He fell off a cliff but unexpectedly gained a cultivation inheritance.

On his way back to the wooden house with the top-grade spirit stones, Zhang Bufan's steps were steady and firm. His perfectly refined magical power flowed slowly through his meridians, completely calming the last trace of restlessness in his heart. The wind in the Xuanqing Secret Realm was still gentle, carrying the sweet fragrance of peach blossoms and the moist breath of the spiritual stream as it brushed against his cheeks, but he had no heart to appreciate this familiar scenery at this moment. All his thoughts were focused on the upcoming Foundation Establishment breakthrough—this was the first key watershed on his path of cultivation, and also the only way for him to return to the mortal world and reunite with his parents as soon as possible.

Pushing open the slightly worn wooden door, the familiar, rustic atmosphere of the cabin rushed out, mingled with a faint scent of sandalwood and the aroma of time. Zhang Bufan gently closed the door behind him, shutting out all outside noise and creating an absolutely quiet environment for his breakthrough. His gaze immediately fell on the futon in the center of the cabin, where the green skeleton in a white robe remained seated cross-legged, its head slightly bowed, like a silent old man, always guarding this small space.

Unlike the terror and dread he felt upon first seeing the skeleton, Zhang Bufan now felt only an overwhelming sense of gratitude and peace. He slowly walked to the prayer mat, carefully straightened his clothes, then knelt down and respectfully kowtowed three times to the skeleton, his forehead striking the cold ground with a clear thud. "Master, today I will attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. This opportunity is entirely due to your protection and guidance; I will never forget your great kindness!"

This wasn't a deliberate ritual, but rather a habit he'd developed over the past year. Every morning before his cultivation and every night before his rest, he would bow in gratitude to his master's remains. It was this seemingly eerie skeleton that carried the remnant soul and legacy of Xuanqing Daoist, allowing him to embark on the path of immortal cultivation from a mortal crushed by life and on the verge of death after falling off a cliff; it was the Xuanqing Secret Realm left behind by his master that provided endless cultivation resources, enabling him, a "waste" with mixed spiritual roots of five attributes, to cultivate to the point of perfect Qi Refining in just over a year, far surpassing ordinary geniuses with heavenly spiritual roots.

After kowtowing, Zhang Bufan straightened up, his gaze softening as he looked at the skull. Breaking through beside his master's remains not only shielded him from external distractions but also brought him unparalleled peace of mind. It was as if his master's spirit was protecting him, allowing him to remain calm no matter what dangers he encountered during the breakthrough. This was the core reason he chose to break through in the wooden hut—compared to anywhere else in the secret realm, this was his most reassuring haven.

Zhang Bufan sat cross-legged on the ground opposite the skeleton, facing his master's remains. He placed the fist-sized, high-grade spirit stone in his palm. The warm touch of the stone sent a surge of pure and powerful spiritual energy through his palm, slowly seeping into his body and invigorating him. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and began to carefully review all the important points about breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage from the Xuanqing Daoist's inheritance in his mind.

The path of cultivation is fraught with strict boundaries, and each breakthrough is an extreme test of a cultivator's body and mind, with the Foundation Establishment stage being particularly crucial. The inherited memories clearly record that the Foundation Establishment stage is the core node in the transformation of mortal cultivators into true immortals. The underlying logic of this breakthrough is not complex; essentially, it involves rapidly and massively absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, drastically increasing the pressure of spiritual energy within the dantian and meridians, forcing the gaseous spiritual energy in the body to undergo a qualitative change, liquefying into spiritual liquid.

The seemingly simple word "liquefaction" represents a dramatic shift in energy density. Once spiritual energy is successfully liquefied, the energy density within a cultivator's body will increase more than tenfold. This not only means a significant increase in the total amount and power of their magical power, but also, with the nourishment of the spiritual liquid, a fundamental transformation in the cultivator's physique—bones will become more resilient, muscles will be more explosive, meridians will be further widened and stabilized, and even the sea of ​​consciousness will be nourished and strengthened.

The benefits of the transformation in physique and consciousness are even more obvious. First, there is a significant increase in lifespan. The lifespan of a Qi Refining stage cultivator is similar to that of an ordinary person, at most a hundred years or so, while the lifespan of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator can be directly increased to two hundred to five hundred years, which is the first step towards immortality. Second, there is a leap in the strength of divine sense. After breaking through to Foundation Establishment, a cultivator's divine sense awakens from a vague perception to a clear spiritual domain, enabling them to explore all things around them.

This kind of spiritual perception is countless times more efficient than visual observation. The eyes can only see the surface of things and are greatly limited by light and obstacles, while spiritual perception can penetrate even the thinnest barriers to directly capture the essential details of things—such as the age of a spiritual herb, the purity of an ore, the trajectory of a cultivation technique, and even the fluctuations in another person's spiritual energy and emotional changes. More importantly, the increase in the strength of spiritual perception will lead to a qualitative leap in the ability to manipulate objects. While Qi Refining stage cultivators can manipulate simple magical artifacts, they can at most levitate and move them slowly, whereas Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, with their powerful spiritual perception, can support their own bodies in high-speed flight, truly achieving the carefree and unrestrained state of an immortal.

"This is what a true cultivator is like..." Zhang Bufan thought with deep emotion. He recalled when he first embarked on the path of cultivation, he found it difficult even to control a falling leaf. Now, he was about to gain the ability to fly and travel through the earth. Such a transformation was something he wouldn't have dared to dream of a year ago.

At the same time, he was well aware that breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage was no easy feat. In the cultivation world outside, cultivators who had reached the Qi Refining Perfection stage almost always relied on a pill called the "Foundation Establishment Pill" to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. The core function of the Foundation Establishment Pill was to provide cultivators with a large amount of pure spiritual energy in a short period of time, helping them quickly accumulate spiritual energy pressure and thus increasing the success rate of spiritual energy liquefaction. An ordinary Foundation Establishment Pill was extremely valuable in the cultivation world of the Pangu World, equivalent to a mid-grade spirit stone—it should be noted that a mid-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for one hundred and twenty low-grade spirit stones, enough for an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator to cultivate for several years.

Unfortunately, Zhang Bufan didn't have any Foundation Establishment Pills. Although Xuanqing Daoist's inheritance contained the formula for Foundation Establishment Pills, and even more advanced optimized formulas, he currently lacked the necessary alchemy furnace and some spiritual herbs, making it impossible for him to refine them. However, he wasn't panicked, because he had a better alternative resource—high-grade spirit stones.

Zhang Bufan had already carefully considered his choice of auxiliary resources for breakthrough. His dantian and meridians, nourished by spirit peaches, silver fish, and spirit spring water for over a year, were already far more expansive and robust than those of ordinary Qi Refining cultivators, even surpassing some early Foundation Establishment cultivators. While using mid-grade spirit stones would provide sufficient purity of spiritual energy, the total amount would likely be insufficient to support his spiritual energy liquefaction—after all, his dantian was enormous, requiring a far greater amount of spiritual energy than the average person.

Top-grade spirit stones, on the other hand, contain an overwhelming amount and concentration of spiritual energy, making them a cultivation resource that only cultivators at the Core Formation stage and above can harness. With his current Qi Refining Perfection level, if he were to rashly absorb the spiritual energy of a top-grade spirit stone, the immense energy would instantly shatter his meridians and dantian, ultimately leading to his body exploding and death. In contrast, high-grade spirit stones offer ample spiritual energy of extremely high purity, and their energy release rate is relatively controllable, perfectly suited to his physical condition, making them the most reasonable and safest choice at present.

After reviewing all the key points for the breakthrough and confirming that nothing had been overlooked, Zhang Bufan's last trace of hesitation vanished. He adjusted his posture, placing his body in the most relaxed state, most conducive to the circulation of spiritual energy, and then clasped his hands together, firmly holding the high-grade spirit stone in his palms. The warm, smooth feel of the spirit stone transmitted through his palms, as if it were transferring power to him.

"Let's begin!" Zhang Bufan silently chanted in his heart, then abruptly activated the "Mysterious Purity Dao Inquiry Technique." This top-tier cultivation method from the Immortal Realm, once activated, immediately displayed its heaven-defying power. The spiritual energy around him instantly became violent, as if drawn by an invisible gravitational force, frantically converging towards his body. At the same time, the high-grade spirit stone in his palm was also activated by the technique, its surface gleaming with a layer of brilliant white light. A violent spiritual energy far surpassing that of a low-grade spirit stone, like a flood bursting its banks, surged wildly into his body through the meridians in his palm.

"boom!"

The moment the spiritual energy entered his body, Zhang Bufan felt a roar within him, as if thousands of horses were galloping through his meridians. Unlike the gentle spiritual energy he absorbed from low-grade spirit stones, the spiritual energy from high-grade spirit stones was not only pure but also carried an irresistible, violent force. Wherever it passed, his meridians were instantly filled, causing waves of throbbing pain. Fortunately, his meridians, having been nourished for a long time, were already incredibly resilient. Faced with the impact of this violent spiritual energy, they only trembled slightly and did not suffer any damage.

Zhang Bufan dared not be careless in the slightest, concentrating entirely on controlling the "Mysterious Purity Dao Inquiry Technique," guiding the raging spiritual energy to circulate and purify within his meridians. Under the influence of the technique, the spiritual energy became increasingly condensed, its original violent power gradually being calmed, transforming into a powerful yet gentle torrent of energy that flowed continuously into his dantian along the pathways of the twelve regular meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians.

As a massive influx of spiritual energy poured in, the already overflowing vortex of spiritual energy within his dantian began to spin at a visible speed. The vortex's rotation accelerated, and the concentration of spiritual energy within it increased dramatically. The originally gaseous spiritual energy, under the high-speed rotation and constant compression, gradually became viscous. Zhang Bufan could clearly feel the pressure within his dantian increasing at an alarming rate; with each breath, he felt waves of throbbing pain emanating from his dantian, as if it were about to burst at any moment.

He gritted his teeth and persevered, continuously increasing the intensity of his cultivation technique. On one hand, he continued to absorb the spiritual energy from the high-grade spirit stones, and on the other hand, he accelerated the compression of the spiritual energy within his dantian. Time quietly passed in the tranquil wooden house. Everything outside was irrelevant to him; his world consisted only of the operation of his cultivation technique, the flow of spiritual energy, and the increasingly intense swelling and pain.

Three hours passed, and the light from the superior-grade spirit stone in Zhang Bufan's palm dimmed slightly. The throbbing pain within his body had reached an unbearable level. His dantian felt like a balloon inflated to its limit, every inch of its walls bearing immense pressure. His meridians, constantly being flushed by spiritual energy, burned with intense pain. Fine beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, sliding down his cheeks and soaking his clothes.

"I can't stop!" Zhang Bufan roared in his heart. He knew that this was a crucial stage in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage. If he retreated now, all his previous efforts would be in vain, and he might even damage his foundation due to the backlash of spiritual energy. He forcibly concentrated his mind, recalling the method of controlling his mind during the breakthrough from the Xuanqing Daoist's inheritance, keeping his consciousness absolutely clear and precisely controlling every wisp of spiritual energy.

Another hour passed, and the light from the superior-grade spirit stone in his palm dimmed further. Zhang Bufan's body had reached its limit. The pressure within his dantian was terrifying; he could even clearly hear the faint creaking sound emanating from the dantian walls, as if they would shatter at any moment. The swelling and pain in his meridians had turned into intense stabbing pain; each flow of spiritual energy felt like countless tiny knives cutting through his meridians.

His consciousness began to blur, and the pain in his body almost made him want to give up. Just then, images of his parents' gray hair, their hesitant worry during the video call, and his regret before falling off the cliff suddenly appeared in his mind: "Dad, Mom, your son is unfilial and cannot take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days."

"No! I can't give up!" Zhang Bufan's eyes instantly became incredibly determined. The reason he cultivated so desperately, the reason he longed to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, was not only to embark on the path to immortality, but more importantly, to return to his parents' side as soon as possible, so that they would no longer worry about him and could enjoy their old age in peace. This obsession transformed into a powerful willpower, instantly dispelling the blurring of his consciousness and suppressing the excruciating pain in his body.

"Absorb it!" Zhang Bufan exerted his strength, pushing the operation of the *Xuanqing Daodao Jue* to its limit. The high-grade spirit stone in his palm erupted with a final burst of brilliant light, and an even more violent torrent of spiritual energy was forcibly absorbed into his body. This torrent of spiritual energy, like the last straw, instantly shattered the balance within his dantian—

"Buzz!"

A slight rumbling sound came from within his dantian. Then, Zhang Bufan clearly felt the originally extremely viscous gaseous spiritual energy finally begin to undergo a qualitative change under the terrifying pressure. At the center of the vortex in his dantian, a drop of crystal-clear liquid slowly condensed. This drop of liquid was pale gold, radiating a rich and pure spiritual energy fluctuation—it was spiritual liquid!

The appearance of the first drop of spiritual liquid seemed to trigger a chain reaction. The gaseous spiritual energy in the dantian found an outlet and converged towards the spiritual liquid, rapidly liquefying. One drop, two drops, three drops... countless drops of spiritual liquid fell like spring rain, gathering at the bottom of the dantian to form a small pool of spiritual liquid.

The moment the first drop of spiritual liquid touched the inner wall of his dantian, a mysterious rhythm suddenly spread throughout his body. Zhang Bufan felt a soft "snap" sound, as if an invisible shackle had been broken. Immediately afterward, his dantian began to expand at a visible speed—one inch, two inches, three inches… In just a few breaths, his dantian expanded to ten times its original size, becoming a spherical space with an internal diameter of three meters.

The expansion of the dantian instantly relieved the pressure within the body. As the dantian expanded, the newly condensed spiritual fluid began to circulate slowly within it, emitting a gentle and pure energy that nourished the expanded dantian walls and meridians. The intense swelling and stinging pain that had previously gripped the body receded like a tide, replaced by an indescribable sense of comfort.

At the same time, Zhang Bufan experienced a brief dizziness, as if countless pieces of information were flooding into his mind. But this dizziness vanished in an instant, replaced by an unprecedented clarity. His sea of ​​consciousness seemed to be completely activated, and an invisible spiritual power spread out from it, instantly forming a spherical spiritual domain with a radius of one kilometer centered on his body.

Zhang Bufan subconsciously activated this spiritual power—that is, his divine sense—and probed his surroundings. The next second, an ultra-high-definition three-dimensional holographic projection instantly appeared in his mind. Every detail of the entire wooden house—the wood grain on the walls, the gaps in the thatched roof, the dust on the ground—was presented in his divine sense with unparalleled clarity; in the peach grove outside the wooden house, every branch of every peach tree, the veins of every peach blossom, and the ripeness of every peach were all clearly visible; every silver fish in the spirit lake, whether it was the fifty-plus-pound king fish in the center of the lake or the newly hatched fry, their swimming patterns and energy fluctuations were clearly discernible; even the flow of the spirit stream and the patterns of the pebbles at the bottom of the stream could be accurately perceived by him.

However, he also discovered the limitations of his divine sense—it couldn't penetrate underground rock layers and mountain walls, only seeping in through cracks in the rocks. Even so, this probing ability far exceeded his expectations. Previously, when observing with his eyes, he could only clearly see things within a hundred meters at most, but now, all the details within a thousand meters could be instantly imprinted in his mind, with efficiency and clarity increased countless times.

As he probed with his divine sense, he could clearly feel that his ability to manipulate objects had also undergone a qualitative leap. He subconsciously activated his divine sense and probed a small pebble inside the wooden house. The next second, the pebble seemed to come alive, slowly suspending itself in the air. Under his control, it nimbly moved and rotated within the wooden house, even landing precisely in any location he specified.

"Flying and escaping... I can finally do it!" Zhang Bufan felt an indescribable surge of joy. He could clearly feel that, if he wanted, he could use his divine sense and magical power to levitate his body and even fly at high speed. This feeling of control over himself and transcending the mortal realm intoxicated him.

He slowly opened his eyes, a flash of light passing through them. The spiritual energy surrounding him was powerful and refined, completely different from when he had reached the peak of Qi Refining. He could clearly feel that his physique had undergone a tremendous change—his bones were more resilient, his muscles were full of explosive power, his meridians were wider and more stable, and his sea of ​​consciousness was incredibly full. Although there wasn't much spiritual liquid in his body, only a small pool at the bottom of his dantian, each drop contained energy far exceeding that of his previous gaseous spiritual energy. This was the fundamental power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Zhang Bufan slowly stood up and stretched his limbs. A series of crackling sounds emanated from his body; every movement was full of power, yet incredibly light. He walked to the door of the wooden house and gently pushed it open. The sunlight from outside (the glow of the milky-white stones) shone on him, warm and comforting. He took a deep breath, instantly inhaling the spiritual energy in the air, which, after being transformed by the *Xuanqing Daodao Jue*, merged into the spiritual liquid pool in his dantian.

"Foundation Establishment stage... I've finally broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage!" Zhang Bufan looked up at the sky above the Xuanqing Secret Realm, his eyes filled with excitement and anticipation. Breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage not only meant a qualitative leap in his strength, but also that he was one step closer to leaving the secret realm and returning to his parents.

He knew that breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage was just the beginning. In the Xuanqing Daoist's lineage, after Foundation Establishment lay the Golden Core stage, the Nascent Soul stage, the Deity Transformation stage… and even higher realms in the Immortal Realm. But he was not afraid; instead, he was filled with fighting spirit. He looked down at the high-grade spirit stone in his palm, now dull and almost devoid of spiritual energy, then at his master's remains in the wooden hut, and solemnly bowed again: "Master, your disciple has successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, fulfilling your mission. If I achieve something in the future, I will certainly not fail you in your trust and will bring your remains and legacy back to the Xuanqing Immortal Sect!"

After bowing, Zhang Bufan's gaze turned to the depths of the secret realm. He knew that what he needed to do next was to stabilize his Foundation Establishment cultivation and leave the Xuanqing Secret Realm. According to the Xuanqing Daoist's instructions, to leave the secret realm, he must first acknowledge the spatial ring left by his master—the golden ring worn on the middle finger of his master's skull.

Thinking this, Zhang Bufan's gaze hardened. He turned and went back into the wooden house, his eyes landing on the golden ring on the middle finger of the skull's right hand. This ring carried part of Xuanqing Daoist's relics and was the key to leaving the secret realm; it was also his next target.