Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 234 How did you get to Foundation Establishment, kid?
Just one month after the first cultivator official appeared in Chang'an City, Chang Ping'an's Taiyue Sword Sect, where he was "assigned" to work, also welcomed its first Foundation Establishment cultivator.

It was Li Zhi, the one with the "natural sword physique"!

Qu Zhiweng originally intended to pass the Taiyue Sword to Li Zhi, and there was no objection to this within the Taiyue Sword Sect.

After all, given the talent of "born with a sword body," anyone from the Taiyue Sword Sect who isn't a fool would know that they should first try to curry favor with a powerful figure.

But unexpectedly, at the same time that this kid broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, during the process of undergoing the tribulation of lightning, a sword pellet was naturally born!
While envious, Chang Ping'an even suspected that this thing was created by heavenly lightning when Li Zhi was undergoing his tribulation...

The so-called "sword pellet" is, as the name suggests, a rare treasure shaped like a pill, which can also transform into sword light when needed, making it extremely lethal.

It is neither a magic weapon nor a weapon. If one had to describe it, it would be more like a supernatural power. However, many cultivators still prefer to call it a magic weapon according to popular understanding. In fact, it is something between the real and the illusory. It only exists with the owner of the sword pellet. When the person dies, the sword pellet dissipates. It cannot be taken away like a magic weapon.

Generally speaking, only sword cultivators who have mastered the way of the sword and comprehended the sword intent can condense a sword pellet. Moreover, since the sword pellet is stored in the cultivator's body, many cultivators use it by spitting it out with their mouths, which is the origin of the legendary "spitting out sword light".

Since it exists between the illusory and the real, the sword pellet can naturally take on a tangible form. For example, cultivators often transform it into a flying sword, which can instantly take someone's head from a thousand miles away. This is the main reason why many cultivators have always believed that sword cultivators have extremely high combat power.

More importantly, the more it is nurtured, the more powerful the sword pellet will become. It can even give birth to a sword spirit and can transform into a sky full of sword light and form a sword array with just one sword pellet. This is something that only Golden Core stage cultivators can do!
You're only at the Foundation Establishment stage, yet you already have a sword pellet!

No wonder he has a "natural sword body"!

Chang Ping'an was quite envious.

In fact, Li Zhi's cultivation progress wasn't very fast; strictly speaking, it was about the same as Murong Ruyan's.

But don't forget that the concentration of spiritual energy when Murong Ruyan was cultivating was completely incomparable to the concentration of spiritual energy now. The Taiyue Sword Sect is right next to Baishi Mountain, separated by only a few cities. From the top of Taiyue Mountain, you can see the Xunmu tree on Baishi Mountain and the towering Baishi Mountain itself!

Li Zhi was also very excited about the fact that he had actually condensed a sword pellet. Not only did he show off his sword pellet everywhere every day, but today he even went to Chang Ping'an to ask for advice: "Brother Chang, my sword pellet seems to be very lively. If it grows into a sword spirit in the future, will it be a beautiful little sister?"

His tone was full of anticipation.

“Fellow Daoist Li Zhi, cultivating immortality is also cultivating the mind. Although you are young and vigorous, you still need to calm your mind and be peaceful during cultivation. Otherwise, you are very likely to go astray and damage your foundation.”

Chang Ping'an, with his hands behind his back, said in an old-fashioned tone, "Especially this Foundation Establishment stage is an extremely crucial period. If the foundation is not well laid, it will be very difficult to break through to the Golden Core stage. Even if you manage to break through, you can only cultivate an ordinary inner core... There is a big difference between an ordinary inner core and a Golden Core. You still need to calm down and cultivate more!"

Li Zhi, being a young man at heart, was suddenly doused with cold water and felt quite aggrieved. He could only scratch his head and obediently reply, "Oh..."

Qu Zhiweng, who was not far away, almost burst out laughing when he saw this scene.

He had seen what Zhang Chengdao, the White Stone Immortal, looked like. Chang Ping'an's habit of always walking with his hands behind his back was exactly like a "younger version" of the White Stone Immortal! This young man was afraid that he was not qualified enough to command respect, so he deliberately imitated his master's appearance in order to put on a show of authority.

Qu Zhiweng was right after all.

Chang Ping'an had been guiding the disciples of the Taiyue Sword Sect for a long time, and he was indeed a little uneasy. Especially now that he hadn't even had time to break through to the Core Formation stage, a Taiyue Sword Sect disciple with outstanding talent had already cultivated to the Foundation Establishment stage. While he was gratified, he also felt a bit of a crisis.

After giving Li Zhi a few words of instruction, Chang Ping'an decided to return to his room and skip dinner that night.

I'll go into seclusion for a few days to cultivate myself first!
In fact, after spending the past two months at the Taiyue Sword Sect, Chang Ping'an has indeed gained a lot, just as his master Zhang Chengdao had said.

In the past, the disciples of the Taiyue Sword Sect were not particularly skilled in martial arts, yet they were able to hold their own in the martial world. This was due to their unique abilities. Many of the disciples' insights into the way of the sword also gave Chang Ping'an a lot of inspiration, and his realm continued to break through.

In fact, he himself had been stuck at the eighth level of the Foundation Establishment stage for several days!
Chang Ping'an originally planned to endure at least several months to break through to the ninth level, and it would take at least a year to break through to the Core Formation stage.

This is already considered a very fast speed according to the "White Stone Immortal Dao Book". Many cultivators need more than ten years to break through to the Core Formation stage. He only took a little over a year, which is probably already considered outstanding. He is probably only slightly worse than his junior brothers and sisters.

However, in the true "immortal realm," it would probably take less than a year to reach the Core Formation stage.

Chang Ping'an said with a peaceful mind.

This is because Chang Ping'an had some misunderstandings about the "White Stone Immortal Book".

The "White Stone Immortal Dao Book" was written by Xu Wen under the instruction of Zhang Chengdao, with the assistance of Murong Ruyan, Ye Shuyun, and others. Although Chang Ping'an had been consulted on some issues, he did not have a thorough understanding of the systematic content of the entire book, which led to...

He had no idea that the book was based on a normal world with abundant spiritual energy, rather than a world that was currently in the process of spiritual energy revival and had scarce spiritual energy!

In other words, even in a world rich in spiritual energy, it would normally take a cultivator many years to progress from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Core Formation stage, and in some cases, it could take more than ten or even several decades.

Once you reach the Core Formation stage, it becomes extremely difficult to advance further. Many cultivators spend their entire lives only reaching the Core Formation stage, which is truly regrettable.

Chang Ping'an is a genius among geniuses. He can draw Qi into his body in three days, establish his foundation in a little over a month, and achieve the Dan (although he hasn't broken through yet) in a little over a year. If he hadn't been a "gold card" talent in Zhang Chengdao's eyes, he would never have made such a fast progress in cultivation!
It's just that because he was comparing himself to his master and Murong Ruyan and Ye Shuyun, who were all exceptionally talented, his perception was always slightly off.

For example, on his way back to his room, when he saw Qu Zhiweng standing to the side, he shook his head and sighed, "That kid Li Zhi truly deserves to be called a born swordsman! He's already reached Foundation Establishment in just two months. I'm no match for him!"

……

(End of this chapter)