Cultivation begins with harvest.

"This is my Concentration Flower."

Even a strong man like Zhong Qi showed tenderness at this moment.

Wei Donglai patted Chen Guang and teased, "Even a beautiful woman in front of him can't compare to the tenderness and affection he's showing now."

"I'm at the ninth level of Qi Refining, of course I'm anxious. I'm already at the critical juncture of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm," Zhong Qi said with emotion.

Chen Guang's expression shifted: "Senior brothers, what are the intricacies of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage? The sect's specific instructions on breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage are only available to those who have reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining. I wonder if you two could inform me of them in advance?"

Chen Guang wasn't unaware of how to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, but his knowledge wasn't very systematic. The advantage of being a disciple of a sect lies in having a wealth of experience from predecessors to summarize, as well as more in-depth research and systematic cultivation guidance.

"It's alright to tell you. Other Qi Refining cultivators in the early stages shouldn't know this because it's their foundation-building stage. Knowing too much would only distract them. You're cultivating so fast, so this shouldn't be a big problem." Zhong Qi also gave a brief explanation of the four essential elements for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, also known as the four stages of Foundation Establishment. You need to pass at least three of these stages to be able to attempt to enter the Foundation Establishment realm. Otherwise, no matter how hard you try, it's impossible to break through to that realm.

Babies can't do what adults do, and you can't force-feed them medicine.

These four fundamentals are of utmost importance; without them, one cannot even begin to build a foundation.

The first is a clear and transparent body, free from impurities and blockages in the meridians. When the body is unobstructed, thoughts can flow freely, allowing communication with heaven and earth and laying a solid foundation for the next stage.

The second stage is the interaction between heaven and man, sensing the operation of the Great Dao and the mysteries of the human world, and resonating with heaven. It only requires comprehending a trace of the Dao's essence. The Dao's essence is like smelling the aroma of a dish, not the delicious food itself. It is a far cry from the true Great Dao. However, if one cannot even perceive the Dao's essence, one cannot shed the mortal body and achieve the body of the seeker of the Dao.

Many cultivators only have a vague sense of it, and they can only accurately control this wisp of Dao charm when they finally condense their Dao foundation.

The third level is perfecting one's magical power. The power of sixty gourds at the ninth level of Qi Refining is not only the standard for entering this realm, but also a constraint, an invisible limit.

Only by breaking through the limits of the mortal body can one overcome this constraint and ultimately cultivate the power of the 108 gourds. Only then can one be in harmony with the will of Heaven, and thus be able to influence the will of Heaven and attempt to solidify the foundation of the Dao.

Achieving a clear and transparent body and having a connection with the heavens are both processes of transcending the mundane. Once you achieve these two things, breaking through the limits of magical power becomes much easier. If you cannot achieve these two things, it is unrealistic to force yourself to break through the limits of magical power. These are not constraints that exist entirely within the physical body, but rather a kind of operating law of the heavenly way in the dark.

The interaction between heaven and man, and breaking through the limits of magical power, are mutually influential and mutually beneficial. They are like half of a circle, rotating together. When the power of either side increases, the speed of the circle's rotation will increase, which will benefit the other side.

Both of these are based on a transparent body.

These three trials are actually laying the groundwork for perfecting one's magical power. Only when one has perfected one's magical power can one attempt to establish a foundation.

Normal cultivators only recognize these three trials. Only cultivators of the Qingheng Sect who are capable of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage will consider completing the unnecessary but very useful fourth trial: the balance of spirit, body, and qi, also known as the "Three Balances Method".

It is not about balance; balance is about consistency, while equilibrium is about harmoniously sharing the burden.

The Three Balances Method provides considerable assistance to the first three stages, and is especially crucial for maintaining control after the final condensation of the Dao foundation.

According to the sect's statistics, those who cultivated the Three Balances Method not only needed one-third less time to accumulate Qi compared to those who did not, but also had a higher rate of reaching the Qi Refining Perfection stage by more than 20%.

In the stage of condensing the Dao foundation, less than 10% of those who have cultivated the Three Balances Method lose control. As for how many cultivators fail at the stage where the Dao essence cannot be clearly understood, that is unknown, and it is not something that can be easily changed by external forces.

Foundation building is like ascending to heaven. The Three Balances Method merely reinforces the ladder to heaven. Ultimately, success or failure depends on the individual's leap.

Of course, the Three Balances Method also has its drawbacks, namely, it requires more cultivation resources. It needs to be tempered into three stages of spirit forging and three stages of body refining as an auxiliary to balance it. Even among sect cultivators, there are many who cannot withstand such consumption. If they have the resources but do not have the energy to do it, they can only cultivate casually, and the effect of the Three Balances Method will not be reflected.

Therefore, the Three Balances Method is unnecessary, but useful.

Those who came before us succeeded in establishing our foundation without the Three Balances Method, and so do those who do today. Cultivating the Three Balances Method requires a lot of resources. Zhong Qi was delighted that the twenty Concentration Flowers in front of her were growing very well, but simply consuming twenty Concentration Flowers would not be enough for one forging of the spirit. It would be more like refining them into a Nourishing Spirit Pill, which shows how huge the resource consumption is.

"Senior brother, do you have any Foundation Establishment Pills? Taking them can increase the success rate of Foundation Establishment." Chen Guang finally asked the question that he cared about most.

"Of course there are. There are roughly two types. The first type is for cultivators who haven't cultivated the Three Balances Method or whose cultivation of the Three Balances Method is inadequate, to temporarily enhance their physical body and increase their spiritual sense. The second type is for some cultivators whose magical power is not yet perfected, but is only a few steps away. This situation is quite common. How difficult is it to comprehend the Dao rhythm? The more blurred the Dao rhythm perception, the less likely it is for magical power to be perfected. One can only temporarily push it up with the power of pills. But the Dao rhythm is the first layer of the tall building of the Dao foundation. If the first layer is not perfected, forcibly pushing it up is actually gambling with one's life. It's gambling that when the Dao foundation is condensed, under the interaction between heaven and man, the laws of the Heavenly Dao will be a hundred times clearer for a short time, and one can become clear about the Dao rhythm in time. But can one really be clear about it in time?"

Zhong Qi couldn't help but sigh, as if she had witnessed such a scene before.

Chen Guang roughly understood that this second type of pill was like getting on the bus first and buying a ticket later, and it also felt like a shotgun wedding. Could they really expect a child still in the womb to make their future life stable?

These fundamental elements are what truly allow a company to go the distance.

Zhong Qi sighed twice before saying, "Actually, there is a third category. Some are unique natural treasures that are said to grant longevity by smelling their fragrance, and those who actually taste them can instantly attain enlightenment. The next level is the various legendary elixirs and miraculous medicines, but they are all too mysterious for us to rely on."

"If one takes multiple Foundation Establishment Pills, wouldn't a cultivator with insufficient foundation be able to forcibly establish their foundation?" Chen Guang asked again.

Zhong Qi laughed: "The Foundation Establishment Pill can temporarily raise your cultivation level. How fierce is its medicinal power? It's a potent medicine combining dragon and tiger! Multiple Foundation Establishment Pills are like multiple tigers wreaking havoc on your stamina. You can be distracted by one, but what about multiple kinds? Even the most dedicated cultivators would lose control when they were fully committed to condensing their Dao foundation. How can you possibly distract yourself from guiding the medicinal power while simultaneously building your foundation? It's incredibly difficult."

"The foundation of building a foundation is like raising a horse. If you raise a horse that weighs 100 pounds, how long can it carry you? Only when it is strong can you ride it across the battlefield."

Chen Guang finally understood that external forces are only supplementary, or even a choice made when there is no other way out.

"So, the most difficult part of Foundation Establishment is actually grasping that wisp of Daoist essence?"

Wei Donglai then put away his smile and said seriously, "Indeed, junior brother, you now have an opportunity. You may have guessed it, but Senior Brother Zhong and I went to great lengths to cultivate that secret technique. In fact, once you successfully cultivate that secret technique, not only will it be incredibly powerful in combat, but you will also gain access to a kind of icy Daoist charm. As long as you wield your hoe well, junior brother, you can grasp a wisp of Daoist charm before reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining. Once you've entered the door, it will be relatively easy to make that wisp of Daoist charm clearer later."

This shows they have a very high opinion of themselves.

But Chen Guang was distracted by other things at the moment and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Senior Brother Zhong hasn't grasped the Daoist essence yet?"

This is a prodigy who has been in the top 50 in the five-year mini-competition multiple times!

Zhong Qi felt embarrassed, but he remained outwardly calm and explained, "Among the top one hundred, half of them failed to comprehend the Daoist principles."

Zhong Qi cleverly answered Chen Guang's question.

The five-year competition focused more on the contestants' talents and the cultivators' foundations, with older cultivators having an advantage. This actually suggests that Zhong Qi's potential among the top fifty is not that great.

To put it bluntly, it's just a bunch of old fogies. They should have made way for the newcomers. The top fifty are guaranteed to receive spirit stone rewards, and other rewards are equally generous. With this snowballing effect, naturally the top rankings are all controlled by a group of old fogies.

The sect wasn't unaware of this, but they were simply hoping that a prodigy, a rising star, would seize the top spot.

The Qingheng Sect is very large. In other sects, the emergence of even one Foundation Establishment cultivator would be a cause for concern, and they would start to allocate a lot of resources to them. What the Qingheng Sect needs are true geniuses with the potential to rise above the sect's carefully cultivated top 100.

Compared to the Qingheng Sect, the resources allocated to the five-year minor competition are merely a few grains of rice that have been lost, far from being considered as a significant allocation of resources.

Chen Guang and Wei Donglai were actually unaware of the details of the five-year mini-competition, but Zhong Qi knew that after cultivating for so long, they were not fools. The higher-ups' intentions were easy to guess. How could they say that a group of geniuses who might have reached the Foundation Establishment stage were just whetstones, waiting for a true prodigy?

Do you tell everyone I'm a stepping stone?

Zhong Qi's fighting spirit was reignited. He longed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, which was his standard for success and fame.