At this moment, beneath [Heaven Defying Foundation Establishment Method] on Ning Ri's panel, he saw several lines of small text:
Choose your foundation establishment item.
1. Spiritual root (Foundation Establishment failure expected)
2. Heaven and Earth Rare Treasures (None available) (Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment expected)
3. Acquired item (Disciple Token) (High likelihood of Foundation Establishment failure expected)
4. Weirdness (None available) (Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment expected)
There were five lines of small text in total, four of them options.
Yet among those four options, only the third was lit up.
The second and fourth options were dimmed, indicating that neither could be selected.
Two and four, unavailable.
Ning Ri understood.
After all, he had neither.
But what he did not understand was—
Why could he not choose the first option?
Did he not have a spiritual root?
Just because it was incomplete, you were not even going to let him establish his foundation?
Next, Ning Ri fell into thought—
Heaven and Earth Rare Treasures, Weirdness...
Which of the two would be easier to get?
Spiritual roots were divided into three grades: heavenly, earthly, and human. But Ning Ri's spiritual root was incomplete, not even qualifying as human-grade. Coupled with the Heaven Defying Sect's disregard for spiritual root grades, he rarely discussed the matter.
Dao foundations were the same. Ordinary Dao foundations were divided into heavenly, earthly, and human grades: Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, Earthly Dao Foundation Establishment, and Human Dao Foundation Establishment.
With the panel helping him, Ning Ri naturally had to aim for Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment!
According to ordinary methods of cultivation, if people wanted Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, they basically relied on—
Seven parts ordained by heaven, three parts earned through struggle.
Ordinary Foundation Establishment methods came in several kinds—
The first was the Spiritual Root Foundation Establishment Method, relying on one's own powerful spiritual root to establish one's foundation directly.
Those born with exceptional spiritual roots were already darlings of heaven and earth, with all the world's mysterious wonders gathered within them.
In such cases, they had no need to borrow external power and could establish their foundations directly.
For those with sufficient talent, using this method to achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment was as easy as turning over one's hand.
This was what they called heaven's decree.
The second was the Innate Foundation Establishment Method.
The "innate" here referred to Heaven and Earth Rare Treasures, heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
Those whose spiritual roots had flaws, such as those with earthly spiritual roots—
If they wished to achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, they could add Heaven and Earth Rare Treasures as support.
For instance, Five Elements Essence, where the five elements generated and restrained one another in a cycle, imitating the heavenly dao's five elements; or yin-yang power, imitating the union of heaven and earth, and so on.
Whether one possessed a human-grade spiritual root or an earthly-grade spiritual root, there had been cases of people relying on this method to achieve Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.
This was the finest embodiment of talent combined with hard work.
The third was the Acquired Foundation Establishment Method.
It used things requiring postnatal refinement, such as magical treasures and pills, to establish one's foundation.
This was entirely a gamble, but it was also something only those at the end of the road would attempt.
Ning Ri felt that this method was reserved for protagonists whose spiritual roots had been crippled and who had fallen into desperate straits. After enduring untold hardship, they obtained some magical treasure or pill—
For example, they refined a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment Pill, and after using it, whoosh, they became Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment cultivators and began their comeback...
But for most people who chose the Acquired Foundation Establishment Method, it was whoosh, Foundation Establishment failure, followed by a life of labor.
In truth, Chen Xingfeng's Rented Spiritual Root operated on the same principle. He allowed people at the end of the road to use the false spiritual roots he created, refining them into their bodies through a Foundation Establishment method to form something that was both like a Dao foundation and like a spiritual root.
This thing could then absorb spiritual energy and improve cultivation efficiency, but as time passed, the spiritual root would be like absorbable surgical thread, completely dissolving within the user's body.
That was why Chen Xingfeng called it a "Rented Spiritual Root"—because it was like the rental period had expired.
In Chen Xingfeng's eyes, this was a method one used only when one was truly at the end of the road.
Otherwise, it would always be an inferior choice.
At most, one would be fated to remain at Foundation Establishment or Golden Core for life.
And...
Everything mentioned above was merely the usual methods of Foundation Establishment.
Besides encompassing these methods, the Heaven Defying Sect's [Heaven Defying Foundation Establishment Method] also emphasized a choice of never forgetting one's original intention—
Establish your foundation with the heavenly dao!
The cultivation method stated: "Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment."
"As the name implies, it means establishing your foundation with the heavenly dao."
"As long as you establish your foundation with the heavenly dao, there is no need to care about aptitude or spiritual roots. So long as you successfully establish your foundation, you are Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment."
The Heaven Defying Sect had written a Heaven Defying Foundation Establishment Method, which was like wrapping a plate of dumplings.
And the most crucial "vinegar" was this passage that sounded somewhat like nonsense!
When Ning Ri learned this, he was not surprised in the slightest.
Since the Heaven Defying Sect defied heaven, there was bound to come a day when they laid hands on the heavenly dao.
Though doing it this early was indeed a little excessive.
But after reading further, Ning Ri understood what this so-called establishing one's foundation with the heavenly dao actually meant.
The heavenly dao used by the Heaven Defying Sect's Heaven Defying Foundation Establishment Method was actually [Weirdness]!
The cultivation method stated that only after [Weirdness] appeared did they realize that the heavenly dao had already been invaded by Weirdness and was in a shattered state.
That being the case, it was as though Weirdness had sliced up the heavenly dao for them.
This greatly reduced the difficulty of refining the heavenly dao.
They merely needed to use the heavenly dao that Weirdness had already sliced up.
The [Heaven Defying Foundation Establishment Method] explained in detail how to pick the heavenly dao out of Weirdness and remove the Weirdness, but Ning Ri could not make much sense of it at a glance.
Not because it was too obscure, but because there was simply too much of it.
There were actually over a thousand methods for "selecting the heavenly dao and removing Weirdness"!
Those thousand-plus methods came with one note: [Not guaranteed to work, not guaranteed to suit everyone, but all may serve as reference].
Ning Ri skimmed through them. His face remained expressionless, but all he wanted to do was curse.
He felt that none of those thousand-plus methods were useful.
For example, he saw words left behind by someone named [Ancient Eggshell]:
"When refining [Weirdness], if you wish to select the true heavenly dao and remove the power of Weirdness, you only need to smoke Weirdness with a Smoky Atmosphere. The true heavenly dao has been smoked by the Smoky Atmosphere for so many years that it has long since grown used to it. But Weirdness certainly will not be able to bear it. The Smoky Atmosphere will sting its eyes. When it cannot endure it any longer, it will shed tears. Then you can remove the Weirdness."
Ning Ri: "..."
So, put plainly, you smoke Weirdness out?
For another example, he saw a message from someone named [Resentful Husband Guan Baiyu, Willing to Go to Baiyu Pass]:
"In this great age of cultivation, every cultivator carries resentment in their heart. Wealth, companions, methods, land, talent, aptitude—everything can be resented. The heavenly dao bears this resentment every moment of every day. After enduring so many undeserved grievances, the heavenly dao's mentality has long been tempered, and it feels nothing at all. But Weirdness is different. It has never been resented by so many people. Thus, so long as you use a great deal of injustice to stir its emotions, you can refine it out."
Ning Ri: "..."
So, put plainly, you make Weirdness take the blame?
For yet another example...
Ning Ri: "..."
After reading that entire passage, he felt exactly the same as Chen Xingfeng.
What kind of dogshit was this?
Before you continue