No wonder Master Yin had two voices when he spoke, one normally and another echoing. It turned out that he had another "him" inside his body!
This eerie scene left Li Fan astonished. Fortunately, Master Yin seemed to realize that his original appearance was somewhat terrifying. After only displaying it briefly, he closed his body again and returned to his original form.
He continued, "I used myself as an experiment to confirm my hypothesis. Anything existing in the world can be seen as unformed 'Heavenly Treasures.'"
"I call this process 'Heavenly Transformation'."
"However, if you want to establish your Foundation with unformed 'Heavenly Treasures,' you need to complete the uncompleted 'Heavenly Transformation' process yourself."
"This is extremely difficult. Once you fail, it might lead to instant death. Even if you barely survive, your body will undergo various bizarre changes."
"Just like my current appearance." Master Yin grinned.
Li Fan couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you say you successfully built your foundation?"
"I did succeed, but not completely. I still didn't fully understand myself, which caused me to fail at the final moment of establishing the foundation," Master Yin regretfully replied.
"If I had a few more chances... No, just one more chance would suffice. I'm certain I could achieve a perfect 'Self Foundation'."
"Self Foundation?" Li Fan's curiosity was piqued. "What if you succeeded in establishing the foundation with yourself?"
Master Yin's eyes lit up, "That's equivalent to harnessing the power of the heaven and earth's furnace to reshape your body. And this body would be the most perfect constitution one could imagine."
"The most suitable Heavenly Treasure is the best Foundation Treasure. Nowadays, when cultivators establish their foundations, they often need to find Heavenly Treasures that are compatible with themselves to maximize the objects' power."
"But, no matter the level of Heavenly Treasures, not even the legendary 'Celestial Treasure,' they all pale in comparison to 'Self Foundation.'"
"Think about it. What's better suited to you than yourself?"
"Your foundation perfectly aligns with yourself, and all cultivation and techniques become second nature."
Seeing Master Yin getting more and more excited, Li Fan couldn't help but interrupt. "Are these just your speculations?"
Master Yin hesitated, then shook his head, "Although I only completed half of the 'Self Foundation' process, I can clearly feel that I've improved in various aspects compared to before. This includes my aptitude in cultivation, understanding of techniques, affinity with spiritual energy, and even the agility of my thoughts."
"It's beyond comparison to before!"
Li Fan wanted to know more and asked, "So, how high is the success rate for 'Self Foundation'?"
Master Yin explained, "I almost succeeded in one attempt, so the success rate must be quite high. You must believe me, my friend! I've dissected hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators' bodies, researching for decades to come to this conclusion. It can't be wrong."
Li Fan replied, "Yes, I'll definitely give it a try... wait, you mentioned that you've dissected hundreds of foundation cultivators' bodies?"
Master Yin thought for a moment, but then his gaze turned blank. "From where did I obtain so many bodies? This is strange; I can't seem to recall."
Li Fan had an idea and quickly said, "It's not important. If you can't remember, just let it be."
Master Yin nodded in agreement. "You're right."
"Thank you for clearing up my doubts. Now that my doubts are gone, I won't bother you any longer."
Just now, when Li Fan heard Master Yin say that "everything in the world can be seen as unformed 'Heavenly Treasures,'" he had a sudden realization, and the bottleneck that had been plaguing him disappeared.
"As long as I have the Heavenly Treasures from heaven and earth in hand, I can immediately start establishing the foundation."
Now that his purpose had been achieved, Li Fan had no desire to linger in this place any longer.
Even though Master Yin might not necessarily have any ill intentions, the atmosphere in this place was uncomfortable.
So, Li Fan chose to take his leave without hesitation.
Master Yin tried to persuade him to stay, but Li Fan declined.
"Fellow Daoist, remember to give my 'Self Foundation' method a try!" Before parting, Master Yin earnestly requested.
Li Fan agreed multiple times, then took flight and left.
For a long time, as he watched Li Fan's departing figure, Master Yin muttered, "You must try it; I really wasn't lying."
After a while, he fell into silence once again.
He turned and returned to the enormous rectangular transparent cage.
All the ordinary people in the four corners had turned into a puddle of flesh and blood, with none of them surviving.
"What a pity, not a single one made it through," he said with a hint of regret.
"There aren't many test subjects left. It looks like I'll have to go out again."
In the four cages, the people who had turned into blood and flesh were removed with a creaking sound.
A new batch of test subjects appeared in the cages.
The agonizing wails began once more.
Master Yin was already accustomed to this, his face showing no sign of strangeness.
He stared intently at the rectangular transparent cage, holding the white rib in his hand tightly.
In a tone that almost sounded pathological, he whispered, "Rest assured, I will avenge you. I will find the person who created the Immortal-Mortal Miasma and avenge you..."
...
"I must find you, I must find you..."
Master Yin's murmurs echoed once more in this eerie building.
...
Ten Thousand Immortals Island.
Back in the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Li Fan began searching for "Self Foundation."
It was not considered a well-kept secret at all.
All cultivators treated it as a joke and never believed it.
Because anyone who believed in this would end up dead when trying to establish their foundation.
"Self Foundation..." Li Fan naturally wouldn't fully believe the words of Master Yin. But at least there was one statement that seemed reasonable: "Everything in the world can be seen as unformed Heavenly Treasures."
Li Fan believed that this statement should have no issues.
Then naturally, he had to question the nature of his reincarnations.
Is [Truth] truly a Heavenly Treasure from heaven and earth?
Could he use [Truth] to establish his foundation?