The Fourth Talent, Dao Foundation Grades

Bai Jing stared at the words in his mind and mused:

"It is said that the Heaven and Earth Dao Platform of the Dao Platform Realm has grades. When geniuses condense their Heaven and Earth Dao Platforms, their quality differs from that of ordinary people, allowing them to become stronger. That is the capital that lets them stand invincible among those of the same realm."

"And the Heaven and Earth Dao Platform begins with this blood cauldron. Does that mean these cauldrons also have superior and inferior grades?"

"So!"

He carefully pondered the meaning of the text, thinking excitedly:

"This text is a cultivation art for raising the quality of the blood cauldron. I can rely on proficiency to raise my blood cauldron to the highest grade!"

Then, he closed his eyes and immersed his mind in the blood cauldron, thinking to himself:

"This cultivation art came from the blood cauldron. Perhaps if the runes upon it are arranged in a certain way, they form a scripture like this."

"Has no one discovered this from ancient times until now?"

Bai Jing shook his head. This was not something he could figure out.

At least on Shangqing Mountain, he felt there should be no scripture capable of raising the quality of a blood cauldron. Otherwise, those Immortal Masters would surely have passed it on to them.

Without dwelling on it any further, he immediately began attempting to cultivate this scripture.

Buzz!

As he circulated the scripture, the blood cauldron began to resonate, casting forth a crimson light.

At the same time, the runes engraved upon it began shifting positions.

Crimson Blood Cauldron (11/100)

Nearly half an hour later, Bai Jing finally opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

This scripture was far more obscure than he had imagined, and cultivating it was anything but smooth.

Fortunately, hard work brought rewards.

Bai Jing stared at the proficiency, his brows slightly furrowed. After a moment of silence, he thought:

"Could this proficiency also represent my talent for condensing a blood cauldron? Starting at only ten—does that mean I belong to the worst class?"

He gave a bitter smile. Perhaps that really was the case.

Without the Talent Tree, he would likely have been eliminated long ago.

Buzz!

Suddenly, another change occurred within his sea of consciousness.

When Bai Jing noticed it, he first froze, then his face lit up with delight.

"One surprise after another. I was still worrying that if another branch didn't grow soon, I wouldn't know when I'd be able to choose some profound ultimate arts."

Within the Scorched Earth of his sea of consciousness, the Talent Tree, already more than half a man tall, grew its fourth branch.

Yet it was still nothing but a bare branch, without a single leaf.

"Never mind that for now."

Bai Jing cast these matters to the back of his mind and prepared to first break through to the sixth stage of the Qi and Blood Realm, the most important thing at hand.

The Qi and Blood Realm cultivated the five viscera and six bowels, which in truth corresponded to the Five Elements.

And the Five Elements were the way of nature—the Great Dao itself!

Qi and Blood Realm cultivators like them had to remove the grain qi from their five viscera and six bowels, shed their mortal flesh, and bring themselves closer to the Dao. Only then could they sense the spiritual qi of heaven and earth and absorb it for their own use.

Legend had it that some people were born without grain qi, untouched by mortal dust and immaculate throughout their bodies. From the moment they were born, they could sense the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. They did not need to pass through the Qi and Blood Realm and could directly condense the most perfect Heaven and Earth Dao Platform.

In the world of cultivation, such people were called Innate Dao Bodies!

Of course, Bai Jing had once browsed tales and anecdotes of the immortal world in Tong Shen Tower, yet he had never seen such a precedent. At the very least, no such person had ever appeared in the Southern Territory.

Thump!

He stopped thinking about it and focused wholeheartedly on breaking through the sixth stage.

Under the setting sun.

Bai Jing walked out of his room.

After breaking through to the sixth stage, he had felt ravenously hungry. After slightly stabilizing his realm, he decided to head to the dining hall and replenish his energy.

"Has Zhu Yi been eliminated?"

Bai Jing locked his door and glanced at the room opposite his.

Over the past half month, there had been no sign of anyone living across from him.

It seemed his neighbor had already been knocked out.

"He was a diligent man. What a pity." Bai Jing shook his head, lingered no longer, and headed toward the dining hall.

"Five portions of beef, in a small pot!"

At the window selling Spiritual Meat, Bai Jing spoke and took out ten Ascension Coins from his robes.

"The higher my cultivation gets, the faster Ascension Coins disappear."

Carrying a pot of beef, he came to an empty table and sighed softly.

Once he spent all the Ascension Coins on him, he would probably have to take missions to earn more.

"Should I start learning alchemy too? Ling Qinghe made a fortune off Qi Replenishing Pills." Recalling Ling Qinghe's lavish spending, Bai Jing felt a little envious.

Then he shook his head again.

Now was not the time for alchemy. He was more inclined to learn a profound ultimate art, something he could use as a trump card when taking first-rank missions.

"Bai Jing!"

Just as he was lost in thought, a familiar voice interrupted him.

Bai Jing wiped the grease from his mouth and looked to his left. It was Xu Shan.

"I haven't seen you in the dining hall for a long time." Xu Shan spoke in surprise.

"I've been busy cultivating lately, so I haven't had time to come." Bai Jing said.

Qi Replenishing Pills had the effect of staving off hunger. If not for his recent breakthrough, which had left the qi and blood in his body somewhat depleted, he would not have come.

"By the way, you definitely don't know yet." Xu Shan's expression turned solemn as he said:

"Li Huai'an has started his monstrous feats again. In just half a month, he completed a first-rank mission, and his evaluation was still Grade A!"

"What a monster indeed!" Bai Jing sighed.

"Isn't he? I heard that before the third assessment arrived, he had already raised his cultivation to the Eighth Stage of Qi and Blood. He's beyond freakish."

"And you, Brother Xu? How has your cultivation progressed?" he asked.

"The sixth stage is complete. I'm just a tiny bit away from breaking through to the seventh." Xu Shan said casually, though his expression was full of pride.

With a steady supply of Qi Replenishing Pills and his own talent, advancing by leaps and bounds in just half a month was already quite impressive.

"You're truly formidable. I only reached the sixth stage today!" Bai Jing praised.

Though they appeared to be at the same stage, the gap between them was practically a month's worth of time.

"You're not bad either, Brother Bai." Xu Shan praised him.

Bai Jing smiled and shook his head. Then his expression turned serious, and he asked in a low voice:

"Brother Xu, do the blood cauldrons formed after Perfection of the Five Viscera have different grades?"

"You noticed?" Xu Shan said calmly as he ate his Spiritual Meat.

"Not exactly. I guessed." Bai Jing said. Naturally, he would not mention the scripture.

Xu Shan nodded.

"That's right. And blood cauldron is merely your term for it. In truth, this is the lowest grade of Immortal Foundation!"

"Of course, Brother Bai, I don't mean to mock you. I'm merely stating the facts."

He continued, "From lowest to highest, these cauldrons are divided into blood cauldrons, Azure Cauldrons, Purple Cauldrons, Golden Cauldrons, and the most powerful Purple Gold Immortal Cauldrons!"

"Azure Cauldrons, Purple Gold Immortal Cauldrons..." Bai Jing murmured. He had never expected that the cauldron condensed after Perfection of the Five Viscera had so many classifications.

But when he thought of that scripture, confidence rose within him once more.

"Brother Xu, may I ask what kind of Immortal Foundation you condensed?" He looked up and asked.

"An Azure Cauldron!" Xu Shan said. "With this talent, I'll probably rank beyond a hundredth place in this round of assessments."

"So many people condensed Purple Cauldrons, even Golden Cauldrons?" Bai Jing's brows knitted slightly.

"Almost all of them have Purple Cauldrons. Only one person condensed a Golden Cauldron!"

"Li Huai'an?"

"That's right!!"

"The only thing that makes me happy is that Chen Ping and Chu Ming both have the talent of Azure Cauldrons. As long as those two don't surpass me, I'll feel much better. Hahaha."

Xu Shan added, and at the thought of it, he could not help laughing aloud.

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