Cultivation: I Can Traverse Otherworlds

Chapter 224: Chapter 207: Dao Foundation! Dao Foundation

But now...

That was clearly not the case.

"Not bad." Cui Li nodded, stepping forward and cupping her hands as she called out:

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on breaking through the Innate Realm to achieve your Dao Foundation! You’ve extended your life by three hundred years and your path to the Great Dao is now open. This is truly a joyous occasion!"

"SWISH!"

A sharp glint of blade-light rose from the isolated island below, revealing the figure of a handsome young man before the two of them.

’He’s so young?’

Li Xingzhou was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses.

It was impossible for someone to become a Dao Foundation Cultivator at such a young age. He had either cultivated some kind of Rejuvenation Secret Technique or taken an Elixir that slowed aging.

"You two."

Zhu Ju cupped his hands.

"I felt an epiphany and broke through here. I didn’t expect to disturb you both. My apologies."

"Think nothing of it, Fellow Daoist." Cui Li smiled and took the initiative to explain:

"We are from the Sea Jiao Li Family, merchants in the East Sea. We were passing through when we sensed an anomaly in the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy, so we came to investigate. We just happened to witness your advancement to the Dao Foundation."

"I am Cui Li of Changfu Island, known by the moniker ’Lady Baoxiang,’ and I currently serve as a Guest Minister for the Li Family."

"And you are?"

"I am Zhu Ju," he said, understanding their intent.

"A disciple of the Bright Void Sect. I fled into the East Sea to escape the Demon Dao and, by a stroke of luck, broke through the Nine Acupoints to achieve the Dao Foundation."

"The Bright Void Sect?" Cui Li’s eyes flickered.

"I recall that the Bright Void Sect fled south many years ago, to the Ten Thousand Mountains."

"That’s right." Zhu Ju nodded, his voice filled with emotion.

"I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to return to my Sect in the Ten Thousand Mountains."

"It won’t be easy, I’m afraid." Cui Li shook her head.

"The Dazhou Territory is currently being ravaged by Demonic Disciples. Even for a Dao Foundation Cultivator, trying to cross it is a life-or-death gamble."

"Detouring through the East Sea would take years. Fellow Daoist, why not settle down here and seek other opportunities?"

"That’s right." Li Xingzhou’s eyes lit up, and he said hurriedly:

"Elder Zhu!"

"My Li Family is also a major merchant in the East Sea. If you are willing to join us, Elder Zhu, the Li Family can provide a Dao Foundation Cultivation Method and an annual share of the profits."

"My apologies." Zhu Ju’s expression was placid.

"I have just achieved my Dao Foundation and haven’t thought about these things yet."

"Yes." Li Xingzhou’s voice wavered slightly.

"This junior was too hasty."

After a moment’s thought, he took out an item, lifted it with his True Qi, and sent it over.

"Elder Zhu."

"This is a map of the nearby sea areas drawn by our Li Family. It should be of some convenience for your travels in the East Sea, Elder Zhu."

"There is also a Token from the Sea Jiao Li Family. If you go to the East Sea Alliance, Elder Zhu, you can use this to find me. If you need anything, I will not refuse."

"I also have some friends in the East Sea. If you have nowhere to go, Fellow Daoist, I can introduce you to a few places." Cui Li smiled and shot Li Xingzhou a meaningful look.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu has just broken through and needs time to stabilize his Cultivation. We won’t disturb you any further."

"Farewell!"

With that, she cupped her fists, transformed into a streak of Tunneling Light, and returned the way she came at a moderate pace.

"Elder."

On the way back, Li Xingzhou looked confused.

"Why didn’t we try again? If we could have recruited him as a Guest Minister, it would have been a great help to the Li Family."

"It’s impossible." Cui Li shook her head.

"Although the Sea Jiao Li Family is a major merchant in the East Sea, we are not a top-tier power. We can’t give him what he wants."

"This man is far from his Sect, no different from a Loose Cultivator. For someone like him to reach the Dao Foundation, he must be tenacious and a true seeker of the Great Dao. He would never be content to settle for a merchant Noble Family. Only after suffering countless hardships and realizing his path is hopeless would he give up."

She sighed softly, her voice filled with emotion.

She had once been the same. But after years of wandering, she only came to her senses after her husband and children had passed away, one by one.

Achieving the Dao Foundation was already a rare opportunity.

The Golden Core...

How many people in this age could reach it?

"Elder."

Li Xingzhou was lost in thought.

"Was there anything unusual about that Elder Zhu?"

"Not really." Cui Li shook her head.

"He just advanced, so his aura is still unstable. He has a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact, but I’m afraid he has nothing else of value."

"Don’t even think about harming him. A Dao Foundation Cultivator, even one who has just advanced, is not so easy to kill. Besides, what could you possibly gain by killing him?"

An Innate Qi Refiner would spend almost everything they have just for a single Foundation Establishment Pill. There’s no profit to be squeezed out of them.

A living Dao Foundation Cultivator is worth far more than a dead one.

"How could you say that, Elder? This junior wouldn’t dare." Li Xingzhou gave a wry smile.

"We’ve formed a good connection today. Who’s to say he won’t be able to help the Li Family in the future?" Cui Li glanced back.

"A young Dao Foundation Cultivator, full of vigor..."

"It’s truly enviable!"

*

*

*

Watching the figures of Cui Li and Li Xingzhou disappear into the distance, Zhu Ju finally looked away and slowly drifted down to the isolated island.

"WHOOSH..."

With a long exhale, a fierce gale suddenly whipped up across the flat ground.

With a mere thought.

The surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy rapidly converged, transforming into raging fire, fierce winds, flowing water, and even sharp blasts of Powerful Qi.

Without needing to cast spells, chant incantations, or draw Talismans, the powerful Divine Soul of a Dao Foundation Cultivator could directly manipulate the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy into various forms of Magic.

The range of his Divine Thought had expanded to ten li, meaning he could kill enemies from several li away.

He flicked a finger.

A High Grade Spiritual Artifact shot out like a flash of lightning, circled in the air, and slashed toward Zhu Ju’s arm.

"CLANG..."

The Flying Sword returned without success.

A High Grade Spiritual Artifact,

could not even harm him!

Although that was because he hadn’t used his full power to control it, a Physical Body like this was already far superior to ordinary Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

He gently raised a hand and pressed it toward the empty space before him.

True Essence surged from his palm.

"BOOM!"

A massive palm print over ten meters long appeared, shaking the entire island violently.

True Essence!

Compared to True Qi, True Essence was a qualitative change.

One was like rotten wood, the other like steel tempered a hundred times. The two couldn’t be compared, and the difference in power was as vast as heaven and earth.

’With this kind of strength, no wonder Innate Qi Refiners are helpless before Dao Foundation Cultivators. And I’ve only just advanced...’

’Those Dao Foundation Cultivators who have lived for three or four hundred years... how immense must their True Essence be? I fear that unless they were struck by a Magical Treasure, even a Top-Grade Spiritual Artifact wouldn’t be able to injure them.’

Zhu Ju’s eyes flickered.

"A pity!"

"Whether it’s the Bright Void Sect’s Earth Evil Mysterious Skill or the Joyful Sect’s Formless Forget Love, I only have the Methods for the Innate Realm."

"For the Dao Foundation..."

"I’ll have to find another Cultivation Technique."

If he could return to the Bright Void Sect, now that he had reached the Dao Foundation, he would naturally become an Elder of the Dragon Head Lineage.

He would be able to obtain the legacy of the Celestial Spirits and Earthly Evils, which leads directly to the Golden Core Realm.

But...

"It actually takes that long?"

Unfolding the Sea Area Map Li Xingzhou had given him, Zhu Ju’s expression turned bitter.

He had originally thought that bypassing Dazhou by detouring through the East Sea would take half a year to a year at most to reach the Ten Thousand Mountains.

He never imagined,

that according to Li Xingzhou’s Sea Area Map, it would take more than ten years!

If he traveled alone, he could shorten the time with the Flying Escape speed of a Dao Foundation Cultivator, but it would be very dangerous.

The dangers of the East Sea were no less than those of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Even for a Dao Foundation Cultivator, if they didn’t know the sea routes, they could easily get trapped in natural labyrinthine waters or, in a worse case, encounter a High-Tier Demon Beast and be killed outright. The safest method was still to travel with a merchant fleet.

’Where exactly is the Joyful Sect’s Secret Realm, the Wind Moon Valley? How can it randomly teleport people from the south of Dazhou to the north?’

Shaking his head, Zhu Ju mused thoughtfully:

’It seems I really do need to stay in the East Sea for a while, at least until I’ve figured out the sea routes.’

"Now..."

"First, I need to find a place to stabilize my Cultivation."

"SWISH!"

As the thought crossed his mind, a pair of wings suddenly unfurled from his back. With a gentle flap, he soared a hundred zhang in an instant.

After a few flickers, he vanished from his original spot.

The Wind and Thunder Blade Wings had also been nourished by his True Essence when he advanced to the Dao Foundation. In ten years at most, they could advance from a Pseudo Magical Treasure to a true Magical Treasure, at which point they would surely become a reliable asset.