Wei Yuan was standing in front of a dark blue hall. Looking up, the name above the entrance stated: Myriad Manifestations Hall.

The Myriad Manifestations Hall was a hundred zhang tall and dark blue in color. He didn’t know what kind of material it was built from. Sparkling and translucent, the entire structure looked like a piece of natural jade. It was impossible to tell where the bricks and stones met. Standing in front of the hall, Wei Yuan felt like he was facing ten thousand years of history. No word could properly describe how vast and old the place felt.

“This is where all Foundations that had ever appeared in the Palace of Absolute Beginning are recorded. Some of the Dao Foundations belonging to other sects are recorded as well. Let’s head inside.”

Zhang Sheng led the way, and Wei Yuan followed. As soon as they stepped through the door, they immediately saw a river of stars rising from the ground and spanning over their heads. Contained within the river of stars were all sorts of Dao Foundations.

Wei Yuan knew a long time ago that there existed countless Dao Foundations in the world, but he still couldn’t help but feel shocked at the stunning spectacle before his eyes. It was a kind of grandioseness and impact that seemed to hail from the heavens and the earth, the past and the future themselves. It was truly indescribable.

This was what you called the path to immortality!

A long time later, Wei Yuan finally shook himself out of his reverie and tentatively released his perception. He made contact with the closest star to him.

Iron-cutting Horse Saber: Earth-tier, low grade. Bladed weapons are instruments of slaughter, thus qualifying it for Earth-tier. A mystic artifact wielded by this Dao Foundation boasts properties of Heavy, Enduring, and Piercing. The effects are enhanced if the mystic artifact is a long saber.

Commentary: This saber exhibits an ugly form and a coarse grain structure, exposing the cultivator’s inability to discern beauty. Thus, it is downgraded by one grade during evaluation.

The moment Wei Yuan’s consciousness made contact with the star, he saw a crude, long saber that was narrow on both ends but thick in the middle. It was, as the commentary stated, a bit disproportionate. Unfortunately, impurities in a Dao Foundation were inevitable. It was also normal for a path to immortality to have flaws.

Wei Yuan looked at a peach-colored star next and saw this:

Red Bean Sack: Human-tier, low grade. This Dao Foundation can be used to alleviate the anguish of longing, allowing one to locate their beloved three times a day, with a margin of error of one zhang.

Commentary: ….

Wei Yuan was very surprised. He had no idea that such a Dao Foundation existed. Next, he checked out the star beside it.

Mirage Colt: A horse conjured from mirages. Capable of traveling eighty li a day.

Glamour Makeup: Human-tier, upper grade. This Dao Foundation allows a cultivator to change their appearance to their heart’s content.

Commentary: In practice, it can fake even heaven and earth, night and day, demon and immortal. It is especially effective against the weak of will. If not for the fact that it is difficult to form an Avatar with this Dao Foundation, it would not be excessive to rate it as Heaven-tier.

To say that Wei Yuan was absorbed would be an understatement. He had no idea that so many interesting Human-tier Dao Foundations existed. It felt like he was opening his eyes to a whole new world. In comparison, the Earth-tier Dao Foundations were conventional, by-the-book creations with nothing to write home about. They were good for sleeping, he supposed.

He was still admiring the Human-tier Dao Foundations with great interest when suddenly, Zhang Sheng slapped him in the head, saying, “Stop looking at the useless stuff and search higher!”

Wei Yuan reluctantly withdrew his gaze and chased the direction his master was pointing at. At the highest point of the dome in the middle of the river of stars, several massive stars gradually manifested into reality, shining brightly. They illuminated the entire hall and shone so bright that countless stars on both ends of the river looked dim or even lightless.

Moments later, three hundred plus bright stars appeared at the zenith of the river of stars, stretching across the dome.

Wei Yuan tentatively touched one of the stars and saw that it contained an ancient bell. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Morning Evening Bell: Heaven-tier, middle grade. Possesses the ability to secure fortune, trigger enlightenment, expel devils and more.

Commentary: Evening gongs, morning bells. A single chime from this bell can push back a heart devil. It has remarkable efficacy in achieving enlightenment and breaking through the stages.

Zhang Sheng explained, “These are the Heaven-tier Dao Foundations. There are three hundred and seventeen of them in total. Without the True Lord’s permission, an ordinary disciple can only peruse the Human-tier and Earth-tier Dao Foundations. But you are my disciple, so you naturally have the right to peruse all of them. There are over eighteen thousand types of Dao Foundation in the Myriad Manifestations Hall, but only three hundred Heaven-tier Dao Foundations in total.”

Wei Yuan checked out the Heaven-tier Dao Foundations one after another until suddenly, he saw a familiar blue immortal sword.

Immortal Sword Blue Rain: Heaven-tier, middle grade. Possesses the ability to erode one’s Dao Foundation.

Commentary: It damages all who crosses its path; ruthless in execution and deceptive in appearance. Hence, it is not rated as Immortal-tier.

Wei Yuan subconsciously cried out, “Master! The commentator’s criticizing you!”

Zhang Sheng let out a grunt. “Blue Rain alone does not deserve the Immortal-tier, but I have two other immortal swords that could be individually rated as Immortal-tier. The one commentating on the Dao Foundations is biased because he has a grudge against the Skyblue Hall. Just ignore him. When I have become a World Ruler, when I am both the judge and the jury, I will naturally degrade his Dao Foundation to the Earth-tier.”

“Speaking of, where are your two immortal swords?” asked Wei Yuan while looking everywhere for it. He was incredibly curious about his master’s Dao Foundation as a matter of course, and the few times he heard people speaking about it, they painted a positively mythical picture about it. As a youngster, it was only natural that he wanted to witness it with his own eyes.

Zhang Sheng waved his sleeve, and tens of gigantic stars surfaced from the centermost part of the river of stars. They were slowly rotating around a bundle of darkness. An entity of its own, each Dao Foundation was a dazzling ball of light that outshone even the Heaven-tier Dao Foundations.

Immortal Sword The Sun, Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree, Devil Suppressing Nine Level Pagoda, Immortal Sword Void Cutter, Immortal Sword Parting Sorrow… Night Blooming Orchid…

The newly appeared immortal foundations numbered forty or so. The most common type of immortal foundation was immortal swords. There were eight of them in total. This wasn’t unusual as the Founder himself wielded four immortal swords; all of them immortal foundations in their own right. The Palace of Absolute Beginning had always put emphasis on killing potency, which was why many of their disciples cultivated immortal swords across the generations. For example, the Great Sun Sword Holding Book was a cultivation method that specialized in cultivating an immortal sword.

Besides the Immortal Sword The Sun, there was one other Heaven-tier immortal sword and three Earth-tier immortal swords. Those that failed to form immortal foundations could very well form Earth-tier or Heaven-tier swords instead.

In Wei Yuan’s eyes, every single immortal foundation was a path to immortality!

After perusing all of the immortal foundations, Wei Yuan suddenly had a feeling that the heart of the river of stars wasn’t just pure darkness. Instead, it felt like something was being nurtured there.

He pointed at that area and asked, “Is there an immortal foundation there too?”

Zhang Sheng replied indifferently, “Everything being nurtured at the center is an unmatched Dao Foundation that hasn’t yet been formed. They are superior even compared to the immortal foundations. Naturally, there is a spot that is reserved for me there.”

He then looked at Wei Yuan and added, “Who knows, you might have a spot there as well.”

Wei Yuan hid a sigh. He was past the point of harboring such dreams. It had taken him ten years to finally attain completion of the Body-tempering stage, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it had nearly worn out all of his confidence and belief. He had no idea what kind of Dao Foundation he would form in the future, only that anything lower than Heaven-tier was utterly unacceptable considering the ocean of pills that had been used to nurture it.

By now, the master and disciple had been together for thirteen years. He was well aware that his master possessed an enigmatic confidence in himself. He didn’t see a problem with it, though. In his opinion, his master’s name belonged on every ranking that ever existed, and the center of this river of Dao foundations was no exception. If there was any space left after his master had taken his rightful position, then he could claim a small part of it.

Suddenly, Wei Yuan recalled that his master had already forged his Dao foundation. If that was true, then why did he say that there was a spot reserved for him there?

When the boy voiced the question, Zhang Sheng hid a sigh of relief. He had been waiting for this for a very long time. He declared, “Who said that a Dao foundation is immutable after it is forged?”

Wei Yuan was both stunned and speechless. This went against everything he was taught about Dao Foundations!

Zhang Sheng took in Wei Yuan’s reaction like the sweetest nectar and coughed lightly. Then, he said with a gentle expression, “To be honest, your class is quite the excellent one. It had produced two never-before-seen Dao Foundations after all. The first is Bao Yun’s Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree. It is among the best of the best even compared to other immortal foundations. The second is Yan Ming’s Perfect Gold Toad. It is one of the absolute best among the Heaven-tier, and only a hair away from Immortal-tier.”

“Perfect Gold Toad?” For reasons, Wei Yuan was exceptionally sensitive toward the word “toad”.

Zhang Sheng pointed, and a star unleashed its light amidst the stars. There, a little gold toad sat with a jade plate on its back.

Perfect Gold Toad: Heaven-tier, upper grade. Capable of gathering the treasure qi within a hundred li and form an immortal material on its own.

Commentary: This is unquestionably the thousand-year foundation of an aristocratic family!

It was then Wei Yuan recalled his resolve to make a friend out of Yan Ming many years ago, but he was so busy with his cultivation that he had forgotten about it. With all that said, he could only hide a sigh and tell himself: The sages didn’t lie to me. Things are easier said than done.

After they were done perusing the Dao Foundations, his master took him to an incense altar and instructed, “Drip three drops of blood into the cauldron. This allows the Myriad Manifestations Hall to record the signature of your primordial spirit. When the day comes where you form your Dao Foundation, a spot will be available for you in this hall.”

Wei Yuan extended his hand over the bronze cauldron sitting on the incense table and dripped three drops of blood as instructed. They hit the bottom of the cauldron and rolled for a bit like pink pearls before vanishing suddenly.

Wei Yuan wanted to continue checking out the Human-tier Dao Foundations after giving away his blood, but Zhang Sheng didn’t allow it and dragged him away. After they passed through the exit, the boy clenched his teeth and ultimately divulged the worry that had been eating away at him for the longest time. “What… what should I do if my Dao Foundation is only Heaven-tier, Master?”

Zhang Sheng threw him a glare that felt as sharp as his swords. “You wouldn’t dare, would you?”

Wei Yuan groaned inside his heart. As if this was something he had any control over!

The sharp glint in Zhang Sheng’s eyes faded, and he said, “There is no forcing a Dao Foundation. If karma wills it so, then so it shall be, so don’t worry about it. Even if your Dao Foundation isn’t Heaven-tier, it’ll still be fine. This shifu will simply cut you down and purge the sect of your taint.”

His tone was so mild one would think that he was talking about an everyday matter. He then summoned his sword and added, “Now come. There is one more thing I need to speak with you about.”

Wei Yuan obediently followed behind Zhang Sheng, afraid to say a single word. After all, his master wasn’t joking earlier. The more serious he was about something, the more easygoing or uncaring he acted.