At the beginning, I cleaned the Sutra Library and completed the incomplete skills.

Chapter 210: Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Stage

“Since that Yellow Mane Hound can Cultivate to the Middle Stage of the fifth rank, it means your Bloodline must be quite extraordinary.

High-level Yao Beasts seem to have their own names, and you naturally shouldn’t be without one.

Tell me, what do you want to be called?”

Li Lan stroked the fluffy dog’s head and asked with a smile.

The puppy barked twice, affectionately nuzzling his palm.

“You’ll listen to me completely? You’re so yellowish, how about I call you Little Yellow?”

Li Lan sensed the emotions conveyed by the other party and chose a name with considerable commemorative significance.

When he was still a Mortal, almost every ordinary family named their dogs with simple names like Big Yellow, Little Yellow, or Wangcai.

Woof woof woof!

The little yellow dog let out short, joyful barks, with an irrepressible excitement in its voice,

Its entire body also trembled slightly from excitement.

Li Lan was happy, and it was especially happy.

After playing with Little Yellow for a moment,

A rumbling sound came from its soft belly:

“Hungry again? Hmm, it’s understandable, it’s still growing.”

Li Lan took out a white jade porcelain bottle, uncorked it, and was about to feed it to the dog.

At this moment,

Little Yellow barked twice again.

After sensing the dog’s intention, Li Lan turned his head to look at the remaining embryo nearby.

“You want to eat this?”

His tone was quite surprised.

According to ancient texts,

It seems that only certain snake Yao Beasts eat their own eggshells upon birth.

Is the Yellow Mane Hound clan the same?

No wonder that Yellow Mane Hound gave him the embryo along with it; so this was the reason.

As Li Lan pondered,

Little Yellow blinked its big eyes, quietly watching its master.

Although it really wanted to eat and replenish its nutrition,

If its master didn’t allow it, it could unhesitatingly abandon that thought.

Since he was willing to take out five-hundred-year-old resin, Li Lan naturally wouldn’t let his Spiritual Pet suffer over such a small matter.

He immediately gave the dog an instruction.

Little Yellow was overjoyed to receive the command, barking twice,

Its four short legs rapidly alternated, trotting towards the place where it was born.

Seeing this, Li Lan shook his head with a smile.

The dog’s adorable, clumsy appearance inexplicably reminded him of Ye Yingying again.

Although that girl had Cultivated for over two hundred years, she was still as innocent as this newborn Yao Beast.

He wondered if it was due to her personality, or because the growth cycle of the Ouroboros clan was too long, and two hundred years was far from reaching maturity, which led to this.

Or perhaps it was both.

The more noble the Bloodline of a Yao Beast, the longer its Lifespan, usually two or three times that of human Cultivators of the same Realm.

Similarly, the difficulty of their Cultivation is also far greater than that of humans of the same Realm.

Li Lan estimated that

If he didn't Cultivate diligently and couldn't achieve Core Formation in this life, even if Little Yellow didn't Cultivate, its remaining Lifespan might still outlast him.

At this moment,

Li Lan couldn't help but envy these Yao Beasts.

If he also had such a long Lifespan, he would probably have already completed Magic Treasures like the Blood Urn and Eternal Life Coffin,

Why would he need to be so cautious and meticulously plan like this?

Shaking his head,

Li Lan drove these miscellaneous thoughts out of his mind.

After composing himself,

He once again sat cross-legged and entered a state of Cultivation.

Cultivation is like sailing against the current; one either advances or retreats.

Li Lan currently has one hundred and sixty-two years of Lifespan remaining, which seems like a lot,

But for a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, it’s a bit tight.

One must know,

Except for the Heavenly Spiritual Root, all other Spiritual Root Aptitudes have a Bottleneck.

Many Cultivators had a smooth early journey, but after advancing to the Early-stage Foundation Establishment, they would be stuck at this Bottleneck for a lifetime.

Such examples are common in the Cultivation World.

Li Lan didn't know which Bottleneck he would eventually be stuck at, powerless,

He could only seize the time he had, striving forward as much as possible, never stopping, not daring to relax for a moment.

Only then, when the Realm Bottleneck arrived,

Would he have enough Lifespan to study that sliver of a Breakthrough possibility.

Time flies like a shuttle, years flow like water.

In the blink of an eye, another five years had passed.

During this period,

Little Yellow had grown from a puppy into a large dog.

Its fur, though not as deep as Yellow Mane Hound's, had become much more radiant.

On this day,

Having eaten and drunk its fill, it was quietly napping beside Li Lan.

Suddenly,

Little Yellow seemed to sense something and instantly perked up its ears.

The Spiritual Qi within the Immortal Cave suddenly became chaotic, giving a feeling of an impending storm.

Woof woof woof!

Upon detecting the abnormality, Little Yellow immediately warned its master.

However,

After receiving its master’s command,

It quickly quieted down again, tilting its head, its small eyes revealing confusion and bewilderment.

It was currently only at the Middle Stage of the first rank, equivalent to the second layer of Qi Refining for human Cultivators.

It couldn't yet understand what its master meant by the phenomena during a Breakthrough.

But it didn't need to understand,

Since its master said it was fine, then it must be fine.

The simple-minded dog yawned widely, guarding Li Lan while continuing to nap,

Completely oblivious to the intensifying Spiritual Qi storm around it.

After an unknown amount of time,

The storm gradually faded away. Little Yellow woke up again, entirely influenced by its master’s emotions.

It widened its eyes, perked its ears, and wagged its long tail back and forth like a whip, barking excitedly as if congratulating its master.

“How could a little fellow like you fully understand my current joy?”

Li Lan looked at its dumbfounded expression with amusement, muttering to himself:

“I’ve finally broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, which means I’m one step closer to the goal of Eternal Life.”

It took nine years,

For him to finally Break through from Early-stage Foundation Establishment to the Middle Stage,

This speed seemed slow,

But even when viewed across the entire Cultivation World, it could almost be called divine speed.

Even with the legendary Heavenly Spiritual Root Aptitude, to achieve such a feat,

One would probably have to Cultivate day and night in the highest quality Medium-Grade Spiritual Vein to barely manage it.

If Li Lan’s astonishing Cultivation speed were to be revealed, it would definitely make many Cultivators drop their jaws.

If his four-attribute mixed Spiritual Root Aptitude were also exposed, it might even scare one or two Cultivators with weaker Heart-Natures to death on the spot,

It might not be impossible.

There are many reasons for such terrifying speed,

Among them, the Eternal Life Coffin, purple sandalwood tree core, and the Devouring Yuan Great Art definitely deserve the main credit,

The detailed insights and experiences on breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage that Yellow Mane Hound recounted to him also contributed significantly.

Without the Eternal Life Coffin,

He wouldn't be able to constantly enjoy a Spiritual Qi environment comparable to a Medium-Grade Spiritual Vein,

Without the purple sandalwood tree core and the Devouring Yuan Great Art, with his pseudo-Spiritual Root Aptitude,

The speed of refining magic power would be too slow, and even with the aid of a Spiritual Vein, his Cultivation speed would be difficult to raise to such a terrifying level.

What’s even better is that,

These Cultivation resources are not only applicable to him alone,

They are also quite effective for Little Yellow.

If not for this,

Given its limitations as a Yao Beast’s Aptitude, it would absolutely be impossible for it to Break through to the second layer of Qi Refining in just five years.

Even so,

Li Lan still felt that its Cultivation speed was a bit too slow.

Sometimes,

He even wanted to directly pour the materialized Spiritual Qi flowing from the Eternal Life Coffin into its mouth to aid its Cultivation.

Yao Beasts have thick hides,

Numerous spiritual plants and spiritual resins can be directly consumed without being refined into Medicinal Pills,

Presumably, this materialized Spiritual Qi should also be usable,

Coincidentally, both have the same attribute, Earth element.

However, after careful consideration,

He forcibly suppressed this thought.

A single drop of this materialized Spiritual Qi is already comparable to a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone,

If such a vast amount of Spiritual Qi were to burst the body of this just five-year-old puppy, it would be a loss rather than a gain.

It’s better to wait a few more years for it to develop further and for its flesh to become firmer before considering it.

After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage,

Li Lan’s Qi sense and Divine Sense were further enhanced significantly.

The most direct change, however, was in terms of Lifespan.

This Breakthrough increased his Lifespan by a full fifteen years.

Compared to the major Realm Breakthrough from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, it wasn't much,

But compared to ordinary minor Realms, it was quite a lot.

In addition,

He also didn't know if it was due to the change in Lifespan or the Cultivation Technique,

He now appeared much younger than before.

The wrinkles and dark spots on his face had completely disappeared,

And most of the white strands in his hair had turned black.

At fifty-two years old in the Mortal World, one is already halfway to the grave, at an age of knowing one’s destiny.

At this moment, Li Lan was as young as a vigorous twenty-something,

Except for two streaks of white at his temples, the rest of his skin was as delicate as a newborn baby, showing no signs of an elderly person at all.

Even Little Yellow, upon seeing him,

Tilted its head, its eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

It couldn't yet understand why its master had suddenly undergone such a great change,

If its nose hadn't been keen and its aura hadn't changed,

It would have almost not recognized him.

Woof woof!

Little Yellow, not understanding, barked twice with confusion.

“You’re still young now, I can’t explain these things to you.

When you gain sentience later, you’ll naturally understand.

But speaking of which, I forgot to ask that Yellow Mane Hound at what Realm it gained sentience.

Does it have to wait until the Foundation Establishment Stage?”

Li Lan mumbled, while beginning to tidy up the Immortal Cave, putting the Eternal Life Coffin and other items into his Storage Pouch, and carefully erasing the Gathering Spirit Formation, leaving no trace.

Little Yellow tilted its head, observing, and felt confused again, barking twice.

“To successfully Break through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, similar to Qi Refining Great Perfection, it requires the assistance of special Medicinal Pills like the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Although I’ve just broken through to the Middle Stage recently, and the Late Stage is still far away, these essential items need to be prepared early.

Additionally,

I know very little about how to Break through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and it’s not good to always work in isolation.

I should find other Cultivators to exchange experiences with.

Since your birth, you’ve been cooped up in this dark Immortal Cave; you haven’t seen the outside world yet, have you?

Come on, today I’ll take you out to see it properly.”

Li Lan finished speaking,

Rubbed the little yellow dog’s head, and then left the Immortal Cave.