The lightning pillar didn't last long.
But it was enough to serve as a beacon, drawing cultivators and mountain spirits alike.
The first wave of uninvited guests had already arrived.
A wolf demon, a tiger demon, and three Foundation Establishment cultivators.
And at this moment, Xia Li opened his eyes in the real world and stood up.
No dialogue, no warning—the two demons and three humans charged directly at Xia Li, intent on killing him first.
Because Xia Li's aura was too strange.
His cultivation...
First-level Qi Refining.
But the presence he radiated was more terrifying than Foundation Establishment. That single strand of qi was more formidable than nine strands at peak Qi Refining combined and doubled.
"Extreme overclock, brain overclock, Spirit Core overclock!"
Xia Li simultaneously activated three overclocking modes.
Heaven Chip, biological brain, dantian Spirit Core.
A terrifying surge of energy erupted from Xia Li, followed by his incomprehensible speed.
Xia Li appeared before one of them. Before the others could even see his movements, the person in front of Xia Li instantly lost all life signs.
In Xia Li's perception, time seemed to freeze.
His body couldn't keep up with his thinking speed, making every movement feel uncomfortably delayed.
Treading on lightning, Xia Li pushed his speed to the limit, darting like a nimble bolt of electricity among the remaining two humans and two demons.
Then...
"Overclock ended."
Five enemies slain in an instant—less than ten breaths from start to finish!
Xia Li voluntarily stopped overclocking, exhaling deeply while clutching his head. He was unsteady on his feet.
"Need to leave quickly..."
Xia Li didn't even have time to loot the attackers' belongings. After using the Spirit Core to suppress his cultivation aura, he fled deep into the forest.
Fortunately, tonight was a stormy night. The rain had lasted all night, and cultivators wouldn't recklessly use divine sense to scan in such weather—divine sense could attract lightning.
This gave Xia Li the opportunity to distance himself from the scene.
By sunrise the next day, Xia Li had left the forest, successfully refined both spirit treasures, and escaped danger.
Only now could the refinement be considered truly complete.
"I wonder how many people were searching for me last night..."
"Seriously exhausting."
Xia Li now understood the hardships of being a rogue cultivator. Refining treasures, daily cultivation, even breaking through realms—all were dangerous. Sect disciples could refine treasures in secure cultivation chambers.
If they needed to draw lightning, there were dedicated lightning platforms, with sect elders standing guard.
Unfortunately, he couldn't join a sect. He'd fail the first test—spiritual root detection—since he had no spiritual roots or extremely low aptitude. The existence of his Spirit Core and Heaven Chip would be even harder to explain.
With such terrible talent yet mysteriously powerful strength, wasn't that telling everyone he had secrets? Come kill him and seize his opportunities?
Even sect elders would probably be tempted.
"Whatever. I'm not really a rogue cultivator anyway."
Xia Li didn't plan to join any sect in this world. A rogue cultivator's biggest problem was lacking inheritance and guidance—even with resources, they'd waste them fumbling around alone.
But while he was a rogue cultivator here, he had inheritance and guidance on Earth. The Hidden Wing organization was essentially the same concept as a sect.
Five days later.
Xia Li took a spirit vessel back to Fenghe City, but didn't appear openly. Instead, he entered the city at night and carefully infiltrated the Liu family to investigate.
He was connected to Song Yu's death, and Liu Jingfeng knew this. So the Liu family would know too.
He feared the Liu family might sell him out to curry favor with the Cloud Mountain Sect. Now that he'd cultivated divine thought, using it to eavesdrop was completely undetectable by a small family like the Liu clan.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
After thorough investigation, he found no problems. Only then did Xia Li return to his residence.
Early the next morning.
The servants cleaning the Xia residence saw Xia Li return. Before long, Third Uncle Liu arrived with Liu Xiaoxiao to visit.
In the Xia residence's main hall.
Xia Li sat in the host's seat, his body faintly radiating terrifying lightning power. His gaze had become much more intimidating—just one look from Xia Li made Third Uncle Liu and Liu Xiaoxiao feel inexplicably suffocated.
"Xia... Senior Xia, here is your monthly dividend. Also, our Liu family's portion is offered to you as tribute."
Third Uncle Liu had wanted to address Xia Li as "Fellow Daoist" like before, but he could sense that Xia Li could now kill him with a single slap.
This was senior-level strength. The appropriate respect was required.
"No need. The agreed dividend is what it is."
"Then thank you, Senior Xia. May I ask if you've reached Foundation Establishment?"
Third Uncle Liu was tactful, not asking what Xia Li had obtained in the secret realm—only whether he'd reached Foundation Establishment.
"Not yet."
"But... your aura is clearly stronger than Foundation Establishment!"
Third Uncle Liu was confused. Of course he was—the Qi Refining Pinnacle was inherently no weaker than Foundation Establishment, let alone after Xia Li had refined the Lightning-Struck Wood.
"Realm has always been just an appearance. I don't need to explain this. So, how many Foundation Establishment cultivators are currently stationed in Fenghe City?"
"Our Liu family has three. The Marketplace has five. Myriad Treasures Pavilion has one."
"However, the one from Myriad Treasures Pavilion is at late-stage Foundation Establishment."
"Mm."
Xia Li nodded. As expected—Fenghe City's publicly known peak strength was ninth-level Qi Refining, but the hidden peak strength was indeed one realm higher.
"May I ask if Senior Xia has any plans for Fenghe City?"
"No plans. Just asking. Keeping things as they are is fine."
The Rogue Cultivator Alliance and Myriad Treasures Pavilion were technically major powers, just with looser internal structures.
"By the way... I have a presumptuous question. Senior Xia, can you refine Foundation Establishment Pills?"
Third Uncle Liu began asking about crucial matters. Foundation Establishment Pills were what truly bottlenecked many small factions and rogue cultivators.
For those with poor talent, without Foundation Establishment Pills, they simply couldn't establish their foundation. Their base was too weak to even form the most insubstantial qi foundation.
For prodigies, establishing foundation on their own would waste considerable time. Completely unnecessary.
Thus, from heaven's chosen to ordinary rogue cultivators, anyone who could obtain Foundation Establishment Pills would use them.
"Currently... yes. And I can achieve supreme-grade quality."
With divine thought now, and the Heaven Chip's assistance, refining supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pills wasn't difficult.
"Really?!"
Third Uncle Liu's voice trembled as he spoke.
What did supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pills mean? A 100% success rate for Foundation Establishment.
Low-grade Foundation Establishment Pills had a 50% success rate. Mid-grade had 70%. High-grade had 90%.
But supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pills weren't just about maxing out the probability. Most importantly, they could strengthen one's power after Foundation Establishment. They were nearly impossible to find—you'd have to attend auctions to get even one.
"I don't need to lie to you."
"Then could Senior Alchemist Xia please refine one for our Liu family?!"
"Yes, but you provide the materials."
"Naturally!"
Third Uncle Liu was overjoyed, increasingly certain his original decision had been correct. Fortunately, he'd been the one to encounter Xia Li that day.
If it had been Liu Fu's father, the Liu family would have had no such opportunity today—they might even have been exterminated by Xia Li.
