Chapter 10: Dao Foundation Enhancement
Days went by quietly, Zhou Futong came back less and went out more. Zhou Liang slowly knew the details of the three demons. He didn't know if he should thank Zhou Futong or not. If it wasn't for bringing Zhang Wu over, Zhao Ma and Liu Shu would be too cautious, and he wanted to figure everything out, which was really not easy. The other party were cultivators, and he couldn't follow them to investigate.
In the midst of calmness, Zhou Liang diligently practiced, and the Yi Jin Jing slowly penetrated deeper. The first section consisted of 21 movements, and he completed 20 of them. His strength also increased astonishingly, almost every additional movement bringing a significant increase in power. Now, his arms possess nearly boundless strength. Such prowess would make him an unrivaled general on the battlefield, and even Li Xin's bravery that could withstand ten thousand men would be no match for his strength. In the pugilistic world, he would be a lone figure capable of defeating ten others, and even the likes of Sword Gods and Knife Kings would have to concede defeat under his terrifyingly immense power.
Fierce power, but not much sense of security. What he faces is a higher level, it's a cultivator, and not just an ordinary cultivator. The mighty force symbol of the average Taoist sect is enough to create a Wanjin warrior. The Yellow Turban warriors in the novels are based on the legend of the Taoist sect. Orthodox Taoism has a specialized cultivation method for creating warriors, used for opening mountains and breaking rocks, and setting up caves, which is quite ordinary.
Zhou Liang didn't dare to reveal his true strength, occasionally only bringing out a few points, which was considered an increase for this period of time. Zhang Wu's attention was all on Zhao Ma, the two of them flirting with each other as if no one else existed. All of this was seen by him using his yuan ling ying xiang shu (a technique to reflect and observe), making him feel sick to his stomach.
As the power gradually increased, especially as the movements got closer to the end, with only twenty-one moves left to complete, Zhou Liang muttered to himself in his heart, "The Easy Tendon and Bone Strengthening Chapter, how does it actually increase one's foundation? The increase in strength is very strong, far surpassing ordinary Jianghu's divine secret manuals. But no matter what, it's just a Huang Jin power technique, how can it increase one's foundation?"
This point is not mentioned in the Easy Tendon and Bone Tempering Chapter, Zhou Liang has only been bitterly practicing, spring comes and goes, half a year's time has passed quickly. During this period, Zhou Liang lived very plainly, Zhang Wu and Zhao Ma's affectionate interactions were as if they didn't exist, Liu Shu was like a zombie, extremely dull, and didn't notice anything. Zhou Fu Tong would come back every one or two months, but he wouldn't stay for long, just a few days before leaving again. His vigilance seemed to have relaxed a lot, also letting Zhou Liang put down the heart that had been hanging in the air. Now, he was like an unguarded person, with only a strong spiritual sense and countless cultivation knowledge, in front of a master who could see through him, like a child with no ability to resist, unless it was the moment when all else failed and his life was at stake, otherwise, if he revealed any flaws at any time, he would be dead beyond recovery.
After months of hard practice, Zhou Liang finally completed the last move. As he perfectly executed this move, the previous 20 moves flashed through his mind like flowing water, and almost subconsciously, he went through all the moves in an instant. With various breaths coordinating simultaneously, a startling change appeared: on his Dao foundation, countless glowing small dots emerged, as if they had instantly vaporized.
Such a change, even the seasoned Zhou Liang was shocked, he remained extremely stable without moving, his hands didn't stop for a moment, these light points, carrying the absorbed aura from outside, frantically rushed towards his body core, that is, the Dao foundation, under the intense collision, the Dao foundation was actually in danger.
If it were someone else, they would have been confused by now. The Easy Calf and Bone Tempering chapter was once a secret technique, so it's classified as a Daoist treasure. That's why the first pass is difficult to get through. Usually, after one or two years of practice, when you reach the stage of rebuilding your foundation, practitioners can't help but feel anxious. The foundation is too important; if it's destroyed, the whole person will be ruined. Once they panic, they'll make mistakes and go astray, which would truly lead to their downfall.
Zhou Liang, with 1500 years of cultivation experience, mostly spent in suffering, has a deep understanding. Adding the great name of Dao Zang, he is convinced that almost instantly, he thinks that the way to be, is not broken, not established, the foundation of the way is the basis of the cultivator, from the moment of birth, it has been determined, if you want to change, you must destroy it first. He should have been panicked, but instead became calm and tranquil, feeling this strange and unusual enlightenment.
It was this calmness that allowed him to safely pass through the most dangerous part of the Easy tendon and bone tempering chapter, with countless light points colliding endlessly. Even if his foundation was solid, he couldn't withstand such prolonged collisions. Finally, his eight-layered foundation, which had been as sturdy as a precious pagoda, collapsed under the impact of the light points, which continued to assault him relentlessly.
When all the Dao bases were cleared away, without any Dao base, Zhou Liang's body seemed to have a thick and powerful force suddenly appearing, like a tide rushing towards the position of the Dao base. Countless light points had a place to return to, re-establishing themselves in their original positions, condensing, forming, and becoming even more solid and wider, layer by layer, emerging one after another, like bamboo shoots. Finally, when the nine-layered pagoda was completed, his whole body shook, all the light points merged into the surroundings of the Dao base, as if filling his entire body!
Has he succeeded? Even Zhou Liang, who was normally calm and composed, couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder. The magnificent Nine-Storeyed Pagoda that appeared before his inner vision clearly told him that he had already reached the Ninth Stage of the Dao Foundation.
"Is this the foundation of the Nine Divisions?" Zhou Liang, who saw the astonishing changes inside his body with his inner vision, couldn't help but feel ecstatic. One part enters the breath, three parts open up the orifices, six parts shape the body, and nine parts condense the fetus. The path to true cultivation has been determined since birth, and without a foundation of Nine Divisions, it is impossible to condense the fetus in one's lifetime. But now, this great door had truly opened for him, and as long as he stepped over this threshold, there would eventually come a day when he reached the pinnacle.
Even if reborn, with the experience of past life, he in this life, at most is still in the stage of shaping his body, at most stronger than before, but no matter how to say it, shaping the body is just shaping the body. In a battle that transcends boundaries, apart from cultivating powerful techniques, the strength and weakness of magical artifacts are also very important. However, in the end, even with powerful magical artifacts, it still depends on the level of one's boundary. Transcending a boundary brings about real and tangible improvements.
Suppressing the wild joy in his heart, Zhou Liang carefully sensed the changes in his body again, and his body trembled all over. His body was not only changing its foundation, but it seemed that there was something else, power, the power of the body, he had already become very familiar with it. Now, this power, on the basis of the original, has risen to a higher level, the overall increase is not large, and the control becomes more agile, so agile that it can accurately control the power.
Strength is the most difficult to control. The Yellow Turban Warriors of the Taoist sect are invincible outside the sect, but within it, they are at the lowest level of cultivation. This is because their strength is great, but they are clumsy and inflexible. They can only do some rough work like opening mountains and creating caves, but if you ask them to do something delicate, it's absolutely impossible. The Yellow Turban Warriors of the Taoist sect may not be inferior to some Qi-refining cultivators in terms of strength, but the cultivators' agile movements and various auxiliary equipment give the Yellow Turban Warriors almost no chance of winning. This seems to be a restriction imposed by the Heavenly Way.
Zhou Liang was well aware of this, so when he practiced the Yi Jin Jing, his strength grew greater and greater, and he couldn't help but worry about it. Now, however, his strength is completely under his control, and he can lift heavy weights with ease, which has added a few more points to his power. When he really fights Zhou Fu Tong, he will have an extra layer of grasp.
He had finally succeeded, not only increasing his foundation but also gaining an additional layer of self-protection. Zhou Liang excitedly gazed at the room in the darkness, now less than three months away from the final day. Having the ability to protect himself was greatly beneficial to his plan. To say nothing of other things, in specific situations, his boundless power could be perfectly displayed. A bear spirit like Zhang Wu was no match for him even in terms of strength, let alone a human cultivator like Zhou Fu Tong. Before reaching the stage of forming a Nascent Soul, close combat would always be the weak point of cultivators.
He subtly felt the change within himself, apart from his increased strength, another surprise was his spiritual awareness. After his foundation improved, he felt refreshed and clear-headed, as if he had opened up a new perspective. His spiritual awareness also became clearer and stronger, without even trying to reach its limits, doubling his original base wasn't much of an issue.
Divine consciousness is the origin of cultivators, and it has a special role in cultivating the truth. Especially for the cultivation method of Dao Xin Zhong Mo, besides the cultivation method, more is the traction between divine consciousnesses. Before, Zhou Futang taught him the way to improve his divine consciousness, letting his divine consciousness reach the level that can absorb. If the divine consciousness is improved too high, the strength of both sides will be converted. Before, Zhou Liang's divine consciousness was about to reach the first level of Tong Qiao, and after adding a little more, it barely reached the third level of Tong Qiao.
Previously, the two people's divine consciousness had approached each other, but there was still a difference. Zhou Futong was slightly stronger. Now, with his sudden increase in power, he had gained an overwhelming advantage, and his grasp of the situation had greatly improved.
Opening his eyes, Zhou Liang's eyes were like a flash of lightning in the dark room, flashing once and then recovering. His consciousness was like electricity, flickering without direction, transforming into ripples that spread outward, and the entire manor's surroundings were under his surveillance. The range of his Yuan Ling Ying She technique had reached 300 zhang, an increase of about tenfold. This didn't match with the improvement in his cultivation realm; could it be that this was another benefit?
It seems that the secrets of the Taoist Canon are not as simple as he imagined, and the "Easy Tendon and Bone" chapter still has many mysterious aspects. He is very satisfied with this state, just about to withdraw his consciousness, when a faint sound comes from the northwest, someone jumps over the wall and exits. His movements are light, like a feather falling to the ground. Even a Jianghu master would not be able to hear such a slight sound, but under Zhou Liang's Ling Ying She Guang technique, it is as clear as a drumbeat. A smile appears on Zhou Liang's mouth, after waiting for several months, now that the first stage of his cultivation is complete, he has encountered this opportunity, and he must grasp it firmly.
