Chapter 589: Dao Foundation

Today is auspicious for forging the Dao Foundation…

After sending away the little ginseng spirit Xiao Qing, Fang Xing returned to his wooden hut and arranged four paper dolls as guards, setting traps of black snakes and cold white ants.

Only then did he calmly sit cross-legged, silently activating the Green Wood Art to seek the faint spiritual spark that had just emerged.

"By chance, nature's design… This is precisely the state described in the scripture as most suitable for forging the Dao Foundation…"

"Even with no prior preparation, it would still increase breakthrough chances by three tenths."

"Not to mention I've already cultivated the 'Primordial Dragon-Snake Qi,' which adds another one or two tenths…"

"Combined with this Dao Foundation spirit item, success is now certain."

In Fang Xing's hand, the crimson ginseng seed, the size of a dragon's eye, appeared, and he swallowed it whole.

Glug!

As the seed entered his abdomen, his Green Wood Art power refined it, instantly causing violent tremors as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown into boiling oil.

"At the ninth level of Sensing Qi, each stage refines the essence of plants and trees… By the time one reaches the Primordial Qi stage, this breath has been refined to its absolute limit—there is nowhere left to advance!"

"One Primordial Qi, forges my supreme foundation… Condense!"

In Fang Xing's dantian, streams of emerald essence converged, forming a faint, shimmering grove of bamboo.

Outside.

Bamboo shadows swayed, and faintly visible clusters of plant essence, fist-sized, swirled around Fang Xing.

In an instant.

The bamboo shadow within his dantian resembled the vast thousand-acre bamboo sea outside.

The Green Wood Art's power also began to transform—endlessly continuous, inexhaustible, like nature's boundless treasury…

The entire process unfolded like flowing clouds and running water, perfectly natural, without the slightest difficulty or obstruction.

"Is it… already done?"

"So simple? Then why do people die when forging the Dao Foundation?"

Fang Xing silently sensed it—he realized that even if he had failed just now, he would not have suffered any injury.

Even if injured, he could heal himself instantly with Natural Healing, leaving him speechless.

"The Green Wood Art as known to the outside world ends here… To continue cultivation, one must go to Green Wood Ridge—let alone the shared cultivation technique…"

"Though I could create my own, it would waste too much time… And on each mountain, one must sing its song; obsessing over self-invention risks losing the essence of this system—what if its later stages involve transcendental legacies? I'd miss them."

Two emerald lights flickered in Fang Xing's pupils as he felt his Dao Foundation.

"Superior Dao Foundation—Yù Cōng Lóng!"

"More akin to a supportive divine art—it can stimulate plant growth…"

He stepped out of the hut and saw that dozens of green spirit bamboo had, unnoticed, advanced to a thousand-year age.

"Does its effect stack with my 'Plant Growth' talent?"

"Seems useless, but actually quite valuable—perfect for quietly continuing as logistics support…"

Fang Xing glanced at his status bar:

【Name: Fang Xing】

【Age: 44/520】

【Class: Druid Level 13】

【Realm: Foundation Establishment (Yù Cōng Lóng)】

…

"Only two hundred years added to my lifespan? This is a Superior Dao Foundation! And I have the 【Eternal Youth】 talent—so in reality, only one hundred years?"

"But then again, I already had over three hundred years—extending lifespan from such a base naturally becomes harder…"

"This lifespan… is probably what a Yin Spirit True Immortal typically has?"

Fang Xing nodded: "Next, I must obtain the Green Wood Art's Dao Foundation technique, which can be cultivated to Foundation Mid-Realm… But this is the limit of the Green Wood Art—afterward, I must acquire a shared cultivation technique to manifest a pseudo-divine art to break through to Foundation Late-Realm!"

"This is the path to becoming a Yin Spirit True Immortal…"

…

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, another year passed.

Unlike Song Yunqian's childishness, Song Yun and Fei Yong, upon learning Fang Xing intended to send Fei Yong to Green Wood Ridge, came specifically to thank him.

Fang Xing gave Fei Yong a few pointers, then gifted him a batch of items and sent him off to report to Green Wood Ridge.

In his view, the boy was still sharp.

Moreover, what he asked the boy to investigate wasn't sect secrets—just patience was needed, and there was no difficulty.

Having planted the seed, all that remained was silent waiting.

One day.

The Qiao merchant caravan arrived as scheduled.

Qiao Wuyong had a few more wrinkles, but was not especially aged.

He controlled Gangqi, riding the wind, his cultivation clearly at Sensing Qi Ninth Level!

He gazed at the thousand-acre bamboo sea before him, a hint of anticipation crossing his face.

As Fang Xing's bamboo grove expanded, output of bamboo paper, bamboo strips, and bamboo rice increased steadily, becoming one of Qiao Family's indispensable sources.

Moreover, Fang Xing's own cultivation had grown increasingly inscrutable to him.

In comparison, recalling the Lü family's earlier conduct, Qiao Wuyong smiled inwardly.

Outsiders assumed that in a hundred years, Du Long Po would be dominated by the Lü family—this was a complete misjudgment.

And therein lay opportunity for merchant investment. Hss!

As he pondered, a black snake, wielding Gangqi, shot into the sky.

"That… is that black snake already refined Gangqi?"

Qiao Wuyong was startled.

Mountain spirits like this usually struggled to advance—breaking past Sensing Qi Seventh Level was already impressive.

He had assumed Sensing Qi Seventh Level was the black snake's limit, never expecting further advancement.

"Ah, Master Qiao has arrived—please enter the bamboo grove for tea…"

A voice reached Qiao Wuyong's ears, causing his expression to shift; he descended his wind aura and entered the bamboo grove.

There, a youth in a green robe sat by a stove, brewing tea, with several roasted fruit preserves beside him.

On him, not a trace of Gangqi or sha energy remained—only pure Primordial Qi, like a profound ocean, humbling the heart.

No mistake! One word, one hair, one detail—all correct!

"Congratulations, friend! You've reached Sensing Qi Ninth Level!"

Qiao Wuyong bowed solemnly, yet thought: "Has this Fang friend finally stopped pretending?"

He knew this man had broken through Sensing Qi Seventh Level far earlier than he announced; though rumors claimed he was obsessed with paper-folding, he couldn't have remained stagnant.

Now seeing him, he couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

'I was once higher in cultivation than this man, with Qiao family resources… and yet I've been caught up?'

'No—his cultivation seems even deeper than mine…'

Qiao Wuyong sat down, cupped his tea bowl, and became even more respectful.

"Haha… Just recently had a bit of insight."

Fang Xing picked up a date, smiling faintly.

In truth, he felt that when he eventually forged his Dao Foundation, he shouldn't be too astonishing.

Having Qiao Wuyong as a voice was perfect.

Thus, to outsiders, he would appear as a genius cultivator whose breakthroughs followed a logical path—merely hiding his true power with a concealment technique.

Though not crucial, it might help if he later sought to join Green Wood Ridge.

"I have a large stock of bamboo paper now—give me a fair price."

"Haha, naturally…"

After several more transactions, Fang Xing casually inquired about Dao Foundation techniques.

After all, he was Sensing Qi Ninth Level—looking ahead to the Dao Foundation was natural.

But the results were all much the same.

"This…" Qiao Wuyong's face showed hesitation: "Basic techniques can be bought freely from the Ten Great Sects, but Dao Foundation techniques are far harder—only Dao Foundation clans might possess them…"

"Moreover…" he continued, "these Dao Foundation techniques only reach Mid-Realm; to obtain a shared technique, you must still go to the Ten Great Sects…"

"So this is how the Ten Great Sects control the emergence of Yin Spirit True Immortals…" Fang Xing sipped his tea and sighed.

"Precisely. Yin Spirit True Immortals live five hundred years, possess great divine arts, and wield unmatched destructive power—they truly threaten the Ten Great Sects, so they must be controlled."

Qiao Wuyong said: "Every Yin Spirit True Immortal who emerges in our outlying lands, without exception, has deep ties to the Ten Great Sects."

"Enough. I'll focus on the Dao Foundation first… What about Dao Foundation spirit items?"

Fang Xing's gaze fixed on Qiao Wuyong.

"You're asking too much… Dao Foundation spirit items are priceless! My Qiao family is just a small merchant guild—we have no access…"

Qiao Wuyong shook his head: "But the Fei family, as a Dao Foundation clan, can exchange once every sixty years with their upper sect for a Dao Foundation spirit item…"

He seemed to be hinting at something.

"I'm not of the Fei family—no hope there…" Fang Xing shook his head, looking deeply disappointed.

"Oh? I thought Du Long Po and the Fei family supported each other, inseparable…" Qiao Wuyong sounded surprised, then added: "Do you know that Fei Shentong, head of the Fei family, may have only a few years left to live?"

"Is that so?"

Fang Xing made no reply, his gaze drifting as he thought of many things.

The Fei family had long been in turmoil; even as they sought to retreat, battles were unavoidable.

As head of the Fei family, Fei Shentong had waged campaigns across north and south, repeatedly turning the tide—surely he had been wounded, damaging his fundamental vitality.

Moreover, practicing the Origami Secret Art, the higher the rank, the more it shortens one's lifespan.

His lifespan had been steadily depleted, and qi-sensing cultivators typically live only about 120 to 130 years.

Now, with his energy spent and his lamp nearly extinguished, was this truly unexpected—or merely inevitable?

"Alas... pitiful Fei Shentong, a mighty lord, yet born in the wrong age—when he ascended as head, the Fei family faced its greatest crisis..."

Fang Xing shook his head, clearly sorrowful.

"Now the Fei family is about to replace its head; Fei Wu has gained strong support."

Qiao Wuyong had not once considered Fei Yong—after all, the head of a dao-root lineage, even a declining one, must possess qi-sensing late-stage cultivation to command respect.

"Fei Wu?"

Fang Xing nodded: "Indeed, he is very suitable..."

Yet he recalled how, years ago, when the Fei family nominated a new head, Fei Cai, Fei Shentong, and Fei Wu had all been candidates—and now, each one had become head in turn.

The shifting tides of this world truly left one dizzy, overwhelmed by change.

(End of Chapter)