Before long, Yu Ming and Li Xue exchanged drops of essence blood and signed a Friendship Blood Covenant. Li Xue gained the right to enter and exit the Realm at will; she could bring items into the Realm and take her own belongings out, but she was forbidden from removing anything native to the Realm or belonging to its master. In return, Li Xue was obligated to use her Yang-attributed fire spiritual power to refine the materials within the Realm, working alongside Yu Ming to develop its fire-related functions.
Through her connection with the Realm, Li Xue obtained two sets of hand seals for entry and exit. However, using them freely required a profound comprehension of space. According to Yu Ming, those with a strong spatial affinity could use the Realm to reach any location in the cultivation world, provided they mastered the corresponding spatial nodes. In Li Xue’s understanding, as long as one had the coordinates of a specific location, the Realm could translate them into a direct path, truly achieving the state of "reaching the ends of the earth in a single step."
The small hut housed many ancient archives. After reading through them, Li Xue realized that the requirements for entering the Realm were extremely stringent, and the criteria set by different powerful cultivators for their respective Realms varied wildly. The conditions to open Yu Ming’s Realm were a soul mark and five spiritual roots. Strictly speaking, Yu Ming only possessed four spiritual roots; he had only managed to open the Realm with his father’s assistance. His father possessed three spiritual roots, primarily fire, and his soul mark had compensated for Yu Ming’s deficiency. However, once opened, the Realm only possessed a cultivation function, though its ability to grow spiritual herbs was already heaven-defying.
"Xiao Ming, let’s give the Realm a name. How about Dream Manor? Does it sound good?" Li Xue felt that calling it "the Realm" was far too plain.
Yu Ming’s lip twitched. To him, the name mattered little. "As you wish," he replied.
Li Xue was delighted. *Dream Manor*—what a nostalgic name. Only in her previous life would such a name be used.
The spiritual qi within the Realm was perfectly suited for Li Xue’s cultivation, and she soon broke through to the tenth level of Qi Condensation. Given their current spatial comprehension, if the two of them wanted to leave, they could only return to the exact spot where they had entered. Neither knew if the Tianyuan Secret Realm still existed or if it remained dangerous, so neither dared to attempt the journey yet.
"Xiao Ming, are there no spatial nodes for the Yunjin Sect?" Li Xue asked.
"No. One can only be established if we enter from within the sect," Yu Ming shook his head. "We absolutely cannot return to the Tianyuan Secret Realm. I need to go into secluded meditation to deduce the nodes. It will take at least two months, perhaps a year or two."
Li Xue fell silent. Spatial comprehension was not measured by time; if he could deduce the nodes, even three to five years would be a small price to pay.
After Yu Ming entered seclusion, Li Xue spent her time outside of cultivation tending to the spiritual herb fields, harvesting those that had matured. Such a vast quantity of herbs—many over a thousand years old—would be enough to drive the entire cultivation world of the Mangyun Mountains into a frenzy. Li Xue’s alchemy skills were limited to Spirit Gathering Pills and Spirit Supplementing Pills, but she had more than enough herbs to squander.
With the tempering of Yang spiritual power, the success rate for high-grade Spirit Gathering Pills was remarkably high. Within three months, Li Xue had refined a bottle of White Spirit Pills. She sat cross-legged and swallowed one, slowly circulating her spiritual power to absorb the pill's energy. Suddenly, a surging wave of spiritual power flooded her entire body. The energy within this single White Spirit Pill was dozens of times more potent than anything she had taken before. Hit by this massive surge, Li Xue’s spiritual power skyrocketed, climbing through the mid-stage, late-stage, and finally reaching the Great Perfection of the tenth level of Qi Condensation. Even after reaching Great Perfection, the spiritual power showed signs of continuing its violent expansion. Li Xue was startled; if this continued, her body would surely explode. She tried desperately to suppress the energy, but it was to no avail.
"What are you doing?" Yu Ming suddenly appeared before her. He struck out with a hand seal, temporarily suppressing the rampaging spiritual power within her body.
Li Xue finally exhaled in relief. "Fortunately you were here, otherwise I would have exploded!"
Yu Ming frowned as he picked up the bottle of White Spirit Pills Li Xue had set aside. He poured one out, examined it closely, and looked at Li Xue with a twitching lip and a strange expression. "You refined these high-grade White Spirit Pills yourself?"
"Yes. It was terrifying!" Li Xue said, her heart still pounding with lingering fear.
"Sigh, Yang spiritual power is truly extraordinary. These can no longer be considered low-tier pills; the spiritual power contained within is comparable to a mid-tier Spirit Recovery Pill. They are better suited for those at the Foundation Establishment stage or higher." Yu Ming suddenly grew cheerful; he knew he could never refine high-grade pills like these himself.
Li Xue tossed the entire bottle of White Spirit Pills to Yu Ming. "You take them. They're too freakish! But what do I do now? I’ve already reached the Great Perfection of the tenth level."
Yu Ming’s face twitched a few more times as he sighed. "You should establish your foundation here in the Realm. I haven't even touched the edge of the spatial nodes yet; I don't know when we'll be able to leave." He pulled a bottle from his storage bracelet and added, "Here are two Foundation Establishment Pills I have to spare. Along with the Lesser Divine Pills and Heavenly Heart Pills, the five-elements spiritual qi in the Realm is perfect for you. Establishing your foundation should be no problem."
Li Xue felt a bit frustrated. Had she known, she would have prepared sooner. Who would have thought that White Spirit Pills refined from thousand-year-old herbs would be so monstrous? She had one Foundation Establishment Pill of her own—a reward from the sect—so she had no choice but to attempt the breakthrough early. The more she suppressed the surging spiritual power, the greater the negative impact on her future foundation would be. Even if she failed this time, it wouldn't be the end of the world; it was common for those with five spiritual roots to require multiple attempts. Thus, Li Xue cast aside her worries and prepared for Foundation Establishment.
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Ascended Without Me: Cultivating with a Genius Son | Chapter 62 | Preparing for Foundation Establishment | Novela.app | Novela.app
