Chapter 11: Foundation Establishment

Qin Shu let loose a burst of his inner strength.

Twelfth level of Qi Refinement.

He had just broken through last night.

Qin Yue stumbled back several steps. “Such formidable power! Stronger than mine already. Exactly what is your true strength?”

“Twelfth level of Qi Refinement,” Qin Shu replied mildly.

“Twelfth level? How can that be?” Qin Yue couldn’t believe her ears. “I’m only at the fourth level.”

“If you were to venture into the Abyssal Fragment World again,” Qin Shu said, “you could achieve it too. Though I wouldn’t particularly recommend it.”

“You’ve been there again?” Qin Yue was taken aback. “Your courage truly knows no bounds. Others go out of their way to avoid it, yet you keep rushing in. If you accidentally get teleported to the full Abyss world, I wonder how you’d manage!”

“I have my calculations,” Qin Shu responded enigmatically.

If one cowers in fear, they might as well abandon cultivation altogether, he thought. Why not live life safely as a useless fool instead?

Qin Yue pressed on, “Are you about to reach Foundation Establishment?”

“Hmm, I haven’t felt any bottlenecks. Should make it before school starts. Keep this between us though.” Qin Shu winked at her.

“Heh heh, impressive! But you’re cultivating too quickly. Do you have any means of protecting your path?”

Qin Shu replied, “The Qingping Sword Pill serves as my safeguard.”

“That makes sense. Now that you’ve become a sword cultivator, you should be invincible against peers at your level.”

Qin Yue couldn’t help but feel a hint of envy; although her Yu Ruyi could transform into various forms, it still fell short in terms of offensive capabilities compared to the Qingping Sword Pill.

“After reaching Foundation Establishment, my cultivation progress will likely slow down,” Qin Shu said, looking at Qin Yue. “At that time, I’ll take you flying.”

Despite seeing each other only twice a year due to their distant relationship as cousins, they shared a close bond. Distance, after all, often enhances appreciation for one another.

“Hmph, well then, I’ll look forward to it,” Qin Yue responded with a touch of tsundere pride.

“But seriously, do you really plan on hiding your talent here in the 179th Branch? If you stay, you’ll essentially forfeit access to better cultivation resources.”

“Ah, forget about it. Too much trouble. The 179th Branch isn’t so bad—it’s quiet, at least. Besides, we’re all Bronze rankers here, aren’t we?” Qin Shu smiled, showing his laid-back attitude.

“Well… Suit yourself.” Qin Yue felt somewhat disappointed for him.

Three days after parting ways with Qin Yue, the Qin Shu family departed from the Qin Family Farm.

This time was different; no one came to see them off.

However, before leaving, they did take away a substantial amount of crops—several tons of spirit rice, along with numerous spirit fruits and spirit fish.

These provisions alone would sustain them for over half a year.

Qin Wushang’s farm, after deducting 45% in taxes and costs from its annual harvest, typically yielded an income of around seventy to eighty thousand spiritual soul coins.

After contributing a portion to their great-grandfather, this figure dropped to roughly fifty thousand.

If divided equally among all descendants, each person would receive only a few hundred spiritual soul coins per annum.

With Great-Grandfather’s support, Qin Yue could now focus on cultivation without worrying about resources.

Seated cross-legged on his bed, Qin Shu observed the Bronze Card worth eight hundred spiritual soul coins within his space ring. He couldn’t help but remark, “One must ultimately rely on oneself.”

Closing his eyes, he delved into meditation, the profound principles of the Fate Mixture Scripture - Qi Transformation swirling through his mind.

He visualized himself as the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed, with the entire world serving as his nurturing soil.

The surrounding vital energy became his sustenance, continuously drawing upon it to enrich himself.

The circulation of fortune true qi within his body accelerated even more.

In his dantian, a whirlpool began to form.

On the surface of his body, a vortex composed of vital energy emerged, drawing all surrounding vital energy towards him.

For four days, he immersed himself in this cultivation method until he reached the pinnacle of the twelfth stage of Qi Refinement.

It was time for Foundation Establishment.

Foundation Establishment focused on building one’s Dao foundation.

For awakened beings like Qin Shu, the most suitable Dao foundation was none other than their own spiritual soul.

Qin Shu turned inward, focusing on his sea of consciousness where the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed emitted a faint glow of destiny.

He gazed at the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed, visualizing it taking root and sprouting.

As the imagined lotus seed germinated, vital energy from kilometers around began converging upon him.

A spiritual energy storm erupted, with Qin Shu as its eye, enveloping the entire house.

In the next instant, all 720 acupoints across his body opened simultaneously. The fortune true qi transformed into roots resembling a cyan lotus, emerging from these acupoints and delving deep into the earth and sky to absorb spiritual energy.

This influx of spiritual energy circulated through his meridians before returning to his dantian.

Within his dantian, the accumulation of fortune true qi grew, causing the whirlpool to expand ever larger.

At the very heart of the whirlpool, the first drop of destiny true essence condensed.

This triggered a chain reaction: the vital energy transformed into liquid true essence, gradually forming a sea of qi within his dantian.

In the sea of consciousness, the spiritual soul of the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed descended its fortune power, coalescing into a lotus seed phantom that merged with the sea of qi.

Then it began to grow rapidly.

The lotus seed sprouted, roots extending downward as lotus rhizomes formed deep within the sea of qi. Lotus leaves unfurled, floating on the surface, while flower buds blossomed, their petals gently swaying amidst the surging qi.

It was just like the first bloom of the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed.

His Dao foundation had taken shape.

Qingping Sword Pill flew into the lotus, embedding itself in the hollow center to nourish itself.

At this moment, his mental strength completely metamorphosed into divine sense. Divine will radiated from his body, now capable of influencing the world around him through sheer force of mind.

Qin Shu had successfully reached Foundation Establishment.

He opened his eyes, feeling the thick stream of destiny true essence flowing through his meridians.

“Compared to the Qi Refinement stage, it’s truly night and day,” he mused.

With a wave of his hand, his divine will manifested as a giant’s palm, opening the door.

This was object control—a hallmark of the Foundation Establishment stage, signifying his ability to manipulate magical artifacts and even fly on them.

While the Qingping Sword Pill excelled in attack, its diminutive size made it unsuitable for flight.

“It seems I’ll need to purchase some means of transportation,” he thought. With eight hundred spiritual soul coins still in his possession, buying a second-rank flying sword would be more than feasible.

Flying swords could traverse thousands of kilometers in a single day, averaging about six hundred miles per hour—nearly the speed of sound. They were the best choice for solo travel.

After breaking through to Foundation Establishment, he had three days to prepare before being teleported into the Abyss World.

And those three days coincided exactly with his scheduled arrival at War God Academy Branch 179.

The timing couldn’t be worse.

But skipping university registration was not an option; it would be treated as desertion, potentially leading to hard labor—a fate worse than death.

Thus, Qin Shu decided he must emerge from the Abyss within two days.

Opening the door, he found himself bathed in morning light.

“Fourth Brother, you’re done cultivating?” Qin Hao asked, looking up at him with innocent eyes full of curiosity.

“Yes, I’m finished,” Qin Shu replied, scooping him up and heading downstairs.

Below, Qin Qing and Qin Gui were engrossed in their studies.

In their six years of elementary school, the first three years focused on literacy, while the latter half introduced them to basic mental visualization techniques.

Upon entering middle school, they delved deeper into various aspects of the Abyss World, refining their mastery of spiritual observation methods.

By eighteen, having perfected these skills, one’s chances of awakening a spiritual soul reached its maximum potential—though luck played a significant role.

Even with a flawless spiritual foundation, some might fail to awaken their divine souls, while others could achieve this feat early in their training due to sheer fortune.

It all came down to destiny.

Looking at Qin Qing, Qin Gui, and Qin Hao, they certainly weren’t lacking in destiny.

Having been nurtured by true fortune qi for over two months, the power of destiny had subtly transformed their physical and mental attributes alike.