Back in the provincial capital, Chen Jie went straight to Villa Number One at Qianlong Mountain Villa.
Before they parted, Lin Shuang invited Chen Jie to her home as a guest.
Chen Jie pondered for a moment and decided to visit when he had the time.
Regarding the annulment of their engagement, both of them tacitly avoided bringing it up again.
Upon returning to Villa Number One, Chen Jie immediately entered a state of cultivation.
This time, Chen Jie felt that his strength had reached the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Given Zhou Yu as a potential threat, Chen Jie had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
Otherwise, once Zhou Yu regained his mobility, he would be the first to seek trouble with him.
Chen Jie's primary objective was to reach a point where Zhou Yu could do nothing to him before Zhou Yu came looking for him.
"I never expected there to be living cultivators on Earth. And a Qingcheng Sect that has never appeared in the secular world."
"It seems I still don't know enough about this world!" Chen Jie mused inwardly.
The hallmark of progress from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage was transforming the spiritual energy within the Qi Sea into a liquid form.
By purifying the spiritual energy and using the liquid spiritual energy as a medium, the spiritual energy could be elevated to a new realm.
At that point, Chen Jie would be able to effortlessly perform sword flight, no longer needing to worry about the consumption of spiritual power.
Chen Jie sat cross-legged on the ground, cultivating incessantly. The dense spiritual energy around him condensed into spiritual dew, adhering to Chen Jie's body like white frost.
Suddenly, with a boom.
The Qi Sea within Chen Jie churned.
It began to boil.
At this moment, Chen Jie reached out and brushed his storage ring, and a pill appeared in his hand.
The Foundation Establishment Pill.
Its use significantly increased the probability of successfully establishing a foundation.
This was originally Zhou Yu's possession. Chen Jie had obtained this Foundation Establishment Pill the last time he entered Mount Wutai.
He had waited until now, and it was finally time to use it.
As Chen Jie swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill, a vortex of suction formed around him.
For a moment, the spiritual energy attracted by the spirit gathering formation within the villa was not enough for Chen Jie.
"Not good!"
Chen Jie's expression changed slightly.
He quickly took out a large amount of spirit stones.
Absorbing them madly.
"Does reaching the Foundation Establishment stage require such a large amount of spiritual power?" Chen Jie thought with a slight change in his expression.
He watched as the spirit stones in front of him continuously shrank and diminished.
The pile of spirit stones, like a small mountain, was rapidly depleted, yet Chen Jie felt that even with so many spirit stones, it couldn't truly resolve the spiritual energy needed for Foundation Establishment.
Before long, the mountain of spirit stones was consumed, but Chen Jie still felt insufficient spiritual power.
"How could this be?" Chen Jie's expression shifted slightly as he thought.
From what he understood, the spiritual energy he had consumed was enough for ten people to establish their foundations.
Yet, he had still not succeeded.
"What should I do?"
Chen Jie broke out in a cold sweat. Once the Foundation Establishment failed, the next attempt would be very difficult.
Each failed attempt made the next one even more challenging.
If he failed five consecutive times, he would essentially be destined to never achieve Foundation Establishment.
"Spirit stones, not enough!"
"Not enough!"
Chen Jie took out all his spirit stones and absorbed them frantically, but it was still insufficient.
Now, Chen Jie faced a new problem. If he failed this time, even if he could attempt Foundation Establishment again in the future, it would be difficult to gather so many spirit stones at once! httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Chen Jie couldn't help but give a wry smile. "Others struggle with their realms unable to advance, while I struggle with insufficient spiritual power."
Just as Chen Jie was about to give up and plan to gather more spirit stones for another attempt at Foundation Establishment, he suddenly noticed that the tree inside the glass bottle in his storage ring was emitting a large amount of spiritual energy.
Chen Jie's heart stirred. He directly took it out, and at the same time, tipped the colorful tree out of the glass bottle.
Instantly, a torrent of spiritual energy surged out.
Chen Jie was overjoyed and quickly began to absorb it.
Whoosh!
Before the spiritual energy could be absorbed, the small tree vanished.
What was going on?
Chen Jie felt that although the small tree had disappeared, the spiritual energy was still incomparably abundant.
Soon, he discovered that the small tree had not disappeared but had entered his body.
He raised his hand and looked. On his palm, a tattoo of a small tree had appeared.
It was continuously emitting spiritual energy for him to absorb.
"How could this be?"
Chen Jie's heart surged with emotion.
He realized that he had stumbled upon a treasure.
This thing seemed capable of constantly generating spiritual energy for him to absorb.
The spiritual energy required for the Foundation Establishment stage was now secured.
The anxiety of spiritual power deficiency instantly disappeared.
Within his Qi Sea, droplets of spiritual power fell.
The spiritual energy continuously condensed.
...
Mount Wutai.
A middle-aged man and a young man walked along a mountain path with their hands behind their backs.
This place was extremely secluded, far from any inhabited areas.
The two moved as if walking on flat ground, their strides vigorous.
It was evident they were no ordinary mortals.
"Dad, is our Ancestor really on Mount Wutai?"
The young man said to the middle-aged man.
These two people, the middle-aged man named Yu Zhongfu and the young man named Yu Feng, were the ones Chen Jie had heard Zhou Yu mention as members of the Qingcheng Sect.
"For years, we have scoured famous mountains and great rivers, encountering many petty individuals, but we have never found our Ancestor. The experts within our Qingcheng Sect have calculated that this time, when we come to Mount Wutai, we will have a genuine breakthrough! I believe we will get news of our Ancestor here!"
Yu Feng said, "After so many years, we still have no news of our Ancestor. Perhaps our Ancestor is long dead."
Yu Zhongfu said, "Whether he is dead or not is not important, his legacy is the most crucial thing!"
"Son, you must remember, for people as powerful as us, the most important thing is resources! Everything else is in vain!"
"Currently, the spiritual energy on Earth is so sparse that it cannot support anyone to advance to the Golden Core stage!"
"If our Qingcheng Sect can produce a Golden Core stage expert, then on Earth, we will reign supreme!"
"I hope that the one who becomes a Golden Core stage expert will be you!"
"Are there really Golden Core stage experts?" Yu Feng murmured.
"Of course. Our Ancestor, Zhou Yu, was such a supreme expert! It is said that before his ascension, his strength had already broken through to the late Golden Core stage, capable of controlling the heavens and earth at will! He was just one step away from breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage!"
"Ah? Then where has our Ancestor gone? If he was so powerful, why didn't he stay in the Qingcheng Sect to help us become stronger?" Yu Feng asked, confused.
"Heh, even the Golden Core stage has a limited lifespan. Our Ancestor, having reached the Golden Core stage, was naturally unwilling to stop there!"
"So, after finding the opportunity for breakthrough, he took enough spirit stones to advance to the Nascent Soul stage and found a treasure land to seek his breakthrough."
"So many years have passed. Either he failed, or he became a terrifying Nascent Soul stage cultivator, transcending the mortal world!"
"I suspect the former is more likely!"
Yu Feng mused, "So, as long as we find him, we will find his treasure, right?"
"Exactly. This time, it was a capable person who calculated that we would have some gains, which is why I replaced Yin Decai and brought you along! Because I was worried that this opportunity might fall into someone else's hands!"
"Let's go!"