"Don't be discouraged, you still have a chance." Mo Jiuzhou's tone changed, "This Grand Competition will be held in the secret realm, where participants earn points by hunting demonic beasts. Your years of experience in Mang Mountain may help you."
Qin Lingshuang's eyes shone brightly: "I will definitely work hard!"
"Hmm."
Mo Jiuzhou nodded.
Although the disciples he selected from the mountain didn't have the best talents, their character was commendable.
Take Qin Lingshuang, for example, she had high comprehension and worked hard. If her spiritual root were better, squeezing into the top ten might not be impossible.
After thanking Mo Jiuzhou again, Qin Lingshuang was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something.
"Master, has Junior Sister Bai Yan established her foundation yet?"
Back in Mang Mountain, Bai Yan was already close to Foundation Establishment.
At that time, they had agreed to participate in the Grand Competition together.
"Her..." A strange look flashed in Mo Jiuzhou's eyes, "She failed her Foundation Establishment."
"She failed?" Qin Lingshuang was stunned, "How... I'll go find her!"
"Don't worry for now, you just broke through recently. Focus on consolidating your cultivation before the Grand Competition. You don't need to worry about Bai Yan; your Senior Brother is taking care of her."
"That's good."
Qin Lingshuang breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, Senior Brother is there!
Most of their junior brothers and sisters had been taken care of by their Senior Brother.
Junior Sister Bai Yan must be heartbroken after failing her Foundation Establishment, but Senior Brother should know better than me, and he's good at taking care of people...
It's better to focus on the Grand Competition for now.
With that thought, Qin Lingshuang paid her respects to Mo Jiuzhou and hurried towards her cave dwelling.
Heiyu Town.
Half a month later.
Qin Changqing successfully exited seclusion.
This was his first seclusion since coming down from the mountain and also the one with the most significant gain.
Only after this half-month of settling down did Qin Changqing realize how difficult it was to achieve the strongest Foundation Establishment.
Or rather, it was impossible for him to achieve the strongest Foundation Establishment with his physical condition.
This required not only a formidable spiritual root but also a specific configuration of meridians, internal organs, and acupoints. According to a Foundation Establishment manual he found in the sect, one must base on the spiritual root, ignite five different fires to burn the meridians and internal organs, impact the two major veins (Ren and Du), and successively open eighty-one major and minor acupoints. Only then, by forging the body to its current peak state, it might be possible to achieve the strongest Foundation Establishment.
Over tens of thousands of years in Tianchuan State, no one had ever achieved this.
If it weren't for the Many Sons and Blessings System, Qin Changqing might never achieve it even in his next life.
At this moment, when he looked inward, he could see that his meridians had expanded by more than twice since before Foundation Establishment. Many previously blocked areas had been opened up, and his meridians were as white as jade, translucent and tough like glass. The surging spiritual qi filled his entire body, like a raging river overflowing the system panel.
[Host: Qin Changqing]
[Spiritual Root: Tier 8 Lower-level]
[Cultivation: Tier 1 Foundation Establishment]
[Secondary Occupation: Elixir Refining (Tier 1 Mediumitem)]
[Family Members: 19]
[Family Fortune: 5183]
[Offspring: 12]
"My spiritual root has also advanced by one tier, but it wasn't easy."
"This Foundation Establishment almost completely transformed my body. My current spiritual qi is so dense that it should be comparable to an ordinary Tier 3 Foundation Establishment. With my wide meridians, I can fully explode my power and compete with those at Tier 4 or even Tier 5. It's indeed worthy of being called the strongest Foundation Establishment."
"However, my cultivation level is still too low. It's not safe to challenge higher levels, and realm suppression is the way to go... Sigh~ It seems I need to hurry to marry and have children."
Without the Many Sons and Blessings System, even with the strongest Foundation Establishment, Qin Changqing's barely Tier 8 spiritual root wouldn't be enough.
While others could advance a level by cultivating for two or three years, he would need more than a decade.
Fortunately, the Many Sons and Blessings System had only just started to take effect.In the future, as the family expands, he would have children, and his children would have children, an endless line of descendants, which would be terrifying.
Qin Changqing stepped out of the secret chamber in a good mood.
"Senior Brother, did you make a breakthrough?"
Outside the secret chamber, Bai Yan seemed to have been waiting there all along, immediately coming forward when she saw Qin Changqing.
Her face was filled with unstoppable joy.
She could naturally see Qin Changqing's current state.
With spirited eyes, full of energy, an extraordinary temperament, and even better skin than before, he had clearly succeeded in Foundation Establishment.
"Thanks to your luck," Qin Changqing said with a light laugh, "everything went smoothly."
"I knew Senior Brother was the best!"
Bai Yan was delighted, even happier than when she had successfully established her own foundation.
With Senior Brother's success, she also gained confidence in her future Foundation Establishment.
"By the way, Senior Brother Yunshang came by three days ago to relay Master's order, saying that if Senior Brother succeeded in Foundation Establishment, he should go up the mountain."
"I see."
Qin Changqing nodded.
Calculating the time, the Sect's Grand Competition would be less than half a month away, but he wasn't in a hurry.
After leaving the secret chamber, he spent some time with his wives and then went for a walk around the trading firm.
Having been in seclusion for half a month, he wanted to stretch his legs a bit.
As it happened, he bumped into the hurried Jin Hong.
"Junior Brother Jin, what happened?"
"Senior Brother Qin, you've come out... Huh? You feel different somehow?" Jin Hong stopped in his tracks when he saw Qin Changqing.
If he had previously felt that he couldn't see through Qin Changqing, now he could feel a clear pressure.
That was the pressure from a high-level cultivator.
Qin Changqing laughed, "There's been a bit of a breakthrough in my cultivation, but what about you? Where are you rushing off to?"
Jin Hong suddenly came back to his senses and said gravely, "There's been an incident. Several villagers have been killed in Pingtian Village, and it looks like the work of a demon cultivator. I'm about to report this to the sect."
Qin Changqing was taken aback.
A Demon Cultivator? They really came?
Qin Changqing didn't expect that a Demon Cultivator would actually appear near Heiyu Town.
Pingtian Village was only fifty miles away from the town.
This made him feel very insecure.
He was now just a third-tier Foundation Establishment cultivator, the strongest Foundation Establishment, the eldest Senior Brother of Xuanyi Peak, but a Demon Cultivator was too terrifying for him.
However, fortunately, Heiyu Town was close to the Lingxiao Sect, so this matter should be handled by the sect's experts and there should be no danger... right?
After thinking it over, Qin Changqing was still not at ease.
So, he took out the communication talisman that the old man had given him and personally reported the matter.
Mo Jiuzhou had been unable to contact him for the past few days and was anxious, so when he heard that Qin Changqing had come out and established his foundation, he was overjoyed.
"The sect will handle this matter."
After receiving the message from Mo Jiuzhou, Qin Changqing finally felt at ease.
Upon learning this, Jin Hong was even more reassured.
Originally, the appearance of a Demon Cultivator in their territory was like a nightmare for worldly disciples like them.
It was because Demon Cultivators usually had cruel means and were stronger than cultivators of the same level. Worldly disciples had low cultivation levels but had to deal with them, which often resulted in casualties.
Now that Qin Changqing was here, Jin Hong didn't have to worry anymore.
"Junior Brother Jin, you need to keep an eye on the Demon Cultivator situation and inform the sect as soon as you find anything suspicious," Qin Changqing said. "In a few more days, I'll be staying at the sect for the Grand Competition."
Jin Hong nodded and said, "Don't worry, Senior Brother Qin, I'll take care of it. You just... Huh?" He stared at Qin Changqing with wide eyes. "Senior Brother Qin, you're going to participate in the Sect's Grand Competition?"