When it comes to cultivating immortality, it naturally starts with upgrading the herb garden.

Time flies, and a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Song Chen's divine sense had reached a high level of maturity, allowing him to freely control its movement. He could see everything within a hundred meters without revealing his presence, exposing all things to him without any attempt at concealment.

The power of magical artifacts and spells is increased several times over, with fire spells experiencing an especially large increase.

The main reason is likely related to the Concentration Technique that Song Chen cultivates.

The spiritual consciousness condensed by different concentration methods has a certain tendency.

This method is clearly more inclined towards fire, thus greatly amplifying the power of fire-attribute spells and magical artifacts.

At this point, Song Chen had completed all preparations for breaking through to the peak of Qi Refining, and could directly build the foundation with just a thought.

The foundation is related to the probability of subsequent foundation building, and it will directly affect the cultivator's foundation.

However, building a base carries certain risks.

The inheritance specifically notes that the foundation built at the peak of Qi Refining is mainly based on the spiritual root and the spiritual sea, with the two being constructed using divine sense as a guide.

This process may damage one's spiritual root and deplete one's spiritual sea.

Furthermore, failure to build the foundation will cause irreversible damage to the divine consciousness, ranging from dementia to death.

Furthermore, Song Chen's divine sense is only of medium level, not as powerful as that of the superior level, making him more prone to accidents.

This is when you'll need the Foundation Building Pill.

As its name suggests, Dan is a foundation-building technique!

Foundation Building Pills can not only assist the divine sense, but also act as an adhesive, making the foundation construction smoother.

Even if the breakthrough fails, with the help of the Foundation Establishment Pill, the divine sense will not be severely damaged.

With this in mind, Song Chen prepared to recuperate for three days to restore his body, which had been practicing the Body Condensation Technique for a long time, to its full potential before breaking through to the peak of Qi Refining.

......

"Once I break through to the peak of Qi Refining and shed my refined skin, I wonder what my neighbors will think?"

Song Chenyi's skin was on the verge of collapse, with many festering sores revealing the smooth, white skin underneath.

Even with frequent maintenance during this period, it is impossible to stop the continuous shedding of the skin.

Fortunately, the spiritual roots were still the same three, and there was no exposure.

Once he breaks through to the peak of Qi Refining, his spiritual root will become the foundation, and no one will know what Song Chen's spiritual root is anymore!

"In my memory, Feng Sancai Qishi used a secret technique to forcefully break through to the peak of Qi Refining with his remaining spiritual roots, exhausting his foundation and making it impossible for him to ever establish a foundation again."

"Now that I'm in my early twenties, I'm about to break through to the peak of Qi Refining, and I have to thank the special nature of this Blood Spirit Root."

"I wonder if the Blood Spirit Root's Blood Bath Technique-Seizing Effect will still be present after breaking through to the peak of Qi Refining."

Song Chen's thoughts raced, and before he knew it, he was outside the door, strolling leisurely down the street.

"Brother Song! Are you going out?" Du Fei, who was refining a puppet on the other side, greeted Song Chen when he saw him.

"Um."

Song Chen nodded slightly, without stopping, and walked towards the bustling city. He passed by Li Shengxiang's house, which was empty, as if no one was there.

Over the years, the two have not communicated much, only visiting each other during holidays.

The only real communication they had was six months ago when Li Shengxiang asked Song Chen to buy her a Purple Qi Breakthrough Pill.

I have never seen him since.

However, Li Shengxiang did provide some help to Song Chen.

For example, the spirit-gathering array next to the herb field and the simple defensive array in the courtyard were both gifts from Li Shengxiang to Song Chen.

This woman has a good talent for formations, but she has not been able to make further progress due to her limited cultivation level.

In the world of cultivation, immortality comes first. Even if one has exceptional talent in the arts, cultivation level ultimately determines everything.

Unbeknownst to him, Song Chen found himself in the bustling city center.

Having lived a secluded life for many years, he lacked a certain human touch; he came out today to experience some lively atmosphere.

Song Chen looked around, his eyes darting around without turning his head.

From spirit fruit stalls to talisman stalls, from weapon-refining shops to puppet shops, he wandered around like a street urchin, looking everywhere he could.

Until a familiar voice rang out.

"Brother Song?"

Song Chen didn't turn around immediately, subconsciously assuming that someone was being called.

No one in Fengye City has ever called him by that name before.

It wasn't until the divine sense surrounding him, which was a meter away, reacted that he realized it was calling his own name.

Song Chen turned to the side and looked back, only to see a face that was both unfamiliar and familiar.

"Who are you?"

"Ying Wanjie! Have you forgotten? Back when you were still in the Lower Sword Sect, we went to Dragon Valley together to search for earth vein crystals!"

Should we endure countless calamities?

Song Chen recalled that on a distant night of drinking, there seemed to be such a person who had appeared.

Although I don't remember very clearly, I replied out of politeness:

"Oh! Is that so? What are you doing here? Aren't you at the sect?"

Ying Wanjie said dejectedly, "The Lower Sword Sect is completely gone. After suffering heavy casualties in the battle with the Imperial Sword Sect, their attempt to rejoin the Middle Sword Sect was rejected. They're utterly gone!"

However, he quickly regained his composure and spoke as if recounting a normal conversation:

"We disciples have all dispersed. I heard that Brother Shi Jian went to Xizhou, and Du Wanming seems to be in Fengye City as well, but I haven't seen her."

"I just arrived here a few days ago and I'm planning to choose a house to stay in."

Upon hearing the names Shi Jian and Du Wanming, Song Chen recalled this glorious past and found the young man before him increasingly familiar.

Before long, he remembered everything. It turned out that Ying Wanjie was the cultivator who had offered a toast at the dinner table!

"You've changed a lot, both in appearance and cultivation."

Song Chen said calmly.

This is the truth.

In his memory, Ying Wanjie was only a cultivator at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining, but now he is a great cultivator at the tenth level of Qi Refining, almost at the peak.

His appearance has also changed drastically. Previously, he was very young, with bright eyes, and could be considered a young man of seventeen or eighteen at most.

Looking at him now, he not only has a mustache, but his hair has also grown long. He looks to be in his thirties or forties, steady and mature, exuding a unique charm.

This change was so remarkable that anyone who saw it would be amazed, no wonder Song Chen didn't remember it.

"Haha! Really? I think it's alright. It's normal for things to change a bit over the years. But you, Brother Song, have hardly changed at all!"

Ying Wanjie touched his head, as if he were still the same boy he used to be, his cheeks slightly flushed.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries.

After Song Chen inquired about Du Wanming's approximate location, they parted ways, not knowing what their next meeting would be for.

The path of cultivating immortality is like this: everyone is just a passerby, and even those who share the same path will eventually part ways.

......

Three days later, on a night when the night wind was blowing and the bright moon was hanging high in the sky.

The room was brightly lit, and a pair of dark eyes were fixed on his palm, where he held a handful of Foundation Establishment Pills, preparing to break through!

Fifty Foundation Building Pills are a large quantity and cannot be taken directly, nor can they be ground into powder, as that would diminish their medicinal potency.

The best way is to wrap it with divine sense and use spiritual energy as a guide, then send it directly into the spiritual sea when building the foundation, so that it can exert its medicinal power.

Song Chen probed his consciousness into his dantian, gazing at the vast spiritual sea and the spiritual root at its bottom, and made up his mind.

The spiritual sea surged, and the spiritual roots drilled into the spiritual sea from outside the body. The crawling process was like ants crawling through the bone marrow, causing excruciating pain.

Under the guidance of divine consciousness, the two merged into one, emitting a brilliant white light.

The first step can be considered a success.

Song Chen didn't relax at all, not even wiping his sweat. He immediately looked at the Foundation Establishment Pill, separated a strand of his divine sense, made a hand gesture, mixed it with spiritual energy, and sent it into his dantian, where it merged with the ball of light.

The moment the Foundation Establishment Pill was inserted, the ball of light trembled violently, darting around wildly in his dantian, causing him to let out a low growl from his throat in pain.

Song Chen desperately tried to stabilize his consciousness, as the slightest mistake would result in his body exploding and dying.

If one's physical strength is too weak, problems will inevitably arise at this stage.

However, Song Chen's cultivation of the Body Condensation Technique during this period was very useful.

Even though the ball of light carved a noticeable bulge in his stomach, his body was not pierced by a bloody hole, which shows his extraordinary strength!

The spiritual energy infusion over the past year has finally paid off.

Rewards alone are not enough; Song Chen himself needs to work even harder.

The divine sense frantically manipulated the light, like an invisible hand constantly kneading the ball of light, causing it to form a stable base.

......

The night is long, until the sun rises and sets again.

A terrifying aura shot straight into the sky, attracting countless people in Fengye City to stop and watch.

"Someone has broken through the false fund!"

"A strange phenomenon of spiritual energy! This peak Qi Refining expert must be incredibly powerful. It seems Fengye City has gained another strong individual!"

Standing before the stall, Old Qin's gaze fell upon it, and a look of shock appeared on his otherwise listless face: "This phenomenon might offer hope for future Foundation Establishment!"

Just as everyone was full of praise, a dissenting voice rang out.

"If that's all there is to it, it's probably only a slightly above-average level of spiritual awareness!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look.

At a time like this, for someone to utter such immoral words is utterly rude and arrogant.

Looking in the direction of the voice, one could see a female cultivator with a curvaceous figure and an arrogant expression. Her once pretty face looked particularly disgusting in this attitude, which clearly showed her immoral character.

"It's best to stay away from this person; they're really sarcastic."

"Damn, someone at the tenth level of Qi Refining dares to say something like that? Aren't they afraid of retaliation?"

"Could this person have some powerful connections? Otherwise, why would they dare to say such hateful things?"

This female cultivator was none other than Wang Zhouzhou, the registration staff member who had made things difficult for Song Chen when he was renting the apartment.

At this time, she had been dismissed due to complaints from multiple customers and is currently unemployed.

Hearing these words from those around her, she immediately became displeased and prepared to retort. However, unexpectedly, a surge of spiritual energy erupted from the formation and flowed into the "Quiet Moon Abode" in the residence, where it was all absorbed into the body of a fair-skinned cultivator.

The man sat cross-legged, relaxed and at ease, with his eyes closed, constantly regulating his breathing. Beside him was a shed, wrinkled skin, riddled with holes and beyond use.

After finishing his meditation, the person opened his eyes, a smile playing on his lips, stood up, went to the window, and gazed at the horizon.

It was Song Chen, who had just broken through to the peak of Qi Refining.

"The pinnacle is reached in a single thought, and all past illusions vanish!"

......