“Sigh, what are you in a hurry for… This kind of thing, it’s my first time.”
“I’m also a first timer. So, should I do it, or you?”
“Still… you do it, after all, I, I’m a bit scared.”
Hua Yan said a bit sheepishly, “You’re a Spirit Severing cultivator, your control over spiritual power is much better than mine, while I’m only Nascent Soul. Guiding Rongrong to break through to Foundation Building, shouldn’t you do it?”
Yun Xuechang tilted her head, slightly confused.
“But didn’t you guide Rongrong when she first stepped into Qi Refining? And your spiritual root is the same as Rongrong’s, both Five Elemental Roots. Compared to my sword spiritual root, you definitely understand the advancement method for Five Elemental Roots better.”
“I’ve never guided someone into Foundation Building before! How can Qi Refining compare to Foundation Building? Moreover, the one breaking through is Rongrong. I’m always afraid of making a mistake.”
Hua Yan muttered a few words, but after thinking for a moment, she finally nodded. “After all, I do understand Rongrong’s constitution better.”
“Hmm, fine, since you’re also not confident, then let me do it.”
Saying that, the two stood up side by side and walked toward the house.
At this time, more than a month had passed since the Flower Viewing Party.
In the courtyard, the kapok flowers Hua Yan had personally planted had long lost their fiery red bloom, and between the branches, little specks of new green quietly emerged.
Hua Xiangrong was finally about to break through to Foundation Building.
Actually, according to Hua Yan’s original plan — the plan when she first brought Hua Xiangrong away from Hundred Flowers Valley — she wanted to suppress the little girl’s cultivation, let her stay in Qi Refining for more time, build a solid foundation, and also train her physique.
But Hua Xiangrong had already set her own cultivation direction when she was in the Kingdom of Great Chu: main cultivation in divination, secondary in five elements.
This was slightly different from Hua Yan’s original expectation of comprehensive development.
As such, physical training was no longer strictly required, only that she trained to her heart’s content and got by.
Moreover, Hua Xiangrong was no longer the little girl who was distant from her; after getting familiar, she would often act spoiled and lazy because training was too tiring.
Hua Xiangrong had been settling in Qi Refining for over half a year.
The time was ripe, so it was time to let her try breaking through to Foundation Building.
“Rongrong, are you ready?”
The two walked into the house and saw a pink-haired girl sitting cross-legged on the couch, regulating her breath and concentrating.
“Mm! Mother, I’ve been ready for a long time!” Hua Xiangrong opened her eyes, nodded her little head heavily, her eyes sparkling.
“That’s good.”
Hua Yan sat down opposite her, carefully examined the girl for a moment, then asked again, “Have you memorized the cultivation technique incantation of ‘Shenji Baiduan’? Are there any key points you don’t understand?”
“I’ve memorized it all! I understand everything!” Hua Xiangrong answered quickly, her tone with a bit of smugness.
Although during her Literary Course at Xiaoyao Sword Sect she would always secretly slack off to catch up on manga, she was still very serious about cultivation.
Although she had transmigrated into the middle of the story, and even if she cultivated hard it might not have any effect before the ending, Hua Xiangrong, who now had her heart set on saving the world, with the mindset of ‘a little stronger is still something,’ began to cultivate seriously.
Of course, the matter of cultivation itself was also very novel for someone like Hua Xiangrong who had transmigrated from a world without spiritual power.
Hua Yan nodded, then took out several items from her sleeve: a palm-sized tortoise shell, a few spirit lots as warm as jade, three crystal-clear dice, and a small bottle of spirit liquid with a faint golden glow.
“These were all sent by your master. Those spirit lots, tortoise shell, and dice will be your future magical tools. This spirit liquid is also prepared specifically for cultivators like you who specialize in divination. It’s said to be the ancestral secret recipe of Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, taken when breaking through to Foundation Building; it has the effect of strengthening the soul.”
She arranged those items one by one in front of Hua Xiangrong, then reached out to cover the girl’s crown, closed her eyes, and sensed for a moment.
“Mm… solid foundation, abundant spiritual power. It is indeed time.”
She opened her eyes, softening her voice.
“Rongrong, in a moment I will slowly transfer my spiritual power into your body, guiding you to break through the Foundation Building barrier. You must maintain your essence and concentrate, silently recite the technique incantation. The breakthrough, I can only guide and protect you, but ultimately it depends on yourself.”
Hua Xiangrong obediently nodded, then closed her eyes.
Her small chest rose and fell slightly, her breathing gradually lengthening as she entered a meditative state.
“Mm, Mother, I understand.”
Hua Yan focused her mind. A faint five-colored halo appeared in her palm, and she gently placed it on the girl’s head.
Spiritual power slowly transferred, traveling through the girl’s body, probing, guiding.
Hua Xiangrong felt a warm breath surge in from the top of her head, flowing slowly along her meridians, warm and comfortable like soaking in warm water.
She followed the instruction and silently recited the incantation of “Shenji Baiduan,” those words already deeply ingrained in her mind appearing one by one.
“All things have numbers, heaven and earth have constancy. Machinery hides in the minute, decisions manifest in the obvious.”
As the incantation circulated, fine sweat gradually seeped from Hua Xiangrong’s forehead, but the spiritual power fluctuations in her body became more stable and firm.
She could sense that the spiritual power in her body was slowly condensing and compressing, from an ethereal gaseous state gradually condensing into drops of spiritual liquid, like a trickling stream flowing toward her dantian, testing and impacting that invisible barrier again and again.
“Rongrong, stabilize your mind, don’t rush.” Hua Yan behind her reminded in a low voice.
Hua Xiangrong nodded slightly, fine beads of sweat on her forehead.
The repeated impacts brought not pain but a strange feeling of expansion, as if something was constantly accumulating inside, urgently wanting to burst out.
Suddenly, Hua Xiangrong felt a faint boom in her mind, as if something was violently broken open—the Foundation Building barrier that had obstructed her for so long had shattered.
The spiritual power in her body instantly surged madly toward her dantian.
Hua Yan, quick-eyed and quick-handed, immediately opened that bottle of spirit liquid, condensed a wisp of spiritual power at her fingertip, and guided all the faintly golden spirit liquid for Hua Xiangrong to drink.
Hua Xiangrong felt a clarity of mind, and the previously somewhat lacking spiritual power in her body was also replenished.
The vortex in her dantian slowly shrank and solidified, finally transforming into a small Dao platform, steadily sinking in her dantian—
Foundation Building early stage, achieved.
An unprecedented sense of clarity surged through her whole body like a tide, and the world before her seemed to become extraordinarily distinct—no, not just before her eyes, but every corner her consciousness could reach became incredibly clear.
She could “see” the trajectory of the spiritual power flowing in her mother’s palm behind her, could “capture” the subtle movements of each new leaf unfolding on the kapok tree outside the window, and could even faintly “sense” the appearance of her other mother standing at the door, and the figure of an ant dragging a grain of rice with difficulty at the corner of the courtyard—was this the divine sense of Foundation Building?
Hua Xiangrong was both surprised and delighted, but didn’t forget the important matter.
She followed the technique guidance, directed the newly broken-through spiritual power to her meridians, slowly circulated a minor heavenly circuit, then a major heavenly circuit, until her breath settled, then slowly opened her eyes.
Before her was Hua Yan’s satisfied smile. “Aiya, I said your breakthrough to Foundation Building would be simple and easy. Just now Xue Shang was still pulling my hand, worried for a long time.”
Hua Yan smiled and withdrew her hand, then took out a handkerchief and reached out to wipe the sweat from the girl’s forehead. “How do you feel?”
“I feel… I feel like the whole world has become clear! I can sense so many things! Mother, I can see how your spiritual power moves, how the leaves on the tree grow, I can even ‘see’ that little bird on the tree outside pecking at bugs!”
Hua Xiangrong’s eyes were astonishingly bright, waving her little hands excitedly.
Hua Yan amusedly held down her waving hand, then stuffed the handkerchief into her hand, while herself pinching her nose and quickly stepping back. “Go take a bath quickly, you’re filthy.”
The pink-haired girl was taken aback, then quickly reached out to smell the scent on herself—just like when she first stepped into Qi Refining, there was indeed some smell, but far from as exaggerated as Hua Yan made it out to be.
“Mother!” She instantly puffed out her cheeks, glaring at Hua Yan who had started to snicker.
“Hahahahaha!” Hua Yan laughed and dodged the little hand trying to wipe dirt on her.
“Alright, Rongrong, listen to Yan’er, go take a bath first,” Yun Xuechang stepped forward and gently stopped the mother-daughter horseplay.
“In a little while you still need to refine those magical tools, then I’ll teach you the spiritual power usage at Foundation Building. Haven’t you been looking forward to breaking through to Foundation Building and trying out new powers?”
“Mm—!” Hua Xiangrong finally stopped chasing Hua Yan, nodded, made a face at Hua Yan, then picked up her change of clothes and pattered off toward the bathroom on her little legs.
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