Longevity by Grinding Skills

Chapter 369: Chapter 369: What is Foundation Establishment

"Interesting..."

The Martial Arts Celestial Eye on Xu Yunfan’s brow pulsed, analyzing the lingering traces of the three streams of Sword Qi that had burst from the book, their afterimages still reflected in his pupils.

The instant the pages turned, three streams of Sword Qi shot out like dragons emerging from an abyss.

Though only three inches long, the Sword Qi was so condensed it seemed solid. If an ordinary Ninth Realm Supreme Grandmaster were to touch it rashly, even their Protective True Qi would likely be pierced in an instant.

Yuu Congling fell silent for a moment, her gaze hardening.

Those three streams of Sword Qi were the "Riding Yellow Sword Seal" hidden within the Wansheng Sword Transformation. Even at her peak, she would have needed to maneuver her Sword Intent to neutralize them.

Yet Xu Yunfan had simply flicked his hand. The Ten Extremes True Pattern descended like a celestial net, and before the Sword Qi could even get close, it disintegrated inch by inch, not even a trace of its power splashing out.

As his Ten Extremes True Qi circulated, it possessed a domineering quality that seemed to devour the Ten Thousand Laws. Even a secret killing technique from the Wansheng Sword Sect was like snow under a blazing sun, vanishing without a trace.

Although the quality of his True Qi was inferior to True Essence, the sheer quantity of True Qi in Xu Yunfan’s body was immense. If not for the lack of a meridian network in his body, he could probably already begin to raise his Dao Foundation and achieve the status of a Daoist Master.

Two Hours later, Xu Yunfan stared at the red-inked phrase on the final page—"One Sword Begets the Ten Thousand Laws"—and spoke without looking up. "Now, isn’t it time you told me how to use this Sword Seal to bait other Sword Sect disciples?"

Yuu Congling was silent for a moment before her voice, as cold as frost, replied, "The Divine Martial Realm Heaven was branded with the Primordial Demon Sect’s mark long ago, making it their exclusive domain. Three thousand years ago, my Wansheng Sword Sect... ultimately failed to win this world’s orthodox lineage."

Xu Yunfan scoffed, his knuckles tapping on the cover of the now-closed Wansheng Sword Transformation. "If that’s the case, why are people from your Sword Sect still lingering in this world?"

"When the Divine Martial Realm Heaven first appeared, the Primordial Demon Sect, the Wansheng Sword Sect, and the Puchen Pure Land all vied for control."

Yuu Congling’s Extreme Dao Relic Shell shifted slightly. Her delicate skin was pressed against Xu Yunfan, causing a slight waver in her voice.

"It wasn’t until the Primordial Demon Sect’s Foundation Establishment Daoist Master emerged within the Divine Martial Realm, suppressing the other two sects with his ’Divine Martial Dao Foundation’ and bathing three thousand miles of land in blood, that this world’s fate was finally sealed."

Xu Yunfan raised an eyebrow. "So you’re all just the dregs left over from the Upper Realm’s games."

"Beneath the Dao Foundation, all are but straw dogs."

Yuu Congling’s voice turned sharp, and the Riding Yellow Sword Seal flickered on her Spirit Body. "The cultivation of the Martial Dao was a system laid down by that Foundation Establishment Daoist Master from the Primordial Demon Sect. Even if you transcend the Martial Arts Nine Realms, break your shackles, and reach what you call the Land Immortal realm... so long as you don’t take that final step, you can never escape being harvested by the World Heaven."

’Dao Foundation, Dao Foundation!’

Xu Yunfan asked, "What is a Dao Foundation?"

Yuu Congling fell silent for a moment, as if weighing whether to reveal the secret.

In the end, she had to bow to the circumstances. With his current strength, Xu Yunfan could easily destroy her Extreme Dao Relic Shell. A nearly inaudible sigh escaped from within the Relic Shell.

"A Dao Foundation... is the first stepping stone for a Cultivator to knock open the door to Longevity."

"A stepping stone?"

Xu Yunfan grew impatient. When it came to Longevity, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

"Explain."

"Do you know why a Ninth Realm Grandmaster is called ’Supreme’?" Yuu Congling’s voice flattened. "Back then, the Three Sects fought over the method for the Divine Martial Dao Foundation precisely to produce another Foundation Establishment Daoist Master. For a Cultivator at Qi Cultivation Great Perfection, taking the next step requires using oneself as a Furnace Cauldron to smelt the Heaven and Earth Laws into a foundation. This is ’Foundation Establishment’!

The Primordial Demon Sect calls it the ’Primordial Dao Seed,’ the Buddhist Sect calls it the ’Arhat Dharma Platform,’ and my Wansheng Sword Sect... we call it the ’Celestial Sword Seat’! But it all boils down to one thing: you must condense your own Essence, Qi, and Spirit, follow a path few predecessors have walked, and burn your own Daoist Cultivation as fuel to elevate your existence and achieve Foundation Establishment."

Xu Yunfan was finally beginning to understand. To reach Foundation Establishment, one had to find a cultivation method that had either never produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator, or one whose master was already dead. Otherwise, if two people cultivating the same method and same path tried to establish their foundations, it would result in a battle for the Dao!

"I see... so-called Foundation Establishment is nothing more than a life-or-death battle to seize the Dao."

"Correct."

Yuu Congling’s voice was steeped in a chill accumulated over a thousand years, as if she had recalled something.

"But no matter the name, the essence is the same: defying the heavens to seize one’s destiny! You must use your own Daoist Cultivation as fuel and burn away the legacy of your predecessors to carve out a unique path of ascension within the vast Celestial Dao!"

"What’s even crueler... is if a Foundation Establishment Daoist Master already exists for the method you cultivate..."

Yuu Congling’s tone was laced with a frigid chill.

"They will sense it, even from Ten Thousand Realms away."

Xu Yunfan pressed, "How does one forge it?"

"Why do you think that Nether Spring condensed a Purple Gold Pill? It intended to use the Royal Family, which bears this world’s Profound Yellow Qi, as a living sacrifice."

Yuu Congling sneered. "Foundation Establishment requires seizing the fortune of heaven and earth! It’s easiest to absorb the Power of the World Heaven. The Primordial Demon Sect planted a Secret Technique in the Divine Martial Realm that matures once every five hundred years. The Emperor of Great Zhou, who got his information from who-knows-where, wanted to use the Profound Yellow Qi to condense the ’Divine Martial Dao Foundation,’ but he never realized he was just a gu-bug being raised by the Nether Spring... The Martial Dao of this world is inherently flawed."

"A true Dao Foundation requires a Land Immortal’s cultivation as fuel, Martial Arts Divine Techniques as kindling, and a hundred days of refinement to take shape. Three thousand years ago, after the Divine Martial Daoist Master achieved his, he was grievously wounded by my Wansheng Sword Sect. His Dao Foundation was damaged, and he fled into Reincarnation. Five lifetimes have passed since then, and there has been no news of him, which means the Divine Martial Dao Foundation is vacant!"

At this point, Yuu Congling’s words took on a suggestive tone. "This time, when the people from the Primordial Demon Sect enter this World Heaven, I fear they’ll be even more frantic than before."

Xu Yunfan naturally understood what she meant, but he didn’t much care. He simply continued his questions.

"Since you know so much, have you ever tried for Foundation Establishment?"

"If I knew back then..."

Yuu Congling’s voice was filled with a bitterness that had festered for countless years. "...why would I have resorted to using the ’Hidden Blade Soul Storage Skill’ to imprison my Divine Soul in this fleshly husk, just to barely cling to life?"

"What was your Qi Cultivation Level?"

"...The Eighth Layer."

Xu Yunfan nodded in understanding. "No wonder. It seems you weren’t strong enough."

"..."

He was no longer in the mood to talk to Yuu Congling. Time was tight, and he needed to find a way to raise his strength as much as possible before the Primordial Sect’s disciples arrived.

To raise his strength quickly, the obvious solution was to absorb more of other people’s True Qi.

By the time Xu Yunfan shattered the stone steps of the Imperial Palace, the pillar of Profound Yellow Qi soaring into the sky behind him was echoing the Luotian Grand Sacrifice on Qingwei Mountain.

Xu Yunfan saw this but didn’t stop it. The Profound Yellow Qi was useless to him now, so it was only natural that it should be used to nourish the Taoist Sect.

He still hadn’t seen a shadow of either the Nether Spring or the Divine Martial Profound Crystal that Yuu Congling had mentioned, so he was naturally in no hurry.

However, he did not immediately return to the Taoist Sect. Instead, he turned and looked toward the smoke-filled Jade Capital City.

Li Haomiao’s Profound Armor Army was locked in a bloody struggle with the Imperial Guard there, and several dormant Ninth Realm auras were also hidden within the city.