Chapter 115: A Master of Foundation Building

“Li Fan here. May I ask for Fellow Daoist’s name?” Li Fan cupped his hands and asked.

The young man’s spirits immediately lifted upon hearing this: “What a coincidence, we share the same family name. My name is Li Chenfeng.”

“Oh, right. When you go in, bargain a bit. 1800 contribution points should be enough,” Li Chenfeng whispered.

“Thank you, Brother Li! However, I haven’t found a suitable rare heavenly and earthly treasure yet.”

“I only came this time to see the demeanor of a Foundation Establishment Great Master before making further plans,” Li Fan explained.

“Oh, that’s fine. There are quite a few people like you every year. If you’re just observing from the side, the Great Master won’t stop you,” Li Chenfeng said, unconcerned.

“You just need to remain quiet and not disturb anyone,” he instructed.

Li Fan nodded and walked along the small path into the courtyard.

From afar, he heard a voice speaking.

“Concentrate your mind, and perceive with utmost care….”

“Do you know why I chose this remote location for the academy? It’s precisely because within several thousand miles of this place, only seawater exists.”

“The Dao Law is relatively pure. If you were to Breakthrough on Wanxian Island, you would inevitably be subjected to various interferences, thus affecting the speed of your Foundation Establishment.”

….

Li Fan approached and saw five Qi Refining Cultivators sitting cross-legged on the open ground of the courtyard.

An profound Aura coalesced around their bodies, as if they were on the verge of Breakthrough and Foundation Establishment success at any moment.

Li Fan’s heart stirred, and Formless Killing Intent immediately began to lock on.

One, two, three….

By the fourth one, Li Fan already felt a bit strained.

“Including Zhang Haobo, the current limit is five people, is it?” Li Fan had his calculations.

“Under my guidance, two hundred and sixty-five Cultivators have successfully completed Foundation Establishment.”

“Among them, the vast majority spent less time than anticipated. You all will certainly also….”

The Foundation Establishment Great Master, who was solemnly imparting his experience, suddenly paused.

He looked up at the sky with some doubt, staring for a long time, yet he couldn’t perceive anything.

So he mumbled a few words and continued, “You will certainly also be able to greatly reduce the time required for Foundation Establishment!”

….

“This Foundation Establishment Great Master is truly not simple. He can actually vaguely sense my Formless Killing Intent?” Li Fan’s heart tightened.

“If his cultivation were a bit higher, he might truly be able to follow the clues and find me.”

“One must not underestimate the people of the world. It seems I need to be more cautious when using Formless Killing Intent in the future.”

….

Just as Li Fan was secretly feeling a chill, one person in the field seemed to suddenly have an Epiphany after the Foundation Establishment Great Master’s words.

The Aura on his body instantly surged from the Qi Refinement Stage to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

After his Aura stabilized, that person opened his eyes, his face filled with joy.

He bowed to the Foundation Establishment Great Master, “Many thanks for Great Master’s guidance. This Xiao is eternally grateful!”

The Foundation Establishment Great Master also patted his shoulder with satisfaction, stroking his beard and smiling.

Afterward, the person named Xiao flew away.

The remaining few people in the courtyard all brightened their expressions, and a renewed sense of confidence surged within them.

“The first Foundation Establishment has appeared, a full ten days earlier than expected. Who will be next?”

The Foundation Establishment Great Master also reminded them at the opportune moment.

Meanwhile, Li Fan, who witnessed this scene from the side, felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Because….

The Cultivator named Xiao who had just ‘Breakthrough’ was precisely one of the four locked onto by Formless Killing Intent.

Although on the surface, he did indeed Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Stage, that was incorrect.

But under the Heaven’s Sight and Earth’s Hearing, Li Fan saw it clearly.

There were no traces of Law condensation on that person’s body at all.

His Aura had merely expanded to the Foundation Establishment Stage; his actual strength was still in the Qi Refinement Stage.

It was clearly just a trick, like a Tribute Talisman.

Furthermore, this person didn’t even go far. He just circled around and then secretly returned.

His clothes and appearance changed in an instant, and he transformed into another person.

This….

The so-called Foundation Establishment Great Master was actually a swindler?

Li Fan glanced again at the Foundation Establishment Great Master, who had a youthful face and white hair, exuding an immortal Aura.

He couldn’t help but lament that truly, talented individuals emerged endlessly in the world.

However, just then, not long after the person named Xiao’s ‘Breakthrough’.

As if encouraged by him, another Cultivator also vaguely showed signs of Breakthrough.

Li Fan’s heart stirred.

Because this Breakthrough was actually real.

From the perspective of Heaven and Earth, Li Fan saw a sorrowful sea lotus vaguely condensing in that Cultivator’s Dantian.

Li Fan immediately stopped being distracted and focused his mind on perceiving the various changes happening to the Cultivator.

After the sea lotus completely formed, the Aura on the Cultivator’s body suddenly erupted.

This time, it was a genuine Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.

That person opened his eyes, his face filled with joy.

“Great Master, thank you!” His words were concise, but his gratitude was clearly evident.

“Go now, do not disturb their subsequent Breakthroughs.”

That person nodded and left with an excited expression.

….

“Perhaps, he’s not entirely a swindler after all,” Li Fan mused, as if understanding something.

He also pretended to take his leave, but in reality, he secretly lurked around the island, observing the situation of the remaining three individuals.

In the following days, two people successfully Breakthrough.

The last person only barely Breakthrough after more than half a month.

But he didn’t say anything, just sighed and then left in a hurry.

“Whether it’s real or fake isn’t important. What’s important is that the Breakthrough Cultivator believes it’s real.”

“With sufficient confidence, accelerating comprehension and achieving an early Breakthrough is indeed not impossible.”

“Anyway, Breakthrough won’t fail. Even if occasionally one or two don’t show results, seeing that others do, they’ll assume it’s their own problem.”

“Even if they detect this is a scam, this Foundation Establishment Great Master has a Late Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation. Not only are they no match for him, but they also wouldn’t dare to publicly announce that they were scammed. If they did, those two hundred-plus Cultivators who successfully completed Foundation Establishment here before would surely come looking for trouble.”

“They can only swallow their grievances.”

“Interesting, interesting. This Foundation Establishment Great Master is truly a remarkable person.”

Having understood the key points, Li Fan couldn’t help but praise him.

Two thousand contribution points per person doesn’t seem like much.

But two hundred and sixty-five Cultivators combined amounts to a massive profit of nearly five hundred thousand contribution points!

“I wonder when this Foundation Establishment Great Master started his business,” Li Fan couldn’t help but have some dangerous thoughts arise in his mind.

For the next period, Li Fan continued to lurk around this island.

He used Formless Killing Intent to lock onto Cultivators who came admiringly, and synchronized his perception with their Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

In less than three months, Li Fan observed the Breakthrough processes of over forty Qi Refining Cultivators.

His understanding of establishing a Dao Foundation also gradually deepened.

And just then, a reminder came from Zhang Haobo’s mind again.

It seemed Zhang Haobo had already reached Late Qi Refining Stage Perfection.

He was now looking for his own Opportunity.