Chapter 59: Three Thousand Great Dao
Song Changsheng was not someone content with mediocrity. His identity as a transmigrator imbued him with a unique sense of pride, and the Dao Scripture that accompanied him to this world was his true foundation and confidence.
He set his sights very far, knowing that Foundation Establishment was not his end. He wanted to go further, beyond Ling Province, even beyond Great Qi, to contend with the disciples of those great sacred lands.
Therefore, he had to lay the most solid foundation for himself. Only with a stable foundation could one build a hundred-zhang-tall tower.
In human cultivation, although the moment one introduced Qi into their body, their life essence became different from mortals, that was merely an initial glimpse.
Only upon entering the Foundation Establishment stage could one truly be considered to have embarked on the path of pursuing longevity, truly earning the title of a "cultivator."
Foundation Establishment, as the name suggested, meant laying a foundation. The higher the quality of the Dao Foundation condensed, the higher one's future potential would naturally be.
It was said that the Song clan's Old Ancestor, Song Taiyi, condensed a Wind-Walking Dao Foundation when he reached the grand perfection of Qi Refinement. This was formed by absorbing the Qi of the north wind, corresponding to his spiritual root attribute.
This was a type of attribute Dao Foundation. With it, Song Taiyi's rapid sword art became renowned throughout the entire Great Qi cultivation world, and he had many feats of overcoming the strong with the weak.
If Dao Foundations were divided into three grades, initial, middle, and high, then an attribute-less Dao Foundation would be initial. This was because cultivators who condensed such a Dao Foundation would, in all likelihood, be unable to comprehend True Meaning upon breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
This led to their combat power being inherently inferior, and the obstacles to breaking through to the Purple Mansion stage in the future would also be greater.
Song Taiyi's attribute Dao Foundation was of the middle grade. Those who could condense such a Dao Foundation were all geniuses. After breaking through to Foundation Establishment, they could even comprehend True Meaning corresponding to their spiritual root attribute, which was a tremendous boost to their strength and would also aid in breaking through to the Purple Mansion stage in the future.
And higher still, the high grade, were the Three Thousand Great Dao Dao Foundations. Among a thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was rare to find even one. Saying they were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns might be an exaggeration, but the reality wasn't far off.
After condensing a Great Dao Dao Foundation, upon breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, one could comprehend a Dao True Meaning from the Three Thousand Great Dao, such as the True Meaning of Slaughter, the True Meaning of Fate, etc. The profound mysteries within these were not something to be spoken of to outsiders.
Song Changsheng's goal was the Yin-Yang Dao Foundation among the Three Thousand Great Dao Dao Foundations.
Because of the unique nature of his cultivation technique, he could absorb the essence of the sun and moon. The two, one yin and one yang, belonged to one of the methods for achieving a Yin-Yang Dao Foundation, and for him, it was very simple.
He only needed to circulate his cultivation technique at specific times each day, and a continuous stream of sun and moon essence would be drawn into his Dantian to condense his Dao Foundation.
Without his special methods, acquiring Yin and Yang Qi would be extremely difficult. If one had elders in their family to assist, it would be fine, but for disciples of smaller forces, they might never be able to condense a Dao Foundation in their entire lives.
Therefore, in this world, it was incredibly difficult for cultivators at the bottom to rise. Song Changsheng was merely a lucky exception, unreplicable…
“Huu…”
After finishing his morning cultivation, Song Changsheng "looked" at the Dao Foundation in his Dantian, which already had a complete outline, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Although it was still far from being fully condensed, Song Changsheng was already very content, as this speed was already quite impressive.
“It’s time to go find Fifth Uncle. That batch of artifact refining materials should be arriving soon.” Song Changsheng ended his cultivation and stood up, muttering softly.
Several months ago, he had applied to Song Luzhou for a batch of top-grade first rank and low-grade second rank artifact refining materials to improve his refining skills.
However, second rank materials were too rare, and the clan didn't have much in stock, so Song Luzhou needed some time to procure them. The time was just about right.
Strolling to the Hundred Arts Hall, Song Luzhou was already waiting in the stone pavilion in front of the door.
“Nephew greets Fifth Uncle.” Song Changsheng saluted meticulously.
“Here, the materials you wanted.” Song Luzhou said no more, nodding and placing a Qiankun Bag in front of Song Changsheng.
Although he appeared calm, Song Changsheng still saw a hint of heartache on his face.
Song Changsheng chuckled to himself. His Fifth Uncle was notoriously stingy, yet he managed the family's finances. Normally, anyone trying to get something out of him would have a harder time than snatching food from a tiger's mouth.
This time, preparing such a large batch of high-quality materials for him to practice with was truly like cutting off a piece of his flesh.
If not for Song Changsheng's identity as a Purple Mansion seed, he might not have been able to get these materials from this miser.
He opened the Qiankun Bag and took a look, then slightly frowned and said, “Fifth Uncle, why are there only twenty sets of low-grade second rank materials? That's far less than I expected.”
It would have been better if he hadn't spoken. As soon as he did, Song Luzhou almost exploded on the spot. He pointed his chubby finger at Song Changsheng, roaring like an enraged Vajra, “You think twenty sets are too few? What do you think these are, cabbages?
Do you know that these twenty sets of materials, in Sixty-first Uncle's hands, could refine at least five low-grade second rank magical artifacts? Do you know how much money that is? Can you even produce one? You really spend your elders' wealth without a care.”
Song Changsheng immediately retorted, unconvinced, “Fifth Uncle, why don't you consider that once this nephew breaks through to a low second rank Artifact Refiner, I'll be able to contribute more to the family?”
Song Luzhou didn't speak, just glared at him indignantly, as if he had committed some heinous crime.
“Alright, alright, you can just hug your spirit stones and hatch them then.” Song Changsheng picked up the Qiankun Bag, cupped his hands and quickly left, fearing Song Luzhou would change his mind.
Song Luzhou watched Song Changsheng's departing back, a smile involuntarily appearing on his face. “That brat, daring to mock me now.”
But in a blink, the smile on his face turned bitter again.
As an alchemist, he naturally knew that to improve one's artifact refining skills, one had to practice with a large amount of materials.
He also wanted to provide Song Changsheng with sufficient support, but the family's current financial situation truly didn't allow it. To purchase the main family's Foundation Establishment Pills, the family's coffers had been almost completely emptied.
If not for his meticulous saving, pinching pennies here and there, these twenty sets of materials would have been difficult to procure.
“I hope you can give this old man another pleasant surprise,” Song Luzhou murmured softly, then walked into the main hall and settled back into his reclining chair in the corner…
After Song Changsheng returned to his courtyard, he began to refine artifacts to improve his refining skills.
Although artifact refining skill wasn't about quantity, it certainly wouldn't improve without practice.
While second rank materials were scarce, there were plenty of top-grade first rank materials, a full fifty sets. It could be said that Song Luzhou had truly gone all out this time.
Time gradually slipped away amidst his busy schedule. In a blink, another half a year had passed. Song Changsheng's artifact refining skill was infinitely close to low-grade second rank, yet he still couldn't cross that final step.
He had attempted to refine low-grade second rank magical artifacts five times, all ending in failure…
(Chapter End)