In the Primordial Era, the Hundred Skills of Cultivation had not yet flourished. The Human Race’s use of various Spirit Medicines was still limited to eating them raw, making them no different from the Demon Beasts that devoured flesh and drank blood.

Back then, Human Race Cultivators who wished to break through a realm’s bottleneck could basically only rely on luck. It was common for only one to succeed out of dozens, or even a hundred, cultivators. A true case of a million-man army crossing a single-plank bridge.

Later, as time went on, the Hundred Skills of Cultivation gradually developed and grew stronger. Alchemy also advanced by leaps and bounds, leading to the eventual creation of Pills that could assist with breakthroughs.

The Foundation Establishment Pill was a product that only appeared in the last epoch. Its existence greatly reduced the dangers of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, which is what led to the current prosperity of the Human Race Cultivation World.

Of course, this doesn’t mean Ancient Cultivators were stronger than their modern counterparts. The Cultivation Realm is constantly progressing. In reality, Ancient Cultivators were far inferior to today’s cultivators in areas like Techniques and Magical Artifacts.

It was simply that back then, nature’s spiritual energy was dense and pure, so Cultivators did not need to rely on Spiritual Veins for their practice. Their cultivation speed was thus much faster, but their strength in Magical Combat was far inferior.

However, the Foundation Establishment method of the Ancient Cultivators is still highly sought after by the prodigies of the Human Race, as it would make them even stronger. The only problem is that its extremely high mortality rate deters most people.

Song Changsheng had a certain degree of confidence in himself. Coupled with the assistance of a Vein Protection Pill, he dared to take the gamble. It was all driven by ambition.

"Cultivation is a huge gamble. I hope I can make the right choice again this time." Song Changsheng murmured softly. He then placed the Vein Protection Pill in his mouth and began to break through his bottleneck.

This Seclusion Chamber was specially built by the clan for Cultivators breaking through to Foundation Establishment. It contained a small Spirit Gathering Array capable of gathering Spiritual Qi.

Song Changsheng had also paid out of his own pocket to light a censer of Soothing Incense, made from the Fragrance Flowers he had obtained in the Wutong Secret Realm.

Chang Tianhua had once used it as a trap to viciously ensnare him, yet now it had become one of the aids for his Foundation Establishment breakthrough.

The Soothing Incense would help him clear his mind and brighten his spirit, preventing a Heart Demon from taking advantage of him during the breakthrough process.

One should not assume that Heart Demons don’t exist at lower realms. In fact, the opposite is true. The lower the realm, the more stray thoughts a cultivator has, making it even easier for a Heart Demon to arise.

Back in Liuyun Marketplace, Cheng Yufei’s son, Cheng Xiao, had fallen into a demonic state during a competition with Song Changsheng and nearly lost his life.

With the incense’s help, Song Changsheng had an extra layer of insurance.

He closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of the Soothing Incense, and quickly entered the proper state of mind. He pushed all stray thoughts aside and began absorbing Spiritual Qi to fill his Dantian.

There are Three Passes to Foundation Establishment. The first is the Spiritual Power Barrier. Simply put, the goal of this pass is to transform the "gaseous" Spiritual Power within the Dantian into a "liquid" state, allowing the Dantian to hold much more Spiritual Power.

It sounds simple, but in truth, many have failed at this very pass. The Foundation Establishment Pill’s main purpose is to help overcome this barrier.

Time slipped by quietly. After a year of patient, grinding effort, Song Changsheng finally reached the moment of his official breakthrough.

The Spiritual Power in his body instantly went into a frenzy. The rampaging Spiritual Power surged through his Meridians, causing a faint tearing sensation in both his Meridians and Dantian.

He hastily consumed the Vein Protection Pill and felt his Meridians expand slightly, allowing them to accommodate more Spiritual Power.

Spiritual Power circulated throughout his body along his Meridians. The tearing pain caused Song Changsheng to furrow his brow tightly as beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. He operated his Heart Method, desperately suppressing the rampaging Spiritual Power while enduring the excruciating pain.

The frenzied Spiritual Power forcefully scoured the acupoints throughout his body. One by one, the Spiritual Power broke through them. Everything went smoothly at first, but an unexpected problem arose when the Spiritual Power reached his Baihui Acupoint.

The Spiritual Power slammed into the acupoint like a tidal wave. Song Changsheng felt as if his head was about to explode, as though something was trying to burst out of his skull.

The intense pain made Song Changsheng’s head swim, and he saw stars. He clenched his jaw, letting out a series of suppressed roars.

Though the pain was so agonizing he wished for death, he knew he could not stop. He mobilized every last bit of Spiritual Power in his body, ramming it forward with all his might. Cracks began to appear in his Meridians, and the intense pain nearly caused him to pass out.

Song Changsheng endured the immense agony, gritting his teeth and holding on. Finally, the path ahead was clear. The Baihui Acupoint... was finally open.

The Spiritual Power surged onward, breaking through the remaining acupoints in succession. Ultimately, all the Spiritual Power was guided back into his Dantian, which slowly expanded until it was several times its original size.

The Spiritual Power re-condensed into a liquid and was stored in his Dantian. At the same time, his Yin Yang Dao Foundation underwent an earth-shattering transformation, morphing into a square "Spirit Platform" with a black-and-white Tai Chi Diagram at its center.

The Spiritual Power within his Dantian swirled around it, faintly forming a vortex.

Song Changsheng silently breathed a sigh of relief. He had passed the first of the three passes: the Spiritual Power Barrier.

He began to activate the newly opened acupoints all over his body. Each major acupoint acted like a pump, drawing the abundant Spiritual Qi from the Seclusion Chamber into his body.

The process of absorbing Spiritual Qi through each acupoint was both intensely itchy and painful. Song Changsheng bit his lip so hard that blood dripped from it, yet he remained completely unaware.

The absorbed Spiritual Power permeated his every muscle, bone, and organ.

Every muscle fiber underwent a baptism of Spiritual Power. The power seemed to seep into his very Bone Marrow, and the bone-deep agony made Song Changsheng throw his head back and roar.

His body was being strengthened in every way imaginable. The process was long, so long that it drained Song Changsheng of every last ounce of his strength!

Sweat poured from every pore of his body.

The sweat gave off a nauseating stench, clinging stickily to his skin and forming a grimy black layer of impurities. Time passed quietly. When his body finally stopped expelling the filth, Song Changsheng felt a wave of relief wash over him.

He had tempered his body nine times before, so this was nothing to him—much easier than the Spiritual Power Barrier.

Now came the final step: the Divine Soul Barrier.

His head felt heavy and his eyelids weighed a thousand pounds. His Divine Soul began to drift as images flashed through his mind—some from his past life, some from his current one.

The scenes replayed in his mind like a film, filled with suffering, anger, joy...

Gradually, he began to see scenes that were not his own.

He saw Song Lutong collapsed in a pool of blood, struggling to call for help. He saw Song Luzhou’s face filled with despair as he was devoured by a Demon Beast, leaving not even a bone behind. He saw Song Qingxi, her face a mask of sorrow, standing before a field of graves.

On one of the tombstones was written: 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Tomb of Changsheng of the Song Clan"

BOOM—

It was as if a bolt of lightning had exploded in his mind. His soul began to tremble as more and more visions appeared before him. His head suddenly began to throb violently, as if being repeatedly struck by a great hammer.

’The Heart Demon is making its move.’

As visions belonging to him—and those that did not—flashed ceaselessly through his mind, Song Changsheng understood. The Heart Demon had arrived...