Chapter 137: An Alternative Method of Foundation Establishment
Chapter 137: Chapter 137: An Alternative Method of Foundation Establishment
After Li Ping arrived at Gaoji Mountain, he received a warm welcome from the Bai family.
Bai Mingde led him into the Array, and by the Spiritual Spring where the Bai family’s ancestor lived, he finally saw Yan Hengchuan, who had a somewhat wooden expression.
Apparently, due to Yan Hengchuan’s unknown origins and the strange aura about him, the Bai family hadn’t dared to let him wander freely on Gaoji Mountain before Li Ping’s arrival. Instead, the Bai family’s ancestor had been personally watching over him.
After exchanging some pleasantries with Li Ping, the Bai family’s ancestor allowed Li Ping to take Yan Hengchuan away. The ancestor himself lay back in a rocking chair, comfortably enjoying the cool breeze.
On the surface, the Bai family’s ancestor looked no different than when Li Ping had first met him. But upon closer inspection, one could see more age spots on his face, and his skin was wrinkled like old tree bark.
Clearly, his time was running out.
...
Led by a member of the Bai family, Li Ping and Yan Hengchuan arrived at a side hall.
"Grandmaster," Yan Hengchuan called out respectfully, his voice slightly hoarse.
He was overjoyed to see Li Ping again, but because his body had become somewhat puppet-like, his smile looked extremely bizarre, despite his happiness.
"It’s good that you’re alright... No, wait..." Li Ping nodded with a smile, but he soon noticed the unnaturalness of Yan Hengchuan’s expression.
He immediately stepped forward, took Yan Hengchuan’s wrist, and sent a trace of Magical Power into his body to examine him carefully.
After a long moment, he thoughtfully released Yan Hengchuan’s wrist and looked at him. "Hengchuan, tell me everything that’s happened to you during this time, in detail."
"Yes, Grandmaster." Yan Hengchuan nodded respectfully.
Right there in the hall, he recounted everything: how he had discovered He Yunyi’s secret, how He Yunyi had gone on a killing spree, slaughtering everyone in the restaurant and taking him away from the Immortal City; how he had been forced to practice a demonic technique along the way; and how he had finally escaped from the Demon Cultivator by a stroke of luck.
Li Ping nodded slightly as he listened.
He knew that the one who had taken Yan Hengchuan from the Immortal City and forced him to cultivate the demonic technique was the Demon Dao Core Formation Cultivator, Yan Liming.
"Grandmaster, I had to cultivate this demonic technique to survive, but I later discovered it was actually refining me into a puppet." Yan Hengchuan’s eyes held both unwillingness and hope. "I’ve tried everything I can think of during this time, but I can’t reverse the puppification process. Grandmaster, please save me."
Hearing this, a thoughtful look appeared in Li Ping’s eyes.
Yan Liming’s Storage Bag had fallen into his hands, and he had also obtained Yan Liming’s main Cultivation Technique, the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture.
So, with just a brief description from Yan Hengchuan, Li Ping understood that he must have fallen victim to Yan Liming’s ’Blood Puppet Art’.
According to the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture, when Yan Liming disguised this Secret Technique as a Cultivation Technique and passed it to Yan Hengchuan, he must have not only imparted the method for cultivating the Secret Technique but also implanted a ’Blood Soul Seed’ that he had condensed from his own Magical Power.
Only by doing so could he ensure that the refined puppet would recognize him as its master and be under his control!
It was precisely because of that troublesome Blood Soul Seed that Yan Hengchuan was unable to reverse his own puppification, no matter what he tried.
However, as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who also possessed the miraculous healing power of the Nourishing Life Skill Power, he could restore Yan Hengchuan’s body to its original state whenever he wished.
But another Secret Technique recorded in the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture made Li Ping hesitate.
This Secret Technique was called the ’Foundation-Stealing Method’!
The so-called ’foundation-stealing,’ as the name implied, was to seize another Cultivator’s Foundation Establishment Cultivation.
Of course, one couldn’t just forcibly steal from any target; there were two necessary conditions.
First, the stealer and the one being stolen from must cultivate the same Cultivation Technique, namely the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture.
Second, the stealer must have taken a wisp of the target’s essence, qi, and spirit when the target was weak. Then, throughout their cultivation, they must continuously nurture this wisp, thereby making their own Magical Power identical to the target’s.
Once these two conditions were met, if the target successfully reached Foundation Establishment, the stealer could forcibly seize their Dao Foundation.
Without any other requirements, one could directly become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in Magical Power or combat strength between this alternative method of Foundation Establishment and the orthodox one.
Subsequent cultivation in the Foundation Establishment realm and the attempt to reach Core Formation would also be unaffected.
...
The reason Li Ping hesitated was that Yan Hengchuan seemed to perfectly meet the conditions for cultivating the ’Foundation-Stealing Method’.
If he were to cultivate the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture, he would undoubtedly be practicing the same Cultivation Technique as Yan Liming.
Moreover, the Blood Soul Seed that Yan Liming had injected into his body was also condensed from the man’s essence, qi, and spirit.
In other words, he could cultivate the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture and, in the future, attempt to seize Yan Liming’s Dao Foundation.
After all, with Yan Hengchuan’s Five Spirit Roots aptitude, his chances of reaching Foundation Establishment weren’t nonexistent, but they were so small as to be negligible.
As for Yan Liming, he was a Core Formation Cultivator who was starting over, and the body he had taken through Possession had Four Spirit Roots. Reaching Foundation Establishment would basically be a sure thing for him.
Cultivate the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture and seize Yan Liming’s Dao Foundation in the future, or follow the orthodox path of cultivation and essentially give up all hope of Foundation Establishment—it was a difficult choice.
Yan Liming was already so difficult to deal with while only in the Qi Refining Stage. Once he successfully reached Foundation Establishment, how could it possibly be easy to handle him?
Even if Li Ping were willing to act, there was no guarantee he could capture him.
But with the hope of Foundation Establishment right in front of him, who would be willing to give up without a fight?
After a moment of thought, Li Ping decided that the right to choose should be left to Yan Hengchuan himself.
To become a Demon Cultivator and retain the hope of an alternative path to Foundation Establishment.
Or to purge the Blood Soul Seed left by Yan Liming and become an Orthodox Cultivator.
Thinking of this, Li Ping immediately began to speak, laying out the two choices before Yan Hengchuan and analyzing the pros and cons of each.
At the same time, he also made it clear to Yan Hengchuan that if he chose to cultivate the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture, Li Ping would help him deal with Yan Liming in the future.
"Grandmaster, I want to cultivate the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture and kill Yan Liming in the future to get my revenge!" Faced with the choices Li Ping had given him, Yan Hengchuan decided to cultivate the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture without a hint of hesitation.
From his determined gaze, Li Ping could see that Yan Hengchuan wasn’t just doing this for Foundation Establishment; he also harbored a deep-seated hatred for Yan Liming.
Clearly, he had suffered a great deal during the time he was held captive by Yan Liming.
"Good. Since you’ve decided, I won’t stand in your way." A smile appeared in Li Ping’s eyes.
He was also gratified that Yan Hengchuan had chosen this alternative path to Foundation Establishment and dared to challenge a Core Formation Master.
In truth, he had long since guessed what Yan Hengchuan’s choice would be.
After all, when they first met, Yan Hengchuan had been like a newborn calf, unafraid of any tiger.
As he finished speaking, he flipped his hand, and the Jade Scroll of the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture, which he had obtained from Yan Liming’s Storage Bag, appeared in his palm. He then used his Magical Power to float the Jade Scroll directly in front of Yan Hengchuan.
Li Ping’s expression turned solemn. "Cultivate here in the Bai family’s residence. Only return to the Immortal City after you’ve learned to conceal the aura within your body."
"Yes, Grandmaster!" Yan Hengchuan nodded respectfully.
Though there was only the Jade Scroll, Li Ping wasn’t worried that Yan Hengchuan’s cultivation would go awry.
Yan Liming had, after all, cultivated the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture all the way to the Core Formation Stage. In the process, he had written extensive notes and insights within the Jade Scroll.
In a sense, Yan Liming was Yan Hengchuan’s ’benevolent master’.
But in the future, he was destined to become a ’rebellious disciple’ who would slay his master.
...
Li Ping stayed as a guest with the Bai family for several days. During this time, he discussed the Dao with their ancestor and even showed off his skills as a Tier One Alchemist, refining several dozen batches of Pills for the family.
Afterwards, Li Ping announced his departure.
At the same time, he asked the Bai family to arrange a place for Yan Hengchuan to cultivate and left him with a large number of Pills for increasing Magical Power.
After confirming that everything was in order, he left Gaoji Mountain amidst the Bai family’s farewells and returned to the Immortal City.
Aboard the speeding Flying Ship, Li Ping was lost in thought.
’Actually, there are still certain risks involved with Yan Hengchuan cultivating the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture. The risks don’t come from others, but from within himself.’
’Why are Demon Cultivators so despised in the Western Wilderness Cultivation Realm?’
’It’s mainly because most Demon Dao Cultivation Techniques prioritize rapid advancement above all else. They can easily influence a Cultivator’s mind and require special materials for practice.’
’So, if one’s self-control is weak, it’s very easy to truly fall into the Demon Dao and become an enemy to all living things.’
’Take the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture, for example. Its cultivation requires absorbing large amounts of essence blood. Although Demon Beast Essence Blood can be used as a substitute, its effects are not as potent as human essence blood.’
’And for another example...’
’In any case, I hope Yan Hengchuan can stay true to his heart and not walk down a wicked path.’
’And that boy...’
After considering Yan Hengchuan’s situation, Li Ping’s thoughts turned to the delicate-featured boy who had served them tea while he was a guest of the Bai family, conversing with their ancestor.
That tea-serving boy had kept stealing glances at Li Ping.
But whenever Li Ping looked his way with a questioning gaze, the boy would hastily lower his head.
At the time, Li Ping hadn’t paid it much mind.
But thinking back on it now, he had a vague feeling that the boy’s features were somewhat similar to Bai Lin’s.
’Is he Bai Lin’s little brother, the one with the Dual Spirit Root?’ Li Ping guessed to himself.
’To be personally raised and taught by the Bai family’s ancestor shows how much importance the family places on him.’
The Bai family’s ancestor was old and frail; his end was not far off.
And just as their family’s Foundation Establishment Cultivator was about to pass away, the Bai family had failed to produce a second one.
Bai Lin’s brother possessed the aptitude of a Dual Spirit Root. Perhaps the Bai family was grooming him to be the future of the clan.
’Why am I so concerned with the Bai family’s affairs?’ At this thought, Li Ping couldn’t help but chuckle.
He then set the Flying Ship to fly on its own while he sat cross-legged and began to meditate in silence.
Soon, the Flying Ship flew back to the Immortal City.
Li Ping put away the Flying Ship, verified his Identity Token, and returned to Immortal Peach Mountain, once again immersing himself in the monotony of cultivation.
And as he cultivated, without him even realizing it, the Immortal City’s auction finally began.