Chu Mo sat quietly inside his cave abode, his mind sinking into his Dao Mansion.
This place had neither sun nor moon, nor stars, neither heaven and earth nor rivers and mountains. There were only the distinctions of above, below, and the four directions. The Yin Netherworld filled it, its deep currents flowing silently, real and without illusion.
Foundation Establishment had three stages: estate stabilization, treasure assimilation, and scenery generation. The first two consolidated the foundation and expanded the Dao Mansion, bringing it from nothingness into an illusory state, then turning that illusion into reality.
The scenery generation stage involved kindling spiritual radiance within this tangible Dao Mansion and nurturing myriad scenes, in preparation for Seizing the Law, Refining the True in the future. This was the foundation of the Great Dao.
What should the scenery I generate be?
The Yama Judge? The Naihe River of Forgetfulness? These images did relate to his Dao Path, but they did not fit it perfectly.
Because his Dao Mansion had inherited the [Netherworld-Passing Register], its foundation leaned toward the underworld and the nether realms. Yet "Communing with the Nether" was not authority over the underworld bureaucracy. Its mysteries lay in perceiving hidden depths, discerning the nether, connecting existence and nonexistence, and treading between life and death.
"Scenery generation... what scenery should I generate?" Chu Mo sank into contemplation.
Ordinary cultivators facing this hurdle would often study real scenery in the outside world, hoping to draw connections and make it their own. High Person Xueying, for instance, had meditated amid snowy landscapes for years before finally attaining the scene of [Cold Snow Reflecting Lake].
But things like the netherworld and reincarnation were elusive and insubstantial, truly difficult to witness firsthand. With the player panel, he could still cultivate it by slowly honing the Profound