A Master of Foundation Establishment

"I am Li Fan. May I ask how to address you, Fellow Daoist?" Li Fan asked with clasped hands. Hearing this, the young man instantly perked up. "What a coincidence! We share a clan name. I'm Li Chenfeng." "By the way, when you go inside, bargain a bit. Eighteen hundred contribution points will do," Li Chenfeng whispered. "Thank you, Brother Li! However, I haven't found a suitable wonder of heaven and earth yet. I came here today only to witness the Foundation Establishment Master's grace before making any plans," Li Fan explained. "Oh, that's fine too. Quite a few people like you come every year. As long as you only watch from the side, the master won't stop you." Li Chenfeng thought nothing of it. "You just need to remain quiet and not disturb anyone," he instructed. Li Fan nodded and walked along the path into the courtyard. From afar, a voice reached his ears. "Calm your minds and focus your spirits; comprehend with utmost care..." "Do you know why I chose this remote location for the academy? It is precisely because within several thousand li around this place, there is only seawater." "The laws of the Great Dao are relatively pure here. If you were to break through on Wanxian Island, you would inevitably suffer all kinds of interference, thereby affecting the speed of your Foundation Establishment." ... Li Fan drew closer and saw five Qi Condensation cultivators sitting cross-legged in the courtyard's clearing. Profound auras gathered around them, as if they were on the verge of breaking through and successfully establishing their foundations at any moment. Li Fan's heart stirred, and his Formless Killing Intent immediately began to lock onto them. One, two, three... By the fourth, Li Fan already felt some strain. *Counting Zhang Haobo, is my current limit five people?* Li Fan calculated in his mind. "Under my guidance, two hundred and sixty-five cultivators have already successfully established their foundations." "Among them, the vast majority spent far less time than expected. You will certainly..." The Foundation Establishment Master, who had been solemnly imparting his experience, suddenly halted. He looked up at the sky in mild bewilderment, staring for a long time, but failed to detect anything. Muttering a few words under his breath, he continued, "You will certainly be able to greatly reduce the time required for Foundation Establishment as well!" ... *This Foundation Establishment Master is truly remarkable. He could actually faintly perceive my Formless Killing Intent?* Li Fan felt a chill of caution. *If his cultivation were just a bit higher, he might really be able to follow the trail and trace it back to me.* *I truly cannot underestimate the people of this world. It seems I must be even more cautious when using Formless Killing Intent in the future.* ... Just as Li Fan was silently taking heed, one of the cultivators in the courtyard seemed to have a sudden epiphany prompted by the master's words. The aura around him abruptly surged from the Qi Condensation stage straight to the Foundation Establishment stage. Once his aura stabilized, the man opened his eyes, his face alight with joy. He bowed deeply to the Foundation Establishment Master. "Thank you for your guidance, Master. Xiao is endlessly grateful!" The Foundation Establishment Master patted his shoulder with a gratified air, stroking his beard and smiling. Shortly after, the cultivator surnamed Xiao took to the air and departed. The remaining cultivators in the courtyard all looked invigorated, a renewed surge of confidence welling up within them. "The first person to establish their foundation has emerged, a full ten days ahead of schedule. Who will be next?" the Foundation Establishment Master chimed in at just the right moment. Meanwhile, Li Fan, who was watching from the side, felt an absurd sense of amusement rise within him. Because... That cultivator surnamed Xiao happened to be one of the four locked onto by his Formless Killing Intent. Though on the surface Xiao indeed appeared to have broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, under Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing, Li Fan saw everything with crystal clarity. There was no trace of laws coalescing within the man at all. Only his aura had inflated to the Foundation Establishment stage; his true strength remained at the Qi Condensation stage. It was nothing more than an illusory trick akin to an Awe-Proclaiming Talisman. What was more, the man had not flown far away at all. He had merely circled around and slipped back in secret. With a shift in clothes and facial features, he transformed into an entirely different person in the blink of an eye. This... Was the so-called Foundation Establishment Master actually a fraud? Li Fan cast another glance at the Foundation Establishment Master, who looked sage-like with his white hair, youthful complexion, and transcendent air. He couldn't help marveling at the endless variety of extraordinary talents this world produced. Yet right at that moment, not long after Xiao's breakthrough, another cultivator seemed inspired by the display and faintly showed signs of breaking through as well. Li Fan's heart stirred. Because this time, the breakthrough was genuine. Under the perspective of heaven and earth, Li Fan saw a sorrowful sea lotus faintly coalescing in that cultivator's dantian. Li Fan immediately stopped letting his mind wander and focused his spirit on comprehending the various changes taking place within the cultivator. Once the sea lotus fully took shape, the aura radiating from the cultivator erupted violently. This time, he was a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator. The man opened his eyes, joy written across his face. "Master, thank you!" His words were brief, yet his gratitude overflowed. "Go on then. Do not disturb the others' breakthroughs." The man nodded and departed full of excitement. ... *Perhaps he isn't entirely a fraud,* Li Fan thought with a sudden flash of insight. He also feigned taking his leave, but in truth, he secretly lurked in the waters around the island to observe the remaining three cultivators. Over the next few days, two of them broke through smoothly. The last one dragged on for more than half a month before barely managing to break through. Yet he said nothing, only sighing before leaving in a hurry. *Whether it is real or fake doesn't matter. What matters is making the cultivators who are breaking through believe it is real.* *With sufficient confidence bolstering them, accelerating their comprehension and breaking through ahead of time is indeed not impossible.* *In any case, the breakthrough won't fail. Even if it occasionally proves ineffective for one or two people, seeing that it worked for everyone else, they will assume the fault lies with themselves.* *Even in the worst-case scenario where someone realizes it's a scam, this Foundation Establishment Master possesses a late Foundation Establishment cultivation, making him far beyond their ability to contend with. Not to mention, they would be too embarrassed to make a public fuss about being tricked. If they did, the more than two hundred cultivators who had successfully established their foundations here would certainly come after them for trouble.* *In the end, they can only swallow their teeth along with the blood.* *Fascinating, truly fascinating. This Foundation Establishment Master is quite an ingenious character.* Having figured out the underlying mechanics, Li Fan couldn't help admiring the scheme. Two thousand contribution points per person didn't seem like much. Yet when multiplied across two hundred and sixty-five cultivators, it amounted to a staggering windfall of over five hundred thousand contribution points! *I wonder just when this Foundation Establishment Master opened for business,* Li Fan mused, a few dangerous thoughts rising in his mind. For the period that followed, Li Fan continued to lurk around the island. Locking onto the cultivators who came drawn by the master's reputation with Formless Killing Intent, he comprehended in sync with them as they broke through to Foundation Establishment. In less than three months, Li Fan observed the breakthrough process of fully forty-odd Qi Condensation cultivators. His comprehension of establishing a Dao Foundation deepened step by step. And right at that moment, an alert reached his mind from Zhang Haobo's side once again. It seemed Zhang Haobo had reached perfection in the late Qi Condensation stage and was now seeking his own opportunity.