Li Fan didn’t particularly concern himself with the possibility that Ye Feipeng might possess an exotic beast bloodline inheritance. After all, this was just another type of physical constitution and offered Li Fan no reference value whatsoever.
What truly captured Li Fan’s attention were the dual Dao Foundations within Ye Feipeng’s dantian.
By now, Li Fan considered himself half a genuine Foundation Establishment Master.
Yet he had never heard of a cultivator, after establishing their Dao Foundation, using another Curio of heaven and earth to construct a second Dao Foundation.
How had Ye Feipeng managed such a feat?
Was it connected to his unusual bloodline?
Through the perspective of heaven and earth, Li Fan carefully observed the peacefully slumbering youth.
The Azure Wind Dao Foundation and the Deepsea Dao Foundation coexisted within Ye Feipeng’s body in perfect harmony, complementing each other as if they had always belonged together.
Li Fan studied them long and hard, yet could not discern the underlying principles.
Out of habit, he searched through the Tianxuan Mirror. Unsurprisingly, he found nothing.
The absence of information only confirmed one thing: the method for establishing dual Dao Foundations was deliberately concealed.
The permission level to access this secret was probably extremely high. Otherwise there wouldn't be absolutely no discussion about it, not even mentions here and there.
Dual Dao Foundations... Could a cultivator even maintain multiple Dao Foundations simultaneously?
Li Fan’s interest, however, was not born from a desire to build additional Dao Foundations using other Curios. Return to Truth could already transform into any Curio in heaven and earth. If he wanted a rare or valuable Curio, he could simply absorb it, then get Return to Truth to assume its form. There was no need for such redundancy.
What Li Fan truly desired was a method to allow two, or even multiple, Dao Foundations to coexist within one body.
Currently, when Return to Truth manifested as a Curio, it could only take one form at a time. If it became the Deepsea Pearl, it was only the Deepsea Pearl. If it became the Seven-Apertures Exquisite Heart, it was only that. It could switch from one form to another, but both could never exist simultaneously.
If Return to Truth could manifest as two, or more, Foundation Establishment Curios at once...
Forget other benefits. His combat power alone would experience an astronomical leap.
When searches yielded no results, it was time for connections to prove their worth.
Li Fan sent messages to all his friends, inquiring about dual Dao Foundations.
He expected their answers to take considerable time, but to his surprise, a reply arrived quickly.
It was from Shen Yuzi of Tianyun Province, whom he'd met previously through Ling Xiao's posthumous works.
"Young friend, I see you are inquiring about dual Dao Foundations. Have you perhaps found some high-grade Curio and wish to establish another Dao Foundation?"
Seeing that Shen Yuzi clearly possessed relevant knowledge, Li Fan's spirits lifted. He immediately replied, "You misunderstand, Senior. I just encountered a cultivator who surprisingly possesses dual Dao Foundations within him. So I asked this question out of curiosity."
Shen Yuzi remained silent for a moment before responding, "So that's how it is.
"I still owe you a favor from before. Dual Dao Foundations aren't exactly top-secret knowledge; telling you won't cause any harm.
"But you should keep this to yourself, young friend. Definitely don't spread it around to avoid unnecessary trouble."
Li Fan promptly replied, "I understand, Senior."
Only then did Shen Yuzi continue, "How much do you know about Curios of heaven and earth?"
"I have some basic knowledge. They're divided into Curios of Man, Curios of Earth, and Curios of Heaven. Curios of Man mostly formed from cultivators who fell thousands of years ago..." Li Fan recounted some fundamental knowledge.
"Exactly. Cultivators borrow the Curios of heaven and earth to build their Dao Foundations. This foundation becomes intrinsically linked to all subsequent breakthroughs—condensing the Golden Core, forming the Nascent Soul, and even achieving Spirit Transformation.
"But Curios vary in quality. Imagine a cultivator who, during their Foundation Establishment period, was impoverished and desperate, forced to use a medium-grade or even low-grade Curio of Man to build their foundation.
"Then through fortune and circumstance, their luck turns. They cultivate all the way to Spirit Transformation.
"That low-quality Foundation Establishment Curio becomes incompatible with their powerful cultivation, becoming a 'flaw' in their very being.
“So what should they do? Shatter their Dao Foundation and rebuild? While the Taishang Primordial True Scripture could preserve most of their cultivation, the higher one’s realm, the more time required to rebuild.
“Not to mention, the longer one cultivates, the more deeply rooted their Dao Foundation becomes. Rashly shattering one's Dao Foundation could be fatal."
Li Fan pondered this. "So this method of establishing an additional Dao Foundation is how high-level cultivators eliminate flaws in their original foundation?"
Shen Yuzi nodded. "This method is called Dao Reestablishment. After establishing a new foundation, not only is one's cultivation and power completely unaffected, but the new foundation can gradually consume and replace the original. This allows for a transformation, mending all past flaws."
With this explanation, Li Fan completely understood.
To use an imperfect analogy, the original Dao Foundation was like a wife from one's impoverished days.
She accompanied the cultivator through the difficult early stages of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.
But later, when the cultivator prospered, reaching Nascent Soul, or even Spirit Transformation, they began to feel their humble wife was no longer worthy, so they considered replacing her.
But this wife had suffered through hard times with them. Suddenly casting her aside would be difficult to accept emotionally, and outsiders would criticize him harshly.
The only way was to proceed gradually: first taking a concubine, then finding an opportunity to elevate the concubine to wife status.
However, what Li Fan wanted was a method to allow the wife and concubine to coexist peacefully, so he asked Shen Yuzi about it.
Since Shen Yuzi intended to help, he didn't hesitate, immediately transmitting the Dao Reestablishment method.
Li Fan was overjoyed and repeatedly expressed his thanks.
He hungrily began reading the secret method's contents when he heard Shen Yuzi suddenly sigh. "Speaking of which, this Dao Reestablishment method was created by a cultivator from our Tianyun Province named Chen Shimei.
"That man was truly ruthless, willing to do anything to advance his cultivation.
"Just because there was a chance his partner's Foundation Establishment Curio might be more suitable for him, he actually refined the very person who had accompanied him for centuries, who had been there for him when he was nothing."
Li Fan, immersed in the method's profundities, felt a chill of horror upon hearing this.
He had nearly forgotten—anything that existed in this world could be transformed into a Dao Foundation.
Shen Yuzi's mocking voice continued: "Unfortunately, his luck ran out. The news leaked and angered a certain female powerhouse.
"Not only was he skinned and deboned, but his consciousness was extracted and transferred into a black dog.
"Now he suffers daily abuse from other beasts, a fate ten thousand times worse than death."
"Heh, young friend, if you ever visit our Tianyun Province, you might see something very interesting...
"To curry favor with this female powerhouse, many cultivators bring vicious beasts and form queues to take turns humiliating Chen Shimei."
Li Fan shuddered just imagining the scene.
When women turned vicious, they were every bit as terrifying as men.
"Though this Chen Shimei is despicable, the secret method itself seems remarkable.
"But from what you're saying, Senior, this secret method will bring trouble?
"Why would that be?"