Chapter 438: Foundation

Chapter 438: Chapter 438: Foundation

Bai Mo sank his consciousness, arriving at the foundation of his cultivation.

On the three Scripture Platforms, countless small seal script characters flew about, combining and arranging themselves to land within the Daoist scripture, coalescing into lines of text.

Once these recent gains had fully settled, it would be time for him to successfully complete his seclusion and emerge.

...

Ever since learning that Bai Mo was about to break through, Ah Er had become even more careful.

In its everyday movements, it was exceedingly careful, trying its best not to make any loud noises.

During this time, Zhen Yuan and the others came to retrieve Pills from it.

Ah Er received them outside.

After receiving the Pills, Zhen Yuan opened the vial. As he caught the bitter scent of the Pill Fragrance, he also noticed a slip of paper tucked inside.

He took it out and read it, then smiled faintly. With a light rub between his fingers, the note disintegrated, its pieces scattering like butterflies.

"A place where Yin Evil Qi gathers? How perfectly suited to my path."

The Pill Bai Mo had prepared for him was clearly a treasure capable of altering his constitution, enabling him to refine Evil Qi into his own energy.

In a place abundant with Evil Qi, his cultivation speed could be twenty percent faster than an ordinary person’s.

Zhen Yuan left, completely satisfied. Before he went, he offered a reminder:

"There’s a great opportunity available now. It’s a bit dangerous, but it’s a good path for us Foundation Establishment Cultivators to achieve a breakthrough."

"If we play our cards right, we might even lay the foundation for Core Formation."

"If you want what’s best for your master, get him out of seclusion as soon as you can."

The three disciples from the Hundred-Forged Iron Lodge said the same thing.

They laughed, full of ambition, scheming to seize that so-called opportunity.

The group left unhurriedly, leaving Ah Er behind, deeply conflicted. Its furry face was all scrunched up.

If it were just a so-called opportunity for a Foundation Establishment breakthrough, one that even came with some danger, it would have scoffed.

After all, the Great Suanni had declared that its master was on the verge of a breakthrough.

There was truly no need for him to take such a risk.

But what Zhen Yuan said about potentially laying the foundation for Core Formation—that, it cared about a great deal.

Li Wuji, for example, was stuck before the Core Formation threshold, unable to form his core, and it had nearly become a mental block for him.

「The next day.」

Li Wuji came by. Having completed his routine inspection of the black prison, he found one of the prisoners on their last breath, their lifespan nearly exhausted.

After coming out, he went to the stone house’s entrance and made a note on the hanging roster.

Ah Er came up to him and began a flurry of squeaks and gestures.

Li Wuji watched for a long time before he finally figured out that it was talking about the opportunity.

"You mean the Divine Kingdom that everyone outside is talking about?"

Ah Er was a little lost; it didn’t know what a Divine Kingdom was.

Li Wuji just said:

"It’s true there are opportunities in that Divine Kingdom, but you shouldn’t be in a hurry to wake Junior Brother."

"From what I can tell, he doesn’t seem like the type who needs that kind of assistance."

Ah Er looked thoughtful, then pointed at Li Wuji.

"Me?"

Li Wuji smiled.

"My Body Refinement has seen some progress. I’m at the stage of transforming my very roots and bones."

"Once this stage is complete, my physique will be whole, and my innate weaknesses will be gone. I’ll be able to step straight into Core Formation, so I don’t need to covet the opportunities in the Divine Kingdom."

But at his current pace, that would be a long time from now. Body Refinement was a process of slow, patient grinding that couldn’t be rushed in the slightest.

After hearing his explanation, Ah Er was no longer so conflicted.

It guessed that the disciples who came seeking Pills were also doing so because of the Divine Kingdom, wanting to be fully prepared.

But this Divine Kingdom, which so many people held in high regard, didn’t seem all that impressive from the way Li Wuji described it.

Before they knew it, the seasons had changed, and winter had arrived.

Winter on Mi Mountain was especially cold.

Ah Er dragged its nest to the entrance of the stone house, trying to soak up some of the warm air leaking out from inside.

Bai Mo would still occasionally refine a furnace of pills to test his hypotheses, so the stone house was always warm.

One morning, as Ah Er was dozing in a hazy sleep, the stone house door was suddenly pushed open.

It was knocked aside, rolling out and tumbling twice before landing flat on its back with its limbs splayed.

But it jolted awake, yet it was extremely happy.

It turned its head and saw Bai Mo standing just inside the doorway, a surprised look on his face.

Ah Er gave an embarrassed chuckle, flipped itself over, and scurried up to Bai Mo’s side.

But when it sensed Bai Mo’s aura, it hesitated.

Looking up, it saw that Bai Mo’s complexion wasn’t good. He was pale and looked slightly ill.

Only his eyes were startlingly bright, shining with the light of wisdom.

"What are you looking at?"

"Urk!"

Ah Er gestured a few times.

Bai Mo shook his head.

"A breakthrough? Not yet. There are still some things I don’t understand. I’d been still for too long and grew restless, so I came out for a breath of fresh air."

As he spoke, he sensed the air outside and took a deep breath of the cold air.

"So, it’s winter."

"You should check on the flowers and plants on the mountain."

"They won’t freeze to death, but they’re still bound by their nature as plants. They’re very sensitive to the changing seasons and aren’t particularly hardy."

Ah Er quickly agreed. Its eyes darted about, and it began to communicate about the matter of the Divine Kingdom.

Fearing Bai Mo wouldn’t understand, it even used its claw to scratch the two words "Divine Kingdom" into the dirt.

Bai Mo saw it and just smiled faintly.

"I suppose the Divine Kingdom of some Divine Being has emerged."

"Divine Beings are extraordinary. Whether they are still alive or not, there are bound to be benefits for those who enter."

On the other side of the Celestial Barrier Mountains, the ultimate purpose of all exploration is to uncover the secret to immortality.

This is a challenge primarily faced by the highest-level grand cultivators of the sect, and they are also its greatest beneficiaries.

The sect’s disciples come second.

The emergence of this Divine Kingdom is perhaps of even greater importance to the disciples.

Seeing that Bai Mo seemed to be stuck, Ah Er wanted him to go try his luck.

Bai Mo wasn’t concerned, saying only, "The foundation of my path is tied to the Alchemy Dao."

"It’s not something that any old opportunity can help with, so I won’t go out and compete for it."

Bai Mo’s mind was as clear as a mirror; he was now just a single step away from Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

By extension, he even had some ideas about the matter of Core Formation.

The Outer Pill system was so vast and complex that it could fully support the foundation he needed for Core Formation.

His progress in Core Formation might very well depend on it as well.

"Have any letters arrived these past few days? Bring them to me."

Ah Er nodded and began to pull things out, one by one, from the cloth pouch on its chest.

For the moment, Bai Mo ignored the messages left by disciples requesting Pills, instead focusing his gaze on several letters.

One was from a clerk in Immortal Arrival City. Its contents were varied, but it mentioned that he had obtained several more bone tablets containing information on the Alchemy Dao.

There were also two letters from Old Man Bai.

Considering he was busy presiding over the Pill Tasting Conference, Bai Mo was deeply grateful that he had found the time to write.

After reading its contents, Bai Mo smiled.

"Soon, a record of the conference will be sent over."

"We’ll get to broaden our horizons and see what kind of skills our peers out there possess..."

Bai Mo only stayed outside for two days this time.

During his time out, he took out a bag of Outer Pills, which looked to be over ten pounds, and had Ah Er send it to Immortal Arrival City.

Then, just before several disciples arrived to visit, he returned to the stone house and re-entered his seclusion.

Though he had only rested for two days, when Bai Mo settled his mind again, his mental state was already vastly different.

The moment he sat down in a meditative posture, a torrent of thoughts flooded his mind, refusing to cease.