Kays Translations

Chapter 68: Foundation Establishment Stage

In Wuyang City, at the Li residence, Song Xing respectfully delivered a seemingly simple box into Li Yulong’s hands.

Yang Zhong, standing beside him, felt both curious and annoyed. This Song Xing had grown bold, actually refusing him and insisting on personally delivering the box to Li Yulong. This made Yang Zhong feel quite jealous—after all, he was merely one of the young master’s attendants.

Li Yulong glanced at the unique wax seal of the Li family that Li Xian had personally drawn on the box and opened it with reassurance. Upon opening the wooden box, he found another jade box inside; when he opened the jade box, Li Yulong gasped in surprise.

Inside were five complete low-level spirit stones, which was enough to provoke robbery from Golden Core experts! “Yang Zhong, give Song Xing 50 taels of gold.”

“Thank you, Master.” Song Xing was very pleased. Receiving Li Yulong’s direct reward meant he had entered the core of the Li family.

Li Yulong took out two sealed envelopes. “Song Xing, you’ve come at the right time. Deliver these two letters to Li Xian and Li Liang.”

“Understood.” Song Xing took the letters and gold and happily left, quickly heading back to An Yang.

In the Qingshan Valley, Wei Zhe had been very busy these days, delivering various items every day, including spirit stones! Now, he had sent a total of one hundred spirit stones.

“100 spirit stones!” Li Xian gazed at the pile of bright white spirit stones, his eyes squinting in delight, while he rapidly calculated in his mind: with so many spirit stones, rewards must be given to everyone, or else morale would falter. However, the method of distributing rewards needed careful consideration—rewards were a powerful and valuable right that must be cherished!

After thinking for a long time, Li Xian called for Xu Ren, Beichen Yuqing, and Fang Shijing. “Gentlemen, today we need to draft a reward system. What kind of contributions should earn silver rewards, and what should earn gold? Also, what contributions will qualify for spirit stones?

Those who have made significant contributions in the past, or their families, also need compensation.”

Xu Ren and the others had already devised a plan in their minds. It would be a lie to say they weren’t tempted by the spirit stones. They completed the draft of the regulations in just half a day.

Firstly, everything would be marked using “points,” and Fang Shijing would be responsible for the point system, which would be open to public supervision.

There would be significant point rewards for major inventions, substantial contributions, and solutions to critical problems, whether in military, scientific research, or strategies.

Additionally, diligent individuals needed to be given hope, reassuring them that as long as they worked hard, their points would increase daily, and they would eventually receive spirit stones.

The third part detailed the specific point rules. One point equated to one tael of silver; ten points equated to one tael of gold, and five hundred thousand points equated to one spirit stone! It was tough since spirit stones were too rare and couldn’t be obtained in the outside world. Li Xian believed that even in the Dragon Palace, there couldn’t be many spirit stones! After all, Wei Zhe only brought them little by little each day!

Moreover, once points were exchanged, they would be cleared; points could not be traded or transferred.

This is the basic situation; the more detailed aspects will be perfected by Fang Shijing and the others. Li Xian enjoyed being a hands-off manager.

In the afternoon, after a few days of adjustments, Li Xian entered seclusion once again. This time, he prepared a total of ten spirit stones for himself, fearing a repeat of the last incident.

Xia Qingqing was very concerned about Li Xian. Upon hearing that he was preparing to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, she personally stayed by his side.

Holding the spirit stones, Li Xian once again entered a meditative state, soaring upwards on clouds, floating gently towards a new realm. This time, the clouds beneath his feet were very sturdy. Once Xiang Yun reached the edge, Li Xian lightly jumped and entered a new realm.

Here, the ‘heavens’ felt higher, broader, and clearer. In this hazy space, Li Xian seemed to sense that his life had become more noble!

“So that’s how it is. No wonder people say that craftsmen have a lowly profession, while cultivation is much more exalted! Cultivation indeed elevates life. But without the so-called lowly professions to assist me, where would I find spirit stones?”

In this world, where reality and illusion were indistinguishable, Li Xian gazed at the sky, letting the white clouds beneath him carry him away without a specific direction, simply wanting to see what kind of world this was.

Did others have such experiences when they leveled up? Li Xian dared not ask. If he accidentally leaked something, it would be a great loss—losing his life would be the worst outcome.

He didn’t know how long had passed when the clouds beneath his feet began to dissipate. Li Xian understood that time was up, and he was about to fall in the most brutal manner!

Wait, what did I just see?!

Li Xian widened his eyes. In the distance, there was a massive ‘Half Spirit Stone Mountain’—the so-called ‘Half Spirit Stone’ was a type of inferior spirit stone. This spirit stone was as large as a mountain and completely transparent. Within this stone, the flow of spiritual energy and the internal structure of the stone were clearly visible. It seemed to be demonstrating the process of spirit stone formation, with the Half Spirit Stone transforming into a full spirit stone.

But wait…

“I protest!” Li Xian shouted.

The clouds beneath him shattered, and once again, he violently kissed the ground with a thud…

In the real world, Li Xian opened his eyes. The ten spirit stones before him had all turned into lifeless rocks. Xia Qingqing, anxiously guarding him, saw Li Xian awaken and immediately hugged him, burying her head in his shoulder. It was clear that she was very nervous; perhaps the so-called “fate” had left a significant impact on her.

“I’m fine.” Li Xian simply held Xia Qingqing, greedily enjoying a faint warmth, momentarily forgetting to check his cultivation progress.

It wasn’t until five or six minutes later that Xia Qingqing lifted her head, her face still tense. “Did you succeed? You’ve been in seclusion for two full days, which is twice as long as my initial breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. And you released the spiritual energy from ten spirit stones at once; are your meridians okay?”

“I’m fine, really, everything’s great. Look at how strong my arms are.” Li Xian tightened his embrace around Xia Qingqing, ready to tease her.

“Stop it.” Seeing Li Xian acting like a fool, Xia Qingqing finally confirmed that he was genuinely alright.

After reassuring Xia Qingqing, Li Xian closed his eyes to feel his cultivation. There was no doubt he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Compared to the Qi Refining stage, the true essence at this stage had already liquefied, and his body felt more solid. In terms of combat ability, it had at least doubled; after consolidation, there would be even greater improvements.

What made Li Xian happiest about his breakthrough was the increase in lifespan. On average, during the Qi Refining stage, one is still essentially a normal human being, but upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, one gains a lifespan of 150 to 200 years! The exact lifespan depends largely on the age at which one enters this stage.

Additionally, after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, one gains the ability to craft magical artifacts, which was another source of great excitement for Li Xian. Magical artifacts are items engraved with formations and imbued with powerful combat abilities, including talismans and other enchanted tools.

In contrast to the Qi Refining stage, where one can only “engrave” formations on the surface of natural materials like jade—which is weak and only powered by a small amount of spiritual energy—the Qi Refining stage’s formations are only suitable for making things like lamps and other small objects. This limitation is one of the reasons why the craft of artisans was often regarded as a “lowly profession.”

However, the Foundation Establishment stage is different. At this level, one can “brand” formations into materials that lack innate spiritual energy and use true essence to grant them spirituality.

Branding formations is unlike engraving; it is more like a watermark, permeating the material so deeply that it becomes permanent and immune to wear.

Furthermore, true essence has a “nurturing” ability that can gradually imbue weapons and other non-spiritual items with spirituality. However, this process takes years, which is why the production of magical artifacts is slow, their numbers are scarce, and their prices are high. The crafting process also allows for no mistakes, as it requires meticulous attention to detail and has numerous requirements that can be overwhelming.

In addition, the Foundation Establishment stage allows the crafting of talismans. Low-level techniques like Wind Evasion, Water Evasion, and various other minor spells can be inscribed on jade talismans. Of course, there are many requirements to ensure the proper crafting of these talismans; otherwise, they would be everywhere.

Nonetheless, entering the Foundation Establishment stage was an achievement worth celebrating, especially since Li Xian had luxuriously used ten spirit stones to build a solid foundation.

Everything was perfect, except for the fact that, during the last moment in the conscious world, Li Xian had only managed to witness half of the spirit stone formation process. This left him frustrated—would there be another opportunity to see it next time?

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