Chapter 97 - Arc 7: Dragon Ascension Gate | Chapter 97: Xu Ziqing's Foundation Establishment
Translator: Lynn
As Xu Ziqing’s threat seemed to have an effect, he didn’t encounter the remaining members of Wuliang Sect in the following days.
During the next month, spurred by Yan Bo’s successful foundation building, a few others gained confidence and started building their foundations one after another. Their progress was relatively smooth, a testament to their diligence. It was evident that with focused cultivation and caution, failures were rare.
Xu Ziqing occasionally observed their progress and gained some insights after doing so a few times.
As the days passed, he diligently polished the true energy within his body, which surged like a tide and roared like thunder. Initially, controlling it was not as easy as manipulating spiritual power, leading to occasional difficulties. However, once he mastered it, the true energy responded to his will, and his strength surged dramatically, increasing by hundreds of times.
The vast difference in strength made Xu Ziqing realize why foundation-building cultivators regarded those beneath them as insignificant.
In a sudden moment, Xu Ziqing felt a surge of enlightenment. The cultivation method, “Ten Thousand Woods Great Heart Planting Technique,” focused on using one tree as the foundation to control and utilize all the trees in the world. His bloodthirsty demon vine, as the tree of his natal life, possessed a gentle and feminine nature—an Ethereal Wood. By absorbing the essence of Ethereal Wood, the Qi of Ethereal Wood within him became stronger and more harmonious.
Now, as he sought to build his foundation, the way to harmony should align with the Ethereal Wood.
Ethereal Wood: resilient, tenacious, tolerant, stubborn, brimming with vitality and hard to suppress.
With this understanding, Xu Ziqing sat cross-legged, closing his eyes and falling silent. A green light enveloped him, and countless ethereal images of strange spiritual grasses floated around his body.
A vine split into two strands, climbing up like jade-white ribbons, and suspended itself upside down from the cave’s roof, providing a protective canopy.
Within the cave, lush green grass spread like a carpet.
The young man in the green shirt sat amidst this verdant scene, his spiritual energy full of vitality, seemingly connecting with the will of the heavens.
At this critical moment of foundation building, Xu Ziqing’s inner world’s true essence surged, forming an immensely powerful force. It transformed into a true essence dragon, ascending through the Ren Meridian, directly targeting Baihui, intending to reach the dantian.
In the human world, there were upper and lower dantians.
The lower dantian served as the repository for essence and blood energy, allowing a person’s essence and blood energy to combine. As they cultivated, they would one day nurture the elixir within, break the elixir to become a baby, and live for thousands of years.
The upper dantian, on the other hand, hid the divine spirit.
Before foundation building, all the meridians in the human body were unblocked, except for the upper dantian, which remained chaotic. To unlock this hidden spiritual realm, one needed to gather enough essence and use true energy to break through the heavenly barrier, open Baihui’s acupoint, and unlock the upper dantian, establishing a Purple Mansion.
Without a completed Purple Mansion, one’s soul would have no foundation for future growth and might be unable to manifest a soul.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Baihui, like a gatekeeper, sealed off the upper dantian. It appeared like a gigantic drum, resounding with loud thunderous noises that seemed to never end.
The true energy surged, relentlessly pounding on Baihui, attempting to break through and establish the Purple Mansion.
Baihui quivered, and a small gap slowly appeared, allowing a sliver of purple air to escape from Tianling.
Gradually, the upper dantian opened, and purple energy overflowed, forming a purple smoke dragon that flowed out of the cave.
However, continuous impacts from the true energy depleted over half of it, and the dantian gradually emptied.
At this point, it was time to take the Foundation Establishment Pill, but Xu Ziqing, with his single spiritual root, had no need for this. His third-order spiritual vein supplied an abundance of spiritual energy, converting it into true essence and constantly replenishing and consuming.
As true essence was consumed quickly and replenished just as fast, Xu Ziqing suddenly felt a booming sensation in his head. Dizziness and excruciating pain overwhelmed him!
A purple dragon emerged!
An instant surge of purple energy transformed into a roaring dragon that burst forth.
His true energy was nearly exhausted, and Xu Ziqing’s face turned pale as he trembled. Nevertheless, he endured the pain, calmed his mind, and quickly operated his cultivation method to replenish his true essence repeatedly. Meanwhile, his consciousness turned into a smoke dragon, colliding head-on with the Heavenly Barrier’s consciousness!
Outside the cave, a massive purple dragon rose into the sky, confronting the will of Heaven.
One collision after another!
All the cultivators witnessing Xu Ziqing’s foundation establishment were astonished and couldn’t help but exclaim.
“So fast!”
“His consciousness actually merged with the way of heaven in one go!”
“Could it be that human nature and the way of wood are so perfectly compatible?”
“Ups and downs, he understands it better than others.”
Witnessing the Purple Dragon’s technique, which harmoniously blended with the way of wood, was incredibly beneficial for those present, including Xu Ziqing.
The purple dragon’s attack aligned with the way of wood as it inhaled the consciousness of the way of heaven. In just a few breaths, it returned to the cave.
Xu Ziqing sat quietly inside the cave, and gradually, his complexion improved.
Meanwhile, the purple smoke dragon leaned back, his eyes wide open, and his gaze fixed on something.
In the blink of an eye, the purple smoke dragon transformed into a long purple light, piercing straight into the center of Xu Ziqing’s eyebrows. In an instant, it had entered the Zifu.
A refreshing coolness descended from the purple light, causing Xu Ziqing’s whole body to feel a chill, but he was extremely sober. Countless mysterious consciousnesses of the Way of Wood lingered endlessly in his purple smoke dragon, merging with his consciousness. In a moment, they formed a boundless sea of consciousness hidden beneath the purple light, adorned with countless stars.
The purple smoke dragon opened, the sea of consciousness formed, and the consciousness and physical body harmoniously connected.
With a sweep of his eyes, Xu Ziqing could perceive the tiniest details of the cave’s interior and even see everything within a ten-mile radius outside the cave, as if it were right before his eyes.
This was divine consciousness!
After realizing this, a strand of purple light flew out rapidly from the location of the spiritual energy, straight toward the way of heaven.
From this point on, Xu Ziqing became a foundation-building cultivator whose actions were under the scrutiny of the way of heaven.
At this moment, Xu Ziqing’s senses were exceptionally clear, hundreds of times better than during the Qi refining period. His energy, spirit, and soul surpassed those of Qi refining cultivators, and he felt as though he were floating in the sky. Xu Ziqing knew that this was due to the consciousness of the way of heaven cleansing the impurities in his body during the foundation establishment. Though he hadn’t achieved an immortal body yet, he now possessed a Dao body. From now on, absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth and purging impurities from his body would be much easier. Although the foundation was established, his realm wasn’t completely stable yet.
At this moment, Xu Ziqing was aware of subtle differences and began to practice the “Ten Thousand Woods Great Heart Planting Technique” again.
Having studied ten chapters of the Qi Refining Volume, it was time to practice the content contained in the Foundation Building Volume.
The first step was to calm down and consolidate his cultivation.
He gathered the dispersed heavenly consciousness in the cave, and together with the purple dragon, he entered the Purple Mansion and merged it into the sea of consciousness. He couldn’t afford to miss any details…
Xu Ziqing closed his eyes, focused, and acted in accordance with the cultivation method.
Once this realm was consolidated, it would last for three days and three nights.
When Xu Ziqing opened his eyes again, they sparkled, exceptionally radiant and dazzling. It seemed that his gaze could penetrate the internal organs of anyone he looked at, incredibly clear and sharp. After a while, he took a deep breath, blinked slightly, and concealed his expression, not showing as many differences as before.
Years of relentless practice had paid off as he finally established the foundation. Even Xu Ziqing couldn’t help but smile, his heart filled with joy. He then made up his mind and focused his consciousness on the storage ring for the first time.
Under the divine consciousness, everything inside the storage ring became crystal clear. It appeared like an endless dark space, with countless spiritual herbs, animal pills, and miscellaneous items floating within. They were faintly visible, but as soon as his mind shifted, they moved accordingly.
His spiritual consciousness traversed the storage space and arrived at the core—a stone platform. On this stone platform sat a stern man dressed in white with black hair, his posture upright, emitting a cold aura, and his demeanor as sharp as a sword. As Xu Ziqing’s consciousness approached, the man suddenly opened his eyes, and two golden glimmers flashed and disappeared in an instant.
“Xu Ziqing?”
With a smile, Xu Ziqing’s gentle thought was already transmitted through his spiritual consciousness, “Fortunately, I haven’t let down the teachings of the king. Brother Yun, I’ve successfully established the foundation. Can you sense it?” The man in white nodded approvingly, “Your dedication to cultivation is commendable.”
Satisfied with sharing the good news, Xu Ziqing withdrew his consciousness to avoid intruding on his friend’s privacy. He lifted the restraint with a wave of his hand and inhaled a mouthful of fresh spiritual energy, feeling invigorated and in high spirits.
As he stepped out of the cave, the scenery of Tenglong Peak appeared before him, filling him with a sense of joy different from before.
The difference between the perceptions of the Qi refining period and the foundation establishment period was like night and day.
After admiring the view for a while, just as Xu Ziqing was about to return to his cave, he heard someone calling him.
“Fellow Daoist Xu, could you spare a moment to talk?”
Looking down, he spotted someone walking up the peak’s path.
The man wore a purple robe with wide sleeves, thin eyebrows, and thin lips. He was also a foundation cultivator.
Recognizing him as Diao Zimo from the Thunder Fire School, Xu Ziqing smiled gently and replied, “Greetings, fellow Daoist Diao. My apologies for keeping you waiting.” With a graceful movement, he approached Diao Zimo and followed him into his cave.
Inside, there was already another familiar face, which surprised Xu Ziqing.
The man there clasped his fists and said, “Friend Xu, please have a seat.”
Xu Ziqing returned the gesture and said, “Thank you, fellow Daoist Luo.” This man was a 190 cm tall figure with a powerful build. He and Diao Zimo were rivals in the same field, with evenly matched cultivation bases. However, Diao Zimo possessed lightning skills, and so Luo Hou was defeated before he could employ all his means.
According to logic, Luo Hou might have held some discontent with Diao Zimo, but Xu Ziqing was surprised to see the two of them now having a friendly conversation. It showed their open-mindedness, not judging each other based on victory or defeat, and worthy of true friendship.
Seated across from Luo Hou, Diao Zimo hesitated momentarily before taking a seat beside him.
Although Diao Zimo seemed a little cold, he appeared straightforward in his interactions. As soon as he sat down, he spoke up, “I couldn’t help but admire fellow Daoist Xu’s smooth foundation establishment. I really wished to get acquainted. Today, when I saw fellow Daoists emerging from seclusion, I took the liberty to interrupt. I hope you don’t hold it against me.”
Luo Hou did the same, carrying a wine jar, pouring another glass for Xu Ziqing, and offering it with a toast to Diao Zimo, saying, “A glass of light wine, as a gesture of sincerity.”
Feeling touched by their hospitality, Xu Ziqing raised his glass with a smile and drank it, “You two are too kind. It’s not necessary.”
Diao Zimo added, “Cheers!” Then he asked, “Now that we are both Foundation Establishment cultivators, soon to ascend to the Dragon Gate and enter the wider world, do you have any concerns about the future, Fellow Daoist Xu?”
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