The Universe

Krune decided that it would be better to let Lakin know about the process for breaking through into the Foundation Establishment Realm as soon as possible. He would be entering seclusion soon after he figured out what foundation he will build. After entering the next realm, he would leave. Lakin wouldn't be going with him since the outside world was too dangerous for wisps. Not to mention, with the Lizard Dragons around, it would be easier for him to cultivate in peace here.

The Lizard Dragons had long since accepted Krune and Lakin as one of their own. For them, those wisps were already family. They most likely wouldn't even try to hunt wisps in the future anymore.

Although Lakin was sad, since he was a wisp, he had high intelligence. He understood that unless he broke through the Foundation Establishment Realm, his master would have to protect him at all times. And the further his level in the Qi Condensation Realm, the harder it would be for his master to protect him.

Of course, he only came to accept this reality after complaining for an entire day. Krune was helpless about this little guy's tantrum. But he kept reminding himself that Lakin was still in his childhood, no more than a few months old, so he let it pass.

In fact, Lakin could be said to be leagues ahead of other wisps in terms of maturity and intelligence at his age. After all, he didn't have to learn everything by himself. For a wisp, to have a teacher was of paramount importance. With this condition applied, any wisp was bound to mature several times faster.

----

A week passed, but Krune hadn't entered seclusion yet. It turns out that thinking about what to build was harder than he thought.

'It's really difficult. If I go for the standard foundation, I will have a high chance of succeeding in my breakthrough. But that also means that my foundation will be very ordinary and will have no advantage compared to others.'

A few days earlier, Krune had asked Ruik if there was any difference in power after deciding on what kind of foundation they would build.

"There is. The more complicated the foundation, the more acknowledgment it would receive from the heavens upon breaking through. It will provide you more spiritual energy, a better foundation, and consequently a better place for nurturing your future Core for the Core Formation Realm."

After hearing that, Krune discarded any ideas of using an ordinary foundation. He wanted to create something that could match the geniuses of the world. With an outstanding foundation and his Myriad Energies Technique's Energy Meridians, he would have a massive advantage over his opponents. It also would pave his way to the top. He had promised Feifei to find her in the Wang Clan, after all. Without real strength, there would be no way that the Wang Clan would spare even a single glance at him.

After another month, Krune was still in deep thought. He was beside the spiritual vein lake when he heard Lakin and the lizards enter the cave room. Lakin had come back with the Lizard Dragons from hunting. He was already at the 4th Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Compared to Krune, he definitely was slow. Though, compared to any other wisp, he could be considered a genius among geniuses.

Lakin still couldn't deal with the beasts of the inner parts of Katiu Forest on his own. Though, by partnering with the Lizard Dragons, they had become matchless around the mountain range. Lizard Dragons could fight against those of a higher level because of their dragon bloodline. Coupling that with Lakin's intelligence, they were having an easy time outside.

Lakin looked at Krune and asked.

"Master, is there really a need to build such a difficult foundation? If you fail, you will die. I really think you should go for safety first. Considering the time that you already spent thinking about it, I'm afraid that whatever ideas that come to your mind would lead you to your death during the breakthrough."

Krune looked at Lakin with slight shock. He knew that Lakin was only saying that out of concern. The Lizard Dragons beside him also looked worried. Although they weren't at the 9th Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, they already had a decent level of intelligence. They could feel that Lakin was very worried about Krune, and they felt like something bad was happening to him.

Not long after, Krune laughed out loud as he replied.

"Look at you guys. I'm not dead yet, okay?"

Krune's mind went back to when he first found them, and those Lizard Dragons had eaten his demon cores. He felt like someone had eaten him instead, but right now, he couldn't help but think how funny his reactions at that time were.

As for Lakin, it was because of him that Krune found out how exactly he was born in this world. That scene was really a sight to behold. It felt like a universe was being created.

And it was at that moment that Krune's mind was struck by lightning!

'That's it! How could I have forgotten? The Universe, the planet, and the planet's core! Wait, let me think about this more carefully.'

Lakin and the Lizard Dragons looked at him with confusion, though it seemed like his master thought about something. So, he asked the Lizard Dragons not to disturb him and went to the side to cultivate.

Krune's mind was working frantically as if it was on drugs.

'It should work. I can use the Universe itself to hold the spiritual energy, the planet as the foundation, and the core of the planet to nurture my future core. But I need to make sure that I've thought everything out first.'

Surprisingly, the Universe part was the easiest one. There was no need to think about the laws because if there was a need to, even the island in a lake foundation would have its own laws. Then again, Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators were not at the level where they could touch the laws of nature.

So, in the end, the outside Universe is basically void. Of course, Krune couldn't think about making an infinite universe. It wouldn't be able to hold spiritual energy. Also, it was something that should be modeled in his core to start with. So, after pondering about his inner core, he came up with the approximate range that his 'universe' would have.

Also, his Universe would have no other stars, only his planet. The purpose of his little Universe was to nurture his world, after all. There was no need to nurture anything else at that moment.

After that, he thought about what format his spiritual energy that would occupy that Universe would take. That's where Lakin came into play. That day when the rainbow-like spiritual energy was dancing and spinning, the feeling that the spiritual energy gave him was as if there was nothing more proper in this world. He couldn't tell exactly why it was 'right.' Nevertheless, he knew that it was what he wanted.

Finishing the second part, Krune started to ponder over his own planet. In the end, that was the most complicated part. If he wanted to create a planet, it had to be one that worked like one. But not long after, a problem had appeared.

'There's no sun.'

But it didn't take long for him to come up with a solution.

'The purpose of the spiritual energy of the Universe is to nurture the planet. At first, I'm using the void to store spiritual energy. So why not use the spiritual energy itself to warm up and illuminate the planet? Not only will it make up for the lack of a sun, but it should also be even more effective.'

With this problem resolved, Krune started the creation of the planet's atmosphere and the surface itself. Forests, seas, continents, life forms, it had to have everything. That was the part that took the longest. To make sure that everything had been thought out, he spent an entire month thinking about every single detail. The purpose of the foundation was to be acknowledged by the heavens. It didn't have to be perfect. One just needed to be sure that they really understood how it worked. If perfection was a must, no race in the entire Universe would ever break through into the Foundation Establishment Realm. First of all, even the heavens themselves were full of flaws to start with.

After that, he went into the climate, seasons, the poles, and so on. By now, Krune had already spent two entire months pondering about his foundation. He went to Ruik to discuss it every now and then. The first time Ruik heard about his ideas, he thought that this wisp was courting death. Though, as time passed, Krune's ideas seemed to make more and more sense. After two months, Ruik was even waiting for Krune to come to him to ask more questions and share more of his ideas about the universe foundation. It really looked like it could work.

'This wisp is frightening. Krune is already this strong even before reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm. I wonder what will happen if his universe foundation is acknowledged by the heavens.'

Eventually, after thinking and revising the same steps hundreds of times, half a year had passed.

Krune now started to ponder over the most crucial part of his train of thought, the core of the planet! Although it wasn't the most complicated, it was definitely the most important for him as a wisp.

But to Ruik's surprise, Krune was quite relaxed about this point.

"This should be the most dangerous part of your foundation. Where does your confidence come from? Don't be hasty. You already spent half a year. Take it easy to make sure that no mishaps will happen."

Krune looked at Ruik with slight surprise. It seemed like Ruik was concerned that he might die. He couldn't help but think that by now, he already considered this Two-Headed Demon Snake as a friend. They were first bounded by a contract, but he felt like Ruik wouldn't try anything even if the contract wasn't there.

Ruik also noticed that and felt weird. The demon snake didn't know how to deal with this feeling, so it shooed Krune away to hide its embarrassment. Krune then left while laughing out loud. His mood and confidence had improved even more now.

Six months of coexistence can change one's heart.

But then, Krune remembered what Ruik asked and quickly came back to explain. Even though the snake was trying to hide its face, Ruik still paid attention.

"Well, it's because I'm a wisp. As I told you before, my core and my soul are attached together. For example, if you failed your breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm, your core would break, and you would be able to cultivate again. But if I fail, I will die. It does indeed seem like I'm much worse off than you."

"But it's exactly because of that that we wisps understand our cores hundreds of times better than you guys do. It's not a misconception to say that wisps live inside their cores, and the planet in my universe foundation just so happens to need a core as well. I intend to build the core of my planet the same way I understand my own core."

"First, it will ensure compatibility and stability. It will be easy to manipulate."

"Second, not only is it the place where I will nurture my future core for the Core Formation Realm. It is also the place where my soul will reside after the breakthrough. So, the more familiar I am with the place, the better it will be."

This time, Ruik couldn't help but show its face again. It's just that this time he didn't look embarrassed...but astonished.

"You wisps really have a hard time, don't you?"

It couldn't be helped. That's the fate of a race that didn't have a mortal body. But Krune simply laughed it out.

"Don't worry, I'm confident I'll succeed. If I don't believe in myself, why should anyone else do so?"

After hearing that, Ruik suddenly thought about one thing and decided to warn him.

"Now that I think about it, you said that your soul is one with your core. The process of breaking the interior of your core is bound to be a very dangerous process. At the very least, it's probably going to be extremely painful. You better keep that in mind."

Krune agreed with the snake and said.

"I know, and I have long since understood this fact. You could say that I've been preparing myself from the moment you told me about breaking the interior of the core to create the foundation."

Ruik simply nodded his head and didn't say anything more. This was, after all, a hurdle that Krune would have to surpass on his own. No one would be able to help him with that.

As expected, it didn't take long for Krune to finish the last part of his preparations. With the core of the planet having the same shape as his inner core, everything else was easy to mull over and formulate.

----

A month later, Ruik, Lakin, and the Lizard Dragons were in front of the cave room with the spiritual vein lake. Krune was looking at them tenderly. Those were his friends and, in a certain way, his family.

During the last month, Krune went out to gather spirit stones for his breakthrough. Demon cores would not do because they lost spiritual energy with time. So, he assaulted quite a few 8th and 9th Stage Qi Condensation beast lairs that had spiritual veins. He didn't kill any of the beasts, only giving them a beating at most before taking away their spirit stones.

Krune also avoided attacking any Foundation Establishment Realm beast lairs. It was to prevent those beasts from coming back for revenge while he was in the process of breaking through. To his surprise, Ruik had also gone out to help him gather spirit stones for him. But Ruik tried to hide his real feelings, though.

"My contract says that I need to protect you, so going out and gathering spirit stones will reduce the number of spiritual veins that you need to attack, that's all."

Krune simply laughed in response and didn't point that out.

In the past seven months, Lakin had finally created his nine pseudo-energy meridians. With Krune's help and pointers, he now had his first Spiritual Energy Meridian. Krune still couldn't understand why Lakin, as a wisp, took so long to reach this step. Lakin was very dedicated in his cultivation that he was already at the 7th Stage of Qi Condensation even though he only had one Spiritual Energy Meridian. In the end, he could only tell him to keep up the hard work. Even if he was much slower than Krune, he was still a far cry from any other wisps in this world.

As for the Lizard Dragons, the oldest one had already reached the 8th Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Once it broke through the 9th Stage, it would finally finish forming its conscience and start to think at the same level as them. The other ones were all at the 7th Stage, with the youngest having just entered it. This group already had the power to protect the spiritual vein lake on its own.

"Alright, everyone. The time has come. I will ask for you to stay outside and don't enter the spiritual vein lake room. I will need to focus, and the process can't be interrupted. Also, I have no idea how long it will take to finish the process, so there's no need to keep waiting for me outside. Just relax and do your own things."

Lakin shouted out loud.

"Master, you will definitely succeed!"

The Lizard Dragons only roared at him.

Krune looked at Ruik and transmitted his thoughts to him using Divine Sense.

"Ruik, if I fail in my breakthroug-"

Before he could even finish saying what he wanted, Ruik cut him off.

"Shut up! I'm feeling sleepy. Tell me what you want later."

Ruik then turned around and left.

Krune was taken aback. He then just laughed once more.

'Seems like I have to succeed no matter what.'

Krune then used his Earth element to close up the entrance to the spiritual vein lake before starting the process of breaking through.