280: One step to heaven, one step to hell, the choice of Tao foundation!

Mo Yan walked into the courtyard and bowed slightly to Xu Yanyan: "Teacher Xu's lesson was so captivating that I didn't notice the passage of time."

"Just some shallow insights," Xu Yanyan waved his hand, motioning for Mo Yan to sit on the stone bench opposite him. "Lord, why have you come today?"

"There are two matters," Mo Yan sat down, his expression serious. "Firstly, it's about the last rat tide. Thank you, sir, for your assistance."

If Xu Yanyan hadn't appeared with the others, the subsequent impact of that plague would have been more troublesome than the rat tide itself.

Xu Yanyan merely smiled faintly upon hearing this: "All living beings suffer. When encountered, how can one stand by and do nothing?"

Mo Yan nodded, no longer offering further thanks.

To such a person, too many words would only seem trite.

He changed the subject, stating his second purpose.

"Secondly, I've come to ask for your guidance on Foundation Establishment."

He frankly spoke of the Bottleneck he encountered: "I have reached Qi Refining Perfection, but I always feel as if there's an invisible membrane separating me, preventing me from entering."

Xu Yanyan listened quietly, and a ripple finally appeared in his eyes, which had been as still as an ancient well.

He scrutinized Mo Yan from head to toe before slowly speaking.

"Your Foundation is very unique."

"You temper your Physical Body with Star Power, and draw upon Nine Heavens Heavenly Tribulation Lightning as your sword's edge."

"These two forces are both the most rigid and most yang, overbearingly powerful existences between Heaven and Earth."

He looked at Mo Yan, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate his body and see the surging Spiritual Qi in his Dantian.

"For ordinary Cultivators to establish their Foundation, it's like building a tall building on flat ground; they only need to compress and condense gaseous Spiritual Qi into liquid building blocks."

"Although this process carries risks, with the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill, one can be seventy to eighty percent sure of success."

"But you are different," Xu Yanyan shook his head. "Your ground is not flat ground, but a chaotic Star Sea and a volcano containing endless lightning."

"If you want to build a tall building on this land, ordinary bricks and stones simply cannot withstand the weight of the stars and the scorching of the lightning."

Mo Yan understood instantly.

His source of power was too high-end, causing the difficulty of his Breakthrough to far exceed that of ordinary people.

"Then is the Foundation Establishment Pill useless to me?" Mo Yan asked the question he cared about most.

"Useful, and useless," Xu Yanyan's answer was as full of Zen as ever.

"It's useful in that it can help you condense Spiritual Qi, forcibly liquefy it, and pass the tribulation of liquefaction."

"It's useless in that what it builds is only the most ordinary of mortal Foundations."

"Using mortal bricks and stones to build a temple for gods and devils will only result in the Foundation collapsing the day the temple is completed."

"At worst, your Foundation will be damaged, making it difficult to advance further in this life. At worst, the star lightning will backfire, turning you into dust on the spot."

A layer of cold sweat seeped from Mo Yan's back.

He hadn't expected that his powerful Foundation, which he was so proud of, would become the most fatal poison at the critical juncture of Breakthrough.

If he hadn't come to consult Xu Yanyan today, the consequences would have been unimaginable had he rashly attempted a Breakthrough.

"Then what does sir mean?"

"Break and then establish," Xu Yanyan uttered four words.

"To build a Dao Foundation capable of bearing stars and lightning, you must use stars and lightning as your bricks and stones."

"What you need to do is not to turn Spiritual Qi into ordinary liquid, but to completely integrate the Star Power you've absorbed and the lightning power you control into your Dantian, transforming it into a lake of Star Power and a sea of lightning!"

Xu Yanyan's words dispelled the fog in Mo Yan's mind.

His thinking had always followed the traditional path of Qi Refining liquefaction.

But he had never considered that his path was different from others from the very beginning.

"May I ask, sir, how exactly should I proceed?" Mo Yan bowed again, this time with sincere earnestness.

Xu Yanyan did not answer directly; instead, he asked a question.

"Lord, in your heart, what is your Dao?"

"My Dao?" Mo Yan was startled.

"Yes," Xu Yanyan's gaze deepened. "What kind of Foundation do you want to build? Is it a star suspended high above, looking down upon all living beings?"

"Is it lightning that wields punishment and judges all things?"

"Or... an immortal city-state that protects this land beneath your feet and carries the Power Of Will of these countless people?"

These three questions left Mo Yan puzzled.

Stars?

Lightning?

Or... protection?

He subconsciously looked around.

In the military camp, the shouts of Soldiers drilling could be heard.

Over the rooftops of the residential area, wisps of cooking smoke rose.

Vivid faces flashed through his mind.

He recalled Uncle Qin's heartfelt concern when he offered hot tea;

He thought of Lu Mingyuan, who traveled back and forth across the territory every day;

He remembered Bai Lingyue, who, though cunning, had always faced life and death with him;

He remembered Gun Gun, who, though young, had always bravely accompanied him;

And those ordinary residents who cheered in the square, toiled in the workshops, and, though fearful when facing the beast tide, still chose to believe in him.

His territory, his people.

Unbeknownst to him, these had become an inseparable part of his life.

Why did he pursue power?

It was to survive better in this cruel apocalypse.

It was to protect everything he cherished from being destroyed by external forces.

It was to... provide a safe haven for the people under his command.

Stars suspended high above were too cold.

Lightning that judged all things was too ruthless.

That is not my Dao!

My Dao is not in the sky; it is right here, beneath my feet.

It is rooted in this land I personally developed and is Bloodline-connected to this city I personally built.

Upon realizing this, the confusion in Mo Yan's eyes suddenly dissipated.

"I understand."

He stood up and performed a solemn bow to Xu Yanyan.

"Thank you, sir, for dispelling my confusion."

This time, he did not call him Teacher Xu, but sir.

A single word difference represented recognition and heartfelt respect.

Xu Yanyan nodded with a smile, accepting his bow calmly.

"The Dao is in your heart; I am merely the one who wiped the dust from your mirror."

After thanking him again, Mo Yan did not linger and turned to leave.

He already knew how to walk his path.

Watching his departing back, Xu Yanyan's eyes revealed a hint of approval, and a hint of... expectation.

"Using the Power Of Will of all living beings as the Foundation, and the heart of protection as the furnace, building the Foundation with Star Power, and transforming lightning power into pillars...

"Such a Dao Foundation, once established, will likely shake Heaven and Earth."

He murmured softly, picked up the long-cold tea on the stone table, and drank it in one gulp.

...

Mo Yan returned to the Lords Manor and directly entered the Xumi Realm.

He did not choose the Tribulation Lightning Tempering Platform, nor any place rich in Spiritual Qi.

Instead, he went directly to the center of the Xumi Realm, to that most ordinary piece of land.

He sat cross-legged, his mind sinking into his Dantian.

"My Dao is protection!"

With a thought, Mo Yan no longer suppressed the power within his body.

He began to visualize.

He visualized not the high-hanging stars, nor the raging lightning.

But the Cangming City he had personally built.

The tall city walls, the neat houses, the bustling workshops, the solemn military camp...

And the smiling faces of everyone in the city.