Three days of Dao-enlightenment, rooting in the sea of qi, and a glimpse into the laws of heaven and earth—foundation establishment was complete.
Xu Xian opened his eyes, his spirit radiant. He could hardly hide the excitement in his heart. With a thought, a dao jade appeared in his hand. He gazed into it, seeing his own cultivation realm.
[foundation establishment.]
"It's finally done."
With a clench of his fingers, the dao jade vanished. The youth stood up and pushed the door open. As the autumn sunlight spilled over him, Xu Xian stretched, his joints popping and cracking.
Wen Qingxue stood up and bowed from across the courtyard.
"Congratulations, Little Grand-Uncle, on successfully reaching foundation establishment."
Xu Xian snapped out of his thoughts and smiled. "Ah, Little Wen, you're at home?"
"Yes."
Xu Xian put his hands behind his back and paced about with a casual, carefree air. "It took me until October just to reach foundation establishment. It's hardly worth mentioning."
Wen Qingxue’s brow twitched. That sounded a bit strange...
Xu Xian sat at the stone table like a lord, motioning for Wen Qingxue to sit as well. "Come, sit."
Wen Qingxue said nothing and silently took a seat.
Xu Xian poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. "It’s cold?" He set it down and looked at Wen Qingxue. "Little Wen, I recall you saying that once I reached foundation establishment, I could apply for a residence, right?"
Wen Qingxue responded softly.
"That is correct."
In the Wendao Sect, everyone had their own private courtyard, though the quality varied by situation. Anyone at foundation establishment could apply. However, it wasn't free; one had to pay merit points annually.
Residences were ranked in various tiers. The higher the terrain, the higher the price. If there were spiritual fields, herb gardens, or other amenities, the price would rise significantly.
Evidently, Xu Xian did not know this.
With an air of seniority, Xu Xian said, "Accompany your Grand-Uncle there tomorrow to get a place. It's not convenient for me to live here all the time. You’re a young lady; I wouldn't want people spreading gossip."
Wen Qingxue hesitated, but ultimately didn't explain herself and simply agreed.
"Alright."
However, she still reminded him, "Little Grand-Uncle, perhaps you should go to the Sword Mound to claim a sword first? We can discuss this when you return."
Xu Xian raised an eyebrow and nodded. "That works too. A little more time won't hurt."
"When do you plan to go?"
Xu Xian glanced at the sky and patted his stomach. "Tomorrow. I've just broken through; I need to let it settle."
"Very well. I shall accompany you tomorrow morning then," Wen Qingxue said.
With the time settled, Wen Qingxue cleared the tea set and left the courtyard. Xu Xian rested for a moment before taking out the iron sword from his beginner's gift pack to attempt wind-riding flight.
His talent was decent, and with the guidance of the book spirit, he was able to communicate with the iron sword through his will and control its movements within an hour.
However, only the sword could fly. When he tried to step onto it, he couldn't get off the ground.
There were two problems. First, the sword wasn't good enough. Second, he wasn't good enough.
He didn't dwell on it too much. Although the iron sword was forged from meteoric iron, it was only a first-grade mortal weapon. To carry a person through the air, one needed a spirit weapon.
Of course, if he mastered a spirit control art like Lifting the Heavy as Light or Lifting the Light as Heavy, he could achieve it even with this.
Xu Xian dejectedly put away the iron sword and left the small courtyard, heading off.
Having reached foundation establishment, his heart was full of joy. He felt that one shouldn't be too selfish; such joy ought to be shared. Thus, he decided to visit Lin Qianqian.
He caught another disciple outside to give him a ride. By now, the people of Zhijian Peak were used to it. It wasn't the first time the Little Grand-Uncle had hitched a ride on a flying sword, and since it was a minor favor, no one refused him.
Tianjian Peak was known for its perils. It consisted of hundreds of peaks with thousand-fathom cliffs and countless precipices filled with jagged rocks. It was even taller than the main peak, Wendao Peak, which was how it earned its name.
The Changming Pavilion, which Ye Xianyu had pointed out from outside the Sword Pavilion that day, was located on Tianjian Peak. The Sword Ancestor's soul lamp was still burning there today.
After wandering around and asking for directions, Xu Xian finally found Lin Qianqian's residence. It was an independent small courtyard, slightly inferior to Wen Qingxue’s, but it had an extremely wide view. Standing outside the courtyard, one could see the landscape of all the surrounding mountains.
Lin Qianqian had been in secluded cultivation. Sensing a visitor, she ended her meditation and pushed the door open. Seeing it was Xu Xian, she was delighted and hurried toward him.
"Xu Xian! Why are you here?"
Xu Xian stood at the door, pausing for a moment.
"I came to see you."
He scanned the surroundings and said approvingly, "Your environment here is quite nice. Very open."
Lin Qianqian walked up to him, tilting her chin up slightly. Xu Xian was seventeen now and stood over eight feet tall, already half a head taller than her.
"Wow... you really did reach foundation establishment!"
Xu Xian acted humble. "You could tell?"
Lin Qianqian gave him a mock glare. "Please, I'm not blind. Besides, I went to see you the day before yesterday. Senior Sister Wen said you were attempting foundation establishment, so I came back... I didn't expect you to be so fast."
Xu Xian was slightly startled. "Little Wen?"
Lin Qianqian said casually, "Yeah, Senior Sister Wen has been staying by your side, protecting you while you cultivated."
As she spoke, she didn't forget to wink at him playfully. "You've got good luck. Senior Sister Wen is so beautiful; you're getting quite the deal."
Xu Xian rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about? I have no idea what you mean."
"Hmph, you're blushing."
Xu Xian snapped, "Blushing my foot! Are you going to invite me in to sit, or are you just going to leave me standing here?"
Lin Qianqian giggled and quickly stepped aside, squinting with a smile. "Little Grand-Uncle, welcome to my humble abode."
Xu Xian stood with his hands behind his back and said solemnly, "That's more like it."
Lin Qianqian gave Xu Xian a tour of the courtyard. There wasn't much to see—a few withered trees that had lost their leaves, a yellowed flowerbed, a house, and three rooms. That was all.
She invited Xu Xian to sit and poured him a cup of mountain spring water. "I don't usually have visitors, so I don't have anything. You'll just have to settle for some spring water."
"We are cultivators; we don't care about such things," Xu Xian said dismissively.
Lin Qianqian sat down and asked, "Brother Xian, how many Foundation Establishment Pills did it take for you to succeed?"
Xu Xian acted modest, though he was secretly proud. "One."
"Huh? One?"
Xu Xian took it as a matter of course. "Doesn't everyone use one?"
Lin Qianqian pouted, feeling depressed. "No way! I used five, okay?"
"Oh... then maybe I'm just exceptionally gifted."
Lin Qianqian let out a sound of mock disgust, unable to hide her disdain, though she was both envious and gloomy. "I really envy you. Foundation establishment in a single year, and you got it done with just one pill. Unlike me—it took me four years to reach foundation establishment and five Foundation Establishment Pills. I still owe the Mission Hall three Grade A missions for them."
Xu Xian comforted her, "It’s fine. Now that I’ve reached foundation establishment, I'll help you pay them back once I've settled in."
Lin Qianqian giggled and refused. "No need! I can take my time; it's not like I'm in a rush."
Xu Xian didn't say anything further. Whether she wanted the help was her business, but whether he provided it was his. As the saying goes, a drop of kindness should be repaid with a flowing spring; there was no need to discuss it.
"By the way, when do you plan to go to the Sword Mound to get a sword?"
"Tomorrow."
Lin Qianqian said, "That's good. Zhang Yang went there a while ago too. Maybe you'll run into him."
Xu Xian frowned and complained, "How did he only just reach foundation establishment?"
Lin Qianqian clicked her tongue. "Please, Brother Xian, do you think everyone is a freak like you? Reaching foundation establishment in one year... out of the ten of us who came together, eight still haven't reached foundation establishment!"
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