Chapter 279: Foundation Establishment (IV)

Ten days later, Luo Chen once again sat beside the Ice-Fire Spirit Spring.

He was no longer flustered and frustrated as before. He was composed now—calm, centered, and focused.

In his hand, he held a large jade bottle. Inside swirled a golden liquid that shimmered like captured sunlight—Imperial Nectar.

Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen drank the Imperial Nectar.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"So what if it's a toxic pill barrier?" he murmured. "In the end, it's still just a wall. And if I could break the dantian barrier created by a five-spirit root constitution, how could I not break a mere toxic pill barrier?

The Imperial Nectar slid down his throat, turning into a warm liquid that instantly spread through his stomach. Strands of medicinal energy flowed like trickling streams, gathering in his dantian.

Unlike the violent, raging power of a Foundation Establishment pill, the Imperial Nectar was gentle almost deceptively so.

It made him feel warm... drowsy... almost at peace.

No pain!

Just a hazy, drifting comfort.

Luo Chen nearly succumbed to the sensation. But instinctively, he activated the Divine Breaker of Malevolence, sending precise stings of energy through his acupuncture points. The flickers of pain jolted him back to awareness.

A completely different method of Foundation Establishment?

With a shift in thought, he summoned the vast clouds of spirit energy he had accumulated and guided them to consume the nourishing power of the nectar.

Trickling streams of energy converged into a vast sea.

Then the sea stirred waves rose, surged, and crashed against the cracked dantian walls.

Each impact was slow and steady, but the effect was undeniable. The fractured dantian wall began to erode.

Until at last, he stood once more before the obstacle: the toxic pill barrier .

This time, Luo Chen changed his approach. No longer using brute force, he refined his control applying pressure like droplets of water slowly wearing down stone. Over and over, the barrier was worn thinner.

Time passed, day by day.

The first bottle of Imperial Nectar began to lose its potency.

But Luo Chen didn’t rest. He reached for the second.

"Water can carve stone, how can I stop halfway?" he whispered to himself, determination burning in his eyes.

Without resting like he had before, Luo Chen drank another bottle of Imperial Nectar.

The thick, toxic film encasing his dantian thinned further under the unrelenting assault.

The first bottle, then the second.

His spirit power had become increasingly vast, already surpassing those at the Perfected Mastery of Qi-Refining, even rivaling those who had already stepped into Foundation Establishment.

And yet, there was still no breakthrough.

The pressure inside him grew. His dantian was swollen, overflowing with energy. He felt as though he might rupture from within at any moment.

Luo Chen forced himself to endure the unsettling sensation.

He knew well the principle of "rallying strength at the first drumbeat, but weakening with each attempt afterward." [1]

If he missed this chance, once his dantian healed and fused with the toxic pill barrier , future attempts would only become harder.

And so he drank the third bottle.

As the final drops entered his system, a strange sensation swept over him—deep, vast, and profound. Something shifted in the air, in his spirit, in the very marrow of his being.

Success or failure lies in this final moment!

With newfound clarity, Luo Chen summoned everything—the full, monstrous cloud of spirit energy gathered inside him and surged forward at the toxic pill barrier .

This time.

He succeeded!

Crack!

At the exact moment the toxic pill barrier within his dantian shattered, a crisp, delicate crack echoed in the depths of Luo Chen’s body.

In that same instant, the immense clouds of spirit energy swirling above his dantian suddenly surged inward, stirred into motion as if reacting to a signal.

Drip!

A single drop of incomparably pure spirit liquid fell from the cloud.

Then came a soft, endless drizzle of spirit energy rain began to descend, showering his inner world in a silken cascade of power.

Seizing the moment, he directed the downpour of spirit energy rain, guiding it through the channels of the Long Spring Art to begin reconstructing his dantian from within.

He used the shattered walls of his old dantian as the base, then layered it with newly formed spirit liquid, thick and potent.

The flowing Imperial Nectar, tinged with gold, melded into the mix.

It was unclear how much time had passed.

Looking inward, his immense dantian—perhaps better called a "sea of qi"—appeared before him. The dantian became a vast sea, capable of holding a hundred rivers, forging the foundation for his path to the Great Dao!

Luo Chen’s lips curved upward.

"It’s done!" He whispered to himself and collapsed in exhaustion.

From his unconscious body, a sharp and intense spirit power fluctuation slowly spread out.

It reached the entrance of the thatched hut but was blocked there.

No one cheered for his success.

As if no one in the world knew how far he’d come, how many failures, how much pain, how many years of grit and solitude had led him to this singular moment of success.

***

Inside the Grand Universe Hall, a heavy atmosphere hung between the two seated figures.

"Has Luo Chen still not emerged from seclusion?" Nangong Jin’s voice was calm, but the furrow in his brow betrayed his displeasure.

"I'm sorry, Senior Nangong," Sima Huiniang replied respectfully, her tone cautious. "Our president... is still in seclusion."

She sat carefully across from him, deliberately choosing the lower seat. She knew better than to assume airs before a Foundation Establishment Initiate.

Nangong Jin slowly shook his head, frown deepening. "This won’t do."

At his demeanor, Sima Huiniang could only respond with a bitter smile.

Who could have foreseen this? That Luo Chen would remain in seclusion for an entire year?

It was the first time since the founding of the Luo Tian Society that their president had disappeared for so long.

For a whole year, their president had not shown his face.

In the beginning, the situation was still manageable. People waited patiently. But as the months dragged on, restlessness began to fester.

If that had been the extent of it, Sima Huiniang might still have had ways to stabilize the unrest. But Luo Chen wasn't just the society’s figurehead, he was also their alchemist and his pills were the very thread holding together the fragile alliance between several major factions.

A single year... was enough to change too much.

First, the supply of top-grade Jade Essence pills to the Nangong family had been cut off!

Second, cooperation with the Dajiang Gang had been suspended for the time being.

Lastly, the high salaries of the cultivators within the society had made the entire organization difficult to sustain.

Even with the Medicine Hall and Artifact Hall doing everything they could to generate profit, they were now buckling under the pressure.

Nangong Jin had come in person precisely because of the pill issue.

Others might not mind the shortage of pills, but he absolutely could not ignore it.

Without a steady supply of top-grade Jade Essence pills, how could he swiftly restore his clan's strength?

Qi-nourishing pills?

What a joke!

The Medicine King Sect had always been ruthless and greedy, charging one hundred spirit stones per bottle.

With news from the inner domain that Luoyun Sect and Jade Cauldron Sword Sect had gone to war over dominance of the Jade Cauldron Domain, the Medicine King Sect had taken the opportunity to inflate prices.

Even qi-nourishing pills were now selling at a staggering one hundred and twenty spirit stones per bottle.

Where else could one find such quality and affordability as the Luo Tian Society's mere eighty spirit stones?

Thus, even though the Dajiang Gang had yet to act, Nangong Jin had come personally.

As he watched Sima Huiniang deflect with vague platitudes and continued delays, he suddenly asked, "He's been in seclusion for so long—could it be he's attempting Foundation Establishment?"

Abruptly.

Such a statement came casually from Nangong Jin's mouth.

Sima Huiniang’s expression shifted. Rumors about Luo Chen attempting Foundation Establishment had been confined solely to the higher-ups of the Luo Tian Society.

How did Nangong Jin know?

Noticing the change in her expression, Nangong Jin quickly confirmed his suspicions.

"Three years ago, Luo Chen came to speak with us about Foundation Establishment pills,"

He muttered. "Looks like he's really going through with it now."

Murmuring to himself, he rose to his feet and walked toward the outside.

Sima Huiniang’s face changed drastically, and she hurried after him.

"Senior, what are you doing?"

Nangong Jin raised his head and gazed toward the mountain peak.

Wearing a faint smile, he said, "Why, I wouldn't do anything. I merely wish to remind you that Foundation Establishment is dangerous. What if your president quietly died during the breakthrough? After all this time, his bones may have already gone cold.

"So I don’t mind going up and checking on him for you. Don’t worry, I won’t disturb him—"

His words were rudely interrupted.

"I suggest you stay right here and act like a proper guest."

A cold voice came from the distance.

In the next moment, a figure appeared, dragging a long crimson chain behind him, ascending the mountain step by step.

As he moved forward, his aura grew stronger with every step.

Soon, it swelled to the spirit power of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Nangong Jin’s expression shifted slightly.

Wang Yuan! How could he have reached Foundation Establishment?

But he soon realized something was off.

"Pseudo-Foundation Establishment?"

Wang Yuan stopped in his tracks, coming within a hundred-zhang radius.

"Pseudo-Foundation is enough," he said.

Nangong Jin took a deep breath. Within a hundred zhang, this was Wang Yuan’s battleground.

Although the man's cultivation realm was only Perfected Mastery of Qi-Refining, but his physical cultivation had reached the second-tier.

The bursts of Foundation Establishment aura revealed that he had some explosive technique hidden in reserve.

If conflict broke out now, even with defensive treasures, he likely wouldn’t gain the upper hand in a short time.

And if things escalated, the entire Luo Tian Society might rise against him...

He had no wish to follow in Duan Qiankun’s footsteps.

With a hearty laugh,

"Fellow Daoist Wang, you misunderstand. I merely—"

Just as he tried to smooth things over, a powerful aura erupted atop Xiao Huan Mountain.

A long howl echoed to the heavens!

A lone figure stood amidst the white clouds. His wide sleeves fluttered as the wind rustled around him.

He cried out loudly and clearly: "A youth downcast along the great river, worn and weathered by hardship and sorrow,

"Vainly vowing to pursue longevity, how laughable! To exhaust one’s spirit and effort, for what?

"One day I awakened to the foundation of the Dao, ten thousand mountains and valleys now yield to my will.

"When the dark sun breaks and light returns to the sky, I soar to the clouds and behold the Eastern Wilderness from above."

His tone was passionate, full of the pride of triumph.

The figure lowered his head, his gaze like lightning as he looked down toward the pavilions and towers.

"Fellow Daoist Nangong, why not come up and join me for a chat?"

1. 一鼓作气，再而衰 (yi gu zuo qi, zai er shuai) is a Chinese idiom that means "rallying strength at the first drumbeat, but weakening with each attempt afterward." It comes from a military context, describing how morale and momentum peak at the start of an effort but diminish with repeated attempts. It is often used to emphasize the importance of seizing the moment and acting decisively while motivation and energy are high. ☜