After entering Li Huayuan’s tutelage, Wen Buhuo was granted an independent cave dwelling within Yellow Maple Valley with abundant spiritual energy—the Green Wave Cave. The surroundings were secluded and tranquil, containing simple stone rooms that perfectly suited his desire for low-profile cultivation.

Once settled, Wen Buhuo did not rush to show off or venture out. He was acutely aware of the "defects" in his spiritual root aptitude; only through "unorthodox" means could he earn a slim chance of survival in the brutal world of cultivation.

The Secret Spiritual Field

Deep within the stone room, Wen Buhuo quietly retrieved the small green bottle that had accompanied him for so long. Utilizing the bottle's heaven-defying power to accelerate plant growth, he carefully arranged a small spiritual field. He meticulously planted the rare herbs brought out from the Forbidden Zone and nurtured them with the mysterious green liquid.

Days passed like flowing water. Wen Buhuo worked from dawn till dusk. Besides tending to the spiritual field, he spent his time pushing his current cultivation techniques to their absolute limits. The techniques he currently possessed were common sect-issued arts—solid, but limited in power and insufficient against the formidable enemies he would face after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. He resolved in his heart that once he succeeded in his breakthrough, he would find more suitable techniques and divine abilities.

In just two months, under the bottle's miraculous influence, Wen Buhuo’s spiritual field became lush and vibrant. Several batches of rare herbs matured, yielding a bountiful harvest. He also began studying the sect’s archives on alchemy, accumulating experience bit by bit—from identifying medicinal properties to mastering heat control.

Refining the Pills

When Wen Buhuo felt that everything was prepared—his spiritual energy having reached the peak of Qi Condensation and his foundation in alchemy being sufficiently solid—he left his cave and headed straight for the sect's alchemy rooms. Although the furnaces there were simple, they were public and safe. He rented an alchemy room for seven days, with only one thought in mind: I shall not leave until I achieve Foundation Establishment!

The initial refining process was not smooth. Being a beginner, Wen Buhuo's failed batches far outnumbered his successes, and his success rate for the Foundation Establishment Pill was initially less than thirty percent. However, he did not lose heart. Armed with extraordinary perseverance and the abundant medicinal materials provided by the green bottle, he constantly adjusted the heat and refined his extraction techniques. After three days, he had exhausted all the materials he brought, but his success rate had climbed to seventy percent.

Finally, Wen Buhuo inventoried his pills. Lying in the jade vials were twenty Foundation Establishment Pills of exceptional quality!

"Twenty pills... surely this is enough," he thought, gazing at the spirit pills that embodied his blood and sweat, a surge of heroic pride rising in his heart.

The Breakthrough

In the following days, Wen Buhuo devoted all his energy to smashing through the Foundation Establishment bottleneck. He sat cross-legged, clearing his mind of distractions, and began consuming the pills one by one.

Each pill that entered his stomach transformed into a boundless torrent of spiritual energy, surging wildly within his dantian. Wen Buhuo’s body was like a bottomless pit, greedily absorbing this power. His dantian swelled to the point of bursting, and his meridians ached, yet he still could not touch that final barrier.

Until—the twentieth Foundation Establishment Pill transformed into pure medicinal power and flooded his dantian!

Boom!

This time, Wen Buhuo clearly felt the long-accumulated power within him finally find a vent. Like a volcano suppressed for a thousand years, it began to heave and erupt violently! The staggering power charged through his entire body like a tidal wave; the spiritual energy in his dantian rotated, compressed, and exploded with frenzied intensity!

"Not good!" Wen Buhuo’s heart skipped a beat. This power was coming too fiercely. If he could not guide and vent it in time, he feared he would explode and die on the spot! He immediately adjusted his breathing, circulating his technique with all his might, guiding the surging power to wash through his meridians and strike the bottleneck.

In an instant, all the spiritual energy in the stone room was drawn toward him, forming a visible vortex!

Bang!

An invisible, thunderous sound erupted inside Wen Buhuo. A powerful force radiated outward, causing the very air in the stone room to tremble!

Wen Buhuo felt his vision brighten and his mind clear. The spiritual energy throughout his body flowed without the slightest obstruction. A sense of power unlike anything he had ever felt before surged into his heart.

He, Wen Buhuo, had finally successfully reached the Foundation Establishment Stage!