Chapter 56: Foundation Establishment Twelve

Foundation Establishment Twelve

The cultivation path of the Langhuan Zhou Tian follows the Yin-Yang Five Elements Dao Ancestor, brought from the old universe, and is a long-standing lineage inherited in one continuous line. The six major realms of Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Grotto-Heaven, and Dao Ancestor have gone through thousands of tribulations without any changes. The changes in each realm have long been thoroughly understood by the crowd of true ones and written into classics. Although in the eyes of others, Ruan Ci is just an instrument-cultivator, Tianlu told her a lot of this common knowledge of the cultivation world, and she also searched for a lot of knowledge from Elder Diwu Cang's soul. She knew that the jade pool being as wide as a lake was fine, and it was not very rare in the Sheng Sect, but this twelve-layer Dao foundation was truly unheard of. Neither Tianlu nor Elder Diwu Cang had ever heard of anyone whose Dao foundation exceeded nine layers.

Elder Diwu Cang was one thing, but Tianlu was extremely knowledgeable. Whether it was the size of affairs in the Profound Heaven Sect or the strange things in the Langhuan Zhou Tian, he talked about them as if he had swallowed an entire library into his belly. If he didn't know, then there probably really wasn't any. According to Ruan Ci, there shouldn't be any cultivators who dare to forge their Dao foundation above nine layers. You must know that the nine-layer Foundation Establishment is already very difficult, and it is almost impossible to succeed without special opportunities. For example, Elder Diwu Cang, as a Sheng Sect disciple, was valued by the Ancestor, and the quality of external medicine bestowed during Foundation Establishment was top-notch, but even so, there was still a little bit missing in the dark, and he couldn't touch the edge of the ninth layer, eventually only stopping at the eight-layer high platform.

Having heard Tianlu speak of it, not every cultivation disciple who forges a nine-layered Dao foundation can reach the Golden Core stage. This is the same principle as the size of a jade pool. The Dao foundation forged during Foundation Establishment is merely a phantom image; the cultivator must condense Qi into spiritual power, bit by bit filling the high platform, transforming the void into reality. The Primordial Spirit then ascends upon it, receiving the jade dew of heaven and earth, refining the Qi and spiritual power into purity, and finally condensing it into a core. This is the barrier one must cross to break through from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Golden Core stage. Furthermore, the amount of spiritual power required for each additional layer of the high platform is not the same; especially for the seventh, eighth, and ninth layers, for each of these three, the spiritual power required is at least the sum of all preceding layers, if not more. Even the cultivator themselves cannot know the exact number and can only continue to cultivate until the high platform is full, which is when the Dao foundation is considered complete.

For cultivators in the last three layers, the amount of Qi needed is so huge, but spiritual energy is not infinite, and cultivators cannot rely solely on the absorption and transformation of spiritual energy. At this stage, if they don't want to be left behind by their peers, there is always a lot of external medicine to supplement. Otherwise, those six-layer or seven-layer Foundation Establishment cultivators have already condensed Golden Cores, while eight-layer or nine-layer cultivators are still in the Foundation Establishment period. Then, when they reach the Golden Core stage, being one step slower means they will be restricted everywhere.

It is also because of this that although a high platform is good, the nine-layer Foundation Establishment, it is said, has unexpected benefits when advancing from Nascent Soul to Grotto-Heaven. But those small-sect disciples, even if their aptitude is reached, not everyone has the courage to try. If the Foundation Establishment layer is too high, the sect's resources cannot keep up, and they will be trapped in the Foundation Establishment period for many years in vain, not to mention delaying their cultivation. Moreover, when advancing to Golden Core and Nascent Soul, nine-layer disciples have special obstacles. Without the guidance of predecessors, it is also very easy to die.

Tianlu couldn't explain clearly how to forge a nine-layer high platform, but he was very sure of one point: if there is a trace of doubt or cowardice in the heart, one will absolutely never reach the nine layers. Ruan Ci also understood those cautious and mature disciples very well. If she had a choice, she would definitely not forge nine layers. Isn't eight layers good? It can also be looked up to by others. As for achieving Grotto-Heaven in Nascent Soul, even Xie Xie Yan Huan hadn't done it, so she hadn't thought that she could achieve it.

Thinking of this, the jade hairpin transformed by the Donghua Sword suddenly jumped lightly, as if conveying dissatisfaction. Ruan Ci couldn't help but be slightly stunned. She had obtained the sword for more than ten years, and before, she only refined it to be as she wished, but she couldn't feel the sword's emotions. Unexpectedly, upon entering the Foundation Establishment period, her connection with the Donghua Sword also deepened a lot.

She pulled out the jade hairpin, her thoughts moved, and she tried to turn the Donghua Sword into a long sword and tried to pull it out, but she still couldn't pull out the sword body, so she had to give up. According to Tianlu, it is almost impossible for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to draw the sword from its sheath. During the Foundation Establishment period, disciples mainly use spiritual energy, not spiritual Qi. Spiritual energy is not pure enough, and it is possible that they cannot even activate the restrictions of the Donghua Sword itself. Even Xie Xie Yan Huan, Wang Panpan occasionally mentioned, was able to draw the sword from its sheath during the Golden Core period, but she rarely used it to fight enemies. Her own cultivation base was already invincible among peers of the same rank, and as the first disciple of the Profound Heaven Sect, everyone gave way wherever she went, and there were no opponents worth her using the Donghua Sword.

This attempt failed, so she casually found a hairpin and inserted it into her hair. Her thoughts moved, and she turned the Donghua Sword into a jade bracelet, wearing it on her hand and stroking it constantly. The Donghua Sword conveyed a light emotion, as if it was very comfortable being stroked, and the pure spiritual energy it fed back to Ruan Ci was also more than before. She didn't know if this was a natural change after Foundation Establishment, or because she had repeatedly traveled with Qingjun and was stained with Qingjun's aura, which invisibly deepened her connection with the Donghua Sword.

"Do you look down on my spirit?" She muttered in her brain, not knowing if the Donghua Sword could understand, "Do you like Xie Sister better, who fights for the first place in everything and is never willing to fall behind?"

The Donghua Sword heated up slightly, as if affirming Ruan Ci's words. As a Donghua sword envoy, yet not even having the ambition to achieve Grotto-Heaven, this seemed to have lost the Donghua Sword's face. Ruan Ci couldn't help but laugh and thought secretly, "Fine, fine, you like Xie Sister. In the future, I will naturally return you to her properly. Now you just help me practice. If I cannot protect myself, in the future, you won't have a sword envoy to refine you, and I imagine that will be sad too."

She thought well, but she didn't change her ambition because of this, and didn't make a vow to achieve any Grotto-Heaven Ancestor. To Ruan Ci, although the Donghua Sword was a Great Dao spiritual treasure, its power and supernatural powers were not something she could imagine now. But she didn't have any awe in front of Qingjun, so how could she listen to a sword's opinion?

The Donghua Sword seemed to be able to see through her most secret thoughts, and this secret thought could not be hidden from it. It sent a sense of disdain, and then suddenly sent a burst of spiritual energy. The wave was so large that it almost broke the jade pool. Ruan Ci hurriedly sat cross-legged and refined the spiritual energy according to the mental method recorded in the "Qinghua Secret News." She relied on the "Yin Jun Intent-Returning Dan Ge Zhu" to break through the pass, but for refining spiritual energy on weekdays, she still relied on the "Qinghua Secret News."

This time, the Donghua Sword sent spiritual energy, and the speed was extremely fast. Ruan Ci operated the method with all her might, but could only barely refine it. Seeing that the jade pool was full, she reluctantly refined a trace of pure Qi from the spiritual liquid of the jade pool and filled it into the Dao foundation high platform. The Donghua Sword's momentum of sending spiritual energy did not stop. Ruan Ci had to put all her energy into refining it. Unknowingly, she entered the realm of forgetting both things and self. When she came back to her senses, the spiritual energy scattered in her limbs and bones had all been refined, and the Donghua Sword no longer sent spiritual energy. The spiritual liquid in the jade pool was half full, and the twelve-layer high platform in the pool was flickering with spiritual light. The first layer was originally a real object, and the rest were all phantoms. At this moment, a small piece of the second layer of ground turned from virtual to real.

After a cultivator establishes their foundation, they can naturally abstain from grain, and their control over their own body and surroundings is much stronger than in the Qi Condensation period. Ruan Ci forgot both things and self when entering meditation. At this time, her heart moved, and she naturally knew that she had been in closed-door cultivation for more than a month. She calculated the time needed to pave the second layer of the high platform, and her face changed, "Elder Diwu Cang used twenty years to condense the first layer of the high platform, but his speed of refining spiritual energy was not as fast as mine. According to my current speed, the first layer only needs ten years, and the second layer will take at least twenty years. And each layer will be more than the previous one. After the sixth layer, each layer will be at least the sum of all previous high platforms, and I, I have twelve layers..."

Thinking of the time needed for this cultivation, her eyes went dark, and she almost didn't fall over. "If I maintain my current cultivation speed, assuming each layer takes ten years more than the previous one, then I will need two hundred and seventy years to cultivate to the sixth layer, five hundred and forty years to cultivate to the seventh layer, one thousand and eighty years to the eighth layer... This, one layer of high platform in the Foundation Establishment period extends life by two hundred years. Cultivating the Flawless Golden Body in the Qi Condensation period, the longest lifespan is three hundred years. The longest lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is two thousand one hundred years. Those nine-layer cultivators, if they don't rely on any external medicine, it is very difficult to cultivate to the nine-layer perfection even if their lifespan is exhausted. Not to mention that I still have twelve layers... And this is still with the Donghua Sword sending spiritual energy that is already very pure, which I can refine slightly and merge into the jade pool. They don't have such conditions, and still have to slowly refine and absorb spiritual liquid from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which takes more effort..."

"If I don't use the intent-cultivation method, how can I reach the twelve-layer high platform before my lifespan is exhausted?"

In addition to the shock, thousands of thoughts flashed by. Among the many troubles, what she cared about most was this one, "Even if I have an infinite lifespan, having me sit cross-legged in this quiet room for sixteen thousand years to form a core is too terrifying! These sixteen thousand years, I have lived in vain! All the lifespan I cultivated is in closed-door cultivation, then what is the meaning of my cultivation? Don't I become a human puppet for refining spiritual energy?"

Of course, for the twelve-layer high platform, even if she was willing to cultivate, there were no Foundation Establishment cultivators who could live for more than ten thousand years. This matter must be solved. Ruan Ci believed that the sect also had a way, at least to greatly reduce the time she spent practicing. After all, Qin Fengyu was a nine-layer cultivator and reached the peak of Foundation Establishment in more than eight hundred years—Ruan Ci only then knew that she was not slow in practicing, or that True Person Wang was stingy and didn't cultivate her. Nine-layer cultivators could reach the peak of Foundation Establishment in more than eight hundred years. Qin Fengyu was truly a genius, and True Person Wang must have spent a lot of effort to cultivate her.

Although Ruan Ci still had a trace of doubt about True Person Wang's decision to choose Qin Fengyu to cultivate, this had nothing to do with her. This twelve-layer Foundation Establishment, I'm afraid it could only fall on True Person Wang. At least Ruan Ci herself had no clue. The sixteen thousand years she imagined was actually the most ideal situation. It is very likely that these three extra layers were not just simply that each layer was the sum of all previous layers, but also had some other strange considerations. And Ruan Ci, even if she could find many time-based spiritual objects, didn't dare to abuse the "Yin Jun Intent-Returning Dan Ge Zhu" again. Compared to dying of old age, she was more afraid of the backlash of imaginary numbers warned by Qingjun. She was not afraid of death, only afraid of dying without a result. This point had never changed from before she entered the Dao until now.

Although she still didn't know how to pass this threshold, after worshipping a master, this would be True Person Wang's problem, so Ruan Ci put aside her worries, drew spiritual energy again, and closed-door cultivated for another two or three months before collecting her breath, shaking the silver bell, summoning He Tong, and instructing, "Send a letter to Spirit Valley Peak, saying that I have successfully established my foundation. I am going to visit the True Person at the Purple Void Heaven, and then go to Spirit Valley Peak to register and offer incense. Please take care of it."

According to the rules of the Profound Heaven Sect, Qi Condensation disciples are not assigned errands, but after Foundation Establishment, they must immediately inform the sect to re-register. After that, the monthly allowance should be raised by one level, and they must also be sent out to handle things. For most outer-door disciples, the monthly allowance is indispensable, and going out to train is something they seek, but some Grotto-Heaven disciples don't lack spiritual materials and treasure medicines, and are afraid of getting involved in disputes after going out, so they refuse to inform the sect for a long time after Foundation Establishment and hide in the Grotto-Heaven to practice wholeheartedly. The sect cannot tolerate this kind of behavior, so the sect rules are very strict about this, and they have their own ways of verification. Unless they never go to Spirit Valley Peak, or have reasons to establish their foundation outside the sect, delaying registration will result in very severe punishment.

Like Ruan Ci, who didn't go to Spirit Valley Peak first, but went to the Purple Void Heaven to visit the True Person, it was actually a slight violation of the rules. He Tong couldn't help but want to speak but stopped, but Ruan Ci's prestige was very heavy, and he didn't dare to persuade her, knowing that the young lady had her own ideas. He hurriedly knelt down to congratulate Ruan Ci on her Foundation Establishment, and called the remaining servants. Everyone was happy and said, "The young lady reached Foundation Establishment in ten years, which is extremely rare in the sect. We are truly lucky to be able to follow the young lady's footsteps. The day of ascending to heaven is just around the corner."

Ruan Ci had already established her foundation, and it was not a problem to choose a day to protect the law and open meridians for these few servants. She also knew that the master was happy, so she should reward the whole mansion. However, she was eager to go to the Purple Void Heaven to see the True Person, so this kind of thing was not urgent. She accepted the congratulations with a smile and asked, "Where is Panpan?"

He Tong had already gone to arrange for the letter, and Li Ji said, "The cat went to the wild forest to play. This servant will go and call it back."

This little Panpan had a shallow cultivation base, and most of its sensing of spiritual energy was not careful enough, so it probably didn't expect Ruan Ci to establish her foundation so quickly. Ruan Ci was in closed-door cultivation, so it went out to play everywhere, only returning home every few days. Li Ji went out to call it, and the black and white pattern ran back from the mountains and fields, meowing all the way into the Grotto-Heaven, "How did you establish your foundation so quickly!"

Wang Panpan was so surprised that Ruan Ci's heart felt a bit proud. Her mouth curled, and Wang Panpan meowed and jumped around her, "Quick, quick, let me see how many layers you established!"

Ruan Ci had already used the magic tool sent by Tianlu to send a message, asking him to drive the car to pick her up. Hearing this, she pondered for a while, and looked at Li Ji and the others. The servants all knew to retreat, even if they hadn't opened their meridians, they didn't dare to get involved in suspicion.

However, the followers of the Nine Kingdoms were not much worse in aptitude than the Three Kingdoms of the South Zhuzhou. Even if they hadn't opened their meridians, some could vaguely see the momentum with the naked eye. Ruan Ci cast a magic power and activated the array in the hall. Wang Panpan couldn't help but meow and laugh, "Are you afraid of losing face because your Foundation Establishment layer is too low—"

Before it finished speaking, its cat eyes widened, its body bristled, and its tail puffed up into a big duster. It stared at Ruan Ci and couldn't come back to its senses. After a long time, a chill came out, and it said in horror.

"This... how is this possible... Foundation Establishment twelve, you, you, you... you ate that treasure gourd, did you—"

"Do you know that Foundation Establishment twelve is, is..."

Wang Panpan stammered, actually a bit timid. After repeating it several times, it still couldn't say it. Its cat eyes gradually turned red, and it suddenly let out a 'woo' sound, turned and jumped out of the small hall, rushed into Ruan Ci's bedroom, crawled under the bed, and refused to come out again.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Updated, sorry for the wait, everyone. I'll send red envelopes for this chapter.

Did I get the math problem wrong? Did I get the number of years to practice for Foundation Establishment twelve wrong?

Eating rice noodle takeout for lunch today. Sigh, the kitchen sewer in my house is blocked again. This house is good in every way, except that the drainage is poorly done.

I've been reading "Han Hou" on this site these past few days, it's also quite good. It can be considered a war novel that I can accept. Although I think some parts of the war are written in a fantasy way, it wins by being cool enough.

. Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or irrigated nutrient solution for me between 2020-08-11 11:54:25~2020-08-12 11:56:10~

Thanks to the little angels who cast rocket launchers: Bei Dao Guo Hao De Lizhi (2);

Thanks to the little angels who cast hand grenades: Li Xianxian, Shanfeng (1);

Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Bei Dao Guo Hao De Lizhi, PandaL, Zhen, Yu Yu Wan Yao, Shijian De Wangyu, truedfy, Shao Xia, fengyuanwe, Xi Yue (1);

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Li Xianxian (80 bottles); Xiaoyan, rabbitjean (20 bottles); Wa Wangwang (10 bottles); Mo, Quanshui Dingdong, xiaoxiao (5 bottles); 18205385, Yao A Yao~, baby Leyao (1 bottle);

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard! ===== CHAPTER 57 =====