Raise a sword!

"The biggest difference between the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Qi Refining Realm, or rather, the difference between immortals and mortals, lies in the foundation of one's Dao."

What is the foundation of the Way?

Master Lü raised his hand and gently tapped the void, and the spiritual energy between heaven and earth gathered there.

In the past, this scene would have filled Jiang Peng with longing.

Just now, Jiang Peng, who had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, casually unleashed a similar effect.

"I've heard Master Ni Chang mention this before..."

"You should call her Senior Sister now," Master Lü reminded her.

"I'm not going to change how I address her," Jiang Peng shook his head. "When my senior sister-in-law Ni Chang becomes a Golden Core cultivator, won't I have to address her as 'senior senior sister-in-law' again?"

Master Lü smiled and nodded, saying, "That's true. Most unfamiliar cultivators use cultivation levels to determine seniority, but among acquaintances, there's no need to do that."

Jiang Peng continued, "Senior Aunt Ni Chang had already shown me the mysteries of the Foundation Establishment Realm. After my breakthrough, I could feel that I was more at ease in this world. But the Dao Foundation... forgive my ignorance, I did not perceive its existence."

"The Golden Elixir is the foundation of the Dao," Master Lü said.

Jiang Peng's face showed surprise.

Master Lü continued, "What is the Dao Foundation? It is the recognition of Heaven and Earth, the Great Dao granting you immense power and permitting you to possess the most mysterious power in the world—spiritual energy."

"Because Foundation Establishment cultivators are already part of the Great Dao, an extension of the Dao, they can control the spiritual energy between heaven and earth with ease."

"As for not being able to perceive the existence of the Dao Foundation... Heh, isn't the Foundation Establishment realm precisely for this purpose? The Dao Foundation transforms from the illusory to the real, turning the power borrowed from the Great Dao into your own power."

"The moment when the Dao Foundation transforms from the abstract into the concrete into the Golden Elixir is the moment when you transform from an extension of the Great Dao into a new 'Dao'."

At this point, Master Lü seemed to have thought of something and suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, he shook his head slightly and said, "That's a bit of a stretch. No matter how gifted one is, condensing a golden core is something that can only happen after the age of one hundred. Let's get back to the topic of establishing one's foundation."

Master Lü looked at Jiang Peng with the same gaze he would give a piece of uncut jade.

"Below the Foundation Establishment stage, all are mortals."

"For ordinary cultivators, Foundation Establishment involves cultivating the Qi Refining Realm to its peak and then using Foundation Establishment Pills to forcibly break through the shackles and cross the gap between immortals and mortals."

"Such a breakthrough may seem to be a standard practice for cultivators, but in reality, it is fraught with hidden dangers... Each person's situation is different, and the hidden dangers are also different, but there is one thing in particular: for this type of cultivator, each of the nine levels of Foundation Establishment is a hurdle."

Master Lü then asked, "When you had your sudden enlightenment, did you see your true self?"

Jiang Peng didn't know if what she saw was the so-called true nature; she simply described her enlightenment process in a brief manner.

After listening, Master Lü exclaimed, "This is the wonder of the self-formed Dao foundation... When breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, one must first pass the Heart Guarding stage, and only after the Foundation Establishment stage is perfected can one finally pass the Out-of-Body stage."

"This is the true path for cultivators."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Peng exclaimed in surprise, "Are you saying that what I experienced during my enlightenment was the 'guarding the mind' test before a Foundation Establishment cultivator breaks through to the Golden Core stage?"

"That's roughly it, but there are still some differences, which you will learn about in the future. However, compared to ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, you have already passed most of the Heart-Guarding Barrier."

Master Lü nodded and said, "Therefore, the true path for cultivators is to establish their foundation naturally. Although the Foundation Establishment Pill is an alternative method, it is merely a shortcut."

"Those who have a self-established Dao foundation will see their true nature and understand their mind as soon as they enter the Foundation Establishment stage. Their cultivation path will be smooth and unobstructed from then on... In other words, before reaching the Golden Core stage, you will not encounter any bottlenecks. This is the benefit of a self-established Dao foundation."

"The saying of nine levels of Foundation Establishment is just that later cultivators realized their own limitations, so they divided the major realms into layers... In the past, Foundation Establishment was just Foundation Establishment, and there was no need to distinguish between the early, middle and late stages, only the difference between perfection and non-perfection."

Jiang Peng believes that the "past" mentioned by Lü Zhenren may need to be traced back to a very, very long time ago.

This was probably during the ancient times when sword cultivators were still in harmony with their swords.

Through Master Lü's explanation, Jiang Peng understood the difference between himself and those Foundation Establishment cultivators who relied on elixirs to break through.

He essentially bypassed the hurdles that others had to overcome when they reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

In this way, all the bottlenecks of the Foundation Establishment Realm are naturally broken, and all that remains is the accumulation of cultivation.

Or to put it another way, this is the right path for cultivators, the way to buy a ticket and get on board.

Foundation Establishment Pills, on the other hand, are a shortcut used by cultivators—it's like getting on the train first and buying the ticket later.

The tricks you use to break through the Foundation Establishment stage will have to be repaid with one bottleneck after another in your future cultivation.

...

The long conversation lasted until dawn before finally ending. When Master Lü left, he gave Jiang Peng a communication jade slip, saying that if Jiang Peng had any questions about cultivation in the future, he could go to the back mountain to find him.

After Master Lü left, Jiang Peng returned to the summit from the back of Biwu Peak.

A light drizzle fell during the night, and the mountains were shrouded in a thin mist. In the distance, the fiery red sunrise spread through the mist, making everything on the peaks shine.

After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, Jiang Peng didn't feel any changes in himself. He went into the kitchen and started cooking as usual.

What happened last night did not cause much of a stir in the sect.

As always, Mei Jinhe and Su Zhi peeked into the kitchen just before dinner was about to start.

They praised Jiang Peng's cooking skills and jokingly talked about some interesting things that happened on the mountain.

Mei Jinhe would occasionally try to coax Jiang Peng into reducing her daily training schedule with this clumsy method.

Just as Jiang Peng and the two younger ones were joking around, suddenly, the sound of a bell rang out from the sect.

The bells rang one after another.

"Huh, could it be that someone else has reached the Foundation Establishment stage?" Mei Jinhe raised an eyebrow.

She still vividly remembered Sun Yinxi's foundation-building experience last time, so she looked at Jiang Peng provocatively.

"Senior brother, you've packed our schedules to the brim, but what about yourself? You're supposed to be the face of our Azure Mist Peak... My junior brother and I have suffered a lot of injustices since joining Azure Mist Peak!"

"Senior brother, you must work hard and strive to reach the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible."

Jiang Peng asked in surprise, "What wronged you?"

Mei Jinhe's face stiffened, and her eyes darted around rapidly.

"Even when we run into fellow disciples, they all say that our Azure Mist Peak doesn't even have a Foundation Establishment Elder."

"Who said that?" Jiang Peng asked curiously. "After Elder Liu Zhi left, the supply of pills to each peak was managed by Master. Now, the distribution of pills each month can only be carried out with my or Master's approval. Who would dare to say that? As long as there are no problems with the Pill Hall's affairs, the sect leader will not interfere."

Mei Jinhe grumbled, "Oh well, that's what people say anyway. I just wanted to urge my senior brother to cultivate harder and reach the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible."

"You just want me to stop watching you two all the time," Jiang Peng said, seeing right through Mei Jinhe's little scheme.

Just then, the voice of Sect Master Chu Chun'an echoed across the various peaks of the sect.

"Jiang Peng of Azure Mist Peak has successfully completed his Foundation Establishment! Heaven blesses Cangshan! Congratulations to the sect!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Peng's lips curved slightly, and she glanced at Mei Jinhe and Su Zhi beside her with a strange look.

pat-

The porcelain bowls they were holding fell to the ground and shattered.

Jiang Peng got up and walked towards the kitchen. One bowl of cold noodles wasn't enough for her; she needed another bowl.

"Remember to clean it thoroughly," he said casually.