That night, at Yuehua Mansion.
The bright moon hangs high in the sky, and wispy clouds playfully drift across it.
A cool, clear light fell from the dome, chilling the skin and clinging to clothes like frost, resembling lingering snow.
A gentle breeze carries the scent of pine resin, and wisps of smoke rise like clouds.
Bai Cang sat upright on the cloud bed, wearing a star crown with starlight and moonlight falling down, and wearing a black robe with five-colored radiance like glass.
He raised his head, his phoenix eyes reflecting the starlight and moonlight, as if capturing all the light, causing the entire world to darken suddenly.
Once the foundation of the Dao is solidified, everything changes; swallowing stars and drinking the moon becomes commonplace.
Ascending to the azure sky, roaring proudly across heaven and earth; descending to the netherworld, commanding ghosts and spirits.
After a long while, he finally stopped practicing and stood up, a gloomy look on his face.
The Battle of Baiman Mountain ended half a month ago.
Bai Cang ignored all the reshuffling and reconstruction of the Red Dragon Temple and all the complicated matters. Once he returned to the mountain gate, he locked himself in the Moonflower Cave for seclusion.
However, in a full fifteen days, he only managed to open one aperture, raising his cultivation level to the level of two hundred and one apertures.
How could this satisfy Bai Cang?
It should be noted that, despite the assistance of the "Golden Gate Jade Lock Technique," Bai Cang did not condense a Dao body, sublimate his supernatural powers, or even fully condense the foundation of the Great Dao.
However, with the Yin Spirit, Dao Foundation, and Supernatural Power, who dares to say that he is not a high-grade Dao Foundation?
Even so, with the help of external aids, abundant resources, and the power of a high-grade Dao foundation to open the mystic apertures, he could only maintain the speed of opening one aperture every half month. It would still take more than four years to reach the goal of three hundred apertures.
This gives a glimpse into the difficulty of establishing a superior Dao foundation!
Normally, a cultivation advancement of two hundred acupoints can at most condense a mid-grade Dao foundation, and below three hundred acupoints, it is almost impossible to condense a high-grade Dao foundation.
Bai Cang is an overpowered individual, possessing an unparalleled and profound foundation, which he forcibly built into a semi-finished Dao foundation comparable to a high-grade one.
Even so, opening three hundred acupoints is by no means an easy task.
Even Bai Cang was like this, so you can imagine how difficult it would be for an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator to open three hundred acupoints and advance to the upper-grade Dao Foundation.
Han Qinhu, who remained at the Qi Refining stage for decades before finally condensing a high-grade Dao Foundation, can be considered a prodigy.
Without the "Golden Gate and Jade Lock Technique" passed down by True Lord Tianhe, it is estimated that Old Han would never have been able to successfully break through to the Upper Grade Dao Foundation.
If we also refer to the Frostfire Dragon Fox's "Three Treasures Heavenly Origin Diagram", Bai Cang can be almost certain that every high-grade Dao Foundation must have a similar secret method in order to have a chance of successfully breaking through.
For Bai Cang, opening the Xuanqiao (mysterious aperture) was not difficult. The difficulty lay in how to integrate or "suspend" the newly opened Xuanqiao into the fundamental diagram of this self-contained Xuanqiao after the two hundred apertures were connected into one system, without affecting his own cultivation.
Each time a new mysterious aperture is opened, the amount of magical power required to maintain this balance increases significantly. The newly generated magical power is not enough to maintain the close connection between the newly opened mysterious aperture and the fundamental diagram.
Moreover, it's not a one-time solution; it consumes magical power every moment.
This is the most difficult part of breaking through to the upper-grade Dao Foundation: after the two hundred apertures, refining and opening new mysterious apertures will not only not increase magical power, but will instead indirectly reduce magical power.
The most direct comparison is this: Yuan Tiangang, Zhou Ganzheng, Zhang Yuanfeng, and others are also disciples of Tianhe Zhenjun, and they also possess the "Secret Method of Connecting to the Netherworld and Refining the Aperture" and the "Golden Gate and Jade Lock Method". Why don't they attempt to break through to the upper-grade Dao Foundation?
Is it because you don't like it?
It's not that I'm unwilling, but that I simply can't!
However, Bai Cang was not in a hurry, and his mindset was completely different from before.
There was less of a sense of urgency and more of a sense of ease and freedom.
At this point, the danger facing the Heshan Religion, or rather the precarious situation in the nine surrounding kingdoms, had passed its most challenging stage; it was merely a state of "chaos without collapse."
As long as major sects like Longhu Mountain don't intervene, the Xia Kingdom's Heshan Sect can handle the situation with ease.
Bai Cang's strength has already reached the highest level below the Golden Core stage, so why should he be anxious and hesitant?
Now, he is the pillar of the Xia Kingdom's Heshan Sect, the backbone of a sect, and can protect others from the wind and rain.
After leaping to this level, a few short years really doesn't amount to much.
With this in mind, Bai Cang flipped his hand, and a slightly yellowed, worn book appeared in his hand.
On the book's cover, three large characters are prominently displayed: The Classic of Stability!
Bai Cang turned the pages of the book. The writing was already somewhat blurred, and every blank space was filled with dense annotations.
People come and go, mind your own business; the path to immortality is difficult, so don't strive to be first.
When faced with injustice, think of self-reliance; when encountering difficulties, reflect on your own actions.
If you have many friends, you can avoid trouble; if you have few friends, you can avoid unexpected disasters.
Do not stand against the enemy, for standing against them will surely lead to danger; strike first, and you will be reduced to ashes.
Do not be arrogant, do not be afraid, if everything is stable, you can find peace.
If you take a wrong turn, you can retreat or advance; if you seize an opportunity, you can plan and make a decision.
Gods, demons, and monsters—though they may be weak, their power defies the heavens; there is nothing they can do.
As for us, we have avoided bad luck, found our way to immortality, and attained the fruits of enlightenment.
If you act prudently, reject cause and effect, avoid coercion, you will find joy in yourself.
To avoid natural disasters, change is necessary; to avoid man-made calamities, leave no room for error.
Hearing the Dao in the morning illuminates the path to immortality; the principle of stability remains by my side.
This was Han Qinhu's "admonition" to him, and it was also the "principle" that Han Qinhu upheld throughout his life.
Those densely packed "annotations" each tell a bloody story, intended for Bai Cang's reference, as "a lesson from the past, a guide for the future."
But to be honest, Bai Cang felt that Lao Han had underestimated his "steadiness" to some extent!
In the Battle of Baiman Mountain, Bai Cang admitted that he was indeed somewhat "young and impetuous" and "reckless."
However, all of this is based on the premise of "planning before acting," and he is not truly "reckless and impulsive."
Even before entering Baiman Mountain, Bai Cang had already considered various scenarios and formulated corresponding plans.
They even prepared several escape routes, ready to "collapse and flee" at any time.
It's just that the opponent was too weak, and Bai Cang underestimated his own formidable strength, which meant that all his plans and arrangements had no chance to be implemented.
He never became complacent, and he kept the "cultivation manual" firmly in mind.
Even his seemingly arrogant and fierce fighting style is built around the core of "escape techniques," always keeping in mind the first principle of "preserving one's life before harming the enemy."
To put it bluntly, he is even more "prudent" than Lao Han.
At least when facing a fake Core Formation True Monarch, Bai Cang would never recklessly charge in.
Even if the entire Xia Kingdom's Heshan Sect were to be destroyed, it would be absolutely impossible for Bai Cang to take such a great risk and fight to the death with the fake Dan Zhenjun.
"However, the gains from this battle were truly immense!"
Bai Cang put away his "stability-first" philosophy and beamed as he tallied up the gains from the battle!
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