Chapter 282: Guidance in the Foundation Establishment Stage

Chapter 282: Guidance at the Foundation Establishment Stage

In the teaching area of the 200th floor, Zhang Yu sat in the audience, listening to Feng Jiu’s lecture. He couldn’t help but notice that this teacher gave him the impression of… rushing to complete a task. Her teaching process felt like reading from a script, with zero interaction with the students throughout.

Feng Jiu spoke, “…The Dao Heart is the foundation of the immortal path. The higher one’s cultivation realm, the more important the Dao Heart becomes.”

“If the Dao Heart fails to keep pace with one’s cultivation, the consequences can range from loss of control over one’s power to deviation, or even backlash from the Dharma Bones…”

As she spoke, scenes of cultivators succumbing to deviation flickered before their eyes. There were those whose minds became disordered, unleashing indiscriminate slaughter; others whose spiritual roots exploded, transforming them into plants; and still others whose Dharma Bones turned against them, or whose spiritual power erupted violently… These images flashed one after another.

After emphasizing the dire consequences of an insufficient Dao Heart, Feng Jiu continued, “After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the upper limit of the Dao Heart increases to level 20. During this period, as the Dao Heart grows, it also gains more profound applications.”

“For example, after reaching Dao Heart level 15, one can select a second cultivation method and attempt to operate two methods simultaneously. From then on, two cultivation methods can be circulated at the same time.”

“However, the greater the conflict between the two cultivation methods, the worse the effects of simultaneous operation, potentially leading to deviation or even soul fragmentation.”

Zhang Yu knew that “deviation” was a general term encompassing everything from loss of control over spiritual power leading to bodily explosion, to soul fragmentation driving one mad, or backlash from the Dharma Bones… all could be categorized under it.

But listening to Feng Jiu’s lecture today, he suddenly felt that after entering the Foundation Establishment realm, the types of deviation had multiplied, and the risks seemed even higher.

Feng Jiu went on, “Precisely because the consequences of conflicting cultivation methods are severe, you should start preparing and making choices before reaching Dao Heart level 15. It’s best to select cultivation methods that complement each other.”

As she spoke, the surrounding light flickered, revealing a web address.

Feng Jiu introduced, “Everyone, take note of this web address. This is the Spirit Realm address of the Hammer Heart Residence. It can help you conduct tests within the Spirit Realm. For just 1 spirit coin, it can help you find the cultivation method most suited to you. Spend another 1 spirit coin, and it will find the most compatible second cultivation method.”

“Furthermore, after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the operation of cultivation methods also reaches a higher realm.”

“Operating for 24 hours is merely the foundation. Achieving a state of semi-instinct, or even the complete instinctual unity of spirit and flesh, is what true continuous operation entails.”

“Even if one loses consciousness, a glimmer of spiritual light remains in the sea of consciousness, sustaining the operation of the cultivation method.”

“To achieve this, aside from relentless, grinding cultivation, there are other methods available.”

“For instance, the Spirit-Flesh Unity Journey currently offered by the Hammer Heart Residence guarantees success for 30 spirit coins, with a refund if unsuccessful…”

Feng Jiu proceeded step by step in this manner, neither asking questions nor engaging in interaction. She maintained the same speaking pace until the very first second after class ended, at which point the entire phoenix projection vanished before everyone’s eyes.

Deep within the Spirit Realm, a young girl looked at the returning phoenix and said, “Not bad. No one recognized you as an artifact spirit, right? From now on, you can take my place in teaching classes. It saves me from disrupting my work.”

…

In the Spiritual Power class.

As soon as the Spiritual Power teacher, Li Mingbo, entered the classroom, he swept his gaze over the students and said with a smile, “Classmates, today is our first meeting. Before we officially begin the lesson, let’s get to know each other.”

“Compared to cold, hard data, I prefer face-to-face interaction.”

“My name is Li Mingbo. For the next year or two, I’ll likely be teaching you Spiritual Power.”

Looking at this teacher with his gentle smile and approachable tone, Zhang Yu felt a slight surprise inwardly: “There’s such a kind teacher in the University City? And he actually wants to get to know us?”

Zhang Yu couldn’t help but feel that Li Mingbo before him was worlds apart from Feng Jiu from earlier.

Li Mingbo looked at Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan sitting in the first row and asked with a smile, “You two classmates, what are your names? Where are you from?”

“I’m Zhang Yu, from Songyang City on the first floor.”

“He’s Yu Xinghan, also from the first floor…”

Li Mingbo said calmly, “You two… move to the back.”

“Further back.”

“Move back another row.”

“Alright, sit there.”

He then turned to look at Gongshu Jin on the other side: “And you, classmate?”

“Gongshu Jin, you stay in the first row.”

“Ying Xin, you can move two rows forward.”

“Classmate Ji Yuanshu, come sit at the very front…”

“From now on, in my class, everyone will sit according to these positions.”

With Li Mingbo’s adjustments, the seating in the classroom suddenly became orderly: those from higher floors sat in front, those from lower floors sat in the back. Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan ended up in the last row.

Damn it… Zhang Yu thought to himself, how could he have just entertained such delusions about the people of Kunxu?

In class, Li Mingbo spoke eloquently, “After reaching Foundation Establishment, the upper limit of spiritual power surges dramatically. Supported by a higher Dao Heart, a stronger physical body, and more cultivation methods, differences in quality emerge between different types of spiritual power.”

“The higher the quality of spiritual power, the greater its power and effectiveness…”

Zhang Yu listened and nodded repeatedly. During his Qi Refining stage, he could already sense that his spiritual power was of higher quality than many others’, though the difference was subtle.

But after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the gap in spiritual power quality widened significantly, becoming as vast as heaven and earth.

The parameter distinguishing spiritual power quality ranged from a minimum of 100% to a maximum of 200% at the Foundation Establishment stage, representing the mass of spiritual power.

Due to this difference in mass, one unit of 200% quality spiritual power could rival two units of 100% quality spiritual power.

A ripple seemed to flash across Li Mingbo’s brow as a round mirror materialized before him: “Next, everyone test your own spiritual power quality.”

One by one, the students struck the round mirror with a palm strike.

Ji Yuanshu: Spiritual Power Quality 133%

Gongshu Jin: Spiritual Power Quality 125%

Ying Xin: Spiritual Power Quality 111%

…

After each person took their turn, it finally came to Zhang Yu. He gently pressed his palm against the round mirror. As his spiritual power surged, a number appeared: 112%.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “I’ve hardly specifically trained this so-called spiritual power quality.”

“Is it because after pushing the Green Vortex Qi Technique to level 20, during the cultivation process of the level 20 breathing technique, my spiritual power was naturally tempered, raising its quality to 112%?”

After everyone completed the test, Li Mingbo said calmly, “To improve spiritual power quality, aside from relentless cultivation, breathing exercises, and tempering every minute and second, one can rely on external aids, such as taking pills, cultivating with Dharma Bones, high-quality spiritual veins, and so on.”

Li Mingbo looked at the students in the front rows and smiled slightly, “But in my opinion, the most effective method is to directly purchase high-quality spiritual power from the Spirit Realm network for cultivation. Long-term exposure to high-quality spiritual power can more efficiently enhance one’s own spiritual power limit and quality…”

“Here, I recommend a platform called Spiritual Power Treasure.”

“I’ve negotiated a discount with Spiritual Power Treasure. As long as you enter and input my name, you can purchase high-quality spiritual power at 9.8% off…”

After speaking to the front-row students, Li Mingbo turned his gaze to those in the back, particularly sweeping his eyes over Zhang Yu, Yu Xinghan, Li Xiao, and others.

“Students who can’t afford high-quality spiritual power for daily cultivation, don’t worry. On Spiritual Power Treasure, you can also sell your unused spiritual power to mine coins. Just entrust your spiritual power to the platform, and without doing anything, you can earn some income every day…”

Hearing this, Zhang Yu nodded inwardly and immediately logged into Spiritual Power Treasure, wanting to see how much money his spiritual power could earn each day aside from being used for Dharma Bones and cultivation.

Li Mingbo looked at Zhang Yu and the others before him, knowing that these poor students from the first floor had no chance of purchasing high-quality spiritual power; they could only sell their own.

As front-row students invested money in cultivation, and back-row students used their cultivation resources to earn money, the gap between the two groups would only widen.

He had seen too many similar situations.

If immortal path cultivation were a competition of immortal potential, of who possessed more immortal resources, of who had more money…

As for magical power... it truly belongs to the realm of real wealth.

Therefore, he always employed different teaching methods for students from various levels.

He thought to himself, "Those in the back rows... should focus on earning a living first, lest they end up drowning in debt without achieving any real cultivation results."

Li Mingbo's mind drifted to memories of the past—those classmates from the first level, in the end, only he remained, becoming a new second-level cultivator.

...

In the physical cultivation class.

The teacher, with the head of a wolf and the body of a man, grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. This was Zhang Yu and the others' physical cultivation teacher, the demon-descendant cultivator Lang Yougong.

"My class is very free. Everyone may cultivate freely, practice whatever techniques you wish. I will guide each of you one by one."

Gongshu Jin's back, reinforced with the Vajra Mystic Spine, clinked and clanked, emitting a rumbling sound. This spinal artifact assisted all his muscle groups, enabling him to execute a level-20 expert technique.

Lang Yougong's eyes flickered, and with the activation of his ocular artifact, he seemed to penetrate flesh and bone, clearly observing the workings of Gongshu Jin's internal magical power, muscles, artifacts, and other organs.

He nodded slightly. "A spinal artifact storing a level-20 physical cultivation technique? Not bad, not bad. A promising talent indeed."

Lang Yougong's gaze swept around and settled on Ji Yanshu.

Ji Yanshu stood enveloped by a Wind-Stabilizing Pearl, completely isolated from the outside air.

His heart thundered, erupting with waves of magical power and blood flow, greatly enhancing the effects of his physical cultivation.

Lang Yougong nodded again, thinking to himself, "A Tian Gong brand heart artifact? Top-tier goods."

"Not only does it maintain a medicated state at all times, but it's also connected to the spiritual network, refining the marrow and cleansing the meridians with high-quality magical power. It's like sitting idle every day while continuously cultivating and absorbing medicinal effects."

"A genius! An absolute genius of the immortal path!"

From a distance, Yu Xinghan watched as Lang Yougong spent over ten minutes guiding Ji Yanshu and Gongshu Jin, sighing helplessly. "Here we go again. Looks like we'll be last once more."

In the physical cultivation class, Zhang Yu practiced the level-20 Spring and Autumn Endless Zen, hoping to receive some guidance from the teacher. He sighed as well. "Sigh, these teachers distribute their resources so unevenly. This class might as well not exist!"

A moment later, Lang Yougong observed Zhang Yu before him, thinking, "Oh? This physical cultivation technique is level 20, isn't it? And equipped with the Time-Remnant Demon Eye? Another little genius."

Lang Yougong said, "Come, your Spring and Autumn Endless Zen is quite well-practiced. Let me lend you a hand."

Zhang Yu felt the force from the other's strike assisting his cultivation, instantly sensing an improvement in efficiency.

Lang Yougong continued, "After foundation establishment, the spiritual root becomes part of the body and can be tempered as well, further enhancing the fusion between the spiritual root and the body."

"Currently, the fusion between your body and spiritual root is far from its limit... I'd say it's less than 70%. If you can raise it to 100%, your breathing efficiency, magical power gathering efficiency, and the power of martial techniques will all see significant improvements."

"The key to tempering the spiritual root lies in making subtle adjustments to the physical cultivation technique based on different spiritual root conditions."

"Your Spring and Autumn Endless Zen is already well-cultivated, but your understanding of your own spiritual root is lacking."

"Come! Activate your ocular artifact! Remember the crucial points I'm about to teach you..."

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Crucial points for physical cultivation techniques under different spiritual roots? I never heard Master Xinghuo mention this. Has immortal path technology advanced again? Is this a new physical cultivation technique?"

At the same time, Zhang Yu activated his Time-Remnant Demon Eye. The world around him instantly slowed down in his vision, and he focused entirely on memorizing Lang Yougong's upcoming teachings.

The surrounding students watched in mild surprise, never expecting Zhang Yu, who came from the first level, to receive such attention from Lang Yougong.

Gongshu Jin, however, was unfazed, thinking, "How could my friend be anything less?"

After spending over ten minutes guiding Zhang Yu, Lang Yougong glanced at Yu Xinghan beside him, thinking, "Using a Jihu brand ocular artifact?"

Yu Xinghan said, "Teacher, I have a bit of lag. My reactions might be a little slow..."

Lang Yougong thought to himself, "Everyone else uses Tianyan, Tian Gong, or Demon Eyes. Even the lesser ones use local brands... but you use Jihu? No wonder you're lagging. Your immortal path potential just isn't up to par."

Just as Yu Xinghan was about to speak, Lang Yougong said, "This student, please wait a moment. I need to guide some other students first."

Watching the teacher's retreating back, Yu Xinghan cursed inwardly and turned to Zhang Yu beside him. "What does this teacher mean?"

Zhang Yu's mind was still absorbing the guidance he had just received. After a moment of contemplation, he replied, "I can sense that Teacher Lang has a discerning eye and tailors his teaching to the individual. The order of his instruction might carry deeper meaning."

(End of Chapter)