Foundation Establishment

Gu Lianxue had a growing sense that her fellow disciples had been looking at her strangely lately.

Could they be envious of her talent and her status as a progeny disciple?

She held her head high and walked up to an inner disciple. "It doesn't matter if you don't have a single spirit root. Just cultivate hard, and one day you'll catch up to my footsteps."

The disciple gave her a look that was hard to describe before turning and walking away.

The expression was too complex for Gu Lianxue to understand.

A few more days passed, and the whispers around her grew more frequent. They seemed to be discussing Mr. Xueyue's new storybook.

Gu Lianxue heard her own name mentioned several times by her fellow disciples.

Had someone written a storybook with her as the protagonist?

Gu Lianxue's heart raced for some reason. She immediately went out and bought a copy of the book where the protagonist was named 'Gu Lianxue'.

《Seducing Master: Stolen Love is Especially Sweet》

The title felt a bit strange, even though her master did indeed dote on her.

The excitement of having a book written about her suppressed her doubts, and Gu Lianxue began to read.

The first paragraph of the first chapter made her pupils shrink instantly, and her cheerful heart was doused in cold water.

She forced herself to read a few more paragraphs, her face growing paler with every word.

The words 'spirit root swap' were reflected in her eyes as if they were stained with blood.

She had inquired long ago; spirit roots were innate. In the tens of thousands of years of the cultivation world's history, no one had ever been able to change their spirit root, let alone dig out someone else's to replace their own.

Therefore, even though she had been unable to cultivate for years, she had never worried that anyone would suspect anything about her spirit root.

Since she had become aware of things at the age of three, her mother had told her about the spirit root swap.

The benefits it would bring her had also been explained with perfect clarity.

Gu Lianxue had prepared herself early on; she had even looked forward to it for a long time.

When she had done it in private, watching someone else's spirit root slowly replace her own, she had felt nothing but excitement.

But now, the matter had been exposed in such a ridiculous manner.

She finally felt fear.

She hurriedly left the sect and headed toward the Gu Manor in Yanlin Town.

Because it highly overlapped with certain events, the storybook fermented rapidly within the Star-Moon Sect, eventually reaching the ears of the sect's high-level members.

True Venerable Qingxu, the Peak Master of Taiyi Peak, was instantly enraged. "Scandalous! Slanderous rumors! How dare this Xueyue!!"

Zhan Fei Bai had read the storybook, and her mind immediately went to the little friend at the Penglai meditation courtyard who had helped her reach perfection in her sword intent prototype.

That friend had said there was someone who had been planning to dig out her spirit root all along.

The friend's surname was Gu, and Gu Lianxue's surname was also Gu.

So that was it. That was it.

Zhan Fei Bai wanted to laugh, yet she also felt like crying.

Four years. She had been locked away on the spiritless Cliff of Reflection for four years because of Gu Lianxue's spirit root.

Even now, that massive blame was still pinned on her.

It ensured she would never be cleared of the stain.

Qingxu stood up to leave.

Seeing that every word he spoke was about Xueyue and the Five Continents Bookhouse, and seeing his furious expression, Zhan Fei Bai hurriedly stopped him. Her words were quick but organized.

"Master, there are so many storybooks in the world, and who knows how many people share the same name.

"Mr. Xueyue's storybook is entirely fictional. The fact that the female lead's name is a homophone for my little junior sister's is just a coincidence.

"Normally, people only read these stories for entertainment; they would never link it to you.

"If you go there like this, it will only spark people's imaginations. It would be like giving the game away.

"The Five Continents Bookhouse is backed by the Five Continents Chamber of Commerce. Even our Star-Moon Sect shouldn't get into a major conflict with them.

"We have no evidence. If we truly make a scene, it won't be resolved quickly, and it might even draw more attention from the outside world.

"At that point, it won't be something a fictional storybook can explain away."

Hearing this, Qingxu's rationality slowly returned.

However, thinking about the impact this would have on Gu Lianxue, he still couldn't sit still.

Zhan Fei Bai pressed on, "The innocent have nothing to fear. Not only must we not move, but Little Junior Sister must not move either.

"At a time like this, we should respond to changes by remaining unchanged.

"Think about it, Master. If the person whose name is a homophone shows no reaction at all, won't the outside world naturally stop associating it with her and us?"

The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Qingxu gradually calmed down and agreed with Zhan Fei Bai's reasoning.

He sent a transmission talisman to Gu Lianxue, instructing her according to Zhan Fei Bai's plan.

The transmission talisman circled once before flying out of the sect toward Yanlin Town.

She had gone back to the Gu family.

Thinking that having her family by her side would make his disciple feel better, Qingxu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, that relief did not last long.

Gu Lianxue had offended too many people in the Star-Moon Sect. After the storybook situation reached this level, letters reporting Gu Lianxue flew toward the Enforcement Hall like snowflakes.

The situation escalated, heading in a direction that Qingxu and Gu Lianxue could no longer control...

...

Gu Ningyun had spent half of her time recently "paralyzed in bed" after eating Blue Lake Scallops and the other half sparring at Fighting Peak. She had no energy to pay attention to outside matters.

Three months passed like this. Her control over the spirit energy of her current rank became more and more proficient and natural.

In the end, she could exert exactly the attack power she wanted with just a thought.

Whether it was a restrained strike or the strongest blow she could currently deliver.

She had completely mastered the power of the peak of Qi Refining level twelve.

A mysterious feeling welled up in her heart. Gu Ningyun returned to her Cloud Residence and sent a message to her master.

Yi Chu had been keeping an eye on her state all along. Upon receiving the transmission, he immediately came to Pine Wind and Water Moon.

Seeing her composed manner and the harmonious flow of spirit energy throughout her body, he knew she had reached perfection at the peak of Qi Refining level twelve.

Yi Chu sat on a stone bench and began to explain the details and focus of Foundation Establishment.

Seeing that she understood, he asked for the ten-thousand-year peach wood sword.

Gu Ningyun immediately understood his intent. "Does Master need the artifact-refining room?"

Yi Chu nodded. "Go ahead. I will stay here at Pine Wind and Water Moon to protect you."

He couldn't break through the heaven-rank array on the outer layer of the Cloud Residence, so he naturally couldn't stand guard outside.

Currently, only Gu Ningyun had the authority to control the arrays inside Pine Wind and Water Moon.

However, since he had personally inscribed the internal arrays, he could break in and intervene in time if any accident occurred.

Gu Ningyun used her identity jade token to grant her master access to the artifact room, then turned to go to the second floor and entered the cultivation chamber.

Sitting cross-legged on the meditation mat, she emptied her mind. After entering a state of complete tranquility, Gu Ningyun began to circulate her two cultivation techniques.

In her previous meditations, the spirit energy's path of circulation had always been a Minor Orbit—from the dantian to the Ren Meridian, to the Du Meridian, and then back to the dantian.

As for the twelve primary meridians, she had needed to draw spirit energy separately to temper them one by one.

Now, as she sat cross-legged, the circulation path of her cultivation technique remained the usual Minor Orbit.

Only after running seventy-seven cycles of the Minor Orbit did she draw spirit energy and star power from her dantian into the first of the twelve primary meridians—the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin.

The spirit energy and star power flowed through the eleven acupuncture points of the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin, exiting from the final point, Shaoshang, and entering the first point of the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming, Shangyang.

After completing a cycle through the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin, it flowed into the final meridian, the Liver Meridian of Foot-Jueyin.

Then it flowed from the Liver Meridian of Foot-Jueyin back into the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin for the second cycle.

This was the cycle of the twelve primary meridians.

From the moment she completed her first twelve-meridian cycle, the wind spirit energy and star power from the outside world entered the twelve primary meridians through three hundred and nine acupuncture points at a speed twelve times faster than before.

After the wind spirit energy and star power circulated through the twelve primary meridians, they were converted into wind spirit energy and star power, entered the Ren Meridian, and finally entered the dantian through the Du Meridian.

From the dantian to the twelve primary meridians, then to the Ren and Du Meridians, and finally back to the dantian.

This was the Major Orbit.

Gu Ningyun's dantian was already packed with wind spirit energy and star power.

The energy from the Major Orbit, flowing in at twelve times the usual speed, poured into the dantian. The green and white energy clouds rotated rapidly, frantically pressing against the inner walls of the dantian.

With a muffled thud, the dantian was pushed outward, expanding from a small pond to a lake a hundred times larger.

The speed of the Major Orbit suddenly accelerated, and the rate of absorbing spirit energy and star power increased tenfold.

Ten times on top of the twelve times meant that, compared to before, the speed had increased by a hundred and twenty times!

The two types of energy poured into the dantian at a terrifying speed, rapidly filling the dry lake.

After an unknown amount of time, the lake-sized dantian was once again filled with green and white gaseous energy.

Energy from the Major Orbit was still surging in, and the rotation speed of the green and white energy clouds was also a hundred and twenty times faster than before.

Because the dantian could no longer expand, the energy clouds were heavily compressed, spinning faster and faster until Gu Ningyun's divine sense could no longer see them clearly.

A drop of green and a drop of white—two drops of liquid—were suddenly squeezed out from the center of the energy clouds.

The two passed through the gaseous energy and fell into the lake simultaneously, making a crisp dripping sound.

With the successful conversion of the first drops of liquid energy, the gaseous energy clouds seemed to have found a breakthrough point. Countless drops of liquid energy were squeezed out from the center.

This continued until the original cloud of gaseous energy in the dantian had completely turned into liquid, forming a shallow layer at the bottom of the lake.

The green and white colors met to form a complete circle, rotating slowly at the bottom of the dantian.

As soon as spirit energy and star power entered, they were absorbed into the bottom of the lake and converted into liquid.

There were no longer any gaseous energy clouds in the dantian, only liquid energy.

The liquid at the bottom of the lake grew bit by bit until it covered the entire base of the dantian.

In the silence, she felt her dantian settle and her sea of consciousness clear.

The energy in her dantian took root, her sea of consciousness became stable instead of fragile, and her primordial spirit became a hundred times stronger than before.

The early Foundation Establishment stage was completely stabilized.

From now on, she would not need to circulate the Minor Orbit separately during meditation.

Instead, the twelve primary meridians and the Ren and Du Meridians would work together in a Major Orbit.

When the liquid in her dantian reached the one-third mark, she would break through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage.

At the very moment her cultivation stabilized at the early Foundation Establishment stage, her space vibrated slightly.

Knowing that her master was still protecting her outside, Gu Ningyun suppressed her curiosity for the time being.

She closed her eyes and circulated eighty-one more Major Orbits until the process felt as natural as breathing, then she slowly withdrew her power.

Without her active manipulation, the 《Record of Primordial Stars》 carried the 《Xiaoyao Wind Records》 in a spontaneous circulation, at a speed also a hundred and twenty times faster than the spontaneous circulation during the Qi Refining stage.

From the moment Gu Ningyun began her first Major Orbit, the cultivators on Spirit-Attuning Peak had sensed the abnormality in the world's spirit energy.

They looked up one after another toward Pine Wind and Water Moon.

"Is our little martial aunt establishing her foundation?"

"Little Martial Aunt is only a little over eleven years old. With her thick and pure top-grade single spirit root, Foundation Establishment usually takes three to five months.

"By the time she comes out, she'll only be twelve. She'll be the youngest disciple to reach Foundation Establishment in the history of Xiaoyao."

"I remember the youngest before the last one was our great-previous peak master, who reached Foundation Establishment at fifteen.

"The one before last was our previous peak master, who reached it near fifteen;

"The last one was our current peak master, who reached it at fourteen and a half;

"Not to mention that our Spirit-Attuning Peak has been breaking records for generations, Little Martial Aunt is even more heaven-defying this time. She's actually more than two years early, reaching Foundation Establishment at twelve."

"Don't forget it's different this time. Little Martial Aunt not only has the fastest-cultivating top-grade wind spirit root, but she's also had a Dao Insight."

"True. Little Martial Aunt's single Dao Insight helped countless cultivators improve their cultivation."

"The strength of the entire cultivation world has taken a step forward because of it. It won't be easy for those who come after her to break this record."

When she emerged from the cultivation chamber, she saw Yi Chu sitting on the stone bench in front of the pavilion.

"This disciple thanks Master for protecting me."

Before she could bow, Yi Chu grasped her wrist and checked her condition. "Foundation is stable, Dao techniques are harmonious. A perfect Foundation Establishment."

He handed over a mysterious-rank top-grade peach wood sword. "I have refined it again using the original ten-thousand-year peach wood sword as a base. See if it's easy to use. If not, I will adjust it for you."

Having an artifact refiner as a master was simply too wonderful.

Gu Ningyun took the sword, refined it briefly, and tested it on the Sword-Training Platform.

She channeled wind spirit energy into the long sword, and a green sword qi burst from the tip, striking the protective barrier of the platform and causing a faint ripple.

"The spirit energy flows smoothly. It's very comfortable to use."

"In that case, I will teach you the sword-kinesis technique tomorrow."

After Yi Chu left, Gu Ningyun went to her study and first checked her space.

The vibration from earlier had not been an illusion. The white mist near the spirit spring had receded significantly, and the space had expanded to twice its previous size. The spirit energy concentration was now on par with Qixia Peak.

A new patch of open land had appeared in the space. Gu Ningyun immediately moved the Yimu spirit marrow and spirit herbs over, planning to develop this area into a spirit herb garden to produce more Yimu spirit liquid.

After looking around and seeing no other changes, and noting that the surrounding white mist was as thick as ever, Gu Ningyun didn't mind.

She was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, after all. She had a faint feeling that the secrets of the space would slowly unlock as her cultivation level increased.

She took out her identity jade token and glanced at it. Wen Xuan had added the five of them to a small group chat.

Having been in seclusion for three months, many messages had accumulated in the group.

Gu Ningyun immediately spotted a World Forum message that Jiang Yao had posted in the group two months ago—

"Shocking! Mr. Xueyue's new storybook unexpectedly reveals the true face of a Star-Moon Sect progeny disciple!

"Mr. Xueyue's new storybook, 《Seducing Master: Stolen Love is Especially Sweet》, has been selling like wildfire in the cultivation world lately. I'm sure many book fans have already read it.

"I wonder if you all remember the interview report published by Wind-Seeker earlier, titled 《Bad Luck at Taiyi Peak: Gu Lianxue Disturbs My Peaceful Dreams》.

"After reading the new storybook, Wind-Seeker unexpectedly discovered that the protagonist of the story, Gu Lianxue, has a name similar to the subject of the interview, Gu Lianxue.

"The matter of the spirit root swap mentioned in the storybook perfectly matches Gu Lianxue's situation.

"Upon discovering this, Wind-Seeker, with the intention of revealing the truth to everyone, interviewed disciples from various peaks of the Star-Moon Sect."