Chapter Forty-Four: The Elusive Foundation

“Hahaha~ these Purification Pills and spirit stones really are effective. After several days of cultivation, I’ve actually reached the peak of the Qi Refining stage. Now, I only lack a Foundation Establishment Pill to break through. I originally thought that after joining the Seven Luminaries Sect, they’d provide Foundation Establishment Pills to new members, but it turns out you have to earn them yourself.” Lin Yanghao was first delighted that his cultivation had reached the peak of Qi Refining, but then felt a bit dissatisfied as he considered the rarity of Foundation Establishment Pills.

Lin Yanghao was growing anxious. If he followed the sect’s method of earning contribution points one task at a time, it might take him forever to accumulate enough points for a Foundation Establishment Pill. He thought for a long while but could not find a solution.

Just then, inspiration struck him. He remembered the two Outer Sect disciple tokens from Li Xuan and Zhang Heng’s storage bags and, excitedly, hurried to retrieve them.

In this sect, contribution points were stored within the disciples’ tokens. He wasn’t sure how many points these two tokens contained, nor did he know how to check the amount.

“Brother Lin, did you know that two of our fellow Outer Sect brothers have died?” Suddenly, a chubby fellow rushed in from outside, panting heavily. Lin Yanghao smiled at his appearance, then realized the significance of his words.

This chubby man was Lu Gaotong, Lin Yanghao’s only friend in the Seven Luminaries Sect. Most of the other Outer Sect disciples were born into wealthy families, but only Lu Gaotong and Lin Yanghao came from common backgrounds. Because of this, most others looked down on them, and so the two quickly became friends.

“Brother Lu, you said two Outer Sect brothers died? How did that happen?” Lin Yanghao was most concerned about the matter of Li Xuan and Zhang Heng. He believed he had handled their affairs without leaving any trace, and no one had witnessed their deaths. How had the sect learned about their demise?

“Brother Lin, you may not know, but every disciple in the sect has a soul lamp. When someone dies, their lamp goes out. No one knows exactly how they died, not even the sect. I suppose they must have met misfortune while out training. But who would dare kill disciples of the Seven Luminaries Sect? Since we’re newly initiated, the sect hasn’t made soul lamps for us yet. Brother Lin, you focus only on cultivation and pay no attention to sect affairs, so naturally you wouldn’t know these things!” Lu Gaotong explained.

Lin Yanghao breathed a sigh of relief, his worries finally easing.

“Brother Lu, I’ve reached the peak of Qi Refining, and only need a Foundation Establishment Pill to break through. I’ll need to earn contribution points to exchange for one, so I plan to set out tomorrow.” Lin Yanghao informed Lu Gaotong.

“Let me congratulate you, Brother Lin. May you succeed in Foundation Establishment soon. Sadly, I’m only at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, still far from Foundation Establishment. Oh, by the way, you may not know this: the sect rules that any disciple who reaches the peak of Qi Refining can collect a beginner-level spell for cultivation from the sect.” Lu Gaotong added.

Lin Yanghao then asked Lu Gaotong how to check contribution points in the tokens. He learned that one only needed to infuse a trace of spiritual energy into the token, and the points would be displayed. Naturally, Lin Yanghao’s own token showed zero points.

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Inside a room, a girl in yellow and a girl in white sat closely together.

“Junior Sister, why do you always stare at the sky lost in thought? Is something troubling you? Will you tell me about it?” The girl in yellow, claiming to be the senior, asked her companion.

“Senior Sister, don’t worry, I’m fine. That’s enough for today; I’ll go rest now.” The junior sister’s expression dimmed as memories surfaced in her mind, causing her pain. She stood and bid farewell to her senior sister.

Soon, the girl in white returned to her room, her eyes lifeless as she gazed blankly ahead, lost in thought.

“Chirp, chirp~.”

“Chirp~.”

As she drifted in reverie, the sudden cries of a beast echoed. She turned and saw a small white creature behind her. Seeing this, she smiled gently, rose, and cradled the little beast in her arms.

“White Emperor, how do you think my husband fares now? Is he safe and warm as he ventures alone in the Spirit Realm? I worry for him. I must cultivate diligently. Master says that if I reach the Immortal Lord realm, I’ll be able to break the barrier between the Spirit Realm and the Immortal Realm to reunite with him. But I’m only at the Nascent Soul stage; I have a long, long way to go before becoming an Immortal Lord!” The girl in white spoke in a tone full of longing and melancholy.

As it turns out, this girl was Feng Shihan, and the white beast was naturally the White Emperor. Yes, Feng Shihan had not died! Not only had she survived, she had arrived in the Immortal Realm.

The story was thus: That day, Feng Shihan sacrificed herself to save Lin Yanghao, falling into the spatial turbulence. By stroke of luck, she was sucked into a spatial black hole and carried to the Immortal Realm. There, she was rescued by the passing Fairy Dreamwalker, who, seeing Feng Shihan’s beauty, could not bear to let her perish. Fairy Dreamwalker brought her back to the sect and, as a matter of course, examined her spiritual roots. The results astonished the immortal: unexpectedly, the girl she had randomly saved possessed a peerless Celestial Root. Fairy Dreamwalker immediately proposed to take her as a disciple. At first, Feng Shihan, longing for Lin Yanghao, refused no matter what. Yet how could she resist an immortal who had lived for ten thousand years? After much coaxing and persuasion, Feng Shihan finally became Fairy Dreamwalker’s disciple.