Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 135 Foundation Building (End)

Chen Li was stunned for a while before he came to his senses.

He looked around.

His body radiated spiritual light, with tiny specks of light flickering around him, and a subtle yet powerful aura emanated from him.

"So this is the opportunity for Foundation Establishment..." He was filled with mixed emotions: "I've been waiting for more than half a year, and finally... it's here!"

He immediately stopped.

They returned to the cave like a gust of wind, then pushed out a huge stone ball weighing over ten tons, making a rumbling sound, all the way to the cave entrance, sealing off the cave.

The cave quickly darkened, with only a hazy glow emanating from the surroundings, providing a faint light to the cave.

Chen Li sat cross-legged on the futon.

He took out various pills from his storage bag and placed them neatly and orderly within easy reach.

Foundation Building Pill, Qi Nourishing Pill, Qi and Blood Pill, Fasting Pill, and in case of Foundation Building Failure, there are also emergency pills such as Wound Removal Pill, Foundation Strengthening Pill, and Muscle Regeneration and Bone Healing Pill. All kinds of pills are available.

He carefully counted everything, and then lost himself in thought for a moment.

He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Success is my fortune, failure is my fate. Now that things have come to this, there is no room for me to back down. Success or failure, it all comes down to this one gamble," he muttered to himself.

He picked up a bottle of Foundation Establishment Pills, uncorked it, and poured out the pills. A crimson pill rolled continuously in his palm. He gritted his teeth, and without the slightest hesitation, tilted his head back and swallowed it in one gulp.

Then sit cross-legged and begin practicing the exercises.

The Foundation Building Pill was like a burning ember. As the medicinal power dissipated, it ignited the entire stomach, and then this heat spread throughout the body, burning the skin until it turned bright red. Then, the whole body became numb and itchy.

At first, it was barely perceptible, but it quickly became more and more intense, even penetrating deep into the bone marrow, as if countless ants were gnawing at it.

At the same time, the spiritual energy in his body circulated faster and faster, and the spiritual pressure became greater and greater. Not only were his meridians under tremendous pressure, but his body also felt as if it was about to explode.

A pincer attack from both inside and outside.

Chen Li had never imagined that Foundation Establishment would be so painful.

In fact, he had no idea that it would be a hundred times more painful, a hundred times more difficult, and a hundred times more agonizing for someone else to build their foundation.

Foundation Establishment is essentially a process of transformation, a cleansing of the marrow and a change of the tendons. Fortunately, for Chen Li, who had already achieved success in body refinement, this process was already more than half completed ahead of time. In terms of physical strength, he was no weaker than the average person in the early stages of Foundation Establishment.

Time passed second by second, and under this enormous spiritual pressure, the spiritual energy within the body began to compress continuously, becoming denser and gradually feeling like it was liquefying... This was a long transformation process.

As the effects of the foundation-building medicine wore off and the internal transformation ended, his previously pained expression began to soften, and he gradually entered a deep state of meditation.

……

A month later.

Chen Li suddenly awoke from his deep meditation, exhaled a breath of stale air, and slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

He looked bewildered, as if he had just experienced a dream and didn't know where he was.

It took a long time for him to come to his senses.

The viscous, liquid spiritual energy within his body was flowing slowly, making him feel as if he were soaking in a hot spring, completely at ease. He felt incredibly clear-headed, and his thoughts seemed to be flowing much faster.

Many distant memories, which he thought he had forgotten, resurfaced clearly. Even his spiritual sense expanded several times over, reaching a radius of over thirty meters, and became much clearer.

"Am I... at the Foundation Establishment stage?" he murmured to himself.

He glanced around and saw a scene of utter devastation. All sorts of porcelain bottles and pills were shattered, and even the spare Foundation Establishment Pill was completely destroyed. Normally, he would have felt a pang of heartache, but at this moment, it didn't bother him at all.

He quickly checked the game panel.

The original "Realm: Qi Refining Level 9: 100/100"

It has now reached the "Realm: Foundation Establishment Level 1: 1/100" level.

Life expectancy also changed from "Life expectancy: 46/142 years" to...

It becomes "Lifespan: 46/268 years"

"Sigh, with such a long lifespan, how are we supposed to live?"

A surge of intense joy filled him, and a smile involuntarily spread across his face. The smile quickly grew wider and wider until he burst into laughter, the sound echoing throughout the cave.

"From now on, I am also a Foundation Establishment cultivator!"

From barely surviving when I first transmigrated, to being cautious in Luanluo City, and now, after six whole years, I have finally established my foundation.

He rose from the futon, controlling his somewhat unfamiliar body, and slowly walked towards the cave entrance. He felt his body become incredibly light, without the slightest sense of heaviness, and he felt as if he could fly as he walked.

In fact, it does.

He took a few difficult steps, and with a thought, his feet lifted off the ground and floated into the air.

Without the aid of magical artifacts or spells, Foundation Establishment cultivators can fly naturally.

He floated to the boulder at the cave entrance, tentatively raised his hand, and with a single palm strike, his spiritual energy responded instantly to his thoughts, shattering the stone ball with a deafening boom.

A large amount of rubble fell from the mountainside.

"This is the external release of Qi from Foundation Establishment? Excellent!" He was delighted. Compared to the loose spiritual power of Qi Refining, the spiritual power of Foundation Establishment was several times more powerful.

Chen Li looked into the distance. The sun was shining brightly outside, and the grass and trees were lush and green. When he first came here, it was still late autumn, but in the blink of an eye, it was already midsummer.

At this moment, the whole world seemed to have unveiled a mysterious veil in his eyes, revealing an unprecedented reality. He could see the earth's magnetic field, the spiritual energy in the air, and many other things that he could not understand.

"I wonder how things are at home?" Chen Li thought to himself, and the longing in his heart could no longer be suppressed.

However eager he was to return home, he decided not to rush. He decided to stay a few more days to adapt to his current Foundation Establishment state. This forest was fraught with danger, and returning rashly would be too risky.

……

Chen Li stayed outside for a while before returning to the cave.

Strangely enough, after meditating for so many days without eating or drinking, he didn't feel much hunger. It seemed that after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, his need for food had greatly decreased.

He took out a few pieces of dried meat, ate them with water, and slowly chewed them while calming his mind and thinking about the future.

"The Longevity Technique has its limits once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage. If you want to continue cultivating to the Foundation Establishment stage, you must find a new cultivation method..."

Unfortunately, he killed many people, including one Foundation Establishment cultivator, but he didn't possess a single Foundation Establishment cultivation technique.

Thinking of this, he remembered that after assassinating Zhou Xutang, he found a jade slip containing a power transmission technique in the other party's storage bag. Although it was not a power cultivation method, but just a secret technique, it was just right for him to practice now.

He scanned the storage bag.

Soon the jade slip appeared in his hand.

"Zhou Tiangang Force!"

He channeled his spiritual sense into the jade slip, and soon, a secret technique appeared in his mind.

After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, Chen Li discovered that his memory had become much stronger. He memorized the secret technique, which consisted of only a few thousand words, after just a few minutes of silent recitation.

He filled his stomach and had nothing else to do.

He then began to cultivate according to the secret method.

After cultivating for an unknown amount of time, Chen Li opened his eyes. With a thought, a layer of protective energy evenly covered his body. Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, a burst of energy left his body and struck the stone wall seven or eight meters away.

There was a "boom".

Smoke and dust filled the air, and pebbles flew everywhere. The protective aura that hit Chen Li was deflected. When the smoke and dust cleared, a pit about half a meter wide and a meter deep came into view.

"It's almost as powerful as a spiritual finger flick, and this is just a casual strike." Chen Li was surprised: "According to the jade slip, once you master the Zhou Tian Gang Jin at the first level of Foundation Establishment, your defense and attack power can be comparable to a first-level seventh-grade technique. The power will increase with each level of cultivation you advance."

Of course, in terms of pure power and defense, it's nothing to him!
His max-level protective technique has a defensive power far exceeding this, and his max-level palm lightning is also more powerful.

The key is that this secret technique requires no incantation or hand seals; it is almost instantaneous.

He suddenly realized something and quickly opened the game panel. Sure enough, a new category had been added to the Arcane Arts:
"Introduction to Zhou Tiangang Strength: 1/100"

……

For several days in a row, Chen Li spent his time adapting to the Foundation Establishment state.

Six days later.

He could no longer contain himself and prepared to set off today.

Early in the morning.

He put away the array weapons that had been thrown against the cliff face, tidied his luggage, and then leaped down from mid-air. His body floated down slowly like a falling feather. After landing, he walked to a clear stream and prepared to tidy himself up.

He drew his jade sword, gently shaved off his beard, cut his long, loose hair shorter, and then tied it up again, inserting it into a bun.

The reflection on the water's surface startled him slightly.

This is an incredibly young face, looking like it belongs to someone around twenty years old. It has thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a spirited air. Its skin is fair and smooth, with a healthy glow, as if it has been enhanced with a beauty filter.

They all seemed somewhat unfamiliar.

Of course, he didn't care at all about whether someone was beautiful or ugly.

He cares about youth.

He couldn't help but touch his face: "That's true. For someone with a lifespan of 268 years like me, 46 years old is just like a dozen years old for an ordinary person. My life has only just begun!"

"I can live for another two centuries!"

"If by sheer luck one achieves the Golden Core..."

"Awoo..." A long, drawn-out roar, like a steam whistle, stopped his reverie.

"What kind of incredible luck is this?!"

The roar came from the master of this sacred land.

A terrifying being that appears to be a third-tier demonic beast, and there are probably more than one.

Although Chen Li had never seen it, he could occasionally feel its terrifying pressure. According to its pattern, it was about to go out to find food. He quickly activated his concealment technique to hide his aura and prepared to return to the cave to take shelter.

Just then, a strong wind blew through the canyon, causing the tree branches to sway. He felt a tremor in his heart and a strange sense of panic.

"That's too late."

He looked around and saw the enormous skeleton.

He took a few steps and quickly hid inside.

Soon, a suffocating atmosphere swept over everything. The air seemed to be restless, the airflow became turbulent, and countless pebbles floated up. Chen Li lowered his body and lay firmly on the ground, not daring to move at all.

A shadow quickly swept by, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind, and then disappeared into the distance.

A long time passed.

Chen Licai emerged from the skeleton, still shaken.

Look in the direction the other person flew.

By this time, the terrifying beast had already turned into a tiny dot and flown far away. He never knew what the beast looked like.

He dared not linger there any longer.

However, before leaving, the skeleton of this second-tier demon beast must be taken with it; it's worth at least a hundred mid-grade spirit stones.

Next, he disassembled the skeleton, put it into his storage bag, and before the great demon returned, he quickly left the canyon. Once he was far away, he used a wind-riding technique to fly into the air and disappear swiftly.

We travelled at lightning speed.

One advantage of using the Wind Riding Technique is that you don't feel the strong winds while flying; it's always a gentle breeze on your face.

This used to be an advantage.

But at this moment, Chen Li felt unsatisfied.

The breeze was too gentle to reflect the unbridled joy and exhilaration in his heart.

This wind manipulation technique is too slow; it doesn't convey his eagerness to return home.

A huge bird circled in the sky, looking restless, and set its sights on Chen Li. Just as it was rapidly approaching, Chen Li suddenly released the pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The bird was so frightened that it let out a mournful cry and hurriedly flapped its wings and flew away.

"Hmph, I'll spare your bird life!"

Ultimately, he dared not act too recklessly in this wild forest, and after thinking it over, he used a talisman to ward off evil and bring good fortune.

Over the past six months, he has already maxed out his ability to avoid misfortune and seek good fortune. When he is in the spell, his spiritual senses become incredibly sharp, and he can even vaguely foresee good or bad fortune and sense the danger that is about to occur.

It can be described as an essential technique for wilderness exploration.

In this way, he would fly during the day and rest in a cave at night, then continue his journey the next day. He used the sun and distant mountain peaks to orient himself and was not afraid of getting lost.

It took more than twenty days to get here.

The return trip took only six days.

High in the sky, Chen Li looked at the villages and farmlands in the distance and felt a surge of excitement.

"Finally home!"

Although he had only been away from home for a little over half a year, Chen Li felt as if several years had passed.

He suppressed his emotions and continued flying for another hour. Luanluo City was already in sight, and he quickly flew down to the city gate.

Upon seeing this, the guards at the city gate were startled and immediately bowed respectfully.

Chen Li nodded slightly and walked through the city gate.

One of the guards, watching his retreating figure, was still trying to remember: "Who is this senior? I've never seen him before!"

"It also feels unfamiliar; it might be from another domain!"

……

It was almost dusk.

The fiery red sunset bathed the streets in a crimson glow.

Chen Li walked down the street, his pace slowing down.

Six months later, the place became even more lively, with people coming and going on the streets.

With the migration of the Zhenhuan Sect, this once-declining cultivation city has been revitalized.

Not long after, Chen Li arrived at his doorstep.

Stand still.

He took a deep breath and reached out to knock on the door.

There was no movement for a long time.

He knocked again.

"Who is it?" Zhou Hong's voice finally rang out.

With a creak, the door opened.

Zhou Hong looked at Chen Li with a hint of doubt on her face at first, but then she suddenly covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face, and rushed over, exclaiming, "You're finally back!"

Chen Li embraced her now somewhat thin and delicate body, gently wiping away her tears. He couldn't help but feel a little bittersweet, and said with a smile, "Alright, don't cry, don't cry. I'm back now!"

"I'm so happy... I knew you could do it, you could do it." Zhou Hong said excitedly, her smile tinged with tears.

(End of this chapter)