12: As the Purple Mansion opened, thunder roared in his palm.

With Foundation Establishment complete, the sensation brought by the leap in the essence of life was entirely new.

Standing in the courtyard, Li Muchen didn't need to consciously circulate his energy; the seed of the dao foundation in his Dantian was like an inexhaustible spring, continuously transforming and generating pure True Yuan.

As the True Yuan flowed, it spontaneously nourished his Meridians, flesh, and bones, even subtly penetrating deeper into his organs and Sea of Consciousness, bringing an unprecedented sense of fulfillment, lightness, and control.

His five senses were elevated to a superhuman level. He could hear the gurgling of a mountain stream miles away, distinguish the subtle scents of different plants carried by the wind, and even "see" the extremely thin specks of Spiritual Qi in the air—which he could only vaguely sense before—gathering toward the temple, and especially toward himself, in a slow but steady trajectory. This was the natural attraction of his own Dao Foundation to the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

His control over his Physical Body was even more refined. With a mere thought, True Yuan could circulate to his fingertips or soles in an instant, or condense on the surface of his body to form a thin film of Qi. He tried a light leap, and his body floated up like a feather, rising over ten feet from the ground and landing silently.

Releasing True Yuan was even more effortless, and its power was far beyond what it had been. With a flick of his finger, a wisp of pale green True Yuan shot out, and a stubborn rock the size of a bowl thirty feet away cracked at the impact, its cross-section as smooth as a mirror.

This was only the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment, the most basic application of True Yuan.

Li Muchen was excited, but he didn't lose himself in his new power. Foundation Establishment was only the beginning, the laying of a solid Foundation; building the skyscraper that followed would require a more exquisite Cultivation Technique.

As an introductory technique, the Basic Guidance Technique had perfectly fulfilled its mission and could no longer support cultivation in the Foundation Establishment Stage. He urgently needed a higher-level Legacy.

As he pondered, the System's familiar, cold notification rang in his mind during his first moment of mental stillness after completing his Foundation Establishment:

[Ding! Detected that the host's Dao Foundation has been established and life level has leaped, meeting the hidden reward conditions. Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment completed, cultivation perfected; special commendation granted.]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Newbie Opportunity Reward (Foundation Establishment Congratulatory Gift):]

[Reward 1: Supreme Clarity Purple Mansion Returning to Origin True Scripture · Refining Essence into Qi Chapter (The introductory true transmission of the ancient Supreme Purity Sect, a supreme Foundation Establishment method pointing directly to the Great Dao of the Golden Core, containing the secrets of Qi Refining, spirit-nourishing, and core-nurturing. Requires the Foundation Establishment Stage to practice.)]

[Reward 2: Divine Ability Jade Talisman · Palm Thunder (A one-time Legacy Jade Talisman, containing the true intent and basic application methods of the Palm Thunder Divine Ability. After activation, one can master this basic Lightning Technique, which is extremely firm and masculine, to slay evil and shatter malevolence.)]

It was here!

Li Muchen's heart leaped. His first check-in after Foundation Establishment was such a generous "congratulatory gift"! And it was highly targeted, providing exactly the Cultivation Technique and offensive means he needed most!

He immediately focused his mind to accept the rewards.

First to flood into his mind was the Supreme Clarity Purple Mansion Returning to Origin True Scripture · Refining Essence into Qi Chapter. Unlike the basic information flow of the Basic Guidance Technique, this Legacy was more vast and profound, like a magnificent scroll slowly unfolding before his eyes.

The opening of the technique did not directly describe the Qi Circulation route but instead explained the secrets of the Purple Mansion.

"The Purple Mansion is the Heavenly Court of the human body, the residence of the Primordial Spirit, and the pivot of creation. The work of Foundation Establishment is not only about refining Qi in the Dantian but also requires opening the Purple Mansion to nurture a point of Innate spiritual light, laying a supreme Foundation for the future Refining Qi into Spirit and Primordial Spirit Leaving the Body..."

Li Muchen realized. So a true high-grade Foundation Establishment method not only consolidates the Dantian's Dao Foundation but also opens the Upper Dantian "Purple Mansion" to simultaneously nourish the spirit and soul! The Basic Guidance Technique only involved the Lower Dantian and Meridians; by comparison, it seemed so crude.

The technique described in detail how to use the Foundation Establishment True Yuan as a guide, combined with specific Visualization and breathing methods, to sense and preliminarily open the Purple Mansion in the Upper Dantian between the eyebrows, gather one's mental intent within it, and echo the Dantian's Dao Foundation, forming a "Small Heavenly Circuit" where the upper and lower parts blend.

After opening the Purple Mansion, one could practice the "Returning to Origin Qi Refining Method" recorded within. The absorbed Spiritual Qi would not only nourish the Physical Body's True Yuan, but a portion of it would also be transformed into "Divine Yuan" to nourish the Purple Mansion and the Spiritual Sense. With long-term cultivation, the Spiritual Sense would grow stronger, allowing for subtle Internal Vision, outward perception, and even initial influence on the outside world. This was the mental level of cultivation during the Refining Essence into Qi stage.

The technique also included several basic skills for using Spiritual Sense, such as the Spiritual Eye Technique and Qi Identification Technique.

Finally, the technique pointed out that when the Dantian's True Yuan and the Purple Mansion's Divine Yuan were both cultivated to Perfection, and Yin and Yang harmonized, one could attempt "Returning to Origin as One" to condense the embryonic form of a Golden Core and knock on the door of the Great Dao of the Golden Core.

Mysterious! Profound! This was the true orthodox Daoist Legacy!

Li Muchen felt like he had obtained a priceless treasure, his excitement beyond words. With this method, his cultivation path had truly stepped onto the right track, and the future was suddenly clear.

He suppressed the urge to start cultivating immediately and turned his attention to the second reward.

The Divine Ability Jade Talisman · Palm Thunder turned into a streak of purple lightning and merged into his Sea of Consciousness. In an instant, he felt as if he were in a thundercloud, with rolling thunder in his ears and blinding lightning before his eyes.

Countless profound true intents regarding the generation, condensation, explosion, and control of lightning, accompanied by a stern will that was extremely firm and masculine to slay evil and break malevolence, were deeply imprinted in the depths of his Divine Soul.

After a moment, the illusion disappeared, and Li Muchen had preliminarily mastered this basic lightning Divine Ability.

Palm Thunder was not about summoning the Nine Heavens Profound Lightning but using one's own True Yuan as a basis, simulating the true intent of thunder, instantly compressing and ionizing the air in the palm to produce a powerful current and explosive energy, then releasing it to strike the enemy.

Depending on the amount of True Yuan injected and the degree of control, the power could vary; at a small scale, it could deter Essence Spirits and break through sinister evils, and at a large scale, it could shatter stones with impressive power.

More importantly, Lightning Techniques are among the strongest and most masculine offensive methods in all magic, with a very strong restraining effect on demons, ghosts, and filthy things. By mastering this method, Li Muchen finally had a real offensive tool for protection, rather than just minor support and healing arts.

He took a deep breath and walked to an open area in the courtyard.

With a thought, following the method he had just comprehended, he slowly raised his right hand, palm facing up.

The seed of the dao foundation in his Dantian vibrated slightly, and a wisp of pure True Yuan quickly flowed to his right arm. As it passed through specific Meridians, it began to compress and transform in a high-frequency vibrating manner. Simultaneously, Li Muchen concentrated his mind, visualizing the true intent of thunder, and integrated a thought of "evil-breaking," "uprightness," and "explosion" into it.

At his palm, the air began to make a subtle "crackling" sound, and wisps of pale blue electric sparks were generated out of thin air, coiling and jumping, emitting a faint smell of ozone.

With the continuous injection of True Yuan and highly concentrated Mental Energy, the electric sparks quickly increased and thickened, gathering in his palm to form a fist-sized, constantly twisting and flickering pale blue electric ball! Inside the electric ball, fine electric arcs could be vaguely seen darting through, making a heart-palpitating "sizzling" sound as a wave of scorching and violent energy spread out.

Li Muchen could feel that this ball of energy in his hand was extremely unstable, containing powerful destructive force, as if he were holding a bomb that could explode at any time. He had to use his Mental Energy to firmly restrain it.

His gaze locked onto the large rock ten paces away that he had cracked yesterday.

"Go!"

Driven by his thought, his palm suddenly pushed forward!

"Boom-crack—!"

A thunderclap, not particularly loud but exceptionally crisp and ear-piercing, exploded!

The electric ball in his palm turned into a dazzling streak of pale blue lightning, crossing the ten-pace distance in an instant and striking heavily upon that stubborn rock!

"Bang!!!"

Rubble flew in all directions, and dust filled the air!

When the dust settled slightly, he saw that the large rock, which had only been cracked, now had a hole the size of a bowl blasted into its center. The edges of the hole were charred black, emitting wisps of blue smoke, and the stone material appeared glassy after being melted by high temperature and then quickly cooled! The surrounding cracks were as dense as a spiderweb, and the entire stone was almost completely ruined!

Its power far exceeded the simple external release of True Yuan!

Li Muchen looked at his palm; the skin was slightly red and hot, a sign of a slight backlash from the lightning energy, but it was no big deal. In his first execution, True Yuan consumption was about twenty percent, and Mental Energy consumption was also significant, but the results made him very satisfied.

This was only a preliminary mastery with not much True Yuan injected. If he exerted his full strength or if his cultivation became more profound in the future, the power of this Palm Thunder would surely be even more astonishing!

He dispersed the remaining electric intent in his palm, feeling the True Yuan in his body begin to circulate and recover more efficiently under the automatic guidance of the Supreme Clarity Purple Mansion Returning to Origin True Scripture. Along with it, a faint warm and itchy sensation came from the Upper Dantian at the center of his eyebrows, a sign that the Purple Mansion was about to open.

Foundation Establishment achieved, true method received, lightning controlled in his palm.

Above Qingfeng Temple, a flash of clear light seemed to pass by in an instant.

The young temple master stood in the courtyard, the mountain wind blowing his Taoist robe, his gaze calm but containing unprecedented brilliance and power.

From today on, he had truly taken a solid and powerful first step on this extraordinary path. Though the road ahead was long, a smooth path was already in sight.