Wei Yuan stood before a deep blue hall, looking up at the three large characters inscribed above the main gate: Hall of Myriad Manifestations.
A hundred zhang tall and entirely a deep azure blue, the Hall of Myriad Manifestations was crafted from some unknown material. Lustrous and faintly translucent, it resembled a seamless piece of natural jade, showing not the slightest trace of brick or masonry seams. Standing before the hall, Wei Yuan felt an indescribably vast, boundless aura wash over him, as though ten thousand years of history were unfolding right before his eyes.
"Every Dao Foundation that has ever appeared in the Palace of Grand Beginning is recorded here, along with quite a few from other sects. Let's go in and take a look."
Zhang Sheng led the way into the hall, and Wei Yuan followed. The moment they stepped through the doors, he saw a river of stars rising from the floor and spanning overhead. Within the river of stars were countless dazzling stellar bodies, each representing a different kind of Dao Foundation.
Wei Yuan had long known there were myriad varieties of Dao Foundations in the world, yet seeing them all arrayed before him produced an impact that was truly beyond words—a shock, a grandeur, a resonance surging from heaven and earth, from past and future.
This was the immortal path!
Wei Yuan finally recovered from his awe and tentatively extended his divine sense to touch the star nearest him.
[Iron-Cleaving Cavalry Saber: Earth Tier, Low Grade. Blades are weapons of slaughter, qualifying it for the Earth Tier. When driving magical artifacts with this Dao Foundation, it confers effects of heaviness, resilience, and armor-sundering, performing even better with long-saber artifacts. Evaluation: This blade's shape is hideous and its grain coarse, showing the cultivator could scarcely distinguish beauty from ugliness. Thus demoted by one grade.]
The instant Wei Yuan's consciousness brushed against the star, he saw a rugged long saber—narrow at both ends and thick in the middle, undeniably awkward in its proportions. Still, Dao Foundations inevitably contained impurities; occasional flaws on the immortal path were only natural.
Wei Yuan spotted another star glimmering with a peach-pink light. Touching it with his divine sense:
[Red Bean Woven Pouch: Mortal Tier, Low Grade. This Dao Foundation alleviates the pangs of lovesickness; up to three times a day, one may divine the location of one's beloved with a margin of error of one zhang. Evaluation: ...]
Wei Yuan was thoroughly astonished. There was actually such a Dao Foundation in the world? He naturally glanced toward the neighboring stars.
[Mirage Steed: Transforms mirage mist into a horse, capable of traveling eighty li a day.]
[Styled Visage: Mortal Tier, High Grade. This Dao Foundation allows the cultivator to alter their appearance at will. Evaluation: Truly possesses the power to shift heaven and alter the sun, turning demons into immortals, and works wonders against those weak of will. Were it not so difficult to develop into a dharma idol, grading it as Heaven Tier would not be excessive.]
Wei Yuan read on with great relish. He had never imagined the Mortal Tier Dao Foundations held such colorful wonders; it was like opening the door to an entirely new world. By contrast, the Earth Tier Dao Foundations were rather bland and uninspiring—formulaic, conventional works that served better as sleep aids if viewed for too long.
Just as he was engrossed, Zhang Sheng slapped him across the back of the head. "Stop looking at those useless things. Look up!"
Wei Yuan reluctantly pulled his gaze away and looked upward in the direction Zhang Sheng pointed. High at the apex of the dome, right at the center of the river of stars, massive stellar bodies gradually emerged. Each radiated brilliant light, illuminating the entire hall and casting the countless stars near the floor into deep shadow.
In moments, more than three hundred dazzling stars had newly materialized across the crest of the river of stars, spanning the vault of the ceiling.
Wei Yuan tentatively touched one of the stars and saw an ancient bell within.
[Dawn and Dusk Bell: Heaven Tier, Mid Grade. Possesses effects such as suppressing karmic luck, inspiring enlightenment, and expelling inner demons. Evaluation: As the saying goes, 'dusk drum and dawn bell'; when this bell tolls, inner demons recede, working wondrous effects in gaining epiphany and breaking through bottlenecks.]
Zhang Sheng said, "These are all Heaven Tier Dao Foundations, three hundred and seventeen in total. Without a True Monarch's permission, ordinary disciples can only view the Earth and Mortal Tiers. But as the disciple of me, Zhang Sheng, you can naturally view them all. There are over eighteen thousand types of Dao Foundations in the Hall of Myriad Manifestations, yet only three hundred belong to the Heaven Tier."
Wei Yuan browsed them one by one, until he suddenly spotted a teal immortal sword:
[Immortal Sword Azure Silk Rain: Heaven Tier, High Grade. Possesses the ability to corrode Dao Foundations. Evaluation: Whoever is struck is sure to be wounded; yet it errs on the side of insidious malice and weakness, and thus does not attain the immortal tier.]
Wei Yuan blurted out instinctively, "Master! Someone's insulting you!"
Zhang Sheng gave a snort. "Azure Silk Rain alone naturally does not reach the immortal tier. But your master has two other immortal swords, each of which qualifies for the immortal tier on its own. As for the one who wrote that evaluation, he has a grudge against my Sky Azure Hall. Pay him no mind for now. Once your master attains Scenery Command and wields the brush of historical judgment, I will naturally demote his Dao Foundation to the Earth Tier."
"Where are your other two immortal swords?" Wei Yuan hurriedly searched for them.
He was exceedingly curious about Zhang Sheng's Dao Foundation. The occasional rumors he had heard about it were all described as miraculous and unfathomable. Being young, Wei Yuan had long yearned to witness it for himself.
With a sweep of Zhang Sheng's wide sleeve, several dozen colossal stars emerged one after another at the very core of the stellar river. Orbiting slowly around a patch of darkness at the center, they formed an independent domain—a radiant sphere of light that made even the Heaven Tier Dao Foundations dim in comparison.
[Immortal Sword Great Sun], [Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree], [Nine-Layer Demon-Suppressing Pagoda], [Immortal Sword Zhanxu], [Immortal Sword Lishang]... [Night-Blooming Secluded Orchid]...
Among the newly emerged immortal foundations, there were over forty types in all, with immortal swords being the most numerous, numbering eight in total. This was hardly surprising: the Patriarch of the Palace of Grand Beginning alone had four immortal swords, each an immortal foundation. The Palace of Grand Beginning had always placed great weight on martial slaughter, so across generations many disciples cultivated immortal swords. For instance, the Great Sun Sword-Embracing Scripture specialized in immortal swords; aside from the immortal foundation Immortal Sword Great Sun, it also encompassed one Heaven Tier and three Earth Tier swords. Disciples who failed to achieve an immortal foundation might still forge Earth Tier or Heaven Tier flying swords.
In Wei Yuan's eyes, every immortal foundation represented a path ascending to immortality!
After viewing all the immortal foundations one by one, Wei Yuan suddenly felt that the very dead center of the stellar core was not mere darkness, but seemed to be gestating something.
Pointing toward the core of the river of stars, he asked, "Is there an immortal foundation there too?"
Zhang Sheng said calmly, "Those gestating at the core are peerless Dao Foundations on the verge of completion, supreme even among immortal foundations. There is naturally a place there for your master."
He glanced at Wei Yuan and added, "Perhaps there might even be a spot for you."
Wei Yuan sighed inwardly, not daring to entertain such thoughts. Spending a full ten years to reach the perfection of Body Casting had worn down nearly all his confidence and edge. He still had no idea what kind of Dao Foundation he could forge, but after consuming such a staggering ocean of pills, even a Heaven Tier Dao Foundation would hardly justify the cost.
Master and disciple had been together for thirteen years in all, so Wei Yuan was well acquainted with his master's inexplicable self-assurance. Wherever rankings existed—such as the heart of this Dao Foundation stellar river—there simply had to be a spot reserved for him. And if there happened to be any leftover room, Wei Yuan could perhaps occupy a small corner.
Yet Wei Yuan immediately remembered: hadn't Zhang Sheng already formed his Dao Foundation? Why would he claim there was still a spot for him at the heart of the river of stars?
With doubt in his mind, Wei Yuan naturally asked. Zhang Sheng had evidently been waiting for this exact question for a long time, and immediately declared in a ringing voice, "Who ever said a Dao Foundation can never change once forged?"
Wei Yuan was stunned. That defied common sense!
Zhang Sheng took in Wei Yuan's shock with great satisfaction. His expression softened, and he cleared his throat before continuing, "Actually, your batch has done quite well for themselves, producing two unprecedented Dao Foundations. One is Bao Yun's Seven Wonders Treasure Tree, which ranks among the very foremost even among immortal foundations. The other is Yan Ming's Leakless Golden Toad, pinnacle Heaven Tier, just a hair shy of an immortal foundation."
"Leakless Golden Toad?" Wei Yuan was especially sensitive to the word 'toad.'
Zhang Sheng tapped a finger, and a star within the river blazed with light. Inside sat a miniature golden toad carrying a jade platter upon its back.
[Leakless Golden Toad: Heaven Tier, High Grade. Gathers treasure qi from a hundred li around, naturally gestating immortal materials on its own. Evaluation: Truly the millennium-spanning foundation of an aristocratic house!]
Yan Ming... Wei Yuan remembered that dark-skinned boy from the Eastern Sea. A Dao Foundation like this could generate wealth on its own while one just sat at home; it was practically unbeatable.
Wei Yuan recalled that back then, he had intended to build good ties with Yan Ming, but in the end he had grown busy with cultivation and forgotten all about it. He could only sigh inwardly: knowing is easy, but doing is hard—the sages truly did not lie.
Having viewed the Dao Foundations, Zhang Sheng led Wei Yuan to an incense altar in the hall and said, "Drip three drops of fresh blood into the cauldron. The Hall of Myriad Manifestations will record the aura of your primordial spirit. When you achieve your Dao Foundation in the future, there will be a place for you in this hall as well."
Wei Yuan extended his hand over the bronze cauldron on the incense table and let three drops of blood fall from his fingertips. As they fell, the droplets resembled pink pearls, rolling around the bottom of the cauldron for several turns before suddenly vanishing.
After leaving his blood, Wei Yuan wanted to take another look at the Mortal Tier Dao Foundations, but Zhang Sheng hauled him away. Once outside the hall doors, Wei Yuan gritted his teeth and finally voiced the anxiety lurking deep in his heart: "Master, what if my Dao Foundation turns out to be only Heaven Tier?"
Zhang Sheng's gaze sharpened like a sword, glaring fiercely at Wei Yuan. "You dare?"
Wei Yuan groaned inwardly. Was this really a matter of daring or not daring?
The sword-glint in Zhang Sheng's eyes faded, and he said, "A Dao Foundation cannot be forced; it is best to let fate take its course. If it isn't even Heaven Tier, and is only Earth Tier, that's fine too. At worst, your master will simply clean house and cut down this rebellious disciple first."
He spoke with utter nonchalance, as though discussing mundane daily trivialities like eating or drinking water.
With that, Zhang Sheng released his flying sword and said, "Follow me. There's one more matter I need to explain to you."
Wei Yuan stepped meekly onto the flying sword, not daring to utter a single word. What Zhang Sheng had just said was no joke—the more serious his master was, the more nonchalant he appeared.
Chapter 62