Gu Changhuan defeated Fang Kaiji and claimed the victory!

Down in the spectator area, Gu Wanhao was so pleased that his beard twitched. This meant his Gu Clan would secure forty percent of the tax revenue from the Nine Perches Market for the next twenty years!

Enough to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill.

No one present had expected Fang Kaiji, at the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, to lose a battle of endurance against an eighth-layer opponent.

Instead, his opponent had turned the tables and beaten him!

Although that mirror-shaped magical artifact had clearly contributed significantly, the outcome was settled, and no one cared to dwell on the details.

Gu Changhuan himself had not expected to take first place so easily. This had been much easier than fighting Cloud Fiend.

Regardless, his reputation began to spread quietly throughout the Nine Perches Mountains following this battle.

The Foundation Establishment Elders of the four families exchanged polite pleasantries, yet each clearly harbored private concerns. All of them were well aware of the impending Beast Tide.

After the grand competition concluded, the group returned to Emerald Maple Mountain.

Responsibility for garrisoning the market was assigned to Gu Shiwen.

Gu Wanhao had recently sensed that he was close to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment. He planned to go into seclusion.

After all, possessing a higher cultivation base would allow him to exert greater strength when the Beast Tide struck.

Gu Changhuan shared the same sentiment; he intended to enter secluded cultivation to reach the Qi Condensation Ninth Layer as soon as possible, striving to achieve Foundation Establishment before the crisis arrived.

Naturally, Gu Changhuan was not alone in his urgency.

Who on Emerald Maple Mountain—or anywhere in the cultivation world—did not dream of Foundation Establishment? Yet few ever achieved it. Most lacked the spiritual treasures to aid their breakthrough and dared not risk attempting it unaided, so they spent their entire lives at Qi Condensation.

A fortunate few found other opportunities even without a Foundation Establishment Pill. These gave them a chance to break through—a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless.

Gu Shixin was precisely such a person.

Following her participation in the ancient cultivator cave-abode exploration, she had acquired three second-tier high-grade magical artifacts. Disguising her identity, she traveled to Cloudheaven Market and sold them separately across several different shops.

With the proceeds and her years of savings, she bought a substance that could help her establish her foundation: Immortal-Fate Water.

Immortal-Fate Water was actually a poison. It could aid Foundation Establishment, but was less than a third as effective as a Foundation Establishment Pill. If the attempt failed, its poison would destroy the body, leaving not even bones behind.

Yet for those who could never afford a Foundation Establishment Pill, Immortal-Fate Water represented their only lifeline. That grim reality was how the substance earned its name.

Gu Shixin carefully stored the vial, suppressing her cultivation aura back down to the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer. She circled the market twice to ensure no one was tailing her before finally departing.

Outside the market, she summoned her Barbarian Bull Beast, slapped a divine movement talisman onto its flank, and drove the creature into a rapid gallop toward the Nine Perches Mountains.

Only when the familiar peaks of Emerald Maple Mountain hove into view did she finally let out a long breath.

Much like Gu Shiwen, Gu Shixin did not attempt her breakthrough rashly upon return. Instead, she spent several days calming her mind, bathing, burning incense, and reviewing the Foundation Establishment notes left by clan ancestors.

Once she was in peak condition, she took out the Immortal-Fate Water, then a Meridian-Protecting Pill.

Her entire fortune had been expended for this single opportunity. She now possessed a mere seven spirit stones to her name.

Should she fail...

A look of absolute resolve flashed across her eyes.

If she clung to life and feared death, how could she ever hope to establish her foundation?

She activated her cave abode's defensive formation and began circulating her cultivation technique, settling her breathing.

Seven days later, spiritual Qi began to churn violently around her dwelling, alerting Gu Wanchang who was meditating nearby.

He hurried to her door and immediately recognized that she was attempting a breakthrough. By all indications, she had reached the final stage.

Inside, Gu Shixin struggled to compress the spiritual power within her body until the first drop of true essence began to form.

Black blood ran from her nose, but she could spare it no attention. All her concentration went into converting her spiritual power to true essence.

About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later, the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator radiated from her.

Gu Shixin opened her eyes in startled joy, only to instantly lose consciousness and collapse.

Her breakthrough had taken too long. Though she had succeeded, the poison had already damaged her body. Unless it was treated promptly, the consequences could be severe.

Outside the stone doors, Gu Wanchang had barely registered the surge of Foundation Establishment Qi before sensing it abruptly fluctuate and vanish.

"Something has gone wrong."

He broke through the cave abode's formation by force and found Gu Shixin unconscious on the meditation room floor.

Upon spotting the empty vial of Immortal-Fate Water, he instantly grasped the situation.

He retrieved a pristine white medicinal pill and fed it to her just as Gu Wanhua arrived.

"What has happened?" Gu Wanhua asked urgently, eyeing the poisoned state of the young woman in confusion.

"It is Immortal-Fate Water. You are just in time; I have given her a detoxification pill, but you must help her refine the medicinal power."

Gu Wanchang explained. He practiced a fire-attribute cultivation technique, while Gu Shixin practiced a water-attribute one. With the two elements opposed, he could not help her absorb the medicine.

Gu Wanhua understood. Knowing how dangerous Immortal-Fate Water was, she immediately sat cross-legged behind Gu Shixin and placed her hands on her shoulders, helping her absorb the medicine and counteract the poison.

As a wood-attribute cultivator, Gu Wanhua possessed a natural advantage in neutralizing toxins.

Even so, the poison was formidable. Four hours passed before Gu Shixin regained consciousness.

"Do not speak yet. Check your meridians and see if the poison is fully purged," Gu Wanhua instructed immediately.

Any poison left in her body could well hinder her future cultivation.

Gu Shixin carefully examined her meridians and internal organs. A faint trace of poison remained, but it seemed too little to cause trouble.

"There is still a tiny amount left, but it should be manageable."

"Never underestimate the venom of Immortal-Fate Water! When I traveled after my own breakthrough, I met a cultivator who used it to enter the realm. Though he succeeded, residual poison eventually crippled his future advancement," Gu Wanhua warned solemnly.

Gu Wanchang nodded in agreement and handed Gu Shixin a small jade bottle.

"If that poison is not entirely eradicated, it will impede your absorption of spiritual Qi and ruin your prospects. Take these additional detoxification pills."

Realizing how treacherous the substance truly was, Gu Shixin accepted the bottle with deep gratitude. "Thank you, Patriarch, and thank you, Aunt Wanhua."

Gu Wanhua patted her hand.

"We are family. Once you have cleared out the poison, come and see me at the General Affairs Hall. You are a Foundation Establishment elder of the Gu Clan now, with rewards and an allowance to collect."

Gu Shixin was momentarily taken aback. Yes—she had reached Foundation Establishment now.

The thought brought a rush of bittersweet emotion.

After they left Gu Shixin's cave abode, Gu Wanhua said to Gu Wanchang, "That child's devotion to the Dao puts even mine to shame. To achieve Foundation Establishment through her own efforts with four spirit roots—she has done remarkably well."