Li Yundong distinctly remembered the last time he underwent Foundation Establishment, Su Chan had explained the entire process to him. But as Li Yundong cast everything aside and truly entered the state of Foundation Establishment, he discovered that in the actual process, his entire Minor Thousand World was plunged into a pitch-black chaos; he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, and even when he tried to shout, he couldn't hear his own voice.

During this current Foundation Establishment, the figures of Liu Chuan, He Shao, and others were absent from Li Yundong’s Minor Thousand World. Since he had drawn down the Heavenly Thunder to kill He Shao, that had entirely purged the violent temper from his heart.

Furthermore, Su Chan’s departure had caused him to momentarily gather his scattered thoughts, entering a state of oneness between body and spirit, and unity between man and heaven during his cultivation. In this state, Li Yundong found himself completely immersed in a realm devoid of knowledge, taste, hearing, sight, and sensation—the only thing he retained was the ability to think!

It felt as though his very being was trapped in a primordial, unformed world, and he was the ancient Celestial God confined within this chaos, Pangu himself! A person is born in their mother's womb, much like Pangu was trapped in the primordial void.

The first action an infant strives for is to kick its legs; the act of kicking signifies that the child has largely developed and is impatiently eager to enter this world. Li Yundong suddenly felt that a cultivator’s Foundation Establishment was akin to an infant in the womb, struggling desperately to break free and enter the external world.

However, the infant’s struggles are merely unconscious biological activities, whereas a cultivator's Foundation Establishment is a conscious challenge to the very laws of survival between Heaven and Earth. Li Yundong situated himself amidst the perilous peaks of an icy wilderness.

The extreme cold compelled him to expend a vast amount of Yang energy to resist the chill, leaving only a minuscule portion of that Yang energy available for his Foundation Establishment. Despite Li Yundong having refined the original Yang energy within his body to be countless times more robust than before, and honing his True Qi until it was as condensed as steel, he still found the endeavor profoundly taxing under such harsh environmental demands.

Li Yundong remained mired in this chaotic world for a long time. He gradually began to sense the surrounding environment growing colder.

Even the sound of the external biting wind seemed to faintly carry into his chaotic inner world, bringing with it the terrifying whisper of that cold gale. This chaotic world grew colder and colder, and Li Yundong’s limbs slowly began to freeze.

Only the area around his lower abdomen, his Dantian, remained warm, as if housing a perpetually burning flame that continuously flickered and leaped. A sudden thought sparked in Li Yundong's mind, recalling Su Chan’s previous words to him: “In cultivation, you need not wait for the Winter Solstice; the Yang will naturally arise from within the chest!” This tiny spark of Yang Fire represented the purest, most vital essence of his original Yang energy.

As long as this minuscule portion of original Yang energy persisted, the vital spark of life would not be extinguished. “The universe within the self has Heaven and Earth; the heart represents Heaven, and the kidneys represent Earth.

Inhaling not through the heart, but drawing breath over the navel—this is the true principle of breath regulation!” Li Yundong vividly recalled the cultivation poem by Lü Dongbin that Su Chan had recited during his previous Foundation Establishment; every word was clear, every line distinct. Li Yundong guarded this sliver of Yang energy fiercely, like a flickering oil lamp sheltered against a wilderness gale, or a tiny skiff susceptible to capsizing amid massive waves and storms.

Within this tempest, Li Yundong slowly transitioned from mortal breath to true respiration (Zhen Xi). The original Yang energy within him began to expand bit by bit; this small flame gradually grew more vigorous.

He couldn't tell how much time had passed before Li Yundong suddenly noticed that this small cluster of flame had now expanded into a fireball the size of a fist. No matter how fiercely the cold wind raged around it, it could no longer affect the powerful burning of this fireball.

Immediately following, the fireball continued to grow, surging toward the Dantian in Li Yundong's chest. The Qi of his five internal organs was drawn towards this fireball; the five energies deeply concealed within his viscera surged forth to meet the flame, burning along with it.

This was the principle: a single spark can ignite a prairie fire! Wherever this roaring inferno rolled, the area became searingly hot, instantly expelling the chilling coldness.

Before long, Li Yundong felt his entire body become intensely hot. Subsequently, his chaotic inner world turned blazing hot and arid.

This sensation was stifling and oppressive, making him desperate to roar out loud and shatter this chaotic world! Yet, Li Yundong distinctly felt that his limbs were unresponsive, much like an infant in the womb, struggling desperately to reach a brand-new world.

The more Li Yundong struggled, the stronger and more immense the stored power within him felt, like water backed up behind a dam, ready to burst forth at any moment. After what felt like an eternity, Li Yundong suddenly heard a crisp pop in his ears, like a water bubble stretched to its limit finally bursting.

In that instant, within the Minor Thousand World, sight, hearing, smell, taste, and sensation—all faculties suddenly rushed back into Li Yundong’s being. His limbs regained control, and he suddenly leaped up, bracing his hands downward.

With a deafening roar, he forced the chaotic world apart! Instantly, a clear Qi rushed straight upward to the crown of Li Yundong's head, while a turbid Qi descended directly to his lower abdomen, his Dantian, mimicking the initial separation of Heaven and Earth.

But no sooner had Li Yundong split the chaotic world than he suddenly observed a rolling mass of dark clouds rapidly gathering in his Minor Thousand World, vast and overwhelming, with lightning flickering amidst the cloud layers. Rumble!

With a massive clap of thunder, a bolt of Heavenly Thunder struck Li Yundong heavily! In that fleeting moment, Li Yundong felt all sensation instantly vanish from his body.

The True Qi within him was violently compressed into a single mass, reverting to the state of that tiny, initial spark of fire. Li Yundong’s heart jolted.

He instinctively wanted to evade the terrifying Heavenly Thunder, but immediately another bolt struck him! This second strike was so painful that every blood vessel in his body nearly burst, and the (aura/energy flow) within him was nearly severed!

But before Li Yundong could catch his breath, the heavens thundered, and the Heavenly Thunder descended wildly. The third, fourth, and fifth bolts flashed down in quick succession.

The space between Heaven and Earth was densely filled with dancing lightning and raging thunder. Li Yundong felt as if his entire body was on the verge of disintegrating, his soul scattered.

Though the Minor Thousand World was vast, he had nowhere to hide. “What should I do?

Am I going to be struck to death here?” Li Yundong thought in terror. “I haven’t succeeded in Foundation Establishment yet; Su Chan is still waiting for me!” But just then, a sentence flashed violently through Li Yundong’s mind—the very words Su Chan had once spoken to him: “The Dao of cultivation is as hard as climbing heaven.

There is great terror between life and death, great terror between Heaven and Earth, and great terror between illusion and reality!” Li Yundong’s heart stirred. He suddenly realized: all of this was illusory.

This was his own Minor Thousand World; why should he fear lightning that didn't actually exist? With this thought, a surge of defiance and determination welled up in Li Yundong.

He roared out loud: “What is a Heavenly Tribulation? What is Heavenly Thunder?

Bring it on if you dare! Do you think I’m afraid?” Li Yundong’s mighty shout resonated throughout the Minor Thousand World, so loud that even the omnipresent Heavenly Thunder could not suppress it!

In the Minor Thousand World, Li Yundong transformed, taking the form of a three-headed, six-armed deity, wielding various magical artifacts, fiercely resisting the vast expanse of divine lightning, his roars echoing continuously. Li Yundong had initially assumed this was merely the great terror between illusion and reality; that conquering this delusion and illusion would allow him to successfully achieve Foundation Establishment.

However, he never expected that this was actually the Great Terror Between Heaven and Earth—one of the three great terrors of cultivation! Cultivation is an act of defying the way of Heaven and Earth.

Therefore, when a cultivator becomes powerful enough, Heaven will send down Heavenly Thunder to eliminate such strong individuals, thereby restoring the balance between Heaven and Earth. A cultivator who has successfully established their foundation is engaged in a ceaseless struggle against Heaven.

Some evade the Heavenly Tribulation, some transcend it, and some battle it, but all of them seek to prolong their cultivation and their lives, attempting to acquire power that transcends Heaven. Why do cultivators love to reside on mountains, seeking higher ground?

The reason was succinctly explained by Ziyuan: “The higher one climbs, the closer one gets to Heaven, and the more one can feel the might of Heaven.” This Heavenly Might, under certain circumstances, can be borrowed by cultivators, but such borrowing is extremely perilous; even a slight misstep can lead to a backlash. The principle is akin to a person wishing to defy Heaven and commit an illegal act, but not only committing the act but deliberately loitering right outside the door of the police station—what is that, if not sheer arrogance?

If they don't arrest him, who will they arrest? A cultivator is like this lawbreaker, and Heaven is like the police station.

Li Yundong, climbing so high for the sake of cultivation, was like a lawbreaker hanging around the police station—if they don't arrest him, who will they arrest? Therefore, the thunder tribulation Li Yundong encountered in his Minor Thousand World was not entirely an illusion of his Sea of Consciousness, but rather the oppressive might of Heaven being exerted upon his Sea of Consciousness, triggering this extraordinary phenomenon.

Under normal circumstances, an ordinary person would never place themselves in such an intensely harsh and cold environment for Foundation Establishment, nor climb so high. But Ziyuan knew that Li Yundong’s Heavenly Tribulation was imminent, and without taking a radical shortcut, he would never survive it.

That was why she had taken this desperate risk, sending Li Yundong to the most agonizing place in the world for his cultivation, yet without plainly telling him the reason. However, taking a shortcut also meant greater risk; had it been anyone else, they might have suffered eternal annihilation long ago.

But Li Yundong, through a lucky blunder, managed to avoid being terrified by the Great Terror Between Heaven and Earth. Instead, he became filled with fighting spirit, battling Heaven and Earth, finding endless joy in the struggle!

Li Yundong battled the Heavenly Thunder vigorously within his Minor Thousand World. Although his actual Celestial Deity body was bombarded by countless strikes of lightning, the more he was hit, the more fiercely Li Yundong resisted; and the more he resisted, the greater the strength he felt surging within him, which in turn caused the primordial Yang True Qi in the physical body of his Greater Thousand World to undergo the most critical transformation.

Just then, three figures appeared on the mountainside. All wore goggles and thick, insulated cold-weather suits, carrying climbing picks, axes, and staffs, with heavy non-slip boots on their feet.

These were the two foreign tourists and the female guide Liu Xia whom Li Yundong had encountered on the path. One of the foreigners, sharp-eyed, spotted a spot of color contrasting against the vast expanse of white snow.

He pointed toward Li Yundong’s location and exclaimed loudly, “There looks like someone over there!” The other foreigner, holding a handheld video camera, filmed while looking over, and nodded: “Hey, keep it down. Let’s go check it out quietly; don’t be too loud, be careful not to trigger an avalanche!” The three approached the pit Li Yundong had dug.

A single glance caused them all to gasp, and they spoke in unison, “It’s him?” The female guide, Liu Xia, saw that the man was covered in a layer of ice and snow. He sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his hands resting on his knees, palms facing the sky, the thumb and ring finger lightly pinched together.

Liu Xia crouched down, removed a glove, and tentatively checked for breath near Li Yundong’s nose. She was instantly alarmed, then turned away, her expression complicated, and stated, “He’s dead!” Both foreigners simultaneously made the sign of the cross over their chests.

One whispered, “My God! Why would he die in this place?” The other sighed and remarked, “These Eastern Daoists are sometimes very strange.” Liu Xia stared blankly at the motionless Li Yundong, a complex mix of feelings arising in her heart—part sorrow, part dark satisfaction: Serve you right for trying to show off!

Now show off some more! But as soon as the thought surfaced, she couldn't help but let out a wry laugh: “I hold no grudge against him; why do I always resent this guy so much?

Forget it. Since he’s our countryman, let’s take his body back.” With that thought, Liu Xia couldn't help but reach out towards Li Yundong, intending to drag him out of the hole.