Cultivating Immortality in a World of Chaos

Cave A36.

Using his restriction token, Fang Xi opened the entrance and stepped inside.

The surrounding air was thick with spiritual energy, gradually forming a faint mist.

He took a deep breath, feeling as if he could ascend to immortality.

“The spiritual energy here is unparalleled, truly deserving of its tier-two high-grade status…”

The interior furnishings were simple, consisting only of stone tables, chairs, and benches. The cave had separate areas for sleeping and cultivation, with a spirit spring continuously bubbling within the latter.

“The formation seems quite decent…” Fang Xi circled around, examining the cave’s protective array before tapping his bag of holding.

Puff! Puff!

Small flags materialized, planted on all four walls.

With shimmering spiritual light, a barrier emerged, followed by additional restrictions for creating mist and soundproofing.

Fang Xi naturally couldn’t fully trust Bai Ze Immortal City; it was essential to take precautions.

After setting everything up, he sat cross-legged beside the spirit spring, swallowed a Fasting Pill, and quietly focused on harmonizing his vital energies…

His thoughts raced through memories - scenes from his life before the transmigration, the struggle for survival after, the terror when facing death for the first time, the ecstasy upon re-transmigrating… Each vivid encounter, filled with hatred or affection, replayed vividly in his mind.

Foundation Establishment marked the first major milestone on the Immortal Path!

Once achieved, one truly transcended the ordinary realm of mortals!

Fang Xi gradually calmed his thoughts and silently activated the Everlasting Spring Art, enveloping his body with a layer of radiant green light.

He remained seated for over half a month.

One day, Fang Xi abruptly opened his eyes, feeling his vitality at its peak, with no further room to enhance it!

“It’s time!”

Without hesitation, he retrieved the jade bottle containing the genuine Foundation Establishment Pill, removed the stopper, and swallowed the pill emitting a blue aura.

“If I fail now, fate would indeed be cruel!”

With unwavering confidence, he channeled the Everlasting Spring Art, launching himself towards the pinnacle!

Whooosh!

As if drawn by some unseen force, the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy surged into the cultivation room, steadily intensifying and forming a whirlpool…

Time passed, seemingly endless.

The potent spiritual energy transformed into a cascading waterfall, rushing down and permeating through Fang Xi’s crown, cleansing his entire physical being.

Pain!

An intense agony elicited a stifled groan from him.

This was the first barrier of Foundation Establishment - the Blood Qi Barrier!

A massive influx of spiritual energy enters a cultivator’s body, and if their physique cannot withstand it, they will fail Foundation Establishment!

Those with weakened blood qi or physical impairments face greater risks at this stage, increasing the likelihood of failure!

However, Fang Xi, initially caught off guard, quickly regained composure and faced it resolutely.

‘My martial arts proficiency is comparable to the fourth stage of Body Tempering, with exceptionally robust blood qi… If I cannot pass this stage, then no one else could either!’

Fang Xi exuded unwavering confidence.

As expected, his body stood firm like a rock amidst raging waves, enduring the howling winds and crashing tides without faltering. He effortlessly refined vast amounts of heaven and earth’s spiritual energy, channeling it into his dantian’s sea of qi!

The second challenge - the Magical Energy Barrier!

Initially, Fang Xi might have struggled here, having only perfected the common Everlasting Spring Art for magical energy cultivation.

However, the potent effects of the Foundation Establishment Pill, with minimal depletion so far, boosted his Everlasting Spring Art exponentially. This surge rapidly refined the intense influx of external spiritual energy, transforming it into a dense azure mist-like magical energy!

The azure mist grew increasingly thicker and denser… yet fell just short, unable to further condense.

In a moment of inspired clarity, Fang Xi focused his divine sense inward, delving into his dantian’s sea of qi.

The third barrier - the Divine Sense Barrier!

With the aid of his Azure Wood Spirit Body, he had already cultivated his divine sense, making this stage as effortless as walking on flat ground!

Under the guidance of his divine sense, Fang Xi achieved unparalleled mental focus. Within his dantian, the intensely concentrated azure mist continued relentlessly compressing…

Drip!

Drip!

Time seemed to blur away, marked only by the sound of falling droplets echoing in Fang Xi’s ears.

The sound of dripping water echoed faintly in Fang Xi’s ears.

In the next instant, as he inspected his dantian’s energy sea internally, he observed droplets of azure liquid magical energy falling like raindrops.

One drop, two drops… ten drops, twenty drops!

After the first drop condensed, the process accelerated rapidly. Once reaching twenty drops of liquid magical energy, the absorption of external spiritual energy ceased, gradually coming to a halt.

These twenty drops formed a shimmering emerald pool at the base of his dantian’s energy sea. Suddenly, they initiated the flow of his cultivation technique, circulating throughout his entire body in a great circulation.

This was the Foundation Establishment process for strengthening muscles and cleansing marrow!

From this moment on, a Foundation Establishment cultivator gains vastly extended longevity, truly stepping into the realm of immortal cultivation!

“Foundation Establishment… accomplished!”

Fang Xi opened his eyes, revealing twin beams of green light extending over a foot before gradually dissipating.

He gently touched his face, hands… a hint of satisfaction appeared on his expression.

This was a realm unattainable even in the original host’s wildest dreams! Yet, it had finally been achieved by him!

“Hmm? Has it been a hundred days already? No wonder ancient texts often mention ‘hundred-day Foundation Establishment’…”

With several months remaining on the immortal’s cave lease, Fang Xi decided not to rush out of seclusion. Instead, he continued to consolidate his cultivation base.

Upon activating the Everlasting Spring Art once more, he disappointingly realized that this technique could now only slowly restore magical energy, no longer enhancing it further.

“As expected… finding a new cultivation method must be my top priority.”

Fang Xi opened his eyes and examined his current state with divine sense.

“My longevity has increased significantly, by approximately two sixty-year cycles, which is around 120 years… So now, I can potentially live over four hundred twenty years? With just a bit more effort, couldn’t I match the lifespan of an average Core Formation patriarch?”

A hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

Ordinarily, successful Foundation Establishment adds about a century to a cultivator’s longevity. However, due to Fang Xi’s Azure Wood Spirit Body and partial Second Wood Dharma Body, there was a significant bonus in this aspect, resulting in far greater life expectancy than most!

Moreover, Fang Xi noticed a substantial surge in his divine sense, expanding from roughly thirty meters to an impressive one hundred fifty meters!

“Typically, early Foundation Establishment cultivators have divine sense ranging from thirty to forty meters… With mine now at fifty, it’s akin to having innate talent for powerful divine sense…”

A hint of satisfaction appeared on Fang Xi’s face as he retrieved the low-grade spirit artifact, Golden Flood Dragon Shears.

Previously, channeling magical energy into this artifact was quite strenuous, akin to a child wielding a heavy hammer. However, with just one drop of liquid magical energy, he effortlessly refined the low-grade spirit artifact.

Buzzzz!

The Golden Flood Dragon Shears hummed loudly, hovering three feet above the ground. Layers of golden runes flashed along their blades, emitting intense fluctuations.

“As expected, only the liquid magical energy of Foundation Establishment cultivators is most suitable for activating spirit artifacts!” Fang Xi observed thoughtfully.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, his previous magical artifacts had become largely obsolete and needed replacement.

His situation was relatively fortunate, possessing one low-grade spirit artifact as backup. In contrast, poorer rogue cultivators often continued using mere magical artifacts post-Foundation Establishment, severely limiting their combat effectiveness - truly a disgrace to their newfound stage!

Having completed his inventory, Fang Xi resumed meditation and breathing exercises to consolidate his cultivation base.

One month later.

“Hmm?”

As Fang Xi explored his sea of consciousness with potent divine sense, he suddenly made a discovery.

The sea of consciousness is the most vital aspect for any cultivator; even minor damage can lead to memory loss or, at worst, complete soul dispersal.

Fang Xi had been continuously scanning himself with divine sense, searching for clues related to his golden finger.

Now, finally, there was a breakthrough!

His divine sense delved deep within the sea of consciousness, and amidst its furthest reaches, he encountered a shattered Bronze Mirror!

“This… Isn’t this the bronze mirror I casually bought from a roadside stall?” Fang Xi’s eyes widened as he realized he had found the culprit behind his transmigration!

In the next moment, the Bronze Mirror faded away, revealing fragmented information:

“So that’s how it works…”

Within the immortal’s cave, Fang Xi abruptly opened his eyes while still seated cross-legged.

He had finally deciphered the nature of his golden finger!

“A hard-to-describe spiritual treasure, but in a damaged state, which I happened upon…”

“Part of it merged with me, granting me the ability to traverse the Great Liang World… In reality, the Bronze Mirror’s capabilities extend far beyond that… It enables one to journey across various realms…”

Fang Xi couldn’t help but recall legends from the southern wilderness’s cultivation world.

It was rumored that beneath the realm of immortals lay countless small worlds, akin to grains of sand innumerable. The land encompassing the southern wilderness was merely a trivial corner amidst these vast realms…

“An artifact capable of traversing multiple worlds, could it be a supreme treasure of the Immortal Realm?”

“Could even my previous world be one among those countless realms?”

Fang Xi’s eyes brightened slightly.

At this moment, he sensed that with his recent Foundation Establishment, another function of the Bronze Mirror had been unlocked.

Now, besides Great Liang, he could anchor to an additional world!

Moreover, within that new world, there should be another part of the Bronze Mirror’s true form!

“This must at least be a priceless treasure of the immortal realm. I should immediately travel and search for its missing components!”

Nearly ready to set off, Fang Xi managed to restrain himself.

After all, he was within someone else’s Immortal City, protected by a tier-three formation creating its own domain.

If detected during teleportation or if he delayed beyond his lease term, causing others to intrude upon his immortal’s cave, explaining the situation would be quite challenging…

“Forget it, I’ll wait until after exiting seclusion and find a place outside to attempt this…”

Several months later.

With hands clasped behind his back, Manager Han inspected each immortal’s cave in turn. Pausing before Cave Thirty-Six marked ‘A’, he muttered, “The lease is nearly up; surely they haven’t died inside?”

He had seen this scenario often - waiting for the lease to expire, then entering to collect the remains and claiming any leftover inheritance with a smile.

Suddenly, with a loud rumble, the cave’s entrance swung open, revealing a cultivator clad in a green robe stepping out.

“Daoist friend, you…” Manager Han rubbed his eyes, initially preparing some customary words of condolence. However, he quickly noticed that this individual’s appearance remained unchanged from before. Typically, failing Foundation Establishment, especially for older cultivators, would severely deplete their vital energy, causing them to visibly age…

Yet now, the subtle fluctuations of magical energy and the faint aura emanating from this person?

“Senior…have you achieved Foundation Establishment?” Manager Han solemnly bowed, cautiously asking.

“Yes, I managed it by sheer luck!” Fang Xi replied with a smile, appearing quite content.

“Han Fenglin offers heartfelt congratulations on your successful Foundation Establishment, Senior! May your path towards the Great Dao be promising!”

Manager Han immediately bowed again, feeling a mix of complex emotions within him. He knew that Bai Ze Immortal City would soon experience a small stir due to this individual’s Foundation Establishment breakthrough…