On the journey between cities, the flying ship of the Infinite Dao Sect passed by a few tombs of rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Tian Zhu left some external elders behind at these sites to gather a greater number of techniques.
The original plan had been for a journey of only four months, hitting a few cultivation cities and raiding tombs to complete the objective.
According to Aotian's earlier calculations, after mapping out the route using Bao Wuji's intel — and before discovering the real number of techniques needed, which turned out to be more than double what he had expected — four months would have been enough to collect enough techniques and spells to synthesize his own versions.
But that was back when he had still miscalculated his speed, and his only goal had been to help the external elders reach Foundation Establishment as quickly as possible—and to pave the way for his main body and disciples to advance to that realm as well.
Now that he knew his true speed, his ambitions had grown. He no longer aimed for just a few techniques — his new target was a Golden Core Sect.
Thus, the journey continued — as did Bao Wuji's flight toward Aotian and Rihai.
...
Tens of thousands of miles from the Bamboo Sword Sect, the flying ship of the Infinite Dao Sect slowly landed in an unknown forest and cloaked itself.
At that moment, only Tian Zhu, three internal elders, and ten external elders remained on board.
The distribution of elders across the 16 cultivation cities was as follows:
There was one sect with a mid-quality second-level spiritual vein, housing four Foundation Establishment cultivators. Aotian had allocated four internal elders there — the highest number of elders he assigned to a single location.
There were two other sects with high-grade veins, with a total of five Foundation Establishment cultivators between them. A total of five internal elders were sent to those as well.
Among the second-level mid-grade veins, there were four in total — two belonging to sects, and two to cultivation clans. The higher-level veins always belonged to sects, as a single family could not monopolize such coveted resources. That's why cultivation clans typically occupied only mid or low-grade veins.
In these four locations, another eight internal elders were assigned to counter the eight Foundation Establishment cultivators there.
Lastly, there were nine second-level low-grade veins — the most numerous of the sixteen.
Thankfully, they rarely hosted more than one Foundation Establishment cultivator at a time, totaling nine cultivators across them. There was a somewhat balanced division between sects and clans, with sects holding a slight edge in numbers.
In these low-grade veins, Aotian didn't assign internal elders — instead, he sent 18 external elders.
'That's basically 26 Foundation Establishment cultivators against 17 internal elders of the same level and 18 external elders still in Qi Refinement. Doesn't sound very fair in terms of cultivation, right?'
Aotian thought to himself, amused, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
'Now, we just wait…'
With that thought, he closed his eyes and returned to helping analyze the techniques arriving, all while resting beside Rihai.
So far, no attacks had occurred. The elders stationed in clan-run cities had found hiding spots after making their purchases. As for those in sect-run cities, they had been in hiding from the beginning, since sects do not allow outsiders entry.
Thus, all the elders remained dormant, simply digesting the techniques pouring in — most of them sourced from the disciples. The ones sold in cities were highly repetitive, and less than ten unique ones were found.
Meanwhile, the disciples had discovered a variety of techniques from different time periods in the tombs. These tombs had belonged to Foundation Establishment cultivators who had buried themselves with all their wealth in various eras, which led to great diversity.
Usually, cultivators who construct tombs are loners — people who, through a stroke of luck, managed to reach this level.
But one day, they realize they can no longer advance and prolong their lives. With their strength fading fast, they find hidden places, build their tombs, and await their final breath.
However, out of ten rogue Foundation Establishment cultivators, only one typically does this. Most die earlier, risking their lives seeking breakthroughs and opportunities while they still have the strength.
With 20 of his external elders each exploring a different tomb, along with about 20 more tombs explored by the disciples—plus the techniques he had purchased and those already in his possession—Aotian had gathered a total of around 150 Foundation Establishment techniques.
The number of spells was double that — a staggering 300.
This was impressive, as the goal had been reached even before any conflict had begun.
Aotian's original plan only foresaw reaching that target after launching assaults on a few sects, since they are the ones that store the widest variety of techniques. But even then, there wouldn't have been as many—after all, he had previously calculated that only a hundred would be needed.
'By my new calculations, I need 200 techniques to synthesize a supreme Foundation Establishment technique. The number of spells is sufficient, but I'm still short on techniques. Fortunately, I have an alternative.' Aotian thought, excited.
He then assigned tasks.
The role of the standard avatars was to digest 100 cultivation techniques and 300 spells, which was already nearly complete thanks to the work done during travel.
As for the two elders from the Inheritance Pavilion, they had a primary role — to process the final 50 cultivation techniques. With their position ability — Sage of Knowledge — just half the techniques were enough to fill in the knowledge gap by generating their own insights.
If they were given a full set of 100 techniques, they would still be able to generate enough knowledge for Tian Zhu to synthesize the final product, but it would take twice as long.
With only 50 techniques and their Enlightened Minds assisting in processing the new insights quickly, it wouldn't take long to finish — especially since they had already analyzed several along the way.
And so, calmly, while the digestion of the Foundation Establishment techniques — far more complex than Qi Refinement ones — progressed, time passed.
When the mark of 1 month and 27 days was reached since the Infinite Dao Sect had left Black Rock Mountain, the final two exercises were analyzed by the elders of the Inheritance Pavilion.
And with them, the sect leader's eyes slowly opened, a streak of light flashing across them.
'Time to begin!'
Closing his eyes once more, Tian Zhu's mind and energy surged into overdrive. Insights and knowledge flowed through his mind as a new technique was synthesized with mastery and perfection.
The process took slightly longer than the previous times — but not by much.
Then, with the final stroke added to his mental manual, he tapped his storage pouch and pulled out a jade slip.
Gently pressing the slip to his forehead, he recorded the information and, still with his eyes closed, tossed the jade slip indifferently yet precisely toward Bao Hui, who stood a short distance away, looking rather bored.
Bao Hui suddenly reached out and caught it skillfully.
Holding it up to his eyes, he began to examine the slip, as complex patterns of spiritual energy swirled within his dantian, activating his ability.
[Celestial Rotation of the Five Elements: Foundation Establishment Technique
Status: Mid-grade jade slip (150 uses remaining)
Description: An extraordinary Foundation Establishment technique capable of generating an elemental cyclone, which, through Mutual Generation, nourishes spiritual roots with maximum efficiency and fortifies the dantian.
Requirement: Five simultaneous mental processes.
Note: This technique can be used at the peak of Qi Refinement to break through to the next realm. Below that, it is not recommended, as it may cause crippling injury.]
As this line of text appeared in Aotian's mind, all external elders scattered across the region simultaneously sat cross-legged, pulling out spiritual stones and elemental stones synthesized by Elder Bao Hui.
'Time for a major group breakthrough!' Aotian thought excitedly, clenching his fists in secret.
By now, all newly summoned external elders had reached the peak of Qi Refinement using elemental stones, which negated the need for spiritual veins.
Even the elderly disciples, those with little time left to live, had secretly received elemental stones to train and avoid wasting what little life they had.
Excluding the two external elders who had stayed behind to watch over the sect's children and ensure their safety, Aotian would soon have no avatars left in Qi Refinement.
And it would be at that moment that the assault would begin.
…
Travel Journal of Bao Wuji (Aotian):
Day 15 – Today I saw the ocean. Apparently, I'm about to leave the continent. The sea remains as beautiful and magnificent as in my past life. But knowing that this ocean is countless times larger than the one in my old world makes it all a bit terrifying — even with all the power I currently possess. What lies in its depths? Well, aside from the thousands of resource points and beasts I can detect with my treasure radar.
Day 30 – It's been a month since I began this journey with this avatar. Apparently, both I and my avatars were near the edges of the continents—relatively close to one another. Otherwise, given the sheer size of this world, not even Bao Wuji would've been able to locate my main body with his ability. From now on, most of my journey will likely take place across the ocean—and this sea is truly terrifying. Marine beasts with Golden Core-level fluctuations are spotted regularly. I've been keeping my aura as suppressed as possible, using the Refiner-tier technique I synthesized earlier. I'm not looking for trouble right now.
Day 35 – Damn, something happened. A powerful sea monster at the Nascent Soul level showed up on my treasure radar a few hours ago. Thankfully, I spotted it in time and changed course early, managing to avoid a direct encounter. Since the radar only reveals its realm and not the exact stage, I assumed it was probably in the early stage — something I could potentially handle with my current cultivation. But without Nascent Soul-level techniques, fighting a beast of the same realm is always a gamble. Power means little if you don't know how to wield it properly. I might've been able to take it down due to the internal gaps between stages, but I wasn't about to take that risk.
Day 36 – After fleeing the monster, I concealed my aura even more tightly. Before crossing the ocean with Bao Wuji, I asked Rihai about the sea. She told me that the closer to the central continent, the more powerful the beasts become. In the waters near the desert continents, there are usually no beasts above the Golden Core. In contrast, the number of Golden Core sea beasts is enormous. This creates a natural barrier, preventing cultivators from smaller continents from migrating to the larger ones. I guess I was just unlucky to encounter a stray Nascent Soul sea beast. Rihai said it was rare, but it could happen.
Day 57 – Days after the incident, everything went smoothly, and the rest of the journey was peaceful. I'm really excited—two great things happened today. First, I finally synthesized my technique. And second, after nearly two months of Bao Wuji's journey, I saw land again. I guess I can officially say that, for the first time, I and one of my avatars are in the same place.