"Just one..." Yao Xiaoxiao's eyes went very wide, as if she had heard something truly extraordinary.
Xu Xian smiled faintly.
"Yes, just one."
"Little Grand-Uncle?"
"Hmm?"
Yao Xiaoxiao said very seriously, "I feel like you're bragging..."
"Oh?"
Yao Xiaoxiao spread her palms. "But I don't have any proof."
Xu Xian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He felt this girl was a bit silly, but her heart was in the right place.
"Put it away."
He handed the pill bottle back to her.
Yao Xiaoxiao pushed it away. "You keep it. Use it for a rainy day. My Elixir Hall lacks many things, but we don't lack pills, hehe."
Xu Xian declined again. "No need. One is truly enough."
One shouldn't be too greedy; enough was enough.
Seeing Xu Xian's repeated refusal, Yao Xiaoxiao stopped insisting. She took back the bottle with a skeptical look and couldn't help asking, "Is one really enough?"
"Of course."
"Alright then."
Pausing for a moment, she added with an odd emphasis, "Actually, I also succeeded in foundation establishment with just one pill."
Xu Xian was taken aback. He stared at the girl with a meaningful gaze, thinking to himself... 'I didn't even ask you?'
Yao Xiaoxiao blushed under his gaze, her eyes darting away as she said, "What I said is true."
Xu Xian nodded seriously. "I believe you." ...'The hell I do.'
Yao Xiaoxiao seemed relieved. She said cheerfully, "Hee-hee, so are we still going to the Elixir Hall?"
"No, turn around and take me back to Zhijian Peak."
"You got it!"
Yao Xiaoxiao agreed readily. On the way back, the girl chatted incessantly like a lark, chirping away with endless things to say and questions to ask.
Yao Xiaoxiao asked, "Little Grand-Uncle, is it true that you only gained enlightenment from the sword stele because you smashed the endgame left by the Sword Ancestor?"
Xu Xian smiled and said, "Yes."
Yao Xiaoxiao asked, "Little Grand-Uncle, I heard you like drinking porridge?"
Xu Xian said lazily, "False."
Yao Xiaoxiao asked, "Little Grand-Uncle, I heard that you met Peak Master Li by chance and begged him in tears to bring you back?"
Xu Xian said indignantly, "Rumors, pure rumors! Which bastard is spreading such lies..."
"......"
A short while later.
The jade gourd landed on Zhijian Peak. Xu Xian jumped off gracefully and exchanged a few pleasantries.
"Xiaoxiao, thanks for today."
"Don't mention it."
"I'll pay you back double for this Foundation Establishment Pill when I've made it big one day."
"Okay, okay!"
Xu Xian's gaze subconsciously fell on Yao Xiaoxiao's hand. He hesitated for a moment but eventually held back. He smiled and said, "Alright, you should head back. Fly slowly on the way."
"Okay, then I'll come back to see you another day, Grand-Uncle."
"Sure, I'll treat you to some porridge then, haha."
Yao Xiaoxiao nodded obediently. "Mhm, it's a deal then."
She then steered the jade gourd and soared away through the clouds.
"Goodbye, Little Grand-Uncle!"
Xu Xian looked up at the blue sky and waved his hand. A gentle look crossed his face.
'This kid is decent.'
'But...'
In the end, he hadn't asked why Yao Xiaoxiao's hand was so icy cold.
'Maybe it's just her constitution.'
He raised an eyebrow and didn't think much more of it. After watching her disappear from view, he hurried back to his small courtyard. He was itching to begin his foundation establishment and start his plan to make money.
He wanted to be rich.
He wanted to be wealthy.
He wanted to eat delicacies and meat every day. He'd see then who dared to say he liked drinking porridge.
High above the clouds on the jade gourd, Yao Xiaoxiao rested her chin on her hand. Her eyebrows, curved like distant green mountains, were slightly furrowed in melancholy.
She whispered to herself, "Little Grand-Uncle is such a genius to only need one pill. Whereas I... it's so heartbreaking."
When Xu Xian returned, Wen Qingxue was sitting in the courtyard. In one hand she held a celadon cup, while the other brushed through the wind as she gazed at the sky. From time to time, several golden leaves fell from the parasol tree in the yard, dancing in the breeze. The person, the scenery, the leaves, and the wind combined to create a poignant image of a young girl waiting for her beloved's return...
The youth hesitated, almost unwilling to break such a beautiful mood.
Wen Qingxue looked over from afar. Her cool eyes held a hint of fragility as she asked curiously, "Hmm? Little Grand-Uncle, why are you back?"
Xu Xian grinned.
"I got the Foundation Establishment Pill, so of course I'm back."
Wen Qingxue was slightly surprised.
"So fast?"
Xu Xian smiled without answering. He stepped into the courtyard and headed straight for the west wing. "Keep drinking your tea, I'm going to my room."
Wen Qingxue's long eyebrows knit together as she watched him leave. Taking a sip of her tea, she muttered, "It seems Little Grand-Uncle is in a good mood today."
——————
By the time Xu Xian returned to his room, evening was approaching. He sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, took out the Foundation Establishment Pill, and called out to the book spirit, "Little Book, are you ready?"
The little book spirit said clearly, "Always ready."
"Then let's begin."
"Understood."
Xu Xian no longer hesitated. Filled with anticipation, he swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill. As it rolled down his throat, the pill entered his abdomen and fell into his sea of qi...
The youth slowly closed his eyes and brought his hands together in a meditative mudra.
He circulated his dantian, drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into his embrace.
He began his foundation establishment.
The little book spirit flew above Xu Xian's crown. Like the youth, it sat cross-legged. A white glow emanated from its body, resonating with the aura inside the youth, assisting him from the side...
The reason Xu Xian was so confident that he only needed one pill was because of the little book spirit.
Outside the room, Wen Qingxue finished her tea and glanced toward the west wing.
She knew.
Xu Xian had begun his foundation establishment.
'Three months of body refining.'
'Five months of qi refining.'
'Foundation establishment... how long will it take this time?'
'Can he really succeed in one go?'
The answer was unknown.
However.
In the world of cultivation, even within the Wendao Sect, those who could succeed in foundation establishment on their first try were not few. With Xu Xian's extraordinary talent, it wasn't impossible.
Of course.
This wasn't strictly proportional to talent.
Succeeding on the first try also required a bit of luck.
For ordinary people, the first attempt was for exploration.
The second was for trial.
By the third, they would grasp the essentials...
When she had established her foundation, she had succeeded on her fourth attempt.
In the Wendao Sect, foundation establishment was something everyone went through. The process might involve failure and twists, but the result was always the same.
After all, with the cultivation methods provided by the Wendao Sect combined with the elite mixed spirit root aptitude, it was impossible not to reach the foundation establishment stage.
Time ticked away. The sun set behind the mountains, stars and moon rotated, the dawn broke, and the scorching sun hung high...
Foundation establishment was a long process.
Xu Xian remained in closed-door cultivation.
Wen Qingxue sat in the courtyard the whole time, never moving.
Knowing Xu Xian was establishing his foundation, she had specifically taken a leave of absence to guard him closely, fearing any accidents...
Fortunately, everything proceeded without a hitch.
On the morning of the third day, a strange yet familiar aura rippled out from the west wing. A rare look of astonishment appeared on Wen Qingxue's usually cold face.
"He actually did it."
Rate on N.U.
