Chapter Thirty-Six: The Spiritual Foundation Stage

Li Mu opened the panel and said, “Place it here. When I return, I’ll take another look.” Sun Qi nodded in agreement.

“Big Brother has important matters to attend to; you don’t need to go out and play,” said Li Ying, her large eyes wide and obedient.

Li Mu chuckled. “It’s fine, silly.”

“Big Brother, can we go see the man with the big eyebrows again, like we did that day?”

Once the two had left the Wooden Jade Hall, they never brought it up again.

Upon returning, Li Mu fetched the panel and felt a trace of vexation.

“Sun Qi, can anyone from Deyang’s Jade Iron Sect participate?” he asked.

Sun Qi nodded emphatically. “As long as they are cultivators at the Foundation Spirit stage, whether or not they’re disciples of the Jade Iron Sect, they can enter the Jade Iron Assembly.”

“Alright.” Li Mu, panel in hand, walked toward the cultivation chamber.

According to the panel’s explanation, every five years Deyang City hosted the Jade Iron Assembly, organized by the Jade Iron Sect, and in just over two months it would be held again.

From what he knew, such gatherings—comparative exchanges for lower-level cultivators hosted by sects—usually only allowed their own sect’s disciples to participate. Yet, the Jade Iron Assembly in Deyang City was open to all cultivators, which was a bit unusual.

But thinking carefully, it made sense. In a newly expanded world, a sect’s expansion relied heavily on attracting exceptional talent. By hosting such an open assembly, they could spread their reputation widely and recruit geniuses. Not every sect leader had the ability or willingness to do this. Many were strict about their rules—never letting outsiders use even a single spiritual material. It was hard to say which way was better, but the Jade Iron Sect was flourishing, having absorbed many smaller sects, and now all cultivators could witness their success.

As before, the Jade Iron Assembly would reward participants based on their ranking. This time, however, the rewards were especially remarkable—the first prize was a superior Grade Three treasure: the Green Intestine Sword.

Forged from the bones of the Green Intestine Fish, the sword was exceptionally sturdy and infused with water properties, perfectly suited for water-based sword techniques. Its image appeared on the panel: the blade, resembling a green fish, darted nimbly through a towering black mountain, swimming as if in water, unaffected by its surroundings. Then, with a flash of green, the mountain was instantly sliced into countless fragments, scattered across the ground.

The subsequent rewards were equally generous: all sorts of Grade Three treasures, Grade Three pills, and even high-quality spirit crystals. In short, the prizes for the top ten would astonish any Foundation Spirit cultivator. Even those ranked in the top hundred would receive fine rewards—Grade One and Two treasures, pills, and more.

Li Mu’s heart was stirred. He would soon reach the Foundation Spirit stage. The top ten might be out of reach, but with effort, he could make it into the top hundred and reap a handsome reward.

Moreover, since Lady Wang had intentionally given him this panel, she was clearly encouraging him to participate—perhaps with other intentions in mind. He felt deep gratitude toward this benefactor.

Li Mu was willing to go—not just for the rewards, but to broaden his cultivation experience. Compared to other cultivators, he had faced very few true contests.

He had to seize the moment. Only a little less than two months remained before the Jade Iron Assembly.

With this in mind, Li Mu went downstairs, gave Sun Qi a flurry of instructions, and headed straight into the city.

On the fourth day of entering the Grade Three Spirit Gathering Array, Li Mu sensed something unusual.

While absorbing spiritual energy, his whole body felt a strange fullness; his heart jolted with surprise, as if something inside was about to burst.

Bang, bang.

A series of thudding sounds resounded through his body. His true force was overflowing, unable to absorb even a drop more. The rampant spiritual energy collided with the energies around him.

Every inch of skin seemed to tremble; the constant pain was almost unbearable.

Li Mu quickly understood.

His spirit pool and meridians had reached a breakthrough point—it was time to break through.

Ordinarily, a cultivator at this stage would take a Foundation Spirit Pill to calm their true force, allowing the pill’s spiritual energy to smoothly expand and consolidate the spirit pool and meridians, and thus step into the Foundation Spirit stage.

Li Mu had planned to do the same, but now, he took out the purple peach.

Without the slightest hesitation, he put it straight into his mouth—he was already prepared, with no concerns and no thought of retreat.

The purple peach dissolved, turning into a potent stream of spiritual energy that surged into his body.

This energy, imbued with the power of fire, was far superior to Li Mu’s true force. It collided rapidly with his own energy, detonating with immense power.

The fire energy was wildly violent. In an instant, his meridians and spirit pool became a battlefield of fierce conflict—everywhere, the turbulence never ceased.

His true force and the spiritual energy clashed and then merged in an intense compression, continually materializing and fusing together.

Raw spiritual energy was incompatible with true force—yet it had to be forcibly fused, using their power to shatter the shackles.

This was a formidable step.

If someone had been watching, they would have seen Li Mu’s flesh bulging and sinking, veins and meridians starkly visible. It was as if countless bubbles formed and burst, then gradually smoothed, only to rupture again.

The agony was unimaginable—even witnessing it would be unbearable. But Li Mu forced himself to endure, refusing to lose consciousness, holding fast to his will.

If he fainted, his true force would naturally reject the spiritual energy, and all would be lost.

Bearing the pain, Li Mu repeatedly guided his true force to converge with the surrounding wild energy, constantly battering the spirit pool.

His body felt on the verge of exploding, every part wracked with excruciating pain. Yet he could not stop.

The sturdy spirit pool finally began to loosen and expand.

“Even if I die, I won’t pass out.”

“Ha… ha… I have to hold on.”

Within the isolation array, Li Mu shouted, his entire body drenched in blood, his face contorted, flesh swollen, veins raised and sunken—on the verge of collapse.

But he held on. He understood: the more pain he endured, the longer he persisted, the greater the gains.

His spirit pool and meridians kept expanding. Each time they did, a bit more of the purple peach’s energy was consumed. But fully absorbing its power was a slow process.

Amid the torment, Li Mu nearly lost consciousness; his body felt no longer his own. Only one thought remained: break through, break through.

Who knows how much time passed before he finally blacked out.

Such torment would have broken anyone else long before, but Li Mu had held out for an astonishingly long time.

By then, not a trace of the purple peach’s power remained in his body—the immense energy of a Grade Three spirit material had been absorbed completely, a terrifying feat.

Most cultivators using such materials for their breakthrough could only absorb half their power at best. Li Mu, however, had taken in every last bit.

If his talent were tested now, it would be found to exceed even the fourth ring—bordering on monstrous, far beyond the normal third ring.

The room was awash in blood, with black grime everywhere—a grisly scene.

But this was the natural result of spiritual energy cleansing and strengthening the body. The impurities within had been expelled during the Foundation Spirit process, and his cultivator’s body was now much stronger.

The Foundation Spirit stage was the true beginning for a cultivator; the Qi Condensation stage was merely a prelude.

A Foundation Spirit cultivator no longer needed food and would not fall ill—a world apart from Qi Condensation.