Within the scroll.
The cyan spiritual sparrow spread its wings, several meters wide, its movements nimble.
Carrying a vast Spiritual Mist, it circled in the sky before plunging straight down into the Spirit Sea below like a sharp arrow.
BOOM!
The moment the spiritual sparrow landed, its body suddenly transformed into the prototype of a Nine-story Jade Tower.
A white light surged forth like a giant hand, meticulously polishing this Spiritual Object, which was wide at the base and narrow at the top, much like a pagoda.
The nine-story structure gradually became indescribably majestic.
Its surface grew clearer and more detailed. The jade tiles gleamed with Spiritual Light, and the pattern of a Cyan Bird appeared upon them.
But the white light refused to stop, repeatedly refining even the curve of the eaves, ensuring not the slightest deviation.
It dismantled and rebuilt, rebuilt and dismantled.
This continued until the entire Jade Tower stood firm, radiant with dazzling light, as if it could not be shaken in the slightest by wind or lightning.
’Three and a half strings of Merit Coins... this is how you use them?’
Lin Shu gritted his teeth, feeling the pinch.
He admitted that in Cultivation, a firmer foundation was always better, but this seemed excessively perfectionistic.
’It’s not easy for me to earn that money.’
The instant the Jade Tower took shape, three hundred wisps of cyan Immortal Spiritual Qi poured into it, forming a shallow pool of Spirit Liquid on the bottom-most floor.
The rise in his Realm interrupted the distracting thoughts in Lin Shu’s mind.
The Spirit Liquid also glowed with a cyan light. As it circulated, the aura around him suddenly grew much more powerful!
Each floor was a Spirit Sea.
They represented the nine levels of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Every three floors marked a major threshold, representing the early, mid, and late stages of Foundation Establishment.
However, the very top of the Jade Tower, at the tip of the Cyan Bird pattern’s beak, was empty and seemed strangely abrupt.
The nine Spirit Seas seemed to be building up from the bottom, as if intending to condense something at that spot.
[Foundation Establishment Ninth Grade. Cyan Bird Guarding Essence Technique: Entry-level]
A vast amount of information flooded Lin Shu’s mind, laying out a complete path to Core Formation for him.
Foundation Establishment was different from Qi Cultivation.
The latter was a process of familiarizing oneself with Cultivation, so the Upper, Middle, and Lower Three Grades represented the three insurmountable stages of the Qi Cultivation Stage.
But after entering the Foundation Establishment Stage, even the worst Ninth Grade Foundation Establishment Inner Technique offered a chance of successfully reaching Core Formation.
Of course, it was only a chance. Just how slim that chance was varied from person to person.
The difference between the Upper, Middle, and Lower Three Grades of a Foundation Establishment Inner Technique lay in the density of the Spiritual Qi after it was liquefied.
A Lower Three Grades Skill could condense Spirit Liquid.
A Middle Third Grades Skill could condense Jade Liquid.
And the Inner Techniques of the top three grades could refine Spiritual Qi into Dao Essence!
Each time these liquids condensed from Spiritual Qi underwent a transition, not only would there be a qualitative leap in their Spiritual Qi content, but the power of the Immortal Techniques cast with them would also be several times greater than before.
Furthermore, one could obtain a certain characteristic from the process.
This characteristic, something between an Immortal Technique and a Divine Technique, was called a Spiritual Root, and it would accompany a Cultivator for their entire cultivation journey.
If one cultivated an Upper Three Grades Technique and went through the complete process from Spirit Liquid to Jade Liquid and then to Dao Essence,
they could obtain three Spiritual Roots. This was why it was also known as the Foundation Establishment Third Transition.
[Foundation Establishment Eighth Grade. Cyan Bird Guardian Essence Formulas: Entry-level]
Lin Shu was still processing this information when, in a daze, CRACK—three strings of Merit Coins vanished.
’Wait a minute!’
Upgrading his Cultivation Technique should have been a good thing, but his heart instinctively skipped a beat.
He had already experienced how slowly Merit Coins accumulated during the Qi Cultivation Stage.
Based on his experience, if even going from the Ninth Grade to the Eighth Grade required three strings of coins, the Seventh Grade might be manageable. But to advance to the Sixth-Grade and break through the major threshold from a Lower Grade Inner Technique to a Middle Grade one would require at least thirty strings.
Where was Lin Shu supposed to get that many Merit Coins?!
If he couldn’t break through to the Middle Third Grade, it meant he would still only be condensing Spirit Liquid.
It would just be slightly denser than what he had at the Ninth Grade, with no qualitative change, and he wouldn’t be able to obtain a new Spiritual Root.
’If I let the Merit Coins continue to be wasted like this, I might end up stuck with a Seventh Grade Inner Technique, but with an empty Dao Foundation and no real improvement in my Cultivation. What an awkward situation.’
’I really have to control you.’
Lin Shu’s expression hardened. ’There’s a time and place for perfectionism.’
In his current situation, having stirred up a hornet’s nest of trouble with an uncertain future, he was in no position to worry about how solid his foundation was. The most important thing was a Cultivation level he could use immediately.
At this thought, his Heart Thought flared. He forcefully diverted the white light of the Merit Coins, trying to switch from upgrading his Cultivation Technique to absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power.
In an instant, a vast white mist surged in from all directions.
It drilled into the Jade Tower, was instantly dyed cyan, and transformed into Immortal Spiritual Qi.
Then, it dripped down like a sudden shower, filling one floor of the Jade Tower.
It then broke through to the floor above with unstoppable momentum, continuing to fill it, and so on.
[Foundation Establishment Eighth Grade. Cyan Bird Guardian Essence Formulas: Minor Success]
With four floors of the Spirit Sea filled, his Realm broke through to Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.
The young man’s aura surged again, already surpassing the previous auras of Gu Nanzhi and Cheng Yi!
Although the white light was not sentient, it projected a subtle, human-like dissatisfaction, as if someone had haphazardly scribbled on a perfect scroll painting.
How could a Flawless Dao Foundation be used to contain something as crude as Spirit Liquid?
What a colossal waste!
’First, I’ll take the upgrade. I can perfect it later.’
Lin Shu could distinguish his priorities.
He also wanted to refine Jade Liquid, and even Dao Essence with the highest concentration of Spiritual Qi, to obtain the remaining two Spiritual Roots.
But with a Treasure like the Merit and Sin Coins in hand, he could break through first and then slowly make up for it later once he had enough white jade coins.
It would be easier to earn money with a higher Cultivation to back him up.
The Spirit Liquid surged, quickly filling two more floors.
The nineteen strings of Merit Coins were almost depleted. As the last wisp of white light dissipated,
the seventh floor was forcefully breached, but not completely filled. Only about half of it was swirling with Spirit Liquid.
Though it was a close call, he had finally stepped into the Late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm!
[Foundation Establishment Eighth Grade. Cyan Bird Guardian Essence Formulas: Great Success]
As this notification appeared, the hem of Lin Shu’s robes began to flutter, and his immense Spiritual Power could no longer be contained, erupting outward.
Perhaps because he possessed a Flawless Dao Foundation, even though the Spiritual Qi summoned by the Merit Coins was indescribably vast and caused his Realm to skyrocket, the Jade Tower held firm without the slightest tremor.
"Hah!"
His lips parted slightly as he exhaled a stream of cyan-tinged air.
The Spiritual Power filling his body was a feeling of strength Lin Shu had never experienced before, so much so that it felt slightly foreign.
’Is this the power of Late-stage Foundation Establishment?’
He clenched his fist, an unconcealable look of surprise flashing in his eyes.
No wonder even the system prompts had changed from crude descriptions like "worthless life" and "wretched fate" to the slightly more pleasant "mortal body."
To call this progress a complete transformation would be no exaggeration.
’Finally, I have some power to protect myself.’
Lin Shu was actually different from other Cultivators. While they felt lost because they were trapped in Black Water City, he felt lost about the world outside.
It was an unfamiliar world he had never known, and he needed enough strength to feel confident.
Just as he began to feel a little more secure, he realized the changes hadn’t stopped.
As his Realm rose, the Cang Bird pattern on his Dao Foundation began to gleam.
The patterns on the lower three floors of the Jade Tower lit up completely, and the first Spiritual Root, born from the Spirit Liquid, revealed its true form.
’Guarding Essence?’
Lin Shu was momentarily stunned, but he quickly understood the effect of this Spiritual Root.
It used one’s entire foundation to defend the Divine Soul and Physique.
It couldn’t enhance the power of his Immortal Techniques, but it allowed him to maintain unity, making his Soul, body, and Cultivation act as a single, cohesive whole.
Specifically, it allowed him to mobilize his Spiritual Power faster than others, garrison his Heart Thought against agitation, and even partially defend against Spiritual Soul Attacks like the Howling Moon Soul-Eroding Curse.
’It seems tailor-made for me.’
Although this Spiritual Root didn’t seem to have many flashy effects, a trace of satisfaction flashed in Lin Shu’s eyes.
With the Sin Coins, he didn’t really lack ferocious offensive methods.
On the contrary, how to suppress the resulting agitation and not lose his sanity was his bigger headache.
This way, he could be much bolder when using Sin Coins.
No sooner said than done. Lin Shu directly took out three strings of pitch-black copper coins and poured them into the extra crimson Wolf Fang.
’As expected of Sin Coins,’ he thought. ’One string for one grade, an honest deal for all.’
[Foundation Establishment Seventh Grade. Howling Moon Soul-Eroding Curse: Minor Success]
The extra string of coins was reflected in its proficiency.
Lin Shu felt only the slightest tremor in his Heart Thought, and the agitation that had just begun to rise was ruthlessly suppressed by the Spiritual Power throughout his body.
’Nice.’
He shifted his gaze to another notification he had previously ignored.
[Consumed ten strings of Merit Coins, Saint Immortal’s initial formation...]
The original Cyan Feather had now transformed into a rather small and delicate Cyan Bird Jade Carving.
Perhaps because it had consumed more coins, the Magical Power it contained now far surpassed that of the Filthy Moon Wolf Lord.
But it hadn’t woken up.
No, it couldn’t even be considered a living thing. It was just a statue.
Lin Shu tried, but he couldn’t borrow any Magical Power from it.
"It didn’t give me a Divine Technique, either," he murmured with a hint of confusion.
His gaze jumped back and forth between the Cyan Sparrow and the little wolf.
’This difference must mean something is missing.’
What exactly was it missing?
Lin Shu’s expression froze as he gradually realized... ’Could it be... it’s missing an Immortal Soul?’
The White Wolf itself was a piece of a soul separated from some Immortal Descendant.
With that as its foundation, it only took one string of coins to reach its initial form, and it came to life immediately.
But the Cyan Bird was formed from a few wisps of Immortal Aura; it had no consciousness of its own.
"Forget it."
Lin Shu had a lot more confidence now. There was no way he would actually entertain any ideas about Yu Sheng just for a Divine Technique.
’I’ll deal with it later.’
Speak of the devil. Just as he thought of Yu Sheng, her childish yet angry, high-pitched voice sounded in his mind.
"If you don’t come back soon, I’m not going to be able to stop myself from beating them up!"
"Hm?"
Lin Shu’s expression gradually returned to calm. He raised his eyes slightly, a dangerous glint appearing in their depths.
In the distance, Gu Nanzhi, who was standing guard, was busy cleaning up the corpses.
She tore off a piece of Cheng Yi’s clothing, which had been ripped by a sword, then picked the Sea-Covering Dragon’s head out of a pile of flesh and blood on the riverbank, wrapping all three heads in the cloth.
Just then, she was suddenly put on alert.
The oppressive feeling she had only vaguely sensed before had suddenly intensified to a chilling degree.

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