Chapter 103: Attempting Foundation Establishment

He owes his success today largely to his naturally cautious nature. Had he not been cautious, he would have died many times over by now. Without caution, there wouldn’t be even a scrap of bone left of him at this moment. Without caution, surviving twenty-two years and breaking through to the late Qi Refinement stage would have been impossible; merely living past twenty-two would have been a feat.

As he pondered this, a figure suddenly appeared in He Song’s mind—Su Yan.

Since their reunion five years ago, Su Yan would occasionally invite He Song to meet and chat. Now, five years had passed in the blink of an eye, and their relationship was reasonably good, though He Song never considered her a close friend. Nevertheless, thanks to Su Yan's feelings toward him from childhood, He Song never completely shut her out during their occasional encounters.

After all, she was just a little girl who had lost her family in this world. While He Song would not give her any special treatment, being friends and having a chat was something he could manage.

The reason Su Yan came to mind now was because He Song thought of her grandfather, Su Jin.

How many people get to live twenty-two years?

More than a decade ago, He Song still remembered Su Jin indulging Su Yan as she pestered him for sweets.

But now, that old acquaintance was no more.

Only Su Yan remained, grown and living in this world.

Death is like a candle being extinguished; everything in the world then has nothing to do with the departed.

The image of Su Jin flashed through He Song’s mind. He shook his head, sighed quietly, and soon regained his composure.

People are destined to die.

Except for himself.

Therefore, he must grow accustomed to these partings of life and death.

He resumed practicing the Earth Consolidation Technique, continuously strengthening his cultivation to prevent it from falling back to the sixth level of Qi Refinement.

Before long, ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

He Song thoroughly consolidated his cultivation, stabilizing it at the seventh level of Qi Refinement.

This also marked his true entry into the upper echelons of Zhushan Immortal Workshop.

The first thing he did after emerging from seclusion was to seek out Wei Fan.

Lingjian Pavilion.

When He Song quietly appeared on the second floor of the Lingjian Pavilion, Wei Fan was frowning silently at a thin sheet of paper.

Even after He Song sat beside him, Wei Fan’s expression did not change.

Seeing this, He Song was slightly taken aback and became curious about the information on the paper.

But although curious, he refrained from peeking and simply waited quietly.

It is worth mentioning that Wei Fan’s cultivation had already advanced from the eighth to the ninth level of Qi Refinement three years ago.

At this moment, Wei Fan was a formidable expert at the ninth level of Qi Refinement.

Among those below Foundation Establishment, Wei Fan was among the very top.

However, his speed of breaking through cultivation levels was somewhat slow.

It should be noted that when He Song’s cultivation was only at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, Wei Fan had already broken through from the seventh to the eighth level. (As referenced in Chapter 69.)

Calculating the timeline, Wei Fan advanced from the seventh to the eighth level in the ninth year after He Song’s transmigration.

After that, another ten years passed, and only three years ago did he finally break through from the eighth to the ninth level.

Such a long duration; even He Song’s cultivation had advanced from the first level of Qi Refinement to the seventh level in that time.

Yet, Wei Fan’s cultivation had only increased by two minor stages.

One can imagine that Wei Fan’s breakthrough speed was quite slow.

But perhaps it was because He Song’s cultivation accelerated greatly after arranging the Gathering Spirit Formation and acquiring a large amount of spirit stones.

Also, cultivation speed tends to slow upon reaching the late Qi Refinement stage.

He Song had just broken through to the seventh level and was still unsure how cultivation speed would behave at the late Qi Refinement stage.

Given his current wealth, he could choose to purchase the Jade Fragment Powder from the Earth Consolidation Sect to speed up his cultivation.

Wei Fan remained deeply engrossed in his reading.

As He Song waited, bored, a ray of spiritual light flashed across the sky, and a paper crane carrying a message suddenly appeared before him.

He Song’s expression changed in surprise. He then released his aura, causing the paper crane to transform into a sheet of paper that landed gently in his hand.

Reading the letter, He Song was shaken to his core.

“Daoist He, I, Meng, have spent fourteen years in Qingyuan Immortal City. Now, at fifty-nine years old and nearing sixty, I have finally perfected my Qi Refinement to the grand consummation.

“Today, I am prepared to attempt Foundation Establishment soon.

“In my lifetime, I have only two friends: Daoist He and Brother Wei. Naturally, on this day of breakthrough, I wish to join hands with you both.

“I await your arrival in Qingyuan Immortal City.

“If successful, I shall not forget my friends.

“If I fail, I hope you will take care of my affairs.”

“—Meng Guan.”

Looking at the lines of handwriting on the paper, He Song suddenly felt as if the air around him had quieted, as though the world had fallen silent. The space around him seemed so still that one could hear a pin drop. He felt as if he had lost his hearing, overwhelmed by a profound loneliness.

In just fourteen years, Meng Guan had managed—through the talent of five spirit roots—to cultivate swiftly to the grand consummation of Qi Refinement, the very peak of the ninth level.

This peak meant his internal spiritual power was fully accumulated and ready to break into Foundation Establishment at any moment.

Fourteen years! Five spirit roots!

He glanced at Wei Fan beside him, who was also lost in thought, and felt a storm of emotions.

To advance from the seventh level to the peak of the ninth level in fourteen years with five spirit roots was a terrifyingly difficult feat.

Wei Fan had spent nineteen years going from the seventh to the ninth level—but not even reaching the peak of the ninth level.

Wei Fan’s talent was four spirit roots—still faster in cultivation than Meng Guan’s five.

Yet even so, Meng Guan achieved his goal at nearly sixty years old, with only about a month left before his sixtieth birthday.

Such speed.

Such temperament.

Such opportunity.

It made He Song suspect whether his friend Meng Guan had awakened some memory from a past life or had obtained a terrifying chance in these fourteen years.

Otherwise, such rapid cultivation would have been impossible.

Calculating carefully, He Song quickly realized Meng Guan’s words were true.

When He Song’s cultivation was at the third level of Qi Refinement, Meng Guan had already left the Immortal Workshop to become a minor leader at the Chiling Gold Mine.

After three years, Meng Guan returned and asked Wei Fan to accompany him to Qingyuan Immortal City to purchase breakthrough pills.

He Song recalled that when buying the pills, Meng Guan had mentioned his age.

When he left the Immortal Workshop for the gold mine, Meng Guan was already forty-three.

Three years later, he was forty-six.

Now, counting the past fourteen years, Meng Guan was just shy of sixty by less than a month.

(End of chapter)