Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment

After the demonic creature dispersed, Lin Zhao turned back.

The child was gone.

Only winding blood trails remained, cooling in the drizzle.

Lin Zhao searched for a while, but the trail ended at a cliff.

“It seems someone took him,” Lin Zhao murmured. She swept her senses again. “No demonic aura anymore… so he was probably rescued.”

Once she was sure the child hadn’t been taken by a demonic creature, she stopped wasting time and returned to her tent to continue meditating.

After Lin Zhao left, a slender figure in pale yellow appeared where she had been.

Holding the battered little boy—dirty, bruised, and yet still delicate as carved jade—the woman watched Lin Zhao’s retreating back. Triumph gleamed in her eyes.

“System,” she whispered, “can you rewrite the impression in the Demon Venerable’s Sea of Consciousness—who saved him?”

The System fell silent for a long moment before replying. “Yes, but this is your last chance to use Cheat Power before you obtain Lin Zhao. Are you sure you want to use it here?”

“Of course,” the woman said without hesitation. “He’ll help me turn the tables.”

…

The next morning, after resting, Lin Zhao swallowed the second Huang Ji Spirit Raising Pill.

The first change was immediate—her spiritual energy shifted from pale green into a purer, deeper green.

The Phoenix Pulse Art had improved.

Her aura climbed steadily and stabilized at the early ninth level of Foundation Establishment.

It wasn’t like the first pill’s surge, when she had jumped violently to the peak of the eighth level. Breaking into the ninth required far more spiritual energy—three to four times as much. The first pill had tempered her body and strengthened Phoenix Fortune alongside her breakthrough, and years of accumulation had poured into a single burst.

Now, advancing into the ninth level without aftereffects was already enough to satisfy her.

“But with only half a month left,” Lin Zhao muttered, “reaching the tenth level of Foundation Establishment won’t be easy.”

She could take the last Huang Ji Spirit Raising Pill right away and force herself into the tenth level, but it would weaken her foundation.

Lin Zhao drew the Bone Sword and stepped out of the tent. The forest around her held hidden, dangerous auras—watching, prowling, hungry.

Lin Zhao exhaled, grin sharp.

“Come on.”

Time flew.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

Ten days later, in the middle region of Hundred Beasts Forest, a mountain collapsed with a roar. Moments later, a huge black python wriggled out of the rubble, body slick with blood as it tried to flee.

Something seized its tail.

No matter how it twisted, it couldn’t escape.

In the python’s terrified eyes, a small hand lifted a slab of stone dozens of times larger than its body—then dropped it again and dragged the python back.

Lin Zhao pinched the Black Patterned Python’s vital spot but didn’t kill it.

She harvested several Royal Dragon Scale Tokens from its body for future forging materials, then released it.

The python froze, then circled Lin Zhao once, twice—as if confirming this vicious woman truly wasn’t going to eat it.

Only then did it dart away.

Lin Zhao watched it go, then asked, “Master, my physical strength and endurance should already be at the peak of Foundation Establishment, right?”

Granny floated out and nodded with approval. “With results like this, those days weren’t wasted. Chased by spirit beasts every day, enduring the pain of a 1,000-zhang waterfall pounding your body every night—your condition now is excellent.”

Lin Zhao rubbed her nose helplessly. “But my cultivation hasn’t improved much.”

“Try drawing in spiritual energy now,” Granny said, smiling.

Lin Zhao circulated the Phoenix Pulse Art cautiously.

Her eyes widened.

Her speed of absorbing spiritual energy was three times faster than before.

“The Phoenix Pulse Art values foundation,” Granny said. “To reach an unprecedented peak, you need an unprecedented base. Your foundation must be more solid than everyone else’s.”

Lin Zhao nodded hard and immediately began cultivating with every second she had.

Granny watched, satisfied.

“In three days,” Granny said, “take the last Huang Ji Spirit Raising Pill. Then return to the Lin Family. It’s time to start taking back your Phoenix Fortune.”

Lin Zhao’s heart ignited.

Take it back.

She had waited far too long.

Over the next three days, Lin Zhao found a cave dwelling and trained with relentless focus. Spiritual energy poured toward her without end. A visible Spirit Qi Vortex formed around her.

This rate was far beyond an ordinary ninth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator.

By noon on the third day, her inner palace was full, and her body felt stuffed with power.

“You can take the last Spirit Raising Pill now,” Granny said. “This last pill will squeeze out all your potential at the Foundation Establishment stage. It will be painful. You must endure it.”

Lin Zhao’s mouth twitched. After everything she’d survived, what pain could she not endure?

Then the medicinal power flooded her meridians.

Lin Zhao screamed.

Fire tore through her—skin, flesh, bones, blood. It felt like her skeleton was being smashed apart and rebuilt piece by piece. Like someone was hammering her skull from the inside.

Even Lin Zhao’s endurance broke under it. She writhed, breath ragged, vision blurred.

“This pain will last three days,” Granny said, voice stern. “If you can endure, you succeed. If you can’t, this is where your path ends.”

Lin Zhao wanted to spit blood.

One minute already felt impossible. Three days and three nights?

In less than half an hour, her nerves went numb from pain, and the numbness somehow made it worse. Her strength drained until drowsiness crept in like poison.

“You can’t sleep!” Granny barked. “Circulate the Hong Hu Sword Art now!”

Lin Zhao staggered to her feet. The moment she stood, pain slammed back harder. Her hand trembled on the Bone Sword.

“Master…” Her voice broke. “I can’t use it.”

“Then are you giving up?” Granny’s disappointment cut. “You can force the medicinal power out right now. But the path of the Dao moves forward only. Succeed or die trying—there is no retreat.”

Give up?

How could she?

Lin Zhao roared. Blood dripped from her fingertips. She forced the Phoenix Pulse Art to circulate again, and the pain twisted her fingers nearly out of shape.

Sweat poured from her forehead in thick drops, mixing with blood and flinging outward with surging sword qi.

Wandering Light flowed.

The sword array formed.

When Granny finally said, “Enough,” Lin Zhao collapsed. She lay there, shaking, drained beyond feeling.

She didn’t know how long passed before she scraped together enough spiritual energy to cast a Dust Cleansing Art on herself.

“Granny,” Lin Zhao rasped, voice hoarse, “did I reach the tenth level of Foundation Establishment?”

“Look for yourself,” Granny said, smiling.

Lin Zhao turned inward.

Her eyes widened.

“The eleventh level of Foundation Establishment?!”

She had jumped two levels at once.