Chapter 107

With the departure of Du Ming, Lu Dancheng, and the rest of their generation, an era at Luoxian Sect quietly came to an end.

And with the end of an era came inevitable sorrow.

A heavy atmosphere blanketed the entire sect—every tree, every flower, every blade of grass, every person, and even every dog seemed to carry the weight of that farewell. Yet this solemn mood lasted only a few days before fading away like mist.

Soon, the disciples picked themselves up and returned to their cultivation with renewed determination. Everyone strove to reach the Qi Sea stage as soon as possible, so they could contribute to the Eastern Region's war effort on the Golden Battlefield and temper themselves through life-or-death trials.

Of course, not everyone followed the same path.

Some cultivators, more cunning than diligent, chose to slow—or completely halt—their progress. After all, as long as one didn’t reach the Qi Sea realm, they wouldn’t be conscripted for service. So why bother pushing forward? Why not stay in the comfort of their current realm and enjoy a lifetime of peace?

As for Han Luo, life continued on with its usual tranquility.

Inside the Scripture Hall, he sat quietly in a corner, poring over ancient texts. He was preparing meticulously for his upcoming breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment stage.

Foundation Establishment was a crucial milestone for any cultivator. The name itself suggested its purpose: to lay the foundation. In this case, the foundation was the body.

Cultivation, Han Luo reflected, was like sailing across a boundless sea of suffering. The body was the vessel, and the soul was the one steering the ship. For body cultivators, the goal was to strengthen the vessel itself. Even if the boat capsized in a storm, they could swim to the other side with sheer tenacity.

For qi cultivators, however, it was about controlling the wind and waves. They relied on spiritual energy to shield the boat and remain unshaken amid tempests.

To do that, one needed to open five spiritual meridians within the body.

These five meridians, when fully unblocked, allowed spiritual energy to flow freely and nourish the body, inside and out. As cultivation deepened, the harmony between spiritual energy and the body would increase—until eventually, the cultivator reached a state of unity between spirit and form.

With the soul as the commander and the body as the medium, one could wield the energies of heaven and earth, performing miracles like burning mountains, boiling seas, and shaking the very heavens.

Thus, Foundation Establishment was all about opening those five inner meridians.

The process sounded simple—and in truth, it wasn’t terribly complex. What it demanded was a tremendous amount of willpower. While the structure of meridians was the same for everyone, what differed was how wide and deep they could be carved using spiritual energy.

The broader one’s meridians, the more energy they could handle. The more energy flowed through them, the more refined the body became. And in higher realms, broader meridians made it easier to unleash vast, devastating spells. What might be a mere fireball for one cultivator could become a blazing sun in the hands of another. The difference was absolute.

Han Luo read through the foundational knowledge about Foundation Establishment in detail.

To succeed, one typically needed to rely on a spiritual item powerful enough to simultaneously open all five meridians. And yes—it was going to hurt. A lot. But once the initial breakthrough was over, the benefits would be immense.

A successful first attempt with wide meridians would yield enormous long-term advantages.

Most people used the Foundation Pill, a tried-and-tested medicine that wouldn’t give the widest meridians, but ensured success without risking failure and stagnation.

Still, if someone happened to have a rare spiritual treasure, they could attempt a more powerful breakthrough—though the risks were greater. If they succeeded, they would soar like dragons. If they failed, they would fade into mediocrity.

Han Luo ran the numbers and concluded that he preferred the traditional route: using the Foundation Pill. His reasoning was simple. No spiritual item could compare with the compatibility of his unique colorless spiritual energy. Rather than chase miracles, it was safer to proceed step-by-step.

He wasn’t looking to become some peerless overlord who crushed all before him. He just wanted to quietly cultivate in peace.

With this decision made, he began researching the recipe for the Foundation Pill.

The pill itself wasn’t difficult to refine, but the ingredients were rare and valuable. Especially the supreme-grade version—the required herbs were even more expensive than those for the Spirit Tempering Pill. But that made sense. After all, it was a pill designed to blast open five spiritual meridians in one go.

He sent messages to Master Yunyangzi and a few peak lords, asking them to help collect the needed ingredients. In the meantime, he headed to the sect’s exchange hall and met with Senior Sister Lou to obtain materials for practicing with basic Foundation Pill recipes.

Upon returning to Luoxian Mountain, Han Luo was surprised to see Chi Xiao pacing back and forth outside.

She looked hesitant and uneasy, which puzzled him.

Why is Chi Xiao here?
Shouldn’t she be in seclusion, preparing for Foundation Establishment?

Just then, he heard a familiar voice through sound transmission.

“Han Luo.”

“Martial aunt,” he responded respectfully—it was the voice of Hongniang.

“I’ll be direct. Do you have any way to help Chi Xiao complete her eighth soul tempering?”

Hongniang hadn’t planned to reach out but was driven by desperation.

After sending off the previous generation of disciples, Chi Xiao had challenged Wu Dao to a private match—and lost. Wu Dao activated his domain and utterly crushed her. Chi Xiao didn’t even have a chance to resist.

Since then, she had thrown herself obsessively into attempting her eighth soul tempering, refusing to stop no matter how injured she became.

She couldn't accept being left behind. If she entered Foundation Establishment now, she’d forever remain one step below Wu Dao.

Why could someone like Wu Dao, who didn’t even have a special background, complete eight rounds of soul tempering, while she, a proud daughter of heaven, couldn’t?

Hongniang had tried to stop her, but nothing worked. So as a last resort, she reached out to Han Luo. After all, he had helped Shen Xian’er succeed—maybe, just maybe, he could pull off another miracle.

Of course, she knew the odds were slim. Xian’er was a seven-grade spiritual root cultivator. Chi Xiao had only a sixth-grade root. The gap was enormous.

Han Luo had heard some of the rumors about Chi Xiao’s madness. Her attempts at eighth soul tempering were so extreme that anyone else would have crippled themselves by now. Yet she kept going, dragging her battered body through another attempt again and again.

“Martial aunt, it’s not that I don’t want to help,” he said carefully, “but I don’t have any experience guiding someone like her. If I make a mistake, it could hurt her more than help. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if that happened.”

Everyone’s cultivation path was unique. If he interfered and it went wrong, even with good intentions, it might ruin her foundation.

Helping was a kindness. Not helping was a responsibility.

Still, with Hongniang already humbling herself like this—clearly worn down and full of concern—Han Luo couldn’t refuse.

Especially considering how much she’d done for him and Xian’er, despite constantly teasing him with the idea of becoming her son-in-law.

“…Alright.”

He deactivated the Immortal Trapping Formation and allowed Chi Xiao to enter Luoxian Mountain.