142: Chapter 142 Foundation Establishment! Foundation Establishment!

Li Qing looked at the four pale, translucent foundation establishment pills with ice patterns inside the jade box, then pulled out the foundation establishment pill he had previously obtained from Deacon Han Pei.

Five!

Looking at the five perfectly arranged foundation establishment pills in the jade box, Li Qing felt completely at ease.

Previously, his cultivation was stuck at Qi Refining Perfection, with his spiritual power accumulated to the brim, just waiting to break through that barrier of Foundation Establishment.

But this barrier was like a natural chasm; countless Qi Refining Cultivators were stuck for a lifetime and could never cross it. Without a foundation establishment pill, one could only stop at the Qi Refining Stage and die of old age in the mountains.

Now that he had five foundation establishment pills, he had full confidence and no longer needed to hesitate.

Li Qing did not delay; he first turned the defensive Formation of his rented Immortal Cave to the maximum, and then set up a simple warning Formation around the Immortal Cave, so that if any living creature approached, he would be able to detect it immediately.

He then entered his Portable Cave Abode. Being disturbed during Foundation Establishment is the biggest taboo. Once interrupted halfway, at best, one would suffer severe injuries from chaotic spiritual power; at worst, one would directly explode and die. No carelessness could be tolerated.

After doing all this, Li Qing entered the training room and sat cross-legged on the stone cushion.

He first closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, adjusting himself to his best state.

For the past half year, he had been practicing Alchemy and studying pill manuals every day, keeping his spirit constantly tense. At this moment, he had to completely clear away all distracting thoughts and focus his heart.

Li Qing slowly circulated the spiritual power within his body, letting the spiritual power in his Meridians circulate again and again, combing through the somewhat restless spiritual power until it was docile, causing his whole body to relax.

After a full hour of regulating his breathing, Li Qing slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was clear and bright, without a ripple, and his entire person entered a state of self-forgetfulness.

He reached out and took the first foundation establishment pill from the jade box, and without the slightest hesitation, threw it directly into his mouth.

The foundation establishment pill melted upon entering his mouth. A cool yet warm medicinal power slid down his throat directly into his Dantian and dispersed instantly.

At first, there was no feeling, but within a few breaths, his Dantian suddenly swelled, and that medicinal power exploded directly!

An extremely cold force rushed out from his Dantian, followed immediately by a gentle stream of heat. These two forces, one cold and one hot, rampaged wildly through his Meridians, as if they wanted to burst his Meridians apart!

"Hiss—"

Li Qing gasped, cold sweat instantly breaking out all over his body, and his muscles trembling from the pain.

This was no medicinal power; it was clearly two wild forces clashing!

The Meridians of the Qi Refining Stage were narrow and fragile to begin with and could not withstand such tyrannical power. Every inch of his Meridians felt like they were being pricked by needles, burned by fire, and stabbed by ice. The three types of pain intertwined, making him clench his teeth so hard they felt like they would shatter.

He dared not move, biting his teeth tightly, forcing himself to stabilize his mind, and following his Cultivation Technique, guiding this tyrannical medicinal power of the foundation establishment pill bit by bit to circulate slowly along his Meridians.

He knew very well that the first step was to tame the medicinal power, let it circulate through the Meridians, and widen the narrow Meridians. Only when the Meridians were wide and tough enough could they carry the subsequent transformation of spiritual power and impact that Foundation Establishment barrier.

When other Cultivators performed Foundation Establishment, either the medicinal power was too violent to control, or their Meridians were too narrow and were directly burst open. Seven or eight out of ten people would fail.

But Li Qing was different. During the past half year of Alchemy, he hadn't given up despite failing time and time again; his Heart-Nature had long been polished harder than a rock. Moreover, he possessed the Body Refining Technique. Even though he was soaked in sweat from the pain, his gaze remained firm as he tightly controlled the medicinal power within his body.

Under his guidance, the cold and hot medicinal forces slowly stopped rampaging and began to flow slowly along his Meridians.

With every cycle, his Meridians were widened by a fraction, and that tearing pain intensified by a fraction. Li Qing endured it, letting the medicinal power scour his Meridians. From the initial unbearable sharp pain to slowly adapting later, he could clearly feel his Meridians becoming wider and tougher bit by bit, and the originally blocked tiny Meridians were all cleared by the medicinal power.

This process lasted for two full hours. The medicinal power of the first foundation establishment pill was finally completely digested. His Meridians were widened by more than half, and the spiritual power within his body also became purer.

But that Foundation Establishment barrier still stood firmly there, motionless.

Li Qing did not stop; he immediately picked up the second foundation establishment pill and swallowed it directly.

Having the experience from the first time, he was more proficient in controlling the medicinal power.

After the medicinal power of the second foundation establishment pill exploded, he guided the medicinal power with ease, continuing to widen his Meridians, while simultaneously urging his original spiritual power to circulate along with the foundation establishment pill's medicinal power, constantly impacting that invisible Foundation Establishment barrier.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

Li Qing could clearly feel the spiritual power in his Dantian like a tide, crashing against that barrier time and time again. But that barrier was like a wall of copper and iron; no matter how the spiritual power crashed against it, it only shook slightly and could not be broken at all.

Moreover, the medicinal power of the second foundation establishment pill was quickly exhausted, and the force of the impact on the barrier grew weaker and weaker, until it finally dissipated completely.

Two attempts had failed to shake the barrier. If it were someone else, they would have been anxious and their mentality would have collapsed.

But Li Qing was not panicked at all. He had long expected that, as someone cultivating the Five Elements Art, Foundation Establishment would not be so easy.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his somewhat chaotic aura, and directly picked up the third foundation establishment pill, swallowing it again.

The medicinal power of the third foundation establishment pill was even more ferocious than the first two combined!

This time, Li Qing no longer slowly widened his Meridians but directly drew upon all the medicinal power, gathering it into a majestic force, and launched a fierce attack toward the Foundation Establishment barrier!

"Break for me!"

Li Qing let out a low roar in his heart, pushing his spiritual power with all his might, coordinating with the tyrannical medicinal power of the foundation establishment pill, and crashed fiercely against the barrier.

Boom!

A muffled sound came from within his body. That solid barrier was finally shaken violently by the impact and a crack appeared!

It's working!

Li Qing's heart surged. He became even more focused, tightly controlling the force, not letting the medicinal power disperse, and continuously impacting the crack.

But just as the crack in the barrier was getting bigger and bigger, the medicinal power of the third foundation establishment pill was completely exhausted!

The barrier, which had just cracked, stabilized again in an instant. Just when success was in sight, it fell short.

Li Qing didn't even frown, reached out, picked up the fourth foundation establishment pill, and swallowed it without hesitation.

The third time is the charm; he was already at the fourth one, he didn't believe he couldn't break through!

The fourth foundation establishment pill entered his mouth, and the medicinal power exploded instantly. Li Qing did not hold back at all, mobilizing all his spiritual power and medicinal power, gathering them into an incomparably majestic force, and crashed fiercely against the crack in the barrier once again!

This time, the force was fiercer than any previous attempt!

Boom—!

A heaven-shaking loud noise came from within his body. That Foundation Establishment barrier, which had firmly stuck his cultivation, shattered instantly under the impact of this violent force!

Once the barrier was broken, Li Qing felt his whole body lighten. The spiritual power that had originally been blocked in his body surged instantly, running wildly along the widened Meridians, and simultaneously began to crazily absorb the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth!

The Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth seemed to have found an outlet, pouring crazily toward Li Qing's Immortal Cave, entering his body continuously through his pores, mouth, and nose.

The spiritual power of the Qi Refining Stage was gaseous, light, and limited in power.

And at this moment, as the barrier shattered, the gaseous spiritual power, catalyzed by the foundation establishment pill's medicinal power, began to rapidly condense and transform, bit by bit from gaseous to viscous liquid!

In his Dantian, the originally scattered gaseous spiritual power slowly gathered together, constantly compressing and refining, finally turning into a drop of crystal-clear liquid spiritual power, dripping to the bottom of his Dantian.

One drop, two drops, three drops...

More and more liquid spiritual power gathered in his Dantian, flowing slowly. Compared to the previous gaseous spiritual power, the liquid spiritual power was purer and more majestic, and its power was several times greater!

But just as the spiritual power was halfway through its transformation, the medicinal power of the fourth foundation establishment pill was completely used up.

At the critical moment of spiritual power transformation, once the medicinal power was cut off, all previous efforts would be in vain, and he might even suffer a backlash!

Li Qing did not hesitate at all, directly picked up the last one, the fifth foundation establishment pill, and swallowed it immediately!

This was his last trump card, and also the most critical step!

The medicinal power of the fifth foundation establishment pill instantly filled the gap, merging into the transforming spiritual power, helping the spiritual power complete the transformation completely.

Li Qing guided with all his might, letting all the spiritual power complete the transformation, while stabilizing the liquid spiritual power in his Dantian, preventing it from collapsing.

Another hour passed, and the gaseous spiritual power in Li Qing's body was completely converted into liquid spiritual power, slowly rotating in his Dantian, forming a small vortex of spiritual power, continuously absorbing the Spiritual Qi from the outside world, circulating back and forth, endless and continuous.

At this moment, Li Qing slowly opened his eyes.

Two flashes of brilliance flickered across his eyes, then retracted, becoming introverted and deep.

He gently exhaled a breath of turbid air. The turbid air was pale white, mixed with a trace of filth and Impurities discharged from his body.

The pain all over his body disappeared completely, replaced by unprecedented lightness and comfort. His whole body was filled with inexhaustible power.

He could clearly feel that his five senses had become incomparably sharp; the sound of the wind blowing, grass rustling, and insects crawling outside the Immortal Cave could all be heard clearly.

His vision had also improved significantly, and the flowers, plants, and trees in the distance could be seen clearly.

The spiritual power in his body was thick and surging, running smoothly without any obstruction. With just a casual movement, powerful strength surged.

Li Qing's Divine Sense extended outward, actually reaching a terrifying three hundred meters away.

Foundation Establishment Stage!

He had finally successfully broken through to Foundation Establishment, stepping into the Foundation Establishment Early Stage!

From Qi Refining Perfection, relying solely on five foundation establishment pills, enduring pain, breaking through the barrier, completing the transformation of spiritual power, and becoming a true Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

In the vicinity of Yingshui City, Foundation Establishment Cultivators were rare as Phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Even the big Families in Yingshui City only had one or two Foundation Establishment Old Ancestors sitting in town, usually high and mighty, respected by others.

The former Li Qing was just an inconspicuous Qi Refining Cultivator, bullied by Houtu Sect Cultivators, manipulated by black-hearted Alchemists, not even daring to breathe loudly, and could only hide in his Immortal Cave and endure.

But now, he was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and also a First-Grade High Grade Alchemist who could independently refine foundation establishment pills!

Whether it was cultivation or the Dao of Alchemy, he was enough to walk sideways in this area!

Li Qing stood up and stretched his muscles and bones, his joints making crackling sounds, feeling comfortable all over.

He felt the surging power in his body, and a look of relief curled up at the corners of his mouth.

Half a year of hard work, burning through all the Spiritual Plants, experiencing countless failures in Alchemy, exhausting his energy to refine four foundation establishment pills, and then experiencing extreme pain to break through the barrier at this moment, successfully achieving Foundation Establishment... all the hard work and endurance, at this moment, were worth it!