Dao Attainment

Fang Yu sat cross-legged on a smooth red rock beside the pit and glanced at the group of children cultivating not far away.

They looked to be only six or seven, about the same age he had been when he first entered the sect.

Back then, however, he had only studied reading and writing under an instructor and learned how to forge Metal Fire Stone at the Flaming Mountain school.

Now, these Tie Household pupils were cultivating directly in the secret land.

He was forty-seven this year, and it had taken him forty-one years to get a chance to cultivate in the secret realm for three years. Even that had required the fortuitous opportunity of the Great Scarlet Heaven and a "secret land loan" that had pledged the latter half of his life.

Barring any accidents, he should be able to advance to the Qi Ingestion Late Stage after three years, and that was probably the end of the road for an ordinary "flint laborer."

But what was the end of the road for him was merely the starting point for these Tie Household descendants.

No, the Qi Ingestion Late Stage is definitely not the end of my road. It is only my starting point too. I must advance to Dao Foundation, then cultivate the Purple Mansion, seek the golden core and attain the Dao, becoming a Golden Core True Lord of legend, able to live as long as heaven and endure alongside the world.

Fang Yu licked the corner of his mouth, closed his eyes, and circulated the Crimson Firmament Profound Craft Canon to gather the extraordinarily dense Flowing Flame Fire Spiritual Qi here.

One year later.

A powerful presence suddenly spread out, startling the many disciples in the secret land awake.

They instinctively looked toward the source of the presence and saw streams of Flowing Flame Fire Qi converging on one person, forming a whirling fire wind around him.

Their gazes were tinged with envy, jealousy, and resentment. Only when the fire wind subsided did they turn their attention away and resume cultivating.

Fang Yu sensed the sixth strand of Law Power that had formed in his heart meridian. A thought flashed through his mind, and he switched to circulating the Flowing Flame True Fire Scripture.

In just a moment, he transformed the Law Power into the even more powerful Flowing Flame True Fire.

I have advanced to the sixth layer and officially entered the late stage of the Dao of Qi Ingestion. Next, I only need to obtain the subsequent Cultivation Method and condense one more strand of Law Power to reach Qi Ingestion Seventh Layer Great Perfection, and then I can attain Dao Foundation.

Fang Yu opened his eyes, rose, and walked toward the area where Tie Feng was.

The children who had been around Tie Feng were nowhere to be seen. Their cultivation time should have ended, and they had all gone home to eat.

"Congratulations on advancing to the Qi Ingestion Late Stage, Junior Brother Fang!"

Tie Feng smiled at Fang Yu and, before he could speak, took out two volumes of cultivation methods and handed them over.

"These contain the sixth- and seventh-layer cultivation methods of the Crimson Firmament Profound Craft Canon, as well as the cultivation methods for the final two layers of the Flowing Flame True Fire Scripture. You need only swear a heart demon oath never to divulge them."

"Many thanks, Deacon Tie!"

Fang Yu accepted the cultivation methods, swore a heart demon oath, and then asked, "Deacon Tie, you are knowledgeable and experienced, so you must know these two cultivation methods very well. Might you offer me some pointers so I can avoid a few detours?"

Tie Feng smiled. "With your Wings Fire destiny, you should have no trouble condensing another strand of Law Power and advancing to Qi Ingestion Seventh Layer over the next two years. After that, you will need to consider advancing to Dao Foundation. But the Dao Foundation realm is not something you can break through to by painstaking cultivation alone. You must accumulate enough Dao Attainment."

"Dao Attainment?" Fang Yu asked dubiously. "What is Dao Attainment?"

Tie Feng said gravely, "Man emulates earth, earth emulates heaven, heaven emulates the Dao, and Dao emulates its own inherent spontaneity.

"We cultivators must follow the Dao's inherent nature without meddling in it, emulate heaven, earth, and nature, and thereby become one with nature, one with heaven and earth.

"The process of pursuing this is seeking the Dao, and the rules of heaven and earth comprehended in the course of seeking the Dao are Dao Attainment.

"Take this fire and this wind. All things between heaven and earth are the Dao, and all can be pursued. Whatever one gains from them is Dao Attainment."

Fang Yu's eyes showed his confusion. "Could you put it more simply?"

Tie Feng was taken aback for a moment, then said self-deprecatingly, "My own understanding is only half-formed. How could I explain clearly what the Dao is? However, I do know a little about how to attain a Dao Foundation through the Molten Edge Flow you cultivate."

"Please enlighten me, Senior Brother Tie!" Fang Yu hurriedly cupped his hands.

Tie Feng smiled and continued, "The younger generation like us find it hard to comprehend the great Dao of heaven and earth. But thanks to the accumulated efforts of sages through the ages, some specific paths to seeking the Dao have been mapped out. The Molten Edge Flow you cultivate, for instance, is a profound art that countless seniors discovered through trial and error, and the Crimson Firmament Profound Craft Canon is specifically meant for cultivating it."

Fang Yu's brows twitched slightly, and he was somewhat speechless. This Tie Feng really is long-winded. He wants to put on airs, but he doesn't have the ability to explain things clearly. He's talked for so long, and it's all been nonsense.

He grumbled inwardly, but on the surface he kept up the appearance of listening attentively.

Tie Feng rambled on for quite a while longer before finally reaching the crucial point:

"...To attain a Molten Edge Flow Dao Foundation, you must forge a Profound Grade flying sword that is recognized by heaven and earth. That will allow you to accumulate enough Dao Attainment to break through to the Dao Foundation realm."

"A Profound Grade flying sword!"

Fang Yu pursed his lips as thoughts flashed through his mind.

Law Artifact flying swords and similar items were divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow. These corresponded to Yellow-grade Law Artifacts usable by Qi Ingestion cultivators, Mystic-grade Spirit Artifacts used by Dao Foundation cultivators, Earth-grade Law Treasures used by Purple Mansion True Persons, and Heaven-grade Spirit Treasures used by Golden Core True Lords.

For a Qi Ingestion cultivator like him to forge a Profound Grade Spirit Artifact would be exceedingly difficult. Leaving aside the skill required, the price of Dao Foundation-level spiritual materials alone was more than a "goldstone laborer" could afford.

Th-this... There isn't going to be a "third loan" later on, is there?

He started and looked at Tie Feng. "Senior Brother Tie, does the sect offer any corresponding benefits for the materials needed to forge a Profound Grade Spirit Artifact?"

"Of course not!" Tie Feng immediately shook his head. "Profound Grade spiritual materials are expensive. A single failure means losing everything invested. Though our Goldstone Sect is known as a Purple Mansion immortal sect, we don't have such deep reserves."

There's no third loan!

Fang Yu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. But the next moment, Tie Feng spoke again, making him tense up once more.

"However! If you truly want to advance to Dao Foundation, it's not as though there's no way!"

Fang Yu's mouth felt a little dry. "What way?"

Tie Feng said, "To tell you the truth, many younger sword cultivators in the sect need a fine Profound Grade sword, but they cannot forge one themselves, so they can only ask a Dao Foundation external alchemy master to forge one.

"But getting these masters to take action costs a great deal. The forging fee alone is several times the cost of the materials. As a result, quite a few people are willing to sponsor external alchemists like you, Junior Brother Fang, who have a chance of breaking through to the Dao Foundation realm, so they can hone their skills and forge Profound Grade Spirit Artifacts.

"If you are interested, Junior Brother Fang, I can contact someone on your behalf and have them provide materials for you to hone your skills. Once your skills have matured, the first flying sword you forge when advancing to the Dao Foundation realm would serve as repayment."

"There's actually such a good deal?"

Fang Yu licked the corner of his slightly dry mouth. "Is there something special about the first flying sword forged after advancing to Dao Foundation?"

Tie Feng was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Junior Brother Fang, you truly are exceptionally perceptive. That's right. The first flying sword forged when advancing to a Molten Edge Flow Dao Foundation will receive a tremendous boost in quality. It will be middle quality at the very least, and with good luck, it could even be high or top quality. That is why we sword cultivators all want to gamble on getting a fine sword."

"So that's how it is!"

Fang Yu nodded, somewhat speechless.

So the "third loan" was waiting for me here.