Story 8 - Tribulation Trepidations (23/24 ?)
I glanced over to see Unyielding Firestorm throw a fire dragon at another small group of archers. Could I really just leave these kids here fighting for while I went to create my foundation? I grimaced.
::Great Martial Aunt! Go. We’ll be fine here.::
Clear Eyes and Spear That Weaves started flying over. “We’ll act as your Dao protectors!”
These guys!
I grabbed the brat and rushed to the rock cave I’d set up. Once inside, I closed it up, activating my defensive formation, and sat back-to-back with Little Spring.
Since I never had the chance to give a lecture on how to create a foundation, I would have to walk him through it. Hopefully, I didn’t cause him to fuck up his base.
I breathed out a calming breath and allowed my body to absorb the heavenly energy and bring it into my dantian to circle.
“We’re about to form our twelve foundational pillars.”
“Yes, Sister Lin!”
“The essence of cultivation is walking a path of improvent. To beco the best version of yourself whether that ans becoming a powerful swordsman or an amazing chef. It’s perfectly acceptable to change over ti, but the foundation you build here will be with you always, so it’s best to lay an excellent one.”
“Sister Lin, could you hurry up? I’m not sure I can keep holding back.”
“There are three main types of illusory pillars. The first is minimalist. It is a sturdy base that uses basic cylinders to represent a foundation. Cultivators who use this kind will never fear their foundation crumbling. They can also learn almost any technique without it damaging their cultivation base.”
“So we’re creating those?”
“No. I’m giving you options. If you don’t choose wisely, you could fuck yourself over.”
He nodded, but his jerky movents showed how strained he felt.
“Those who apply the first type often develop an unbending personality.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
If we weren’t back to back, I’d flick his glabella. “Things that cannot bend, break.”
I thoroughly believed that this style was why this Xianxia universe had a bunch of dumb and unreasonable people everywhere. Their foundation was too stiff. I also suspected Bloodsword used it in his past.
“Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with choosing this kind.”
The kid shook his head. “That’s not for . What’s the next?”
“Ornate and aesthetic. These pillars allow you to beco more powerful at the cost of narrowing your path.”
“And the drawbacks?”
“You add limits to yourself and you’ll have to focus on a specific style. This isn’t inherently a bad thing; however, the foundation itself won’t be as stable as the other types. For example, you cannot accidentally learn a technique that goes against your cultivation style or it will ruin you.”
He swallowed. “Does that one have any weird personality quirks?”
“People with this type of pillar regularly think too highly of themselves. Whether that’s from believing that they’re stronger than everyone or sothing else, I don’t know. I haven’t done enough research on it.”
This was also the pillar style most young masters and geniuses used. Of course, those types of cultivators usually had strict inheritances, so it was fine for them to use it.
“What’s the next?”
“Self-expression.”
“That one isn’t really self-explanatory.”
I grinned. “Instead of creating a traditional architectural-type pillar, you create symbols of things that represent yourself and your path up till now. Each pillar can be as simple or detailed as it needs to be.” This was also the style I chose.
“If you go with this one, you have to be very confident with yourself. While these types of pillars are both powerful and strong, you’re taking a risk that the things you make part of your foundation will continue to affect you throughout your life.”
“And what’s the downside?”
“Well... Ah. That changes from person to person. However, I found that this kind of foundation makes it difficult to change so habits that others don’t exactly appreciate.”
The kid jerked his head around.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just... That explains so much.”
Brat! “Like I said, it varies.”
“Is there another style?”
“These are the only ones I’ve encountered that don’t leave your foundation significantly vulnerable.”
“Then I’ll go with the last.”
“Then what are the twelve aspects of yourself that have helped you grow?”
“Not sure. What are yours?” The strain in his voice was becoming obvious.
“Well, we can’t keep putting it off, so I will go over mine. If you feel like it’s part of your journey and important to who you are, then you can also make it a pillar for yourself.”
I looked inside my dantian, where the ball of internal Qi had lted to form a lake and rged with the heavenly energy. I grabbed a small portion of it and built an illusory sword. When I originally created my foundation in my previous life, I’d made it look like the blade I imagined I would wield in the future. In this life, I sculpted it to resemble the one I kept with for the past three years. While it wasn’t mine, it had brought to this point, and I would rember it fondly.
I filled the pillar with spiritual energy until it glowed.
“My first pillar is always the sword. One of the martial arts I put most of my ti in. Practicing it has shaped who I am.”
“It’s the sa for .”
“Next is alchemy. It has consud most of my attention throughout the years. I create a cauldron for its pillar.”
He nodded.
“Just as important as swords are inner energy techniques, also called spells. The way I fight has always relied on these two aspects the most. To represent them, I use a hand creating the seal for directing a technique rather than focusing on one in particular.”
“That should work for , too.”
“The next is a formation flag and then a forge.”
“Sa.”
I was actually surprised by that. The kid had only just started learning item forging techniques. To suddenly make it a pillar of his foundation must an he enjoyed it a lot.
“In this life, I’ve decided to include body cultivation in my foundational pillars. While I’m not certain that I’ll continue it past Foundation Establishnt, it is an important part of my cultivation’s groundwork.”
“What are you using to represent it?”
I cleared my throat. “Ah, um. A perfectly proportional muscular body.”
“Whose?”
I considered just using Leonardo da Vinci’s The Man, but I should put more thought into it.
“My own, as an adult. But you can use what you imagine you’ll look like. Pillars don’t have to be exact, as long as they approximate what they’re representing.”
I grudgingly sculpted an illusory image of my own perfect form, with good proportions and bodybuilding musculature wearing a contemporary exorcize outfit. Also, beautiful abs because I happened to be fond of muscles. I frowned at my carving and stared at it for longer than I should have.
There was sothing wrong with it… Oh, right. The goddamn chest area. Even though the size I created it at was my ideal, it just didn’t look normal if it wasn’t the sa as my past life.
Grimacing, I forced myself to change it. My eyes relaxed when I studied the new larger version.
Reviews
All reviews (0)