Chapter 4: Foundation Establishment Realm
The violent roar of the Black Tiger Fist tore through the courtyard, carrying with it a suffocating pressure that seemed to vacuum the very air from Lin Yuan’s lungs.
A manifestation of condensed spiritual qi formed the distinct silhouette of a savage tiger’s head around Zhao Meng’s plunging fist. The sheer killing intent radiating from the strike caused the surrounding to ripple outward in a shockwave. For the first time since his transmigration, a sliver of genuine thought of dying pierced through Lin Yuan.
He was experiencing firsthand the devastating might of a 9th-level Qi Condensation cultivator. The gap between their realms was not just a step; but a chasm.
Driven by pure survival instinct, Lin Yuan forcibly mobilized every last drop his spiritual qi. He then crossed his arms over his chest, executing the only defensive technique he knew.
"Iron Wood Guard!"
A faint hue coated Lin Yuan’s forearms, hardening his skin to the density of aged bark. It was a low-tier martial art, but it was his only shield against the impending execution.
CRACK!
The collision was deafening. The phantom tiger’s jaws clamped down on Lin Yuan’s crossed arms with immense force. The Iron Wood Guard shattered instantly, causing a sickening, bone snap to echo through the alley as Lin Yuan’s right forearm bowed at a grotesque angle.
The force of the blow lifted Lin Yuan off his feet entirely. He was sent flying backward, crashing heavily.
"Gah!" Lin Yuan gasped, violently coughing up a mouthful of blood. Pain instantly flared from his shattered arm and radiated through his chest. Every breath felt as though he were inhaling broken glass.
"Hahaha! Look at him! The mighty son-in-law of the Bai Clan!" one of the lackeys howled, slapping his thigh in amusement.
Zhao Meng slowly retracted his fist, the dark aura dissipating. He cracked his neck, having a look of profound disappointment. "I held back seventy percent of my strength, and you still broke like a dry twig. And you dared to talk sense to me?"
Lin Yuan laid in the mud, his vision swimming. He was no match for Zhao Meng alone, let alone the three 9th-level lackeys standing by him. If he did not agree to their demands, they would beat him to death right here, and then kick down the door to get to Bai Qingyue.
His thought immediately went to the The Supreme Nine-Heavens Phoenix Marrow Pill.
Initially, his grand plan had been to invest this newly acquired Rank 8 divine pill back into his wife. He wanted to test the boundless limits of the Millionfold Return System. If a garbage pill yielded a Rank 8 treasure, what heaven-shaking artifact would a Rank 8 pill yield?
But Bai Qingyue had fiercely refused. She wasn’t just being humble, but was acting out of necessity. Because how could she take such a pill when she knew it would be of no use to her? Worse, swallowing it would instantly trigger the Soul Transformation restriction in her dantian, turning her into a bloody mist.
And Lin Yuan knew, that at his current cultivation level, if he didn’t agree to Zhao Meng’s weekly demand of fifty Spirit Stones, he would be completely done for. But with this divine pill....
"Hey, trash," Zhao Meng barked, taking a heavy step toward Lin Yuan, his boot splashing muddy water onto Lin Yuan’s face. "Are you deaf? I said, fifty stones a week. Nod your head, or I’ll break your other arm. Then, maybe I’ll go inside and see if your crippled wife still has a pretty face."
That was the absolute bottom line.
Lin Yuan’s eyes snapped open, blazing with a terrifying, decisive light. Using the cover of his own battered body, he materialized the pill directly into his grasp. He was so desperate, that he moved with a speed he didn’t know he possessed.
Before the blinding light of the Rank 8 pill could even pierce the gloom of the courtyard, Lin Yuan shoved his hand to his mouth and swallowed the supreme treasure whole.
None of the four men saw him do it. To them, he was just a broken man wiping blood from his mouth.
Gulp.
The moment the Supreme Nine-Heavens Phoenix Marrow Pill slid down his throat, it did not digest like normal medicine. It exploded.
A boundless, tyrannical ocean of something supreme erupted within Lin Yuan’s stomach. Normally, a mortal or low-level cultivator consuming a Rank 8 pill would explode, their physical vessel unable to contain the sheer volume of qi. But this was the Phoenix Marrow Pill—a treasure of nirvanic rebirth.
Instead of tearing him apart, the divine energy gently, yet forcefully, began to reconstruct him from the inside out.
Boom!
A thunderous sound echoed, not in the courtyard, but from within Lin Yuan’s body.
His shattered right arm snapped back into place with a series of rapid crunches. The broken bones knit together flawlessly, instantly imbued with the strength of refined steel. The narrow meridians of his 3rd-level Qi Condensation body were violently washed away, replaced by broad spiritual channels as wide as rushing rivers. Black, foul-smelling impurities oozed from his pores, instantly washed away by the rain.
His cultivation base skyrocketed with terrifying speed.
4th level Qi Condensation!
6th level Qi Condensation!
9th level Qi Condensation!
He surpassed the bottleneck that had trapped Zhao Meng for decades in the span of a single breath. But the Rank 8 pill was far from finished. It roared like a mythical beast, slamming against the great barrier of mortality.
CRACK!
The barrier shattered.
Lin Yuan’s dantian expanded infinitely, transforming from a mere well of qi into a vast foundation of pure spiritual liquid.
Early Foundation Establishment!
Mid Foundation Establishment!
Late Foundation Establishment!
His cultivation finally began to stabilize, resting at the absolute Peak of the Foundation Establishment realm—just a hair’s breadth away from forming a Golden Core!
What an unimaginable leap! Hundreds of years worth of cultivation, all bypassed in mere seconds!
Outside, Zhao Meng frowned, noticing that the rain falling on Lin Yuan’s body was suddenly vaporizing into thick steam. "What are you doing, trash? Playing dead?"
He reached down to grab Lin Yuan by the collar.
Suddenly, Lin Yuan opened his eyes.
A beam of crimson light shot from his pupils, piercing through the gloom like twin swords. He slowly pushed himself off the muddy ground, his previously broken arm easily bearing his weight.
Then, he released his aura.
BOOM!
An oppressive, suffocating wave of spiritual pressure erupted from Lin Yuan’s body, slamming into the four Black Tiger Gang members like a physical mountain. The sheer force of the shockwave blasted the heavy rainfall horizontally, creating a ten-foot dome of absolute dryness around Lin Yuan.
"Argh!" Zhao Meng cried out, his knees buckling instantly. The three lackeys behind him didn’t even have time to scream before they were forced face-first into the mud, pinned down by the gravitational force.
Zhao Meng’s eyes bulged from their sockets, as he sensed it.
This was not the aura of a martial artist. This was the aura of a true immortal.
In the cultivation world, the truth was cruel and simple. A Qi Condensation practitioner is nothing more than a mortal who can utilize a fraction of spiritual Qi to enhance their martial arts. They still get sick, they still age normally, and they still rely on mortal limits.
But at the Foundation Establishment level, one truly sheds their mortal limits. They can sustain themselves purely on spiritual energy, their lifespan doubles, and their every movement carries the resonance of the Heavenly Dao. One can truly be said to be an immortal.