Chapter 164: Foundation Establishment Tier Two

Layer upon layer of trees were stained with the golden hues of autumn, and the rolling hills were bathed in the lingering glow of the setting sun. This place was picturesque, with clear waters, lush mountains, and the chirping of cicadas and birds blending into a truly idyllic landscape.

Deep within the forest, wisps of cooking smoke drifted above the treetops, accompanied by an appetizing aroma of roasted meat.

Looking closer, in a relatively open space on the ground, a small campfire had been set up, with several large chunks of meat roasting over it. The mouth-watering scent was emanating from these slabs of meat.

Beside the campfire, three people—a mix of sitting and standing—were chatting idly. Their gazes, however, would occasionally drift toward the steep and towering mountain peak nearby, as if something of great importance lay atop it.

The trio consisted of two men and a woman, all in their late teens or early twenties: Wu Haoming, He Zuo, and He Li.

He Zuo pulled out a small knife, shaved off a slice of meat, and stuffed it carelessly into his mouth. Chewing vaguely, he muttered, "Why hasn't Senior Brother Bai finished yet? We've been stuck here for three days..."

"What are you in such a rush for? Senior Brother Bai will naturally come find us once he succeeds," He Li replied calmly, leaning against a tree root.

He Zuo swallowed the meat, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. Then, casting a glance at Wu Haoming, who was sitting nearby with his eyes closed to rest, he parted his lips and provoked, "Hey! You brawny lout!"

Wu Haoming kept his eyes shut and replied softly, "What is it, you little fool..."

Hearing the word "fool," He Zuo's face instantly fell. He pointed a finger at Wu Haoming and snapped angrily, "Who are you calling a fool?!"

"Calling you, of course! You act so foolish, how could you not be a fool?" Wu Haoming opened his eyes, looked at He Zuo, and broke into a mischievous grin.

"I am not a fool at all!" He Zuo retorted sharply. After a brief pause, he sneered, "You have the nerve to call me that? You're the genuine, authentic reckless brute! Daring to run all the way out here to throw your life away—there must be something wrong with your brain..."

By the end of his sentence, He Zuo was slowly shaking his head with a helpless expression.

"Tch... What do you know! This is called being fearless. A little punk like you would certainly never understand!"

"Ugh!" He Zuo feigned a gag to show his utter disgust at the remark.

Wu Haoming didn't care in the least. He simply closed his eyes again, intending to resume his rest.

"Hey! Let me ask you, when is Senior Brother Bai going to finish his seclusion?" He Zuo asked aloud.

Wu Haoming's mouth twitched. Keeping his eyes closed, he retorted, "You're asking me? How would I know! I'm not a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so how could I possibly know when it will end! You fool!"

He Zuo was driven to fury. "You...!" He immediately sprang to his feet, wanting to rush forward and teach the fellow a lesson. But after a second thought, he stopped in his tracks, not daring to approach.

The last time He Zuo had gotten angry and couldn't help throwing a few punches at him, he had been grabbed and spanked. A cultivator in the early stage of Qi Refining stood zero chance against someone in the late stage of Qi Refining, causing He Zuo to completely lose face in front of He Li.

Therefore, although he was furious right now, he still didn't dare to act rashly.

After pondering for a moment, he sat back down, pointed right at Wu Haoming's nose, and cursed, "Once Senior Brother comes out of seclusion, I'll have him put you in your place!"

At these words, the corners of Wu Haoming's mouth curled up in disdain. Remaining silent, he crossed his legs and began to practice meditation.

The three of them fell silent.

Meanwhile, high above them halfway up the mountain, there was a man-made cave opening. Inside sat a refined-looking young man, his legs crossed and his brows tightly furrowed, while spiritual energy rapidly swirled around him.

This person was none other than Bai Qingzhou.

He was attempting to break through to the second layer of Foundation Establishment.

On his way to Taimiao Market, the spiritual energy within his body had suddenly overflowed, and sensing the opportune moment for advancement, he had stopped here, casually carved out a cave dwelling, and entered seclusion to seek a breakthrough.

More than a year had passed since his advancement to the Foundation Establishment stage. Throughout this past year, he had long since gained a clear understanding of the progression path and breakthrough methods for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Spiritual energy was the vital breath of all things, encompassing humans, flowers, grass, trees, and even wind, clouds, rain, and so on; spiritual energy existed in all entities. When a living being could condense this vital breath, it formed a formidable power known as spiritual force.

The amount of spiritual energy also determined a cultivator's realm and cultivation level. In the Dao of Immortality, there were six major realms in total: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Formation, and Tribulation Transcendence.

During the Qi Refining stage, one used spiritual energy to open up meridians, nourish blood Qi, and subsequently strengthen the physical body and temper the physique. Thus, cultivation in the Qi Refining stage relied on spiritual energy to wash over the body, and in combat, one could only use spiritual energy to activate various magical tools and talismans, which imposed severe limitations.

Once one reached the Foundation Establishment stage, however, the spiritual energy throughout the entire body would return to the dantian and could be directly manipulated outside the body. Cultivators could use their mental intent to freely control spiritual energy to assist in combat.

The cultivation of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, much like the Qi Refining stage, required absorbing spiritual energy to nourish the mind and consciousness, increase mastery over spiritual energy, and allow spiritual energy to continuously break through the barriers of the body!

The most direct manifestation of this was the need to break through nine acupuncture points starting from the dantian all the way up to the chest!

The entire Foundation Establishment stage was divided into nine layers. The acupuncture points corresponding to the first through ninth layers of Foundation Establishment were arranged in order: the Zhongji point, Guanyuan point, Shimen point, Qihai point, Shenque point, Zhongting point, Zigong point, Xuanji point, and Tiantu point.

These were the nine acupuncture points.

To advance, one had to fully store spiritual energy within the acupuncture points before having a chance to make a breakthrough.

Ever since Bai Qingzhou advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage, he had been continuously storing spiritual energy into the Zhongji point. At this moment, what he was attempting to breach was the Guanyuan point.

In the Qi Refining stage, bottlenecks existed at the third, sixth, and ninth layers. In the Foundation Establishment stage, however, every single layer constituted a bottleneck; they could no longer be overcome simply through diligence, requiring a fortuitous opportunity for advancement, raising the difficulty by several orders of magnitude.

"After three days of impact, this thin membrane at the Guanyuan point has finally grown much weaker..." Feeling the changes within his body, Bai Qingzhou felt deeply stirred and excited.

Over these past three days, he had constantly manipulated the spiritual energy in his dantian, launching wave after wave of attacks against the Guanyuan point. Through three days of relentless effort, he finally saw hope today.

"Inhale..." Bai Qingzhou took a deep breath of spiritual energy.

"Exhale..." Then, he heavily breathed it out.

"This is the moment!" he silently chanted in his heart.

Instantly manipulating the dense spiritual energy, he condensed it into a long sword and fiercely thrust it toward the most vulnerable spot of the membrane!

"Splat!"

It was like a small knife piercing through tofu.

A fracture instantly tore open in the membrane, and the spiritual energy, as if having found a new continent, began to pour steadily and continuously into the Guanyuan point.

The moment the spiritual energy touched the acupuncture point, Bai Qingzhou felt his entire body shudder. His bones shook violently, and a magical surge of power instantly strengthened his physique significantly. It felt like a full-health resurrection; the exhaustion of the past few days vanished into thin air, leaving him brimming with energy.

"Ah, so this is the second layer of Foundation Establishment..." Bai Qingzhou slowly opened his eyes, a serene look in them as he murmured to himself, "If I were to encounter that Elder Miao now, I suppose I wouldn't need to run away..."