BXBX NOVEL Chapter 277: 269: Late Foundation Establishment Stage
Chapter 277: 269: Late Foundation Establishment Stage
He Song soon arrived at the not far-off residence of Meng Guan.
Meng Guan’s breakthrough to the Late Foundation Establishment Stage was indeed a cause for celebration.
Thus, both Wei Fan and Xuan He received invitations from Meng Guan to attend his celebration at his residence.
However, apart from He Song and the other two, not a single Qi-refining cultivator was in sight.
Meng Guan evidently hadn’t invited them.
In a small pavilion inside Meng Guan’s residence, the four sat facing each other, extending their congratulations after some pleasantries. “Congratulations, Daoist friend, on your breakthrough to Late Foundation Establishment stage. Surely, the Golden Core is within reach now.”
Lifting his teacup, He Song made a slight toast to Meng Guan and drained the tea within in one gulp.
Having said that, He Song then set down his tea cup, and his gaze was naturally drawn to Meng Guan.
Today was not the day of Meng Guan’s breakthrough to Late Foundation Establishment Stage.
Rather, it was the day he solidified his cultivation at the Late Foundation Establishment stage.
A cultivator’s breakthrough, if not immediately followed by secluded cultivation to stabilize their level, could result in a fall in cultivation.
Even though they could quickly recover their cultivation later, it would still consume a significant amount of time.
Consequently.
After a cultivator’s breakthrough, they will close off for cultivation to stabilize their accomplishments immediately.
Then, when their cultivation is stable, they can emerge and attend to other matters.
When He Song made his own breakthrough in the past, he did the same.
Now that Meng Guan’s cultivation has broken through from Mid-stage Foundation Establishment to Late Foundation Establishment, he naturally did the same.
“Many thanks, friend.”
Meng Guan bowed slightly to He Song, a fleeting smile on his face.
Then, Wei Fan and Xuan He also congratulated him in turn, however, like He Song, they also didn’t give any gifts.
For the four people present.
Breaking through to the Late Foundation Establishment stage does not present any significant difficulties.
Therefore, there was no need to take it too seriously when one of them made such breakthroughs.
Otherwise, would they each need to give gifts when all four had advanced to Late Foundation Establishment?
That would be too troublesome.
And too complicated.
For this reason, they all tacitly agreed not to offer any gifts.
Just like when Master Bai Yun left Heaven Power Immortal City to be transferred to the Thick Earth Sect, they merely saw him off and took no further action.
Apart from He Song, who needed to give Master Bai Yun a gift as he was the one taking up his duties, the other three didn’t do anything more.
Once the formalities were attended to.
The four of them had a vibrant chat within the small pavilion.
In honor of his breakthrough to the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, Meng Guan brought out many treasures from his collection to entertain He Song and the others.
However.
When it was nearly time, Master Xuan He excused himself and prepared to leave.
He Song sat to the side.
Just as he was about to take his leave like Xuan He.
Meng Guan shot him a secretive look.
Instantly, He Song ceased his intention of leaving and chose to stay where he was.
On the other side.
Wei Fan did not budge, continuing to sit placidly there.
After Meng Guan saw Master Xuan He off out of his residence and then returned to where He Song and Wei Fan were, only then did Wei Fan start speaking.
‘Master Xuan He is an elite of our Sect. Even though we are close with him, it’s better not to divulge certain secrets to him.”
“After this latest advancement of Old Meng, he is likely to be transferred from this place soon.”
“Now it’s time to discuss our next steps.”
Looking at He Song, Wei Fan’s offhand remarks were indeed an explanation to He Song.
Upon hearing this, He Song nodded in agreement with Wei Fan’s words.
A few of He Song’s group and Master Xuan He, the sect’s elite, were always different.
Indeed, some secretive matters should not be disclosed to him.
Particularly now that Meng Guan had successfully advanced to the Late Foundation Establishment stage and was about to be assigned to the residence of the Sect, this was even more so the case.
If Master Xuan He found out something and then reported it to his support within the Thick Earth Sect.
Things could take an unfavorable turn.
By then, it might even be too late for regrets.
Rather than that, it would be better to exclude him.
If he didn’t hear, naturally he couldn’t possibly leak any secrets.
Meng Guan saw off Master Xuan He’s departure.
What followed.
The conversation between the three, He Song’s group, naturally became much more casual than before.
After ensuring that the conversation between the three couldn’t be overheard by others, Meng Guan revealed the thoughts he had after his breakthrough to the Late Foundation Establishment stage, before He Song.
“This time, breaking through from Mid-stage foundation to Late Foundation Establishment, I felt that I was pushing my limits.”
“Previously, when I broke through from Early Foundation Establishment to
Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, I only spent around twenty years.”
“Now, advancing from Mid-stage Foundation Establishment to Late
Foundation Establishment took me a full thirty-five years.”
“Thirty-five years.”
“If we were ordinary humans, thirty-five years might have been an entire lifetime.”
“Even if they live longer than average, it would still account for most of their lives.”
“For us Foundation Establishment Masters, without the aid of longevity elixirs, our lifespan is no more than two centuries.”
The three of them were sitting in a discussion when Meng Guan suddenly sighed, talking.
Lifespan.
It’s something every cultivator must face.
Although he is no longer mortal, but a Foundation Establishment Master.
But the lifespan of a Foundation Establishment Master is also limited to two hundred years, and with a Longevity Elixir, one might stretch it to three hundred years.
Two hundred years, three hundred years.
For mortals, this is an unimaginably long lifespan.
But for cultivators, especially those in the Foundation Establishment Realm, this lifespan sometimes seems insufficient.
Mastering skills needs time.
Advancing cultivation needs time.
Finding opportunities needs time.
Searching ancient relics naturally also needs time.
So, is this lifespan of two or three hundred years really sufficient?
According to Meng Guan’s thoughts, it’s clearly not sufficient.
After sighing, Meng Guan spoke once more.
“When I reached Foundation Establishment, I was already sixty. Now, advancing to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, I have spent another sixty years.”
“That means, I am now over a hundred and twenty.”
“Looking back on all these years, I do have confidence in connecting the dots and reaching the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection with the remaining lifespan.”
“After all, I still have seventy or even more years for cultivation.”
“But if I want to step on the Golden Core Path and glimpse the power of Golden Elixir, I don’t feel confident at all.”
“It’s difficult to find the Golden Congealing Elixir and the Golden Elixir secret technique,”
At this point, Meng Guan stopped again, turning his gaze to his two good friends beside him.
He Song and Wei Fan were friends since his time at Bamboo Mountain Immortal Pavilion. From then on, the three of them supported each other, until now.
However, their current cultivation levels are not what they used to be.
Now, Wei Fan, who originally had the highest cultivation, has reached the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.
Now, He Song, who originally had the lowest cultivation, has also reached Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.
Now, Meng Guan, who used to dwell between the two of them and had not made a breakthrough for a long time, has now the highest cultivation, having reached the Late Foundation Establishment Stage.
When Meng Guan was stuck and failed to break through to the Qi Refining late stage, who knew the distress in his heart?
Fortunately,
He chose to take the plunge.
After taking the plunge, the sky was the limit.
From a Five Spirits Roots cultivator who even struggled to break through to the late stage Qi Refining,
He transformed into the current Foundation Establishment Master who has reached the Late Foundation Establishment Stage.
The gap is obvious.
But now,
He again encountered the dilemma he faced a long, long time ago.
According to his calculation, given his cultivation pace which has started to slow down, he could break through to the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection. But, any hope of reaching the Golden Core seems like a figment of imagination.
The Thick Earth Sect would not entrust a Loose Cultivator with the precious Golden Congealing Elixir and the secret Golden Elixir technique.
Therefore, he who knew all this had already made a choice in his heart.
Meng Guan, who seemed to have made a decision, looked at He Song and slowly started to speak again.
“Today, as my cultivation made a breakthrough, my two good friends came here.”
“Doesn’t it remind you of when we were in the Spirit Construction Pavilion, drinking tea together and hearing the news about the Red Spirit Gold mine?”
As he spoke, Meng Guan had a bright light flashing in his eyes.
However, He Song and Wei Fan, who were attentively listening on the side, looked at each other and then turned their gaze back to Meng Guan. “But now, we don’t have another Red Spirit Gold mine around,”
Wei Fan asked first, expressing his doubt.
You have to have a goal to strive for, right?
Without a goal, where would you aim for?
Wei Fan looked at Meng Guan with these questions, the perplexity in his eyes lingering.
But at his side, He Song squinted his eyes a bit.
He is different from Wei Fan and Meng Guan.
For his own safety, he once left the Thick Earth Sect’s influence and went to other Golden Core Sects.
He even went to the influence zone of the Nascent Soul Upper Sect, the Sun Faction, opened a secret cave mansion for himself to ensure his safety.
If he was to choose a place where he could acquire the Golden Congealing
Elixir, as well as the Golden Elixir secret technique,
He would surely choose the Sun Faction’s influence zone.
The Sun Faction, after all, is a Nascent Soul Upper Sect.
It boasts countless Golden Core forces.
The existence of Golden Congealing Elixir and the Golden Elixir secret technique that they possess is naturally more numerous, and easier to obtain.
In this situation, hearing what Meng Guan said, He Song couldn’t help but remember his experiences within the Sun Faction.
In the influence zone of an upper sect like the Sun Faction,
There are many more opportunities than in the Golden Core Sect like the Thick Earth Sect.
More than once, he received letters from Su Qian, saying that there are opportunities in Cloud State.
However, even though He Song has his own opinion on the Sun Faction, having visited it personally, he didn’t say anything.
He just quietly listened.
“Even though there is no longer another Red Spirit Gold mine available for us now, there is another path.”
“And the Red Spirit Gold Mine back then wasn’t as simple as it seemed. What it contained was even enticing to a Golden Elixir Master.”
“Being able to get out of that Red Spirit Gold mine, I really had a lucky escape.”
“I only truly understood the matter when I visited the Red Spirit Gold mine again. Before that, I was in the dark..”