the Yan Kingdom for nearly a thousand years, Bai Susu was only a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment.
It must be known that Bai Susu, barring any accidents, is certain to form a Nascent Soul in the future!
"Ten... Tenfold?" Zhiwei stood stunned, unbelieving.
"Yes."
Chen Ye looked at her, speaking earnestly,
"Zhiwei, while pursuing the Dao wholeheartedly is important, excessiveness is a detriment."
"In pursuit of that so-called pinnacle, you have stubbornly suppressed the opportunity for a breakthrough that should naturally occur. This not only torments your meridians, but tortures your Tao heart."
"You’ve become too attached."
"Such obsession, if not guided properly, is a sign of falling into madness."
Chen Ye sighed, his gaze steady upon her eyes.
Hearing the word "madness," Zhiwei’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
She bowed her head, avoiding her master’s gaze, her fingers tightly clutching the hem of her clothing.
Madness, huh...
Quietly, the girl chewed over these two words in her heart.
Perhaps.
But she did not believe she had gone mad for some elusive greater Dao.
She merely...
Recalled Bai Susu, who always stood high, radiant, even compelling her master to bow his head.
Zhiwei bit her lower lip, inwardly vowed:
"Madness, so be it."
"Zhiwei doesn’t want to lose."
If she couldn’t even surpass that woman in Foundation Establishment, how would she ever qualify to stand by her master’s side?
Of course, she dared not speak this to her master.
Zhiwei took a deep breath, and when she raised her head, her youthful face had regained its calmness:
"I accept master’s reprimand; I acknowledge my mistake. Since master says I have reached Perfection, then I shall... establish my Foundation today!"
Seeing her clear eyes, as if she had come to a realization, Chen Ye felt relieved.
"Good."
He stood up, his wide sleeve swept gracefully.
Buzz—
Array flags flew out from his sleeve, landing around Cangli Courtyard, erecting a protective grand array isolating the inside from the outside.
"You shall break through beneath this old pear tree; I will guard you."
"Remember, let things take their natural course, and success will follow."
Zhiwei nodded emphatically, and sat cross-legged under the old pear tree.
Looking at her master standing nearby with his hands behind him, her already firm Tao heart surged with endless motivation.
I must succeed!
Moreover, achieve the most flawless Tao Foundation!
The girl closed her eyes, no longer suppressing the immensely boiling Spiritual Power within.
In that instant,
A terrifying aura that had been accumulating for a long time suddenly erupted within Cangli Courtyard!
...
The daylight suddenly dimmed for a moment.
This moment was extremely brief, only Golden Core True Men could sense it slightly.
Even Nascent Soul True Monarchs practicing divination could hardly trace its source.
Ultimately, it was attributed to the capricious nature of the Heavenly Dao.
But within Cangli Courtyard,
The wind rose swiftly and calmed quickly.
Chen Ye had presumed there would be some complications, given Zhiwei’s stubbornness, easily leading to madness during the breakthrough.
But unexpectedly, after merely a few cups of tea worth of time,
The raging Spiritual Pressure that seemed ready to topple the roof, miraculously receded, flowing back gently like water drawn by a long whale, fully into the slender figure under the tree.
The courtyard returned to silence.
Chen Ye’s eyebrow subtly lifted, and his fingers lightly rubbed behind his back.
"This girl is too extraordinary. If only I’d known, I could have spared the effort of setting up the array. Perhaps even Qing Jun and Jin’er, lazily sleeping inside, haven’t noticed their senior sister’s Foundation Establishment."
He glanced at the girl under the tree, content and proud.
Now.
Two of the three disciples have already established their Foundation!
Moreover, given the disciples’ talents, once in Foundation Establishment, each of them could rival several Foundation Establishment cultivators!
"Could it be, as their master, I can rely on them for support? No no no, one little girl is still in Qi Refining... Could Qing Jun truly be a fool?"
The master puzzled, the master doubted.
"Qing Jun knows the master is speaking ill of Qing Jun!"
A certain little girl rudely awakened, expressed her rage!
She mentioned how she had nightmares all night yesterday!
In her dreams,
Her master even led her by hand, making her call a certain woman ’teacher’s wife’!