Eternity Starts From His Seed

South District. Lantern Workshop.

Old Shen's hands turned with practiced precision as he examined the formation ball through his monocle, scrutinizing the empty groove surrounded by the runes imprinted on the surface of the ball.

With a thoughtful expression, he muttered, "Barely passable," before placing it gently among five more formation balls scattered across his cluttered worktable.

Old Shen then reached for a jade slip from his counter, his fingers briefly navigating the delicate surface.

“Sixty points.” He handed it toward young man standing in front of him, "Take this and go claim your reward from the Registration Pavilion."

Bubai took the jade slip, feeling its cool and smooth in his hands. Aw man, this hard-earned reward felt as good as Xiao Lan’s soft hands.

After pocketing the jade slip, Bubai looked back at Old Shen, who gestured towards the edge of the workshop, shifting Bubai’s gaze towards the wooden box sitting next to the wall of glowing lanterns.

“That’s the box with brand new formation balls. You can collect some equal to the amount you just turned in. If you like, you can grab another from the same box as last time.”

With a nod of understanding, Bubai approached the box. He opened one and found it filled with new formation balls, each one devoid of the carved groove.

Bubai quickly counted five balls and stowed them carefully into his green storage pouch. He then walked over to the box of prepped balls, taking one from within.

Once the supplies were acquired, Bubai turned to face the old man, whose attention was already absorbed by the delicate craft before him, the faint black mist still seeping out from the monocle he was using...

Bubai’s eyes flickered with hesitation. In the end, he kept silent, bowing respectfully before he made his way towards the workshop's exit.

The light of the workshop lingered in his memory as Bubai stepped back into the warm embrace of dusk, the door creaking shut behind him, closing off the enclave of lanterns and tempting boxes of formation balls.

The ambient glow from the strangely-designed lanterns hanging on the workshop walls spilled onto the narrow street, casting flickering shadows of various mythical creatures on the white walls of the nearby workshops.

It was really ingenious and beautiful. Bubai silently took in the interplay of light and shadow, eventually unable to resist letting out a sigh.

Everyone has their own problems. It wasn’t his place to worry about others when he can’t even solve his own.

He already burned the contribution points earned over the weeks of painstaking copying tasks to search the classified room multiple times.

In the end, he found no solution to his problem, but he did glean some additional insights regarding foundation establishment.

Indeed, there were some geniuses who could spontaneously establish their foundation on the spot, but the majority often faced prolonged stagnation even after accumulating enough foundation for a breakthrough.

The natural occurrence of breakthroughs was typically hindered by hidden factors beyond the control of low-level cultivators, such as their spirit.

Even multi-attribute spiritual root geniuses could struggle during breakthrough due to their lackluster talents in relation to the spirit.

Absence of these struggles only existed in the geniuses with strong spiritual strength, either congenital or through the consumption of spiritual treasures.

Unfortunately, he was not one such genius and could only rely on his foundation establishment method.

However, the foundation establishment method was meant to be a guide, but in the end, the actual breakthrough still depended on the cultivator’s fortune, talent, and accumulation.

According to the Arboreal Bliss Dreamcatcher Art, even after condensing the totem, normal cultivators should proceed further only when sensing a vague connection with their spirit because a forced breakthrough during other times had a high risk of failure.

If no special induction was sensed, consolidation was likely still happening in the background. So, it was suggested cultivators be patient and waited.

Once it was time, a cultivator would naturally be able to sense it.

So how long does one have to wait? It could be months, years, decades, or even a lifetime!

Naturally, most can’t wait that long.

So, many would resort to an alternative method to achieve breakthrough: drugs.

Introducing the Foundation Establishment pill - a cliché pill appearing in many cultivation novels, just another method for the rich and powerful to milk the poor! Pop a pill and skip directly to the end, simple as that! Buy now and get a free target tattooed onto your back!

Disclaimer: Breakthrough not guaranteed.

Ahem. On a serious note, the elixir served as an aid for completion stage Qi-refiners, enhancing their ability to sense their spirit and increasing the success rate of breakthroughs by at least 10%!

Beyond that, it acted as a safeguard for their spirit, ensuring that even if the establishment of a foundation failed, the cultivator wouldn't face death or lifelong mental illness.

Of course, the damage from failure is still inevitable, especially to the cultivator’s spirit.

Thus, subsequent breakthrough attempts would have a lower success rate, even with the consumption of another pill.

Typically, this pill is only used once in a lifetime, but the pills were still exorbitantly expensive.

In fact, Bubai didn’t even believe he could accumulate wealth to afford such a pill anytime soon.

Heck, even if he managed to gather the required funds, he still wouldn’t be able to buy one.

Only a limited number of pills entered the open market once in years, each triggering a bloody storm of competition. Even mid-size clans wouldn’t forgo the opportunity.

As for the rest of the pills, they were monopolized by the powerful aristocratic clans and the sect.

Obviously, the sect wasn't inclined to distribute it to every disciple for free. This pill was hung for exchange at a hefty sum of 5000 contribution points, and there were probably other hidden strings attached as well.

On the flip side, if Bubai dared to approach the sect or clans for the elixir, he risked being inspected inside and out. Adding on to that, he might even be coerced into accepting unsavory conditions, such as binding himself to these powerful clans either through marriage or oath.

This was a change in social class and was publicly acclaimed to be a step into the sky.

It might sound like a good thing, but in reality, it was basically becoming a dog for these influential families. Outsiders faced strict restrictions and contractual obligations, forced to work for the clan for life and even contribute to breeding the next generation!

Want to grow stronger? Unless you already have a powerful backing, then freedom will be the price.

Even the disciples of orthodox sects couldn’t entirely escape these binding rules. This was why there were loose cultivators.

A similar situation was reflected in the high-end knowledge of the cultivation world. These constituted the “glass ceiling” of the world of cultivators.

Bubai, however, was unwilling to permanently sacrifice his freedom for a marginal boost in cultivation.

With his golden finger, these smaller clans were likely to be a fleeting passerby on his long journey.

While he might be willing to be a dog for a short time, he was unwilling to permanently bind himself to them.

The pinnacle of his vision was beyond this sect, this world, and even the universe.

This was why his opportunity in the Book Pavilion was so valuable because therein laid the slim chance of accessing top-tier knowledge without surrendering his freedom.

Unfortunately, this source didn't offer other essential cultivation resources like the Foundation Establishment pill.

It’s not like a pill could magically pop out from the pages of a book and into reality for him…

Bubai looked up at the darkening skies, “Yep, that’ll only happen in my dreams.”

In reality, he’ll have to count on his own ingenuity to acquire one.

Honestly, this was a pill that Bubai would naturally want to avoid for many reasons, but now it seems...

A flicker of determination crossed his expression, “I can probably only try to acquire it through some shady means…”

Secret realms were rumored to yield Foundation Establishment pills and other treasures that can be helpful to the breakthrough process.

Even if it doesn’t, the contribution points or resources gained from the exploration might allow some disciples to exchange a pill from the sect...

When the storm returned, it could be his chance.

But for now… time to clock back into reality and face the endless pendulum of grinding.

“Back to the Book Pavilion.” He had been spending more and more time there recently, exploring alternatives for his breakthrough, even scouring info on exotic breakthrough treasures.

Alas, it was too difficult to find the right direction without asking for guidance.

So, he could only go to work like an honest bloke, hoping for some special guidance from the book guru.

Interestingly, night, it seems, was the best time to work.

The original consistency had long went down the drain, especially since he understood Granny Shu’s preference, showing greater leniency and willingness to guide him during his overnight work sessions.

The reason behind this preference remained unknown, perhaps attributed to Granny Shu's desire for nighttime company?

Well, it doesn’t make much of a difference compared to mornings anyways. Just that he certainly wasn’t going to accompany her in that fashion...

Book Pavilion. Classified Section. Night.

In the dimly lit ancient library, the air was thick with the scent of old parchment and centuries-old knowledge.

Seated at a table, a young man abruptly stirred from his slumber, finding himself surrounded by familiar towering shelves filled with dusty scrolls and leather-bound tomes.

“Huh? Did I fall asleep?” Shaking away the sleepiness, Bubai straightened the worn sleeves of his ink-stained tunic and rubbed his tired eyes.

Glancing down, he saw the luminescent glow from above casting the shadow of his brush onto the scroll he was copying.

“Huh? I thought I finished the copying task already? Was it a dream?” Merlin’s beard, he must be overworking himself lately.

Fortunately, nodding off didn’t ruin the scroll with ink.

Gripping his brush, Bubai continued his copying task.

His concentration was firmly engrossed in the task, methodically dipping the ink and unrolling the scroll when required. He didn’t know how long he had copied for...

However, just when he went for the ink once more, his focus abruptly wavered when his senses tingled, sensing an unexpected presence nearby!

He looked up, suddenly finding himself face to face with a breathtaking vision!

A young otherworldly beauty had unknowingly appeared, as if materializing from the dust of history itself.

Her long silver wavy hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall of moonlight, and she was draped in a silky, silver robe that clung to her youthful form, accentuating every curve of her slim figure.

The luminescent glow played on the fabric, creating a strange shimmer that added to the mysterious aura surrounding her.

Right now, she sat across from him at the same table, her lively, starry eyes fixed upon him with an intensity that seemed to pierce through the ages.

Looking into those eyes, Bubai felt as though he were transported to another realm as he sank into the depths of her starry eyes.

The young lady's voice, like a gentle melody, pulled him back to reality.

"Fufufu, still haven't seen enough?"