Chapter 4136 — Foundation Establishment Perfection!

Therefore, even though Nantian Jiguang had succeeded in his bid to break through to the Profound Ascension stage, he could only entertain such a hope in vain—there was absolutely no chance of him contending for the seat.

Yet exceptions exist in all things. Di Xingdao's unhealed injuries and long absence had left the Deputy Island Lord seat beneath him teetering on the verge of collapse, which not only gave everyone a pretext but also let Nantian Jiguang glimpse a sliver of hope that he might take his place.

With bribes and lobbying up and down the hierarchy, plus the Central Merchants' Association as his powerful backer, Nantian Jiguang was determined to seize the position of Deputy Island Lord of the Central Island—he would have it at all costs!

While Nantian Jiguang and Si Haitao conspired in secret over the Deputy Island Lord seat, over at the Heaven Pill Pavilion, Wei Zhao was busy with secluded cultivation for his breakthrough.

So long as Wei Zhao could successfully break through to the Golden Core stage, he would be confident in refining a Gestation Golden Core for Di Xingdao. And once Di Xingdao's strength could recover swiftly in the short term, then with his domineering power—enough to instantly slay Profound Ascension experts—no one would dare covet the Deputy Island Lord seat beneath him. Before absolute strength, all schemes and intrigues were nothing but jokes.

Of course, all of this was predicated on Wei Zhao successfully forming his Golden Core. And to leap from the peak of late Foundation Establishment straight to the Golden Core stage—the difficulty and risk of such a jump were truly more than ordinary people could bear.

In the early stages of his secluded cultivation, Wei Zhao progressed fairly smoothly. After adjusting his condition to its peak, the first step he took was to consume top-grade Foundation Establishment Golden Cores—and three of them at once!

Within mere moments, the intensity of the true qi within Wei Zhao's body surged by a notch, instantly breaking past the peak of late Foundation Establishment and pressing straight toward the realm of Foundation Establishment Perfection.

In the Foundation Establishment realm, every peak was an exceedingly difficult threshold to cross—from early peak to mid-stage it was so, from mid-stage peak to late stage it was so, and from late-stage peak to Perfection, it was likewise so.

Fortunately, Wei Zhao had quite a few top-grade Foundation Establishment Golden Cores on hand. The Exquisite Heart-Devouring Grass was rare on the North Island, but quite common on the Central Island, and Cai Zhongxuan had helped Wei Zhao procure some as well. Coupled with his own innate talent and foundation, this threshold that had stalled countless people for decades or even a lifetime was, in his hands, pierced through almost the instant he touched it.

Had he stopped at this point, Wei Zhao would have been a bona fide Foundation Establishment Perfection expert. Yet for Wei Zhao, whose ambition was to leap levels and strike at the Golden Core stage, this was merely the most basic preparatory phase—it did not even count as an appetizer.

Immediately after, before the surging true qi within his body could stabilize, Wei Zhao at once began the second step—also the most critical step of this breakthrough: consuming a top-grade Golden Core Golden Pill!

This was the method Di Xingdao had taught him. Strike while the iron is hot—riding the momentum of having just broken through to Foundation Establishment Perfection, while the true qi within his body was at its sharpest and most vigorous, he would assault the Golden Core stage in one decisive push.

This was precisely why Di Xingdao had suggested Wei Zhao leap levels to strike at the Golden Core. Though it appeared far riskier and more difficult than proceeding step by step, in truth, for a truly heaven-gifted genius, the success rate was not lower at all—it was actually higher!

Having just reached Foundation Establishment Perfection, the true qi that had just erupted within his body was still unstable, still at its most active and sharpest. Striking at the Golden Core at this moment, borrowing that momentum, the probability of shattering the barrier in one go was far higher than proceeding step by step.

Because once the true qi within his body fully stabilized, once the sharpness was spent, though it would be easier to control with absolute certainty, the driving momentum would be lost along with it.

By then, with the Foundation Establishment Perfection realm thoroughly stabilized, the true qi within his body would no longer be an aid to striking at the Golden Core—instead, through the inertia and complacency of settling into the status quo, it would become a very real obstacle to breakthrough.

When Wei Zhao first heard Di Xingdao's theory of leaping levels, he found it bizarre beyond belief. Yet on careful reflection, it did seem to hold genuine reason. So long as one's foundation was deep enough and one's talent and potential strong enough, striking while the iron was hot to leap levels did indeed seem easier than proceeding step by step.

Geniuses walk untrodden paths—that was likely the principle. Of course, if one recklessly charged ahead without any theoretical basis and ended up with a bloody nose or even a cracked skull, then that was not a genius but a thorough fool.

The moment he swallowed the Golden Core Golden Pill, Wei Zhao's eyes flew wide open. The true qi throughout the meridians of his body had suddenly surged by more than double, and was even still increasing. The terrifying pressure generated in that instant violently battered his meridians while rampaging everywhere, penetrating every crevice.

Wei Zhao felt as though he were a balloon filled to bursting with air—and still being inflated even now, liable to explode at any moment.

This was no illusion, but a very real instinctive warning from the depths of his body upon encountering extreme danger!

The Golden Core Golden Pill and the Foundation Establishment Golden Core, though medicines of the same lineage, were one of the fifth grade and one of the fourth—and the gap between them was immense. Especially for a Foundation Establishment-level expert, what the two represented was as different as heaven and earth.

Both were top-grade medicines, yet the Foundation Establishment Golden Core might increase the intensity of their true qi by twenty percent, while the Golden Core Golden Pill could make the intensity of their true qi surge by two full times, or even more!

A twenty-percent increase was progress within controllable bounds, but a twofold surge was simply outrageous—mishandle it, and people truly died.

Especially since the Creation Battle Mantra Wei Zhao cultivated was an extremely fierce and unyielding mental cultivation method; the impact force and lethality of its true qi were already far more ferocious than ordinary people's. Add to that the fact that this was a level-leaping breakthrough, where the true qi was already at its sharpest—at such a time, it was naturally all the more deadly.

Striking at the Golden Core carried the very real risk of shattering every meridian in his body. Di Xingdao's words had not been idle talk.

And this was still the Creation Battle Mantra after Wei Zhao had modified it with the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art. Had it been the original version, with even poorer stability, the consequences were simply unimaginable.

No wonder even a legendary figure like Di Xingdao felt lingering fear over this—and ultimately stumbled when breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. It was truly no injustice at all.

Braving the risk that his meridians might explode at any moment, veins bulging on his forehead, Wei Zhao relied purely on his powerful willpower and control to begin channeling the mighty true qi rampaging through his meridians into his dantian.