11: One Hundred Days of Foundation Building Leads to Extraordinary Path

In the days following the departure of the injured, Qingfeng Temple fell into an unusual silence.

It wasn't that no one came. On the contrary, news that the injured Zhao Xiaoshan had been pulled back from the gates of hell by Daoist Master Li of the temple spread as if it had grown wings, causing a stir in Zhaojiaao Village and the surrounding villages even greater than the torrential rain incident.

The villagers' awe reached new heights. More people came up the mountain daily to fetch water, and the "tokens of appreciation" they left became more generous. The eagerness in their eyes almost overflowed.

However, Li Muchen declined all visits and offers of help. He hung a simple wooden sign at the entrance of the Main Hall that read: "Meditating to heal injuries, please do not disturb."

Though the villagers were full of curiosity and gratitude, seeing this, they did not dare to disturb him too much. They simply left their offerings silently at the door, bowed a few times toward the temple, and quietly departed.

The temple truly quieted down, leaving only the sound of wind, birdsong, and Li Muchen’s long, drawn-out breaths of cultivation within the hall.

The exhaustion from this incident far exceeded anything before. The overdrawing of True Qi was secondary; the key was the extraction of that wisp of "vitality qi," which seemed to have damaged his very Foundation.

For several consecutive days, he felt a weakness that reached deep into his bones. His blood and qi were depleted, and his spirit was listless. Even with the help of the Spirit Gathering Formation and Spirit Stones, the speed of his True Qi recovery was far slower than before.

However, blessings and misfortunes are intertwined.

Perhaps it was the nourishment from the abundant Karma earned by saving a life, or perhaps it was because he had squeezed his own potential to the limit at the brink of death, or perhaps that extracted wisp of vitality qi acted as the harshest of tempers... When the initial period of weakness passed and Li Muchen began deep recovery and cultivation, he was surprised to find that his body and True Qi had undergone a subtle yet profound change.

In the past, when practicing the Basic Guidance Technique, the True Qi running through his Meridians was like a stream traveling through a set riverbed. Although it grew stronger day by day, there was always a feeling of following a routine, restricted by the framework of the Cultivation Technique.

Now, as the True Qi circulated, there was an added touch of indescribable "vitality" and "spirituality." It was no longer just pure energy; it felt more like an extension of his physical will. The circulation path fit the characteristics of his own Meridians more closely, and there seemed to be an instinctive "filtering" and "affinity" when absorbing external Spiritual Qi.

His perception was especially clear regarding the water-element qi emitted by the Spirit Well and the increasingly vibrant wood-element vitality of the ancient cypress tree in front of the hall.

The Light of Merit shone warmly and continuously upon his mind, allowing him to maintain a clear mental state even in his weakness, free from distracting thoughts. His perception of himself and his surroundings reached an unprecedented level of detail.

He could even "internally observe" the minute nourishment and widening of the meridian walls as the True Qi flowed through them, and feel the faint but real "cheering" and "metabolism" of his body's cells with every breath.

He realized that this was an opportunity!

An opportunity to break the original framework of the Basic Guidance Technique and thoroughly integrate his own understanding, the blessing of Karma, and his insights into life and nature into his practice, solidifying a supreme Dao Foundation!

The next stage of "Refining Essence into Qi"—"Foundation Establishment"—was not simply about compressing and solidifying True Qi. True Foundation Establishment was to build the Foundation of one's own Great Dao; it was an essential sublimation and grounding of one's life level.

It required harmonizing and unifying the three elements of essence, qi, and spirit, using oneself as the Cauldron, the Cultivation Technique as the heat, and one's insights as the medicinal catalyst to forge a "Dao Foundation" unique to oneself.

Li Muchen was no longer in a hurry to restore his total True Qi. Instead, he sank his entire mind into this wonderful sense of realization and harmony.

He no longer mechanically followed the paths of the Basic Guidance Technique. Instead, he followed the guidance of that new "spirituality," combining it with the most natural and comfortable state of his own Meridians and his subtle perception of the Spirit Well's moisture, the ancient cypress's vitality, and even the mountain winds, sun, and moon. He let the True Qi circulate slowly in a more mellow rhythm that was more in tune with heaven and earth.

Every breath seemed to resonate with these mountains and forests.

Every heartbeat seemed to beat in sync with the earth beneath his feet.

He actively guided the warm and peaceful intent radiated by the Light of Merit, merging it into his True Qi, his Bloodline, and the depths of his bone marrow.

This Light of Merit was like the best adhesive and the purest fuel, harmonizing his physical Origin which had been slightly depleted by the extraction of vitality, and nourishing his exhausted but increasingly transparent mind. It allowed his essence, qi, and spirit to advance toward an unprecedented harmonious unity during their slow recovery.

This process was slow and subtle, requiring extreme patience and focus.

He spent most of each day in meditation, forgetting the passage of time. When hungry, he ate the simple food and stores sent by the villagers; when thirsty, he drank spirit well water. The peaceful fragrance of the heart-clearing grass enveloped the Main Hall, helping him maintain mental clarity.

The ancient cypress tree outside the hall also seemed to sense the change in his state. When he was in meditation, its emerald leaves would move without wind, emitting a clearer, life-filled wood-element qi that flowed into the Spirit Gathering Formation in wisps before being quietly absorbed by him. The mist from the Spirit Well was also exceptionally dense.

In the mountains, one loses track of time; in the blink of an eye, a hundred days had passed.

On this day, it was exactly noon. The midsummer sun was blazing, but the interior and exterior of the temple were cool and quiet due to the regulation of the Spirit Gathering Formation and the ancient cypress's vitality.

Inside the Main Hall, Li Muchen sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed. His face was calm and rippleless, and his breathing was long and fine, almost inaudible. He had maintained this state for three days and three nights.

Within his body, after a hundred days of harmonization and tempering, his essence, qi, and spirit had long since blended perfectly into one.

True Qi no longer merely flowed through his Meridians; it permeated his limbs, bones, and every minute corner of his internal organs like blood, tightly connected to his flesh and bone, inseparable.

That speck of Light of Merit had also completely merged into it, becoming a part of his Dao Foundation, emitting a warm and resilient luster.

Within the Dantian Qi Sea, the originally rotating True Qi vortex had long since disappeared. In its place was a mass of chaotic, hazy "Qi" that contained infinite vitality and possibility. This "Qi" was different from ordinary qi; it was the original state after the high unification of essence, qi, and spirit—the sublimation of life energy and the embryonic form of the Great Dao's Foundation.

Suddenly, Li Muchen's body trembled slightly.

Outside the hall, the sunlight seemed to shift by an inch. The wind stopped, and the birds fell silent. Even the leaves of the ancient cypress stopped swaying.

An invisible, indescribable sense of Perfection emerged from the deepest part of his life.

The chaotic mass of "Qi" in his Dantian suddenly contracted inward and solidified! It was as if the Universe was just beginning, and the Grandmist was being split open!

"Weng—!"

A clear chime, audible only to Li Muchen himself and originating from the depths of his Soul, rang out.

The Chaos broke open, and a point of light—bright but not dazzling, warm as fine jade, and solid as a diamond—quietly emerged and stabilized in the center of his Dantian!

This was—the seed of the dao foundation!

A hundred days of hard work, harmonizing Yin and Yang, refining the Origin, with Karma as the guide and vitality as the fire—today, the Foundation of the Great Dao was formed!

Li Muchen abruptly opened his eyes.

The divine light in his eyes was brilliant, clear, and deep, as if it could reflect every leaf vein of the ancient cypress outside the hall and see through every speck of dust in the air. It wasn't sharpness, but a clarity that pierced through to the essence of things.

He slowly raised his hand and made a hollow grip with his five fingers.

Without needing to deliberately circulate his Cultivation Technique, the seed of the dao foundation in his Dantian naturally responded with a mere thought. A surge of "True Essence"—far more pure, condensed, and agile than before—flowed out, filling his limbs.

It was no longer just a sensation of qi, no longer a stream, but a power as natural as moving his own arm, perfectly integrated and containing his own unique life imprint and insights into heaven and earth!

His gaze swept across the hall.

Accumulated dust? With a slight thought, True Essence circulated, and an invisible force field brushed past. All the dust automatically rose three feet off the ground, gathered into a ball, and slowly landed in a corner. It was far more sophisticated than the previous Dust Removal Technique, yet the consumption was negligible.

He looked again at the ancient cypress outside the hall. He could even clearly "see" a more robust vitality growing vigorously inside the ancient tree, faintly resonating with his own wood-attribute True Essence. With another thought, a wisp of wood-attribute True Essence containing the intent of nourishment and growth was transmitted across the space.

The entire ancient cypress trembled slightly, and all its leaves rustled without wind as if singing for joy. Not only did the original leaves become greener, but several pieces of old bark on the trunk actually peeled off, revealing fresh new bark, and new buds sprouted like bamboo shoots after a rain!

With every gesture, True Essence was generated. Observing the minute to see the grand, he sensed heaven and earth.

This was the true beginning of transcendence! It was a leap in the level of life!

A hundred days of Foundation Establishment, achieved in Perfection.

Li Muchen stood up and walked outside the hall. The sunlight fell on his body, warm and genial. The mountain breeze blew past, bringing the scent of vegetation from the distant mountains; every subtle difference in the scent was now clearly distinguishable.

He looked toward the direction of the village down the mountain, toward the further mountain ranges, and toward the boundless blue sky above.

The world seemed to be the same world.

But in his eyes, it was already different.

With the Dao Foundation stable in his body, True Essence circulating endlessly, and the Light of Merit nourishing his mind, although he had only just completed Foundation Establishment and the road ahead was long, he had truly stepped onto that transcendent path of pursuing the Great Dao.

Qingfeng Temple still stood on the barren mountain, revealing an indescribable vitality amidst its dilapidation.

And the young Taoist in the temple had already been reborn.

Time flows long in the mountains; the Dao begins to see transcendence.

Li Muchen stood with his hands behind his back, his sleeves moving lightly with the wind, his gaze calm and far-reaching.