Chapter 134: Entering the Dao

“So, has the radiant glow arrived?”

Bian Chunzhou couldn’t help but crane his neck to look at the sky. He felt a strong sense of déjà vu, like waiting for an exam proctor to play the listening comprehension tape. How should he put it? He wanted to be serious, but now that the moment was here… it felt a bit surreal.

So he asked himself: Am I really about to achieve Foundation Establishment?

Then, his heart pounded furiously, as if answering him: Of course! If not now, when?

Right at that moment, the radiant glow on the horizon finally began to gather slowly above his head. The light was dazzlingly brilliant. Seeing it from afar had been magnificent enough, but sitting directly beneath it now, he had to admit it felt absolutely amazing.

If he were an art student, he would have eagerly grabbed a paintbrush to capture this breathtaking scene. No wonder everyone yearned for cultivation. Cultivation truly was wonderful. At this very moment, Bian Chunzhou was absolutely certain of it.

“Oh right, I’m about to achieve Foundation Establishment. I need to notify Wen Xuxu and Chen Zuizui first.” As for his master, he was right there on Ruoshui Peak. Just moments ago, Bian Chunzhou had seen him sitting atop a cloud. He was deeply touched. His master had actually set aside his talisman research to watch him achieve Foundation Establishment. His master really did care for him the most.

Thus, by the time the first ray of the radiant glow descended, Wen Xu had just barely managed to arrive.

Whether by coincidence or not, when he arrived, the only empty spot left was next to Shi Yijian. Chunzhou was indeed incredibly popular; so many people had come to watch him achieve Foundation Establishment.

“Junior Brother Bian really does like you best. He even went out of his way to send you a Transmission Talisman.”

Wen Xu: …Why did that sound so sour?

But knowing Chunzhou: “He didn’t just send one to me. He probably sent one to Chen Zui as well. Did Senior Brother Shi not receive one?”

Shi Yijian: …Little Grand-Uncle Master is indeed not to be trifled with. Forget it, let’s just watch Junior Brother Bian achieve Foundation Establishment.

Wen Xu had seen his fair share of the Foundation Establishment glow. After Chen Zui achieved Foundation Establishment, several disciples from both the inner and outer sects had also succeeded. He had even been fortunate enough to witness an inner sect senior sister successfully form her core. However, perhaps because his current cultivation level was still too low, watching others form their cores only felt profound and mysterious, without him truly understanding the principles behind it.

Perhaps, as his master had said, since he had not yet chosen the path he wished to walk, he naturally could not see the paths of others clearly.

A cultivator’s Foundation Establishment involved three successive rays of radiant glow. The first was the Heart Trial, the second was the cultivation method, and the third was the cultivator’s own understanding of Foundation Establishment, which was the key to whether a typical cultivator could achieve Perfect Foundation Establishment.

Only after achieving Foundation Establishment himself did Wen Xu realize that the scope of the third ray’s evaluation was incredibly broad. In his case, it had been the dark shadows of his past. If he had been unable to move past them or see through them, let alone achieving Perfect Foundation Establishment, he wouldn’t have succeeded at all. That was why, after his success, he hadn’t openly declared his Perfect Foundation Establishment like Chen Zui did. For one, he didn’t want to pressure his friends, and for another, the nature of the glow was highly unpredictable.

Chunzhou was cheerful and sincere. Wen Xu figured it shouldn’t be too difficult for his friend to achieve Foundation Establishment.

However, Bian Chunzhou himself did not think so. He felt… it was actually a bit difficult. He even began to wonder: How did Chen Zuizui succeed so quickly? Is he the illegitimate son of the Heavenly Dao or something?

Just as Wen Xu hid the special condition of his eyes from everyone, Bian Chunzhou also harbored a secret that could never be spoken: he was not the original Bian Chunzhou.

He was actually Bian Chunzhou, a twenty-first-century college student. Back then, his biggest daily worries were what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even if he had been given ten thousand brains, he would never have guessed that he would one day step onto the path of cultivation.

So, wasn’t this supposed to be the Heart Trial? Why was it playing a slideshow of his modern campus life like a PowerPoint presentation? What was wrong with this Heavenly Dao glow? Didn’t cultivators deserve some privacy? It was even showing him acting cute at the school cafeteria to beg the lunch lady for an extra scoop of meat. Wasn’t that a bit too wicked? And this one: his term paper, where his advisor commented that his experimental results looked like an illegal structure that should have been demolished long ago. Help! His life could definitely do without this dark history!

At first, Bian Chunzhou could still complain silently in his head. But the glow certainly knew how to build up to an emotional climax. When the warmth of his past memories swept over him once more, he could no longer keep his composure.

He had to admit that he truly missed the fried chicken, cola, Wi-Fi, smartphones, and video games of the modern world. He also missed his roommates whom he used to play games with, and his advisor who criticized his papers for reading like a melodramatic novel. If it were possible, of course he wanted to go back.

So, can you send me back?

The glow remained silent, seemingly just conducting the Foundation Establishment exam as a matter of routine.

So, were you actually the one who transmigrated me here?

Still, there was only silence.

Since you can’t, stop showing these things to tempt me.

Bian Chunzhou was rarely one to get angry, but after his brief flash of irritation, he thought: If I go back, will Wen Xuxu and Chen Zuizui be sad? And will Master and Senior Brother Shi think I’m a useless runaway?

Could this be a test from the Heavenly Dao?!

Bian Chunzhou’s brain finally caught up. So it was a sting operation! Or was the Heavenly Dao aware that he was a soul from another world and actually preparing to send him home? Could it wait just a little bit? He wanted to say goodbye to his friends first!

But the first ray of the Heart Trial glow seemed to have developed a mind of its own. It vanished in a flash, as if terrified that this kid would think of more unrealistic things in the next second. Consequently, the second ray arrived incredibly fast.

Bian Chunzhou: …I knew it was a sting operation!

However, he soon had no time for random thoughts. The second ray evaluated the compatibility between his cultivation method and his spiritual root. As everyone knew, there were no ready-made cultivation methods for a Water-Fire Spiritual Root. Even the most compatible manual, 《Harmonization of Water and Fire》, was not entirely suitable for him.

He was about to walk a thorny path that no one had ever trodden before. Bian Chunzhou felt a bit apprehensive, but then he realized… his apprehension and worry seemed completely unnecessary.

This ray of light was unexpectedly easygoing. It was as lenient as a college Marxist philosophy professor; as long as you showed up in the classroom, your attendance and participation grades were automatically maxed out.

Huh, it was that simple?

Bian Chunzhou suddenly felt that the continuous experiments he had run over the past two years were completely redundant. Why did he feel a little annoyed all of a sudden? Just as this thought crossed his mind, the glow actually circled his Qi circulation path. Peering into his dantian, Bian Chunzhou discovered… Huh, my cultivation path seems much smoother now.

But wasn’t the gift of the Heavenly Dao supposed to begin only after the third ray finished?

How should he put it? Bian Chunzhou was completely baffled by this Foundation Establishment. He had spent over two years mentally preparing for what he thought would be a hell-mode exam, but it turned out to be… unexpectedly like child’s play.

It didn’t test him on any of the material he had prepared. In fact, it had absolutely nothing to do with it. How could it do this?!

Bian Chunzhou sensed the second ray of light dissipating, followed immediately by the third. As everyone knew, once the third ray appeared, the Foundation Establishment was practically guaranteed to succeed.

He thought, The third ray has to be more difficult, right? Bring it on. I’m ready. Whether it’s balancing water and fire or innovating a cultivation method, I’m not afraid.

Yet, the glow took an unconventional path once again!

Bian Chunzhou suddenly felt himself plunging into a deep ocean. The deep sea was pitch-black and devoid of light. He swam with all his might, using every instinct he had, but he still couldn’t find any way out. He wondered: Am I going to drown here?

Right at that moment, he felt his dantian begin to burn. The temperature rose rapidly, making it impossible for him to ignore the changes happening within his body.

He looked down and discovered to his shock that his dantian had turned into a… furnace?!

What on earth was this?

Refusing to give up, he rubbed his eyes and looked again. He was right. My belly has actually become transparent! How terrifying! And it’s completely filled with fire!

What was going on? Bian Chunzhou waved his arms in surprise, and then something even more shocking happened: it wasn’t just his belly that had become transparent, but his entire body. More accurately, he had become a pool of water, a pool of pitch-black water, with only the fire in his dantian revealing his existence.

Bian Chunzhou was not stupid; in fact, he was sometimes shockingly smart. He realized it instantly: Fire in Water.

This was his cultivation method, and the path he would walk in the future.

His path ahead was pitch-black, just like this deep, dark sea, but his dantian was the best lantern for his journey. Looking inside himself once more, Bian Chunzhou could already see spots of light rising in the surrounding waters.

This was him, lighting the path ahead.

The distant waters were still as dark as night, but Bian Chunzhou suddenly felt no fear. His body was water, and his dantian was fire. As long as he maintained the balance between water and fire, he would always find a way forward, no matter where he went.

There was more than one way to leave the deep sea. As long as he broke through the surface, he would see the light of day.

Bian Chunzhou stood dazed. He seemed to have found the path he would walk in the future. His path was hidden beneath the deep sea, yet it was everywhere. As long as he pressed forward with courage and resolve, he could brave any storm and reach the other shore.

He thought, So the path I must walk is not a thorny trail, but a wide, flat asphalt road. It is a Dao of Balance that only requires me to follow my heart without forcing anything.

Water and fire were not incompatible, and he did not need to view himself through the lens of worldly stereotypes or other people’s prejudices. Bian Chunzhou thought that if he had harbored even a shred of doubt toward his own cultivation method, he might have drowned completely in the third wave of radiant light just now.

But now, he had broken through the water’s surface and glimpsed the light. It was a speck of light from the radiant clouds falling into his eyes after his successful Foundation Establishment, and it was… unexpectedly gentle.

Bian Chunzhou looked up at the fading clouds. To think that the Heavenly Dao would show him such mercy even while knowing he was a visitor from another world. Could this be… the cultivation world’s unique way of welcoming guests?!

Such warm hospitality actually made him feel a bit embarrassed.