Chapter 109: All Things Transform into Wonders

Li Fan and Reverend Yin returned to the depths of the building. After sitting down at a resting place, Li Fan explained his purpose.

"Oh? You want to know how to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage?" Reverend Yin immediately became excited, spitting as he spoke. "Friend, you've certainly asked the right person! I dare say, no one understands Foundation Establishment better than me!"

"I'd be glad to hear the details!" Li Fan didn't argue, asking with a smile.

At this moment, the humanoid dog walked over upright, like a person.

Its two front paws, acting as hands, carried two cups and placed them on the table.

The cups contained a dark, swirling liquid; it was unclear what was inside.

The humanoid dog then lay down again, continuously circling Reverend Yin, as if seeking praise.

"Friend, please have some tea! This is excellent stuff, a spiritual energy microbial colony that I cultivated myself. If it proliferates and coexists within your body, it can accelerate the circulation of spiritual energy and enhance its explosive power, offering many benefits." Reverend Yin took a sip with apparent relish and spoke to Li Fan.

Li Fan's divine sense swept over it, revealing that what was swirling in the cup were countless tiny microorganisms, displaying unique appearances, as if baring fangs and brandishing claws.

So, Li Fan remained still.

Seeing Li Fan didn't drink, Reverend Yin seemed a little disappointed.

Without pressing the issue, he got straight to the point, asking, "The so-called Foundation Establishment refers to establishing the foundation of cultivation. So, friend, do you know what this 'Dao Foundation' truly is?"

Li Fan pondered for a moment before replying, "The Dao Foundation is the cornerstone of a cultivator's practice. After reaching the pinnacle of Qi Refining, a cultivator must establish their own Dao Foundation to continue cultivating. Otherwise, even if their cultivation could still increase, it would be like building a hundred-zhang-tall tower on quicksand. With a slight shake, it would collapse."

When discussing scholarly matters, Reverend Yin became quite serious. He nodded, "Precisely. Before the Great Calamity, some Qi Refining cultivators took a different path, not building a Dao Foundation but specializing solely in Qi Refining."

"They claimed Qi Refining had no limits, that three thousand layers of Qi Refining could slay a Dao Integration cultivator. Unfortunately, this person only cultivated to the ninety-ninth layer of Qi Refining before a Golden Core cultivator, finding them an eyesore, casually struck them down."

"Perhaps their path was indeed viable, but firstly, Qi Refining cultivators have weak bodies and cannot withstand such immense power. Secondly, even with many layers of Qi Refining, they would only possess brute force. When truly fighting against cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or above, they would suffer too many disadvantages, getting caught up in trifles while neglecting the essential."

Reverend Yin took a sip of tea and continued, "Ancient cultivators all followed the example of nature. They observed the laws of heaven and earth's operation and comprehended the principles of the Great Dao's flow."

"Then, combining their own insights, they made clumsy imitations."

"Over many years, the cultivators' comprehension and contemplation of the Great Dao transformed into the foundation for their future cultivation."

"Furthermore, due to varying aptitudes and levels of comprehension, the speed and compatibility with which cultivators comprehend the Great Dao and establish their Dao Foundation also differ greatly."

"Some could instantly have an epiphany and establish their foundation on the spot. But the vast majority would spend decades diligently studying, unable to make any progress."

"The difficulty of cultivation was evident."

Reverend Yin suddenly sighed, "But that was in the past."

"If the laws of heaven and earth are likened to a towering giant tree, then in the past, we cultivators were like tiny sprites among its branches. We flew among the leaves and branches, observing and comprehending."

"It was too slow, and too difficult."

"Then, after the Immortal Venerable imparted the Dao, we cultivators transformed into greedy ants, no longer engaging in observation, comprehension, or emulation. Instead, we directly gnawed on the branches and leaves of the giant tree, transforming them into resources for our own growth."

"This way, cultivation was undoubtedly countless times faster. And the Heaven and Earth Wonders were precisely like the branches and leaves of this giant tree."

"They are aggregations of the laws of heaven and earth in certain aspects. With a Wonder as a basis, cultivators could skip the process of personal comprehension and directly transform it into their Dao Foundation."

Li Fan nodded, "I recall that 'Treatise on Wonders' also mentioned this."

"'Treatise on Wonders'..." Reverend Yin sneered, seemingly disdainful.

He continued, "If the 'borrowing from Heaven and Earth Wonders' of the past was to omit the process of comprehending heaven and earth..."

"Then, I ask you: Nowadays, if there's a supremely gifted cultivator who doesn't need Heaven and Earth Wonders to comprehend these laws, whose understanding of heaven and earth is extremely profound – in ancient times, they could directly establish their foundation. Is that still possible now?" Reverend Yin looked at Li Fan with piercing eyes.

"Of course not, Foundation Establishment requires borrowing from Heaven and Earth Wonders..." Li Fan began, then suddenly thought of something and fell silent.

"Exactly, the method of cultivation has already been completely altered," Reverend Yin said coldly.

"In the past, cultivators comprehended the laws of heaven and earth and cultivated in accordance with nature – that was the natural order."

"But after the Immortal Venerable imparted their method, this natural order was inverted. Cultivators must now go against the heavens, plundering heaven and seizing earth..."

Li Fan murmured, "Going against the principles of heaven and earth..."

"...to attain immortality!" Reverend Yin continued.

"I don't know how cultivators attained immortality before the Great Calamity."

"But ever since the method of cultivation was changed, the only path to attaining immortality now is to go against the principles of heaven and earth."

"The Immortal Venerable who imparted this method was the proposer of the theory and the first to put it into practice."

"She defied all cultivation principles of cultivators under heaven and attained the immortal fruit of longevity. From then on, she became coeval with heaven and earth, free and unfettered."

"And from then on, all cultivators under heaven who wished to cultivate could only do so according to her 'method.' How tyrannical!"

Reverend Yin's tone was fervent, clearly indicating his considerable dissatisfaction with this Immortal Venerable who imparted the method of longevity.

"To forge one's own path, and then compel all living beings to follow only that path from then on. What an Immortal Venerable who imparted the Dao..." Li Fan's heart was greatly shaken.

This was the second Immortal Venerable he had glimpsed.

Then, he suddenly thought of the gigantic statue of the high-crowned old man on Myriad Immortals Island.

Standing tall and alone, it gazed down upon all who came and went.

"Could it be that the Myriad Immortals Alliance was founded by this Immortal Venerable who imparted the Dao? But if this Immortal Venerable was still alive, why would she stand by and watch Myriad Immortals Island be destroyed by Chiyan a few years later..." A wave of doubt surged in Li Fan's mind.

Reverend Yin didn't notice Li Fan's thoughts and continued, "Now, here's the crucial question: Since Foundation Establishment nowadays absolutely requires 'borrowing from Heaven and Earth Wonders'..."

"...then what exactly are Heaven and Earth Wonders?"

"You've read 'Treatise on Wonders,' so you know that after cultivators die, they are transformed into Heaven and Earth Wonders by the world."

"Does that not mean that cultivators, while alive, can also be regarded as Heaven and Earth Wonders that haven't been fully transformed yet?"

Reverend Yin spoke faster and faster, as if wanting to express all the research he had conducted over the years, which no one had paid attention to, in one go.

"Heaven and earth are like a crucible; the refined products are the formed Heaven and Earth Wonders. And everything in heaven and earth can be seen as an unformed Wonder!"

"Wonders are aggregations of rules, so why wouldn't humans be? The human body is so intricate, containing infinite mysteries. Why can't it be regarded as a Wonder?"

"And friend, did you know that some cultivators refine mortals with special abilities into Heaven and Earth Wonders to serve as their Dao Foundations? By doing so, they claim those mortals' abilities for themselves."

"I am also human, so, am I a Wonder?"

Seeing Reverend Yin's increasingly outlandish claims, Li Fan couldn't help but ask, "Is this your conjecture, or..."

Reverend Yin grinned, "It used to be a conjecture, but now..."

"...it has been proven by me."

As he spoke, his entire body split open along the midline, separating left and right.

Within the visceral organs and flesh, another face of Reverend Yin emerged.

"Ten years ago, I used myself as a Wonder to establish my Dao Foundation!"

Both the inner and outer faces spoke in unison.