Zhao Linger quietly slipped out of the cave mouth, carefully concealing herself behind a large boulder to observe the situation. To her shock, a fierce battle was taking place not far from the cave—Li Hu and Zheng Feng were jointly attacking a youth in gray robes. The youth looked disheveled and bore numerous injuries, yet he was still putting up a stubborn resistance.
"Hand over the Foundation Establishment Pill!" Li Hu barked harshly, thrusting his palm toward the gray-robed youth's chest.
The gray-robed youth barely managed to dodge, but the force of the palm still grazed him, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood. "You... to think that Qingyun Sect disciples would be so despicable, ganging up on us and bullying a fellow sect member..."
Zheng Feng sneered. "Wang Zheng, who told you to overestimate your abilities? You managed to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill all by yourself and actually thought you could keep it all? Hand it over, and we might still spare your life!"
It was only then that Zhao Linger recognized the gray-robed youth as Wang Zheng, a fellow inner sect disciple from the same cohort. He had a reclusive personality and rarely interacted with others, but he possessed considerable talent in alchemy.
"I went through untold hardships to gather the materials and braved numerous dangers to refine this elixir. Why should I give it to you?" Wang Zheng gritted his teeth and said. "I would rather die than hand over the Foundation Establishment Pill!"
Li Hu grinned hideously. "Then don't blame us for being ruthless!"
With that, he and Zheng Feng struck simultaneously, two fierce attacks aiming straight for Wang Zheng's vital points. Wang Zheng was completely exhausted and lacked the strength to dodge; it looked as though he was about to lose his life on the spot.
A deep sense of justice welled up in Zhao Linger's heart, and unable to hold back any longer, she flew out from her hiding place. "Stop right there!"
A gleaming golden talisman flew from her hand, forming a protective barrier in front of Wang Zheng and blocking the fatal blow.
Li Hu and Zheng Feng clearly had not expected anyone to come to his rescue. They froze for a split second, then recognized Zhao Linger, and their expressions changed instantly.
"Zhao Linger, are you sticking your nose in other people's business again?" Li Hu demanded angrily.
Zhao Linger said coldly, "The rules of the Qingyun Sect are strict. How can you be allowed to bully your fellow disciples like this? Junior Brother Wang Zheng obtained his Foundation Establishment Pill through his own hard work. What right do you have to seize it by force?"
Zheng Feng sneered. "Zhao Linger, aren't you also after a Foundation Establishment Pill? Stop putting on an act. There are only ten spots for Foundation Establishment, and we are simply striving for our own chances."
Zhao Linger shook her head. "Foundation Establishment spots are earned through strength, not seized by bullying the weak or resorting to despicable means. Lin Tianyu, Ye Wuji, and I have each already refined our own Foundation Establishment Pills and are currently undergoing Foundation Establishment inside the cave. I advise you to give up this idea and go look for materials somewhere else!"
"What? All three of you have already obtained Foundation Establishment Pills?" Li Hu was shocked, but then he grinned maliciously. "That's even better! If we take yours and add Wang Zheng's, the two of us will both be able to achieve Foundation Establishment!"
Zhao Linger flew into a rage. "How dare you!"
Just as the tension reached its breaking point, a surge of intense spiritual power emanated from the cave. Shortly after, Lin Tianyu strode out of the entrance, radiating the aura unique to the early-stage Foundation Establishment.
"What is going on?" Lin Tianyu asked in a deep voice, his sharp gaze sweeping over Li Hu and Zheng Feng.
Zhao Linger briefly explained the situation, and upon hearing it, Lin Tianyu grew furious. "Such audacity! How dare you commit acts of violence and robbery within the mystic realm!"
Seeing that Lin Tianyu had successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage and that his aura was even more formidable than before, Li Hu and Zheng Feng involuntarily took two steps back.
"Lin Tianyu, don't think you can scare us just because you've reached Foundation Establishment!" Although Li Hu felt guilty, he kept up a bold front. "There are no elders to supervise us in this mystic realm. Who knows, if the two of us join forces later, the few of you might still suffer!"
By this time, Wang Zheng had managed to struggle to his feet, looking gratefully at Zhao Linger and Lin Tianyu. "Thank you both for saving me."
Lin Tianyu steadied Wang Zheng and handed him a healing pill. "Swallow this first."
Wang Zheng took the pill, and his complexion improved somewhat, though he remained weak. He retrieved a small bottle from his tunic and handed it to Lin Tianyu. "This is another Foundation Establishment Pill I refined. I originally intended to keep it and give it to a close friend after returning to the sect, but now I want to give it to you to repay your kindness in saving my life."
Lin Tianyu refused to take it. "Keep it for yourself; we already have our Foundation Establishment Pills."
At that moment, another intense surge of spiritual power rippled from within the cave, and then Ye Wuji walked slowly out of the entrance, his body likewise emanating the aura of the early-stage Foundation Establishment.
"Junior Brother Wuji, you succeeded?" Lin Tianyu asked pleasantly, surprised and delighted.
Ye Wuji nodded, his face carrying a mix of joy and fatigue. "Thanks to my Chaos Spiritual Root, although the process had a few twists and turns, I ultimately managed to achieve Foundation Establishment smoothly."
He glanced around and quickly grasped the current situation.
Seeing that all three had successfully reached Foundation Establishment—not to mention the injured Wang Zheng—Li Hu and Zheng Feng knew they stood no chance of winning even if they fought. Their complexions turned ashen.
Zheng Feng tugged at Li Hu's sleeve. "Let's go. We don't have much time left; let's try our luck elsewhere."
Li Hu glared at the group with bitter resentment. "We won't forget what happened today!" With that, the two of them quickly departed.
"They won't let this rest," Wang Zheng said weakly. "I discovered earlier in the mystic realm that several disciples have already obtained Foundation Establishment Pills. Combined with the three of you, and counting mine, seven or eight pills have already been found or refined. The assessment is coming to an end, and with both the remaining materials and time running out, they are very likely to make a desperate gamble and resort to even more extreme measures."
Ye Wuji mused, "Senior Brother Wang makes a valid point. Dangers lurk everywhere in the mystic realm, so we must remain highly vigilant."
Zhao Linger looked at Wang Zheng. "Senior Brother Wang, when do you plan to undergo Foundation Establishment?"
Wang Zheng gave a bitter smile. "My injuries have not yet healed, and my condition is far from optimal. I'm afraid it's not suitable for me to attempt Foundation Establishment right away. I plan to wait until I return to the sect and find a safe place before trying."
An idea suddenly occurred to Ye Wuji. "Senior Brother Wang, if that's the case, why not travel with us? With four of us together, our safety will be much better guaranteed."
Wang Zheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "Very well. Thank you, Junior Brothers and Junior Sister, for your help."
The four of them decided to rest temporarily in the cave, taking turns standing watch while waiting for the moment the mystic realm would close.
Deep in the night, during his turn to keep watch, Ye Wuji quietly felt the changes within his body after reaching Foundation Establishment. The foundation platform in his dantian had completely solidified, and his spiritual power was several times more abundant than before, as well as higher in quality and purer. His meridians had also widened significantly, allowing them to harbor even greater amounts of spiritual power. To his greatest delight, his mastery over the Five Elements Spiritual Power had become much more fluid and effortless following the breakthrough, and the advantages of his Chaos Spiritual Root were beginning to manifest.
"The Qi Condensation stage cultivates spiritual power, the Foundation Establishment stage cultivates the spiritual body, and the Golden Core stage cultivates the primordial spirit..." Ye Wuji recalled the description in the Hunyuan Formula. "Foundation Establishment is merely the first small step on the long path of cultivation, and even more difficult challenges await me ahead."
As he was deep in thought, an unusual sound suddenly echoed from outside the cave, resembling people whispering to one another. Ye Wuji instantly grew alert and softly woke Lin Tianyu and Zhao Linger.
"Someone is approaching the cave entrance. By the sound of it, there is more than one person," Ye Wuji whispered.
Lin Tianyu nodded. "I heard it too. There are at least three or four of them."
Zhao Linger quietly checked on Wang Zheng; he was deep in meditative healing and should not be disturbed.
"I'll go take a look," Lin Tianyu said, moving silently toward the cave entrance.
A moment later, Lin Tianyu hurried back with a grave expression. "It's bad! It's Li Hu, Zheng Feng, Chen Hai, and Liu Fang—all four of them. They've gathered every remaining disciple participating in the assessment. It looks like they intend to seize the Foundation Establishment Pills by force!"
Ye Wuji frowned. "Are they out of their minds? This is a flagrant violation of the sect rules!"
Zhao Linger gave a bitter smile. "There's no supervision in the mystic realm. They're probably taking a desperate gamble, hoping to get their hands on the Foundation Establishment Pills first and then make up some excuses to gloss over it when they return."
Lin Tianyu pondered for a moment. "The three of us have all successfully reached Foundation Establishment, so our strength has increased. With Senior Brother Wang as well, we should be able to hold our own against them. However, Senior Brother Wang's injuries haven't healed and his combat capability is limited, so realistically it's still the three of us against the four of them."
Ye Wuji looked toward the cave entrance. "They've already blocked the way out, so it will be difficult for us to break through. We might as well wait and see how things unfold, and plan our next move after they come in."
The four of them quickly set up a simple defensive array within the cave, woke Wang Zheng to brief him on the situation, and then quietly waited.
Before long, footsteps echoed from the entrance, and Li Hu, Zheng Feng, and the others slowly walked into the cavern.
"Well, look at that, you're all here," Li Hu said with a sarcastic sneer. "Junior brothers and junior sister, I hear you've all obtained Foundation Establishment Pills. Truly a cause for celebration!"
Lin Tianyu said coldly, "Senior Brother Li, we are all fellow disciples from the same sect; why resort to drawn swords and notched bows? The mystic realm is about to close—we'd be better off minding our own business and returning safely to the sect."
Zheng Feng sneered. "Stop putting on an act! There are only ten spots for Foundation Establishment. If the four of us cannot achieve Foundation Establishment, we will surely face severe punishment upon returning, and may even be expelled from the inner sect!"
Chen Hai, a burly disciple, stepped forward. "Hand over at least two Foundation Establishment Pills, and we'll leave immediately without making things difficult for you. Otherwise..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a streak of sword light suddenly shot in from outside the cave, heading straight for Chen Hai's back. Chen Hai failed to dodge in time, and the sword Qi slashed the fabric across his back, leaving a shallow scratch.
"Who goes there?" the group cried out in unison, turning toward the cave entrance.