Longzang

Chapter 38 The Foundation of the Dao

The woman who entered had a pair of extremely bright and clear eyes, and it seemed that one could see a world full of vitality, enthusiasm, and intensity in her pupils!

Her eyebrows were like swords, her nose like a hanging peak, and her lips were so tender they seemed to drip with water. At the corner of her slightly parted mouth, the tip of her tongue could be faintly seen.

The woman wore no makeup, her hair was casually tied up and held in place with a hairpin. Her clothing was also peculiar; her lower body resembled both trousers and a skirt, with the trouser legs flaring out like a skirt hem, while her upper body was a tight-fitting top with sleeves just past her elbows. Compared to the common attire of female cultivators at the time, this outfit was quite unconventional.

She walked up to the podium, sat down gracefully, leaned back slightly, and rested her chin on her hand. Just sitting there, she exuded a myriad of charms, yet within those charms lay a chilling coldness reminiscent of ancient frost.

She glanced at the students and said, “From today onwards, I will teach you the fundamental principles of Taoism and guide your practice. My surname is Ji, which means ‘liuli’ or ‘displaced,’ not ‘liuli’ (meaning precious glass).

Immediately, a girl mustered up her courage and stood up, asking, "But the course materials clearly stated that the instructor was Xu Henshui, so why was he suddenly changed?"

Ji Liuli said indifferently, "Don't think about him anymore. I've already thrown him outside the mountain gate. He won't be back anytime soon, so give up on that idea and obediently start your lessons!"

The students exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to say. The woman on stage gave off a very strange aura; her smile was like spring flowers blooming across the mountains, but when she put on a stern face, it was as if leaden clouds were hanging low, and a calamity was about to strike. Some of the students with higher spiritual perception felt as if they were facing an ancient beast, instinctively trembling and unable to utter a word.

Wei Yuan had studied poetry, prose, and songs, and he knew countless phrases describing beautiful women, but he felt none of them applied to Ji Liuli. However, to say she wasn't beautiful was an exaggeration; none of the female cultivators Wei Yuan had seen since entering the Taichu Palace could be considered beautiful in comparison to her.

Seeing that no one spoke up, Ji Liuli was quite satisfied and said, "Since there are no problems, let's begin the lesson. You can call me teacher, master, or you can call me Senior Sister Liuli, or Senior Sister Liangzhangwu, whatever you like. Put the matter of titles aside for now, let's first talk about what Daoji is."

"Senior Sister Two and a Half Zhang, what the hell is this?" Before Wei Yuan and the other students could even wonder, upon hearing that the Dao Foundation was about to be discussed, they all quickly sat up straight and pricked up their ears, afraid of missing anything.

The definition of the Dao Foundation is a long-standing consensus in the cultivation world, refined to perfection over hundreds of thousands of years, with not a single word added or subtracted. Wei Yuan had just mentally reviewed the definition of the Dao Foundation when Ji Liuli said, "Simply put, the Dao Foundation is like nurturing a nascent immortal being, then piling on a bunch of miscellaneous things until it can't be piled any more on, then solidifying it and fusing it into one. That's the Dao Foundation. It's the first stepping stone on the path to immortality, and also the most important one. All future achievements will be built on this foundation, hence the name Dao Foundation."

"What is that messy pile of stuff? You should all know it by heart. Who can answer that?"

A young man mustered his courage, stood up, and said loudly: "Innate talent, luck, timing, location, circumstances, accumulation, medicine and tools."

"Very good. Knowing what this mess is is only the first step; how to combine it is the second. Two people with identical conditions will produce vastly different foundations of cultivation depending on their combination methods and order. Therefore, this first step is truly the most important step on the path of cultivation. Immortal sects and mortal sects, renowned teachers and mediocre practitioners will provide you with completely different foundations of cultivation. That's why I'm here to teach you this course. Hmph, it's one thing to create a mess of your own foundation, but you also want to mislead others?"

Another girl mustered her courage and stood up, saying, "Sir, isn't that a bit unfair? I've heard that Master Xu is also quite skilled in combat?"

With a flick of his long fingers, Ji Liuli sent the girl flying into the air. Then, a vine whip materialized in the air and lashed out at the girl's bottom!
After the lash, the restraints were released, and the girl fell back into her seat. But as soon as her bottom touched the seat, she immediately sprang up, not daring to sit down properly. The girl's clothes were completely intact, without a single wrinkle, indicating that while the lash had hurt a bit, it hadn't caused any harm.

Ji Liuli said, "Whether you can fight or not depends on who you're comparing yourself to. You saw him like a kitten in my hands, and you still ask that question. So this lash is punishment for your blindness!"

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then mustered his courage and stood up, asking, "There are thousands of types of Dao Foundations. Are they all judged by their ability to fight?"

"Otherwise what?" Ji Liuli retorted, then said, "Since there are thousands of Dao Foundations, they must naturally be ranked. The standard for ranking them is nothing other than whether they can fight. Either they can fight when they are at the Dao Foundation stage, or they can fight when they are at the Dharma Aspect stage, or even when they are at the Ascension stage. You can't cultivate to the point of Unity and still not be able to fight, right? What use are you then? Just to stand on the immortal mountain as a decoration? Those cultivators who look like immortals but are weak when they fight, even if they cultivate to the point of Unity, are nothing but wastes of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!"

The crowd was once again dumbfounded. These words were utterly shocking and showed absolutely no respect for a True Immortal at the Unity Realm. That was a True Immortal!

Ji Liuli continued, "On the other hand, if you can't fight, do you think you can still achieve the Unity of All Things? If you can't fight, you'll all perish before you've even finished half of your cultivation! You only need to remember one thing: the world today is an era of great contention. You must fight to live, fight to cultivate, fight to break through barriers, fight for everything!" After saying this, Ji Liuli said to Wei Yuan, "You are Wei Yuan, aren't you? I remember you. Others received the blessings of the Ancestral Master, but you received the blessing of the stone beneath the Ancestral Master's feet."

A burst of laughter erupted in Qisi Hall, and Wei Yuan's face flushed slightly.

The boys and girls were laughing happily when Ji Liuli flicked his finger, and most of them floated into the air, each receiving a lash from the whip. Amidst the cracking sounds, only five people remained in the entire Qisi Hall who hadn't been whipped.

"No matter what kind of blessing it is from the ancestral master, it is still a blessing. Those who have received the blessing from the ancestral master can just laugh it off, but you who haven't even received a blessing have the nerve to laugh? This lash is to make you realize your own limitations."

After a round of whipping, most of the students winced in pain. However, these children were not spoiled and knew that they were not really injured and that the pain was just an illusion that would pass if they endured it. So, surprisingly, not a single student in the class cried.

What Wei Yuan found strange was that most of his classmates came from prominent families and he had seen many arrogant ones during the unified examination. How come they all became so well-behaved and polite in Qisi Hall?
Before he could figure this out, Ji Liuli's voice rang out again:
"There are over 150 people in your class, but only 37 are sitting here. What about the remaining 100-plus? Let me tell you, they are all learning under their own teachers and are not participating in centralized instruction. These people are the Ancient Knowledge School, and you, whether you like it or not, are now considered part of the Innovation School. In the sect's small examination three years from now, you will compete against them to see which side has learned better. There are 21 people on the other side who have received the Patriarch's blessing. So from today onwards, my task is to give you the most powerful Dao foundation, and your task is to eliminate those 21 people in three years!"

The students, all fiercely competitive, were instantly fired up, many even forgetting the pain in their backsides. One boy, enduring the pain, stood up and shouted, "Does that mean we can't succeed without the blessings of our ancestors?"

Ji Liuli said approvingly, "Good question! Actually, having the Ancestral Master's blessing is just like running a small section ahead on the long path of immortality. If you only look at three years, it's a bit difficult to catch up, but if you look at the long term, having or not having the blessing is actually about the same. Even within three years, there are many ordinary disciples who eventually surpass those who have received the blessing, and there are many such examples."

The path to immortality is long, and three years is but a blink of an eye. All the students in Qisi Hall who have not yet received the blessing are invigorated and full of fighting spirit once again.

"But don't think that passing the sect's preliminary exam is the end of it. There's a Hall of Myriad Forms in the palace, which records all the Dao Foundations that have appeared in the past. Once you've forged your Dao Foundation, a record will also be left in the Hall of Myriad Forms. At that time, you'll know exactly where your Dao Foundation ranks! I don't need to explain what this means, right?"

The senior sister's words immediately filled some students with ambition, while others were secretly terrified. This was tantamount to creating a grand ranking list for all the disciples of the Taichu Palace over the past few thousand years, with everyone on it. How could they face anyone if they were ranked at the bottom?
Ji Liuli continued, "The Hall of Myriad Appearances is just the beginning. Ten years from now, the sect will hold a grand examination, which all Foundation Establishment disciples must participate in, as well as those who have reached the Body Tempering stage. That will be your first grand examination, and there will be an official ranking. After the grand examination, the next step will be the Merit Ranking, where all Taichu Palace cultivators will be ranked according to their merits. In addition to the overall ranking, there will also be a separate sub-ranking for Foundation Establishment cultivators."

The students looked at each other, feeling that the road ahead was long and arduous, filled with assessments and rankings. Some of them immediately showed signs of distress.

Their reaction was exactly what Ji Liuli had expected. She sneered, "The Taichu Palace is large, but its resources are limited, and there's never enough to go around. So, these lists are the basis for determining who gets more and who gets less! I know some of you come from prominent families and think that if you can't get resources from the palace, your families can make up for it. But why are your families giving you resources?"

"The youngest of you is six years old, and the oldest is only eight or nine. What if in a few years you have more younger brothers and sisters, some of whom are even more talented than you? Will the family still provide you with so much resources?"

The faces of several children from powerful families turned pale.

"So! Cherish every lesson you take under my tutelage! As long as you're ruthless enough with yourselves, I can make you stronger! Forget about this ranking or that ranking, you must rise against the tide!"

The students were once again filled with excitement.

Next, Ji Liuli began to explain the basic knowledge of body casting in detail. Her speech was extremely fast and concise. Wei Yuan felt that his brain could not keep up. He tried his best to remember and before he knew it, it was time for get out of class to end.

After the three chimes, the lesson ended. Ji Liuli said, "Wei Yuan, don't leave yet. Come with me to the council hall."

(End of this chapter)