After returning to the depths of the building and finding a place to sit, Li Fan explained his purpose to Master Yin.
“Oh? You want to know how to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage?” Master Yin suddenly became excited, and he began to explain energetically. “You’ve asked the right person! I dare say, no one understands Foundation Establishment better than I do!”
“Please, tell me more,” Li Fan replied with a smile, not disputing Master Yin’s claim.
At that moment, the human-hand dog walked over on its hind legs, carrying two cups, which it placed on the table. The cups contained a dark, viscous liquid, and it was unknown what was inside.
The human-hand dog then crouched down, continuously circling around Master Yin to seek praise.
“Please, have some tea!” Master Yin said to Li Fan while taking a sip. “This is a valuable brew, cultivated from a spiritual bacterial colony. When consumed, it multiples rapidly and enters symbiosis with the body, which can accelerate the circulation of spiritual energy in your body and enhance the power of your spiritual energy. It has many benefits.”
Li Fan scanned the cup with his divine sense and saw countless tiny microorganisms inside, each with unique appearances.
He chose not to drink it and remained still.
Seeing Li Fan’s reluctance to drink, Master Yin felt somewhat disappointed.
Without insisting, he continued the conversation, asking, “Do you know exactly what establishing the foundation means?”
Li Fan replied, “The so-called Foundation Establishment stage is exactly what the name implies. After a Qi Condensation cultivator reaches perfection, they need to establish their own foundation to continue their cultivation. Otherwise, even if their cultivation continues to increase, it’s like building a hundred-foot tall building on top of sand. A gentle shake, and it will collapse.”
When discussing academic matters, Master Yin appeared quite serious. He nodded and said, “That’s right. Before the Great Calamity, there were some Qi Condensation cultivators who took a different path and chose not to establish their foundations. They focused solely on refining their Qi.”
“They claimed that there was no limit to refining Qi, and that this path could eventually reach Dao Integration. However, they couldn’t progress beyond the ninety-ninth layer of Qi Condensation. In the end, a Golden Core cultivator couldn’t stand the sight and casually killed them.”
“Perhaps their path was indeed feasible, but Qi Condensation cultivators have weak bodies and can’t withstand such powerful forces. Second, even with more layers of Qi Condensation, it only results in physical strength. When it comes to fighting against Foundation Establishment or even higher level cultivators, they face many disadvantages.”
Master Yin took a sip of tea and continued, “Ancient cultivators followed the principle of learning from nature, observing the laws and rules of the heavens and the earth and comprehending the principles of the Heavenly Dao.”
“Then, by combining their personal insights and self-pondering, they formed the foundation of their future cultivation by making crude imitations.”
“However, everyone’s aptitude varies, and their comprehension abilities differ. The speed and compatibility with which they establish their foundations also vary greatly.”
“Some individuals can experience a moment of enlightenment and immediately establish their foundations. But for the vast majority, it takes decades or even centuries of white hair and deep learning with no progress.”
“Cultivation is undoubtedly difficult to achieve.”
Master Yin sighed suddenly. “But that was the past.”
“If we liken the rules of heaven and earth to a towering tree, then in the past, we cultivators were like tiny fairies residing among its branches, observing and learning from the leaves.”
“It was too slow and too difficult.”
“So, after the Immortal Ancestor passed down his teachings, we cultivators turned into greedy ants. We no longer cared about observing, learning, or emulating. We directly nibbled at the tree’s branches and leaves, turning them into our sustenance.”
“By doing so, our cultivation speed increased by countless times. Heavenly Treasures are like the branches and leaves of this great tree.”
“Each Heavenly Treasure is the aggregation of the laws of heaven and earth in a particular aspect. Cultivators use these miraculous items as their Foundation Treasure and can bypass the process of self-comprehension, immediately forming their own foundation.”
Li Fan nodded and said, “I remember ‘Treatise on Heavenly Treasures’ mentioning something similar.”
“‘Treatise on Heavenly Treasures’…” Master Yin sneered with a touch of disdain.
He continued, “If we are to say that Foundation Treasures are used to bypass the process of comprehending the heavens and the earth…”
“Then let me ask you this. Nowadays, there are cultivators with exceptional talents who don’t need Foundation Treasures to comprehend these laws. Their profound understanding of the heavens and the earth would allow them to directly establish their foundation during ancient times. Can they still do it now?” Master Yin looked intently at Li Fan.
“Of course not. Establishing a foundation requires Foundation Treasures…” Li Fan began to speak but suddenly fell silent, as if he had remembered something.
“That’s right. The way of cultivation has been completely changed,” Master Yin said coldly. “In the past, cultivators comprehended the laws of the heavens and the earth, following the natural order.”
“But after the Immortal Ancestor passed down his teachings, this natural order was reversed. Cultivators now have to go against the heavens, plundering the heavens and earth…”
Li Fan whispered, “Plunder the heavens and earth…”
“In order to attain immortality!” Master Yin continued.
“I don’t know how cultivators attained immortality before the Great Calamity.”
“But ever since the method of cultivation was changed, the only path to immortality is by going against the order of heaven and earth.”
“The original founder of this teaching, the Immortal Ancestor, was the first to propose the theory and also the first to practice it.”
“He defied all conventional principles of cultivation and attained immortality. From that moment on, he shared the same lifespan as the heavens and the earth, living freely.”
“Since then, all cultivators have no choice but to follow his ‘methods’ in their cultivation. How overbearing!”
Master Yin’s tone was intense, clearly dissatisfied with this Immortal Ancestor who passed down the new way of cultivation.
“Going your own path and then making all living beings follow that same path. How incredible.” Li Fan mused, deeply moved.
He thought of the giant statue of an elderly man wearing a tall crown on the island of the Ten Thousand Immortals.
Majestic and overlooking all living beings.
“Could it be that the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance was founded by the Immortal Ancestor? But if this Immortal Ancestor is still alive, how could he have allowed the Crimson Flame to destroy the Ten Thousand Immortals Island a few years later?” Li Fan was filled with doubt.
Master Yin didn’t pay attention to Li Fan and continued, “The key issue now is that since Foundation Establishment requires Foundation Treasures…”
“Then what are the Heavenly Treasures, exactly?”
“You’ve read ‘Treatise on Heavenly Treasures.’ You know that when cultivators fall, they are transformed by the heavens and the earth into Heavenly Treasures.”
“Doesn’t that mean that when cultivators are alive, they can also be seen as Heavenly Treasures that haven’t been fully transformed yet?”
Master Yin spoke faster and faster, as if he wanted to share all the years of research that no one had paid attention to.
“The heavens and the earth are like a crucible, and the finished product is the formed Heavenly Treasures. But everything in the heavens and the earth can be seen as unformed Heavenly Treasures!”
“Heavenly Treasures are aggregations of rules, and aren’t humans the same? The human body is so intricate, containing endless mysteries. Why can’t it be seen as a Heavenly Treasure?”
“Do you also know that some cultivators will refine ordinary people with extraordinary abilities into Heavenly Treasures to use them as their Foundation? In this way, the abilities of those ordinary people become their own.”
“I am also a human, so am I a Heavenly Treasure?”
Seeing Master Yin’s increasingly absurd statements, Li Fan couldn’t help but ask, “Is this your speculation, or…”
Master Yin grinned and said, “It used to be a speculation, but now…”
“I’ve confirmed it.”
With that, his entire body split along the center line, and another face of Master Yin emerged from within.
“Ten years ago, I used myself as a Heavenly Treasure to establish my foundation!”
Both faces, inside and outside, spoke in unison.