Chapter 170: Dao Foundation, Tenth Layer

Dao Foundation, Tenth Layer

In this universe, the entire assembly was shocked by the fortune of this unfamiliar Dao Ancestor; all gazed up at the stars, secretly pondering the Dao Ancestor's schemes. Whether high upon the clouds or hidden in the mundane world, the Dao Ancestors were also looking down upon the eternal chess game, deducing the next moves of their opponents. This chess game was not a match between two people, nor were only Dao Ancestors qualified to place pieces on the board. Since the opening of this universe, every living being had left a trace. The pieces were as numerous as the stars, each presenting different colors and changing unpredictably, with Qi surging and undulating. Although not only Dao Ancestors were qualified to place pieces, only Dao Ancestors and a few Grotto-Heaven True Persons could catch a glimpse of the grand trend of the game, understanding the past and future hidden within that cycle of birth and destruction.

As this Dao Ancestor's Qi flickered, the originally pure and radiant Grotto-Yang Dao Domain suddenly displayed strange colors. Countless stars lit up by chance, as if stained by the fortune of other Dao Ancestors. It was unknown how many Grotto-Heaven powerhouses were calculating the changes in the situation because of this. But at this moment, within the Purple Void Heaven, Ruan Ci sat composed in her cave dwelling, her mind immersed in the fortune of that small bottle. She was completely ignorant of all changes and had no time to look elsewhere, focusing solely on her own cultivation. In her heart, she only pondered, "Fortune, what exactly is this fortune?"

The path of immortal cultivation is inherently mysterious, existing only between the void and the real, the non-existent and the existent. Without wisdom roots and natural endowment, one might not even be able to sense spiritual energy, believing the laws of heaven and earth to be so firm and stable, unchanging through the ages. Whether it is spiritual Qi, momentum, or causality, these are things difficult to concretize in real numbers. Take spiritual energy, for example: without a cultivation method to absorb it, and then emitting it from a cultivator's jade pool, it is normally difficult to see with the naked eye. Even when cultivators fight, they mostly perceive its existence through the field of momentum. Many times, mortals see two cultivators standing opposite each other, seemingly doing nothing, yet they dare to call it a fight, not knowing how many surges of spiritual energy are hidden within, or how, like swords and blades, they have already clashed in a blaze of true fire within the field of momentum.

This matter of fortune, in Ruan Ci's view, was the same. Not only for mortals but even for low-tier cultivators, the meaning of fortune is very vague. It can be said to exist, but if you believe that in a lifetime, there cannot be so many supernatural things, then it can also be completely regarded as non-existent. It can be seen as blessings and fate, or as the feedback of one's own influence on this world. For example, when the Shangqing Sect obtained Ruan Ci, it obtained a share of fortune. The fortune here is the collective term for all changes that occurred to the Shangqing Sect because it obtained Ruan Ci.

Naturally, Ruan Ci might bring benefits to the Shangqing Sect, or she might bring harm. These benefits may not be immediate, and the harm might perhaps be in the very distant future. It is likely not easy to calculate this account in a rush. After all, the Shangqing Sect does not have only one disciple, Ruan Ci, and changes are constant and never-ending. I fear one must reach the Grotto-Heaven or Dao Ancestor level to gradually enter the inner sanctum, and only at that level will fortune be regarded as more important than spiritual Qi or precious materials, leading to mutual contention. Just like the Hengze Jade Dew or the Cold Rain Flower King; in terms of the utility of precious materials, they are not worth the contention of many sects. But because they are the center of all contention and change in Hengze Heaven and Cold Rain Marsh, they naturally gather the opportunity for all changes here, thus becoming objects of fortune. Each sect sends disciples inside to stimulate and dissipate the changes, ultimately ending this game and obtaining the object of fortune. This itself is a complete chess game of strategy, and it is for this reason that it must be carried out by disciples sent by each sect. Guardian disciples can only guard the path, but cannot overstep their bounds. Like Ruan Ci, wanting to pluck the Cold Rain Flower King in the capacity of a guardian disciple, she was seizing a loophole, and it is unknown whether she could succeed.

If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment disciple, their understanding of fortune would end here. Being able to think this far is already considered thoughtful and intelligent in daily life. But Ruan Ci's status was different. Every time she refined the Donghua Sword, it was as if her body became the Green Lord. Even if those insights could not be permanently remembered, after long immersion, there were always some vague thoughts that could not be put into words. She had also felt the Grotto-Heaven perspective in Hengze Heaven, so she was not entirely ignorant of the secrets of the upper realm. At this moment, closing her eyes and concentrating, while experiencing the Dao Ancestor's fortune, she integrated all her feelings and secretly thought, "My thoughts here may not be correct, but I fear this thing has no right or wrong; it all depends on personal realization, and it is also very difficult to teach. In my view... this thing called fortune is likely the integration of all necessity and contingency in the universe. All changes are contained within it."

As her thoughts turned, the Dao Ancestor's fortune, which filled the room, reflected the void and the real, and illuminated the netherworld, shook violently. Between the dim and bright white light, it seemed as if an extra rhythm appeared, causing the white light, which originally had no core and was only scattering infinitely, to slowly condense as it circulated. Ruan Ci knew in her heart that this was because her view coincided with the laws of the universe, which could trigger changes in fortune. Otherwise, if her ideas were absurd, thinking fortune was a cup of tea, a flower, or some filthy and unspeakable thing, I fear it would be difficult to evoke a response from fortune.

Seeing that the white light was condensing very slowly, she had a feeling in the dark that her understanding, although stating part of the essence, was not enough to catalyze the formation of a seed of fortune, allowing her to harvest it. I fear that after the opportunity passed, even if she gained something, it would not be the entirety of this place.

If she were the type to be perfectionist and competitive, she would be anxious now. But Ruan Ci was the most free-spirited person, and she pondered in her heart, "If it is so, then so be it. Why be anxious? Once a heart of greed arises, the soul has another flaw, and who knows, I might become someone else's chess piece. I don't want that. Let it be as it will. What is mine is mine."

Although no one said it explicitly, she gradually came to know that Dao Ancestors could not directly change a cultivator's thoughts. Just as the Nirvana Dao Ancestor said, although the human body is small, it gathers the three thousand Great Daos. If one's will is firm, even if one is forced by circumstances, one's thoughts ultimately belong entirely to oneself. Dao Ancestors or Grotto-Heavens are not without ways to influence the mind, but they must use various means and are also influenced by the cultivator's own character.

Taking Ruan Ci as an example, the love seed Qu Qu Tan Yue gave her and the desire seed Xu Shaowei planted in her were both seeds of thought cultivation. The avatar Qu Qu Tan Yue saw in South Zhuzhou was at the Qi Condensation cultivation level and could not refine the seed itself, so the love seed might have been refined by the main body. Xu Shaowei was only at the Golden Core cultivation level and was not attentive to desire cultivation, so it was clearly not his main cultivation method. However, Qu Qu Tan Yue's love seed only stirred a ripple in her thoughts before naturally dissolving and being quickly suppressed within. But Xu Shaowei's desire seed made Ruan Ci lose her composure immediately, and for several days afterward, she was still thinking about the delicious taste of the fish soup. This was the reason why Ruan Ci's mental flaws in the two matters were extremely different. Therefore, if she were extremely attached to or greedy for a certain thing, it would become a flaw in the eyes of the powerhouses who wanted to place pieces on her.

Conversely, if she were not attached to anything and not involved in anything, she would have fewer sources of right and wrong, and less danger of being forced by circumstances and eventually becoming a tool in the hands of powerhouses. But on that day of inevitable defeat if one cannot achieve the Dao, looking back at the past, would she feel that she had never truly loved or hated, had been self-restrained everywhere, and had never truly lived, to the point of being saddened and regretful?

Ruan Ci neither wanted to be used by others nor wanted to have regrets in her heart, and she knew that this matter could not have a clear answer at this time, so she simply let her heart be free and acted entirely according to her current mood. Since she did not want to be greedy at this moment, she watched coldly from the sidelines, just waiting for the seed of fortune to slowly condense. Even if she only obtained a little in the end, she would not feel regret. She knew that she was the root cause of triggering these many changes, and a portion would inevitably belong to her. She would just take this portion, and as for the rest of the fortune, if others wanted it, they could come and take it.

Perhaps because her heart was firm, the speed of the fortune vortex suddenly accelerated. In a moment, it actually split into several clusters. The most core cluster, neither too big nor too small, was cast toward Ruan Ci. The remaining four clusters of white fortune light shot out from the Purple Void Heaven, treating the barrier of Dao rhyme as nothing, suddenly piercing through the Langhuan Zhou Tian, and flying far away in all directions into the infinite universe.

In Ruan Ci's heart, there was also a faint vision, but she had no time to look elsewhere. As soon as the seed of fortune sank into her body, it stirred up a storm in her inner landscape. The jade pool water rose, and the spiritual trees around it trembled in fear, almost blown to the ground. Ruan Ci was also secretly horrified in her heart: just such a cluster stirred up such a commotion. If she were to swallow it all, I fear that with the strength of Ruan Ci's inner landscape, it would not be easily borne.

The wind and clouds in the inner landscape rolled, and the jade pool water constantly lashed at the Dao Foundation. Such fluctuations were too much even for the Heavenly Fate Cloud Child and the Donghua Sword, which trembled one after another. Ruan Ci's heart moved, and she hurriedly put the two treasures aside, sat cross-legged to regulate her breath, and searched for the rhythm of the fortune fluctuation. This fortune had nothing to do with Dao rhyme. Even if she did not have the Donghua Sword at this time, she could perceive that fortune was communicating and contending with the surrounding environment without restraint. It was as if a heavy piece had been suddenly thrown into the originally calm rhythm of change, and all changes were completely disrupted because of this. Someone in the field of momentum had to give way for this fortune to accommodate the changes; otherwise, there would always be one thing hanging alone in the field, and it would never be peaceful and slow, and no one would be able to move their mental energy to use their schemes elsewhere.

Amidst the wind and waves, Ruan Ci only felt that there seemed to be a vertical eye between her brows, slowly opening, or as if her eyes had an extra pair of pupils. It was just that when it was first born, the vision was hazy, vaguely seen and not very clear. She only felt that the vast Langhuan Zhou Tian and the Central Continent were nothing more than a small bonsai, and many momentums in the sky were fighting for supremacy, all of which were changes that occurred naturally due to the influence of her fortune sinking in. There were also many momentums rushing toward her, aggressive, as if to drive her out and restore peace to this place.

Ruan Ci's fortune was newly born, extremely weak and raw, and she did not yet know how to deal with it. In a trance, it seemed she was about to be driven out. Just at that moment, she suddenly felt more than ten powerful fortunes blocking in front of her, as immovable as great mountains. Most of them were extremely unfamiliar, as if she had never dealt with them before. Only two or three gave her a sense of familiarity, as if she saw True Person Qiu of the Changyao Precious Light Heaven, True Person Chu of the Jinping Jade True Heaven, Sect Master Lin of the Seven Star Small Abode, and so on.

Among them, the momentum closest to her was faint and unfathomable, yet extremely familiar and intimate, completely shielding Ruan Ci's surroundings, leaving a small margin, just right for her to place her fortune at this time. Ruan Ci looked up and met True Person Wang looking down with lowered eyes. When their eyes met, the fortunes also echoed each other, resonating with the momentum of the Shangqing crowd, emitting a peaceful ripple that expanded in all directions. Ruan Ci had a feeling in her heart and secretly thought, "So this is the true power of the Wind and Wave Pingsheng when used in the hands of a Grotto-Heaven True Person..."

In this field of momentum, the range of sensing seemed boundless, with only a distinction between clear and blurry. In the far distance, there were still many eyes cast, giving her a sense of feeling, such as the Sect Master of the Xuanpo Sect from some quiet place, the direction of Yanzhi Mountain in the North, the direction of the Taiwei Sect, and so on. It was just that Ruan Ci's cultivation was limited after all. As soon as the fortune found a place to stay, the sensing of this field of momentum quickly faded away, eventually reaching the point between existence and non-existence. Looking at the inner landscape again, above the ninth layer of the Dao Foundation, a white jade staircase lay across. I don't know when, but the tenth layer of the Dao Foundation had already been forged, using up the fortune just right, neither more nor less, giving people a feeling of perfect arrangement, without any omissions, and everything being just right.

Ruan Ci's avatar in the inner landscape climbed another level, and it was only one level, but she felt that the scenery before her had changed dramatically. Looking around, it was completely different from before, and in the dew-catching plate, a Golden Core phantom was spinning endlessly. It was actually without the need for precious medicine; I don't know when, but she had already quietly reached the bottleneck of core condensation.

She already had an epiphany in her heart, knowing that even if she formed the core at this moment, she would not encounter any obstacles. She also knew that for these last three layers, the things required for each layer were all mysteries of the upper realm that Foundation Establishment cultivators could not come into contact with. Moreover, they were ever-changing, varying from person to person, with no guidance, relying solely on oneself to explore, and thus condensing into one's own unique Dao path. Perhaps for Ruan Ci, fortune was the tenth layer, but for other powerhouses who returned from the Grotto-Heaven at this time to repair their Dao Foundation, fortune was the eleventh or twelfth layer. There was no right or wrong to distinguish; it all depended on how one's own Great Dao was.

However, those powerhouses returned to this place from the Grotto-Heaven, and they already had an understanding of the upper realm in their hearts. How to arrange these three layers of Dao Foundation, I think they must have decided after hundreds of deliberations. Ruan Ci, however, relied entirely on exploration. Standing on the tenth layer at this time, she secretly thought, "My fortune has just been added to my body, and I have already left a brand in this Zhou Tian field of momentum. I don't know how much causality this change will bring... It seems that the next level of my fortune tier is causality."

When this thought arose, she only felt a flash before her eyes, and she saw the four clusters of fortune leaping toward the infinitely deep universe, as if they had quickly flown out of the Grotto-Yang Dao Domain. Outside the Dao Domain, countless momentums were eyeing them covetously, but inside the Dao Domain, it was unusually calm. The Grotto-Yang Dao Ancestor actually seemed to have no covetous intention for this fortune at all. Ruan Ci could not help but be surprised in her heart and secretly pondered, "Why is this? Not to mention this, just say that my obtaining the sword clearly did not fit the Dao Ancestor's schemes, yet I never encountered any waves until today when I forged the Dao Foundation, and this person still ignored it. Is it that he doesn't want to, or that he can't?"

Just as she was thinking of this, the four clusters of fortune had already flown across countless Great Heavens. In an instant, they flew out of the Grotto-Yang Dao Domain and arrived in the infinite, unobstructed, extremely empty yet extremely lively ownerless void.

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Updated, sorry for the wait, everyone. The description of Ruan Ci's path to core formation is still quite long. I don't know if everyone finds it interesting or profound, but I felt quite satisfied when writing it, because when I read immortal cultivation novels, there is never a concrete definition of fortune and causality, so I will make up for this regret myself, hehe.

anyway, core formation will take a few chapters~ I'm short on books to read again, ahhhhh! At the same time, I'm short on dramas and games!

Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or irrigated nutrient solution for me during 2020-12-04 11:08:43~2020-12-05 12:00:56~

Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Yidouyao (6); Yang Mei may, Yu Yu Wan Yao, hamelji, Wu Mingya, Banmu Fangtang, Wantang, Yeseru Mo, Shijian de Wangyu (1);

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Yingying Yishui Jian (76 bottles); Erdu Suantian (60 bottles); Xingqiliu (30 bottles); Yiyi Yiyi (25 bottles); Hubo, Cangyan Xia Bai Ou (20 bottles); Feng Qingqing (11 bottles); Yuanyuan, shaw, Yanqing, Lamei de Yidianyuan, Yicun Suge, Duanduan (10 bottles); Su Mu Xing (3 bottles); Dandan, Daodao, Malimariya, Qinglou Chuguan Yihong Academy, Jingjingjingjingjing, Yisheng de Junjun, yzac (1 bottle);

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard! ===== CHAPTER 171 =====