Five days passed in silence upon the plateau. During that time the disciples of the top sects and Uriel’s two cousins had long since dispersed, their breakthroughs complete, their bodies unable to draw more qi without risking collapse. Only then did the lesser sects and rogue cultivators dare approach the formation. Nathan and Uriel remained, cultivating relentlessly, drawing upon the vein’s energy until their bodies trembled with power.

  By the end of the fifth day, Uriel’s flame aura burned brighter than ever. His qi surged, breaking past the final bottleneck. His meridians roared like rivers unleashed, his dantian expanded to contain the flood. He had reached the twelfth stage of Qi Condensation, the peak of the realm. Yet as the fire settled, a question gnawed at him: If I attempt to make a breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment realm while here, will the realm itself reject me?

  The rules were clear. This sub?realm allowed only those within Qi Condensation. But Uriel wondered—since he was already inside, would the barrier cast him out, or would it bend to his presence?

  Nathan, meanwhile, was in far greater turmoil. His body had absorbed so much qi that his dantian, meridians, and veins felt ready to burst. Every breath was agony, every heartbeat a thunderclap. He needed to evolve, to ascend into the next realm, or risk exploding from within. Yet he did not know the truth: to break into the Foundation Establishment, one required a Foundation Pill.

  Uriel, seeing Nathan’s struggle and the signs of him wanting to break through, revealed what was missing.

  “You need a Foundation Pill to tackle the next realm.”

  “The next realm? Foundation Pill?” Nathan asked, bewildered. He knew almost nothing about cultivation apart from what the marble revealed to him—and even that was sparse. Every step he had taken on this path, every reckless decision, had been under the marble’s guidance. Even absorbing qi from this vein had been because the marble urged him to.

  Uriel stared at him as though he had asked the most foolish question imaginable. Then, with a sigh, he explained the cultivation realms in detail. Nathan listened, fascinated, his eyes widening as the structure of the path unfolded before him.

  “That pill you gifted me back in the illusion palace,” Uriel continued, “was a Foundation Pill—and one of supreme grade.”

  Nathan blinked, then groaned, half in frustration, half in disbelief. “You mean I gave up a rare treasure without even knowing? I should bash my head against the wall.” He clenched his fists, then laughed bitterly. “But I don’t regret it. If it helps you when you’re ready to break through, then it’s worth it.”

  Uriel’s lips tightened. He had never met someone so reckless, yet so sincere.

  Together, they prepared to leave the plateau to seek out other opportunities or treasures. The qi vein had given them all it could. But just as they turned, the marble within Nathan’s dantian flared, its light piercing through his chest. His spirit sea lit up, and the idea struck him: enter the formation.

  Nathan froze, then whispered to Uriel, “I’m going into the formation. Do you want to come?”

  Uriel’s eyes widened. “You’re insane. That barrier exists to keep us from touching the raw qi of the spirit root. And even if by some miracle you managed to break through, we would be reduced to ashes by the raw qi.”

  Nathan’s gaze was steady. “Trust me.”

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  Against his better judgment, Uriel did. He braced himself, expecting to shatter against the formation. Yet when they stepped forward, their bodies did not burn. Instead, they phased through the barrier, as though the marble itself had rewritten the rules. Those who saw this had their eyes opened wide with shock. Some even tried to do the same and suffered violent reactions from the formation that severely harmed them.

  Inside the formation, the air was suffocating. Qi was so dense it pressed like mountains upon their shoulders. Uriel collapsed to his knees, his clothing and body shredded, his body trembling, his flame aura flickering as though about to be extinguished. The energy threatened to crush him, to tear his meridians apart.

  Nathan’s silver qi surged against his will and wrapped around Uriel like a cloak, shielding him from the storm. The pressure eased, and Uriel gasped for breath, staring at Nathan in shock. Just who is he really? What is this strange silver qi, and why is it preventing the raw qi from destroying him? So many questions, but no answers.

  Nathan turned, his voice calm but firm. “Take the Foundation Pill here and attempt to break through.”

  Uriel’s eyes widened. “I’ve only just broken into the twelfth stage of Qi Condensation. If I attempt Foundation now, it will be dangerous.”

  Nathan didn’t know the physics behind it all, but this wisdom came from the marble, and it had never been wrong so far. He trusted it. He simply said, “Do as I say.” His gaze was unwavering, and Uriel, despite his doubts, obeyed.

  Uriel sat cross-legged, his flame aura stabilizing as he swallowed the supreme pill. His body trembled as the raw qi fused with his marrow. The Foundation Establishment realm was not gentle. His flesh burned, his bones cracked, and his spirit root roared as it reshaped itself. And when it seemed as if things were going to take a turn for the worst, the marble’s energy that Nathan bestowed upon him steadied him.

  Nathan, meanwhile, walked deeper, toward the heart of the spirit vein. The marble’s light led him like a beacon. There, to his shock, he found Mateo.

  Mateo’s body shook violently, qi tearing at his veins, blood spilling from his mouth, his skin pale. Unlike Nathan and Uriel, who had barged in through the marble’s influence, Mateo—being half spirit beast—had been guided here by instinct the day before. His unique bloodline had led him through an underground path, granting him entrance beneath the formation where others would have been repelled. He believed this place would be enough to help him grow faster, but the raw energy was overwhelming. It threatened to rip him apart.

  Nathan’s chest tightened, not knowing what to do. He then turned inward, pleading with the marble: Help him. Show me how. The marble answered his wish.

  Nathan pressed his palm against Mateo’s chest under the guidance of the marble, silver qi pouring forth. The marble guided the torrent, weaving it into Mateo’s broken channels. For a day, both youths endured agony. Nathan’s veins burned, Mateo’s body convulsed, yet slowly, painfully, the energy stabilized.

  But as a result, he was drained beyond measure and lost consciousness. Yet his body did not fall—the marble’s energy held him upright, a guardian refusing to let him collapse.

  Then the marble pulsed once more. Its light reached into the spirit vein, tearing free its essence. Raw qi condensed, swirling into three radiant pills.

  One floated to Uriel and entered his dantian, merging with the supreme-grade Foundation Pill already within him. The combined force intensified his suffering, yet it accelerated his transformation, driving him toward Foundation Establishment with unstoppable momentum.

  As for Nathan and Mateo, when the pills entered their dantians, the agony returned with merciless force. The raw energy ripped them apart from within, and their exhausted bodies could no longer resist.

  The marble forced all three through the same storm. for three days Their marrow resonated, harmonizing with qi until vitality surged like rivers. Their organs strengthened and refined to endure centuries. Their spirit roots blazed, stabilizing into solid foundations. Their dantians expanded, stabilizing the storm into crystalline clarity.

  Uriel’s flames roared higher, no longer flickering but steady, pure, refined. Mateo’s wind qi sharpened, scales shimmering as his bloodline stabilized. Nathan’s silver qi blazed brighter than ever, its rhythm unclassified, beyond mortal comprehension.

  The transformation was brutal. Flesh tore, bones cracked, blood boiled. Yet when the storm subsided, three figures sat reborn. They had stepped into Foundation Establishment.

  Uriel rose through the orthodox way, guided by the Supreme Foundation Pill, while Nathan and Mateo ascended without any pill—their foundations forged from raw essence itself, sustained and reshaped by the marble’s will. It was a feat defying the laws of cultivation, a miracle carved by the marble’s intervention.