In the cultivation chamber, Xiao Fei sat cross-legged amidst a pile of white powder. The aura emanating from his body had reached the Foundation Establishment realm.
Xiao Fei's emitted aura gradually receded. He slowly concluded his practice, opened his eyes, and looked at the pile of powder, the jade bottles, and the empty wine jars in the cultivation room. He felt helpless.
After this Foundation Establishment, he had become penniless again.
He hadn't expected that the Sea of Dantian he had built would leak, like a bottomless pit.
Xiao Fei had no choice but to continuously replenish his spiritual energy. Initially, he used spirit stones and spirit wine.
After the spirit stones and spirit wine were depleted, he resorted to pills. Regardless of the type of pill, as soon as it entered his stomach, it transformed into spiritual energy and was absorbed by the Sea of Dantian.
When the pills ran out, he resorted to eating grass. He pulled out the spirit herbs in his spatial dimension and gnawed on them with more enthusiasm than a goat. His teeth and tongue were still green.
He had originally saved up, and after raiding the Lin family, he still had over thirty thousand spirit stones and thirty to forty thousand pills.
At a time when he was rolling in wealth, all of it was now gone.
Fortunately, the Sea of Dantian finally showed some mercy and stopped absorbing his spiritual energy. He was then able to store a small amount of magical power in the Sea of Dantian.
Now, he had finally become a legitimate Foundation Establishment cultivator. Within the entire Dan Xin Sect, and even in the cultivation world of Lu Kingdom, he was no longer at the very bottom.
He could barely be considered middle-tier, possessing a small amount of influence, no longer an ant to be manipulated at will.
However, this was definitely not a reason to become arrogant. Setting aside the Nascent Soul and Golden Core stage old monsters, even within the Foundation Establishment realm, there were strong and weak.
A cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage could easily kill a cultivator in the early Foundation Establishment stage.
Sensing the magical power within his body, although the Sea of Dantian was not yet full, with his current magical power, he could easily slaughter ten late Qi Condensation cultivators.
His divine sense had broken through further. During the Qi Condensation stage, his divine sense was on par with the third elder of the Lin family, which was why he could evade him for so long with his speed.
Now, his divine sense was likely comparable to a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Xiao Fei's divine sense now observed his internal body. A jade slip covered in cracks was floating within him.
After absorbing all his wealth, it had only repaired a very small crack.
As soon as his divine sense touched the jade slip, it was drawn into the spatial dimension.
The spatial dimension had undergone a significant transformation. What was originally only three mu of land had now expanded to over thirty mu.
Estimating with his divine sense, it should be around thirty-six mu.
Even the small pit he had dug to plant the Five-Colored Spirit Lotus had become about an acre in size. Xiao Fei mused about raising some fish in it later.
After this transformation, Xiao Fei could feel a subtle connection between himself and the spatial dimension.
His divine sense could control the flow of spiritual energy within the spatial dimension, allowing spiritual energy to converge in a certain area or be drained from another.
However, it had no practical use.
As his divine sense surveyed the spatial dimension, he suddenly noticed that one of the spirit peach trees seemed somewhat unusual.
The leaves of this tree were even more verdant, lustrous like jade, and the spiritual energy emanating from its trunk was more concentrated.
It seemed this tree had mutated. The specific outcome would require further observation.
A very small chance existed for some spirit herbs and spirit fruits to mutate, and most mutated spirit items would increase in value significantly.
He re-examined everything. No other spirit items showed signs of mutation. Only then did he exit the spatial dimension.
After a Qi Condensation disciple advanced to Foundation Establishment, reporting to the sect for registration would also yield some rewards.
Furthermore, True Person Guang Ling had promised to take him as a personal disciple. Having a Golden Core stage mentor offered many benefits, such as when True Person Guang Ling's words had helped him resolve many troubles previously.
When Xiao Fei opened the door to his cave dwelling, he saw several groups of people already standing outside.
"Congratulations, Martial Uncle, on advancing to Foundation Establishment!"
It turned out that the commotion caused by Xiao Fei absorbing spiritual energy during his advancement was so great that disciples on Thousand Bird Peak had sensed it.
Everyone thought a rare treasure had appeared and had rushed to witness it, only to be kept far away from the cave dwelling by Xiao Lan.
Now, seeing that Xiao Fei had truly succeeded in establishing his foundation, they quickly bowed and offered their congratulations.
Xiao Fei cupped his fists in return and waved his hand, signaling everyone to disperse.
Things were different now. A Foundation Establishment cultivator was a level higher than an inner disciple of the Qi Condensation stage. His returning the bow was considered polite.
After chatting with Xiao Lan for a while longer, he mounted his Black Feather artifact and headed towards the main peak.
Foundation Establishment cultivators could already fly using artifacts. However, he hadn't practiced it yet and feared falling off the flying sword, which would tarnish the image of a high-level Foundation Establishment cultivator of the sect.
The Sect Master of Dan Xin Sect had a long beard and white hair. He was a Golden Core expert who appeared quite ethereal and dignified. He usually wore a smile and was unanimously supported by all disciples in the sect.
When he saw Xiao Fei, who had successfully established his foundation, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
He had personally awarded this alchemy genius of the sect twice. He still recognized Xiao Fei.
He had also specifically investigated Xiao Fei's entry records. His cultivation aptitude was extremely poor. He was only recruited into the sect to fill a quota.
However, no one had expected him to be an alchemy genius.
But given Xiao Fei's aptitude, it was considered quite fortunate to have successfully established his foundation with the two Foundation Establishment Pills obtained from the alchemy competition.
The Sect Master personally registered Xiao Fei and rewarded him with fifty thousand contribution points at once.
Additionally, Foundation Establishment disciples in the sect could establish their own cave dwellings in the Cui Hua Mountain Range. Xiao Fei felt that his current residence was still acceptable and he was too lazy to move.
"Martial Nephew Xiao Fei, I will personally gift you a Spirit Gathering Jade Pendant this time. You can carry it with you, and it can accelerate your cultivation speed."
"Thank you, Sect Master Martial Uncle!"
As the saying goes, one does not refuse a gift from an elder. Xiao Fei respectfully accepted the jade pendant with both hands, hung it on his waist, and then took his leave.
Next, Xiao Fei flew towards the cave dwelling of True Person Guang Ling.
This time, the one who came to the outer perimeter of the formation to lead him into the cave dwelling was still that cold and beautiful senior sister.
Even though Xiao Fei had now established his foundation, this senior sister still showed no warmth and remained as cold as ice.
However, Xiao Fei had never liked to be a sycophant, nor did he have the habit of wanting to conquer female cultivators upon seeing them.
He had always adhered to the principle: "If she ignores me, I'll ignore her. Whoever speaks first loses."
Therefore, on these few occasions, both of them walked in silence with cold expressions, not uttering a single word. Anyone who didn't know might have thought they were a couple having a spat.
"Disciple pays respects to Master! Disciple, by chance, obtained a piece of Spirit Nurturing Tea some time ago. I request Master to taste it!"
Upon seeing True Person Guang Ling, Xiao Fei immediately bowed and presented an exquisite jade box.
Since he intended to formally become a disciple, it wouldn't be appropriate to come empty-handed.
Spirit Nurturing Tea was renowned in the cultivation world. Even for a Golden Core expert like True Person Guang Ling, it might not be easy to have the opportunity to taste it.
"Oh! I shall take a look."
True Person Guang Ling's eyebrows twitched upon hearing this, and a hint of joy appeared on his face. In his hundreds of years of life, he had only tasted Spirit Nurturing Tea once.
That was two hundred years ago when a friend brewed tea with a single leaf of Spirit Nurturing Tea and treated over a dozen of them.
True Person Guang Ling removed the sealing talisman on the jade box and opened the lid. Inside, he saw a very tender leaf, emitting a faint tea fragrance. Just taking a whiff made one feel refreshed and invigorated.
The only drawback was that this leaf was somewhat incomplete, not very whole.
However, True Person Guang Ling thought that given Xiao Fei's status, obtaining such a leaf was already quite good.
He presumed that Xiao Fei must have gone to some trouble for this leaf.
Xiao Fei had indeed gone to some trouble for it. The incomplete part of the leaf was deliberately torn by him, making it more fitting for his current identity.
"Hahaha! Excellent! Today, I will officially accept you as my personal disciple!"
Immediately, True Person Guang Ling sent out a communication talisman, summoning his other personal disciples.