What exactly was Return to Truth? This question had lingered in Li Fan’s mind ever since it had appeared.
Was it an ability that awakened within him after his transmigration? Or was it some esoteric gift hidden deep within his body?
In certain moments, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a subconscious dread.
What if one day, he suddenly lost Return to Truth? Or worse, what if, at a critical moment when he needed to turn reality into illusion, Return to Truth suddenly failed him?
When he first read Treatise on Curios , Li Fan had also wondered: Could Return to Truth be a type of Curio of heaven and earth? Could he use it for his Foundation Establishment?
Now, after hearing Yin Shangren's words, Li Fan felt a growing certainty that perhaps he truly could use Return to Truth to establish his Dao Foundation.
But the time wasn’t right.
Return to Truth was his final trump card. Without absolute certainty, he would not recklessly attempt it.
If using Return to Truth for Foundation Establishment was like a difficult research problem that needed solving, then Li Fan currently didn't even qualify to participate in the discussion. After all, he still hadn't fully grasped what Foundation Establishment actually entailed.
Fortunately, in this era, most questions could be answered for a price.
His avatar, Lin Fan, began searching for knowledge related to Foundation Establishment.
Preliminary Discussion on Foundation Establishment , Heaven, Earth, and Man , Records of One Hundred Foundation Establishments ...
Li Fan redeemed and read one related text after another. Gradually, he developed a general understanding of Foundation Establishment.
Using the Object Devouring Technique, one consumes a Curio of heaven and earth into the dantian.
The Heaven-Earth Root takes root upon it. Then, using the Curio as soil and a nurturing bed, one absorbs the laws contained within it, eventually growing a fruit called the Dao Foundation.
Curios of heaven and earth were divided into three major categories: Curios of Heaven, Curios of Earth, and Curios of Man.
Among these, establishing a foundation with a Curio of Man was the easiest, because Curios of Man were generally formed from fallen cultivators, containing the insights into the laws that the cultivator had in life.
It was like having a teacher constantly at one’s side during the Foundation Establishment process, offering diligent guidance.
Curios of Earth and Curios of Heaven were closer to the pure laws of the great Dao.
Without other cultivators' experiences to refer to, one had to spend more time and effort comprehending the various laws aggregated within the Curio to transform them into their own Dao Foundation.
However, the benefit of borrowing a Curio of heaven and earth to build a Dao Foundation was that the process could not fail.
It was just like when breaking through to Qi Refinement, condensing the Heaven-Earth Root, and forcibly drawing spiritual qi for use.
This method of Foundation Establishment could be summed up as “steady."
If Foundation Establishment in ancient times before the Great Reformation was a closed-book exam, then Foundation Establishment now is an open-book exam. The answers are right in front of you; how fast and how accurately you can copy them depends entirely on the individual. Li Fan mused to himself.
The rarer the Curio, the higher the difficulty of the exam. When the difficulty reaches a certain point, you can't even understand what the exam questions are saying, let alone answer them.
From this perspective, even if I wanted to use Return to Truth for Foundation Establishment in the short term, I simply couldn't do it.
But if, during the process of Foundation Establishment, I gradually enhance my comprehension of the Great Dao's laws and then repeatedly attempt it, there might still be a chance.
As for that Self Foundation... Ten years ago? Maybe I can let that Yin Shangren try it himself first.
Li Fan made plans for his subsequent cultivation path.
His avatar still existed, so the remains obtained from Tian Yang’s cave dwelling could not be used yet.
His avatar Lin Fan continued to browse through the Tianxuan Mirror. At the same time, he redeemed and perused some Foundation Establishment techniques to prepare for later derivation and fusion of his own techniques.
As for his true self, Li Fan still intended to wait for the Deepsea Pearl to emerge and use it for his Foundation Establishment.
In his previous life, he had become one with the ocean, borrowing the sea’s consciousness to comprehend heaven and earth. He was already perfectly attuned to the Deepsea Pearl, so using it for Foundation Establishment would undoubtedly yield twice the result with half the effort.
Now, more than half of Anchor Year 13 had passed. Only about seven or eight years remained until Crimson Flame would scorch the sea, and the Deepsea Pearl emerged.
He could afford to wait. Besides, during this time, he wasn’t without means to deepen his understanding of Foundation Establishment.
Formless Killing Mechanism, Heaven Watches and Earth Listens—activate.
The images in his mind gradually sharpened. Amid the raging storm, Zhang Haobo was tossed about like a kite with its string cut, flung by the gales. He paid no heed to the towering waves or the bean-sized raindrops, allowing them to strike his body unchecked.
Li Fan observed Zhang Haobo.
Nearly three months have passed since I last saw him. He’s already reached the late-stage Qi Refinement realm...
His eyes are shut, his breathing has ceased, and even the spiritual qi throughout his body has fallen into utter stillness.
What is he comprehending?
Li Fan also studied the violent storm. Perhaps it was his imagination, but a flash of azure light seemed to streak across the gloomy, overcast sky.
What was that...?
When he looked again, it was gone. That fleeting glimpse might have been nothing more than an illusion.
Azure...
Under the effect of Heaven Watches and Earth Listens, Li Fan refused to believe he had mistaken it.
He suddenly recalled the stormfloods that had plagued the Congyun Sea for years. He had previously searched the Tianxuan Mirror for information about these stormfloods, but there were no records of them.
At that time, he thought it was because they had little impact on cultivators. Now he understood: this was likely the influence of the Eternal Heavenly Venerable.
Li Fan remembered that just before he arrived in the Congyun Sea in a past life, a massive stormflood had occurred, destroying over a hundred islands.
In the following years, the scale and frequency of the stormfloods gradually diminished until Crimson Flame descended.
There might be some secret here. But now is not the time to investigate... Li Fan filed the thought away.
His attention returned to Zhang Haobo. The man remained in a state of epiphany.
Li Fan couldn’t discern what was happening, and the endless storm showed no signs of abating.
Thus, he could only maintain a sliver of awareness focused on Zhang Haobo’s movements while diverting most of his attention back to the Tianxuan Mirror.
Placing all bets on one person is unwise. I need to cast a wider net. I haven’t tested how many people Formless Killing Mechanism can lock onto at once.
Hmm, I can experiment on some cultivators nearing Foundation Establishment.
When it came to gathering information, Li Fan immediately thought of Jiao Xiuyuan. Though the man was greedy and cowardly, his intelligence was reliable. And Li Fan was a regular customer.
Concealing his presence, Li Fan made his way familiarly to the Thousand Li Hall. Before he even stepped inside, Jiao Xiuyuan’s voice carried from within.
"I've already got everything you asked for! When are you coming to pick it up? How many times do I have to remind you?
"Don't give me that nonsense about being too busy to come. I think you just don’t want it anymore!
"Hey? Hey!
"Damn it!"
When Li Fan entered the room, he saw Jiao Xiuyuan’s face twisted in frustration.
He slammed a small cauldron onto the table.