Chapter 18 – Preparations for Breakthrough

Morning light poured gently through drifting clouds, illuminating the small courtyard where pine branches rustled under a summer breeze. Jade-green leaves shimmered with dew, refracting sunlight onto the veranda where Ren Moxi sat with closed eyes, a steaming teacup cradled between his slender fingers. His robes, pure black embroidered with silver swirling clouds, fluttered quietly around his crossed legs.

Beside him, Bing Yue knelt in silent service, pouring fresh tea with flawless grace. Her skin gleamed pearlescent under the dawn, faint frost qi coiling around her wrists as her mid Foundation Establishment cultivation stabilized further with each passing day. The icy aura suited her snow-pale robes and elegant hairpin carved into a phoenix spiralling upward.

She glanced sideways. Ren Moxi's expression remained distant, his golden eyes half-lidded as he took a sip, a faint wisp of steam curling around his cold features. In that moment, he seemed more like an immortal descended to the mortal realm than a man seated on simple wood.

Behind them, from within the training hall, a series of muffled curses erupted:

"Argh! Damn it… not again—ow—why is my qi so chaotic today?!"

Then came a loud thump, followed by squeaking floorboards. Bing Yue suppressed a soft laugh, quickly covering her mouth with her sleeve. Ren Moxi exhaled, a subtle flicker of annoyance crossing his gaze.

"Jian Tian."

His voice was calm, but it carried an irrefutable authority that froze the morning breeze itself. The commotion inside fell silent immediately. Moments later, Jian Tian stumbled out, hair in disarray, sweat-drenched robes clinging to his thin body. His eyes were bloodshot from sleepless cultivation attempts.

He dropped to his knees on the stone tiles with a loud clack.

"Y-yes, Master!"

Ren Moxi flicked his wrist. Three jade-green bottles appeared midair and clinked onto the tiles before Jian Tian. A crisp medicinal fragrance burst forth, cutting through the pine-scented air and piercing straight into Jian Tian's nose.

"These are Qi Condensing Emerald Pills. Each pill holds ten times the efficacy of standard qi condensing pills. Swallow them properly, focus your mind, and reach peak Qi Refining stage within three months."

Jian Tian's eyes widened so far they almost popped from his skull. He picked up one bottle with trembling fingers, peeking at the luminous green pills within. The rich medicinal glow lit his face in a divine light.

"T-ten times…? These pills…! M-Master…"

He swallowed, looking as though on the verge of tears.

"I… I already ate these like candy during my beast hunting missions…"

For a moment, there was dead silence. Even the pine branches seemed to stop rustling. Bing Yue's shoulders began trembling from suppressed laughter.

Ren Moxi's golden eyes darkened dangerously.

"…You what?"

Jian Tian's back hunched further until he was practically kissing the tiles.

"I-I didn't know they were so precious… During my seventh and eighth missions, I felt so exhausted after fighting beast after beast, so I just… nibbled on them… whenever I felt tired… They tasted good, sweet and minty… like spiritual candy…"

Bing Yue turned away fully, her slim shoulders shaking as she struggled to maintain composure. Ren Moxi closed his eyes, as if gathering the will to prevent himself from stabbing Jian Tian on the spot.

"Jian Tian… your cultivation efficiency is worse than a wild boar eating spiritual grass."

"Uwaaah… Master… that's too cruel…!"

"Even pigs gain more from spiritual grass than you gain from these pills."

Jian Tian's chin wobbled as tears pooled in his eyes.

"Master… please don't compare me to pigs…"

"Then cultivate properly, you idiot."

Ren Moxi waved his sleeve dismissively. The wind rustled harder, ruffling Jian Tian's hair as he clutched the bottles to his chest like life-saving treasures.

"Yes, Master… I will… I will treat them like priceless treasures from now on…!"

"If you treat them like candy again, I will shave your head bald and make you sweep the entire training hall for a year."

"N-no! I-I will cultivate diligently…!"

The courtyard fell into quiet rhythm over the next three months. Each dawn, golden rays filtered through pine needles to reveal Jian Tian seated in meditation beneath the towering tree. As the days passed, his qi cycles grew longer, stronger, more stable.

At first, he thought swallowing one Qi Condensing Emerald Pill a day would be a breeze.

"Just like popping candy… easy…"

But the moment he sat to refine the pill's essence, it felt like swallowing molten gold. Qi burst through his meridians in a raging flood, burning away impurities with searing pain.

"AAARGH… IT BURNS…! But… so much… qi…!"

His comedic screams startled sparrows and squirrels from nearby trees daily. Bing Yue often looked over while preparing morning congee in the kitchen pavilion, shaking her head at his teary-eyed expressions.

By the third week, he could cycle his qi calmly for an hour without shaking. His veins felt wider, stronger, capable of withstanding the savage storms of medicinal essence flooding them. Each night, he meditated until moonlight turned silver on the pine branches. In the depths of his mind, he envisioned the Dragon Blood Sword, seeing it glow with every breath as his qi strengthened its bond.

Yet no matter how hard he cultivated, the nagging comparison haunted him.

"Bing Yue is already mid Foundation Establishment stage… and I'm… still… peak Qi Refining… not even there yet…"

He bit his lip, sweat dripping onto the mossy stones as his sword hummed beside him.

At dawn on the last day of the third month, Jian Tian swallowed the final Qi Condensing Emerald Pill. Emerald qi burst into his dantian, flooding every vein with burning spiritual light.

CRACK.

The bottleneck shattered.

His eyes snapped open, pupils glowing faintly gold as a towering pillar of qi formed within his dantian, solidifying his foundation into peak Qi Refining stage. He let out a giddy, slightly maniacal laugh, hugging his Dragon Blood Sword to his chest.

"Hahaha… I did it…! I finally reached peak Qi Refining stage…! Master can't call me pig cultivation anymore—"

Then he paused.

"…Wait… Bing Yue is still two whole realms ahead… I'm still the weakest here…"

He crumpled into comedic despair, forehead thumping against the pine's roots.

Back on the veranda, Ren Moxi sat with Bing Yue in the gentle drizzle of spring rain. Steam curled from their teacups as raindrops pattered lightly on the tiled roof above.

Bing Yue knelt gracefully, folding her hands over her knees.

"Master Ren… Jian Tian has reached peak Qi Refining stage."

Ren Moxi's golden eyes remained half-lidded, his tone calm as ever.

"He didn't die. Barely passable."

Bing Yue smiled faintly, her icy aura wavering like frost petals in a breeze.

"Will you prepare a Foundation Establishment Pill for him soon?"

Ren Moxi set down his teacup with a crisp clink.

"The old pills in my storage ring have lost potency. It's time to buy new spirit plants. Come. We will visit Black Starmoon Alchemy Division today."

Journey to Black Starmoon

By afternoon, they soared above Dragon Tale City, balanced atop the Dragon Blood Sword. Jian Tian watched from the courtyard, eyes wide with longing.

"Ugh… I want to fly too… but last time Master nearly threw me off for wriggling too much…"

He shivered, remembering dangling mid-air, his screams echoing across the mountains as Ren Moxi calmly scolded him for disrupting sword balance.

Below them, the bustling streets blurred into streams of colour: traders peddling beast cores, talismans glowing in market stalls, alchemists airing pills in fragrant smoke. The sword descended before Black Starmoon Alchemy Division, its obsidian gates carved with silver crescents glowing dimly under rainfall.

Inside, rows of alchemy furnaces hummed quietly, casting flickering shadows across the hall. An elderly alchemist jolted upright behind the counter, bowing deeply upon sensing Ren Moxi's aura.

"H-Honoured One… what brings you to our humble division today…?"

Ren Moxi flicked his sleeve. A jade slip materialized mid-air, floating down to the counter with silent force.

"Prepare these spirit plants within three days. I will refine Foundation Establishment Pills myself."

The old alchemist's hands trembled as he read the list: Cloudsea Ginseng Root, Ninefold Fire Lotus, Dragon Bone Grass, Scarlet Mist Orchid – rare spirit plants worth hundreds of high-grade spirit stones each.

"Y-yes, Honoured One! We will prioritise this order immediately…!"

Bing Yue stood behind Ren Moxi with quiet dignity, her frosty presence making other cultivators back away in silent awe.

Stepping out into the rain, Bing Yue adjusted her robes, icy mist gathering around her feet. She tilted her face to look at Ren Moxi, droplets sliding down her porcelain skin without melting the faint frost aura around her.

"Master Ren… will Jian Tian survive his Foundation Establishment breakthrough?"

Ren Moxi's golden eyes flickered calmly as he watched clouds swirl overhead.

"If he doesn't… then he was never worthy to begin with."

Bing Yue lowered her gaze, a subtle, sad smile curving her lips. She sensed his faint concern hidden beneath cold logic, like the sun behind winter clouds.

Back in the courtyard, Jian Tian sat cross-legged beneath the old pine, hugging his Dragon Blood Sword while raindrops fell lightly around him. His qi pulsed calmly through his meridians, settling into steady rivers of power.

"Foundation Establishment… I will reach it… I have to…"

His stomach suddenly growled loudly.

"…Ugh… why does cultivation always make me so damn hungry…?"

He lay down on the moss, staring at the gray sky as thunder rumbled softly in the distance.

"But no matter what… I won't be pig cultivation anymore… just wait, Master… I'll surpass everyone…"

Lightning split the clouds above, illuminating his determined smile with fleeting silver brilliance.