"Stop, stop, stop!" Zheng Zha hastily called out from the side, and it wasn't just him; the others wore expressions of utter bewilderment.

Chu Xuan glanced at the group. Instead of uttering his usual catchphrase, "The wisdom of mortals," he spoke directly: "The conversion formula is just the first step in cultivation. It means transforming various free energies in space—such as ionic energy, cosmic ray energy, or light and heat energy—into True Essence Power or Demonic Power that the body can absorb and store. The specific method employs... Rune Technology. Rune Technology must guide this first step, which is also called Foundation Establishment (Zhu Ji). This is the evolution from an ordinary human to a cultivator possessing True Essence Power or Demonic Power internally. Only then can one convert True Essence Power without Rune Technology. However, it is deeply unfortunate that the Rune Technology for Foundation Establishment requires someone already possessing True Essence Power to set it up. In other words... the very first cultivators could not have existed!" "Didn't exist? What do you mean?" the crowd asked, curious.

"It’s the classic chicken-and-egg dilemma. If becoming a cultivator requires another cultivator to assist in Foundation Establishment, how could the very first one have originated? Furthermore, given the profound understanding of energy implied, I posit that the first cultivator was likely a Saint. It was precisely because of their defection that the cultivator collective emerged. Compared to the Saint, who must undergo countless battles to evolve, cultivation is undoubtedly a more widespread 'science.' This explains why the number of cultivators would eventually far surpass the number of Saints... Looking at it this way, it’s understandable why the Saints harbor such hatred for the cultivator collective, and why the cultivators look down upon the Saints in turn..." Chu Xuan paused here: "The True Essence Power required for Foundation Establishment can be provided by you, Zheng Zha. Although you lack the cultivator physique, we have the treasure of the Ring of Power, so the True Essence Power is available. What remains are Rune Implements imbued with True Essence Power. While you possess the energy, you don't know how to utilize it or integrate it into objects. So, there is only one option left..." Zheng Zha had been somewhat dejected, thinking the cultivation method was entirely out of his reach. Who would have thought Chu Xuan would pivot the conversation like this, suggesting there might be another way for him to achieve Foundation Establishment? "Uh, there is a way. Do you remember that offensive item you obtained from the Ring of Power—the eight small flags called the Doushuai Eight Trigrams Furnace? That is a Daoist cultivation artifact. If used purely for Foundation Establishment, the materials in those eight flags are more than sufficient. I can arrange a formation using these materials and then propel that formation with an immense surge of energy. It would take less than a tenth of a second for your Foundation Establishment to succeed..." Chu Xuan stated casually.

"Wait, wait a minute!" Zheng Zha suddenly asked, curiosity piqued. "You always like to describe things as effortlessly as possible—like designing layouts or deceiving us... Now you mention an immense surge of energy... I have a very bad feeling about this."

...Chu Xuan shot Zheng Zha an exasperated look. He then continued, "It would require approximately five hundred and eighty-seven trillion, two hundred billion, trillion units of energy. A 'unit' here refers to the energy released by the fission of a single atom. Converted to thermal energy, this is roughly equivalent to the total heat the Sun radiates in 0.001 seconds, or about the total electrical energy consumed by humanity over five hundred years. Or, converted into..."

"Stop!" Zheng Zha interrupted immediately. "Just tell me directly: if this energy were used to power the Eastern Emperor Bell, how long could it run?"

"About ten minutes," Chu Xuan replied without hesitation. "My basement's miniature fusion reactor cannot generate energy on that scale, and this energy must be delivered simultaneously within ten seconds; it cannot be stored like electrical energy or other forms. So, unless we had over a million miniature fusion reactors operating simultaneously at maximum overload, there is only one other method..." Zheng Zha’s heart skipped a beat; he suddenly understood what Chu Xuan was planning. He immediately roared, "You’re not thinking of blasting me with the Magic Cannon, are you? If Foundation Establishment is this difficult, how did so many cultivators appear? Don't try to fool me; you must have mistranslated something, or you’re just using this as an excuse to test if I can withstand the Magic Cannon. Don't think you can trick me..."

"Mortal wisdom..." Chu Xuan pursed his lips and sneered, "That’s right, the only way left is to use the Magic Cannon for bombardment. But it won't be a direct blast. Instead, the Magic Cannon will serve as an engine. While the demonic and True Essence powers annihilate each other, that energy surge will be instantly injected into this formation, reaching the energy requirement for Foundation Establishment in that instant... As for your point about Foundation Establishment being difficult, it's not the process itself that's hard; it’s that we cannot access that specific form of energy, leading to an energy loss rate exceeding 99.9%. This degree of waste is unavoidable. If a cultivator who has already undergone Foundation Establishment initiated this formation, the consumption wouldn't be nearly this high. That’s the basic situation. If you want to master True Essence Power and Demonic Power, you must achieve Foundation Establishment!"

Zheng Zha was clearly tempted. Those legendary immortals who soared through the heavens—who wouldn't be drawn to such power? But he still asked, feeling uneasy, "There’s truly no danger, is there? And after Foundation Establishment, I can flexibly control True Essence Power and Demonic Power... I’ll have infinite 'explosions,' 'destruction,' and finally, that ultimate move, right?"

Chu Xuan kept smirking, shaking his head. "It's not that easy. Your current strength level is far beyond that of ordinary cultivators. How could a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator match you? Even though you'll only possess the level of cultivation achieved through Foundation Establishment, your overall strength is already at the peak of the Fourth Tier. The source of those three moves isn't purely True Essence Power or Demonic Power; it stems from you forcefully fusing two opposing cultivation energies using the Gene Lock. The resulting annihilation effect is what manifests power. You are, in essence, a synthesis of a Saint and a Cultivator, yet neither fully. If you truly wish to use those three techniques without limit, the primary condition is that you must first achieve rudimentary control over energy; don't even think about it otherwise. As for the strength increase after successful Foundation Establishment, I cannot say for sure. Power is measured by what an individual can exert. How much improvement you see depends entirely on your skill level."

Zheng Zha pondered for a moment, then grabbed Chu Xuan's arm earnestly. "Fine, I'll trust you one more time. But you must guarantee that my life will not be in danger!"

"En, I guarantee it," Chu Xuan nodded and said calmly.

(...Even though he said that, why do I have a feeling he’s lying to me right now?) Zheng Zha held a genuine sense of dread toward Chu Xuan. This feeling had been cultivated through more than a dozen instances of being repeatedly deceived and manipulated. By now, he had almost grown accustomed to it. If Chu Xuan wasn't lying... the sun would surely be rising in the west.

Carrying this sentiment, the group followed Chu Xuan into his basement room. This lower level had been converted into a hyper-modern laboratory base, filled with instruments the others couldn't name, crisscrossed by energy streams of various colors. At a glance, it felt like stepping hundreds of years into the future.

"Little Dingdang, the technological level here seems even higher than the last time I was down here," Zheng Zha commented with near reverence.

Chu Xuan nodded. "Uh, in cultivation techniques, the technological sections far outweigh the combat sections. It would be more accurate to call cultivators scholars, or perhaps seekers of true knowledge, rather than warriors. The current technological level here is about three to five hundred years ahead of the reality we know. Especially the miniature fusion reactor; it has progressed from initial atomic fusion to photonic fusion. So, it could just as well be called a photonic fusion reactor. And then there is..."

When discussing these unknown fields, Chu Xuan became utterly consumed. The frenzy in his eyes was so evident that it startled everyone else nearby. Except for a select few, the others held their breath as they surveyed the surroundings. Wang Xia also grew excited, and after a long pause, he remarked, "If we could bring this technology back to the real world, our nation would certainly..."

Chu Xuan glanced at him upon hearing this before turning and saying, "I advise you not to entertain such thoughts. Giving an atomic bomb to a child is clearly an attempt to murder that child. Humanity's current level of civilization is not yet qualified to receive this caliber of technology. Perhaps in the short term, our nation could become a global superpower using these weapons and technologies, but that would only be the beginning of destruction, understand? The Chinese political structure is not suited to holding such immense power, at least not until the corrosive pus within it has been cleansed. If that structure were allowed to control the future of all humanity, and made so powerful that its voice was the only one in the world, then the cultural catastrophe that occurred early in its founding would happen again. Do you understand? The emergence of a supreme authority is not a good thing... That supreme authority must first mature to a point where it can accept all this, rather than childishly believing it is greater than humanity itself. Otherwise, I will not permit you to take this technology back to reality."

Wang Xia was instantly speechless, unable to grasp why Chu Xuan held this position. In Wang Xia's perception, the nation's interests superseded everything, even his own life. Yet, with his individual power, bringing this technology back was impossible. Merely leaking this information would result in his erasure by the 'Main God'; only Chu Xuan could devise a safe method to retrieve the technology.

Ignoring Wang Xia's internal turmoil, Chu Xuan reached out to Zheng Zha. "Give me those eight small flags."

Zheng Zha did not hesitate, producing the eight flags named the Eight Trigrams Furnace and handing them over. Chu Xuan tapped a few buttons on an operation platform. In a distant, open area, a steel facade slowly parted to the sides, revealing a jade platform rising from below. This platform was entirely inscribed with runic diagrams: eight large circles, tens of thousands of runes, and countless strange symbols. This formation, about eight meters in diameter, was incredibly complex, suggesting the immense effort Chu Xuan had expended.

The others gasped in awe. After observing for a while, Zhang Heng keenly noticed that the runes on the formation weren't merely etched but were countless metal threads inlaid within the jade. Furthermore, metal threads were exposed outside the eight large circles. Indeed, they watched as Chu Xuan approached the eight large circles, using the exposed metal threads to connect them to the eight small flags. Then, he produced a large bundle of metal threads from somewhere beneath the jade, meticulously connecting them to the Magic Cannon.

The process up to this point seemed straightforward. What followed struck the observers as rather tedious: Chu Xuan sat next to the Magic Cannon, continuously tapping on a notebook computer for over an hour. Data flickered incessantly across the massive screen behind the control platform. By the time Chu Xuan finally rose from his crouched position, most of the onlookers were fighting off sleep.

"Alright... go inside now," Chu Xuan turned to look at Zheng Zha.

Zheng Zha immediately protested, "Give me a moment to prepare mentally! And why is your tone like you're addressing an experiment? You promised I would be safe, right? Absolutely no life danger?"

"En, I promised..." Chu Xuan averted his gaze.

"...Then why won't you look at me?" Regardless of his apprehension, Zheng Zha ultimately walked into the center of the formation and sat down. Though deeply reluctant, this was a path he felt compelled to take. His clone was too powerful; so strong that even with the Hong Huang (Primordial) technique, Heaven-Splitting, he could only guarantee mutual destruction. To secure victory and survival in the final battle, he needed another upgrade. Given the urgency of time, Foundation Establishment through cultivation was his only viable route to power enhancement.

The others watched with bated breath, particularly as Chu Xuan maniacally fed energy stones into the Magic Cannon, sending shivers down their spines. Their gazes toward Zheng Zha now held a measure of pity.

(Is it an illusion? Did I just see the words 'Take care' in Chu Xuan’s eyes...?) Zheng Zha felt increasingly uneasy. Just as he was about to question Chu Xuan while seated on the jade, he saw Chu Xuan violently slam the switch on the Magic Cannon. Instantly, a massive energy surge erupted. The large jade stone illuminated as brightly as a powered lightbulb... As for Zheng Zha, he was clearly a biological specimen bathed in electricity, glowing intensely. Vaguely, the onlookers thought they smelled burning flesh...