History Has Fallen Ill

Chapter 52: Ascending to Foundation Establishment, Planting the Cataclysmic Lotus in the Black Coffin!

“Qi enters the Mysterious Female, returning to the Sea of Ruins; the stars of the Celestial Cycle seed the Lotus Embryo. One tribulation, one fortune, hides the Yellow Sprout; the union of Yin and Yang births the Purple Dust. When the waves of tribulation rise, observe the Formless; at the end of the Sea of Ruins, the origin appears. The five viscera conceal the spirit, revealing the end; in the Crimson Palace, the Jade is seeded, returning to Penglai…”

Jiang Yan sat cross-legged, his five hearts facing the sky.

With the bloodline of the Heart Monkey empowering him, his comprehension was extraordinary. He easily understood the true intent of the Dao Scripture and activated the cultivation method.

Spiritual energy surged, pouring into his limbs and bones.

Crack, crack, crack!

Starting from the Huiyin acupoint, it passed through the abdomen and spine, breaking through the Baihui acupoint, then descending again to form the two great circuits of the Conception and Governing Vessels.

At the same time, it threaded through the Yin Heel Vessel, Yang Heel Vessel, and all the extraordinary meridians, completing the Celestial Cycle. Spiritual energy generated on its own.

Within his body, blood and qi were like lead and mercury, forming the shape of the union of dragon and tiger.

His heartbeat slowed. Each thump tempered bones and sinews, constantly expelling black impurities and replacing the old blood with new, completing a cycle of life.

Jiang Yan’s aura also rose directly from the early stage of Spirit Awakening, bypassing the middle and late stages, reaching the peak of Spirit Awakening in one go.

Spirit Awakening was a process of accumulation.

And Jiang Yan’s spiritual accumulation, with numerous offspring, especially empowered by the Heart Monkey bloodline, was already sufficient.

To break through to Foundation Establishment, the soul must be strengthened!

After cultivating the Lamp-Igniting Method, his soul had long reached the peak of Spirit Awakening.

Body and soul complete, he was ready and needed no delay.

Boom!

He transformed into an endless Sea of Ruins, beginning to devour the surrounding spiritual energy, absorbing it into himself.

In the neighboring room,

Zhao Yinman, who had been watching an animated show, turned her crimson eyes toward the wall.

The aura that had belonged to Jiang Yan suddenly became vast and profound, like an endless abyss, forcibly seizing spiritual energy.

She even faintly sensed an ancient, terrifying aura—something not human.

Could it be...

Jiang Yan, like her, had awakened human nature?

At the company front desk,

“Don’t eat me!”

Niu Tunan, who was still dreaming, was jolted awake, panting heavily, his expression terrified.

Just now in the dream, he was about to marry two wives—twin sisters—and nearly reached the pinnacle of life.

But then...

The entire Dream Realm was swallowed by a black, ink-like dark giant whale as vast as the sea, plunging everything into eternal darkness.

Fortunately, he had left behind Dream Threads beforehand and climbed along them for who knows how long, finally waking up.

“Good thing it was a dream. I’m a little hungry now. Time for breakfast.”

Looking at the familiar surroundings, Niu Tunan sighed in relief, sat up, and saw Yin Yiyi and Old Ba already standing at the doorway, staring blankly at the sky.

“What are you looking at?”

Niu Tunan walked out and curiously looked up—then...

He saw the vast spiritual energy being drawn like water by a dragon, pouring into the rooftop of Qing Shi Technology.

It left Niu Tunan dumbfounded. Did our branch hide a dragon?

Yin Yiyi whispered, “Director Ba, is that eye acting up again?”

“No.”

Ba Lie shook his head, exhaled deeply, and said with a look of defeat and dejection, “It’s a monster cultivating!”

So the gap between people is really wider than between humans and dogs!

The disturbance from cultivation—was like someone ascending to Foundation Establishment.

Monster?

The two were stunned at first, then quickly understood.

Jiang Yan!

Because the fluctuations of spiritual energy continued to intensify, the clouds accumulated and descended, layer upon layer blossoming like a lotus in full bloom.

“What is that!?”

Ordinary citizens of Pan’an City shouted in astonishment, witnessing the scene. They quickly pulled out their phones to record and upload it to Douyin.

But the videos were immediately flagged and throttled, silently buried among countless others, causing no stir.

Half an hour later, inside the room,

Jiang Yan slowly opened his eyes.

At that moment, he felt better than ever. His body brimmed with blood and qi; spirit and mind overflowed. In his Qi Sea and Dantian appeared a Sea of Ruins like a cosmic black hole.

Super-grade Foundation Establishment — Cataclysmic Sea of the Sea of Ruins.

Its interior was extremely dry, with only strands of tribulation energy forming streams to fill the bottom.

According to Zhao Yinman’s handwriting, Foundation Establishment represented a person’s potential and maximum spiritual capacity.

The subsequent nurturing of Law Seeds also required nourishment from it, so the bigger, the better.

A solid foundation was necessary to build a tall tower.

At the initial stage of opening, the average person’s Foundation was ten to twenty zhang; geniuses might reach fifty or even one hundred zhang.

The Bureau of Historical Revision once had an extraordinary person who opened a three-hundred-zhang Foundation, causing a sensation.

Jiang Yan estimated the size of his Sea of Ruins and found it was...

Over a thousand zhang.

As his strength increased, the Foundation would continue expanding. Once it reached its limit, he could begin gathering qi and nurturing Law Seeds.

However, his Foundation was somewhat different—it could continue to accommodate tribulation energy, improving its quality. It was far from reaching its limit.

Could there be a level above Super-grade?

While Jiang Yan pondered,

After the completion of the 【Celestial Cycle Sea of Ruins Cataclysmic Sea Lotus Sutra】, its Spell Spirit transformed into a black-red lotus, appearing beside the Ash Lamp, glowing with a faint black light.

This greatly weakened the emotional effects of the Lamp-Igniting Method on him.

He liked being rational, but did not want to be forced into it.

However, the two Spell Spirits did not conflict as he had imagined. Instead, they played together harmoniously, a scene of perfect delight.

Jiang Yan estimated his own strength: “If I were to encounter Fly Boy again now, I could slap him to death with a single hand.”

“Congratulations to Master for ascending to Foundation Establishment!”

The Coffin Spirit held up a sign condensed from ash to celebrate Jiang Yan. Although it did its best to appear happy, it couldn’t hide the dimness in its eyes.

During this period, although Jiang Yan had slain many powerful enemies, due to poverty at home, there hadn’t been any for it to bury.

It had not oiled its whole body for a long time.

Naturally, its strength had not improved much.

If things continued like this, how could it guarantee safety when Master eventually lay inside?

As Master’s eldest child, the Coffin Spirit couldn’t let it show, to avoid burdening him further!

It had to strive on its own!

Just as the Coffin Spirit quietly resolved to work harder, a black-red lotus flower floated before it.

“This is...”

The Coffin Spirit was stunned for a moment, then overwhelmed with emotion. It already knew from Master the effect of the Cataclysmic Lotus—it could bring comprehensive enhancement.

As for everything returning to Master after death?

That, to all offspring, was the greatest gift and honor!

“Forget it!”

However, after some thought, the Coffin Spirit still felt unworthy. Gritting its teeth, it declined, “Master, you should use it on someone more valuable...”

“Take it. Only if you grow stronger can you help me more.” Jiang Yan interrupted, patting its... coffin lid.

Once the Foundation was born, it naturally came with a Cataclysmic Lotus.

To condense another would require massive resources, fortune, or tribulation force.

Such a precious thing ought to be maximized in value—invested in some genius or enemy for harvesting later.

But in Jiang Yan’s eyes, its worth paled in comparison to the Coffin Spirit that had stayed loyally by his side.

“Wuuu... Master, Little Coffin won’t disappoint you!” The Coffin Spirit was moved to tears.

It was determined to complete the Coffin Underground Palace Plan and give Master a huge surprise.

Crack!

The coffin lid opened, swallowing the Cataclysmic Lotus in one gulp. Its aura began to rise, swiftly stepping into Foundation Establishment.

Successfully condensing the super-grade “Unborn Burial Coffin Foundation.”

Its appearance was like a black coffin, surrounded by ash, as if from the Underworld, emanating an aura of destruction.

The Coffin Spirit murmured, “Master, my 【Strike Rich Upon Seeing a Coffin】 skill seems a bit different now, but I can’t tell what changed.”

“Then try it out next time you bury a corpse.”

Jiang Yan also felt a formless connection feeding back to him slowly, curious about the other effects of the Cataclysmic Lotus.

But there was no more time.

He had already sensed the presence outside.

Opening the door—

The group was already waiting at the entrance.

Ba Lie asked urgently, “What stage are you at now?”

Jiang Yan replied, “Foundation Establishment.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Niu Tunan cried out in anguish:

“You really deserve to die! It’s only been a few days and you’re already at Foundation Establishment. Aren’t you afraid your foundation’s unstable? Quickly revert to Spirit Awakening and consolidate for a few months!”

Yin Yiyi timidly said, “Doesn’t the aura seem pretty stable? Probably not that bad?”

Zhao Yinman interjected coolly, “The internet says he’s scared his brothers suffer, but also scared his brothers drive Land Rovers.”

As for Ba Lie, he had already turned and started making calls.

With a few beeps, the call connected.

Ba Lie said, “Hello, Old Zhang? How are you so well-informed? You already know I’ve got a Grade A+ rookie here who hit Foundation Establishment in less than a week.”

“Damn mutt, who asked you!?” a voice on the other end broke down in frustration.

A barrage of curses didn’t even get through before the call was hung up.

Then, Ba Lie continued calling the others.

“Hello, Old Liu...”

“Xu Dog...”

“……”

After calling over a dozen people in a row, Ba Lie turned around and said with satisfaction:

“As expected, when you’re in a bad mood, you need to hear the sound of others breaking down emotionally.”