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Chapter 54: Yunling Xuelian & The Heavenly Path to Foundation Building
Chapter 54 – Yunling Xuelian & The Heavenly Path to Foundation Building
As it turned out, Xiao Chen’s decision to visit Elder Chen first was completely correct.
After hearing his report, Elder Chen remained calm. “I see. Leave the rest to me. How’s your cultivation progress?”
Xiao Chen humbled himself slightly. “Steady enough. I should meet the requirements without issues.”
Elder Chen then asked about his pill forging, offered routine advice, and never mentioned the Flying Sword incident again.
He didn’t even inquire about the Black Market.
His silence spoke volumes.
Xiao Chen speculated that the Chen family, renowned for its dual mastery of alchemy and artifact crafting, likely had family members involved in sect forging operations. Could the Flying Sword incident have been the work of another Chen clansman?
If so, it might be a silver lining—a mere case of embezzlement rather than an outsider’s tragic death.
Since Elder Chen had taken charge, Xiao Chen decided not to dwell on it. Returning to his room, he began refining the storage bag.
This one proved far more challenging than the last. It took two full hours to erase its original sealing formation and fully reforge it.
Inside, he found a small notebook—good news.
The bad news? It wasn’t a cultivation manual but a diary.
“Who even writes diaries anymore?”
Though disappointed at missing Grass-Made Army, Xiao Chen flipped through it, hoping for clues.
“Fourth day of the Apricot Moon: The Divine Flame Cult grows unstoppable. Brother says we must prepare early.”
“Eighth day of the Peach Moon: The solitary cultivators of Hezhou are destitute. Killed three and still couldn’t scrape together 100 spirit stones.”
“Eleventh day of the Lotus Moon: Brother says Hezhou isn’t safe anymore. Demonic cultivators are crossing borders. We should head to Li Zhou.”
“Nineteenth day of the Lotus Moon: Two brats from Luotian Sect killed Old Five. Dammit, from now on, kill every damned demonic cultivator we meet. Revenge for Old Five.”
“Third day of the Osmanthus Moon: The leader finally agreed to hit two more targets. About time. How else will we fund our cultivation?”
Two pages had been torn out.
“Twenty-first day of the Frost Moon: Old Four fell. He shouldn’t have gone alone. The Yunling Xuelian fell into the hands of a brat named Ye Fei. Kill him. Revenge for Old Four.”
Though brief, the diary spilled critical secrets.
Earlier rumors in Li Zhou claimed Hezhou, bordering Quanzhou, remained untouched by demonic cultivators. Yet this journal suggested the three great sects’ intelligence was outdated—or deliberately misleading.
Xiao Chen didn’t doubt their ability to gather intel, but he had every reason to doubt their honesty with solitary cultivators.
More shockingly, Luotian Sect was a demonic sect—a major revelation.
He’d never heard of them before, but Daoba had instantly recognized his Xuan Fire Raven.
Thankfully, he’d never demonstrated the technique publicly—else he might’ve been mistaken for a demonic cultivator himself.
That wine-seller must’ve been a demonic cultivator too.
No wonder he’d ambushed travelers. Scum.
From now on, Xiao Chen would keep the Xuan Fire Raven hidden, a secret ace. But without a reliable technique, he felt exposed.
“Wait—where’s my cultivation manual?”
He suddenly realized: It had been four to five months since joining the Inner Sect, nearly half a year. The Scripture Pavilion still hadn’t delivered the manual promised to new disciples.
Damn that Jiang family! Another strike against them.
“Just try dragging your feet until I’ve Foundation Built myself!”
He vowed revenge once his power surpassed theirs. But for now, he needed a new technique—urgently.
Then there was the Yunling Xuelian.
He recognized it as a famous first-tier spirit plant, essential knowledge for a pill forger. But Toumu had called it a Foundation-Building spirit artifact? How did that connect?
Foundation Building had three paths: Heavenly, Earthly, and Human.
The Heavenly Path involved celestial treasures attuned to the Five Elements, enabling near-certain breakthroughs with lasting benefits. But such treasures were irreplaceable, unreplicable in spirit fields. Li Zhou hadn’t seen a case in centuries—it was practically myth.
The Earthly Path—using Foundation Building Pills—was the mainstream. For cultivators with mid- or low-grade spirit roots, these pills boosted success rates and protected one’s essence if they failed. But ingredients were scarce, monopolized by the three great sects. Solitary cultivators without connections or luck rarely obtained one.
The Human Path—forcing a breakthrough through sheer vital energy—was a last resort. Success rates were abysmal, with failure risking permanent damage.
Could the Yunling Xuelian truly be a Heavenly Path ingredient?
Daoba’s storage bag held a white snow lotus, identical to the one described in pill manuals.
Old Four had one. Daoba had one. Both possessed it.
“What happened during those three months?”
The torn diary pages were surely linked to these snow lotuses. Something major had occurred last year—yet he’d heard nothing.
Other items in the bag: a low-grade Flying Sword, an earthy-yellow Magic Robe, 133 spirit stones, half a vial of Qi Gathering Pills, two Black Market tokens, a Cangyan Sect Inner Sect token, two unused Triple Fireball Talismans, a Storage Box containing unidentified seeds, night infiltration robes, beef jerky, a wine gourd, and miscellaneous goods.
The seeds were likely the most valuable. Xiao Chen secured them for later appraisal.
After organizing everything, he listed his priorities:
1. Master the Zongdi Jinguang (Golden Light Body-Flickering Technique) for survival.
2. Learn a new technique to replace Xuan Fire Raven.
3. Forge pills to fund new techniques.
4. Study the Fire Transformation Talisman for emergency use.
5. Investigate Heavenly Path Foundation Building.
“Suddenly swamped!”
As he exhaled, a knock interrupted him.
“Xiao Chen,” called Steward Chen. “Third Uncle needs help with a pill forging task. Free to assist?”
Wait—hadn’t he just left Elder Chen? Why hadn’t he mentioned this earlier?
(End of Chapter)
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