Chapter Four: Reaching Foundation Establishment in a Month—A Bad Review!

“He should be well aware of his own situation. Why would he propose such terms at a time like this?”

When Master Liuguang saw that Liu Wanjin was also lost in thought, he realized his question was as pointless as winking in the dark.

After a moment’s pause, he spoke again, “Junior brother, how credible do you think Wang Li’s words are?”

“About fifty percent.”

Liu Wanjin snapped back to attention. In truth, he couldn’t figure out what Wang Li was really up to. Deciding Wang Li’s fate was the prerogative of the Sect Leader, and Liu Wanjin didn’t dare overstep his bounds, so he simply gave a vague answer.

Master Liuguang was a little surprised. “You’ve always been upright and forthright. When did you start picking up these sly tricks?”

“I just can’t be sure,” Liu Wanjin admitted candidly, making Master Liuguang even more perplexed.

Conversations with people like Liu Wanjin often reached uncomfortable silences, and Master Liuguang could only resign himself to speculating about Wang Li’s intentions.

Soon he reached his own conclusion: Whatever his aim, what’s the worst that could happen? As if he could overturn the heavens!

Unable to make sense of it, he decided not to dwell on it further. As a master at the Earth Immortal Stage, Master Liuguang’s way of handling things was as freewheeling as ever.

“Go again and tell him this: if he can do as he says, let him name his terms. So long as they’re not excessive, you may agree to anything.”

“But if he dares to toy with us, send him where he belongs!”

Liu Wanjin wanted to say more, but seeing Master Liuguang waving him away, he could only accept the order and leave the main hall.

The next time he saw Wang Li, he wasted no words and relayed the Sect Leader’s message directly, waiting for Wang Li to state his demands.

By this time, Wang Li had been thoroughly persuaded by Lord Sheng to go along with the situation—to get out of danger first and worry about the rest later. Until the crisis was over, he simply lay low and followed Lord Sheng’s plan.

He voiced his conditions to Liu Wanjin.

Liu Wanjin found Wang Li’s requests reasonable—just a change of environment and some spirit stones and refining materials. Without hesitation, he pulled Wang Li out of the abandoned underground workshop.

He led Wang Li straight to the edge of a volcanic crater beneath the workshop.

“This is the source of the sect’s fire attribute spiritual energy. The spirit stones and materials you asked for will be delivered to you. Don’t even think about escaping—this place is protected by an Earth-grade defensive array. Unless you reach the Nascent Soul stage, you’d best not try to break through.”

“I’ll be back in a month. If I find you’ve been deceiving us, that’ll be your final resting place!”

Liu Wanjin’s face was cold as he pointed to the crater, where red-brown, viscous magma churned endlessly.

Wang Li craned his neck for a look, then thumped his chest in assurance. “Rest easy, Steward Liu! If I fail to keep my promise, you won’t have to lift a finger—I’ll jump in myself!”

“Hmph. See that you do!” With a flick of his sleeve, Liu Wanjin departed.

Wang Li surveyed his surroundings and, finding no one else present, immediately slumped and began to complain to Lord Sheng. “You’re right, Lord Sheng—I really am just a rookie in the immortal path. Making it to the Foundation Establishment stage in a month is all up to you!”

“Alright, alright, it’s only Foundation Establishment. There’s no one here, so train to your heart’s content. After all I’ve invested in you, if you can’t break through in a month, I’ll have no choice but to return you and leave a terrible review!”

Lord Sheng’s words only made Wang Li more anxious. “You mean if I fail to reach Foundation Establishment within a month, you’ll abandon me?”

Lord Sheng was a part of his very soul. If Lord Sheng left, at best he’d remain a useless cripple with a soul liable to shatter at any moment; at worst, he’d be utterly annihilated.

He couldn’t help but be nervous.

“You really don’t know how to take a joke, do you? Young man, show some spirit! It’s only Foundation Establishment—I believe in you!”

Wang Li felt Lord Sheng’s encouragement was half-hearted at best, but he had no other choice and could only follow the plan.

Composing himself, Wang Li sat cross-legged on a massive stone protruding from the crater’s edge and began circulating Purple Qi from the East.

Purple Qi from the East had originally been a fragmentary fire attribute cultivation technique. Using his innate talent for data analysis, Wang Li had completed it into a low-grade Yellow-tier technique. Despite its humble rank, it was easy to learn for a novice like Wang Li and didn’t demand much in terms of talent. In just half a day, he managed to draw spiritual energy into his body, and after a day, he entered the first level of Qi Refining.

At the time, he thought Purple Qi from the East was some lost, miraculous art that dramatically increased cultivation speed and even fancied himself a prodigy. Only for Lord Sheng to promptly dash his hopes.

Lord Sheng bluntly told him that his fast progress had nothing to do with the technique, nor was he any sort of genius. It was simply because his constitution was unique—naturally attuned to all types of spiritual energy. While cultivating Purple Qi from the East and absorbing fire spiritual energy, he was also drawing in other elements. The more energy he absorbed, the faster his cultivation advanced.

Wang Li’s constitution had an extraordinary name: Innate Chaos Body.

This physique was, by nature, an utterly unreasonable, heaven-defying existence. Once it matured, there was virtually no upper limit to its potential. Yet in the Profound Sky World, people with this constitution were not rare; in fact, there were more of them than there were cultivators.

In this world, the Innate Chaos Body was known as the “Heaven-Envied Physique.” As the name implied, because it was too powerful, all those born with it were fated to draw the heavens’ envy. Most never lived to adulthood; those who barely reached the age to cultivate died young for all sorts of reasons—it was almost impossible for them to grow up.

Wang Li was born with an incomplete soul precisely because he was an Innate Chaos Body.

However, he was lucky enough to encounter Lord Sheng, who not only completed his soul but also concealed his fate from the world. Only then did the power of the Innate Chaos Body reveal itself—he no longer had to worry about the limits of talent or technique. Simply by cultivating, he could grow stronger at a rate that left others with comparable techniques and talent far behind.

Wang Li knew about the Innate Chaos Body and that Lord Sheng had shielded him from the world’s malice, but he still harbored doubts about Lord Sheng’s abilities. He couldn’t help feeling anxious, afraid that a misstep might bring down heavenly punishment.

Once he began cultivating, the might of the Innate Chaos Body was immediately apparent.

He could clearly feel the fire spiritual energy outside pouring into his dantian like a tidal wave, at a rate that quickly outpaced the speed at which he could use it to break open his meridians. This meant that after every hour of cultivation, he had to stop absorbing energy, wait for the energy in his dantian to be consumed, and then resume.

In this way, alternating between absorbing and pausing for half a month, Wang Li had unblocked seventy-two major meridians in his body, reaching the peak of the Qi Refining stage. Only the Baihui point at the top of his head remained. Once it was cleared and a complete network for spiritual energy was formed within him, his energy would convert to spiritual power, and he would step into the Foundation Establishment stage.