The fifty-ninth time.
Failure!
The string of failures did not diminish Li Fan's determination or conviction.
He analyzed each failed attempt, comparing each Foundation Establishment process.
He discovered that when he deliberately tried to control it with his insights, he actually persisted for shorter periods than when he remained in a state of ignorant chaos.
Return to Truth has merged with me. Though I cannot perceive it directly, my body is subtly and unconsciously influenced by it.
My Foundation Establishment should proceed much more smoothly if I use my unconditioned consciousness than my ego consciousness.[2]
During the seventy-fifth Foundation Establishment attempt, a flash of insight struck Li Fan.
Just as he had anticipated, the white jade began taking on a more regular form.
Each attempt was like a sculptor's careful stroke, carving it back toward its original shape.
By the ninetieth attempt, when the white jade finally stabilized into an elliptical form, the grotesque tumors ceased appearing on Li Fan's body.
The light pulsed, shifting from ethereal to substantial. It seemed on the verge of manifesting within his dantian.
But a sudden clarity dawned within Li Fan—something was still missing.
At that moment, it was as though some invisible presence had abruptly descended upon the humble cottage atop Jieli Mountain.
In that fleeting moment, Li Fan's hair turned snow-white. His skin withered and wrinkled. Terrifying furrows and cracks carved across his face. His muscles dissolved until only a thin layer of skin draped over his skeletal frame.
His appearance was no longer human.
Li Fan was aging at an alarming rate, moments away from dying of old age right then and there.
Return to Truth!
Li Fan acted without hesitation.
From the ninety-first to the ninety-eighth attempt, the pattern repeated.
Each time, he fell just short of successfully establishing his foundation with Return to Truth.
On the ninety-ninth attempt, he found himself back atop Jieli Mountain.
What exactly am I missing?
Li Fan frowned slightly.
He knew success was within reach, separated by the thinnest of margins. Yet this wasn't something repetition could solve. It required a moment of sudden epiphany to identify the missing piece.
Li Fan sensed that the answer was a simple one.
He was separated from it by nothing more than a paper screen—one poke away from breakthrough. But standing on the mountain himself, he couldn't perceive its true shape. The solution eluded him.
Contemplating deeply, Li Fan drifted down the mountain.
He wandered through the mortal world, seeking his answer.
For the first time, he observed the events of Great Xuan unaffected by his influence.
In Anchor Year 5, Jiangnan suffered a great drought.
A band of refugees stormed the Prince of Langya's estate.
The Prince of Langya's estate suffered heavy losses. Only the Prince of Langya escaped through a dog hole, barely keeping his life. Everyone else in the mansion was brutally slaughtered by the refugees.
News spread, shaking both court and country.
The Emperor flew into a rage, ordering troops to suppress the refugees. Simultaneously, he summoned the Prince of Langya to the capital, comforting him personally.
Henceforth, the Prince of Langya remained in the capital.
In Anchor Year 15, the Emperor suddenly fell gravely ill.
Before passing away, he summoned the Prince of Langya to the palace and passed the throne to him.
The Prince of Langya ascended the throne, and the era name was changed to Xuanjing.
In Anchor Year 16, rebellions large and small erupted simultaneously across the land.
Emperor Xuanjing appointed his trusted aide as Grand General, commanding him to quell the rebellions.
Grand General Zhenwei spent three years pacifying the various uprisings. After which, he returned to court in glory.
Emperor Xuanjing ordered all officials to welcome him outside the capital, receiving him with imperial honors.
Grand General Zhenwei wore an expression of arrogance, accepting these honors as his due. He neither dismounted upon seeing the officials nor knelt when meeting the emperor.
Emperor Xuanjing showed no change in expression, personally supporting him and welcoming him into the palace.
A lavish banquet was held in his honor.
After three rounds of drinks, the officials quietly withdrew, and dozens of axemen swarmed in.
The thoroughly drunken Grand General Zhenwei instantly sobered, demanding answers from Emperor Xuanjing.
Emperor Xuanjing remained ominously silent.
Despite the Grand General's peerless bravery, he accumulated numerous wounds under the assault of the axemen.
Hovering near death, he pointed at Emperor Xuanjing and venomously declared: "If I get another chance, I shall personally lead my army to raze Xuanjing to the ground, and fashion your skull into a wine vessel! Only then will my hatred be quenched!"
With these final words, he fell beneath the blades.
***
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Li Fan, who had been silently observing all along, now revealed his form.
His eyes shone with sudden clarity, and a profound realization dawned upon him.
People never get second chances. This world offers no do-overs.
But I am different.
Return to Truth transcends the very boundaries of this reality.
In a flash, his surroundings grew hazy and indistinct, and Li Fan found himself once more atop the peak of Jieli Mountain.
Li Fan activated Return to Truth once again.
[When truth becomes falsehood, falsehood becomes truth.]
He stared at the seven magnificent characters formed by Return to Truth, his mind turning perfectly clear and serene.
I shall use the principles of Return to Truth within this world to forge my Dao Foundation!
Like water flowing naturally along its course, without the slightest obstruction, a sphere of pure white jade light instantly manifested within his dantian.
The third anchor was set with a click.
1. When he preached the new methodology, he was still an Immortal Venerable. Later on he became a Heavenly Venerable ☜
2. 本我意识 (Běnwǒ Yìshí): refers to the original, primordial, unconditioned self—the core of one's being before it is shaped by ego, desires, and worldly identity. Translated here as unconditioned consciousness.
自我意识 (Zìwǒ Yìshí): refers to the constructed, individual ego—the sense of "I" that is separate from others and the world. It is associated with personal will, desires, attachments, and the stubborn insistence on one's own identity. Translated here as ego consciousness. ☜