Chapter 87: Foundation Establishment! Foundation Establishment!-From Servant to Saint: The Path to Enlightenment(The mountains rise high beneath a small, distant moon.)

"This..."
The horrifying scene left all the cultivators dumbfounded. Some tried to defend themselves, but the shattered ice attacked from every direction, and Shen Yan was wildly consuming his innate purple qi. At this moment, each shard of ice possessed a power no less than a low-grade magical artifact.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of low-level Qi Refining cultivators, both early and mid-stage, were brutally slain by the ice, leaving only a few late-stage Qi Refining cultivators and three perfected Qi Refining true disciples.
"You... You're not late-stage Qi Refining at all..."
Xu Jingyang, battered and wounded, looked bitterly at Shen Yan, his voice full of hatred.
The attack of the shattered ice had been too sudden, its power overwhelming. Even though Xu Jingyang, as a true disciple of the Kui Water Sect, wrapped himself in spiritual power and possessed defensive artifacts, he could not withstand the assault. In mere moments, he was grievously injured.
The others fared no better under Shen Yan's onslaught. They stared at him blankly, their faces resigned, as if accepting their fate.
"The sects won’t let you go. You lured Qi Refining cultivators to their deaths while hiding your identity. Kui Water Sect and Ripple Sect will hunt you down!"
Suddenly, Xu Shengnan rushed madly toward Xu Jingyang. As she took out medicinal pills to heal him, she screamed frantically.
"Murderers will themselves be murdered. Of you four, two are surnamed Xu, one Zhao—surely you’re connected to those involved in the previous spiritual land dispute, aren’t you?"
Shen Yan replied indifferently to Xu Shengnan’s words, then continued,
"Three cultivator clans with centuries of inheritance, yet not a single Foundation Establishment cultivator among them. Isn’t this just your sects copying the methods of the Vast Sea Immortal Sect to control the subordinate cultivator families?"
At this, Shen Yan felt the Eastern Sea’s cultivation world exceedingly dull.
"You..."
Shen Yan had exposed the truth with a single sentence, and all three looked embarrassed, unable to refute him.
Just like the ancestor of the Luo family, Luo Ruoqin—given his talent and cultivation, he needed only a single Foundation Establishment Pill to break through easily.
Yet despite possessing a fortune in spirit stones, he couldn’t obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. How could that be?
The only possibility was that someone didn’t want the Luo family to produce a Foundation Establishment cultivator; only this reason could explain everything.

At the same time, Shen Yan recalled Yan Sheng’s situation. Yan Sheng held a Foundation Establishment Pill and his family had entered Jade Immortal Sect as cultivators.
Yet Yan Sheng still lingered at late-stage Qi Refining. Considering the appearance of his chest and the "bloodline issue" he mentioned, Shen Yan felt a chill.
As for the Eastern Sea’s cultivation world, he had no desire to change it. Firstly, he wasn’t a native; secondly, he felt no sense of belonging.
Now, he only wished to establish his foundation as soon as possible, avenge himself against Yang Yun, then leave the Eastern Sea to explore the central lands of cultivation.
"Yes, Xu Mao and the others were indeed sent by our Kui Water Sect. So what? Even if we die here today, you won’t fare well either."
"Boring, so boring!"
Flying on his artifact in midair, Shen Yan paid no heed to Xu Jingyang’s words.
He summoned the Southern Bright Departure Fire Pearl, and with a slight activation, a fiery bird shot at Xu Jingyang at lightning speed.
The next moment, Xu Jingyang’s body crashed heavily onto the ice-strewn sea, blood gushing from his mouth.
Yet facing death, Xu Jingyang gritted his teeth, suppressed his pain, and desperately tried to activate his artifact to escape.
But in that instant, another thunderous roar sounded. A Southern Bright Departure Fire descended from above like a bolt from a clear sky, aiming straight for Xu Jingyang.
His pupils contracted, his body trembled as he tried to activate his artifact, but his artifact had already been destroyed by the ice. By the time he realized, it was too late to dodge; a flash of fire enveloped him completely.
As the flames faded, Xu Jingyang’s figure slowly appeared above the water. His flesh had been burnt to charcoal, resembling a dried corpse.
Shen Yan gave special attention to Xu Shengnan too; with a casual wave of Southern Bright Departure Fire, he reduced her to ashes.
Witnessing this, the few survivors nearby were terrified beyond measure. They wanted to resist, but their organs ached so intensely that they could not move.
"Next time, open your eyes wider."
With a casual remark, Shen Yan activated his Flowing Cloud Sword, infused it with the Celestial Gang Qi, and wiped out every trace of their vitality.
"With so many cultivators suddenly gone, Kui Water Sect won’t search for the so-called Water Moon Sect secret realm for a while. But it won’t be long before they retaliate frantically. I must establish my foundation quickly."

Shen Yan swiftly cleaned up the battlefield, manipulated the water to wash away every trace, and after all the corpses sank to the sea’s depths, he took out an array disk and set up a defensive formation, preparing for Foundation Establishment.
Back at the spirit spring, Shen Yan crushed some spirit stones, refilled the innate purple qi in the Divine Seal of the Heavenly Emperor, but didn’t immediately take the Foundation Establishment Pill. Instead, he thoroughly relaxed his mind.
It wasn’t until the afternoon of the next day, after confirming he was in peak condition, that Shen Yan swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill and began his attempt.
As the pill entered his body, he felt a cool stream flow from his dantian throughout his limbs. Shen Yan dared not slack, and began to circulate the Water Origin Technique to absorb the cool energy.
Once the medicinal power was fully refined, Shen Yan sensed his spiritual power—already at its peak—begin to transform.
His spiritual power, merging with the cool stream, circulated through his body. The benefit of having cleared his meridians showed itself now: normally, the blocked channels would consume the pill’s energy to break through, but Shen Yan had already opened eight meridians, leaving the pill’s power entirely unspent.
After a long time, the spiritual power in his body fully fused with the cool stream, and after circulating within, finally merged completely into his body, vanishing altogether.
At this moment, his dantian held not a trace of spiritual power, but Shen Yan wasn’t anxious; this state meant he was on the verge of successful Foundation Establishment.
The only sign of advancing from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment is the complete transformation of spiritual power into true essence.
True essence is not merely a new name—it is vastly superior.
One unit of true essence can activate an artifact with the effect of ten units of spiritual power. Not only that, after spiritual power transforms into true essence, the cultivator’s lifespan doubles—a goal every cultivator strives for.
Time passed day by day, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.
Seated cross-legged on the meditation mat, Shen Yan finally sensed a slowly emerging true essence in his dantian, distinct from spiritual power.
"Foundation Establishment—I’ve succeeded!"
Within the quiet chamber, Shen Yan let out a long, triumphant cry, sweeping away a month’s worth of pent-up anxiety in an instant!