On the twenty-fifth day inside the Ancestral Sanctum, Su Bai finally reached the absolute peak of Foundation Establishnt.
Inside the Heaven-Strike Lightning Zones, Su Bai sat cross-legged on a black stone platform while purple-gold lightning gathered above him.
Six Tribulation Lightning Beads floated around him in a loose circle. Each bead released lightning Qi that was ant to paralyze the body and seal the ridians.
The reversed effect made his nerves sharper and his reactions quicker.
With one bead, the effect was clear.
With six beads, the effect was almost excessive.
He already wanted to make them into a bracelet after leaving.
Su Bai opened his eyes. A deep, steady aura spread from his body before quickly withdrawing.
He lowered his gaze inward.
At this stage, he could already sense the faint possibility of Dao Fire.
Dao Fire was the inner spiritual friction born when a cultivator pushed their foundation to the limit. It was the force used to lt the Dao Pedestal and refine the condensed essence into a Golden Core.
Su Bai had reached the first condition. He could begin to draw out that spark.
He only needed the right mont and the right balance.
A faint smile appeared in his eyes.
Golden Core was no longer far away.
Of course, Su Bai did not imdiately try to break through.
Golden Core was not a small stage. It was a great transformation. One careless mistake could ruin the foundation, crack the Dao Pedestal, or form a flawed core.
He had already survived too many strange things to be defeated by impatience.
So Su Bai steadied his breath and ended his cultivation.
Around him, the six Tribulation Lightning Beads slowly fell into his palm.
Su Bai looked at them with satisfaction.
Once he returned to Clear Cloud Peak, he would find a way to string them together.
...
During these days, the other four disciples had also gained a lot.
Ji Ruyue had spent most of her ti in the Black-Ice Regions. Her frost beca quieter and more refined. When she walked, the frost lotuses beneath her feet beca clearer than before.
Han Yuelin had stayed at the Ancestors’ Sword-Scar Cliffs until even his sword seed less impatient.
Qin Baoshan had endured the Mountain-Crushing Caverns and improved his defensive root greatly. Even when he stood casually, his body carried a faint heaviness.
Liu ng had moved between the Nine-Suns Lava Chambers and the Lotus-Rot Poison Marshes. Her Wood-Fire Qi beca more lively, and her control had clearly improved.
Everyone had broken through or improved in so way.
The Ancestral Sanctum was indeed a sacred training ground.
...
At that mont, the ground shook.
It was not violent, but it spread through the entire artificial dinsion.
The golden gear-like sky above them slowed.
Su Bai looked up.
Ti was up.
Not long after, the other four disciples gathered near the main path. No one spoke.
Twenty-five days.
To the outside world, it was not very long. But inside the Ancestral Sanctum, those twenty-five days felt as if they had exchanged years of ordinary cultivation.
The entrance portal slowly appeared before them.
The black jade path opened again.
The five disciples exchanged glances, then stepped through together.
A breath later, the scenery changed.
The golden mist disappeared.
They returned to the mausoleum beneath Slumbering Ancestor Peak.
The ancestor coffins were silent. The ancient figures inside had already returned to deep slumber.
Only Sect Master Li Xuanzong stood before the portal, his hands behind his back.
When the five disciples stepped out, his gaze swept across them.
His expression did not change much, but his eyes softened with satisfaction.
"Good."
That single word carried weight.
"It seems all of you gained a great deal," Li Xuanzong said. "Rest first and stabilize your strength. It will not be long before we depart for the gathering."
The five disciples cupped their hands.
"Yes, Sect Master."
Then, almost at the sa ti, they turned toward the sleeping ancestor coffins.
They bowed deeply.
"Thank you for the opportunity, Ancestors."
The coffins remained silent.
After that, Li Xuanzong led them out.
Outside the grand arrays of Slumbering Ancestor Peak, several figures were already waiting.
Lu Canghai stood with his hands behind his back, but the grin on his face ruined any attempt at looking dignified.
Beside him were Shen Youran, Jian Wushuang, Elder Han, and Elder Tie.
Each had co to check on their disciples.
The five disciples stepped forward and greeted their elders.
After a brief exchange, they separated toward their respective masters.
Lu Canghai looked Su Bai up and down, then his grin grew wider.
His beard almost rose from how pleased he looked.
"You brat! Gahaha! It seems the Ancestral Sanctum suffered quite a bit because of you."
Su Bai smiled.
"It helped a lot, Master."
"Helped a lot?" Lu Canghai stroked his beard. "You entered at the Seventh Stage and ca out at the peak. Your body also feels like it was beaten by seven different disasters and sohow thanked them afterward."
Su Bai was silent for a mont.
That summary was surprisingly accurate.
Lu Canghai laughed again.
"Good. Very good."
Su Bai said, "Master, I plan to stabilize my cultivation first. After that, I will prepare to condense my Golden Core."
Lu Canghai’s laughter softened.
He looked at Su Bai carefully.
"Do not rush. Golden Core is not rely a larger Foundation Establishnt. It is the first true transformation of the Dao foundation. If your balance is wrong, even a strong foundation can betray you."
Su Bai nodded seriously.
"I understand."
Lu Canghai stroked his beard and smiled.
"Still, reaching this step so quickly... you really are like when I was young."
Su Bai looked at him.
Lu Canghai stood straighter.
"Handso, talented, feared by peers, admired by elders, and envied by heaven."
Su Bai thought for a mont.
Then he politely said, "Master, I will work hard."
Lu Canghai’s smile stiffened slightly. ’This disciple was becoming harder to tease.’
The two returned to Clear Cloud Peak.
After arriving, Su Bai did not imdiately rest.
He sat on his favorite flat stone in the courtyard and began stabilizing his cultivation.
...
Night wind moved gently through the peak.
Lu Canghai brewed tea nearby.
He did not disturb Su Bai.
He simply sat at the wooden table, sipped slowly, and watched his disciple with a proud expression he did not bother hiding.
Su Bai’s aura gradually settled.
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, Su Bai opened his eyes.
His aura had beco much calr.
He stood, stretched his fingers, and began practicing martial arts in the courtyard.
His body moved faster than before. The reaction improvent from the Tribulation Lightning Beads was obvious. His hand could respond almost before a thought fully ford. His breathing was deeper. His blood moved smoothly. His body felt denser, but not sluggish.
After several rounds of movent, Su Bai finally stopped.
He exhaled.
Then he sat down again and turned his attention inward.
Now that he had reached peak Foundation Establishnt, the next step was Golden Core.
The first obstacle had been cleared.
He could sense Dao Fire. But that was not enough.
Condensing the Golden Core required balance.
The Dao Pedestal had to be lted and refined.
The spiritual sea had to stabilize.
The inner energies had to harmonize.
Yin and Yang had to reach a state where they could support the Golden Core instead of tearing it apart.
This was basic cultivation knowledge.
For example, a cultivator born with excessive Yin would have a spiritual sea that was too cold. If they tried to condense a Golden Core without balancing it, the forming core might beco brittle and crack.
A cultivator with excessive Yang would face the opposite problem. Their spiritual sea would beco too violent, causing the core to burn unstable before it could properly form.
There were many ways to balance this.
The slowest was environntal cultivation.
Absorb what one lacked. Refine it carefully. Repeat until the spiritual sea stabilized.
The expensive route was pills and spiritual herbs.
Alchemical diet. Yin-balancing pills. Yang-restoring fruits.
There was also dual cultivation.
A proper dual cultivation thod could allow two cultivators with opposite imbalances to exchange and harmonize their energies.
That was considered a shortcut. A very popular shortcut, depending on who was asked.
Su Bai did not think about that route for long.
He preferred thods that did not require explaining his cultivation problem to another person while sitting face to face in an extrely awkward situation.
After reviewing the general knowledge, Su Bai calmly observed his own Dantian.
Then he froze.
His expression changed.
He checked again.
Then again.
He just noticed it but... His spiritual sea was cold.
It was... completely Yin.
Su Bai’s face beca pale.
His face was usually pale. But now, it beca the kind of pale that looked as if even ghosts would advise him to rest.
There was no Yang inside his Dantian.
None.
Su Bai stared inwardly at his Infinite Void Dantian.
The Yin-Crystal Asteroid rotated silently.
His Dao Pedestal was strong.
His foundation was deep.
Everything looked excellent.
Except for one terrifying fact.
His spiritual sea was basically a frozen night with no sun.
Su Bai slowly opened his eyes.
"Impossible."
His voice was very soft.
He checked again.
Still the sa.
Su Bai’s brows tightened.
This should not be the case.
He had clearly suffered Yang surges before.
His body refinent had advanced precisely because the excess stimulation had been forced into his physique.
But his Dantian...
His spiritual sea...
There was none.
Su Bai sat silently, then an old mory surfaced.
Back when he could not cultivate, his body had shown certain problems. His manhood could not stand.
At the ti, he had thought it was simply because his foundation was damaged and his body was too weak.
Later, after cultivation resud and his body improved, those problems had naturally disappeared.
So he had not thought too deeply about it.
Now, looking at the complete Yin state of his Dantian, Su Bai suddenly felt that the old problem may not have been so simple.
His Yang had not vanished.
It had never properly entered his spiritual sea.
Su Bai’s forehead slowly beaded with sweat.
This was not eighty percent Yin and twenty percent Yang.
This was not even ninety-nine percent Yin.
This was a spiritual sea that had looked at Yang and politely closed the door.
Su Bai lowered his head.
For a long ti, he did not speak.
Then he slowly raised his hand and pressed his fingers between his brows.
"What in the world is happening?"
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