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The first step was sending accumulated spirit power exploding into one’s body to search for dharma apertures and memorize their location. The most important aspect during this time was the total number of dharma apertures found. The step could be repeated as many times as necessary, and Foundation Establishment Pills helped during it. Usually, this part took up about half of the total breakthrough time. The second step was to converge one’s spirit sea, use it to batter the first dharma aperture, and ultimately open it. After enough spirit power was poured into the opened dharma aperture, then the cultivator’s first batch of dharma force would result. When the dharma force was unleashed, it would fill the cultivator, transforming their flesh and blood, and increasing their life level. That was the third step in the process.

When all three steps were complete, the cultivator was officially in Foundation Establishment. It sounded simple, but the reality was that the only way to successfully complete all three steps was to be 100% prepared, and also have a bit of luck.

Xu Qing started with the first step by unleashing the full power of his 1,500-meter spirit sea. As the waves of power surged, he began the search for his dharma apertures.

Dharma apertures were not acupoints. Because no two physical bodies were exactly the same, the dharma apertures were never in the same location.

Xu Qing had a huge reserve of spirit power, so he could spend more time looking. What was more, there were various ways to attempt to sense the location of the dharma apertures. Among the jade slips Ding Xue had given him was a suggestion to use a method called Forceful Exploration. [1]

The reason it was called Forceful Exploration was that it involved using one’s spirit power to force the dharma aperture to reveal themselves. Many Qi Condensation disciples considered it a trump card to use at the very end of the step.

But Xu Qing could use only a small portion of his spirit power to utilize the method much earlier.

He didn’t expect one usage of Forceful Exploration to reveal all of the dharma apertures. So he planned to do some experiments first. He started by releasing only twenty percent of the power of his spirit sea, in other words, 300 meters of it.

Although it was only twenty percent to him, it would be going all out for most ordinary disciples.

He trembled from head to toe as 300 meters of spirit sea erupted from his dantian region, sweeping through his meridians, flesh, and bones like the tide. As it spread, his meridians became like rivers, and the spirit sea raged like sea dragons through them.

As for his flesh, bones, and organs, they were like parched fields that sucked up the spirit power greedily. As all of that happened, he began his search.

Almost immediately, he noticed places in his meridians that were like small vortexes. They were very small and difficult to spot, and would only be noticeable when the meridians were absolutely full to capacity.

The vortexes were like heavenly gates that, when filled with spirit power, released a very mysterious aura. Upon sensing that aura, Xu Qing came to realize that the vortexes were indeed the dharma apertures.

The apertures weren’t just located in his meridians. They were also in his flesh, organs, and bones.

91 of them!

His eyes shone as he ended his first attempt to sense the dharma apertures.

According to the information he’d read about Foundation Establishment, mutagen would interfere with the attempt to sense the apertures. However, theoretically speaking, there should be 120 of them in total. Normally, finding only 80 would be considered a success, while someone who found 90 would stand head and shoulders above ordinary cultivators.

Because 30 dharma apertures was the requirement to form a single life flame, that meant that only three life flames were possible after the first.

If Xu Qing didn’t care about the total number of apertures, then he could easily proceed to the second step of Foundation Establishment.

Wait, I don’t have any mutagen in me. So why did I only sense 91 dharma apertures?

After some thought, he came to the conclusion that it must come down to aptitude. Before the broken face of the god came, there was no mutagen in the world. Back then, cultivators didn’t have to worry about the purity levels within their bodies. Everything came down to aptitude.

But things were different now. Most sects and organizations didn’t care much about aptitude. The only people who did were the important scions of massive organizations.

In other words, my lack of mutagen doesn’t change the fact that if my dharma apertures are deeply hidden, my ability to sense them will come down to aptitude.

After thinking about it some more, his eyes shone. He wasn’t worried that he hadn’t found all the apertures. And if his aptitude was limited, that didn’t matter either. As long as he had enough spirit power, then there were ways for him to find the hidden dharma apertures.

If he didn’t find them in one shot, then he would try a second time. And if that didn’t work, he would try five or six times.

Having reached the conclusion that this was definitely the best idea, he closed his eyes and released half of his remaining 1,200 meters of spirit sea.

600 meters of spirit sea exploded out as he began his second attempt to sense the dharma apertures.

What he was doing was absolutely incomparable, and would be considered astonishing to ordinary cultivators. As his spirit sea erupted, his meridians swelled, and his flesh, organs, and bones filled with spirit power, causing him to tremble inside and out. The force of his effort was so intense that, in the blink of an eye, five dharma apertures appeared.

He had already sensed a total of 96 dharma apertures!

There was still spirit power left for his second attempt, however, so he continued the search.

I have enough spirit power and enough Foundation Establishment Pills.

Before his second attempt was even over, he decided to unleash his remaining 600 meters of spirit sea. However, that was when something unexpected happened!

As he sat there cross-legged in his cave temple, the Spirit Breath Lamp, which was casting its light over him and separating him from the darkness, suddenly seemed to sway as if it had been hit by some wind. In fact, as the flame flickered, it looked like it might be extinguished.

As the flame swayed, shadows appeared on the walls of the cave, like people or creatures. However, they were incomplete, and so blurry that it was impossible to make them out clearly. It was like they existed in the cracks between time and space, and thus weren’t completely visible.

Normally speaking, they didn’t pay attention to what was happening around them. But the aura created by Xu Qing sensing his dharma apertures seeped into their world, attracting their attention. Their world was a huge place, and auras like this would often appear there. Because of the great distances involved, only grues who were in the immediate vicinity would usually notice. But the flame of the Spirit Breath Lamp could exert pressure on them, and thus, all they could do was congregate in the cave and look on greedily.

As that greed transformed into malicious intentions, Xu Qing sensed it, and his mind spun.

He didn’t know exactly what these grues were. His jade slips with information about Foundation Establishment hadn’t offered a clear explanation. But he could sense their maliciousness, and knew that if they attacked him, his breakthrough would fail. Thankfully, the Spirit Breath Lamp couldn’t be extinguished so easily. Though its flame flickered, it still cast its protective light around Xu Qing.

Knowing he didn’t have a lot of time to work with, he took a deep breath and used his spirit sea to continue looking for dharma apertures.

Rumbling filled him as he found an additional seven. He was now at a total of 103!

He only needed seventeen more to reach the theoretical limit of 120!

“Again!” he murmured through gritted teeth.

Sending his spirit sea sweeping through himself, he heard cracking sounds as he found four more dharma apertures.

107!

At the same time, the bizarre shadows around him grew clearer. Howling noiselessly, they circled, exhaling sinister winds to try to extinguish the lamp. The Spirit Breath Lamp’s flame flickered even more wildly, as if it might be extinguished at any moment.

Xu Qing ignored all of that. Opening his eyes, he consumed another Foundation Establishment Pill, instantly causing his dried-up spirit sea to fill with spirit power. Without hesitation, he sent the power through his body, making him feel like he was swelling up dramatically.

As his third attempt began, and the spirit power flowed through him, he found three more as-yet undiscovered dharma apertures.

He was now at a total of 110!

Gasping for breath, he waved his hand, causing one entire box of Foundation Establishment Pills to fly over. Inside were three pills that he consumed all at once.

Rumbling filled him as the power of the pills became like raging sea dragons within him. He wondered if his body could even sustain the force, as it felt like he was swelling up even more than before. However, one dharma aperture after another appeared.

111. 113. 115.

All the way to 118!

He just needed two more dharma apertures to reach the limit. However, no matter how he searched, he found that the aura emitted by the dharma apertures he’d found so far was too intense. That itself was what had attracted the grues.

Most cultivators would sense 90 apertures, or perhaps a few more. Xu Qing really was very close to the limit.

The intense aura that resulted was like a bright torch on a dark night.

As for the Spirit Breath Lamp, it wasn’t the highest-quality treasure possible, and it could only hold on for so long. After all, it had never been tasked with protecting a cultivator like Xu Qing.

As the flickering of the flame grew even more intense, a final blast of sinister wind suddenly extinguished it!

1. Ding Xue gave him the jade slips in chapter 108. ☜