I might have been playing a fake cultivation game.

Section 068 Mid-Foundation Building

On August 7, 2026, Zhou Yunshen diligently cultivated the "Red Sun Burning Heaven Scripture" and finally upgraded his cultivation level from the early Foundation Establishment stage to the middle Foundation Establishment stage.

When he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he was ranked in the thirties.

This time, having broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, he ranked sixth.

The reason the calculations were so precise was because the government had embedded a leaderboard in the forum.

Currently, there are already five Foundation Establishment cultivators on this ranking list. His breakthrough at this time naturally places him in sixth place.

In the Xuan Yuan World, breakthroughs in cultivation realms lead to a tremendous increase in strength; even a breakthrough in a minor realm still results in a significant improvement.

In this upgrade, Zhou Yunshen tested it and found that the distance his divine sense could extend increased directly from just over 20 meters to 40 meters. The number of fire locusts he could precisely control also surged from 19 to 51!

This is something that can be intuitively felt through numbers.

In other areas, his true essence reserves, quality, and spiritual strength have all significantly improved.

The Dao Foundation that existed in his sea of ​​consciousness, which seemed to be carved from red crystal, also expanded in size, with orange-red flames faintly burning on it.

After experiencing the power of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, Zhou Yun Shen concluded that if he were to face the three ghost messengers now, he would definitely win without any chance of losing!

Unfortunately, he's currently in the dungeon's cooldown period. Otherwise, he would definitely go on a rampage in the Hell dungeon and see if he could still be a match for those underworld generals.

After the initial joy, the cultivation process must continue.

A few hours later, Zhou Yunshen was eating takeout in his rented apartment when he suddenly received a message from Chen Xin'an.

Chen Xin'an: "Congratulations, Yun Shen! I didn't expect you to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage so quickly."

Zhou Yunshen smiled after receiving the message and typed back: "I do possess a first-grade spiritual root, and after cultivating for so long, reaching the mid-Foundation Establishment stage is about average."

Chen Xin'an: "What you're doing isn't just conventional. Others may not know, but I do. You've cultivated to this point, and you haven't eaten a single spiritual fruit or pill. Several of the players ahead of you in the rankings come from Golden Core families; they've definitely consumed these things."

Zhou Yunshen: "Wasn't there another one who came from a wandering martial arts background? I still remember his name, Du Yusheng."

Chen Xin'an: "He's not some freelancer anymore; he's joined a super sect called the Holy Flame Sect and become a core disciple they're grooming. It's said that the government even found a way to get him into the Holy Flame Sect."

"Yun Shen, why don't you contact the government and ask them to find a way to send you to a top-tier sect? With your cultivation aptitude, becoming a core disciple in a top-tier sect shouldn't be a problem."

The so-called super sect is a sect that has at least one Nascent Soul cultivator in charge.

Zhou Yunshen was somewhat tempted, but after thinking for a moment, he typed: "The sect has too many rules; I'd better see how things go first."

He felt that he was cultivating quite well. He had a Heaven-rank cultivation technique to practice, and he had hardly encountered any bottlenecks in his cultivation. His cultivation speed was also very fast.

If you go to those super sects to cultivate, the cultivation resources will indeed be better, but you can basically only cultivate the Heaven-rank cultivation techniques. If you want to cultivate to the Heaven-rank or higher, the conditions for becoming an immortal or a god are extremely harsh. You need to pass many tests, and you may not be able to come into contact with such a level of cultivation technique even after several years.

The information about the super-large commodity was not something he made up out of thin air, but rather information made public by the government, which can be accessed by all players and is highly credible.

After exchanging a few casual words with Chen Xin'an, Zhou Yunshen continued to lurk silently in the "Hell Trial Strategy Group".

After finishing his takeout, Zhou Yunshen was cleaning up the trash when his phone, which was on the table, vibrated slightly.

Zhou Yun Shen picked up his phone and saw that it was administrator Bai Qing tagging everyone in the "Hell Trial Strategy Group": For the next few days, everyone should stay away from the Hell dungeon. The day after tomorrow, August 10th, at 8:8 AM, all players will gather in Hell for the first collective action!

Upon reading this passage, Zhou Yunshen frowned slightly, but his brows quickly relaxed.

He felt there was nothing wrong with what the government was doing.

It's very difficult for players to conquer this hellish dungeon if they act in a disorganized manner.

Only by uniting and acting together can we hope to overcome those tough challenges in the hellish dungeons.

The next second, the administrator, Bai Qing, posted a picture.

The image is a simplified map of the Hell dungeon, which was drawn bit by bit based on information provided by various players, with Zhou Yunshen also making a contribution.

On this simplified map, five red dots are marked. These five red dots should be the assembly points designated by the government.

While Zhou Yunshen was checking the map, administrator Bai Qing sent out another message: "Our main objectives this time are twofold: first, to concentrate our forces to challenge Yin Shuai; and second, to launch a probing attack on Fengdu City. All players will be divided into five teams, and each team will choose one target based on the actual situation."

Administrator Jinzhan: "The higher-ups are taking this operation very seriously. It will not only allow our players to get to know each other better, but also improve our teamwork skills, accumulating experience for conquering even stronger enemies in the future."

Administrator An'an: "All players who participated in this operation will receive 10,000 gold coins."

"A perfectly safe operation, and they're charging each person ten thousand yuan? The government is really generous," Zhou Yun thought to himself.

However, considering that this is the government, two million yuan in operating funds is indeed a lot for an individual, but for the government, it's just a drop in the ocean.

Administrator Bai Qing: "Next, we need to select ten team leaders to command this operation. Anyone who wants to be a team leader can come forward and sign up."

"I!"

"I want to be the captain!"

Players started popping up, saying they wanted to be the team leader.

Most people chose to remain silent.

Zhou Yunshen also stared silently at the screen without saying a word.

He wasn't the type to show off, and he wouldn't want to do a thankless job like being a team leader.

Administrator An'an: "If you are elected captain and perform exceptionally well in this operation, you will receive a reward of 10,000 game points. This is a rare opportunity, so everyone should seize it!"

"There are game points rewards!" Zhou Yunshen's eyes lit up.

Game points are something the government has been promoting on game forums recently.

Game points can be exchanged for gold beans at a ratio of 1 to 10. That is, 10,000 game points can be exchanged for 100,000 gold beans, which is equivalent to 100,000 yuan.

In addition, game points can be redeemed in the points mall for various in-game items, such as Heavenly Rank cultivation techniques, natal spirit treasures, and all kinds of elixirs, spirit fruits, talismans, and spirit stones.