Thinking of this, Ryan Foster immediately turned and left, paying no attention to Lily chasing after him. He only gave a single instruction: “From now on, without my permission, no one is allowed to touch that woman named Sophie Baker. Even if she comes here to work, she is not allowed to sit with customers. All expenses will be covered by me, Ryan Foster.”

This left Lily completely confused, but since the young master of the “Xinghai Alliance” had spoken, even if Lily had ten times her courage, she wouldn’t dare let Sophie Baker be wronged! What she didn’t know was that even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t have the chance, because at that moment Sophie Baker had already left with Eric Carter and gotten into a taxi. Most likely, she would never return to this place again.

Chapter Twelve: Seven Stars Turning the Moon

After saying a word to Jason Reed and the others, Ryan Foster took Sophie Baker and left Yunting Nightclub, hailed a taxi, and sent her straight home. Only after receiving Sophie Baker’s personal promise that she wouldn’t do anything foolish within a month did he leave alone.

“Ten days from now, just casually pass on a mid-level cultivation technique to that kid surnamed Duan, get some cash first, and after giving it to Sophie Baker to settle her down, I’ll focus on breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage myself. I’ll go into seclusion for three to five days to cultivate the Five Aggregates True Essence Fire. When that’s done, I’ll buy some medicinal herbs and refine some basic spirit pills for Auntie to cure her illness. Once the medicine works, this matter will be settled.” Eric Carter had already made his plans. After returning home and greeting his parents, he closed his door and continued cultivating the “Yue Moon Rising Sun Heart Method.”

The next morning, Eric Carter received some very gratifying news. At dawn, he saw his parents packing their luggage. Upon asking, he learned that they were going to travel in Yunnan for half a month. It turned out his mother had won the grand prize at her workplace—a fifteen-day double flight tour to Yunnan.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of myself…” Eric Carter smiled as he watched his parents get into the taxi, thinking that he would finally have complete freedom for half a month. He planned to apply for a long sick leave from school, then go into seclusion for ten days, aiming to break through the Foundation Establishment bottleneck in one go.

……

In the outskirts of Nanhui, eight days had passed in the blink of an eye. During these eight days, except for replenishing his body with a little food and water every other day, Eric Carter had almost never left the top floor of the rented villa.

He was blessed by the heavens—during these eight days and nights, the sun rose and the moon shone without a single cloud or mist, which benefited Eric Carter greatly. Now, he was only a hair’s breadth away from breaking through the final barrier.

That night, the bright moon hung high, casting a brilliant silver glow. In the deep of night, Eric Carter sat cross-legged on the top floor, letting the moonlight pouring in through the wide-open skylight envelop him. Around him, forty-nine immortal stones formed the “Heaven and Earth Treasure Gathering Spirit Array,” emitting a thin, cicada-wing-like blue light that blended with the moonlight, creating a misty aura that gathered around Eric Carter.

“The moon is like a heavenly shuttle, stars aligned in a string! I never expected to be so lucky as to encounter such a rare celestial phenomenon, one that only appears once in a hundred years. It seems that tonight, not only will I achieve Foundation Establishment, but if I absorb the energy properly, I might even succeed in cultivating the Five Aggregates True Essence Fire in one go…”

As Eric Carter focused his mind, his ten fingers moved rapidly, forming a series of complex and mysterious hand seals. Suddenly, a pale blue light condensed in his palms, and the misty aura swirling around him seemed to be drawn to the blue light, gathering toward his hands.

Eric Carter closed his eyes slightly and took a deep breath. Two streams of spiritual energy separated from the misty light and entered through his nose. After a moment, another stream separated and was swallowed through his mouth.

“Seven Stars Turning the Moon…” This was the fastest way to gather spiritual energy described in the “Yue Moon Rising Sun Heart Method.” After another moment, the misty aura in Eric Carter’s palms split into seven streams, which were absorbed through his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose—the seven orifices.

After a while, the misty aura in Eric Carter’s palms gradually thinned. At the same time, his hand seals changed, forming a seal above his head. Suddenly, the bright moon in the sky cast down a few more beams of silver light, falling precisely on the top of his head. Instantly, a pale blue mist swirled around him. When the moon energy had gathered sufficiently, Eric Carter switched back to the previous “Seven Stars Turning the Moon” hand seal. He repeated this process nine times. Suddenly, Eric Carter let out a clear, long cry, his whole body seeming to be filled with immense power as he sprang up, his clothes shattering completely.

His skin, which had been slightly bronze, now appeared as fair and tender as a newborn baby under the bright moonlight. His already deep eyes now shone with a piercing brilliance, as if he had been reborn.

After finishing, Eric Carter looked up at the sky. The bright moon and stars were no longer as before—their light had dimmed considerably, and large clouds had drifted in from somewhere, covering most of the moon.

Seeing this, Eric Carter could only shake his head and sigh, “The once-in-a-century celestial phenomenon has passed. It seems my plan to use it to cultivate the Five Aggregates True Essence Fire has failed. But to achieve Foundation Establishment in just two hours is already lucky. Gains and losses—there’s nothing more to say.”