Chapter 79: Foundation Building Secrets

Zhao Shang also escaped using a Tier 3 Void-Breaking Talisman, reportedly stolen from True Disciple Su's private treasury, an act that nearly made people furious.

Another major event was that the True Disciple of Coldblood Peak, who had been in seclusion for nearly nine years, was about to emerge. He had, years ago, unexpectedly acquired a compatible Core-Forming spiritual item from one of his subordinates.

According to intelligence, this true disciple had already successfully undergone the Core-Forming thunder tribulation and his promotion was certain, even while Wang Yu and the others were still in their final year of deployment at Blackbone Mountain.

For the past year, he had been in seclusion to stabilize his cultivation and solidify his foundation, and was expected to emerge next year.

When he emerges, the other nine True Disciples of Coldblood Peak will either be assigned to posts outside the sect—guarding cities, establishing their own residences, and cultivating freely.

Alternatively, they could relinquish their True Disciple status, accept a plot of land from the sect, and serve as Inner Sect Foundation Establishment deacons, thereby signifying their withdrawal from the direct line of succession.

Otherwise, when reckoning came, none would fare well.

Reading this, Wang Yu frowned deeply. He had, in fact, offended this true disciple when he was a spirit slave, setting a poor precedent and providing other true disciples with an opportunity to criticize the individual.

Now that he was about to emerge, if he had lost the chance to receive the Nascent Soul inheritance, he would undoubtedly seek bloody revenge.

Even if he hadn't lost the opportunity, he would still retaliate against those who had targeted him.

Wang Yu could find no third possibility.

His previously good mood instantly turned gloomy, and he felt the urge to curse.

He had assumed his return would be relatively peaceful, but it now seemed to be nothing more than wishful thinking. This situation felt like a bone stuck in his throat; he couldn't remain in the sect without understanding it clearly.

His actions back then had been extreme, a desperate gamble based on the assumption that the other party wouldn't care about a minor figure.

Things were different now; he had wealth and a foundation, so he dared not take the same risks. This made intelligence even more crucial.

As he pondered, Wang Yu realized that the best course of action was to contact True Disciple Su. With their rival soon to emerge from seclusion, Su ought to be more anxious than him.

Over the years, True Disciple Su had mostly forgotten about him, which was normal.

However, if this person was involved, Su might remember him, which meant Wang Yu would need to proactively contact Duan Ping, the chubby one.

Thinking of this, early the next morning, Wang Yu hurriedly set off for the Ice and Snow Tower. Fortunately, he hadn't become too conceited and still maintained his affiliation with the establishment.

He entrusted Lan Ji with a message for Duan Ping, asking for another meeting tomorrow to discuss the matter.

Of course, he couldn't put all his eggs in one basket.

After initiating this first step, Wang Yu then proceeded to the Scripture Hall in the Various Halls Quarter. As someone who was originally abducted and brought there as "cargo," his sense of belonging to the Rebel Spirit Blood Sect was extremely low.

Had it not been for the difficulty of returning to the Taihu Spirit Realm, he would have departed the moment he shed his spirit slave identity. He simply didn't know the way, and there was the added pressure of being close to Black Mountain Pass.

A mere Qi Condensation cultivator shouldn't even consider crossing realms.

Later, as his understanding of cultivation deepened, he eventually realized the importance of spiritual root aptitude, and staying within the demonic sect proved to be beneficial for his cultivation.

Consequently, the idea of leaving immediately gradually faded.

However, now that he might face trouble on the true disciple level, he had to prepare an exit strategy, packing up and leaving.

His only reason for staying in the demonic sect was the eagerly sought-after secret method for improving aptitude. He needed to accelerate his investigation into this so that if he truly had to flee, he would have no regrets.

Half an hour later, just as the sun rose, Wang Yu arrived at the Scripture Hall.

Unlike the Scripture Repository and the Dharma Transmission Hall, this place housed fundamental knowledge of the cultivation world, esoteric lore, and personal biographies of renowned cultivators. It also contained myths and legends, ancient historical texts, secrets of powerful clans, and more.

It was a veritable hall of miscellaneous texts, containing everything imaginable. Its contents were vast and varied, with over a million books.

Furthermore, it was free for inner disciples.

Outer disciples, however, could purchase access to information using spirit stones, thus bypassing the internal currency of contribution points.

Coincidentally, Wang Yu had plenty of spirit stones but not many contribution points.

While the Scripture Repository did not allow exchanges, he could use the information available here to learn the names of aptitude-improving secret methods, enabling him to conduct a targeted search and precisely acquire what he needed.

The only troublesome point was the lack of proper management here.

Some classics borrowed by inner disciples were returned and haphazardly placed on shelves, while others were simply kept, like books on distinguishing spiritual herbs.

Similarly, if a text contained secrets about folk remedies or unorthodox prescriptions, tearing out a few pages was not uncommon.

In fact, someone could claim to borrow a book and keep it for hundreds of years. The overall impression was one of utter disorganization!

Only occasionally would missing texts be replaced.

For someone like Wang Yu, who needed to find specific books, this was a major undertaking that would consume considerable time, yet it had to be done.

For the next period, Wang Yu spent his days at the Scripture Hall from dawn till dusk. He meticulously scanned shelf after shelf, often discovering content that piqued his interest.

As he searched, he would also borrow books to read.

These included texts such as "Nine Secret Rules of Natal Artifacts," "Taboos of Qi Cultivation," "Secrets of the Three Foundation Establishment Gates," "The Genesis of Elixir Formulas," "How to Establish Foundation," and "The True Meaning of Spiritual Roots."

Among these, "Secrets of the Three Foundation Establishment Gates" captured his attention the most. This classic, penned by a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Taihu Spirit Realm in his youth, comprehensively explained the three gates, significantly boosting the success rate of Foundation Establishment for junior cultivators.

The so-called Three Foundation Establishment Gates are:

The Spiritual Energy Gate, the Vitality Gate, and the Divine Sense Gate. The text offered not only a comprehensive interpretation of the Foundation Establishment realm but also criteria for passing each of the three gates, even providing pertinent advice, making it rich with practical information.

The Spiritual Energy Gate refers to the three spiritual refinements that Qi Condensation cultivators experience, transforming their spiritual energy into higher-quality true essence, where one drop equals a thousand strands.

The first two occur during the Mid and Late Qi Condensation stages, while the third happens during the breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

The Vitality Gate pertains to physical vitality and bodily strength. To complete the third spiritual refinement, a cultivator's body must be able to simultaneously contain and compress a large amount of spiritual energy.

This stage demands significant strength from meridians and the physique. Generally, the more abundant one's vitality and the stronger their body, the higher their chances, which is why it's called the Vitality Gate.

After a Qi Condensation cultivator surpasses one hundred years of age, their body enters old age, vitality wanes, and physical condition deteriorates daily. The further one progresses past this age, the lower their chances of Foundation Establishment, hence the popular hundred-year limit.

The Divine Sense Gate is the most challenging. This is because cultivation methods suitable for Qi Condensation cultivators to enhance their divine sense are extremely rare, practically unheard of. Those who achieve proficiency in this during the Qi Condensation stage are few and far between.

Divine sense plays two crucial roles during the Foundation Establishment process. Firstly, it constrains the immense spiritual energy within the body during a breakthrough, protecting the meridians from excessive strain.

Secondly, compressing spiritual energy is incredibly draining on one's mind. If divine sense is not powerful enough, the spiritual energy cannot be compressed into true essence to achieve its qualitative transformation, leading to a failed breakthrough.

The text offered numerous methods, with simpler ones involving the practice of alchemy, artifact refining, talisman drawing, array carving, and other skills that hone divine sense.