Foundation Establishment: Ancient and Modern

Xu Xing spotted Zhang Yunlu, and she, having just entered, also saw Xu Xing standing before the counter.

Huh?

Am I seeing things?

We ran into each other already?

Zhang Yunlu was a bit dazed; she had been tormented by those visions all night, and upon waking up today, she had inexplicably advanced to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Consequently, after breakfast, she had rushed to the mall, intending to look for medicinal herbs to concoct Foundation Establishment spirit liquid, so as to prepare for her upcoming foundation establishment.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she walked up to Xu Xing.

"We meet again, little girl. Although I felt certain we would see each other again, I didn't expect fate to arrive so quickly."

"...Neither did I." Zhang Yunlu paused. "The visions that appear in my mind every night—is that your doing?"

"In a sense, yes. However, witnessing a battle between Dao-Integrating experts is a rare opportunity for someone at your current cultivation level." Xu Xing smiled. "So, have you gained any insights over the past two days?"

"Insights? Does reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining count?"

"Hmm..."

Zhang Yunlu: "..."

Alright, there was nothing left to say.

Just then, the salesperson emerged and handed the now-empty storage ring to Xu Xing: "Greetings, customer. The number of spirit stones has been verified. Here is your storage ring."

"Thank you."

Xu Xing took the storage ring and casually tossed it over; Zhang Yunlu caught it in a hurry.

"You likely don't have any spatial equipment yet, so take this as a gift."

Zhang Yunlu was stunned. Could this be the "decent little gift" he mentioned last time?

The salesperson, witnessing this, was filled with envy. Storage rings were not cheap, and the spirit stones that had been inside just a moment ago were merely a fraction of its value.

"Let's go. We'll talk outside. Since I promised to give you a decent little gift, I won't go back on my word."

Hm?

Does that mean he wasn't referring to this storage ring?

Zhang Yunlu put on the storage ring and hurriedly followed Xu Xing.

As they reached the entrance, the greeters on both sides bowed slightly.

"We look forward to your next visit."

Zhang Yunlu paid no attention to their words, following behind Xu Xing with a heart full of trepidation, yet also a sense of excitement.

They hadn't walked far when Xu Xing slowed his pace, allowing Zhang Yunlu to walk side-by-side with him.

"To be honest, running into you here today really caught me by surprise."

Surprised?

"Aren't high-level cultivators supposed to be able to divine anything?"

"One doesn't divine every single moment. Besides, if we met because of a calculation, would it still be called 'fate'?" Xu Xing chuckled. "Back to business. At your current level, you wouldn't be able to wield a powerful dharma treasure even if I gave you one, so let me first explain how you should proceed on your path of cultivation."

Zhang Yunlu listened with rapt attention.

"Since you are already at the ninth level of Qi Refining, the next thing to consider is Foundation Establishment. Has your school told you about the grades of Foundation Establishment?"

The grades of Foundation Establishment... Zhang Yunlu pondered for a moment and replied: "The teachers at school haven't taught us yet, but I have heard that there are three grades of Foundation Establishment."

"The lowest grade is when one consumes Barrier-Breaking Spirit Liquid after reaching the seventh level of Qi Refining to establish a foundation. This foundation is unstable; some can't even defeat stronger Qi Refining cultivators, and there is no hope for further advancement, so it is also called Pseudo Foundation Establishment."

"Mid-grade Foundation Establishment is when a cultivator, after advancing to the ninth level of Qi Refining, consumes Foundation Establishment spirit liquid or a Foundation Establishment Pill to achieve foundation establishment. This is currently the most orthodox method."

"As for the superior grade, not only must the cultivator reach a state of overflowing spirit power, but they must also consume a Spirit Power Storage Capsule before advancing, while simultaneously using a Spirit Energy Chamber to atomize purified Foundation Establishment spirit liquid for accelerated absorption. Only by meeting all three conditions is there a probability of forging a Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation."

That was all she knew.

Xu Xing was lost in thought.

Pseudo Foundation Establishment, Barrier-Breaking Spirit Liquid, Spirit Power Storage Capsule, Spirit Energy Chamber, atomized purification of Foundation Establishment spirit liquid?

Has Foundation Establishment become this 'scientific' nowadays?

And to think that one could establish a foundation at the seventh level of Qi Refining—he hadn't even heard of such a thing before he went into seclusion.

"A single seclusion, and the world has changed so much; many things have appeared that I do not understand."

If Foundation Establishment is like this, have they also developed more scientific methods for subsequent realms?

"Let me tell you about the three types of foundation establishment as I know them, which are quite different from what you described."

"The first type of foundation establishment uses external objects as an aid, much like the Foundation Establishment Pill you just mentioned; that would fall into this category."

In the ancient era, some would seek out treasures of heaven and earth to refine into their foundation, or establish their foundation upon a single fundamental divine ability; these could also be considered the first type.

This type of foundation provided decent combat power, but the methods were too singular, so it was phased out a long time ago.

"The second type of foundation establishment requires gathering the essence of the sun, condensing the brilliance of the moon, refining the starlight, and cleansing one's bones and spirit power. One must take rare treasures of heaven and earth and extract their divine essence. Once achieved, the Dao foundation is perfect—this is the Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation."

The Heaven-Forged Dao Foundation, also known as the Perfect Dao Foundation, not only has strict requirements for the cultivation technique practiced but is also an extremely perilous process.

After all, the essence of the sun and moon is incredibly violent for a Qi Refining practitioner; one slight mistake and it results in death and the dissipation of one's soul.

"As for this third type of Foundation Establishment, one must cultivate a supreme, wondrous technique and grasp the superficial aspects of Principle, Law, and Intent. By seizing the creation of heaven and earth, once built, it possesses all manner of inconceivable abilities. This is the Creation Dao Foundation."

Principle, Law, Intent.

These are realms that a practitioner can only touch upon after reaching the Dao Integration stage, and how many major realms lie between Dao Integration and Foundation Establishment?

The difficulty involved goes without saying.

Therefore, practitioners capable of building this third type of Dao Foundation are few and far between across the entire Great Profound Realm.

To seize the creation of heaven and earth and encroach upon the profound mysteries of the sun and moon.

In mythology, this was the secret of longevity imparted by Patriarch Bodhi to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

When they originally created this method of Foundation Establishment, they had used that as a reference, though it certainly could not compare to the level of its miraculous nature.

Zhang Yunlu's expression was dazed after hearing Xu Xing finish speaking.

It was the same three types of Foundation Establishment, but the gap between the ancient and the modern was simply too vast, wasn't it?!

But why was there such a massive discrepancy with what she knew?

"Don't overthink it. If I'm not mistaken, the school is worried about you aiming too high and losing sight of reality; they aren't intentionally hiding anything."

Even the divine abilities of the Seven Great Immortal Sects have been placed into high school libraries, so it is even less likely that they would deliberately conceal a method of Foundation Establishment.

Although there are many practitioners among the human race in the current Great Profound Realm, high-level practitioners are still too few—far from enough.

"The cultivation system only improves with each passing generation. What I have told you might already be outdated. I suggest you report your realm to the school later."

Although Xu Xing is confident, he is by no means arrogant, nor would he ever underestimate the wisdom of the world's practitioners.

The two had reached the vicinity of the mall entrance by this time.

A young man wearing black sportswear and sunglasses walked into the mall, followed by two burly, bald men in suits.

The two parties brushed past each other, and Xu Xing and Zhang Yunlu left the mall.

After the young man walked into the mall, he took off his sunglasses and turned to instruct, "Split up. Get the items bought as quickly as possible."

"Yes!"

Immediately, one person walked to each side, while the young man headed toward the second floor.

Sigh~ I really am unlucky.

He felt extremely depressed.

He had clearly only come here to forge a sword, yet he had run into a series of infuriating events.

First, a cultivator came out of seclusion, then he ran into a demonic senior refining a Ten Thousand Soul Banner. Not only did the banner fail to be refined, but the man himself was gone, and even the Dao Integration Old Devil who appeared later had one of his arms severed.

The tiny Mystic Sword City had inexplicably become a place of focus for various big shots.

When those two brothers warned him, he had also wanted to flee this godforsaken place!

But the problem was that he couldn't escape; that Dao Integration Old Devil who had his arm severed was watching him, and he even had to help him collect spiritual herbs and demonic beast essence blood to recover from his injuries.

Damn it!

What kind of mess is all this!