Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 81 - 72: Fourth Level Dao Foundation Perfection: Primordial True Spirit

Chapter 81: Chapter 72: Fourth Level Dao Foundation Perfection: Primordial True Spirit

Lin Chuan.

Since Gu Wen began collecting medicinal fruits, this county located in the mountains had constantly been under his watch. Nearly half of Bianjing’s medicinal materials came from Lin Chuan County, and now it had fallen?

Gu Wen continued reading the letter, which was not sent from Lin Chuan but from the South Water County Governor.

The gist of it was that merchant ships sailed from Lin Chuan along water routes through South Water and Luo River Counties and reported the fall of Lin Chuan County to the officials, who then sent the information onwards to the governor’s mansion. The Prefectural Governor then wrote a feather dispatch and sent someone to deliver it to Bianjing.

What followed was a long section where the South Water County Governor boasted about his own accomplishments, seeing it as an opportunity to curry favor with higher-ups.

Daqian had a complete station system: every five miles had a post, ten miles had a pavilion, and thirty miles had a station. On regular days, they relayed imperial documents and managed the selection and appointment of various officials.

The stations were staffed with couriers, and since official documents could not eat and might instead infuriate the court, ordinary people would not intercept them. Moreover, within one’s own borders, if the communication could not be secured, it meant the nation’s downfall was close.

How to ascertain if the feather dispatch in one’s hand was the only copy?

Once, while drinking with an official who managed a station in Bianjing, Gu Wen had asked about it and was told it was impossible; there were always duplicates and never multiple copies of the same message.

Firstly, sending urgent messages over eight hundred miles cost money, and many horses died each time. Secondly, these missions were always launched urgently, utilizing the same road and river routes; sending multiple copies of the same message was redundant.

Better to arrange several more guards, which meant more couriers. Under normal circumstances, there should be no errors, but they hadn’t accounted for encountering Gu Wen.

"So many official ships passed by, and I intercepted them all. It seems Daqian truly is at the end of its fortunes."

Gu Wen tore up the letter and threw it into the river; naturally, this would not keep the information completely hidden. The South Water area, upon discovering no response from the court, would inevitably send out another letter.

But this back-and-forth likely delayed a lot of time.

[Heavenly Marrow, the Fourth Year]

[Heavenly Marrow, the Eighth Year]

[Heavenly Marrow, the Twenty-first Year]

With the visible increase in Heavenly Marrow, Gu Wen didn’t care what kind of Spiritual Medicine it was, good or bad, he stuffed them all into his mouth, continuing until the twenty-first year of Heavenly Marrow.

It really felt like committing arson or murder for a gold belt, Gu Wen thought about how previously he had run around spending a great deal of silver just to barely obtain ten years of Heavenly Marrow, and now he got it just by robbing an official ship.

This feeling was addictive and could easily turn someone into a gambler.

Previously, when buying Spiritual Medicine, one only needed to slightly disguise their identity. Now, burning, killing, and looting inevitably increased the risk. According to Gu Wen’s knowledge, hijacking official ships would usually bring armed military retaliation, the only means of deterrence maintained by ancient dynasties.

Behind in productive forces and social management systems, bandits and robbers could not be completely prevented. What the officials could only do was to ensure their own interests, making it known to the bandits what could not be stolen.

But would the Daqian Dynasty not put me on their most-wanted list if I didn’t rob this ship? And how could I become immortal if I hide my identity?

The sheer increase in gains tempered his sense of crisis, Gu Wen did not care how dangerous his situation was; he only cared about having enough Heavenly Marrow.

Looking inward at his Dao Foundation, it was fulfilled at the Third Level.

The First and Second Dao Foundations corresponded to the First Realm, refining essence and transforming Qi, condensing the Qi Sea, and initial manifestation of Divine Thought.

Gu Wen was unaware of the strength of cultivators in the outer world’s First Realm, but his feeling was that the First Dao Foundation, "Eternal Life," initially touched the Transcendent, possessing weak Mana, and depending on the Dao Foundation, it had different characteristics.

But from Wenren Wu’s undefeated stance, it was clear that the First Level effect would strengthen with one’s own power. "Eternal Life" seemed simple and unadorned yet sustained Gu Wen in underwater travel for a day and a night without exhaustion.

Not until the Second Dao Foundation, "Jade Bone Purification," did the body and senses greatly strengthen, giving him strength roughly equivalent to a certain Lin surname ghost-catching master.

The Third Dao Foundation was a watershed; the quality and quantity of the Spirit Form determined the level of strength, with the Mana reserves being ten times that of the Second Dao Foundation.

The key lay in the Spirit Form, which could multiply the power of corresponding Magic Skills. Gu Wen’s Five Elements Spirit Form encompassed all, and there were very few Daoist Skills that could escape from the Five Elements, hence his normal state had all Daoist Skills enhanced fivefold.

Others could only enhance their core Cultivation Technique, but Gu Wen could enhance any Cultivation Technique, which was undoubtedly a massive advantage.

This made Gu Wen realize a problem: the height of the Dao Foundation was important, but maximizing each level was even more crucial.

Looking inward at the Qi Sea, looking up at the Divine Mountain formed by the Dao Foundation ahead, the next step was the Fourth Level Dao Foundation.

"Yuqing Daoji Fourth Level, choose its Spirit Form, refine the Primordial Spirit, fifty years of Heavenly Marrow can complete one, advancing to the Fifth Level."

Third and Fourth Level Dao foundations correspond to the Second Realm Qi Refinement and Spirit Transformation, respectively as contemplating the Spirit Form and refining the Primordial Spirit.

Once possessing a Primordial Spirit, the death of the body is no longer considered death, truly transcending the mundane.

Gu Wen thought to himself, "I only need fifty years of Heavenly Marrow, which isn’t too hard."

With his current strength, obtaining fifty years of Heavenly Marrow wasn’t difficult; numerous official ships pass through Qian River daily, and acquiring one from the Grand Treasury Department could net several decades of Heavenly Marrow.

Advancing to the Fifth Level Dao foundation only costs fifty years of Heavenly Marrow. If the increase continues at this rate, the total Heavenly Marrow needed from First to Ninth Level won’t exceed a thousand.

A thousand Heavenly Marrow seemed much to the present Gu Wen, but after seeing the storeroom of the Grand Treasury Department, he felt his vision had been narrow.

The spiritual medicines used by the Lord Emperor for alchemy were measured by weight—emptying the entire Grand Treasury would suffice for a nine-level Dao foundation. Moreover, this amount was only the delivery ranging from one month to half a year, with stock refreshed monthly.

He really wanted to kill that damned Emperor and take that cursed position, or push Jiang Fugui up there to collect spiritual medicines for him.

Gu Wen suppressed his homicidal impulses, his gaze turning towards the Perfect Method, upon the fourth temple atop Divine Mountain, inscribed, "Five Spirits, Mixed Element Primordial True Spirit Divine God."

Ordinary Dao foundations involve condensing the Primordial Spirit, but what about completion?

"Transformation of the Five Spirits, unification of the Five Elements, results in Mixed Element True Spirit—Primordial Spirit can exit the body and exist without form for five hundred years, wandering by day not fearing the sun, roaming by night not belonging to the shadows, as if alive."

"Requires two hundred fifty years of Heavenly Marrow."

Sheesh!

Gu Wen gasped in cool air, as this was a fivefold increase; he suspected that he could achieve immortality on his own by completing the Nine Level Dao Foundations.

He completely crushed the idea he originally had to lie low for a while.

"Robbery, it must be a robbery; there’s no way to gather so much Heavenly Marrow otherwise."

Pulling out a large Daqian map from his Qiankun Bag, Gu Wen identified his position roughly based on the rivers and surrounding environment, his finger landing on South Water County.

There lies Heavenly Spring Mountain, likely harboring a Spiritual Spring.

The current priority was to subdue his family heirloom with imperial jelly; having a Taoist Soldier would considerably enhance his own strength.

-----------------

Elsewhere, several miles away from Gu Wen on a tributary.

Yu Hua stood on the boat, surrounded by officials who exchanged glances but dared not say much. After all, anyone who descended from the sky wasn’t someone they wished to trouble.

She had waited a long time without seeing Gu Wen’s figure, her gaze drifting towards an old donkey asking, "Are you sure he’s nearby?"

"Absolutely certain!"

The old donkey, a bit embarrassed yet striking a pose, continued, "It’s all because of these time constraints; beyond fifty miles, divination fails, otherwise I could take you to your little lover... cough, cough, cough... Guardian."

"But don’t you worry, little ancestor, we can just confirm whether he’s within a fifty-mile radius instead. You should stop using ’Listening,’ it damages the foundation—after all, it’s not like we can’t find him."

Yu Hua nodded slightly and said, "Hmm."

The old donkey, sporting an odd expression, remembered using Zhao Feng’s case never got him close but smacked, yet now, he accidentally misspoke and wasn’t hit.

Suddenly, the old donkey’s ears twitched, "He’s moved beyond fifty miles,"

Yu Hua and the old donkey left, arriving at a town but realized they had the wrong direction and returned. Although flight wasn’t a regular means, between flying and calculating the heavenly secrets, they chose the lesser evil. They circled around possible places Gu Wen might visit and eventually arrived at Luo River County, entering a commercial hub starkly different from the atmosphere in Bianjing.

Meanwhile, Gu Wen had slightly disguised himself as a wandering swordsman, heading towards Luo River; along the way, he invariably encountered robbers on mountain trails and cannibalistic black market stores. It wasn’t that he didn’t pay, but paying inevitably brought mortal peril.

Gu Wen sensed the depreciation of wealth in chaotic times; sometimes, it wasn’t just the decline in purchasing power but spending money was like gambling with life.

The civilization of Bianjing was evident from these observations.