Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 188 - 133: Foundation Establishment

Chapter 188: Chapter 133: Foundation Establishment

Drip-drop, drip-drop...

Outside the window, autumn rain was falling.

This was the last rain of autumn, marking the official transition into the winter season after today.

In the South, rain was frequent. The noise from outside the window was loud and chaotic, likely people arguing over haggling prices. But none of this shifted the young boy’s attention.

Drip-drop.

Another viscous droplet slid down, just like those falling from the eaves, except this droplet did not land in a puddle but on the bricks below, vanishing in an instant.

Just like Jiang Feng at this very moment.

"Still not right, let’s try again."

There was no hint of frustration on his delicate face, his expression remained focused as he closed his eyes again. He had repeated this process thousands of times. In fact, ever since he returned to Shuangfeng City, he had been repeating it continuously, trying to find that fleeting spark of inspiration.

Foundation Establishment.

This had been his focus for nearly half a month.

Previously, when he was in the Qi Refinement and Body Refining stages, he didn’t feel much of anything. Cultivation was merely a process of accumulating Spiritual Energy. As it increased and was refined, so too would his cultivation level rise.

But upon reaching Foundation Establishment, he could distinctly feel an unprecedented pressure, the most challenging thing he had faced in his cultivation journey so far.

Simply put, it was about liquefying the refined Spiritual Energy within the body. The Spiritual Energy Lake left behind in his Dantian by the Demon Night True Monarch served as the perfect example. If he could successfully condense a single droplet, he would have mastered the technique.

The rest of the Spiritual Energy in his body would then follow the same method.

But here lay the problem.

He could already smoothly sift through the scattered strands within him, combing them into order, then slowly condense a drop of emerald liquid to fall. He had already succeeded halfway.

However, the other half was his inability to preserve this "drop" of Spiritual Energy. Like the rainwater continuously slipping off the roof, the moment it dropped into the narrow space of the Dantian, it would immediately evaporate into mist.

Drip-drop!

Another drop, but the result was the same as before.

Jiang Feng’s comprehension was not poor. Without anyone to guide him, he had managed to find the key points just by browsing through the Scripture Pavilion on his own.

Others spent years, at least several months, to research, but it was remarkable that he had managed to get the hang of it in just over half a month, and now only the final step remained.

"Sigh—"

He let out a long breath.

Before trying to make a breakthrough, he could not understand why some people could spend their seventies and eighties without successfully establishing their foundation. But now, he had some inkling.

The feeling was akin to solving a math problem. Some, with high comprehension and unconstrained thinking, could see through such problems at a glance. Coupled with diligent cultivation—rich in internal Spiritual Energy—and being smart with enough exercise samples, they would naturally break through realms easily.

It looked like Cen Yue Yue and her brother Cen Zhuangzhuang, whom he had come across, fell into this category.

As for whether he belonged to it, he was not sure.

Jiang Feng was quite adept at controlling Spiritual Energy, largely due to the fact that all his meridians were unblocked, including his limbs and many seemingly insignificant small branches.

That’s why he could manipulate Spiritual Energy much more adeptly than others. After all, he was the choice skin carefully selected and personally cultivated by the Demon Night True Monarch over many years.

But that.

Did not equate to "comprehension".

What is comprehension?

It is the inspiration of an instant, a spark that flashes by in a moment, a thought as fast as lightning, and the ephemeral blooming of a night-blooming cereus.

He once asked his senior sister about his own level of comprehension, and her evaluation was four words.

"Comprehension is passable."

Some walk on the path of immortality as if on level ground, while others climb mountains and ford streams. Setting aside the so-called talent for cultivation, the biggest variable among them all is this so-called "comprehension".

He remembered Liu Tangxi once mentioned that thousands of years ago, there was a predecessor who struggled with Foundation Establishment for a hundred years without making an inch of progress.

This predecessor knew that he would end his life merely as someone incapable of doing great things. Therefore, he spent his life traveling and enjoying the landscapes of the world so delightfully. Just as he was about to meet his end, on the last day of his life, he chose to close himself in meditation and die in his own cave mansion.

On that night, an indescribable aura burst forth from the cave mansion!

Even though the aura of Core Formation is not even considered a child’s cry in the eyes of countless old monsters, on that day, many powerful beings standing between heaven and earth turned their gazes towards it, their eyes full of shock.

It was a road never traveled by anyone before, a realm never touched upon.

From that day on, this predecessor’s journey in cultivation became unhindered, and in his eyes, there were no longer any distinctions in realms, nor were there Daoist Skills or Magic Treasures. All methods were like nothing to him, and everything was under his control; any Daoist Skill he desired, he could easily grasp.

Though bound by the limits of his physical realm, his spiritual level had already touched the domain of "gods," and he had become the essence of the path of immortality itself.

"A hundred years of mediocrity, enlightenment in a single day."

"Everything in his hands was merely a toy, and years were insignificant in his eyes. After enlightenment, it only took him over a hundred years to found his own sect, widely accept disciples, and did not keep this unique Daoist Skill a secret but rather taught it to any disciple capable of learning it."

"Even other powerful beings have witnessed this miraculous teaching with their own eyes."

"Speaking of which, that predecessor has some connection with you."

"His name is..."

"Taiyi Immortal Monarch."

He remembered that day when he was on the road, he asked his senior sister, and then she told him this story.

Especially when hearing the end, his mind became a mess instantly, and he ended up running headfirst into a tree because to this day, every time he thinks of that battle with Yan Yurou, his heart is still filled with shock.

It was a Daoist Skill that completely overturned everything he had learned before.

He used not to understand what this so-called "enlightenment" truly was, but while assaulting the Foundation Establishment Stage, he seemed to vaguely sense something.

Yet another drop of Spiritual Liquid, so difficult to condense, slid down along his hair, and in the end, it failed to withstand the great impact when it hit the ground and turned into mist.

"Contemplate something that ordinary people see differently; view all beings and all things from a different perspective."

"If this path is impassable, then reverse it, and when you reach a corner, head toward the cliff. Trapped in a dead end, seek life in the face of death."

"Water turns to mist, and I will... sever my locks."

He started to condense again, and just as the thick liquid was about to slide off the hair that had gathered the Spiritual Energy—

It was suddenly cut off without warning by the young man!

The severed part was less than half an inch from the front, and the fine points of light fell slowly into the cup as the young man moved, but the moment it was about to touch the Dantian, the hair floating in the air began to condense and accumulate into a single point.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open!

Plop—

The sound was almost inaudible, but to the young man, it was so pleasant, so loud.

His gaze was empty, still looking at the liquid quietly resting in the Dantian; even the Serpent lurking beneath the Spiritual Energy Lake raised its eyelids at this moment but quickly lost interest again.