The hotel owner was taken aback as he asked.

"Dinner time? What do you mean?"

​​

It couldn't be that he plans to eat us now that we found out his incredible ability, right?

Krune was slightly confused as he replied.

"The attendant at the entrance said that she would send someone to tell me when dinner is ready. Aren't you here to inform me about that?"

The hotel owner's mouth could not help but twitch as he thought to himself.

'Come to inform you about dinner? Where have you ever seen a hotel send an entire group of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators to inform someone about dinner?'

Though, he quickly composed himself soon after. This guy in front of him was obviously a demon beast in human form, and this was probably his first time moving around humans.

"Cough, cough. You're mistaken, brother. The reason we came here is that while you were cultivating, you absorbed all the spiritual energy in a 100-meter radius around you. Because of that, no one else around here can cultivate anymore. In short, these customers here asked me to come and ask you to leave some spiritual energy for everyone else as well."

Krune finally understood, thinking to himself.

'Seems like my Spiritual Energy Meridians are quite strong. It even affects the surrounding cultivators.'

Krune then looked back at them and hastily apologized.

"I apologize. I didn't notice I was disturbing the flow of spiritual energy for everyone. I'll make sure to not do that in the future."

Krune didn't think much about it. His absorption power was just a little too strong. As long as he paid attention, he should be able to control his Spiritual Energy Meridians to only focus on the spirit stones. After apologizing, he wanted to send everyone out to continue cultivating, but no one wanted to leave.

"Is there something else?"

The hotel owner looked at everyone around him. There was no way that he didn't know what they were thinking. Not to mention that he was extremely curious as well.

"Well, you see, your absorption capability is several times more powerful than anyone at the 1st Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Even I, with my 8th Stage cultivation, can't compare with you. Would this brother mind telling us how to do that?"

Krune looked at everyone, recognizing the expressions on their faces. It was undoubtedly greed! Then again, he didn't care. At least it wasn't because he was a wisp. It didn't take him long to come up with an excuse.

"Too powerful?"

Krune had a puzzled expression on his face as he said.

"Isn't that obvious? My foundation is extremely complicated. It's not something foundations like the 'Island in the Lake' can ever compare to."

Everyone was taken aback. An extremely complicated foundation? Can the foundation alone allow one to cultivate at such breakneck speeds? The hotel owner wasn't totally convinced, so he asked.

"Actually, my foundation isn't as simple as the standard 'Island in the Lake.' In my case, I used a mountain range as a base, and I consider it to be quite good already. But it's not the least bit close to what you can do. If this brother doesn't mind, could you tell us and, if possible, show us what type of foundation you have?"

Krune inwardly smiled after hearing that. That's because he doesn't plan on concealing his Universe Foundation to start with. Later on, if he wanted to join a sect or a great clan, he would definitely need to show what he had. There's also another simple reason as to why, which was it wasn't something that can be copied. It's also impossible to be totally explained with words. Krune was only able to succeed because of Lakin, plus he had tried to explain everything that could be explained through words to his disciple before. But in the end, it only consisted of less than 50% of his total comprehension. The rest could only be achieved through Lakin's own comprehension abilities. On top of that, he definitely wasn't the first one to think about building a universe as a foundation. It's just that the number of people who succeeded was probably pitifully low.

"No problem."

There was no danger either. Someone's foundation was theirs and theirs alone. Even if one showed it to others, there was absolutely nothing they could do about that. But that's all that Krune knew. What he didn't know was that there were people and demon beasts in the past who tried to develop methods to steal others' foundations. But how could something that had been acknowledged by the heavens be stolen that easy? All attempts of stealing someone's foundation turned out in failure. The mild consequences were those people being crippled, with the worst dying because of the backlash. With time, people eventually gave up the idea.

For one to be able to see someone else's foundation, they simply couldn't use their eyes. First of all, there was no way someone would remove their cores or dantians out of their bodies just to show it around since that would be suicide! To take a look, the foundation owner simply has to will it, and the others can use their Divine Senses to see inside. Of course, Krune concealed what should be hidden. Otherwise, people might be able to guess that he was a wisp when they saw his soul inside the interior of the foundation. There was almost no other race that kept their soul inside their core, after all.

In the end, what everyone could see was just the outline, enough to understand what it was but not enough to find any secret. That's what people did when they wanted to exchange experience for the sake of their offsprings as well. Although a foundation can't be copied, it can still provide inspiration to the other part.

"This is my Universe Foundation. Ever since I built it, my ability to absorb spiritual energy has improved tremendously. In the end, one's own foundation dictates their future achievements."

It wasn't a lie. Without the Universe Foundation, his core wouldn't be able to sustain the extremely high rate of spiritual energy absorption provided by his Spiritual Energy Meridians. It's just that he hadn't mentioned his meridians at all, nor would he ever do so.

Everyone probed Krune's foundation and was left amazed. There really was someone capable of building a universe as a foundation. How difficult was that? No one in this room had the confidence to do the same thing. First of all, they were all Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they had their own foundations already. If they wanted to try it, they would need to break their cores and start cultivating from scratch. Naturally, they definitely wouldn't do such an idiotic thing.

The hotel owner was really surprised as he said.

"To think I would be able to see such a beautiful foundation in my life. No wonder this brother's ability to cultivate is so incredible. This Voule here admits defeat."

After that, everyone's faces showed several types of emotions. Gloominess, disappointment, envy, and even jealousy, but in the end, there was nothing they could do. No one here would destroy their cultivation to try and build something like that. The chances of success were close to zero, after all.

On the other hand, Krune was ecstatic! He couldn't help but think.

'This is great! I didn't think about this before, but now I have an excellent excuse to hide my Spiritual Energy Meridians' abilities. As long as I use this reason, everyone can only accept it. I refuse to believe I can find someone else with a Universe Foundation so easily.'

Krune kept smiling as he said.

"Well, I hope I helped give everyone a bit of inspiration. The Universe Foundation I built is very good. If you all break your foundations and build a Universe Foundation in the future, you can definitely achieve the same cultivation speed as me. Who knows? You might even build an even better universe foundation than mine."

Voule, the hotel owner, smiled bitterly as he responded.

"This brother must be joking. Everyone's foundations were built through much effort. Some of us are even over 100 years old, and there's no hope for us to accomplish something like that. I thank you on behalf of everyone else. Since you were generous enough to show your foundation to us, I won't charge anything for the time you stay in our hotel. Just make sure to leave some spiritual energy for your fellow customers."

Krune nodded in response. Although he found the perfect excuse, it's better not to keep showing his Spiritual Energy Meridians' capabilities so easily in the future.

After everyone left, Krune went back to his cultivation. When the sky turned dark, he heard someone knocking on his door again. This time, it was really someone telling him that the dinner was being served downstairs.

Krune thanked the employee and went down. This is the first time he would try human food, so he wanted to know how good it was.

After arriving downstairs, a waiter came to bring him to his table. Usually, such treatment wasn't given in the hotel. Nevertheless, Voule made sure to give Krune some face. He was sure that this demon beast in human form was bound to achieve greatness in the future, as long as he didn't die in the middle of the way, of course.

Krune noticed that all the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators were looking at him, making him feel awkward. The looks of greed had disappeared. It didn't matter how much they wished to have his Universe Foundation. There was simply no way to steal it. With that, everyone only looked at him with jealousy. Why weren't they the ones who had built the Universe Foundation? If they only had the inspiration to accomplish such a thing...quite a few sighed after thinking about that.

On the other hand, the Qi Condensation Realm cultivators looked at him like he was a god! They still haven't built their foundation yet. Although they couldn't copy it, as long as Krune explained his process, they might obtain the inspiration to do the same. Even if they didn't, they would still have a better chance of thinking of something good to use as a foundation.

Krune ignored everyone, though. His mind, or better yet, his nose, was totally attracted to the food on the table. He didn't even notice that he was drooling. The moment Krune put the first piece of seasoned beef in his mouth, he felt like his life hadn't been in vain. Tears ran down from his eyes, making everyone look at him strangely. When they saw that, they couldn't help but think.

'How did someone like him build a universe as a foundation?'

Krune didn't know what they were thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn't care anyway. He ate everything on the table. Not even a grain of rice was left behind. In the end, he screamed in his heart.

'This is heaven!'

He called the waiter and asked him if they could teach him how to cook those delicious things. The waiter wasn't expecting such a request, so he asked the manager and soon received the agreement. The hotel owner had already said to treat Krune to the best of their abilities.

After arriving in the kitchen, Krune saw several chefs busy at work as the waiter talked to the head chef and came back.

"This brother, the head chef said that you can come later after dinner time is over if it isn't a problem."

Krune nodded after hearing that. He wasn't an unreasonable wisp. He could see that everyone was busy.

"Then, I'll come later. Tell the hotel owner I owe him one."

The waiter was surprised to hear that. They were just showing him how to cook. Was there a need to be so serious about it?

Later at night, after the restaurant was closed for customers, the head chef started teaching Krune how to cook. At first, he felt that Krune was just some eccentric guy trying something new, especially because Krune wasn't using his hood at the moment. In short, his rainbow hair was in full view. But as time passed, he noticed that Krune was really enjoying the feeling of being able to cook delicacies.

"Boy, you really have a talent for cooking. If you weren't a cultivator, I would totally take you in. There aren't many people out there who understand the joy of cooking."

Krune smiled in response. He had never eaten such delicious things before, so he wanted to be able to do such things by himself from now on.

"Thanks. Since you aren't a cultivator, you can't see that I'm, in fact, a demon beast in human form. Ever since I can remember myself, I've never tried something so good, so I intend to learn to the best of my abilities so that I can eat well from now on."

The head chef wasn't expecting that Krune was a demon beast. It's already hard to find humans who liked to cook, let alone other races. Nevertheless, he didn't care. As long as Krune kept showing an interest in cooking, he would teach him to the best of his abilities.

And just like that, they spent all night in the kitchen. After teaching Krune all the basics, he gave him a recipe book.

"Alright, with what you learned, you shouldn't have a problem cooking anymore. This is a recipe book I made. You can take it with you. Just make sure to keep your love for cooking."

Krune was surprised, asking.

"Is it really okay? Those are recipes you created yourself."

The head chef just laughed in response.

"Compared to cultivation techniques, what can it be accounted for? Just take it. It's just a copy. I have my own copy with me anyway."

Krune accepted the book after hearing that. It might not be worth much in the eyes of the cultivators. But in his eyes, it's worth thousands of times more than all his possessions together! Krune was a sentimental wisp. The head chef obviously put a lot of effort and passion into this recipe book. To him, that's what matters most!

"Thank you. If there's something I can help with, you can tell me now."

The head chef nodded after hearing that. There was indeed something he wanted to ask Krune.

"In that case, I won't be polite. I'm not a cultivator, but my son is. He's already at the 9th stage of the Qi Condensation Realm. Still, he's having trouble thinking about his foundation, and I heard others say that you built an amazing one. I'm not asking you to make him build something as good as yours. I just want you to help him get some inspiration."

Krune instantly accepted the request. Basically, he just needed to tell the head chef's son about his experiences. A foundation was a personal thing. Even if one decided to build the 'Island in the Lake' foundation, it is bound to be different from everyone else.

After receiving the head chef's directions, he arrived at a house at the village borders. He knocked on the door, and soon, a young man came to open it. He looked at Krune with confusion as he had never seen him before. Plus, that bit of rainbow hair appearing at the front was definitely a first, too. He didn't dare to act impolite, though. With the spiritual energy coming from Krune, he could totally tell that Krune was a demon beast in human form. That meant that he was at the Foundation Establishment Realm, at the very least.

"Can I help you?"

Krune checked if he looked like the outline described by the head chef. Sure enough, this ought to be the person.

"Hello! I'm a friend of your father. You're Darten, right?"

The man nodded absent-mindedly. Krune then explained the situation to him. He decided to spend this day giving him some pointers before heading back to the hotel to rest.

Darten was a little taken aback by the situation. A Foundation Establishment Realm beast learned how to cook from his father and decided to pay the favor by giving pointers to his child about breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm? It's way too hard to believe, but since Krune was much stronger than him, he still invited him in.

In the living room.

"Senior, I know you have good intentions, but I don't plan on building a standard foundation. I want something of better quality. If you have built a standard one, then I will still be grateful for your advice."

He thought that even if his father found someone to give him pointers, it would be someone with a standard foundation. That's not what he wanted. His father was just a head chef, after all. He couldn't possibly find someone great. Darten was still happy, though. It just showed how much his father cared for him to be able to invite a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator.

Krune was already expecting that and just laughed.

"Use your Divine Sense to check my foundation, then. After that, you can decide whether you want me to share my experiences or not."

After Krune opened his foundation for view, Darten checked it with his Divine Sense. In the end, he couldn't help but exclaim.

"Holy fucking shit!"