Chapter 75: Foundation Establishment at Moon Gaze Peak
Nangong Wan shook her head.
If this disciple of hers had truly taken the teachings to heart, she wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state. The mental barrier within her was likely insurmountable.
But Nangong Wan did not press the topic further. Everyone had their own destiny and path; it was best to let her be.
Ruoshui turned her gaze toward the direction of Moon Gaze Peak.
"Master, do you think he can achieve Foundation Establishment?"
Nangong Wan followed her gaze, her eyes profound as if they could span ten thousand miles.
"Fifty percent chance."
After all, he possessed the crippled Five Spirit Roots body. Even if he consumed Flawless pills like candy, crossing that chasm would be immensely difficult.
Ruoshui looked back at her master.
"Master, how is he able to refine Flawless pills with such ease?"
Nangong Wan withdrew her gaze and placed a white piece on the Go board. Her gentle voice echoed across the viewing platform.
"The heavens and earth are filled with countless wonders. Some are born with mana reaching to the skies; some enter the world with the protection of the Five Elemental Spirits; others are in harmony with the Heavenly Dao itself. What others dream of attaining—profound insights into the world's truths—is merely their natural state."
A thoughtful expression appeared on Ruoshui's face.
Did that mean her nominal disciple was one in harmony with the Heavenly Dao?
Her master's voice sounded again.
"The Great Dao is without sentiment, and so is the Heavenly Dao. It is both a blessing and a curse. Those born with sky-reaching mana often have shallow fortune and are suppressed by this world from birth, with many dying young. The Five Spirit Body appears only once in ten thousand years, and its emergence brings calamity and sin, leading to a violent death. Those in harmony with the Heavenly Dao mostly become nourishment for it. As for those with crippled Five Spirit Roots... they have no affinity for cultivation. They live a mortal life, return to dust in the end, and nourish the Heavenly Dao."
Live a mortal life, return to dust, and nourish the Heavenly Dao?
"Master, he is a man of the mountains!"
If those in harmony with the Heavenly Dao cannot cultivate, then what was the deal with her nominal disciple?
"He is an exception."
Nangong Wan once again looked toward Moon Gaze Peak.
He truly was an exception. An exception among those in harmony with the Heavenly Dao.
"Master, does the Heavenly Dao truly exist?"
What was the Heavenly Dao? This was likely the answer all cultivators sought throughout their lives.
Nangong Wan looked back at her head disciple.
"The Heavenly Dao is the rule by which heaven and earth operate. It can exist, or it can not exist. If you believe it exists, then it exists. If you believe it does not, then it does not. Every cultivator holds their own answer within their heart."
Ruoshui fell silent.
Her master's words were profound. She found it difficult to grasp their hidden meaning for now.
This game of Go would last a very, very long time.
When people of the mountains played Go, a match could be as short as a few hours or as long as several years, decades, centuries, or even millennia. The Way of Go contained the rules of heaven and earth. Even comprehending just a sliver of its profound intent held unimaginable benefits for a cultivator.
Half a year later. Joyous Union Sect. Inner Sect, Moon Gaze Peak.
Time flew by swiftly; half a year passed quietly and unnoticed.
Atop the peak, within the pavilion, Li Meng was still seated in meditation cultivation.
The five-colored spiritual light emanating from the pavilion grew increasingly dense. Five-colored spiritual power swirled around the entire mountaintop like a gentle storm.
Looking at the small old man within the pavilion, his thin, withered frame seemed somewhat sturdier now. His originally wrinkled skin had also become smoother, though the years still clung to him.
Suddenly, the old man opened his eyes.
"Still not enough!"
Li Meng looked down at the last bottle of pills in his hand. He never expected that twenty Flawless Foundation Pills would still be insufficient.
"Fortunately, I came prepared!"
With a flick of his sleeve, five more pill bottles flew out from the storage pouch at his waist, landing neatly on the ground before him.
These Flawless Foundation Pills were originally prepared for his Junior Sister—a promise Li Meng had made. He never forgot his word.
But if he failed Foundation Establishment, everything on him would naturally fall into Ancestor Nangong's hands anyway. Now that Foundation Establishment was imminent—just one final push away—he had no choice but to use them as an emergency measure.
He could simply prepare more Foundation Pills for Junior Sister after successfully establishing his foundation.
Looking at the six bottles arrayed on the ground, a flicker of doubt crossed Li Meng's eyes.
Even for a crippled Five Spirit Roots body, Foundation Establishment shouldn't be this difficult by any reasonable standard. He was using Flawless Foundation Pills! Even a cultivator with Four Spirit Roots aptitude would have an eighty percent chance of success using these.
He had consumed twenty Foundation Pills already! Yet that mountain blocking his path hadn't budged an inch.
Panic began to rise in his chest.
"I absolutely cannot fail!"
Having finally obtained this "Heavenly Dao System," how could he possibly stop here?
Li Meng formed hand seals.
Ten Foundation Pills flew out from their bottles and shot straight into his mouth in one go.
Li Meng closed his eyes and placed his hands on his knees.
In the next moment, his aura surged violently!
His aged body erupted with an even more dazzling five-colored spiritual light. The wild Five Element spiritual power pulsed outward like a heartbeat, wave after wave crashing forth.
The medicinal potency of ten Foundation Pills was simply too immense.
Only about seventy percent of their full potency could be absorbed; the remaining thirty percent overflowed from his body. It wasn't that Li Meng didn't want to absorb all ten parts; it was that a Qi Condensation cultivator's soul simply couldn't control such violent spiritual power. Forcing absorption risked exploding from within!
Time flew by, day after day.
The strange phenomena within the pavilion never ceased. The five-colored spiritual light grew more dazzling each day. The overflowing Five Element spiritual power grew denser and denser...
One year later. Moon Gaze Peak. Pavilion atop the peak.
Suddenly, no more Five Element spiritual power surged out from within the pavilion. The brilliant five-colored light gradually dimmed.
Although seated on the cushion remained a figure with hair still white as snow...
His body was no longer frail or small. Instead, it gave off an impression of robust fullness, tall and broad-shouldered. The skin on his face was no longer wrinkled but smooth and lustrous like white jade, radiating a healthy, youthful glow beneath his white beard.
An aura of ancient profundity emanated from his entire being. Merely sitting there gave him an air akin to an immortal sage dwelling upon sacred mountains—a striking "White hair, youthful face."
Li Meng opened his eyes. He formed hand seals and uttered a soft command:
"Disperse!"
In that instant, Five Element spiritual power erupted from Li Meng's body!
It formed into a towering pillar of five-colored light that shot straight up into the heavens!
The soaring pillar pierced through the clouds high above; one cloud layer shattered under its force! Rolling waves of Five Element spiritual power swept outwards in all directions, forming a Spiritual Tide that nourished heaven and earth itself!
Li Meng had consumed far too many Foundation Pills! If he didn't disperse this immense spiritual power accumulated within him... his body would be unable to bear it—he would explode from within!
Joyous Union Sect. Inner Sect. Masked Moon Peak.
On the viewing platform atop the peak pavilion.
"Master... what is this...?"
Two graceful figures engaged in Go both turned simultaneously toward the direction of Moon Gaze Peak.
Beneath the veil covering the lower half of her face, Nangong Wan's lips curled into a faint smile.
"He has succeeded in establishing his foundation!"
Succeeded?
Her nominal disciple had actually succeeded?
"But... it's just Foundation Establishment! How could it trigger such an astonishing phenomenon?"
The spiritual power radiating from that soaring pillar nearly matched the total mana possessed by someone at the Great Perfection stage of Foundation Establishment!
"He popped too many pills!"
Nangong Wan's tone carried a hint of playful mockery.
Popped too many pills?
Ruoshui pursed her lips and smiled.
Yes indeed—nothing more than popping too many pills.