Foundation Establishment

A few Days Later...

*Knock, Knock*

Hearing the knock at the door, the boy muttered, "It's today, then."

He had been consolidating his cultivation base while waiting for Sister Qing to return. Now that she was here, it was time to face the wrath of the Heavens.

With that thought in mind, he stood up and opened the door.

______________

Looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, Ling Tian smiled and said.

"Sister Qing."

Hearing this she also smiled slightly although he could see the worry and anxiousness in her eyes.

It was obvious she was concerned about his upcoming Heavenly Tribulation.

Before he could say anything to reassure her, she simply said, "Let's go."

He could have sworn he saw a sly smile flash across her face, and it didn't take long for him to realize why.

The moment she finished speaking, she scooped him up into her arms and took off into the sky in an instant.

Well, he understood what her smile meant, now she would be able to take advantage of him in an upright manner.

And this situation was, admittedly, a bit embarrassing for him as a grown man to be carried like this, but there was nothing he could do.

He was still a child and only at the Qi Gathering stage.

In this world, cultivators can only fly after reaching the True Spirit Realm.

In this world, cultivators could only fly after reaching the True Spirit Realm.

Resigned, he could only sigh and let her carry him.

From being a powerhouse in his previous life to this—it was quite a humbling experience.

Han Qing'er didn't fly for long before bringing him to a location that perfectly embodied the word 'remote.'

The area was in ruins.

From the few dilapidated huts scattered around, it was clear that this used to be a secluded village.

When they were flying he could see mountains, rivers and green, isolated patches of thin, hard grass, and the plants that did have leaves had very tiny and thick ones due to the extreme temperature change between day and night.

But here he smelled blood and a brutal one at that; it seemed someone destroyed this place and killed every person living in this place and that too with extreme brutality— the resentment he could feel was too much.

Though the incident most likely happened a long time ago as the bloody smell was so weak that he wouldn't even be able to feel it if he weren't too used to it in his previous life.

Regardless, the place was suitably remote; he hadn't seen a single soul on the way here.

That was all that mattered to him.

As he glanced back at Han Qing'er, he noticed her staring at him, lost in thought.

"Sister Qing," he called softly, snapping her out of her daze.

Seeing his look, which clearly asked to be put down, she reluctantly complied and gently set him on the ground.

Before he could speak, she gestured toward the ruined area in front of them and said,

"This place was a mortal village which was destroyed by a strong hurricane many years ago, so no one lives here now."

"Sister brought you to the remote area you wanted, to face Heavenly Tribulation, "

Then, with worry evident in her eyes, she added, "Just be safe, okay?"

Listening to her explanation he just nodded, after all, if he were really just a five-year-old child and wasn't sensitive to blood, he might've believed it.

But even if the village had been wiped out by a hurricane, he should have at least seen people or small sects on the way here.

The distance between this place and the sect was too vast, and though he hadn't fully explored the world yet, he could guess it wasn't large enough for such a wide area to be entirely uninhabited.

And even if that were the case, his Heavenly Tribulation would surely attract people but from her tone, he could feel that she was certain that no one would disturb him..

That could only mean this area was remote for miles upon miles.

So, her explanation was clearly meant to stop him from thinking too much, and he decided not to dwell on it.

He had more important matters to focus on than the history of this desolate place which had nothing to do with him.

After nodding his head and reassuring her again, he sat down cross-legged and began cultivating with the Chaos Devouring Technique.

As the name suggests the foundation is something in which the way of something is based.

In cultivation, the Foundation Establishment Stage determines the future path and potential of a cultivator.

The stronger the foundation, the brighter the cultivation journey. That's why it's often advised not to rush into establishing the foundation right after reaching the Peak of the Qi Gathering stage; patience leads to a more solid foundation.

He had already been at the Peak Ninth Stage of Qi Gathering for a month already, accumulating a vast amount of spiritual qi in his body. Now, all that was left was to circulate that spiritual energy through his entire body.

This process washes and refines the body, making it more suitable for cultivation—this is what building a foundation, or the Foundation Establishment Stage, is all about.

Thanks to the Chaos Devouring Technique, his body was already far purer and more refined than others.

This meant his foundation would be much stronger, and consequently, his cultivation would be far more powerful than that of other cultivators in the same realm.

But there was more—according to the system, each time his cultivation stage advanced, more impurities would be purged from his body, refining it further and ensuring that his foundation remained flawless at every stage.

This would keep his advantage over others consistent throughout his cultivation journey.

This wasn't just due to his cultivation technique, but also because of his heaven-defying physique.

However, such perfection came with a price.

His Heavenly Tribulation would be far more severe than others.

Since ancient times there were truly many existences that were too perfect, too monstrous when they were born, thus they attracted deadly heavenly tribulations and perished under it.

In the world of cultivation heavenly tribulation wasn't some incredibly rare phenomenon.

Whenever someone rises to the level of the Heavenly Dao rules they would have to withstand heavenly tribulation.

Hell...cultivators face heavenly Tribulation in this world when they reach the Divine Void realm and another one when they reach the Supreme Saint Realm.

And those who perished under Heavenly Tribulation were in the minority.

The heavens never sealed off all paths of hope.

The Heavenly Dao is a completely contradictory concept and it couldn't go against the general laws of the Greater Dao.

So, even though it seeks to annihilate those who defy its rules, yet it still offers a slim chance of survival.

But his tribulation was different from the others—it wasn't meant to temper him or anything; it was meant to erase his existence completely.

So, it was going to be anything but easy.

Pushing aside those thoughts, he continued to cultivate, circulating the spiritual qi within his body.

After some time, he successfully collected and condensed this spiritual qi into liquid such that forming a core would be easier in the future

And then—

He stepped into the Foundation Establishment Stage.

[Ding!]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully establishing a foundation. The system is now upgrading.]

[Host, prepare yourself. The Heavenly Tribulation is approaching!]

He quickly muted the system's notifications, fully focused on suppressing the excess qi within his body as he worked to stabilize his realm.

But, he didn't know that when he was cultivating, major changes were taking place in another world.

When a certain person, awakened a system.