Cultivating to the Second Heaven, Foundation Establishment!

Cultivating to the Second Heaven, Foundation Establishment!

"Junior Brother Lei, you awakened the Hidden Dragon Spirit Body and reached Twelve Story Building Perfection in Qi Refining. You truly are only one final step away from Foundation Establishment."

Wang Guiyuan's expression turned solemn. "But you must not be impatient, especially when facing the difficulties of breaking through a major realm."

Lei Jun nodded slightly.

In this world's cultivation, breakthroughs between major realms, such as from the First Heaven to the Second Heaven, were often more difficult than all prior cultivation combined. The same held true for later breakthroughs, from the Second Heaven to the Third Heaven and beyond.

The barriers between major realms were customarily called Heavenly Moats, also known as Cultivation Tribulations.

Cross the Heavenly Moat, endure the tribulation.

Fail to pass, and at best one would suffer Qi Deviation and grievous injury; at worst, body and Dao would perish, and life would be lost.

Of course, one could also choose not to attempt it and remain peacefully at one's current realm.

The Celestial Master Mansion was a Daoist Holy Land, with profound inheritances and numerous gifted disciples, so such cases were rarely seen there.

But among small sects and factions, minor clans and families outside, cultivators stuck at the Qi Refining stage for their entire lives were plentiful.

Yet then they would have to face the problem of growing steadily older, with their Lifespan drawing near its end.

The Celestial Master Mansion's "Great Dao Scripture of True Orthodox Dharma" was exquisitely profound, and Lei Jun possessed the Hidden Dragon Spirit Body. Under ordinary circumstances, Wang Guiyuan was not worried that his junior brother would fail to cross the First Heavenly Moat.

What he chiefly feared was that Lei Jun might rush recklessly for success and disturb his state of mind, thereby affecting his passage through the tribulation.

"Rest assured, Senior Brother. I understand." Lei Jun smiled.

Wang Guiyuan nodded. "Good."

Having settled everything, he returned without concern to his old trade, filling in as Elder Liu's Daoist attendant.

Lei Jun, meanwhile, continued focusing on his own cultivation at his own pace.

He rose early, drank a cup of Nurturing Essence Paste, and laid a solid foundation for the day.

Then came Morning Lesson and Listening to Master Yuan Mobai's Dharma Teachings in the morning.

After Lunch, he took a Qi Spirit Pill, lit a stick of Mind Stabilizing Incense, and silently breathed and refined Qi on his own.

During cultivation, he separated the pair of Nurturing Spirit Jade Discs and pressed them against his palms. Man nurtured jade, jade warmed spirit, spirit nourished qi, qi refined man. Once the cycle was complete, the results came twice as easily with half the effort.

At Evening Lesson, he reviewed the questions and doubts from that day's studies, then sought Yuan Mobai's guidance.

After Evening Lesson ended, he returned to his residence, took a scoop of Medicinal Bath Mother Liquid along with several auxiliary herbs, and placed them all into the Bath Pool in the courtyard. He drew in mountain spring water, turning it into a large pool of medicinal liquid.

Lei Jun then sat inside, using the Medicinal Bath to cleanse and temper himself as he continued nurturing and breathing.

Finally, he ended the day's cultivation, fell peacefully asleep, and consolidated his foundation and cultivated his origin.

Cultivation Knows Not the Length of Time, and time swiftly flowed by.

One Month Later, on a certain night.

Lei Jun, soaked in the Bath Pool, suddenly rose upward.

He had not jumped out of the water himself.

Rather, he sat suspended steadily above the pool's surface, as though seated upon solid ground.

Within Lei Jun, his originally surging True Qi condensed, seeming to transform from something illusory into something solid and substantial, forming Condensed Magic Power.

It was like a vast quantity of gas undergoing transformation and condensing into a single wisp of liquid.

It appeared faint, yet it was far more condensed and nimble than the great mass of True Qi from before.

Just a thread of Magic Power was enough to shatter the vast amount of True Qi possessed by a Qi Refining cultivator.

This was From Quantitative to Qualitative Change.

Lei Jun smiled contentedly and stepped out of the Bath Pool.

Cultivating Magic Power meant he had successfully broken through a major cultivation realm.

From First Heaven Qi Refining to Second Heaven Foundation Establishment!

"I didn't feel any vicious tribulation or dangerous barrier..." Lei Jun was somewhat surprised.

The instant the question arose in his heart, inspiration flashed through his mind:

Hidden Dragon Spirit Body...

When a True Dragon leapt from the abyss, it soared straight into the heavens.

Thus, this first Heavenly Moat, a perilous obstacle of Nine Deaths One Life for many, could not stop a hidden dragon from emerging into the world.

"No wonder there are legends of Top Geniuses Cultivating a Thousand Miles a Day."

Lei Jun turned his Inner Vision upon his body, feeling deeply moved for a time.

What did Tang Xiaotang's Immortal Body look like when she cultivated?

He shook his head, casting aside the stray thoughts. He sat cross-legged in meditation once more, silently breathing and circulating qi.

Lei Jun could clearly sense that his own Life Force had likewise become extraordinarily vigorous.

His Lifespan had increased.

With Foundation Establishment achieved in a single stroke, one could enjoy two hundred years of life.

Lei Jun had entered the sect late and begun cultivating the Dao late. Only at eighteen had Xu Yuanzhen guided him back to Dragon Tiger Mountain to enter the Dao.

Fortunately, he had thereafter sought good fortune and avoided disaster, gaining all manner of opportunities. Through earnest cultivation, he successfully achieved Foundation Establishment in less than two years, surpassing countless All Living Beings.

Now, with his age nearing twenty, compared to a Foundation Establishment cultivator's two-hundred-year lifespan, his time seemed considerably more ample.

But...

"Cultivators in this world gain too little lifespan even as their realms rise," Lei Jun sighed. "Two hundred years really isn't much."

Because there was a very practical problem before him.

From First Heaven Qi Refining to Second Heaven Foundation Establishment, one's lifespan increased from one hundred years to two hundred.

But from Second Heaven Foundation Establishment to the Third Layer Altar Realm, the limit of one's Lifespan did not increase.

Only by breaking through to the Fourth Heaven Primal Talisman Realm would one's lifespan increase once again.

Foundation Establishment and Altar Realm cultivators enjoyed two hundred years of life, a vast improvement over Qi Refining cultivators, but they still faced the same problem.

The golden window for a Qi Refining cultivator's advancement only lasted until around the age of twenty-five.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators, this period of rapid growth extended to around fifty.

Yet from the age of fifty onward, Foundation Establishment cultivators also entered the plateau of their prime. Their strength remained at its peak, but their rate of improvement slowed greatly.

From around the age of one hundred onward, Foundation Establishment cultivators entered old age, much like Qi Refining cultivators after fifty.

Not only would it become difficult for their cultivation realm to advance further, but their vigor and strength could even begin to decline.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators over one hundred years old, the hope of taking another step forward was exceedingly slim. Throughout history, there had been only a handful of exceptions, with odds far lower than one in ten thousand.

But there was still, in the end, a faint sliver of hope.

After roughly one hundred and fifty years, however, Foundation Establishment cultivators entered their twilight years. Nothing could be hoped for any longer, and their weakness and decline accelerated sharply. Their strength might even fall from a minor realm within their major realm, until their lifespan finally ended.

The most agonizing part was that Third Layer Altar Realm cultivators faced the same circumstances as Second Heaven Foundation Establishment cultivators in this regard.

Therefore, to continue advancing along the Dao path, cultivators had to strive to challenge the Fourth Heaven Primal Talisman Realm before reaching one hundred, in hopes of increasing their lifespan again.

Within the Celestial Master Mansion, the dividing line between Transmission Disciples and Ordinance Disciples generally lay precisely between the Third Heaven and Fourth Heaven realms.

Considering one's subsequent cultivation potential, it was best to break through to the Fourth Heaven within the golden window before fifty.

Foundation Establishment truly lived up to its name. I've only just set out on the road... The joy Lei Jun had felt upon breaking through subsided, and his state of mind returned to calm stability.

Early the next morning, Lei Jun went to see his master Yuan Mobai as usual.

Yuan Mobai smiled at him. "More than your successful Foundation Establishment, what pleases your master is that your state of mind has remained peaceful."

"This disciple is young and ignorant. I was merely influenced by you, Master, and followed your example."

Yuan Mobai smiled and nodded. "Since your state of mind has returned to peaceful naturalness, we may simply continue as usual."

Morning Lesson and the morning's cultivation proceeded as usual, with explanations of Daoist Scripture and Methods.

But by afternoon and Evening Lesson, Yuan Mobai adjusted his teaching plan.

"You have already successfully achieved Foundation Establishment. From here on, you need only continue cultivating steadily, without haste or impatience."

He set up a Ritual Altar in the courtyard and said to Lei Jun, "Furthermore, as a disciple of the Celestial Master Mansion, it is time for you to begin studying the Talisman Scripture and learn talisman crafting."