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Ten days later, Lan Chang'an had stabilized his realm and officially erged from seclusion.
"Congratulations, Senior Brother Lan, your spiritual strength has advanced greatly."
"Congratulations, Uncle Lan, on your breakthrough."
Upon exiting the cave mansion, two maids stood by its entrance, offering their congratulations.
"Bingyun, I have already seen that you defeated the two first-rank superior-grade puppets," Lan Chang'an said with a smile, looking at the slender woman in a green dress.
"I still can't beat the Earth Burrowing Rat even with its strength and cultivation suppressed," Mu Bingyun replied softly.
Then, she sowhat sheepishly took out a bag of spirit stones and lightly bit her vermilion lips, "Uncle Lan, I damaged two puppets. Are these spirit stones enough to compensate?"
Lan Chang'an chuckled and waved his hand, "Keep your spirit stones to fund your Foundation Establishnt."
Repairing two first-rank puppets wouldn't cost much.
Mu Bingyun had passed the test he suggested and now she had to say goodbye.
"Bingyun, pack your things and co with to Feiyue Lake to attend Li Erqing's hundredth birthday," Lan Chang'an instructed.
"Alright." Mu Bingyun hesitated but eventually nodded.
She didn't have a good impression of Li Erqing's faction. If Lan Chang'an hadn't said anything, she would have gone out to train and not returned to the Mu Family.
That day, Lan Chang'an and Mu Bingyun set off for Feiyue Lake on a flying boat.
Although Lan Chang'an had long since severed ties with the Mu Family, attending Li Erqing's centenary birthday was due to their more than eighty years of personal friendship.
"Bingyun, when we return to the family, give this letter to your master," Lan Chang'an said, handing a letter to Mu Bingyun during the journey.
...
Six or seven days later.
The vast and misty Feiyue Lake ca into view.
"Big Brother," Li Erqing, dressed in a red ceremonial robe, greeted them first.
The cultivation world was vast, and ti was long—ceremonies like Li Erqing's centenary birthday typically last several days to entertain friends and family from afar.
Lan Chang'an patted Li Erqing's shoulder, and they flew together to the main hall on Moonheart Island.
"Congratulations, Brother, on advancing to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishnt," Li Erqing could not hide the surprise on his face as he noticed the change in Lan Changan's cultivation level.
A mid Foundation Establishnt cultivator's power far surpassed that of an early Foundation Establishnt cultivator.
Back then, Huang Tankong's presence brought significant deterrence to the Mu Family and the surrounding area.
In comparison, Li Erqing, due to his lower aptitude and being entangled in family affairs, was still far from reaching the third level of Foundation Establishnt.
Li Erqing's mood was complicated, inevitably experiencing a sense of disparity.
Eighty years ago, both of them started at the sa point.
For the first few decades, Li Erqing always led Lan Chang'an, only being temporarily caught up at the seventh layer of Qi-Refining.
After breaking through the late-stage bottleneck, he was once again ahead of Lan Chang'an in cultivation, and with the fortune of his children, he obtained a Foundation Establishnt Pill first, becoming the Mu Family's Foundation Establishnt ancestor.
However, while Lan Chang'an's cultivation speed was slow, it was extrely steady and solid. Even after reaching the Foundation Establishnt, he continued to progress steadily. Li Erqing, on the other hand, had lost his montum and ambition.
...
The two landed in front of the main hall on Moonheart Island.
"Erqing, this is my gift," Lan Chang'an said, handing a gift box to Li Erqing.
"Fellow Daoist Lan."
"Uncle Lan."
Two familiar Foundation Establishnt cultivators, Zhao Siyao and Lin Lu, ca to greet them.
They also noticed Lan Chang'an's breakthrough, showing so surprise.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, you truly are soone who achieves great things later in life," Zhao Siyao said with a smile, praising him.
Her mood, however, was anything but calm. Zhao Siyao's qualifications were much higher, and with the sect at her back, she had always been far ahead of Lan Chang'an and the others.
However, after the Foundation Establishnt Realm, her cultivation advancent, which had been progressing smoothly, had t resistance. Each small level bottleneck took years and months of effort to overco.
"Fellow Daoist Zhao, you flatter . I was rely fortunate," Lan Chang'an said humbly.
"Perhaps because my foundation is solid and my mindset is good, I found it relatively easy to break through to the mid Foundation Establishnt stage after reaching the peak of the early stage."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Siyao and Lin Lu couldn't help but ponder.
Indeed, Lan Chang'an's over eighty years of cultivation, step by step, had built an incredibly solid foundation. Cultivating oneself, raising turtles, and planting grass, his mindset far exceeded ordinary people.
"In terms of foundation and mindset, we are not as good as Fellow Daoist Lan," Zhao Siyao admitted frankly.
She truly realized the gap in this aspect.
Breaking through minor realms inherently varies from person to person.
So cultivators, though not exceptionally gifted, have deep foundations and excellent mindsets, making it easier for them to break through than ordinary cultivators.
This situation appears more frequently among cultivators who practice life-nurturing techniques.
"Fellow Daoist Zhao, after a few more years of polishing, you should have no difficulty advancing to the late Foundation Establishnt stage," Lan Chang'an observed, noting that Zhao Siyao had reached the peak of the mid Foundation Establishnt.
"I hope so," Zhao Siyao sighed softly.
Given the current trend, it seed unlikely she would advance to the late Foundation Establishnt stage before reaching a hundred years of age.
Fortunately, her expedition to the Green Underworld Mysterious Realm yielded so gains and was a rare opportunity for tempering.
As long as she could advance to the late Foundation Establishnt stage, she would surpass most Foundation Establishnt cultivators and significantly increase her status within the sect.
In the following idle chatter, Lan Chang'an learned that Zhang Tieshan had advanced to the late stage of the Foundation Establishnt six months ago.
It was said that Zhang Tieshan's gains in the Green Underworld Mysterious Realm were among the best among the participating cultivators from Jin Yun Valley.
This ti, he stood out from the crowd, and his position within the sect was elevated, and he garnered the attention of the core elders.
For Li Erqing's birthday banquet, Zhang Tieshan didn't attend in person, sending a disciple to extend his greetings instead.
...
"Bingyun, go see your master first," Lan Chang'an said to the slightly uneasy Mu Bingyun.
She had yet to detach herself from the role of Lan Changan's maid.
"Yes, Uncle Lan." Mu Bingyun bowed and left, carrying the letter Lan Chang'an had given her to see her master.
Lan Chang'an's spiritual sense followed her to ensure she wasn't intercepted on the way.
He looked at Zhao Siyao and transmitted a ssage: "Fellow Daoist Zhao, there's sothing I need you to be a middleman for. It won't take much ti or effort, and you'll receive five hundred spirit stones as compensation."
"Oh, is there such an easy task?" Zhao Siyao asked, pursing her lips in thought.
They communicated through voice transmission for a mont.
Lan Chang'an hinted in the letter Mu Bingyun carried back that there was an opportunity for Foundation Establishnt in Zhao Siyao's hands, suggesting they strive for it.
Zhao Siyao had previously refined a Foundation Establishnt Pill within the sect, so she could withstand any scrutiny.
Lan Chang'an had brought back a Foundation Establishnt Pill before, trading with the Mu Family once. If the sa trade were to happen again, acquiring Foundation Establishnt Pills would seem too easy for him.
...
After the birthday banquet ended.
Lan Chang'an and Zhao Siyao stayed overnight in guest rooms on Moonheart Island. As Foundation Establishnt cultivators, they enjoyed their own private courtyards.
Late that night, the family head, Mu Chengji, and a veiled old woman visited Zhao Siyao's courtyard.
After about half an hour, Zhao Siyao saw the two visitors out, her expression slightly complex.
"Only the Great Dao and the sun and moon are eternal," she gazed at the night sky, suddenly realizing: back at the Immortal Gathering Building, Lan Chang'an's change in address wasn't just for the sake of clearing his na.
...
The next morning, Zhao Siyao ca to Lan Chang'an's courtyard.
"Fellow Daoist Lan, here are the spirit stones from selling the Foundation Establishnt Pill," she said, handing a bag of spirit stones to Lan Chang'an.
In the past, at the Huanglong Auction, a standard Foundation Establishnt Pill was sold for six thousand spirit stones. In this bag, there were fifty-five hundred spirit stones.
Lan Chang'an gave five hundred of them to Zhao Siyao as an interdiary fee.
In this transaction, Lan Chang'an was a businessman, and selling to other forces would yield a similar price. At least with the Mu Family, there was so familiarity, and using Zhao Siyao from the sect to facilitate the deal minimized risks.
From the Mu Family's perspective, Zhao Siyao's close friendship with Lan Chang'an ant she agreed to the deal out of respect for him.
Mu Bingyun had been on Little Turtle Peak for many years. Having spent so many years on Little Turtle Peak, Mu Bingyun had earned her own rit, even if it was only sweat, and receiving this opportunity for Foundation Establishnt was her benefit for her dedication.
Half an hour later.
A graceful woman in a green dress flew hurriedly to Lan Chang'an's courtyard.
"Uncle Lan."
However, the courtyard was empty.
Lan Chang'an had left without saying goodbye, not taking her along.
Mu Bingyun's clear eyes turned red, and she stood there in a daze, feeling an inexplicable emptiness in her heart.
She understood that from now on, she was no longer a maid of Little Turtle Peak.
The days of nurturing and caring, assisting Uncle Lan with making talismans, managing the mountain, and being accompanied by the Earth Burrowing Rat and the Profound Water Turtle, were now behind her.
...
Outside Feiyue Lake's sky, Lan Chang'an bid farewell to Zhao Siyao and Lin Lu.
Two Foundation Establishnt Pills, one had already been converted into spirit stones.
Previously, due to purchasing materials like third-rank spiritual wood, Lan Chang'an's spirit stones had nearly been exhausted. Now his wallet was bulging once again.
Combined with the spoils obtained from Alchemist Hua, the number of spirit stones broke ten thousand.
With his finances secure, he wasn't in a hurry to sell the remaining Foundation Establishnt Pill.
"Good luck."
Lan Chang'an took one last look at Feiyue Lake.
Whether Mu Bingyun could successfully establish her Foundation was beyond his control.
Coincidentally, Mu Bingyun's age at Foundation Establishnt was forty-seven, the sa as her master, Mu Xiuyun, back then.
Their aptitudes were also similar, with Mu Bingyun being slightly better at most.
The difference lay in Mu Bingyun's decision not to stubbornly cling to her family legacy and make a different choice from her master back then.
Two months later.
Feiyue Lake, above Moonheart Island.
The heaven and earth spiritual energy gathered, forming a small spiritual vortex.
Ten days later, the vortex emitted a faint glow, slowly dissipating.
Subsequently, a surge of Foundation Establishnt spiritual pressure erged from a cave-dwelling on Moonheart Island.
"Foundation Establishnt Success!"
So of the Mu Family's old lineage mbers were moved to tears, filled with excitent.
This ti, Feiyue Lake faced no external threats, and the Foundation Establishnt process was smooth and undisturbed.
The Maple Leaf Huang Family was down to one female Foundation Establishnt cultivator, relying on her late-stage Foundation Establishnt partner to protect their family's territory.
That late-stage Foundation Establishnt cultivator was difficult to deal with, being greedy and insatiable, making the Huang Family miserable.
Several days later, inside a secluded chamber.
A young woman in a green dress, with eyes as bright as stars, opened her eyes. Her dress fluttered in the breeze.
Having successfully established her foundation, her appearance and deanor had subtly improved.
"Master... Disciple's decision back then was not wrong."
"Your support all these years, treating as a stand-in for your younger self, has validated a completely different fate. Do you feel comforted by this?" Mu Bingyun, radiant and beautiful as a snow lotus, stood up gracefully.
"Uncle Lan, thank you."
With a respectful expression, she looked towards the north of Feiyue Lake and bowed deeply.
...
Three to four months later.
Wuqi Mountain, Little Turtle Peak.
Lan Chang'an unfolded a letter, looking at the elegant handwriting.
It was the first letter he received from Mu Bingyun.
Mu Bingyun's successful Foundation Establishnt was within his expectations.
Lan Chang'an did not reply to the letter.
He entered the secret room and began studying and crafting a new puppet.
Half a year later...
Lan Chang'an completed his second mid-grade second-rank puppet.
It was also a turtle puppet, with defense skills maxed out.
A change this ti around was that the turtle puppet could form a three-zhang-high turtle shield, which could be used as a supre-grade defensive weapon at critical monts.
After completing this turtle puppet, Lan Chang'an, now at mid-Foundation Establishnt, turned 103 years old.
...
A few days later.
"Manrong! Fellow Daoist Lan! You must seek justice for ..."
A wailing voice echoed from the outskirts of Wuqi Mountain, loud enough to be heard clearly from all three of the main peaks, despite their distance.
"Senior Brother Lan, Chen Sheng has had his leg crippled by soone." Soon after, Guan Qiaozhi ca to report.
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