Chương 159: Foundations of Power

Half a month later, Huaijin returned to Purple Cloud Peak. He stood at the summit, surveying the mountain below, and let out a quiet breath. The Flame Beacon Mystery Array hummed faintly around him, its energies woven into the very stone and soil. But to his senses, the formation was beginning to show its age.

"Truth be told, the Flame Beacon Mystery Array is getting a little thin in places." With his current level of insight, he could easily spot over a dozen structural weak points scattered throughout the formation. Cracks in the energy flow. Frayed nodes where the spiritual threads had worn thin. Nothing catastrophic, yet. But left unattended, the array would continue to degrade.

"When Ning Nanzhi comes by, maybe we can discuss some improvements." His relatives, Wujian and Yunli, were still deep in secluded cultivation within the mountain's inner chambers. He could feel their faint auras pulsing through the spirit vein, stable and growing. No need to disturb them. Out on the crystalline lake that sprawled across the peak's western face, the surface rippled. A massive, scaled head broke through the water, the Azure Ink Dragon, its obsidian scales gleaming like polished jet.

Its ancient, slit-pupiled eyes fixed on Huaijin with something between amusement and wariness.

"Not bad! At this rate, it won't be long before you hit the eighth level." But even as the beast spoke, it could sense something faintly dangerous coiled beneath Huaijin's calm demeanor. A quiet, patient power that made the dragon's instincts stir uneasily.

'This kid… cultivates all three paths at once. His Body and Soul cultivation are advancing faster than his Qi cultivation.'

'What a prodigy. Definitely a reincarnated immortal…' The Azure Ink Dragon was certain of it. Whether the realm beyond the Primordial Spirit Realm was an actual "Celestial Realm," the dragon didn't know. But it could tell that the terrifying spiritual sense radiating from Huaijin's sea of consciousness didn't belong to this world. It was too vast. Too ancient. Too deep.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Huaijin waved casually in greeting, a faint smile tugging at his lips. As he looked at the Azure Ink Dragon, he made a mental note: when the opportunity arose, he'd have to find this old dragon and a few ladies to keep him company. The creature had been alone far too long.

"Rende," he called out, turning toward the figure who was already approaching from the main hall. Zhang Rende, his nephew, strode over with an excited grin. The young man had grown into his role as overseer of Purple Cloud Peak, managing the daily affairs with quiet efficiency. But Huaijin could see the strain at the edges of his eyes, the weight of too many responsibilities.

"Send word to the family, have them send twenty more people up." Rende blinked in surprise.

"Twenty, Uncle?"

"The chores on Purple Cloud Peak are starting to eat into your cultivation time." Huaijin's tone was firm but not unkind.

"You're a cultivator, not a servant. Let others handle the mundane work." Rende's expression flickered with gratitude before he composed himself. Purple Cloud Peak had grown massively in size over the past few years. The ambient spiritual energy grew denser by the day, drawing more attention, more demands. Managing it all had become a full-time occupation. And now, Huaijin himself possessed the combat strength of a Tier 3 cultivator. He could defend what was his.

"Still want them just at the Qi refining stage, Uncle?" Rende asked, already calculating logistics.

"Yes. That way, they're fresh. We can train them right from the start." Rende understood the unspoken part of his uncle's order. Fresh recruits were easier to keep secrets from. And more loyal to the family. They would be raised within Purple Cloud Peak's walls, their loyalty forged not through obligation but through shared experience.

"Understood." Rende bowed again and withdrew to make the arrangements. Once everything was settled, Huaijin retreated into seclusion again. Meanwhile, Rende handled all the daily affairs of Purple Cloud Peak. Huaijin was right. The peak was getting too big for one man to manage, and Rende needed to focus on his own advancement. Fortunately, Rende had no shortage of resources. As a Three-Spirit-Root cultivator his own path was smooth and steady.

He could feel the momentum building, the foundations of his cultivation strengthening day by day. And the Zhang family's strength was growing too. More Tier 2 cultivators emerged with each passing year. Their fortune was on the rise. New spirit-root tests had even revealed two more Three-Spirit-Root clansmen among the younger generation, a boon that would pay off for decades to come. The Zhang family didn't lack for resources anymore. As time went on, there would only be more experts among their ranks.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. —— Huaijin sat cross-legged in meditation within the mountain's deepest chamber. The spirit vein beneath Purple Cloud Peak pulsed with thick, almost syrupy energy, surging up through the stone like the heartbeat of a sleeping giant. He drew out the Thunderclap Nether Branch he'd acquired from the Yun family and held it before him, letting his spiritual sense probe its depths.

The branch was dark as midnight, its surface shot through with veins of silver that seemed to writhe and twist even in stillness. It hummed with dual energies, the thrum of soul-power, cold and ancient, and the sharp crackle of lightning, volatile and alive. He let his spiritual sense drift into its intertwined forces, mapping the complex lattice of power that made the branch so valuable. This was no ordinary material.

It was a treasure that could serve as the core of a weapon that would strike with thunder and shatter the soul. He pushed his spiritual sense forward, trying to work out how to forge it into a Tier 3 spirit artifact. The patterns were intricate, demanding, and every attempt to visualize the forging process ended in failure.

"The difficulty is still too steep. No rush." An hour later, he shook his head and tucked the branch away. Some things couldn't be forced. Huaijin now had the combat power to challenge early stage Tier 3 cultivators and come out ahead. But his gear was mostly Tier 2 upper grade equipment. Decent by most standards, but against Tier 3 artifacts, he'd be at a natural disadvantage. The Blood Dragon Sword was powerful, perhaps the absolute peak of Tier 2 craftsmanship, but against a true Tier 3 weapon, it fell short.

He needed something better. Something that could match his growing strength. He wasn't going to find one easily, so he'd have to make it himself. The Thunderclap Nether Branch was the ideal core material. And he was eager to temper his own forging skills anyway. Every master artisan had started as a student. Every flawless weapon had begun as a rough, unfinished thought. His Body and Soul cultivation were already at the peak of the early stage.

He'd originally planned to consume the Thunderclap Nether Branch to try and push both thresholds, absorbing its power directly. But he'd underestimated how fast the two lightning seeds within him were already tempering his body. He sensed that within a matter of days, his physical body would break into mid stage Tier 3 on its own. That was the terrifying power of those two supreme lightning seeds.

They weren't just devastating attacks, they were also the finest tempering agents in existence, refining his body with every spark that coursed through his meridians. Deep within his dantian, the two lightning seeds spun, locked in eternal motion. Their energy built inexorably, an endless, deathless cycle of accumulation and release. —— Three days later! Crackling sounds burst from within Huaijin's body like distant thunder rolling across a mountain range.

Lightning arced across his skin, brilliant white-blue, illuminating the chamber in stark flashes. His sinews sang like ancient bells, vibrating with resonant frequency. His bones rumbled like primordial thunder, ancient power awakening in their marrow. The lightning interwove with his surging blood qi, the two forces merging into something greater than either alone. Slowly, a phantom silhouette began to form around him, the image of a Thunder God, wreathed in storms, eyes blazing with divine wrath.

Threads of profound lightning-dao etched themselves into his very marrow. Every cell, every fiber of his being, was being rewritten, reforged. His body broke through. Purple Mansion, fourth level. A mid stage Tier 3 Body Cultivator. And as if triggered by the lightning's influence, his sea of consciousness responded in kind. His spiritual sense swelled abruptly, an ocean of awareness crashing against the shores of his mind.

The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram rotated and twisted within him, the black-and-white of yin and yang grinding everything in its path. It refined every trace of impurity, every lingering shadow of weakness. Torrents of pain crashed over Huaijin's mind like tidal waves, but he held his ground. His will was iron. His focus was absolute. Fine impurities were pulverized into nothing. His spiritual sense grew purer, sharper, more crystalline with every passing moment. A day later!

His spiritual sense exploded outward, a shockwave of pure awareness that filled the chamber and beyond. His presence grew even more terrifying, the weight of his soul pressing down on the world like a mountain. The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram deepened, its black-and-white millstone standing eternal, ancient, unyielding. The power within it had grown immeasurably. His Soul Cultivation had advanced. He was now a mid stage Tier 3 Soul Cultivator as well.

Now, even a mid stage Tier 3 opponent wouldn't make him flinch. He could stand his ground against them, trade blow for blow, and come out the victor. That was the confidence of walking all three paths at once. Body, Soul, Qi, each reinforcing the other, each pushing the others forward. And no one else had the foundation, or the conditions, to do what he did. It was his alone. His edge. His path.

—— Huaijin spent his days honing his power and stability while continuing to refine the Thunderclap Nether Branch's forging method. Patience was the key. Rushing would only ruin the material and waste the opportunity. In the blink of an eye, two years passed. He wore plain white robes now, unadorned and simple. His presence had grown even more fearsome, a quiet intensity that made lesser cultivators instinctively lower their gazes. Half a year ago, he'd broken through to the eighth level.

The intervening months had allowed him to solidify that realm, to build the foundations for his next advancement. And push forward by a meaningful margin. He accumulated. He absorbed. He charged toward the ninth level with relentless determination. The family's Tier 2 cultivators were all advancing too. Liwei, a Three-Spirit-Root cultivator with no shortage of resources, was nearly at the peak of the third level. In a few more years, he'd break into the mid stage.

His steady, reliable progress was a comfort to the clan. Zhang Liliang, despite being a Four-Spirit-Root, had comprehended the Calamity Talisman Demon Heart, a unique insight that made his cultivation speed rival that of a Two-Spirit-Root genius. Sometimes, he even outpaced them. The demon heart pulsed within him, driving him forward with unnatural urgency. He'd caught up to Liwei and was also at the third level.

That was the benefit of achieving Foundation Establishment through one's own efforts rather than relying on pills. The meridians were stronger, the channels wider, and cultivation speed retained an edge that pill-fed cultivators could never replicate. Yunli and Wujian, thanks to Purple Cloud Peak's environment, had both advanced to the second level. Their growth, while slower than the younger generation, was steady and reliable.

And Zhang Lixian was at the peak of the fourth level, poised to break into the fifth at any moment. He was the closest to mid stage among the older generation, his accumulation nearly complete. The family's power was growing. Everything was moving in the right direction. Huaijin decided to change his original plan. He'd intended to wait until the family had another mid stage cultivator before expanding into Qingtai city. A cautious approach, born of years of hardship and loss.

But now, his reputation alone was enough. He didn't need to wait anymore. The Zhang family had arrived. And the world would soon know it.