Chapter 437: Divine Clarity, Bone Elegance, Foundation Established by the Dao!

The dream dispersed!

The insights left behind were as heavy as a stone, real and solid, seared into his heart.

Or perhaps he had been too immersed in it!

Yu Ke felt as if he were a floating duckweed, drifting through the world, exposed to wind and dew, for over fifty springs and autumns.

The steadfast cultivation of his youth, the calmness of his old age—each scene wove together in his heart.

"Lu Chen!"

He could not help but ask himself: "Am I Lu Chen, or is Lu Chen me?"

This confusion was not the detached clarity of a mere observer, but the flesh-and-blood agony of having lived an entire life of rise and fall.

Zhuang Zhou dreamed of a butterfly, and the butterfly dreamed of Zhuang Zhou!

Yu Ke felt the same confusion: "Am I truly Lu Chen of Mount Zhongnan, or am I Yu Ke, desperately searching in this vast cultivation world?"

For a moment, identity and selfhood became like the moon reflected in water, the flower in the mirror—illusory and indistinguishable.

Over fifty years, Lu Chen's joys, sorrows, anger, loves, hates, and cultivation insights surged like a tidal wave, drowning Yu Ke.

He felt as if Lu Chen's shadow had violently shoved him into an endless abyssal sea, the surface receding farther and farther, his breath growing ever more labored, until he sank completely into the silent, profound, sunless depths, darkness surrounding him, fear filling his chest.

Just at this moment of despair!

The heavy, ancient tripod roared to life, its sound deep and distant, as if piercing through time and space, awakening Yu Ke.

Gentle streams of energy, like spring sunlight, softly enveloped him, dispelling the chill and fear around him.

A clear qi surged within Yu Ke's chest, guarding his spiritual altar.

"Wrong!"

Yu Ke let out a mighty cry within his heart, like thunder.

"I am Yu Ke! I am no one else—I am Yu Ke!"

In that instant, he awoke from the long dream, reclaiming his self.

"I am Yu Ke first, then Lu Chen—or perhaps I was never Lu Chen at all."

At this moment, the Divine Thunder Sect's cultivation scripture, "The Manual of Nurturing the Field," began to turn of its own accord.

Yu Ke silently recited its incantations.

A sense of clarity began to emerge!

"My home, I till my own field; one mu, three fen, I till it myself; it can grow spiritual sprouts that live ten thousand years—immortality is no empty claim."

He whispered the lines softly.

The field within the body can sustain life, granting immortality.

"Refine essence into qi, refine qi into spirit, lead lead to seek, mercury forms the round elixir."

The great heavenly cycle within his body began to circulate!

The Divine Thunder Sect, a great sect spanning one continent, possessed deep roots and countless techniques, yet after all twists and turns, the most suitable for Foundation Establishment was still this "Manual of Nurturing the Field."

The most gentle, yet the most orthodox!

It was the ideal method for Foundation Establishment.

Yu Ke silently rejoiced—he had barely escaped that state of confusion, and it had been no small feat.

Had he mishandled it, his heart-sea might have birthed two personalities, or he might have suffered "soul-loss syndrome" and become a fool.

The spirit and soul are the very foundation of cultivation—paramount above all!

The path of cultivation is like an endless, bitter sea; to cross it, the body is the tiny boat trembling upon the waves, while the spirit and soul are the helmsman steering its course—neither can be lacking.

Yu Ke knew this ordeal stemmed primarily from his own lack of adequate preparation.

Fortunately, the great tripod had protected him, and the newly gained "still qi in the chest" had turned danger into safety—this choice was undoubtedly wise.

Yet, at its root!

It was because he had not yet achieved Foundation Establishment and had not opened the "Divine Heaven Point" hidden deep within the Niwan Palace.

Only when this point opened could his spirit and soul advance, nourish his essence, and elevate his cultivation to a higher level.

He would be spared the torment of spiritual turmoil, and could firmly hold to his true heart, clarifying his true self.

Thinking of this, Yu Ke felt a resolute determination rise within him.

With one final push, break open this point!

As his thought stirred, the great tripod hidden within his heart-sea seemed to sense his will, trembling slightly, then slowly releasing a single dewdrop, crystal-clear and luminous as jade.

This dewdrop was pure and transparent, containing yin and yang qi, intertwining and spinning like the primordial chaos at the dawn of heaven and earth.

Like the halo of sun and moon, gathering the spiritual essence of heaven and earth!

"Whirling Dew!"

Yu Ke whispered softly.

This wondrous object originated from a reward Lu Chen received when he founded his nation within the simulation—it held the power of creation, capable of enhancing a being's innate quality and foundation, truly a divine marvel.

Within this cultivation world, there was indeed a concept of innate foundation.

For instance, within the Divine Thunder Sect, some inner disciples were of unusual lineage—not human blood, but descendants of true spirits.

Such as "True Dragon," "True Phoenix," "Qilin," "Xuanwu"—these true spirits were mighty beast-beings who had cultivated to the True Person realm, revered by human cultivators as true spirits.

Some great sects across the continent rejected such true-spirit bloodlines, calling them "creatures born of dampness, eggs, fur, and horns," refusing them entry.

The Divine Thunder Sect, however, taught all without discrimination.

Yu Ke had once seen an inner sect senior sister who was a descendant of the ancient Tengshe serpent, born with the innate ability to transform into human form, indistinguishable from humans.

From birth, she possessed the peak of the second rung after Foundation Establishment, directly entering the inner sect, envied by all.

Depending on the dilution of their bloodline, these true-spirit descendants were born with one or several innate abilities.

This senior sister, perhaps due to her extremely diluted bloodline, had inherited only one low-level Dao technique.

"Northern Kan Fire."

Though a low-level Dao technique, "Northern Kan Fire" had its unique qualities—it could ignite in water, even fueling flames further when encountering ordinary water, making it formidable.

Legend held that true-blooded Tengshe descendants could control multiple devastating Dao techniques, among the most terrifying being "Minor Southern Ming Fire," capable of incinerating all things, its flames impossible to extinguish.

Such pure-blooded true spirits, upon reaching adulthood, could enter the True Person realm—their innate talent so overwhelming it inspired despair.

Yet true spirits found it extremely difficult to breed offspring; instead, mixed-blood and diluted descendants were numerous, often treated as "expendables" on the cultivation path.

Yu Ke silently calculated—he wished to use this "Whirling Dew" to enhance his own innate quality.

He was born into the Yu family, whose founding ancestor was also a True Person.

For human cultivators, only upon breaking through to the True Person realm could their descendants inherit their techniques and physical traits.

Yu Ke carried the blood of this ancestor, but the lineage was too ancient and the blood too diluted—he had inherited none of the Yu family's sword techniques.

Among Yu Ke's generation of direct descendants, one had inherited a sword technique through bloodline.

He had since joined the Divine Thunder Sect's inner sect.

The Yu family's founding ancestor was famed for his sword art; one of his sword techniques had shaken all three continents, leaving no one to challenge him.

Yet, sadly, as time passed, the Yu family declined; no one could inherit the ancestor's legacy, and even the remaining sword technique proved too difficult to comprehend—truly lamentable.

The former Yu Ke, to achieve Foundation Establishment, had sold off all family property, keeping only one magic sword—this blade carried his hope of restoring his ancestor's glory and his longing for the sword path.

Since childhood, he had trained rigorously in swordplay; after entering the Divine Thunder Sect, he had firmly chosen the sword cultivation path.

All of this traced back to the Yu family's founding ancestor.

Yu Chuan!

Legend said Yu Chuan, the founding ancestor, merely needed to point his sword finger and lightly slash—ten thousand acres of blue waves would split apart, his power capable of shaking heaven and earth.

Records also stated he once swung his sword and slew three True Persons of his own realm.

He had slain dozens of true spirits.

His sword's edge was invincible, dominating all three continents for over two hundred years without a single defeat.

At the peak of his prime, he should have led the Yu family to unprecedented heights.

Yet heaven envied his talent—he suddenly died.

What a pity! What a tragedy!

Yu Chuan's achievements were so exaggerated that later Yu descendants dared not believe them—but records preserved by various branches of the family all confirmed the truth.

It was "basic operation, no need to explain," "achievements verifiable!"

This left endless room for fantasy among later Yu descendants.

"My charming old ancestor!"

The former "Yu Ke" was one such little admirer.

As expected,

The former Yu Ke had no talent whatsoever for sword art—merely average potential.

If this "Whirling Dew" truly enhanced his foundation according to the physical traits of this body,

It might be connected to this founding ancestor!

In this cultivation world, there was no distinction between innate and acquired humans; humanity's origin was universally regarded as "born of heaven, nurtured by earth—the foremost race of this world."

Whether mighty true spirits like "True Dragon" or "Nine-Tailed," or "demon clans," "alien races," or "primordial lifeforms"—all ranked below humanity.

One could not help but marvel at humanity's dominant cultivation culture, and behind this dominance lay humanity's overwhelming power.

Across the continent's major regions, and even the ancestral continent, one of the Three Veins, most heavenly realms and blessed lands were occupied by humans.

Great sects, while transmitting their doctrines, also bore the duty of suppressing foreign races; to humans, these outsiders remained constant threats, demanding constant vigilance.

Historically, there had been numerous brutal wars where true spirits, beast demons, and other celestial demons joined forces against human cultivators—each conflict brought mass slaughter and turned heaven and earth dark.

Yet in every crisis, humanity always produced supreme masters who crushed their era, using their overwhelming power to repeatedly avert disaster and protect humanity's peace.

This fully proves that, whether in the cultivation world or elsewhere, brute strength is the eternal truth.

Yu Ke's thoughts flashed like lightning.

In an instant!

At this moment, the drop of "Roundabout Dew" finally seeped slowly from the great cauldron into his lower dantian.

A gentle sensation instantly spread through his entire body—a comfort too profound to describe—making him feel as if enveloped in warm embrace.

This power seemed to be merging mysteriously with his flesh and soul.

Yu Ke knew this was the fusion effect of the "Roundabout Dew."

His entire body radiated a shimmering, pure light.

Countless acupoints began exuding dense spiritual energy, which circled endlessly through his meridians, gradually expanding from the small circulation to the great circulation.

Golden threads flowed along key acupoints—Huiyin, Weilu, Zhongshu, Guanyuan, Baihui, Mingmen, Qihai—linking together until they converged into a single golden thread surging toward his upper dantian.

The once clear, stream-like meridians grew brighter under the warmth of the flow.

The vital point where yin and yang meet, water and fire harmonize: the Weaver symbolizes the kidneys, source of true yin, represented by the hexagram Kan-water; the Cowherd symbolizes the heart, the two mutually reinforcing each other!

The Ren and Du meridians flowed unobstructed, blood and qi circulated without hindrance; his cultivation had reached its bottleneck.

From his dantian, more spiritual energy rose gently.

Numerous acupoints shone like luminous, crystal mountains, emitting pearl-like radiance.

As the great circulation continued, this spiritual energy subtly transformed, gradually condensing into purer "qi."

After the spiritual fluid entered the meridians, Yu Ke's acupoints and meridians gradually became as translucent as Liuli.

After seventy-seven great circulations, his skin and bones seemed reshaped.

All hundred acupoints opened wide, like the Milky Way pouring down; torrents of spiritual essence rained from heaven, gathering into his flesh acupoints.

At the same time!

From the great cauldron, Roundabout Primordial Qi rained down once more, each thread flowing into his dantian.

The "Cultivating the Dantian Scripture" began to activate; Yu Ke's true yang transformed, life and death qi flowed ceaselessly, yin and yang turning like a great cosmic mill.

In his middle dantian, black and white currents coalesced and dispersed, intertwining into the shape of a dragon and tiger.

The two currents oozed from Yu Ke's third eye, forming a yin-yang diagram that hovered above his head, radiating an ancient, profound aura.

His primordial spirit in the consciousness sea surged forth, blazing with radiant light.

No obstruction whatsoever!

The "Shen Tian" acupoint in his niwan palace opened naturally.

As natural as water flowing down a channel!

Yu Ke felt that his spiritual sense, once only capable of internal observation, could now slightly extend outward.

Cosmic qi surged into his body through the crown like a tide, continuously compressing and transforming his already liquidized spiritual energy.

At this very moment.

A thunderous boom echoed within Yu Ke—he felt his cultivation's spiritual energy, now at its limit, swell again, as if ready to burst all bonds.

Spiritual fluid overflowed endlessly in his dantian and meridians, yet he felt no discomfort or pain.

Spiritual energy, spiritual essence, spiritual fluid, spiritual origin.

Now, only one step remained: for the spiritual fluid to transform once more into spiritual origin.

Yu Ke sank his mind into his body; all three wonders of the second ladder were fully present.

【Golden Skin, Jade Meridians】

【Copper Skin, Iron Bones】

【Mercury Blood, Silver Marrow】

Yu Ke also noticed, beyond these three wonders, another wonder appeared atop 【Copper Skin, Iron Bones】.

【Clear Spirit, Elegant Bone】.

Yu Ke's face lit up with joy; his former body had possessed only 【Golden Skin, Jade Meridians】—many scions of noble families, raised on potent medicines and medicinal baths, could achieve this.

Now he possessed all four wonders, and his Shen Tian acupoint was fully open.

Only one step away!

He could forge his Dao foundation and enter the third ladder's realm.

But how to forge the foundation?

He had not yet decided.

The ways to forge a foundation vary endlessly; each cultivator has their own method and path.

He must find the foundation method suited to himself.

While seeking a Heavenly Dao foundation, he immediately recalled a martial art.

Yu Ke's heart stirred, and in his hand appeared a stream of crimson aura.

This was "Lu Chen"'s creation, forged from his lifelong insights combined with the martial arts "Primordial Qi Art" and "Heaven Refining Hand."

The "Heaven Refining Catastrophe Hand"!

This martial art should not yet exist in this world—would the Heavenly Dao recognize it?

To achieve "Heavenly Dao Foundation"!

(End of Chapter)