Chapter 111: Success

Once his resolve hardened, Wen Xu’s restless heart suddenly calmed. He looked up at the distant morning light and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

So, his heart had long been eager to achieve Foundation Establishment. He was the one who had been ignoring his own feelings. The moment he faced himself honestly was the perfect time to establish his foundation.

At this very moment, auspicious clouds gathered above Guochun Peak, and a faint, shimmering glow began to flow. Clearly, heaven and earth had sensed his determination.

Venerable Chengwei was, of course, the first to notice that his disciple was about to establish his foundation. He had sensed it even when A-Xu was struggling with his thoughts moments ago. However, there were some things that even a master could not do on a disciple’s behalf. Just like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon, he had to rely on his own strength.

He smiled and pulled half a flask of wine from his storage space. “I knew it. My disciple is bound to break Meixi Jian’s record. Sect Master Nephew, you certainly got here quickly.”

Gu Wufang thought, With the commotion on your Guochun Peak, how could I not hurry? “Do you think he will definitely succeed, Martial Great-Uncle?”

Venerable Chengwei blinked but did not answer the question. “You are also curious about my disciple’s fate, aren’t you?”

Well, who wasn’t a little curious? Besides, Tianji Pavilion was currently in decline. The death of the old Pavilion Master and Xin Ci’s possession had ultimately left an unavoidable impact. Although over a year had passed, everyone knew in their hearts that the true storm was still far from over.

The timing of Wen Xu’s appearance was too delicate. Yonglu Mountain could temporarily shield him from the probing gazes of others, but they could not keep Wen Xu from leaving the sect for training forever. If possible, as the Sect Master, he naturally wanted to make the necessary preparations in advance.

“Martial Great-Uncle truly sees through me.”

Venerable Chengwei scoffed. “Save your useless flattery. If I were that easy to please, you wouldn’t have waited until now to dare ask this question.”

Translated, this meant: no way.

Gu Wufang: …Even though he knew the answer, hearing it still felt like a stab to the heart.

“Nephew Wufang, the fewer people who know about certain things, the safer they remain. Once spoken aloud, it is like casting a curse; it will become A-Xu’s death warrant.”

It was common knowledge in the cultivation world that royalty could not tread the path of cultivation. But Wen Xu was special. In other words, heaven and earth favored him with spiritual grace and could not bear to let his life go to waste. Since that was the case, there was no need to place too many expectations on him.

Gu Wufang was startled by his Martial Great-Uncle’s choice of words. But since the conversation had reached this point, even though he had not received a concrete answer, he understood. “I see.”

Venerable Chengwei shook the wine flask in his hand. “Oh, the first ray of light is falling. I established my foundation so long ago that I almost forgot there is no lightning tribulation for Foundation Establishment.”

A cultivator’s first lightning tribulation only occurred when advancing to the Golden Core stage.

As for Foundation Establishment, there were only three rays of auspicious light.

The first ray of light was the Heart-Inquiry Realm. It questioned one’s self, one’s past, and one’s identity. Wen Xu had originally thought it would be difficult, but when the light fell upon him, it gently brushed against his Dao Heart. Before he could even formulate an answer, the light softly dispersed, melting directly into his meridians.

Nourished by the light, his meridians instantly doubled in width. He felt an unprecedented clarity of mind, and even the wind and snow before him seemed crystal clear.

All at once, Wen Xu’s confidence soared.

Immediately after, the second ray of light fell. The moment it touched him, Wen Xu knew it was completely different from the first. It was harsher and more impartial. Carrying a spark of electricity, it circulated repeatedly through his meridians. For every inch of meridian and every gate, like the strictest tutor grading an essay, it demanded a complete and solid answer.

Wen Xu thought, Fortunately, I never slack off. He had never neglected even the outermost tips of his meridians.

Only, this process was far longer than he had imagined. He felt as though an eternity had passed, to the point where his mind began to grow weary, yet the light was still testing his meridians.

Did it really need to take this long? When Senior Sister Mingjing went through it, hadn’t her second ray of light taken less than half an hour?

Wen Xu could not help but feel a little worried. He was actually far less decisive and brave than he appeared. Often, he envied Chunzhou’s frankness and brightness, and wished he possessed Chen Zui’s efficient drive. But a person’s core nature was difficult to change. He was who he was; he could not become whatever he wanted just by wishing for it.

Wen Xu was a very pragmatic person who never dreamed of reaching for the stars.

Before he had schemed to become the Old Scholar’s adopted son, something had happened. A wealthy merchant in Bizhou Prefecture, hoping to accumulate good karma to father a son, had distributed congee and rice, built bridges, and paved roads. He was known far and wide as a “great philanthropist.”

Not only that, but he had also opened Jishan Hall, specifically to aid helpless and destitute people. Anyone who was displaced and had no one to rely on could stay there. At the time, many beggars and poor people in the city fought to squeeze inside by any means necessary. It even led to bloody clashes. In the worst case, someone’s head was cracked open, and they died the next day in the wilderness from blood loss.

Wen Xu was just a dirty, smelly child back then, so he naturally lacked the strength to squeeze his way in. But for some reason, perhaps because heaven took pity on him, the wealthy philanthropist spotted him and brought him directly to Jishan Hall, instructing the staff to take good care of him.

Wen Xu did not feel honored at the time; he only felt terrified. He could not accept such unprovoked kindness. It made his skin crawl.

So he quietly fled Jishan Hall in the dead of night, not even daring to stay nearby. He ran straight to a ruined temple outside the city. Though it sounded absurd, that ruined temple had given him an immense sense of security back then.

He hid outside the city until the spring of the following year. Fortunately, the winter that year was not cold, allowing him to survive. Yet when he returned to the city, Jishan Hall was no more. From the talk of other beggars, he learned that Jishan Hall was actually a den of wolves. The wealthy merchant had not built it to accumulate good karma for a son, but to kill people to vent his anger.

That was the first time Wen Xu had brushed so closely with death. He realized that if he had not escaped back then, he might have died in Jishan Hall long ago. A rootless piece of duckweed like him would have died without anyone speaking up for him or shedding a single tear.

Terrified, he had run back to the ruined temple, only going out to look for food again when he could no longer bear the hunger.

Since then, Wen Xu had often warned himself that there was no such thing as a free lunch. If there was, it would surely come with a very high price. So… so what?

Looking inward, Wen Xu suddenly understood. So, deep down, I have always been unwilling to truly accept that I have embarked on the path of cultivation.

Being pursued, accidentally entering a secret realm, meeting true friends, joining a prestigious sect, possessing natural talent, and finding a good master… all of it was too smooth, too perfect. It felt more like a beautiful dream before his death.

Wen Xu could not describe the feeling, but… even if it was a dream, he did not want to wake up.

Before falling into the Poyun Secret Realm, his life had been defined by caution and calculated steps. Sometimes he felt that living was meaningless, yet he had never thought of ending his own life. He had simply struggled to survive, thinking that perhaps once he succeeded, he would know what he was truly meant to do.

And now, he had not taken the path he had planned. Studying for the imperial examinations seemed like a lifetime ago. His mind was now filled with cultivation techniques, formations, and swordplay, while those rigid rules and regulations were being stripped away from his life.

Here, he had witnessed wonders he had never seen before, and he had seen how people, when left unchecked, could grow into all kinds of shapes.

An orthodox cultivator and an evil cultivator were separated by only a single thought.

Wen Xu had seen cultivators seduced by desire. Senior Sister Mingjing’s nominal father was one such person. He had not even entered the evil path, yet his actions were no different from those of an evil cultivator.

He had also seen demon cultivators, or rather, half-demons. Wen Xu suddenly thought of his master, an existence so powerful that he had no weaknesses. He hoped that one day he could become just as powerful, and so, he was establishing his foundation.

Wen Xu suddenly understood. When I entered cultivation, I was still ignorant. Because I didn’t know when my qi ocean had opened, I never truly felt the reality of cultivation.

In fact, he had always wondered when exactly his qi ocean had opened. Was it when he had just fallen off the cliff, or when he fell into the Poyun Secret Realm? Or perhaps, even earlier, when he was being hunted down?

Wen Xu had no clue at all, because he truly did not know.

But thinking about it now, did it really matter?

It did not seem that important anymore. The past was long gone. For him now, he only needed to know that he had indeed begun cultivating. No matter how exorbitant the price might be, at this very moment, he knew with absolute clarity: I will not back down. I will keep walking forward until I have no strength left, until the moment my life ends.

I did not realize it when I first entered cultivation, but now that I am establishing my foundation, I could not be any clearer about it.

In an instant, the gathered third ray of rosy light dispersed. With his mind and soul aligned, Wen Xu accepted the gift of the third ray. He thought, So it’s already the third ray.

“It’s done.”

Venerable Chengwei looked at the auspicious clouds on the horizon, his good mood visibly apparent. “See? I told you my disciple could do it.”

Gu Wufang: …Bah! I was the one who snatched this disciple for you!

Unfortunately, he did not dare to say this out loud.

Meanwhile, the other disciples of Yonglu Mountain also saw the anomaly in the sky. What could they say? It was… as expected of the Little Grand-Uncle Master. What a legend. Achieving Foundation Establishment at twenty-three, how thrilling!

In fact, from the moment the auspicious clouds began to gather over Guochun Peak, everyone had guessed that the Little Grand-Uncle Master was about to establish his foundation. After all, only two people lived on Guochun Peak. The commotion from a Body Integration Divine Venerable advancing couldn’t possibly be this small, so it could only be the Little Grand-Uncle Master.

Unfortunately, the area around Guochun Peak was not a place just anyone could go, so everyone could only watch from afar.

The moment Bian Chunzhou saw the auspicious clouds over Guochun Peak, he was so shocked that the Water-Fire Talisman in his hand slipped from his grasp. He rushed to find Chen Zui as fast as he could. Good grief, if he hadn’t stopped him, that guy would have definitely charged straight onto Guochun Peak with a blade in hand.

But then again, only a single night had passed. What on earth did Wen Xuxu eat to go straight to Foundation Establishment?!