Gu Wanchang nodded.

"That's right, according to the clan rules, since Shixin established her foundation on her own, her Foundation Establishment reward should be doubled. Let's do this! We'll reward her with an additional two thousand Spirit Stones! She probably spent all her savings to buy the Immortal-Fate Water."

Gu Wanhua agreed as well.

On the eighth day after Gu Shixin successfully established her Foundation, Gu Xuanzhan returned from Heng Prefecture, bringing back a large batch of Spiritual Talismans and other spiritual materials.

Gu Wanchang told Gu Xuanzhan the news of Gu Shixin's successful Foundation Establishment, and Gu Xuanzhan was also pleased. At this critical juncture, it was naturally a good thing for the Gu Clan to produce another Foundation Establishment cultivator. After meeting Gu Shixin, Gu Xuanzhan even gave her a third-tier Spiritual Talisman.

One month later, Gu Wanhao also emerged from seclusion, having smoothly broken through to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment.

Gu Changhuan, however, remained in seclusion.

He had reached the ninth layer of Qi Condensation several days earlier, but he had set his sights higher.

He would cultivate to the peak of the ninth layer, then purify his spiritual power again with the Spirit-Tempering Disc!

His fights against Cloud Fiend and Fang Kaiji had shown him the value of having deeper reserves of spiritual power. He wanted to purify it still further.

Even if the pain of using the disc made him question every decision that had brought him there.

He estimated that it would take three months to reach the peak of the ninth layer.

With his broad spirit roots and special Spiritual Body, Gu Changhuan had never needed pills to aid his cultivation. He had reached the ninth layer of Qi Condensation before turning twenty. No one in the Nine Perches Mountains could match his rate of progress.

Seclusion was monotonous, but nothing matched the satisfaction of feeling his spiritual power grow, little by little, toward its limit.

Three months later, just as he had expected, he reached the peak of the ninth layer. No matter how much Spiritual Qi he absorbed, his spiritual power would not increase any further.

Gu Changhuan took out the Spirit-Tempering Disc, took a deep breath, and sat on it.

After using the Spirit-Tempering Disc several times, Gu Changhuan felt his pain tolerance had improved considerably.

Half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Gu Changhuan stepped down from the Spirit-Tempering Disc, drenched in sweat.

Then he continued cultivating.

He repeated this process of cultivation and spirit power purification three times, after which the Spirit-Tempering Disc could no longer refine his spiritual power.

Delighted, he examined his Dantian and meridians. The spiritual power within them was beginning to resemble a liquid.

He tried to condense the spiritual power in his Dantian. Unexpectedly, the spiritual power gathered in one place and actually formed a drop of True Essence!

Then the Chaos Myriad Spirits Art within his body unexpectedly began to operate, carrying the spiritual power from his Meridians towards his Dantian.

It was automatically beginning Foundation Establishment!

For a moment, Gu Changhuan was somewhat flustered, but he quickly calmed down. He directed the spiritual power to continuously compress into True Essence.

His spiritual power soon ran out, yet his Dantian was not even half full of True Essence.

What was going on? According to reason, as long as one could condense True Essence to the minimum level of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it counted as successful Foundation Establishment. But his current state...

Gu Changhuan seemed to think of something. He began absorbing the Spiritual Qi in the air. However, the Spiritual Qi in the air was too dispersed. He had no choice but to take out five Supreme Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Ring, holding them in his hands, and began absorbing the Spiritual Qi within them.

Spiritual Qi became spiritual power, then True Essence. By the time an incense stick could have burned down, the Spirit Stones had crumbled to powder and sifted through his fingers.

Supreme Grade Spirit Stones were naturally extraordinary. Watching his Dantian gradually reach saturation, Gu Changhuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, a thin layer of impurities was expelled from his body, and Gu Changhuan's spiritual power fluctuations also changed to those only a Foundation Establishment cultivator could possess.

Gu Changhuan's Foundation Establishment naturally couldn't be hidden from the few Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion cultivators on Emerald Maple Mountain.

Gu Xuanzhan was the first to arrive in the courtyard. He was glad to sense that Gu Changhuan had succeeded, but concerned as well. Was he advancing too quickly? Could there be hidden consequences?

The instant Gu Changhuan successfully established his Foundation, his consciousness was suddenly pulled into a mysterious space.

It was a gray, boundless space.

Gu Changhuan vigilantly surveyed his surroundings. Suddenly, a figure appeared before him.

Gu Changhuan reached for his storage pouch and drew out the Azure Cloud Sword.

"Little fellow, quite vigilant, aren't you?"

The person who appeared before Gu Changhuan spoke with a hint of amusement.

"Forgive me, Senior, but I don't believe we have met. May I ask your name?" Gu Changhuan tightened his grip on the Azure Cloud Sword as he studied the green-robed old man, whose hair and beard were entirely white.

"You haven't met me, but you received something from me, yet you're this impolite. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Seeing Gu Changhuan growing increasingly wary, the elder's smile deepened.

Gu Changhuan frowned, seeming to think of something. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically.

"You are Senior Zhenlingzi!"

The green-robed elder, who was indeed Zhenlingzi, nodded.

"Quick on the uptake, aren't you?"

"But I am not Zhenlingzi himself—only a remnant of his soul."

Gu Changhuan had begun to relax, but now his heart lurched. Was Zhenlingzi planning to possess him?

Zhenlingzi seemed to have seen through Gu Changhuan's thoughts.

"Relax, I cannot seize the body of someone with a Great Dao Body. Forget about me, even if an Immortal came, they might not necessarily succeed."

Great Dao Body?

A trace of confusion flashed in Gu Changhuan's eyes. He had never heard of this.

"You are right, Senior. I do have a Spiritual Body, though I never knew what kind. I've never heard of the Great Dao Body. What does it do?"

Zhenlingzi stroked his beard.

"With a Great Dao Body, you grasp spells and cultivation methods far faster than ordinary people. There is no spell or skill in this world that you cannot learn. They say the Great Dao Body is favored by heaven: no one can possess its bearer, and it even grants some natural resistance to Inner Demons."

"How is that possible?" Gu Changhuan blurted out.

However, he quickly thought of when he awakened his past life's memories as a child. It had been like encountering an Inner Demon, but he had calmed down very quickly.

"There's nothing impossible about it."

Zhenlingzi continued.

"Some people are simply more favored by heaven. To a mortal, a cultivator is such a person; to a cultivator, it is an Immortal."

Gu Changhuan found it hard to refute, but by now he had also calmed down.

"May I ask why you summoned me here, Senior?"