Foundation Establishment in the Mountains

After hearing this, Nan Zhi lost her urge to press any further.

It seemed her great-grandfather, much like herself, had never fully figured out how to use the cauldron, relying solely on the elixir dregs to treat people's illnesses.

She only wondered what kind of elixir had been refined in that last batch for even its dregs to be so potent.

—Of course, discovering the truth would have to wait until after she achieved Foundation Establishment.

After the meal, Shi Hongjiang took Zhang Qiuyu and her husband for a stroll around the village. Nan Zhi seized the opportunity to ask Grandpa Shi whether anything strange had occurred in the village in recent years.

“What counts as strange? Over these past few years, the old-timers in the village have all died off, leaving no one to talk to me. Does that count as strange? Why are you still like you were as a kid, loving to hear ghost stories? I’ve told you before, those are all feudal superstitions and aren't allowed. Besides, Gu isn't allowed in the village—the Village Party Secretary won't permit it.”

The hunchbacked old man puffed twice on the mouthpiece of his water pipe, suddenly remembering something:

“Speaking of strange, things in the mountains really have been a bit odd these past two years. Foxes and snakes keep coming into the village, all restless. Years ago, when households still had hunting rifles, we could go up the mountain to hunt. Now that's not allowed; you'll get arrested even for shooting a bird. And then there's Stone River. A couple of years ago, you could still catch fish, but these past two years, not a single fish can be found. The water is clear, and water grass grows inside, yet there isn't even a tiny shrimp. My guess is there's a big man-eating fish in there. Tell your friends that if they go out to play, they shouldn't go in the water, alright? Out-of-towners are reckless. I’ve warned them plenty of times, but not a single one listens. They'll only learn their lesson when something terrible happens...”

The village lake led into a major river, connected directly to Stone River. Nobody knew when this river had formed; they only knew that quite a few people had drowned in it.

From childhood, the people of Mulian Village had their ears yanked by their parents while being scolded to stay away from that river. Over time, even the locals almost forgot about it.

With the vigorous development of tourism in recent years, someone had set up a river rafting project on Stone River, though every single person who went to play there was an outsider.

Perhaps because he hadn't seen Nan Zhi for a long time, the old man babbled on for quite a while. As he rocked back and forth on his rattan chair, his eyelids grew heavy and closed together, oblivious to when the water pipe slipped from his hand.

Nan Zhi covered the old man with a blanket before quietly slipping out of the Shi family home. In front of the wooden building, a native dog lay on the ground lazily wagging its tail, while goose-yellow, fist-sized chicks pecked around for bugs—a scene of utter tranquility.

...

Nan Zhi stayed in Mulian Village for five full days. On the day of her departure, Grandpa Shi had Shi Hongjiang pack a full suitcase with cured meat, sausages, pickled peppers, and sour corn, insisting that she take it with her.

“Aiya, Sister Zhizhi won't be able to carry all this! Why not send it back to her via courier? That'd be way easier to handle.”

Though Shi Hongjiang grumbled, he obediently lifted the suitcase onto the bus:

“Sister, message me as soon as you get back. When I have time tomorrow, I'll send you some tangerines. The tangerines bought outside taste terrible—all watery and lacking any real tangerine flavor.”

“Alright. When I get back, I'll send Grandpa a mattress. His wooden bed is too hard, which can't be comfortable for him to sleep on.”

Nan Zhi agreed with a smile, then added a few instructions:

“Also, remember the health pills I gave you yesterday. Make sure Grandpa and Auntie take them—one pill per person, no more, got it?”

Yesterday, Shi Hongjiang had wanted to ask which scammer had tricked his Sister Zhizhi. What kind of health medicine came as pills inside a porcelain bottle, restricted to only one per person?

His grandfather had taken one yesterday, and as a result, the eighty-year-old man had spent half an hour suffering from diarrhea, broke out in a sweat, and rubbed off nearly half a jin of gray mud from his skin.

Diarrhea in an eighty-year-old man was truly a matter of life and death.

But looking at Sister Zhizhi's harmless, innocent face, Shi Hongjiang couldn't help but sigh to himself:

Sister Zhizhi worked hard out there all on her own, yet she still remembered to buy health supplements for the family. Even if she got scammed, it was better not to break her heart by telling her.

Unaware of what was going through Shi Hongjiang's mind, Nan Zhi patted his shoulder, boarded the bus, and waved goodbye to him through the window.

Beside her, Zhang Qiuyu was filled with reluctance to leave, slumping onto her shoulder with a mournful groan:

“Sigh, this place is so wonderful—I don't want to leave at all! I haven't had enough fun yet, and I didn't even get to try the mountain stream rafting or cave exploration because I was too busy taking photos. Just thinking about going back to work after the holiday gives me a headache. Ah, you're so lucky! Not only did you request annual leave from your supervisor, but you can also go out and wander for another month.”

Nan Zhi merely smiled without a word.

...

Once the bus arrived at the county station, the crowd swarmed onto another vehicle bound for the high-speed railway station. Only Nan Zhi, carrying her luggage, turned off and checked into an inn.

When night fell completely, she quietly slipped back to Mulian Village and followed a small path straight into Qingmeng Mountain.

In the dead of night, visibility was extremely low in the old forest. The main path into the mountain was buried under person-high weeds. Above her head, a night bird cawed twice, while beneath her feet, she occasionally heard small beasts scurrying away.

Carrying her suitcase, Nan Zhi rode the wind, striding effortlessly deeper into the mountains as if walking on flat ground.

—She had never intended to leave Mulian Village in the first place.

Regardless of whether her Foundation Establishment succeeded or failed, the commotion was bound to be substantial. Cities were filled with surveillance cameras everywhere, and the slightest unusual event would be detected. When that happened, not only would her cover identity as the Painted Skin Ghost be blown, but every secret she had would likely be stripped bare.

Therefore, she planned to enter Qingmeng Mountain to attempt her Foundation Establishment.

Back before the hunting ban, there had been quite a few cabins left behind by hunters deep in the mountains. Now, however, all roads and trails leading deep inside were sealed off. The wilderness was crawling with snakes, insects, rats, and man-eating beasts, rendering it virtually devoid of human presence.

Even if she tore a hole in the heavens there, no one would come to investigate anytime soon.

Nan Zhi sprinted for about an hour. Once she confirmed there were no households within a hundred li, she located a cave, dragged out the bear dreaming inside, beat it up, and claimed the cave for herself.

After setting up her surroundings, she immediately sat cross-legged and retrieved the Foundation Establishment Pill she had received as a quest reward, inspecting it closely.

The Foundation Establishment Pill was not much different from ordinary pills, except its surface was uneven with delicate raised patterns to the touch, and its scent was nothing unusual—just a pure herbal fragrance.

“Corn, do you remember everything I told you?”

Nan Zhi looked at the treasure-seeking mouse sitting on top of her suitcase, giving it an earnest reminder. Seeing it nod, she finally steeled her resolve and swallowed the pill.

The pill dissolved into liquid the moment it entered her mouth—a mouthful of bitter water. As she swallowed it down, her tongue went numb.

Immediately following that was heat.

Intense, suffocating heat.

An agonizingly lethal heat.

Once the pill settled in her belly, Nan Zhi's initial sensation was pure, unadulterated heat, as if a fireball had ignited in her lower abdomen. It expanded rapidly, sparking and spreading from her lower abdomen toward her limbs!

Like an explosion of spiritual energy, ten thousand trickling streams converged within her dantian, with countless strands of spiritual energy circulating through her meridians. It felt like the satisfying release of stretching one's body, so blissful that Nan Zhi nearly cried out aloud.

Fortunately, she remembered to focus her mind and maintain oneness. Quickly holding the dissolved elixir beneath her tongue, she circulated the 《Great Huanzhen Manual》 and supplemented it with the 《Moon-Worshiping Breathing Method》, meticulously organizing her meridians—

With every breath, Nan Zhi's expression gradually smoothed out, and she sat on the ground as if entering a meditative trance. Only beads of sweat rolled endlessly down her face, behind her ears, and down her neck, dripping onto the ground...

Unbeknownst to Nan Zhi as she broke through, these sweat droplets seeped into the ground one by one, allowing invisible spiritual energy to surge and spread along underground water veins, like a tree desperately sinking roots deep into the earth.

Deep underground, the once-depleted spiritual pulse was stimulated by this external energy and actually began to vibrate gently—inhaling and exhaling, as if it were human breathing.

“Thump, thump, thump...”

“Thump, thump, thump...”

A hundred li away, Mulian Village welcomed a new batch of tourists, thriving with life.

Inside Qingmeng Mountain, a hunting fox held half a ginseng stalk in its mouth, its eyes reflecting seemingly anthropomorphic emotions.

At the old Nan family residence, the lush locust tree, soaked with morning dew, appeared even greener and fresher.

In front of the Shi family's wooden building, the old man—whose hair roots were inexplicably turning black—put down his water pipe and looked toward the mountains with a thoughtful gaze.

Beneath Stone River, above a deep and dark abyss, tourists riding rafting boats squealed and shouted in excitement, completely unaware that deep below the surface, a colossal creature quietly opened its monstrous yellow eyes.