The Lay Flat Life: My Wife's Cultivation Makes Me Stronger - Chapter 79

The smile on Han Feng’s face gradually faded.

The joy he had felt at the prospect of reaching Foundation Establishment slowly sank into despair.

He widened his eyes and asked internally,
“Keen Ancestor, what’s going on? Isn’t Qi Refining supposed to have only nine layers? Where did this eleventh layer come from?”

In his mind, Keen Ancestor’s voice replied,
[The blessing return process works as follows: once the host reaches the peak of any minor realm, if the returned cultivation can allow for a breakthrough, it will. However, the process of breaking through to a major realm, including the understanding and insights required, still depends on you.

Blessings only provide returned cultivation; advancing to a higher realm requires your own effort.

Cultivating immortality has never been just about accumulating energy. If all it took was sufficient energy to break through, then why would there be a need for enlightenment about the laws of heaven and earth, the rules of the universe, or the comprehension of the immortal path?

Until you successfully break through, any excess cultivation from the blessing will continue to accumulate but will not push you into the next major realm.

So, for Foundation Establishment, you have to condense your foundation platform yourself.

If you remain lazy, you might end up at Qi Refining layer 10,000, able to tear apart Nascent Soul experts with your bare hands, but still stuck in Qi Refining.]

Han Feng fell silent for a long moment after hearing this.

So it turned out that he still had to condense his own foundation platform to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

The transition from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment was one of the fundamental breakthroughs, requiring no comprehension of laws. Once the foundation platform was condensed, the breakthrough could be achieved.

However, the process carried risks. Countless cultivators remained stuck in Qi Refining, unable to break through to Foundation Establishment.

If only he had a Foundation Establishment Pill to assist him. That would increase his chances of success significantly.

It seemed he needed to ask Jiang Surou if she had a recipe for a Foundation Establishment Pill. He’d have to figure out how to gather herbs and refine one for himself.

At this point, Han Feng had no idea just how valuable a Foundation Establishment Pill was.

—

Lying in bed, Han Feng continued resting and attempted to condense his foundation platform. If he could successfully condense it on his own, he wouldn’t need to spend money on a Foundation Establishment Pill.

After all, asking Bai Nuo to refine one for him would require splitting the results fifty-fifty.

However, for some reason—perhaps because Han Feng couldn’t cultivate on his own—the process of condensing his foundation platform proved exceptionally difficult. Every time he gathered the spiritual energy in his dantian into a cohesive form, it would immediately dissipate.

By mid-morning, Han Feng had no choice but to temporarily abandon the effort. It seemed that achieving Foundation Establishment wouldn’t be something he could accomplish quickly.

Placing the little fox on his shoulder and grabbing a hoe, Han Feng prepared to head to his herb garden to enjoy the simple pleasures of rural life.

—

As he stepped out of his room, however, he saw Jiang Surou approaching from the sky, accompanied by a young man.

The man appeared to be in his twenties, with a handsome face and a warm smile.

Han Feng deactivated his protective formation and invited the two inside.

“Senior Sister, you’re here. Judging by the look of it, you successfully broke through,” Han Feng said with a smile.

Jiang Surou nodded.
“I did. I’ve reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining. Han Feng, let me introduce you to someone. This is our senior brother, Gao Hai, one of Master’s inner disciples. He’s at the Foundation Establishment stage.”

“Greetings, Senior Brother Gao,” Han Feng said, setting down his hoe and cupping his hands in greeting.

“Greetings, Junior Brother Han,” Gao Hai replied with equal courtesy, smiling as he continued,
“Junior Brother Han, you’re truly a heroic young man. I watched your performance in the secret realm—your combat prowess is unparalleled.

With your help on this mission, I’m sure we’ll complete it successfully.”

“Mission? What mission?” Han Feng asked, surprised.

Jiang Surou frowned.
“You don’t know? Every disciple is required to complete at least one mission per month.”

“We’re required to complete missions? Then how is it that I haven’t received a mission in the past five years?”

Hearing this, Jiang Surou’s expression darkened.
“Of course, you had tasks. How do you think the sect supports tens of thousands of disciples for free? Back when you were a servant disciple, your task was to tend to the herb gardens and turn in herbs every month. That was your mission.

In the sect, whether you’re an elder or a disciple, everyone contributes.

Elders contribute by completing missions and teaching disciples.

Disciples of Danxia Peak contribute by refining pills, disciples of Qizhen Peak contribute by crafting artifacts, and disciples of the Spirit Beast Peak raise spiritual beasts.

For us, the disciples focused on cultivation, we also have our monthly missions.

Everyone contributes their strength to sustain such a large sect.”

“I see. So, what’s our mission this time?” Han Feng asked.

Jiang Surou turned to Gao Hai.
“Senior Brother, please explain.”

Gao Hai nodded and began,
“Here’s the situation. The Yin-Yang Sect is located on the southeastern coast of Tianxing Continent, and the thousands of miles surrounding it are under our protection. As cultivators, it is our duty to protect ordinary civilians from the threats of demonic cultivators and other evildoers.

After all, civilians provide the population base that supplies us with talented disciples.

This morning, we received intelligence from a fellow disciple. On Jue Ming Island, 800 miles to the east, an entire city is under threat. A demonic cultivator has arrived there, planning to slaughter the entire population to refine blood pills. He intends to use the deaths of tens of thousands to help him break through to Foundation Establishment.

As righteous cultivators of an immortal sect, it is our responsibility to put an end to such heinous, inhumane acts.”

Han Feng’s expression darkened as he nodded.
“That’s only right. The lives of common people are no less important. Just because cultivators have power doesn’t mean they can disregard the lives of civilians. People like that are disasters waiting to happen. If left unchecked, they’ll only grow stronger and kill even more in the future.”

Having come from a humble background himself, Han Feng deeply despised cultivators who slaughtered ordinary people.

Gao Hai nodded approvingly.
“Junior Brother Han, your sense of justice is truly admirable. After this incident was reported to the Sect Leader, the task was assigned to Luoxia Peak.

Master Si Yu then instructed me to lead two Qi Refining disciples to handle the matter.

Unfortunately, among Master’s disciples, only three are currently at the Qi Refining stage. I had no choice but to seek out Junior Sister Jiang and you.”

“Alright then. Let’s go quickly. If we’re late, all the civilians will be dead.”

“Agreed. Once we’ve dealt with the demonic cultivator and returned to the sect, we’ll receive over a hundred contribution points, which can be exchanged for various resources.

At that time, I’ll split the contribution points evenly among the three of us.”

With that, Gao Hai soared into the air.

Han Feng and Jiang Surou followed suit, flying eastward on their swords.

—

As they flew, Han Feng turned to Jiang Surou and asked,
“Senior Sister, how many disciples does our Master have?”

Jiang Surou answered seriously.
“Master has been with the Yin-Yang Sect for nearly a century. Over that time, she has accepted a total of twenty-six disciples, including you. Currently, there are three Core Formation disciples, twenty Foundation Establishment disciples, and three Qi Refining disciples.”

“Three Qi Refining disciples? Who’s the other one?”

“Your old nemesis.”

Han Feng froze for a moment before immediately saying,
“Ye Longyuan?”