Back in a cramped, rented room in the city's cheapest district, Lin Wei opened the crate. The Fire Element Qi in the residue was dangerously unstable. An ordinary cultivator would risk internal injury trying to absorb it.
Lin Wei began to Devour. The Void Eye Edict roared, greedily absorbing the chaotic, explosive energy. The refinement process was grueling; sweat poured off Lin Wei as his core wrestled with the volatile Qi.
He was forcing himself past the Peak of the Ninth Level, using the Fire Qi as the overwhelming kinetic push he needed.
"The Foundation Establishment requires a Seed of Will, not merely Qi," the Void Eye projected. "The pressure from this unstable Qi must be directed to forge that Seed. Do not refine perfectly; allow the pressure to build!"
Lin Wei felt agonizing pressure in his spiritual sea. The massive amount of Qi he had stockpiled from Elder Zhi, combined with the explosive Fire energy, was tearing at his limits.
He realized the true difference between a genius and a fool: A genius knew how to use the power; a fool was used by it. Lin Wei was taking a suicidal risk, deliberately creating a pressure cooker within himself.
Just as he felt his meridians about to snap, the dark-red Spirit Herb he had stolen, still tucked deep inside his robes, released a final, cooling burst of Qi. This cooling essence acted as the perfect counterbalance to the chaotic Fire Qi.
The two forces met, spiraled, and then collapsed inward.
BOOM!
A silent, world-shaking explosion occurred inside Lin Wei's core. The vast sea of Qi was violently compressed into a single, perfectly spherical, jade-green droplet. This was the Foundation Seed—the core of a cultivator's immortal path.
Foundation Establishment, First Layer!
Lin Wei opened his eyes, trembling but alive. His body had undergone a massive transformation. His spiritual senses expanded exponentially, allowing him to perceive the entire city's Qi flow, its thousands of spiritual presences, and the subtle shift of the wind. He was no longer a mere mortal aspiring to greatness; he had taken the first true step toward Immortality.
He examined his Qi. It was denser, more viscous, and still carried the cold, powerful jade-green hue of the Void Edict.
Now that he was in Foundation Establishment, his next priority was acquiring a true Foundation Technique—a proper cultivation art for this new realm, even if he only intended to use the Void Command's modified versions. The black market of Whispering City was the ideal hunting ground.