Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 151 - 145: Late Stage_2

Before going into seclusion, he made a trip outside and left a jade slip for the family, as well as a storage bag filled with a large number of Consolidating Yuan Pills.

The content of the jade slip was brief, mentioning only that he would continue his retreat and that this time he aimed for a breakthrough, so he wouldnʼt come out for a short period, and he had provided the family with a large number of Consolidating Yuan Pills in advance.

After everything was properly arranged, Li Zhirui activated the formation of the quiet chamber and placed a large number of Spirit Stones around himself as an additional layer of insurance.

He adjusted his state, calmed his mind, and cleared the many distractions from his thoughts before beginning to operate his cultivation technique and absorb Spiritual Energy through breathwork.

Li Zhiruiʼs breakthrough to the mid stage of Foundation Establishment was remarkably plain, as he had long reached perfection and, after just over a month of closed-door cultivation, effortlessly achieved his breakthrough.

His realm was exceedingly stable; he didnʼt even need to spend time consolidating his foundation and was able to leave seclusion directly.

However, he aimed to break through to the latter stage of Foundation Establishment in one go, so he didnʼt get up and continued to maintain his current state.

Half a year later, Li Zhirui felt that the time was ripe and swallowed the Barrier-Breaking Pill without any hesitation.

Bang!

Upon entering his mouth, the Spirit Pill quickly dissolved into a raging flood of Mana, which stormed into his Dantian and ʼcrashedʼ into his Sea of Magic.

”Ah!”

As his Sea of Magic expanded rapidly, an excruciating pain made Li Zhirui tremble violently, nearly falling off the meditation cushion.

He knew that the Barrier-Breaking Pill could help one breakthrough quickly, but he didnʼt realize that after taking it, one would suffer unbearably!

But now, Li Zhirui couldnʼt give up because doing so would not only waste the Barrier-Breaking Pill but also damage his Sea of Magic, requiring a vast amount of time to repair.

With gritted teeth, he forcefully operated his cultivation technique, struggling to absorb the Mana quickly.

Li Zhirui had never felt time pass so slowly as waves of unending pain almost drove him to consider giving up.

Fortunately, he had a firm resolve and persisted through it all.

After the ordeal, Li Zhirui tasted the sweetest fruit of his labor!

The immensely vast Sea of Magic within his Dantian, and the now barely perceptible pale golden sprout in the center of the Sea of Magic, both indicated that he had successfully broken through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment!

Yet this realm was achieved with the aid of external forces, and so the Mana within his Sea of Magic was exceedingly feeble, not resembling the liquid state Mana befitting a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but appeared as a dense mist.

Li Zhirui wasnʼt particularly concerned about this; if necessary, he could spend a few years refining his Mana.

If he were to cultivate slowly, to reach the current realm would take at least ten years, practically doubling the time! Anyone would make the same choice as Li Zhirui.

As Li Zhirui broke through, Da Qing and Xiaoqing, the Spirit Eagles with whom he had contracts, received another influx of Mana.

Xiaoqing, not understanding the implications, was actually quite pleased since with this second wave of feedback, he was merely a step away from the Foundation Establishment Stage, and could even directly attempt a second-order breakthrough.

However, Da Qing found it rather strange. It hadnʼt been long since he had last refined a surge of Mana; how could there suddenly be more?

But soon, he too was caught up in the excitement of his imminent breakthrough, leaving no room to ponder the matter.

Time flies, and before they knew it, five months had passed.

The long-sealed door to the quiet chamber was opened by Li Zhirui on an unremarkable morning.

Following this period of cultivation, the Mana within him was no longer ʼfeather-lightʼ fog but had become solidified without any risk of regressing in his realm.

”After several years of seclusion, Iʼve finally broken through to the latter stage of Foundation Establishment!” Li Zhirui stood tall and exhaled a long breath.

Hearing the sound, Da Qing and Xiaoqing turned to look at him, their calls filled with excitement.

”I know youʼve also made breakthroughs,” Li Zhirui said with a smile. If it werenʼt for their breakthroughs, providing him with two surges of Mana, allowing him to quickly stabilize his realm, perhaps he would still be in the quiet chamber now.

This is one of the benefits of cultivating the ”Myriad Spirits Scripture.”

A Cultivatorʼs own breakthrough provides feedback to the Spirit Beast, making it easier for them to breakthrough, which in turn benefits the Cultivator themselves.

”Letʼs go, I havenʼt returned to Da Rong Island in years; itʼs about time I gave Uncle a surprise,” exclaimed Li Zhirui.

Caw!

Since Xiaoqing had grown up, its call became particularly piercing, lacking any trace of immaturity.

”Alright, youʼll take me back,”

But by doing this, Iʼll have to trouble Da Qing to stay in the space.

Speaking of which, this is his first time flying with Xiaoqing; I just donʼt know how fast Xiaoqing can fly.

Li Zhirui sat on Xiaoqingʼs broad back as the massive body took into the sky, whipping up a gale so loud that nearby clansmen ran out to check what was happening.

”Itʼs nothing, Iʼm just returning to the clan after a retreat, and Xiaoqingʼs takeoff caused the commotion,” Li Zhirui explained.

Then the people relaxed their worried and anxious hearts and turned to admire the Spirit Eagle, gleaming blue under the sunlight, which was several times larger than the Jade Beak Eagles raised by the clan.

”As expected of a third-grade Spirit Beast, its size is several times bigger than the Jade Beak Eagles our clan is nurturing,” said a clansman enviously.

Another personʼs attention was entirely different, ”Do you think Zhirui has come out of seclusion because he has made a breakthrough to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment?”

Their realms were too low; if Li Zhirui didnʼt reveal it himself, they couldnʼt perceive his realm at all.

”It must be, right? Didnʼt he stay in retreat for more than a year? He must have broken through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment,” said the person. ”Moreover, havenʼt you noticed? That Cangfeng Hawk has also broken through to Foundation Establishment.”

”Truly worthy of being the familyʼs genius; itʼs only been a few years, and he has broken through again.”

The clansmenʼs reactions were relatively calm because they also practiced the ”Myriad Spirits Scripture” and knew that Xiaoqing would inevitably make a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

But when Xiaoqing arrived over the Spirit Fields cultivated by the Loose Cultivators outside their station, it caused a wave of exclamations.

Li Zhirui paid no attention to these Loose Cultivators, yet they plunged into intense discussions.

Their discussions centered around how a Spirit Beast like Xiaoqing had reached Foundation Establishment, while they still lingered in the Qi Cultivation Stage.

Only when Xiaoqing flew out from Nine Springs Island and over the sea did it truly demonstrate its incredible flight speed.

The sudden acceleration caught Li Zhirui off guard; the fierce gust hitting his face head-on as the sound of breaking the air echoed in his ears, until he finally erected a mana shield to fend off these ”attacks.”

Xiaoqingʼs speed post-Foundation Establishment had exceeded his Spirit Boat, and Li Zhirui later learned that this wasnʼt even Xiaoqingʼs maximum speed; if it were to burst forth with all its strength, it could be twice as fast!

However, the cost was that Xiaoqingʼs mana would deplete rapidly and because the speed was so fast, his current physical body could barely withstand it.

A distance of a few hundred miles, Xiaoqing covered in less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn and landed steadily on Da Rong Island.

Screech!

Xiaoqing called out softly, almost as if it was coquettishly addressing Li Zhirui.

After looking at Xiaoqing, he shook his head and chuckled, ”Go find those Jade Beak Eagles to play with.”

Before his words even dissipated, Xiaoqing had vanished, leaving Li Zhirui shaking his head in resignation, not expecting that after several years away, Xiaoqing still remembered its former companions.

But now, he doesnʼt need Da Qing to stand by for him anymore.

”Da Qing, do you want to stay in the space, or come out and see how much Da Rong Island has changed?” Li Zhirui asked.

Todayʼs Da Rong Island no longer had towering banyan trees everywhere, but was instead planted with various kinds of Spirit Fruit Trees and Spirit Trees.

Li Zhirui hadnʼt even approached the clanʼs territory when he sensed a faint trace of Spiritual Energy in the air, which was why those low-grade Spirit Plants could survive.

And now there were broad and flat cobblestone roads, with small paths extending in all directions, connecting the mundane villages across the island. Places that were once deserted now bustled with the figures of common folk.

Squawk!

Da Qing expressed its desire to walk slowly towards the clan territory with Li Zhirui, and naturally, he wouldnʼt refuse.

Li Zhirui and Da Qing encountered many mortals along the way; they looked at him with respect but without fear, and even a child ran up to him, wishing to ride on Da Qingʼs back.

ʼIs the clan doing this intentionally, to keep secular clansmen close to Cultivators?ʼ Li Zhirui wondered to himself.

The reason for this was likely to strengthen the identity and sense of belonging of the external commoners, especially the children and external Cultivators with Spiritual Roots, towards the Li family.

Children are the most easily influenced; even though they are unable to exert any strength now, in ten or twenty years, the benefits of the Li familyʼs current actions will become evident.

And for those external Cultivators, the idea was probably to deepen their connections and attachments to Da Rong Island, tying them to the Li familyʼs ship with bonds of kinship and friendship.