I Have Refined Qi For 3000 Years!

Book 8 Chapter 39 - Let's Start with Foundation Establishment!

Accepting Lie Zun—who hailed from the Central Immortal Realm—as one of the Ghost Realm’s Three Sovereigns was already pushing the limit. If the Five Directional Immortal Emperors tried to use any excuse to dispatch Immortal Sovereigns from their own ranks as well, Bai Qiuran would absolutely refuse to agree.

“But since these are management positions, shouldn’t administrative ability be valued more than cultivation level?”

After the meeting, as he followed Yin Zun toward the Great Library of Fengdu City, Bai Qiuran voiced his complaint.

“Well, that’s mainly due to Ghost Realm convention; cultivation level commands respect and wins people over far more easily than administrative skill does.”

Yin Zun shook his head.

“In other words, for any faction defined by individual strength, isn’t cultivation level the single most important factor when evaluating a leader’s capabilities?”

“That is a fair point.”

Bai Qiuran also shook his head.

“But extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Insisting on maintaining the Three Sovereigns system is just too rigid… especially now that I’ve returned.”

“It is a system built over hundreds of thousands of years; the inertia is immense.”

Yin Zun remarked with emotion.

“But I believe Your Majesty’s return will bring an opportunity for change in this regard.”

As they spoke, the two arrived in front of the Great Library of Fengdu City.

The Great Library was located in the northern part of Fengdu City and covered a vast area. While security appeared lax—allowing anyone to come and read—the librarians were actually top-tier experts of the Underworld Ghost Realm; anyone who violated the rules would face their swift punishment.

Stored here were countless cultivation techniques and divine abilities exclusive to the ghost immortals of the Underworld, as well as valuable techniques salvaged from civilizations across various realms that had long since perished.

Unlike the Mortal Realm, which was teeming with countless sects, the Ghost Realm did not suffer from the culture of hoarding unique sect teachings. Here, provided one possessed the requisite aptitude and clearance, one was free to study any of the divine abilities housed in the Great Library.

The reason for coming here first was, naturally, to learn. Although he had theoretically pioneered the system of immortal cultivation, hundreds of thousands of years of evolution had propelled it to heights far beyond his original conception. Although Bai Qiuran never lacked self-confidence, he was not arrogant enough to pit himself single-handedly against the crystallized wisdom amassed by the sages of the entire human race over more than three hundred thousand years.

To go further, one must first stand upon the shoulders of giants.

Moreover, the cultivation methods of Ghost Immortals are unique; hidden within this collection might well be a secret technique capable of drastically accelerating his Foundation Establishment speed.

As soon as Yin Zun entered with Bai Qiuran, the librarians guarding the entrance and the surrounding area immediately bowed in salutation.

Yin Zun was a figure whose face alone commanded recognition anywhere in the Ghost Realm, while the earlier, intense clash of divine senses had left a deep impression of the newcomer—Ghost Emperor Bai Qiuran—on many within the realm.

While there were factions in the Ghost Realm that leaned toward the Immortal Realm, no one was foolish enough to step forward at this juncture and make themselves a target.

After acknowledging the librarians, Yin Zun turned to Bai Qiuran and asked:

“Virtually all cultivation techniques, spells, divine abilities, artifact-forging methods, combat moves, and the like within the Ghost Realm are housed in this repository. Which tier of techniques would you like to examine first, Ghost Emperor?”

Bai Qiuran pondered for a moment. “Take me to see the Foundation Establishment methods first.”

“Very well, Your Majesty, please follow me this way.”

The Yin Venerable was somewhat puzzled but led Bai Qiuran along anyway, asking as they walked:

“Why does Your Majesty wish to start with Foundation Establishment methods? Given Your Majesty’s capabilities, I would think you could simply examine the supreme cultivation techniques and divine abilities—those are the ones curated by countless generations of our Yin Envoys.”

“A tower a myriad feet high rises from the ground; the foundation is the most important part of everything.”

Bai Qiuran said earnestly:

“Is there any reason I shouldn’t start from the basics?”

“No, of course not.”

The Yin Venerable spoke with a tone of admiration:

“None of us possess the spirit of diligent study that Your Majesty does; it is truly admirable. However, Your Majesty, while the Ghost Realm’s Foundation Establishment methods aren’t as numerous as those in the Mortal Realm, there are still enough to fill an entire tower. Would you like us to help you screen them first?”

“No need.”

Bai Qiuran stated decisively:

“I want them all!”

What he lacked more than cultivation techniques right now was inspiration—an elusive and mysterious thing. It was entirely possible that a Foundation Establishment manual riddled with errors might be the very thing to spark a new train of thought.

Furthermore, Jiang Lan had just left the Ghost Realm to return to the Fusang Immortal Palace, meaning Bai Qiuran had plenty of time on his hands at night.

Since the Ghost Emperor’s Palace wasn’t finished yet and he didn’t need to keep Jiang Lan company in the evenings, he decided to simply stay in the Great Library at night and read through the Foundation Establishment methods from various realms.

…

In the days that followed, Bai Qiuran remained in the Ghost Realm.

He continued to delegate authority to the Three Venerables. In the Ghost Realm, the Three Venerables were respectively responsible for guiding souls, judgment, and reincarnation. The original system had the Li Venerable managing soul guidance, the Lie Venerable managing judgment, and the Ran Venerable managing reincarnation; however, with the Li Venerable dead and the Ran Venerable undergoing punishment, the duties of guiding souls and managing reincarnation had been left without a dedicated overseer. After the meeting, Bai Qiuran promoted Xue Ling to the rank of one of the “Three Venerables,” tasking him with managing the extradition of souls and swiftly resolving the chaos in the mortal realm caused by the turmoil in the Ghost Realm; as for the remaining vacant position, Bai Qiuran enlisted the original Three Venerables to jointly oversee the duties.

As for himself, he spent his days traveling to various locations to study the Ghost Realm’s administration, laws, and operational mechanisms, while spending his nights immersed in the realm’s vast archives.

Given his level of cultivation, sleep was unnecessary, and lacking any nightlife, he simply devoted himself entirely to learning.

It took Jiang Lan over a month to return, pack her belongings, and settle affairs at the Fusang Immortal Palace; during this time, Bai Qiuran led a busy and fulfilling life, constantly on the move.

By the time Jiang Lan returned to the Ghost Realm, he had largely grasped the fundamentals of the realm and the methods for achieving the Foundation Establishment stage.

The scope of the Ghost Realm was far vaster than he had imagined. As the Primordial Immortal Emperor Bai Li pacified the cosmos and ventured beyond their original world, the Ghost Realm followed in his footsteps, expanding its reach across other worlds.

Immortals would seek out worlds within the void and impart the methods of immortal cultivation to the civilizations dwelling there; simultaneously, the Underworld—or Ghost Realm—would establish conduits in these worlds. With the aid of the Heavenly Dao, they would link the cycles of life and death of those worlds to the Ghost Realm, absorbing and integrating them into the realm itself.

To this day, the Ghost Realm’s influence extends across countless worlds, and the realm has grown exponentially in size compared to when Bai Qiuran first created it.

Meanwhile, Bai Qiuran also successfully drew inspiration from the cultivation methods practiced by the Ghost Immortals of the realm.

Just as Bai Li had noted when he pioneered the cultivation path for Ghost Immortals, their starting point is a formless, incorporeal soul; consequently, the first step in their cultivation is the condensation of a physical body.

The Purple Mansion is naturally included in this process of body condensation; for Ghost Immortals, this stage of forging a physical form is far more critical than any of the subsequent stages. The better one’s physique is refined and the larger one’s Purple Mansion is forged, the greater the amount of energy the body can subsequently contain and withstand; this is crucial for enhancing both combat prowess and cultivation base.

However, Bai Qiuran drew inspiration from certain rather crude body-refining techniques. He took a counter-intuitive approach, modifying the principles of those techniques to attempt something new: using energy to condense a series of miniature, temporary “Purple Mansions” within his own infinitely capacious Purple Mansion, specifically for the purpose of compressing his True Essence.

His idea proved successful; this method accelerated the speed at which he refined his True Essence by at least twenty percent.

Previously, he had estimated that at his rate of True Essence conversion, successfully completing the Foundation Establishment stage would take at least four or five thousand years. Now, however, with this new method—and barring any external interference—he estimated he could complete the process in just over three thousand years.

In a sense, the remark Xue Ling had made—cursing him with the proverb “he who travels a hundred miles finds the last ten the hardest”—before he entered the Earth Immortal’s grotto-heaven turned out to be not entirely wrong.