Dao Foundations of the World

After returning to his dwelling, the first thing Wei Yuan had to do was move. He was now only one step away from the Dao Foundation realm. By sect rules, he had to move out of New Disciple Valley and head to the area designated for Dao Foundation cultivators to choose an immortal cave. Coalescing a Dao Foundation was the foremost milestone on the immortal path. The higher the grade of a Dao Foundation, the more crucial favorable timing and chance encounters became; thus, cultivators often spent years in this state merely waiting for an opportunity that might elevate their foundation by another grade. Unless meeting an unexpected and untimely death, disciples of the Palace of Grand Beginning rarely failed to coalesce a Dao Foundation. Therefore, once they reached the perfection of Body Casting, they were treated as Dao Foundation cultivators, receiving all corresponding benefits and accommodations. Wei Yuan's belongings were sparse and simple to pack, fitting entirely into a single chest. Aside from books, he was virtually penniless and had nothing else to his name. The Palace of Grand Beginning used no mortal paper; all books were recorded on sheets of jade paper. Warm jade in hue and impervious to fire and water, a single sheet could hold a million words and switch its contents at the bearer's will. Over ten years, Wei Yuan had amassed several hundred volumes, yet stacked together they stood barely a foot high. Having settled the handover with the deacon Daoist, Wei Yuan stepped out of the small courtyard. He suddenly glanced back, emotion welling in his heart. Without realizing it, he had lived here for ten years. Everyone from Wei Yuan's cohort had forged their Dao Foundations long ago; by now, there was no one left in the valley whom he knew. In fact, many disciples who had joined five years after him had already forged their Dao Foundations and moved out of the valley as well. For Palace of Grand Beginning disciples, casting a Dao Foundation took anywhere from a single year to six or seven, averaging a little over three years. Among Wei Yuan's cohort, four disciples had already achieved immortal foundations; Xiaoyu's Great Sun Immortal Sword and Bao Yun's Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree were especially renowned. Divided by faction, the Traditionalist and Reform Factions had produced two immortal foundations each, but because the Reform Faction had only a third as many disciples as the Traditionalists, their proportion of immortal foundations was far higher. It was not merely a matter of immortal foundations; as a whole, the quality of the Reform Faction's Dao Foundations was superior, and their cultivation progress noticeably outstripped that of the Traditionalists. This was largely credit to the public ledger established by Bao Yun and Cui Yu. During the three years of centralized instruction, the immortal silver loaned through the public ledger reached as much as five hundred thousand taels. As long as a Reform student possessed talent, they never lacked resources or medicinal pills, naturally progressing at an astonishing pace. By now, nearly everyone who had borrowed from the public ledger had repaid their debt, well aware that they owed Bao Yun and Cui Yu an immense favor. For this reason, the ties among Reform Faction disciples had grown exceptionally close, and they presented a united front to outsiders—an unexpected bonus. Currently, the unpaid loans remaining on the public ledger amounted to only 100,800 taels, of which 100,000 belonged to Wei Yuan. On the public ledger, Bao Yun was Wei Yuan's largest creditor, holding 80,000 taels. Xiaoyu was his second largest creditor, holding 20,000 taels. In private debts, Wei Yuan owed Bao Yun another 120,000 taels. Bao Yun had once attempted to buy up the debt held by Xiaoyu, but Xiaoyu refused no matter what. Cui Yu had approached Bao Yun in secret three times and finally managed to acquire 5,000 taels of the claim, joining the ranks of Wei Yuan's financiers. Centralized instruction had lasted three years in total; starting from the fourth year, the disciples had returned to their respective halls and monasteries to cultivate, seldom seeing one another since. Standing at the entrance of the courtyard, Wei Yuan looked back on days gone by. He felt that the first three years had still contained many happy moments; even arranging fights with the Traditionalist Faction and getting pinned down and beaten by dozens of disciples seemed strangely amusing in hindsight, bringing an involuntary smile to his lips whenever he recalled it. As for the seven years that followed, there was little worth mentioning; they could be summed up in a few words: consuming pills, absorbing moonlight. As was his habit, Wei Yuan silently sent his heartfelt 'greetings' to the mangy Daoists of the Monastery of Creation. It was time to begin a new life. Traveling to his new home required no carriage. Carrying his baggage in one hand, Wei Yuan stepped onto Zhang Sheng's flying sword and flew directly toward the new immortal cave. The immortal caves for Dao Foundation disciples were divided into several sectors, and the one allocated to Wei Yuan was fairly close to Sky Azure Hall. Most Dao Foundation caves were built against the mountains as standalone courtyards. These courtyards were ten times larger than the small yards of the New Disciple Valley, separated by several li so as not to disturb one another. Facilities such as cultivation rooms, pill refining rooms, studies, and kitchens were fully provided. The biggest difference lay in the cultivation chambers, which were built directly atop the spiritual veins within the mountain rock. The mountains were all spiritual peaks, and the veins within had been nurtured for thousands of years; the cultivation efficiency here could not even be compared with that of New Disciple Valley. The open grounds surrounding each courtyard were demarcated by a median line and belonged to their respective immortal caves. How this land was utilized was left entirely to the discretion of each cave's master. Looking from afar, Wei Yuan saw that some had planted flowers and herbs, while others had grown dense groves of trees, but the grounds around most courtyards remained open grassland. Perhaps the masters of those residences were too busy, or perhaps they simply disliked the hassle, leaving them as they were. Seeing so much unused land, Wei Yuan's first thought was to clear it and plant spiritual herbs or spirit rice. Leaving arable land uncultivated just felt terribly wrong. However, Wei Yuan knew the idea of opening up farmland was impractical. The sect had designated zones specifically cleared for cultivating medicinal herbs and spirit rice, where the concentration of spiritual Qi was ten times higher than in the outside world; neither the yield nor the quality could be matched by a disciple casually planting on their own. Rational as that might be, leaving good ground untilled still rubbed Wei Yuan the wrong way. After completing the formalities for taking over the immortal cave, Wei Yuan followed Zhang Sheng into the study. Once they were seated, Zhang Sheng produced a map, unrolled it across the table, and said, "Let me explain the sect major examination to you. The so-called major examination is an assessment of real deeds rather than a written test. Answering test papers behind closed doors or competing in dueling arenas are matters for low-level disciples. Once cultivators of our path forge a Dao Foundation, we truly step onto the immortal journey, and from then on, we must embark on a path to transform heaven and earth and give back to the mortal world. Dao Foundation disciples are not the only ones assessed; True Persons of the Dharma Idol realm must undergo evaluations too, except that the major examination for Dao Foundation disciples occurs once every ten years, while for True Persons of the Dharma Idol realm it is once every fifty years." Zhang Sheng pointed to a spot on the map and continued, "Presently, grass grows tall and eagles soar across the north. Multiple tribes of Northern Liao have once again begun raiding southward across the border, with Ganning and Bianning commanderies in Ganzhou suffering the most. These two commanderies belong to Western Jin. In recent years, Western Jin's court has grown benighted and its military neglected; it is increasingly powerless to repel the raids of Northern Liao. The task for this Dao Foundation major examination is to assist Western Jin in defending its borders and do everything possible to keep the two commanderies safe from Northern Liao's plundering. "This time, it is not just our Palace of Grand Beginning; other sects will participate as well. Because you have yet to forge your Dao Foundation, you will be assigned to a particular county alongside other disciples during the examination. There might be two or three others, or perhaps three to five, depending on the conditions of the battlefield at that time." Wei Yuan asked, "You mentioned earlier that True Persons also have a major examination every fifty years. Is theirs also to repel foreign races?" "The form of the True Persons' examination is far more relaxed, focusing primarily on their contributions over those fifty years. There are rarely grand campaigns that require every True Person to participate. After all, our Palace of Grand Beginning is no small or humble sect; if all our True Persons were to mobilize en masse, it would be an event that shook the entire world." Zhang Sheng looked at Wei Yuan and said, "Even once you forge your Dao Foundation, your primary focus over the next decade must still be cultivation. With few regular contributions to the sect, you will need a strong showing in the major examination to qualify for more resources and shut the mouths of critics, sparing yourself idle gossip." Wei Yuan nodded in thorough agreement. Putting away the map, Zhang Sheng rose to his full height. "Come, your master will take you somewhere extraordinary!" "Where are we going?" "To see the Dao Foundations of the world!"