My bathroom leads to the celestial realm.

106 Foundation Building

The airship was extremely fast, and it soon reached the center of the lake.

The two small islands were on the left and right. Although there was no evidence, Xu Yan instinctively felt that the one that had been reduced to scorched earth was Egret Island; the one that had been ravaged by the Blood Demon Sect but had not been destroyed was probably Thousand Islands.

As the flying boat landed on the island, Xu Yan's first impression was that the spiritual energy here was much richer than that outside the island.

He originally intended to try his luck on the island and find something worthwhile, but after circling the island several times, he didn't find anything to pick up.

Are the Blood Demon Cult professionals at extorting money from the ground up?

We've come all this way, are we just going to keep demolishing houses and selling timber?

It's one thing if there's nothing to pick up, but why is the spiritual energy on the island so rich?

Could it be that a formation has been set up?

Seeing that Xu Yanlai had circled back and forth several times without stopping, Han Suniang couldn't help but ask, "Is our benefactor looking for the cave dwelling left behind by Master Qianlu?"

Xu Yan turned around abruptly: "Cave dwelling? What cave dwelling?"

Han Suniang was startled by Xu Yan's reaction and timidly replied, "It is the cave of True Immortal Qianlu."

"And who is Master Qianlu?"

Han Suniang realized she had misunderstood and quickly tried to explain, but her explanation was disjointed, contradictory, and illogical.

Xu Yan, through a combination of guesswork and deduction, roughly pieced together a story that was both plausible and difficult to discern as true or false: Hundreds of years ago, this place was a wild and untamed land, with neither Qianlu Island nor Xianfang.

One day, five low-level cultivators who were making a living passed by this place and accidentally discovered a cave left by a senior cultivator, namely Master Qianlu, on the island. They obtained the secret manuals and magic treasures left by the master for those with the right fate.

So the five of them took Qianlu Zhenren as their patriarch and established a sect on the island.

These five people are the origin of the two lineages and five surnames.

This story was widely circulated in the fairy market, and every child had heard it since childhood. When Han Su Niang saw Xu Yan running around like a headless fly, she inexplicably remembered it.

Whether it's an ancestor or not doesn't matter; the key question is where the island's spiritual energy comes from!

Xu Yan immediately questioned him about the details, such as whether the story mentioned which island it was, or whether it mentioned the direction or time.

With each question, Han Su Niang shook her head. By the end, the young woman was completely bewildered, looking aggrieved and on the verge of tears.

Although Xu Yan didn't gain much, he still offered a few words of comfort.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to go to Xiamen Island first, only to find that the spiritual energy there was not as strong as that of Qiandao Lake.

Xu Yan spent some time investigating and actually found a cave in the back mountain, but unfortunately there was nothing inside.

There are essentially two reasons: either there is a hidden spiritual eye on the island, or a spirit-gathering formation has been set up.

Regardless of the reason, the island is a good place for cultivation. Xu Yan simply decided not to leave and to cultivate here in peace, focusing on foundation building first.

There are still many well-preserved buildings on the island, but Xu Yan had no intention of living there at all. Instead, he led the mother and daughter into the back mountain and decorated the cave they had discovered earlier, dividing it into inner and outer sections.

The inner cave was used for secluded cultivation, while the outer cave was used to house Han Su Niang and her daughter.

Xu Yan's idea was simple: if he could come and take advantage of the situation, so could others. If the two sides clashed, it could easily lead to a conflict.

How can I cultivate in peace if I don't hide somewhere?

In the blink of an eye, half a year has passed.

On this day, Han Su Niang was teaching A Wu to write when the surrounding spiritual energy suddenly became restless.

Han Suniang's pen stopped abruptly, and she looked back at the inner cave with surprise and uncertainty, a drop of ink falling onto the paper.

Soon, the restless spiritual energy surged into the inner cave.

She stared in astonishment, her eyes wide: It's done?

Looking back on the past six months, Han Suniang felt like she was in a dream.

She was just an ordinary woman who had never been involved in spiritual practice.

However, during his seclusion, Xu Yan taught her and A Wu the most basic cultivation methods. After half a year of hard work, Han Suniang barely managed to get started and achieved the first level of Qi Refining.

Awu is slightly stronger, but she is only at the late stage of the first tier, still some distance from the second tier.

It was precisely because of this that Han Su Niang was able to barely sense the flow of spiritual energy.

Deep within the mountain, Xu Yan fully activated the Nine Heavens Divine Firmament Thunder Control True Technique. The demon core in his abdomen seemed to have taken an enhancer, spinning wildly and constantly absorbing the spiritual energy surging from the vicinity, transforming it into true essence that circulated throughout his body.

At this moment, Xu Yan was like a human compressor, constantly contracting and squeezing his true essence.

The original, unimpeded flow of true energy suddenly became less smooth after compression, with resistance everywhere in the body.

Xu Yan knew that those obstacles were impurities in his body, and he had to completely expel them in order to achieve Foundation Establishment!

He continuously channeled his true energy to cleanse his entire body, gradually squeezing out impurities from his bones, muscles, and fascia.

The overflowing true essence transformed into meandering electric currents, constantly circulating around Xu Yan's body, turning the impurities expelled from his body into wisps of drifting black energy.

As time goes by, the true essence becomes more concentrated, but the impurities in the body become fewer and fewer, making it increasingly difficult to cleanse.

The surging true energy was like a flood bursting its banks, threatening to crush and reassemble all the cells in his body. Aches, numbness, itching, pain, and all sorts of sensations appeared at once, filling his entire body from bone to flesh to skin.

Some of the true essence even transforms directly into electric current within the body, first completely disintegrating stubborn impurities before expelling them from the body.

Even the mind and consciousness felt like they were being torn apart.

Xu Yan was puzzled. Why was it like this when he broke through in body tempering, and like this when he broke through in qi refining?

But at that moment, he had no time to think things through. He was immediately pulled back to reality by the abnormality throughout his body.

Xu Yan pretended that he was already dead, guarded his true nature, and focused all his energy on circulating his cultivation technique.

Little did he know that cultivators who follow the Qi Refining path don't have to go through such trouble when breaking through; they have already completed the Tendon and Marrow Cleansing step and successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

However, his body was already well-trained, and his physical strength far exceeded that of others. He needed to use a more concentrated true essence to cleanse his body for a long time in order to complete the most crucial step.

Not only was the process longer than others, but it was also much more difficult.

The practice of cultivating both body and Dharma is rare, and there are reasons for that.

As impurities were gradually expelled, Xu Yan's bones and muscles became stronger, his skin and flesh became firmer, and his meridians became more resilient.

A massive amount of spiritual energy surged in, and the Thunderous True Essence was compressed to the point of being almost tangible, flowing ceaselessly like the Yangtze River.

At the same time, the spiritual sea of ​​consciousness was constantly compressed and compressed again. The divine consciousness seemed to have become substantial, constantly being squeezed and deformed until it reached a certain critical point. The divine consciousness, compressed to the extreme, suddenly exploded. With a loud bang in the brain, the divine consciousness instantly extended outward by dozens of feet, and it was still extending to a greater distance!

The jumbled rocks inside the cave, the mother and daughter outside, the veins of the flowers and plants outside the cave, the sounds of insects crawling—everything was clearly imprinted in my mind.

The soreness, numbness, itching, and pain that had been tormenting him disappeared without him even realizing it.