Chapter 195 - 188: Venerable Dao Foundation
Qi Yun gazed at the mountain grotto before him, its entrance churning with phenomenal visions. Reflected deep in his pupils was the creation and destruction of chaotic energies and radiant light.
"Daluo... the Land of Enlightenment."
Though he didn’t understand the specifics, he could feel a supreme, profound, and incomparably noble aura hidden within, emanating from the depths of the grotto like a formless tide.
Merely standing here, his Heart and Spirit felt an inexplicable pressure.
"To ascend to the Foundation Establishment Realm, one must first establish the foundation of the Great Dao."
The Elder Master’s voice rang out, breaking the silence.
"But do you know from where all the Foundation Establishment Methods in this world originate?"
Qi Yun reined in his Heart and Spirit. With a thoughtful expression, he quickly reviewed everything he had learned from the Sect’s scriptures and the oral teachings of his elders, only to find it all vague and generalized. He could only shake his head and reply:
"I do not know."
The Elder Master’s gaze turned distant, as if piercing through endless time and space. He spoke slowly:
"Achieving Foundation Establishment makes one a Master. Seeking the Golden Nature makes one a True Monarch. And to ascend still another realm, to step into the true state of Longevity..."
"...one must knock open a portal called the Gate of All Wonders."
"The Gate of All Wonders..." Qi Yun repeated softly, etching the name into his very being.
"Precisely." The Elder Master nodded. "The source of all Foundation Establishment Methods in this world—they all flow from this Gate of All Wonders."
His speech was unhurried, yet every word carried immense weight. "According to ancient records...
"The Foundation Establishment Methods that have flowed from the Gate of All Wonders, those clearly recorded and cataloged, number three thousand, seven hundred and thirty-three in total."
"These Dao Foundations vary in quality, with a strict hierarchy of high and low, noble and base, like a rigid celestial ladder."
"A Lower Grade Dao Foundation is inherently subservient to a Middle Grade one; a Middle Grade Dao Foundation is, in turn, suppressed by an Upper Grade Dao Foundation. This is a suppression of the Great Dao itself, a gap that is nearly impossible to cross."
Qi Yun’s Heart and Spirit reeled as he listened.
It was as if a vast and severe genealogical chart of the Great Dao was unfurling before his very eyes.
"However..." The Elder Master’s tone shifted.
"Among these three-thousand-some Dao Foundations, there are twelve that are transcendent, reigning supreme above all others."
"They cannot be suppressed by any other Dao Foundation, and yet... they can suppress all others!"
Qi Yun’s gaze sharpened.
"These twelve Dao Foundations are known as the Venerable Dao Foundations."
’So there are such profound distinctions among Dao Foundations...’ Qi Yun thought.
"The Primordial Heaven Extreme Skill Dao Foundation you originally sought to achieve is ranked among the Upper Grade, the absolute finest aside from the Venerable Dao Foundations."
"Even within our Holy Sect, it is considered top-tier."
As the Elder Master said this, his gaze flickered almost imperceptibly, betraying a hint of regret. He was clearly still upset about the Black Mountain Master’s interference, which had caused the loss of the "First Certificate."
"But without the ’First Certificate,’ its Divine Rhyme is greatly diminished, and its value is no longer what it once was."
He paused, his gaze suddenly becoming as sharp as a sword. He looked toward the depths of the grotto, where the visions churned, and his voice took on a strange solemnity.
"But the Daluo Myriad Skills you are about to achieve now..."
The Elder Master’s voice drew out the words, as if accumulating immense power, before landing with resounding force:
"...is one of those twelve Venerable Dao Foundations!"
Although he had anticipated it, when Qi Yun heard with his own ears that the Daluo Myriad Skills was a Venerable Dao Foundation that reigned supreme over the Three Thousand Dao Foundations, his Heart and Spirit still wavered.
After the initial shock, however, he frowned slightly, his voice tinged with hesitation.
"But... such a precious Dharma Gate... why would the Holy Sect be willing to bestow it upon me so easily..."
"Precious?" The Elder Master chuckled at his words, a strange, knowing sound, as if he’d just heard a child speak.
"You’re overthinking things."
"Foundation Establishment Methods aren’t as common as roadside weeds or cabbages, it’s true."
"But any Sect or Noble Family with a decent heritage will have dozens, if not scores, of them recorded in their Jade Scroll Pavilion."
"And as for the methods to construct a Venerable Dao Foundation, heh, practically every Major Giant in the world worth their name has a copy."
"They aren’t secrets monopolized by any one family or faction."
The Elder Master glanced at Qi Yun. Seeing his pensive expression, he continued to explain:
"After all, the method for constructing a Dao Foundation is merely the most basic, simplest part of the process."
"It’s like a craftsman’s blueprint."
"The blueprint is easy to obtain; a master craftsman is not."
"I see..." Qi Yun nodded slowly, a flash of understanding in his eyes.
This principle was remarkably similar to what he knew from his past life.
That advanced knowledge of mathematics and physics was mostly laid out in public texts for anyone to read.
But those who could truly master the subjects and become luminaries in their field were as rare as a phoenix’s feather.
The key had always been the person themselves.
"However," the Elder Master’s tone shifted, growing heavy.
"The reason a Venerable Dao Foundation is a once-in-ten-thousand-year occurrence has nothing to do with the difficulty of the method."
He began to pace slowly, his voice like an ancient bell, every word striking a chord in Qi Yun’s heart.
"For an ordinary Dao Foundation, a Cultivator need only find a Foundation Establishment Object compatible with their own path. With a Foundation Establishment Method and enough hard work, they have a chance of success."
"The difficulty lies only in finding a suitable Foundation Establishment Object and in the depth of one’s comprehension of the method."
"As for a Venerable Dao Foundation..." The Elder Master paused. "Beyond these two hurdles, there is one more... a limitation that is almost impossible to overcome."
"What is it?" Qi Yun was completely captivated, the flames of his curiosity thoroughly stoked. He pressed for an answer.
The Elder Master raised his eyes, his gaze once again fixed on the mysterious grotto before him—a place where radiant light flowed and Dao Rhyme lingered, as if it were a self-contained world.
Within, visions churned in a bizarre and fantastic display.
His ancient, distant voice finally unveiled the most crucial piece of the puzzle:
"A Land of Enlightenment."
"A Land of Enlightenment?" Qi Yun repeated instinctively, his gaze drawn once more to the grotto’s fantastical depths.
"That’s right." The Elder Master’s tone was grave, holding the solemnity of one explaining the fundamental principles of Heaven and Earth.
"An ordinary Dao Foundation requires only a Spiritual Object aligned with the Great Dao, supplemented by the proper method."
"But Venerable Dao Foundations are different. None of them are born from nothing."
He pointed toward the churning visions, his fingertip seeming to pull at the invisible Dao Principles in the air.
"And this so-called ’Land of Enlightenment’..." the Elder Master’s voice grew deep.
"Its essence... is the place where the previous owner of that Venerable Dao Foundation shed their mortal coil!"
His gaze was as deep as an ancient well, reflecting Qi Yun’s suddenly constricted pupils.
"Only by finding such a place and using the final trace left behind when the predecessor’s Dao Fruit dissipated and merged with Heaven and Earth can you hope to use it as a catalyst to achieve a Venerable Dao Foundation of the same origin."
"Otherwise, no matter if your talent is peerless throughout the ages and your Magical Power is heaven-shaking, you cannot hope to build such a foundation from nothing!"
"Such an unbelievable restriction!" Qi Yun’s expression grew stern, his heart reeling from the shock.
This condition, so harsh it bordered on cruel, made him understand many things in an instant.
"Doesn’t that mean only one person can possess a specific Venerable Dao Foundation in any given era?"
"Only when the previous owner sheds their mortal coil and vacates the ’position’..."
"...can a successor even attempt to achieve it?"
"Correct." The Elder Master nodded slowly, his tone both detached and certain.
"Of the Venerable Dao Foundations, there are only ever twelve in all of Heaven and Earth."
"This is a cosmic constant, a shackle of the Great Dao."
"If the previous Daoist Master does not die or voluntarily shed their mortal coil, a successor will never have the opportunity to achieve that Dao."
"This is the rule: if the predecessor does not pass, the successor cannot rise!"
Hearing this, Qi Yun felt a chill run up his spine, which then transformed into an indescribable clarity.
He finally understood why the Venerable Dao Foundations were so rare, why a new one might not appear for ten thousand years.
It wasn’t just a contest of talent and opportunity.
It was a brutal game played against time, fate, and an unknown predecessor!
’This is a lot like account binding from my past life...’ An absurd yet incredibly fitting thought flashed through his mind.
’Only when the previous owner’s ’account’ is deleted (sheds their mortal coil), and you find their ’recovery email’ (the Land of Enlightenment), can a successor even try to ’recover the account’ (achieve the Dao).’
Though the thought was unconventional, it gave him a more intuitive understanding of how strict and peculiar this rule was.
But precisely because the conditions were so harsh, so heaven-defying...
...once a Venerable Dao Foundation was achieved, its inherent value...
Qi Yun’s gaze fell upon the grotto with its churning visions, and he mused internally:
’...would likely be great enough to shake the cosmos and transcend all of time!’
"Then, Teacher... is this the place where the previous wielder of the Daluo Myriad Skills... shed their mortal coil?"
The Elder Master didn’t answer right away. His profound gaze remained fixed on the unpredictable chaotic energies and brilliant Dao Traces deep within the grotto.
After a long while, he finally spoke, his tone complex and indecipherable.
"You could say that."
Those words seemed steeped in the dust of ages and a helpless sigh.
He paused, his voice turning somewhat distant.
"Years ago, I went astray. My Dao Foundation was damaged, my path forward severed."
"My heart... was filled with unwillingness." He didn’t elaborate on what that wrong path was, but the gloom and regret in his voice were suffocatingly heavy.
"Back then, I exhausted every method under the sun to try and fix it. I even... considered scattering my cultivation and starting all over again."
"This Land of Enlightenment..." The Elder Master’s voice now held an almost imperceptible trace of guilt.
"...was the last hope my own master found for me, at great cost."
Hearing this, Qi Yun’s heart stirred. He couldn’t help but ask, "Then, Teacher, why didn’t you ultimately..."
Before he could finish, he realized he might be touching upon his teacher’s deepest source of pain and immediately fell silent.
The Elder Master slowly turned his head to look at his young disciple.
A rare, faint smile appeared on his face.
Yet there was no warmth in that smile, no relief.
There was only a bone-deep sorrow and powerlessness, honed by the long years.
He looked at Qi Yun, at those eyes filled with vigor and fearlessness. Then, word by word, clearly yet heavily, he began to unveil a long-buried memory:
"Because I..."
The wind outside the grotto seemed to fall still, leaving only his voice, filled with an endless sense of time’s passage, to strike Qi Yun’s heart.
"...was afraid."
...