At the age of thirty, Meng Zhang's cultivation speed of refining Qi and completing foundation building was considered relatively fast even within the Endless Sea of Sand. After the decline of Taiyi Sect, they had never produced such a talented cultivator.
However, Meng Zhang was unaware that Twin Success Valley also had a genius with a high-quality spiritual root. Shan Feiyu from Twin Success Valley possessed a high-quality lower-grade spiritual root, one level below Meng Zhang's upper-grade spiritual root. Nevertheless, Shan Feiyu's superior background in Twin Success Valley gave him a head start, with conditions far surpassing what the declined Taiyi Sect could provide. As a result, Shan Feiyu had already left Meng Zhang far behind. At least for now, Shan Feiyu was no longer someone Meng Zhang could compete with.
Shan Feiyu was already preparing to break through to the Gold Core stage, while Meng Zhang was just beginning to prepare for the Foundation Building stage. Despite both being exceptional cultivators, their paths had never intersected until this crucial moment.
For Meng Zhang, a successful Foundation Building would resolve many issues and equip Taiyi Sect with more powerful adaptability during future challenges. Although possessing an upper-grade spiritual root meant not needing to consume a Foundation Building Pill for a great chance of success, Meng Zhang decided to secure a backup and asked Shi Weiming to fulfill his promise of providing the Foundation Building Pill.
Over the years, Meng Zhang had sent people numerous times to ask Shi Weiming for the Foundation Building Pill, but each time he was met with various excuses and evasions. Shi Weiming seemed reluctant to hand over the pill.
Deep EarthSpirit General, the person Meng Zhang sent to request the pill this time, returned to Taiyi Sect and informed Meng Zhang that Shi Weiming couldn't be trusted, as his words didn't match his actions.
At present, Foundation Building was Meng Zhang's top priority, and he couldn't afford to be entangled with Shi Weiming. Even without the Foundation Building Pill, it wasn't a major problem. After successfully completing his Foundation Building, Meng Zhang planned to settle the score with Shi Weiming gradually.
According to the experiences of previous cultivators, Meng Zhang would be best suited to break through to the Foundation Building stage above the Second Rankspirit vein. Breaking through above the First Rankspirit vein would require consuming a large number of spirit stones to compensate for the quantity and quality of spiritual energy, and the effects would be inferior to those of the Second Rankspirit vein.
Taiyi Sect did not possess a Second Rankspirit vein, so Meng Zhang initially planned to borrow from other sects that did. However, Jue Ying had already considered this and prepared a secluded Second Rankspirit vein at Luo YeDaoist Master's place.
Luo YeDaoist Master resided temporarily at a Second Rankspirit vein owned by the black market. Now, as Meng Zhang was about to break through to the Foundation Building stage, he decided to go there for seclusion, as it would be more convenient in all aspects.
After arranging all the sect matters, Meng Zhang set off with Jue Ying. Although Flying Swan Sect had used its subordinate forces to set up a blockade, it was mainly aimed at large groups of people and caravans. For a few cultivators like Meng Zhang and Jue Ying, the blockade was not very effective.
Jue Ying was skilled at sneaking and had led Meng Zhang through a few rounds to easily cross the blockade and arrive at Luo Ye's secluded cultivation spot.
Luo Ye had been disturbed by demonic energy and had been trapped in seclusion for many years. With Jue Ying guiding him, Meng Zhang paid his respects to this senior cultivator.
Luo Ye didn't hold back and shared the experiences from when she broke through to the Foundation Building stage many years ago, filling in the last piece of the puzzle for Meng Zhang's cultivation.
Before this, Meng Zhang had carefully studied the Sect Master's records, meticulously reading the cultivation experiences of the previous generations of Sect Masters. Before the complete decline of Taiyi Sect, only Foundation Building stage or above cultivators could become Sect Masters. After the decline, even being a Sect Master was not enough to successfully reach the Foundation Building stage.
The records of Foundation Building experiences in the Sect Master's records were brief and not detailed. As for Deep EarthSpirit General, his memory had not fully recovered yet, and as a Guardian Spirit General, his cultivation was vastly different from human cultivators. Thus, the information Meng Zhang obtained from him about Foundation Building was limited as well.
Now, Luo Ye's narration filled in the last gap in Meng Zhang's knowledge. This didn't mean that without Luo Ye's guidance, Meng Zhang couldn't succeed in Foundation Building, but with her advice, he could avoid many detours and reduce risks.
Regardless of Luo Ye's intentions, Meng Zhang truly appreciated her kindness. After receiving the knowledge from Luo Ye, Meng Zhang bid farewell and entered the prepared seclusion chamber.
Meng Zhang spent some time organizing all the knowledge he had acquired throughout his life and combined it with the experiences of previous cultivators. He contemplated the challenges he might encounter during Foundation Building.
After careful consideration, he felt confident and free from distractions. He adjusted his mental and physical state and wholeheartedly began his journey to break through the Foundation Building stage.
The first of the three hurdles during the Foundation Building stage required a strong physical body without any hidden injuries or ailments. For Meng Zhang, this was not a problem as his body had been tempered multiple times and was in excellent condition.
The second hurdle was to have enough potent and pure True Qi. Meng Zhang had cultivated the "Sun-Moon Wheel Turning Sutra" for many years and accumulated a profound cultivation base. His True Qi was purified to the utmost, free of impurities, after experiencing the intense solar and lunar energy multiple times.
The third hurdle was to have a strong Soul. For Meng Zhang, this was not an issue. As a transmigrator, his Soul was inherently stronger than an ordinary cultivator's. After numerous trials in the Trial Ground, his divine consciousness had already reached the peak of the Refining Qi stage.
With all conditions met, a resolute mind and a pure and unwavering Dao heart, Meng Zhang's successful Foundation Building was a foregone conclusion, without any suspense.
He followed the methods recorded in the "Sun-Moon Wheel Turning Sutra" and systematically began his breakthrough into the Foundation Building stage. The pure True Qi circulated within his body, stimulating his Soul to react. The major difference between a Foundation Building stage cultivator and a Refining Qi stage cultivator was that the former successfully gave birth to divine consciousness.
Divine consciousness was the sixth sense beyond the five senses, allowing cultivators to internally perceive their own bodies and externally observe their surroundings clearly. Even with his eyes closed and ears covered, Meng Zhang could feel everything within a ten-zhang radius.
This newly-born divine consciousness had an impressive sensing range of ten zhang in all directions, making it quite rare. With divine consciousness, many illusions targeting the five senses would be rendered ineffective.
By internally observing his body, Meng Zhang could sense every internal organ, each muscle, and every blood vessel in his body clearly. With this ability, he could target specific parts of his body for cultivation, especially the internal organs, without harming himself.
Finally, using his newly-born divine consciousness, Meng Zhang guided the fusion of Lunar True Qi and Solar True Qi, forming a brand-new Sun-Moon True Qi. Thus, his entire Foundation Building process was completed.
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