After returning from the auction, word finally arrived from the Pill Hall.
The Dewdrop Grass had arrived.
Lin Zhixue retrieved it early the next morning. Together with the other materials she had already prepared, all the ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill were finally assembled.
She spread out the medicinal herbs packet by packet on the table to check them over. After confirming everything was in order, she gathered them into her arms and headed for the alchemy room.
The sect had deacon disciples dedicated to alchemy. When she handed over the materials, the disciple merely glanced at the list, told her to return the next day to collect the pill, and turned back inside the alchemy room.
When she went to collect it the next day as agreed, a round Foundation Establishment Pill lay inside a small porcelain bottle, its medicinal fragrance quiet and serene, exuding a gentle warmth when held in her palm.
Meanwhile, Gu Yanqing had already arranged the meditation chamber she needed for her Foundation Establishment.
Upon hearing that Lin Zhixue was about to establish her foundation, Jiang Yinglan specially took a detour from the Mission Hall to check on her.
She signaled Lin Zhixue to circulate the spiritual power throughout her body, then slowly extended her divine sense, thoroughly inspecting her meridians and dantian. She remained silent for quite a while.
Among all the disciples at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining she had ever encountered, Lin Zhixue’s foundation was almost excessively solid.
Her spiritual power was condensed, her meridians clear, and her dantian stable; even the sword intent she had recently absorbed lay dormant peacefully within her body, without the slightest agitation.
Withdrawing her divine sense, she said, “No issues. You may begin.”
Gu Yanqing followed behind her out of the meditation chamber, casually closing the door behind him.
Lin Zhixue was left alone in the room.
Faint currents of air drifted through a small window up high. The room was cool, and the bluestone floor carried a trace of dampness.
Xiaoyu floated out from the jade pendant. Surprisingly, it didn’t scurry around chattering like usual, nor did it fly over to Gu Yanqing to make faces and bother him.
It merely floated quietly in midair, watching Lin Zhixue sit cross-legged.
“Zhixue.”
“Yes?”
Its voice was very soft, lacking its usual boisterous tone, every word spoken in earnest.
“In the past, I always thought your luck was terribly bad,” Xiaoyu began softly.
“Back in the Lin family, no one valued you. Others constantly bullied you, and you didn’t receive even a scrap of basic cultivation resources.
“Only later did I realize just how extraordinary you are.
“Without resources, you saved up bit by bit. Without a complete sword manual, you polished your forms on your own over and over again. With no one to back you up, you never once thought of giving up.
“This time, you’ll definitely pull through as well.”
After listening, Lin Zhixue didn’t speak right away.
She reached out, her fingertips lightly brushing against Xiaoyu’s cheek. Her fingers passed straight through the translucent spirit body without touching anything solid.
“Mm.”
She took the Foundation Establishment Pill and closed her eyes.
The pill melted the moment it entered her mouth. A warm medicinal potency surged down her throat into her meridians, while spiritual energy from all directions began gathering toward her body.
Yet her breakthrough was different from that of others.
While ordinary cultivators broke through their bottlenecks by drawing spiritual energy into their bodies, her body held an additional dormant sword intent.
The sword intent absorbed from the Guilan Sword had originally rested quietly in the depths of her dantian. But now, stirred simultaneously by the pill’s medicinal potency and the rushing spiritual energy, it jolted awake.
The Guilan Sword let out a clear, resonant chime.
The blade flew out of its scabbard on its own, hovering three chi before her and slowly rotating.
Ripples of spiritual light shifted continuously across the blade, growing brighter and purer, bathing the entire meditation chamber in a flowing, pale-blue glow.
Then, the sword intent transformed into a water-blue stream of light that poured from the tip of the sword, plunging straight between her brows.
Xiaoyu’s eyes widened.
The sword hovering in midair, sword intent pouring in on its own—this was not a sight seen in ordinary Foundation Establishment.
It watched the water-blue stream of light steadily pour into Lin Zhixue’s body, watching her spiritual power fluctuations climb at a rate visible to the naked eye.
It suddenly spoke up.
“Zhixue, do you know what the hardest step is for a sword cultivator?”
With her eyes closed, fine beads of sweat formed on Lin Zhixue’s forehead, but her consciousness remained clear.
“It’s not practicing the sword. It’s making your sword acknowledge you. The Guilan Sword has recognized you as its master.”
The moment the water-blue stream of light sank entirely into her body, the barrier of Foundation Establishment was breached.
Spiritual energy surged forth like a river bursting its banks, forming a visible ring of light-blue swirling vortex around her.
From the Great Perfection of Qi Refining to early Foundation Establishment, the breakthrough came naturally.
...
Outside the meditation chamber.
Gu Yanqing leaned against a pillar of the corridor, suddenly sensing a familiar fluctuation of spiritual power spreading from within the room.
It seemed her Foundation Establishment was a success.
He straightened up, mentally calculating the timing.
From her entering seclusion to breaking through, it was a full month earlier than in the original novel.
In the original story, Lin Zhixue was supposed to step into Foundation Establishment only after the secret realm. But now, before the secret realm had even opened, she had already succeeded.
In other words, the plot was drifting further and further off course.
The door of the meditation chamber opened.
Lin Zhixue walked out, the Guilan Sword already hanging at her waist once more.
The watery spiritual light on the blade was more restrained than before, no longer shifting restlessly, but settled quietly deep within the edge.
Her aura was no longer the lightness of Qi Refining, replaced instead by the calmness and solidity characteristic of Foundation Establishment.
She took out the jade box from her storage bag and opened it for a glance.
The Origin-Condensing Azure Glaze lay quietly inside. She took it out and placed it into her mouth.
The jade-green crystal dissolved on contact with saliva, transforming into a cool rivulet that slid down her throat into her meridians, blending seamlessly with her newly established spiritual power.
She could feel the spiritual power in her dantian stabilizing at a noticeable pace; her foundation, which had still been slightly unstable, gradually settled firmly under the nourishment of the Origin-Condensing Azure Glaze.
Then she looked up and asked Xiaoyu, “Where’s Gu Yanqing?”
Xiaoyu was still caught in the shock of the sword intent entering her body. Caught off guard by the question, it froze. “The first thing you do after breaking through isn’t checking your body, but asking about him?”
“Didn’t he tell me to find him after breaking through?”
Xiaoyu was at a loss for words, but before it could reply, Gu Yanqing was already walking over from beneath the corridor.
Coming to the entrance of the meditation chamber, he saw the open, empty jade box still in her hand. Just as he was about to say congratulations, Lin Zhixue spoke first.
“The Origin-Condensing Azure Glaze worked.”
“...What?”
“That Origin-Condensing Azure Glaze,” she said earnestly. “It was really a huge help.”
“So?”
“Thank you.” She paused, looking up at him. “And... I’ll pay you back in the future.”
Gu Yanqing was taken aback, then chuckled. It was truly something she would say.
“It wasn’t a loan.”
“Still, I’ll remember it,” she said.
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