“Alright then.”
After quite a while, Lin Huanhuan finally accepted this pathetic reality. ‘No wonder I felt such a massive gap between Sister and that iron-masked person before. They aren’t even on the same level.’
“Keep your wits about you. Don’t let others sell you out while you’re still helping them count the money,” Lin Shuangye said earnestly.
Lin Huanhuan nodded dejectedly, looking like a balloon that had been deflated. She seemed a bit dispirited.
Seeing her like this, Lin Shuangye felt a stir of emotion. A trace of helplessness flashed in her eyes as she reached out, patted Huanhuan’s head, and then ruffled her hair.
Lin Huanhuan looked up in disbelief, only to see the person before her smiling gently. “However, you don’t need to be so afraid. If you encounter trouble you truly cannot solve, you can also come find Sister. I will think of a way.”
“Sister,” Lin Huanhuan called out softly, and Lin Shuangye met her gaze with a smile.
“Right,” Lin Shuangye said. “That iron piece and the Floating Soil—bring them out.”
“Oh, right.” Lin Huanhuan nodded obediently and took the two items out of her Cosmos Bag, presenting them to Lin Shuangye.
Ever since that golden light had been suppressed, both the iron piece and the Floating Soil had gone silent. She had placed them in her Cosmos Bag. Since a Cosmos Bag could only hold inanimate objects and time flowed extremely slowly inside, it was relatively safe.
“Since Sister wants them, take them. After all, you’ve been a huge help,” she said with a giggle, hoping her obedient act would make Lin Shuangye a bit happier. But instead of being pleased, Lin Shuangye’s face darkened.
*Thump!*
A fist landed firmly on her head. Huanhuan clutched her head and let out a wail, “Ouch! Why did you hit me?”
“Why did I hit you? You have the nerve to ask?”
“I asked you to take the things out, and you assumed I wanted to steal them. Is your sister that kind of person? No matter how poor I am, I wouldn’t steal from my own sister. The only reason I didn’t give you a spanking is that you’ve grown up!”
“Oh, it turns out I misunderstood.” Lin Huanhuan scratched her head and stuck out her tongue, acting cute.
Lin Shuangye snorted coldly again. She took the Floating Soil and the iron piece in her hand, examining them closely. “As I suspected, to perform that technique, one truly needs two different types of heavenly treasures. This iron piece is exactly Xin Metal, and its quality is quite a bit better than this Floating Soil.”
“You want to achieve the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, right?”
Faced with the question, Lin Huanhuan nodded decisively. Before this, she would have hesitated over the extreme difficulty of forging a Heavenly Dao foundation. But after Lin Shuangye’s explanation just now, she had made up her mind to achieve it.
“Only the highest quality Dao foundation can allow you to go further and have hope of achieving the Golden Core in the future,” Lin Shuangye said. “So, now we have two types of heavenly treasures. Adding the Quenching Bead I already intended to give you makes three. The family vault has five types of the lowest-grade heavenly treasures and one of the same quality as the Quenching Bead. That makes nine in total.”
“So, we’re still missing one. 10 days later, the sect’s Black Water Secret Realm will open. It contains a heavenly treasure called Black Water. I’ll get you a spot to enter. You’ll go in 10 days later to find this Black Water.”
“With Xin Metal as the primary, and the Floating Soil, Quenching Bead, and Vermilion Fruit as secondary, and the remaining six lowest-grade heavenly treasures as the base foundation, it will form a perfect Zhou Tian cycle. That is how you will forge a Heavenly Dao foundation.”
“I was originally having a headache over where to find the materials for your Heavenly Dao foundation. Back then, I had to search for a long time. I didn’t expect you to find a blessing in disguise this time. I suppose fortune favors the foolish.”
“Mhm, let’s settle it then.” As Lin Shuangye spoke, she had already made the decision for Lin Huanhuan.
Lin Huanhuan nodded repeatedly. she didn’t feel like a puppet at all. After all, having things arranged for her so she didn’t have to use her brain was simply too wonderful. Moreover, she didn’t have to worry about being plotted against.
However, she still had one question. “Sister, I understand using medium-tier heavenly treasures, as they’re hard to collect. But why use the lowest-grade ones? Shouldn’t we use the best ones possible, even if it takes more time?”
Lin Shuangye had expected her to ask this. “It’s actually very simple,” she said. “Because you need to form a Zhou Tian cycle.”
“I bet you’re thinking: why not use the best materials for everything so the forged foundation would be invincible?”
Lin Huanhuan nodded. Her sister explained, “Because if everything is the best, then nothing is the best. The materials would all refuse to submit to one another. A cycle would be impossible, and the Dao foundation would inevitably shatter.”
“After tens of thousands of years of exploration, the Lingyun Sect finally discovered the best method for forging a Heavenly Dao foundation. That is to use one top-tier material as the Sovereign, three secondary-quality materials as the Dukes, and six lowest-quality materials as the Ministers for the base.”
“It’s like one Sovereign, three Dukes, and six Ministers. The six Ministers form the floor to carry the Dukes and the Sovereign. While the Dukes draw power from the Ministers, they also hold up the Sovereign. The Sovereign condenses all that power to forge its own body and then distributes some unused power back to the Dukes and Ministers. This continuous cycle is what creates a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.”
“So that’s how it is.” Lin Huanhuan finally understood. The original novel hadn’t described this in much detail; it only mentioned that the male lead, White Lingfeng, had achieved a Heavenly Dao foundation and defeated a middle Foundation Establishment stage expert immediately after his breakthrough.
“If there’s nothing else, go back for now. You must be exhausted after all this chaos. Then, prepare for your entry into the Black Water Secret Realm. Go on.”
Lin Shuangye waved her off. Lin Huanhuan took her things and then got up to take her leave.
Walking out of the house, she let out a long breath of relief. A relaxed smile appeared on her face. It was finally resolved.
‘Sister really is as reliable as ever.’
‘I really was too reckless this time. I must remember this lesson and make sure not to repeat the same mistake.’
“Hello, Miss Huanhuan.”
“Hello.”
While making this internal resolution, Lin Huanhuan greeted the passing Lin family disciples and then left.
She decided that after returning, she would practice even harder to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible. Only by reaching Foundation Establishment could she gain some control over her own fate and not be as powerless as she was today.
Lin Huanhuan used internal vision to sense her Inner Demon and found that it had recovered slightly. However, it still couldn’t be used; it would likely need more time to recover.
‘Then, next, it’s time to handle the matters nearby.’ A complex look flashed in Lin Huanhuan’s eyes. Just now, while reviewing the events of the past few days to check for any oversights, she had noticed that her personal maid seemed a bit off, as if she were hiding something.
‘I’ve spent too much energy on cultivation lately; I actually didn’t notice in time. Fortunately, it’s not too late.’
She returned to her small courtyard but found that Dong Yun’er wasn’t there. She thought about lying down for a bit and asking her later.
Pushing the door into her bedroom, her expression instantly froze as she saw Dong Yun’er kneeling on her bed, holding her quilt and greedily sniffing it.
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