With just these two minor levels, some people are unable to break through even until the end of their lifespan.
Although natural Foundation Establishment is best for one's foundation, that refers to breaking through before the age of fifty.
After fifty, vitality begins to decline.
At that time, even natural Foundation Establishment is affected by the weakening life force, causing slower absorption of spiritual energy, shrinking meridians, slower cultivation, and even difficulty forming a core later on.
Therefore, even though disciples of major sects know natural Foundation Fstablishment is best, they still choose to use Foundation Establishment Pills in order to preserve their vitality.
As for forcefully breaking through by consuming thousand-year spirit herbs, not only would it damage the meridians and physical body, but the success rate is only fifty percent.
If it fails, one is either crippled or dead, and can never step into the Foundation Establishment stage again.
Xiao Shou would not even consider this option.
Moreover, his cultivation technique required him to completely rebuild his cultivation three times at each major realm.
Therefore, Foundation Establishment could be put aside for now.
But when re-cultivating Qi Refining, should he restart from Qi Refining tenth layer perfection, or Qi Refining twelfth layer perfection?
If he restarted from tenth layer perfection, then with his current age of eighteen, he would definitely be able to reach Foundation Establishment within ten years.
However, the foundation of a tenth layer breakthrough would definitely be inferior to a natural Foundation Establishment.
Furthermore, he could not enter any sect and buying Foundation Establishment Pills through auctions at sky-high prices would definitely attract the attention of certain forces.
These were all problems.
But if he chose twelfth layer perfection and rebuilt it three times, the amount of spiritual energy and time required for eleventh and twelfth layers would be unimaginable.
During this period, if any unexpected changes occurred, he might end up breaking through after the age of fifty.
At that time, it would be even worse than breaking through at the tenth layer.
So should he take the risk of being noticed by various forces and enter auctions to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills?
When this thought flashed through his mind, the scene of being suppressed by Yu Lin's pressure and killing intent until he nearly died suddenly appeared before his eyes.
No.
He never wanted to experience that kind of oppression again.
He wanted to become strong, stronger than anyone else.
How could he forget that resolve? How could he hesitate because of some mere possibilities? Such weakness in character must be overcome.
He had Absolute Fusion ability, so he would not lack resources.
In terms of resources, he was even richer than those major sect disciples.
His cultivation technique had no bottlenecks and no heart demons, so he did not need to temper his state of mind, nor would he encounter cultivation barriers.
As long as he could endure loneliness and avoid getting involved in dangerous plotlines, and not go around watching or inserting himself into events, then by focusing solely on accumulating cultivation, completing Qi Refining perfection three times at the twelfth layer and then naturally forming his foundation, what was there to fear?
After the decision was made, Xiao Shou no longer hesitated.
In the next moment, he began to consider what had happened today.
The fact that Yu Lin could so accurately seize opportunities meant she must have been tracking Xiao Shou's movements for a long time.
Today, he had also reminded her about the problem involving Xiao Ran.
After Xiao Ran returned in over a month, there would definitely be a conflict between them.
He did not want to be affected by their struggle, nor did he want to continue living a life where he was constantly tracked and monitored.
If he stayed here any longer, he might once again be lured by the will of heaven and step onto the chessboard fate of a cannon fodder female supporting role.
This time, the Soul Tempering Flower could be given up, but what if an even greater temptation appeared next time? To fight or not to fight? Only by leaving the main place where the plot unfolded, and also avoiding the locations where major events happened, would he have a chance of not being dragged into it.
After leaving, where should he go?
He needed to advance to Foundation Establishment as soon as possible, so he required a place with abundant spiritual energy, safety, and at least thirty years of peaceful cultivation.
Such a place also could not contain too many opportunities, ensuring that within thirty years Xiao Ran and Yu Lin would not set foot there.
He closed his eyes and carefully thought through all the locations mentioned in the original novel, as well as the environments, customs, and the map in the original owner's memories.
Within these thirty years, there would be sect competitions, inter-sect competitions, secret realms, and other plot events, mostly centered around major sects and secret realms.
The territories Xiao Ran and Yu Lin usually moved in were in the central continent.
Other cities and regions would only be visited when their cultivation levels became higher, because those places were chaotic and dangerous.
If one's strength was insufficient, going there would most likely mean never returning.
Take Azure Origin City for example.
That was a cultivation region ruled by clans.
There, the major families were law itself, standing at the top of the food chain.
If one accidentally offended a core member of a major family, it would lead to a life-and-death crisis.
After all, the three major families there all had Deity Transformation stage cultivators overseeing them.
In the original story, Xiao Ran was once favored by a supporting male character there, which led to conflict, and in the end, her master had to step in to settle it.
Thinking of the process, and the injuries she suffered as well as the advantage taken by that male supporting character, Xiao Shou felt slightly embarrassed.
The novel "Longevity Love" was a work that combined both serious plot and explicit adult romantic elements.