The Capital, Ye Family Ancient Estate Underground Palace.
Shan Hu wasted no time. After putting the reward pill for Ye Chengye back into his spatial storage pouch, he walked towards the core of the spiritual vein.
The spiritual vein core was like a gigantic milky-white fountain. Massive spiritual energy gushed from deep underground, forming an atmosphere of visible spiritual mist in the palace, close to the point of liquefaction.
Shan Hu sat down cross-legged, positioning himself directly above the fountain, and formed the starting hand seals of the Azure Emperor Eternal Life Art.
He took a deep breath and began to circulate his cultivation method.
"Hoo—"
As the technique circulated, Shan Hu's body immediately transformed into a bottomless black hole. The surrounding dense spiritual energy let out a howling sound, as if pulled by a powerful suction force, forming a massive spiritual energy vortex that surged frantically into his body, centered around him.
Shan Hu's body was like parched land receiving a timely rain, greedily absorbing this pure spiritual energy.
While the quality of this spiritual vein couldn't compare to the top-tier Immortal Spirit Qi of the Immortal Realm, it was paramount on Earth. The boundless vitality and unpolluted purity it carried were perfectly suited for Shan Hu's current physical state.
With the influx of vast spiritual energy, the meridians within Shan Hu's body began to widen and repair themselves.
In his previous life, to achieve the position of Immortal Emperor, he had exhausted his lifespan and potential through secret techniques, causing damage to his foundation. Even after rebirth, these hidden dangers persisted. But now, under the powerful baptism of this spiritual vein, those subtle injuries were being fixed one by one.
The milky-white spiritual energy entered Shan Hu's Dantian (Energy Core) and was immediately refined by the Azure Emperor Eternal Life Art.
Swish—!
The True Essence, which was previously thin as mist, quickly solidified, its color gradually shifting from pale blue to a deep, restrained emerald green, like the finest jade, radiating intense vitality. This was the true "Azure Emperor True Essence," representing life force and immortality.
Shan Hu felt the long-lost sensation of power flooding his body again, a feeling that intoxicated him.
"The foundation of an Immortal Emperor is indeed extraordinary," Shan Hu muttered internally.
The True Essence he had accumulated over several months of arduous cultivation on Earth was surpassed and solidified several times over within just half an hour at this spiritual vein core.
Not only that, the spiritual energy from the vein was continuously refining his physical body.
A large amount of black impurities seeped from Shan Hu's skin—the filth accumulated from incomplete physical cultivation and toxins in the Earth's environment. As soon as these impurities were expelled, they were instantly vaporized and purified by the surrounding boundless spiritual energy, leaving no trace.
His bones let out an almost inaudible "crackling" sound, and his muscles and tendons were re-forged, becoming tougher and stronger.
The bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment stage, under the impact of this colossal spiritual energy, crumbled like paper, easily breached.
Early Foundation Establishment — Mid Foundation Establishment!
In less than an hour, Shan Hu's cultivation solidly stepped into the Mid Foundation Establishment stage.
But his absorption did not stop; instead, the spiritual energy vortex grew even more violent.
The boundary from Mid to Late Foundation Establishment, though harder to cross than the earlier stages, was merely a matter of time in the face of this spiritual vein, which was comparable to a small Immortal Stone mine.
Shan Hu knew that in this era of dwindling magic on Earth, the Foundation Establishment stage was the highest realm he could reach in a short period. Only when his cultivation was completely stable at the peak of Foundation Establishment, and he possessed sufficient power for self-protection, could he begin to search for more hidden and powerful resources on Earth to attempt the breakthrough to the Golden Core stage.
He closed his eyes, immersed in his cultivation, dedicating his entire being to this precious spiritual energy baptism and the re-forging of his foundation.
At this moment, he was not the Shan Hu who casually suppressed a strong enemy in the Ye family's ancient estate, but the Azure Emperor, who stood proudly at the peak of the Immortal Realm, looking down upon all beings!
Reforging the foundation is within reach!