CHAPTER 31: 31. FIFTH-GRADE OPPORTUNITY, VERMILION PEAK PEN

Yuan Mobai, taking into account Lei Jun’s current root bone, comprehension, and state of mind, had once made a general estimation.

If there were no other external influences, Lei Jun would need about a year to advance from the initial stage of Foundation Establishment to the intermediate stage.

It would take about three years to move from the intermediate stage to the high stage of Foundation Establishment.

From high stage to Foundation Establishment Perfection, it would take about six years.

In other words, all told, it would require about ten years to go from the beginning to the peak of Foundation Establishment Realm.

The Three-layered Heaven Dharma Platform Realm differed from the First Heaven Layer’s Twelve Floors and the Second Heaven Layer’s initial, intermediate, high, and perfection four stages.

The Altar Stage was divided into the three minor realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man, establishing the Law of Heaven and Earth, completing the three-tiered Dharma Altar to build a foundation for charging toward the Four-layered Heaven Yuan Talisman Realm.

But these three minor stages could take about twenty years altogether.

So, adding together Foundation Establishment and Altar, the total was thirty years.

Li Ying, Shangguan Hong, Chen Yi, Guo Yan, and others whose circumstances were about the same as Lei Jun’s, differed little in this regard.

By then, everyone would be in their mid to late forties, close to fifty.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that Li Xuan, Li Ming, and Li Ying were siblings born of the same parents.

Actually, the age gap between each of them was more than twenty years.

*If you compared this to ordinary mortals in the mundane world, it’d be like three generations.*

But in the cultivation world, for cultivators who had already established their foundation, turning fifty was just barely stepping into the prime of youth and strength.

Still, even for the true inheritors of Taoist sacred lands like Li Ying, Lei Jun, and Chen Yi, by the age of forty or fifty, they had nearly used up the most precious, fastest-advancing first quarter—their golden opportunity period—of their two-hundred-year lifespan.

Of course, actual cultivation could see changes.

For example, Lei Jun had established his foundation in February this year, and by August he had managed to open the Eight Gates of the Fortified Wall on his Taoist foundation, advancing to Foundation Establishment intermediate stage, all thanks to the nurturing from the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond.

For true disciples under the sacred Taoist lands, in addition to superior cultivation methods, their advantages in cultivation over loose cultivators were definitely in all aspects.

But even disciples of Celestial Master Mansion had to consider one issue.

From Second Heavenly Layer to Third Heavenly Layer, and from Third to Fourth, the catastrophic abyss between the great realms could suddenly cause a cultivator to be stuck for a very long time.

Auxiliary means like the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond’s blessing might help shorten the gap, but it might still not be enough to offset the stagnation before making a breakthrough and undergoing tribulation while crossing to a higher realm.

*So everyone still had to come up with their own shrewd schemes and seek their own opportunities. The faster, the better. Progress had to be made early.*

Passing fifty years old didn’t mean there was no more hope.

But in Celestial Master Mansion, everyone was a chosen one. Who would want to stop at the Fourth or Fifth Heaven Layer?

Who didn’t want to scale even higher realms?

For Lei Jun, the baptism from the Cloud Sea Immortal Pond only worked for the initial to intermediate stages of Foundation Establishment.

Moving forward with normal cultivation, Lei Jun would still need three years to go from Foundation Establishment intermediate stage to high stage.

However, as long as he continuously relied on large quantities of Green Stone Ink for his cultivation, that three years could be cut in half.

The six years required to go from Foundation Establishment high stage to Foundation Establishment Perfection could likewise be partially reduced.

Moreover, the Misty Cloud Crystals that counteracted the side effects of Green Stone Ink had not been contaminated themselves.

When Lei Jun reached Foundation Establishment Perfection and was preparing to charge the second heavenly chasm, this treasure would still provide its original support.

It was just that the quantity of Misty Cloud Crystals was limited, and could only be used by Lei Jun alone.

If it were shared alternately with others, the efficiency of using Green Stone Ink for cultivation would undoubtedly drop, losing its original meaning.

However, among those he knew, no one else was still at the Second Layer Heaven Foundation Establishment Realm, so there was no need to share.

He just needed to focus on forging ahead himself.

So, as time passed, Lei Jun introspected, and his Taoist foundation underwent further changes.

On his Taoist foundation—already set with the Eight Gates of the Fortified Wall—mana and Spiritual Energy intertwined, condensing into an illusory curtain.

Among several sacred Taoist heritages, it had become common practice to refer to the Second Heavenly Layer as the Foundation Establishment Realm.

But Foundation Establishment was not all the same.

The Celestial Master Mansion’s Taoist Talisman Sect had its own methods—in fact, Foundation Establishment Realm was the process of setting up a virtual altar for fasting and worship inside oneself.

Once that altar was stable, one could then erect the dharma altar proper.

According to Lei Jun’s understanding, the initial stage of Foundation Establishment was just like having a flat, solid, and firm surface.

Intermediate stage was precisely the act of building a city wall on the demarcated ground, and opening eight gates for the city.

At the high stage, it was like planning to construct a dharma altar up front, divided into six curtains.

These six curtains were the Xuan Master Curtain, Five Emperors Curtain, Celestial Master Curtain, Three Masters Curtain, Three Officials Curtain, and Supervisor of Fasting Mage Curtain, all set for the enshrinement of Taoist heritage true spirits.

Lei Jun, at this time, quietly cultivated, striving to condense these illusory curtains on his own Taoist foundation.

With Green Stone Ink and other resources supplied by Celestial Master Mansion, Lei Jun swiftly established three curtains.

Although it would only get harder from there and more time-intensive, overall, on calculation, it really was twice as fast as normal cultivation!

When Yuan Mobai came to give private instruction, seeing Lei Jun’s progress, he nodded repeatedly and said, "Not bad, not bad, you’re even faster than I had expected."

Lei Jun said, "Only by focusing completely on cultivation, undisturbed by outside affairs, could I achieve these results—this is all thanks to Master, Senior Sister, and Wang’s guidance and care."

Yuan Mobai smiled, "You’ve put your heart into your own cultivation. I can’t take the credit."

Lei Jun said, "Master, what about Senior Brother, Fang, Sister Zhang, and Elder Shangguan?"

Yuan Mobai replied, "Some new developments have arisen. For the moment, they don’t have time for me."

"Here’s what happened. Back when the incident occurred at Cloud Sea Immortal Pond, Elder Yao’s disciple, Junior Brother Chen Yi, once mentioned a matter."

Wang Guiyuan, acting on behalf of their master, explained at length, "He discovered a treasure called Scorching Cloud Lotus Seed in the Upper Immortal Pond, but was ambushed, and someone tried to snatch the treasure. In the end, this was why Junior Brother Chen fell down into the Upper Immortal Pond."

Lei Jun said, "So, he’s basically saying it was Li Ming who did it?"

Wang Guiyuan replied, "He said he fell in hastily and the culprit had higher cultivation strength, so he didn’t clearly see who it was."

That’s what he said, but at the time, only Fang Jian and Li Ming had higher cultivation among those in the Small Cave Heaven than Lei Jun and Chen Yi.

Looking at Li Ming’s trip to the Lower Immortal Pond to fish up another treasure, the Heat Crystal Sand, Chen Yi’s accusation was almost as good as naming names directly.

"No witness left alive," Lei Jun said, "so Chen Yi wants to fight with the Li Family to the end?"

Wang Guiyuan quietly said at the side, "It’s just that he’s deepening his grudge with the Li Clan branch under Master Ziyang—not with the entire Li Family..."

Lei Jun understood, and said "Oh" in response, "So, inside the Li Family, there are different factions as well."

Wang Guiyuan gave a dry cough.

Lei Jun had been here long enough—even if Wang Guiyuan didn’t say it, he had a general idea.

The current Celestial Master Li Qingfeng had three full siblings.

The eldest was Li Qingfeng, the second sister Li Hongyu, and the youngest brother Li Ziyang.

These three siblings, plus Yuan Mobai, Chen Yi’s master Elder Yao, and Elder Shangguan, made up the six direct disciples of the previous Celestial Master Li.

Among them, Master Hongyu (Li Hongyu) had the worst relationship with the current Celestial Master.

The siblings had openly competed for the Celestial Master position in their youth.

"Back before Senior Sister caused all that trouble, Chen Yi hadn’t stirred up much wind and waves," Lei Jun asked, "Is it because Master Hongyu, who was in closed-door training, emerged recently that he’s suddenly bringing up old scores again?"

Li Ziyang and his elder brother Li Qingfeng were of one mind, so his relationship with his second sister Li Hongyu was similarly hostile.

Wang Guiyuan said, "That’s what it is."

Lei Jun said, "It’s really a mess."

But a chaotic situation was good.

Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai’s master-disciple pair could relax for now, staying out of it and watching the drama unfold.

After chatting a bit more, Yuan Mobai ended the topic and began the day’s actual teaching.

In the morning, he taught Taoist Scriptures and answered questions. After lunch, Lei Jun returned again to the mine.

As he dug deeper and deeper to extract Green Stone Ink for cultivation, he went further and further into the mine each time.

A few more days passed. After harvesting two more raw Green Stone Ink ores, Lei Jun suddenly spotted a streak of vermilion in the midst of all the jade-green beneath his gaze.

Lei Jun sensed no danger—the fluctuation of mana and Spiritual Energy felt almost intimate instead.

After grinding it for a while, he actually pulled a brush out from the Green Stone Ink mine.

The barrel of the brush was pitch black with a shimmering green light, while the tip was vermilion.

"Using Talisman Ink to nurture a Talisman Brush? That really is a stroke of genius."

After pondering a bit, Lei Jun’s heart gave a faint jolt.

Because he’d been refining Green Stone Ink relentlessly all this time, now that he came into contact with the Talisman Brush, he felt in perfect harmony with it.

The brush contained all sorts of mysterious wonder, far beyond what a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator could comprehend in a short time.

Yet Lei Jun, holding the brush, felt as if it were an extension of his own arm.

"Master’s old Vermilion Peak Pen?"

Wang Guiyuan saw it and looked quite surprised, "It’s been a long time since I last saw that."

Hearing this, Lei Jun raised an eyebrow.

The moderately good lot had not only mentioned escaping the wind and rain, but also spoke of a fifth-grade opportunity.