A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu’s Rebirth as the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor - Chapter 54

Chapter 54 Ah, Han Li, I hate you.

The young man was none other than Han Li.

At this moment, one year and eight months had passed since his bet with Dong Xuan’er.

Many things had changed, and many remained the same.

“Tsk, Junior Nephew Han, you ultimately failed?”

In the pavilion outside the door, a graceful figure, legs crossed, admired her nails while asking without turning her head.

This woman was none other than Dong Xuan’er, who had successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage more than half a year ago.

Now, she had grown into a beautiful young woman. Compared to when she was sixteen, she had lost her baby fat. At twenty, she was graceful and naturally alluring. Even without using her seductive arts, her temperament and charm were still captivating.

“Uncle Dong, you’re really quite carefree…”

Han Li grinned.

“I came specifically to remind you not to forget the stakes of the bet…”

Dong Xuan’er said with a smile.

…

Time rewinds to more than a year ago.

In a mountain cave.

After bathing, offering incense, and adjusting her mindset, the young woman officially began her Foundation Establishment journey.

As soon as she swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill, its immense medicinal power instantly dissolved, generating countless streams of heat. These heat streams rapidly spread throughout her body via her meridians, even penetrating deep into her bone marrow.

“It’s here!”

Dong Xuan’er exclaimed solemnly.

Soon, waves of tingling and itching sensations appeared, making her feel as if millions of ants were crawling all over her body:

“Is this the Yi Jing Marrow Cleansing?”

Before long, she was drenched in sweat, her face contorted in pain.

The tingling, the stinging, the discomfort—

the Yi Jing Marrow Cleansing, washing away impurities from the body, was torture every second.

This discomfort made her grind her teeth, wishing she could bang her head against the ground, even bang her head against the wall, constantly scratching the ground.

“So painful…”

The entire process was undeniably agonizing.

Moreover, the more mixed one’s spiritual roots, the more impurities accumulated in the body, the higher the degree of Yi Jing Marrow Cleansing required, and the more unbearable it was.

This was one of the reasons why having three spiritual roots made Foundation Establishment more difficult than having two.

This is also why it’s extremely difficult for pseudo-spiritual roots to establish a foundation.

“Ah…”

Dong Xuan’er could no longer bear it and let out a scream.

She had never suffered like this before.

“Ah ah…”

Several times during the process, she considered giving up. The method was simple: accelerate the release of the medicinal power, sacrificing some of it.

Fortunately, the tingling sensation didn’t last long. After the tingling subsided, it was replaced by alternating coolness and warmth.

At this moment, she felt perfectly comfortable all over.

The pleasant sensation began to return.

Simultaneously, a thick, grayish, foul-smelling substance was expelled from her pores, causing the normally fragrant Dong Xuan’er to wrinkle her nose.

Ten days passed in a flash. Although she had only refined nearly half of the first Foundation Establishment Pill’s medicinal power, the girl’s cultivation had already smoothly advanced to the twelfth level of Qi Refining. However, it was impossible to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage with the remaining medicinal power.

Foundation Establishment—how difficult it was!

How many self-proclaimed heroes had it stumped?

The subsequent two months of refining the medicinal power only propelled her cultivation forward significantly.

Of course, the likelihood of failure with just one Foundation Establishment pill was expected.

But there were still four left.

Four Foundation Establishment pills to continue cleansing her marrow and transforming her meridians would definitely help her enter the Foundation Establishment stage.

“Very sure,”

Dong Xuan’er thought at the time.

Considering the increasingly weaker effects of the medicinal power on her body, further weakening it would eliminate its foundation-building aid. Therefore, the second Foundation Establishment pill was quickly swallowed, slightly amplifying its medicinal power.

A new wave of medicinal power rapidly swept through her body.

“Refine this one with all my might…”

“With the help of this medicinal power, I will at least advance to the thirteenth level of Qi Refining…”

The secret room was filled with fragrant aroma.

A beautiful figure sat quietly cross-legged.

She knew very well that her spiritual root talent was only among the lower tiers of the three spiritual roots, inferior to some three spiritual root cultivators of much higher quality. Therefore, she lagged behind in the conversion of medicinal power and spiritual energy.

As expected, her second attempt at Foundation Establishment failed again.

However, she achieved her initial goal:

the thirteenth level of Qi Refining.

“Just a little bit more…”

“Just a little bit more.”

Foundation Establishment was within reach.

“I can do it, I definitely can.”

Looking at the three Foundation Establishment Pills remaining in her hand, Dong Xuan’er remained confident.

She took out the third pill and confidently swallowed and refined it.

Then… Even

while the medicinal power was still strong, she still failed.

When the medicinal power began to fade, and the remaining power was insufficient to continue the Marrow Cleansing and Transformation, only slightly increasing her magical power, she, not yet fully transformed, naturally failed again.

“Damn it.”

She felt she had reached the final, crucial hurdle. Just a little more, and all her meridians, acupoints, and bones would undergo a transformative process, a complete metamorphosis, allowing her to enter the Foundation Establishment stage.

Yet, she just couldn’t overcome that hurdle.

“Should I give up?”

For the first time, Dong Xuan’er, her forehead covered in sweat, felt a wavering, a sense of retreat.

She didn’t want to experience that pain again.

Every Foundation Establishment Pill she took intensified her suffering.

The medicinal power penetrated deep into her bone marrow, cleansing and refining her marrow.

Now, even as she consumed the pills and refined their power, she felt riddled with wounds.

This was the disadvantage of having poor spiritual roots.

The impurities in her body were far more numerous and deeply hidden than those of cultivators with superior spiritual roots.

“Fine, I’ll rest for a while. Going out for a walk might be good,”

Dong Xuan’er consoled herself.

This thought arose from the eight months of continuous seclusion, which had left her, who had never cultivated for such a long time, feeling stifled and

restless.

But then, she thought of someone, and of the disdain he had shown her when he had provoked her.

“No, how can I let that guy Han Li look down on me?”

“Give up now? Am I supposed to let that bastard laugh at me?”

She couldn’t afford to give up halfway and become a laughingstock.

Her temper flared, and she gritted her teeth, determined to be strong one last time.

She wanted to show that man her true colors.

She didn’t want to be mocked and despised by a pseudo-spiritual root. She couldn’t bear

the humiliation of seeing him again; she couldn’t just avoid him from now on, could she?

She swallowed the fourth pill!

“Ah…it hurts so much…”

The pain of the Yi Jing Marrow Cleansing was truly excruciating.

“Ah…Han Li, I hate you.”

A month later, the effects of the medicine began to wear off again. If she didn’t do something, her Foundation Establishment would be a complete failure.

“Why isn’t it working yet?”

The young lady was on the verge of tears.

She had suffered enough.

At this moment, her pressure reached its peak: she only had one Foundation Establishment Pill left.

If even taking this pill failed…

“Aaaaah, you bastard Han Li, why did you have to gamble with me?”

Why make a bet for no reason?

This young lady’s frustration, her unwillingness to accept defeat, her grievances, her self-doubt—all sorts of complex emotions surged into her heart, causing her to burst into tears.

She cried like a pear blossom in the rain: “I don’t want to lose, I don’t want to be looked down upon.”

She didn’t want to fail.

She was afraid of failure.

She couldn’t afford to fail again.

If she failed with five Foundation Establishment Pills in hand, she would be utterly ashamed.

Should she give up now? Cut her losses? And then secretly try again with more Foundation Establishment Pills?

Just as Dong Xuan’er was almost convinced, Han Li’s mocking “funny face” appeared: Hehehe…

“No, no, absolutely not.”

“I can’t give up so easily.”

Actually, four Foundation Establishment Pills plus some other medicine would be enough. Or, if her cultivation were a little higher, she could save one. After all, in the original timeline, she only used three.

“I’ll give it my all.”

“I can’t lose to that bastard Han Li…”

She couldn’t lose that pride.

How could she, a dignified Core Formation disciple, be inferior to a pseudo-spiritual root?

Han Li had the confidence and ambition to achieve Foundation Establishment; that confidence emanating from his very bones was so sunny and charming, it couldn’t be faked!

With better conditions in every aspect, why should she back down? How could she back down?

“Han Li, I hate you!”

How much better it would be if this guy wasn’t so close for comparison?

The fifth pill… *smack*.

Waaaaah…

Ah…!

…

And with this fifth Foundation Establishment Pill, plus the previous four rounds of Yi Jing Marrow Cleansing, and the fact that Dong Xuan’er was indeed at that most delicate critical point, this time, she truly succeeded with unstoppable momentum.

After successfully establishing her foundation, the much more naive Dong Xuan’er didn’t even think about consolidating her cultivation before excitedly running to Han Li’s cave to show off.

“Hahaha, Han Li, come out, quickly come out and call me Martial Uncle…”

“Hahaha…”

Her face was priceless.

She wouldn’t stop until Han Li called her “Martial Uncle” a few more times.

If Han Li hadn’t deliberately gritted his teeth while actually being very happy and gratified, calling her “Martial Uncle” a dozen times in a row, this girl might not have listened to advice and rushed back to her cave to consolidate her realm.

As for Han Li, what was his cultivation level at this time?

Not high, not low.

Qi Refining level twelve.

For someone with a pseudo-spiritual root like him, this was the limit of a Foundation Establishment Pill.

——

ps: I discovered a very interesting little-known fact: Dong Xuan’er is actually Hong Fu’s grandniece.

In other words, Hong Fu is Dong Xuan’er’s great-aunt (great-great-aunt).

For details, see Chapter 166, where Senior Brother Lu explains.

(End of Chapter)