After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

Noon, at the shopping mall.

Lin Chu stood in front of the baked rice restaurant, looking at the familiar sign, and remained silent for two seconds.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Caiwei tilted her head to look at him.

"...It's okay, I've been to this store before."

Push the door open and go inside.

The waiter at the door looked up, saw Lin Chu, and paused for a moment.

She remembered that face.

He came here a while ago, with an incredibly beautiful woman.

She was gossiping with her colleagues backstage at the time, saying that the couple was incredibly good-looking.

Here I am again today.

He brought another beautiful woman, but not the same one as last time.

This person had her hair tied in a single ponytail, had a cool and aloof demeanor, and was carrying a strange long cloth bag.

This is a completely different style from the previous one.

When the waiter handed over the menu, he couldn't help but glance at Lin Chu a couple more times.

Lin Chu noticed her gaze and looked up.

The waiter immediately put on a professional smile.

"...Please scan the QR code to order."

I silently thought to myself, "Are young people these days really that good at having fun?"

Lin Chu, of course, had no idea what she was thinking.

He pushed the menu towards Zhou Caiwei, "You order."

Zhou Caiwei took the phone, scanned it, and looked down to flip through the menu.

Baked lobster rice with cheese, baked beef rice with cheese, baked chicken rice with cheese.

Her finger paused as she swiped the screen.

"What did you eat last time?"

"lobster."

"Then let's order beef." She handed the phone back to him, "We can take turns eating it."

Lin Chu glanced at her.

Zhou Caiwei's expression was normal, cool and serious, as if she was making a very reasonable decision.

While waiting for their meal, Lin Chu asked, "Caiwei, there's something I'd like to ask you. I've reached the peak of Qi Refining and am preparing to establish my foundation, but I don't really know how to break through."

Zhou Caiwei put down the cup in her hand.

"Do you have any Foundation Establishment Pills?"

"no."

Zhou Caiwei reached into her sleeve, took out a small white jade bottle, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of him.

"This is the Lingxu Sword Sect's top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill. It has no side effects. Using it to break through will make your foundation more stable than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Lin Chu picked up the small bottle and twirled it between her fingertips.

"Such a valuable item, you just give it away like that?"

"Why be so polite with me?" Zhou Caiwei picked up her water glass, took a sip, and said gently, "Just take it."

Lin Chu uncorked the bottle, and a refreshing medicinal fragrance wafted out. Just smelling it made her spiritual energy more active.

Thank you.

He didn't make a fuss and carefully put the small bottle away.

The food has been served.

Zhou Caiwei cut a piece of beef baked rice, put it in her mouth and chewed slowly, nodding.

"good."

"How so?"

"It's nowhere near as good as mine," Zhou Caiwei said. "I'll make it for you next time."

Lin Chu smiled and nodded.

"I'd love to try it sometime."

The two ate quietly for a while.

"Lin Chu," Zhou Caiwei suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

"Take me with you when you go to Chaoge."

"Are you going too?"

"I promised to protect you." She put down her fork, looked into his eyes, and said, "It's so chaotic right now. If something happens on the road, it'll be safer for me to be there."

Lin Chu nodded, seeing her serious expression.

"it is good."

Zhou Caiwei lowered her head and continued eating, a barely perceptible twitch at the corner of her mouth.

After finishing her meal, Zhou Caiwei wiped the corner of her mouth.

"I'm going back now. I still have some things to take care of at my sect." She picked up the sword leaning against the chair. "Remember, tell me before you go to Chaoge."

"understood."

"Keep in touch."

"it is good."

Zhou Caiwei nodded, turned around and left.

Her single ponytail swayed a few times in the afternoon sunlight before quickly disappearing from sight.

Lin Chu returned to the villa, closed the door, and went straight upstairs to the study.

He sat cross-legged in the center of the Spirit Gathering Array, holding the Foundation Establishment Pill in his palm.

Eight water-elemental spirit stones were placed nearby, slowly rotating around them, with faint blue light patterns flickering on the floor.

He took a deep breath and put the pill into his mouth.

The pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, and a gentle yet powerful force surged down along the meridians.

The spiritual energy in the spirit-gathering array surged in wildly, forming a nearly solidified vortex of spiritual energy around the body.

An hour later, Lin Chu opened her eyes, and a powerful aura emanated from the villa.

The foundation has been laid.

He looked down at his hands, slowly clenching and unclenching them.

I could clearly feel that the spiritual energy in my body was no longer just wisps of silk, but had gathered into a steady flow of spiritual liquid in my meridians.

My five senses are also much more acute than before.

This is what it feels like to build a foundation.

Lin Chu couldn't help but smile.

He raised his hand, a thought forming in his mind.

The Soul-Chasing Bow flew out of the storage ring and landed in the palm of the hand.

He had tried before, and during the Qi Refining stage, he even had difficulty drawing the bowstring.

It can now be used in a simple way.

Having spent his entire life in the Xuan Tian Realm, from youth to old age, he was always just a mortal.

Even the strongest luck is borrowed; once used, it's gone.

Every penny must be carefully calculated.

The continuous flow of spiritual energy within my body now belongs entirely to me.

Lin Chu put down the bow and tried to activate her spiritual power, her body slowly rising from the floor.

After hovering in mid-air for more than ten seconds, it slowly fell back down.

I can fly now.

Before I could experience it for long, the system's voice suddenly rang in my mind.

"Host detected to have reached the Foundation Establishment stage, surpassing the limits achievable by mortals. The second era of the Myriad Realms Heavenly Book is about to begin. The following rules have been updated—"

"First, when entering the Book of Myriad Realms, you will enter using your original body; the system will no longer create a character."

"Second, the flow of time will be adjusted. As the spiritual energy of Earth gradually recovers, the Book of Myriad Realms will modify the rules governing the flow of time. From now on, no matter how long the host stays in the book, only one day will pass on Earth."

"Third, the host can freely choose to enter the second life time, with no mandatory time limit."

Lin Chu's eyes lit up.

This resolved his biggest concern.

He had only spent sixty years in the Xuan Tian Realm, and when he returned, Blue Star had already fast-forwarded to a version he couldn't understand.

If someone were to spend thousands of years in a book in one of their lifetimes, given the current rate of development, by the time they returned, the Xia Dynasty might already be gone.

Now it's all good, just one day.

No matter how long you stay inside, you'll only be back for one day.

Moreover, you can freely choose when to enter, which is quite convenient.

The system went silent, and Lin Chu sat cross-legged on the floor without getting up immediately.

He reviewed all the information he had received that day.

The spiritual energy is reviving, there are extraterrestrial forces, the Dragon Court, the Lingxu Sword Sect, and several women surrounding him.

Cang Yao, Cang Xiaoxiao, Zhou Caiwei, Jiang Ruoshui.

The first three have been confirmed as old acquaintances from the Xuan Tian Realm.

Jiang Ruoshui, however, has yet to reveal her true colors.

But her abnormality itself speaks volumes.

Lin Chu thought for a moment, picked up her phone, and sent a WeChat message to Cang Yao.

Are you free tomorrow? How about we grab a bite to eat together?

He replied almost instantly.

"Okay, okay, what do you want to eat?"

"You decide?"

"it is good."

"Let's go to that Cantonese restaurant again, tomorrow night."

"it is good."

Lin Chu looked at the screen, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up.

Many things aren't that complicated; if you can't figure it out, just ask the person directly.

Just then, another message popped up on my phone.

It's not Cang Yao.

Shui Shui: Lin Chu Lin Chu.

Shui Shui: Are you free tonight?

Shui Shui: When are you going to pay me back for the meal you owe me?

Lin Chu looked at these messages and thought for a moment.

Although Jiang Ruoshui did not evoke that familiar memory resonance in him, she was clearly very abnormal.

They might also be from the Xuan Tian Realm.

This is a good opportunity to find out what's going on with her.

Lin Chu: Yes, yes, no problem, you decide on the location.

Shui Shui: Really?!

Shui Shui: [Location]

Shui Shui: This restaurant is super delicious! 6 PM! See you there!

Location information for Linqidian.

Then he stared at the screen, his expression frozen.

It's that shopping mall again.

Another baked rice dish.

He put down his phone and rubbed his temples.

Just how popular is this restaurant's baked rice? Why does everyone choose this place?

I picked up my phone again and started typing.

Lin Chu: ...Okay.

Shui Shui: See you tonight!

Shui Shui: [Fox spinning in circles emoji]