I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

Lin Che slowly opened his eyes, a golden light seemed to flow in them before disappearing.

An unprecedented sense of clarity washed over him like a clear spring, and the world seemed brand new in his perception.

The spiritual energy was clearly discernible, like a gentle stream; the trajectories of dust particles in the air were clearly visible; even its own pulse seemed to transform into melodious notes echoing in one's ears.

"This is the true path to immortality..." he murmured to himself, his voice filled with barely suppressed joy.

Only now that he has successfully completed the foundation building process can he truly understand what it means to be extraordinary and transcendent.

Unlike the hazy, dreamlike feeling of the Qi Refining stage, he now seemed to be one with heaven and earth, with all 360 acupoints on his body joyfully absorbing and releasing pure spiritual energy.

This is the transformation brought about by the leap in the level of life.

He could clearly sense that his lifespan had jumped from 120 years in the Qi Refining stage to a full 300 years.

This means that he has finally broken free from the shackles of mortals.

Lin Che took out a set of second-tier low-grade defensive formations engraved with intricate array patterns from his storage bag and skillfully set them up around the cave.

Preparing to test the changes in strength after foundation building.

It was the familiar fireball spell, but this time, it was no longer driven by thin gaseous spiritual energy, but by condensed liquid true essence.

True essence surged forth from the dantian and flowed along the widened and reinforced meridians to the fingertips, instantly condensing into a fireball that was crimson with golden flames leaping within it.

"go!"

The fireball shot out and crashed into the defensive formation with a whooshing sound.

The array's light barrier trembled violently, rippling outwards in visible waves of energy.

"The power is at least five or six times greater than that of the Foundation Establishment stage." Lin Che nodded in satisfaction, a look of joy flashing in his eyes.

He conjured another fireball, but this time it did not strike the formation directly. Instead, it traced a graceful arc in the air, sometimes spiraling upwards, sometimes swooping down and turning sharply, as agile as a swallow.

"This is what it feels like to project one's divine sense; it's truly wondrous." Lin Che's lips curled into a knowing smile. "Finally, I can fly on my sword."

The biggest differences between the Foundation Building stage and the Qi Refining stage are twofold:

Firstly, the gaseous spiritual energy transforms into liquid true essence, causing the power of spells to increase exponentially.

Secondly, the divine sense advances from introspection to outward projection, enabling not only precise control over the trajectory of spells but also the ability to control objects and fly, truly realizing the dream of soaring through the heavens.

"That's it? Watch me!" A slightly arrogant thought echoed in his mind.

The Heavenly Sacred Sparrow gracefully spread its wings, and seven feathers burning with holy golden flames shot out like arrows, accurately striking the seven key nodes of the defensive formation.

The next moment, the array's light barrier shattered, turning into specks of spiritual light that dissipated into the air, along with the materials used to set up the array, which also broke apart.

This is precisely her awakened innate divine power—the Seven Feathers Burning Heaven Sword.

"Look at what an attack looks like, now that's what an attack looks like!" The Heavenly Sacred Sparrow raised its delicate little head, its molten gold eyes filled with pride, its tail feathers swaying gently, as if waiting for praise.

Lin Che smiled helplessly, gently stroking the smooth, satin-like feathers on her neck: "Good, good, good, our little sparrow is the best."

He could certainly break through this second-tier low-grade formation, but there was no need to waste it like this.

However, since it is one's beloved natal spirit beast, it is okay to indulge it occasionally.

"Next, we should head to that place that might become our new home," Lin Che said, gently stroking her feathers, his voice filled with anticipation. "Once we get there, you'll be able to soar freely."

"Alright, I got it." Upon hearing this, the Burning Heaven Sacred Sparrow rolled its eyes at him, realizing that it meant it was being told to stay in the annoying spirit beast pouch. It transformed into a stream of light and disappeared back into the spirit beast pouch.

Pushing open the heavy stone door of the cave, Lin Che strolled to the management office.

Upon sensing the profound and solid aura of the Foundation Establishment stage emanating from him, Manager Wang immediately put down the account book in his hand and greeted him with a beaming smile.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Cheng, on your successful Foundation Establishment! From now on, the Great Dao is within your grasp, and the path to immortality is smooth!"

"It was just luck," Lin Che humbly returned the greeting, taking out his cave dwelling token and handing it over. "I'm preparing to cancel the lease."

"Of course, of course." Manager Wang accepted the token with both hands, did a quick calculation, and then took out a heavy bag of spirit stones from the counter: "Fellow Daoist, you rented it for a week, but actually only used it for five days. According to regulations, spirit stones are non-refundable, but to celebrate your Foundation Establishment, please accept these one hundred and forty spirit stones as a congratulatory gift."

Clearly, this shrewd steward saw that Lin Che was no ordinary person and intended to forge a good relationship with him.

"What are your plans for the future, fellow Daoist?" Manager Wang asked casually as he efficiently completed the formalities.

"Let's take on some missions first and accumulate some battle merits," Lin Che replied with a perfectly tactful smile.

Lin Che, being cautious, would naturally not reveal his purpose, and the name he registered was not his real name; his current appearance was also different from his original one.

I'm just afraid of being targeted by others.

However, he did not expect that he would not be remembered by the manager, but instead be targeted by the boy who had led the way a few days ago.

Just as they stepped out of the management office, the boy surnamed Liu's eyes lit up and he darted out from the street corner.

As soon as Lin Che stepped out of the management office, the young man surnamed Liu quickly came up from the street corner, his face showing a smile that was both expectant and apprehensive.

"Senior! You've emerged from seclusion! Congratulations on successfully establishing your foundation." The young man bowed respectfully.

Upon hearing this, Lin Che stopped and looked the boy up and down: "You waited here specifically for me?"

"Yes, senior."

The young man nodded honestly, his hands clasped nervously. "The other day when I brought you to rent this cave, Steward Wang said you were going into seclusion to establish your foundation. I was thinking... I was thinking that if you successfully establish your foundation, you'll definitely need to acquire new magical artifacts and elixirs, and perhaps... perhaps you'll also need someone familiar with the local area to guide you."

He glanced up at Lin Che's expression and continued, "I know it's abrupt to wait like this, but... I really need spirit stones urgently. If I take you to those shops to buy them, the shopkeepers will give me some spirit stones back."

While the other person was speaking, Lin Che subtly enveloped them with his divine sense, sensing their emotions and spiritual energy fluctuations. Once he confirmed that the other person was not lying, he agreed.

"Take me around the city," Lin Che nodded slightly. "Let's get something to eat first."

"Alright!" The boy excitedly led the way. "I recommend Baiweilou Restaurant. Their spiritual cuisine is not only incredibly delicious, but also very reasonably priced!"

After choosing a window seat in the main hall of Baiweilou, Lin Che ordered four or five signature spiritual dishes.

While waiting, he looked around with great interest.

The main hall was filled with cultivators who had returned from hunting demons. They were all travel-worn and were drinking and talking animatedly.

Foundation Establishment cultivators mostly choose the private rooms upstairs for peace and quiet.

At this moment, the conversation of several monks at the next table caught his attention:

"It's the beginning of the month, and the Windwalker Merchant Guild is holding an auction. We just sold some prey; shall we go check it out?"

"Sure, maybe we can find something good."

"There are definitely good things here, but I'm afraid our current amount of spirit stones won't be enough..."

The boy standing nearby, noticing Lin Che's apparent interest, immediately lowered his voice and explained, "The Fengxing Merchant Guild is an enterprise under the Shenkui Sect. They hold an auction at the beginning of each month, where many rare resources are released."

If you are interested, I can take you there after lunch. The auction doesn't start until the afternoon.

Lin Che raised an eyebrow and smiled, "What, you get a commission for taking me to the auction?"

The boy scratched his head sheepishly: "No, only small shops that aren't very competitive give us rebates."

Lin Che understood, then asked some questions about the auction before taking out twenty spirit stones and placing them on the table: "Alright, I won't take your information for nothing, here are 20 spirit stones for you."

"Thank you, senior!" The young man accepted the spirit stone with delight, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement.

He hesitated for a moment, a struggle on his face, but finally mustered his courage and asked, "Senior, um... could... could you lend me another twenty spirit stones?"

Lin Che had already sensed that the boy was hiding something, so he asked him to explain why.

After the boy's earnest and urgent explanation, Lin Che finally understood the whole story.

It turned out that the boy's destination was the same as his: the newly developed area, Chuyang City.

He was going there to find his sister.

Their parents had died many years ago outside the Great Wall, leaving the two siblings to depend on each other and struggle for survival in this City of Burning Bones.

More accurately, it was his older sister who shouldered the burden of life alone, relying on hunting monsters in the perilous borderlands to earn spirit stones to support his cultivation and livelihood.

Recently, he successfully broke through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining and felt that he finally had some power. He could no longer bear to watch his sister fight desperately on the front lines alone.

Therefore, he made up his mind to go to Chuyang City, find his sister, and fight alongside her.

However, the Burning Bone Pass was a series of five interconnected fortresses built on the treacherous Broken Dragon Cliff, a natural barrier that a Qi Refining stage cultivator could not possibly cross.

The only way was to take the special flying boat that traveled between the two places.

However, the ticket for the flying boat cost as much as one hundred spirit stones per person. During this period, he saved every penny and scraped together what he could, but he was still short twenty spirit stones.

Lin Che quietly used his powerful Foundation Establishment stage divine sense to perceive the emotional fluctuations of the boy as he spoke, confirming that his aura did not seem to be lying.

Furthermore, considering their conversation about the other's emotional fluctuations in Chuyang City during their first meeting, it's likely that what they said wasn't untrue.

Twenty spirit stones were nothing to Lin Che now, and in his good mood after successfully establishing his foundation today, he had the idea of ​​forming a good relationship.

He then took out twenty spirit stones and handed them over, saying gently, "Take them."

The boy accepted the spirit stone with both hands, his cheeks flushed red with excitement, and even his ears turned a rosy hue.

He bowed deeply, his voice choked with emotion: "Thank you, senior! I, Liu Yunzhou, will forever remember this kindness."

He took out the address containing his own house number and presented it to Lin Che with both hands.

Lin Che nodded slightly and accepted it, his tone calm: "Alright, go take care of your business. I can go to the auction myself."

Watching the boy's hurried departure, Lin Che finally felt at ease and began to enjoy the spiritual food before him.

These dishes, carefully prepared with spirit chicken and spirit fish, are indeed delicious, tender, and full of spiritual energy.

Although the beasts used were all low-grade first-tier spirit beasts, which had limited benefit to his cultivation as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they tasted excellent, and he ate to his heart's content.

After settling the bill, Lin Che found an inn nearby and asked for a superior room.

When he reappeared, he was dressed in brocade robes, with a delicate jade pendant at his waist, and a white jade folding fan in his hand, looking every bit the elegant young master of a noble family.

"Let's see if we can find anything interesting at the auction." He gently stroked the fan ribs and walked leisurely toward the Wind Chaser Merchant Guild.