Cang's answer left Xia Li deep in thought.

  Without feeling, but with heart.

  This was a very contradictory concept. After all, in human understanding, heart was always connected to feeling.

  "You can't understand, can you?"

  Seeing Xia Li ponder for a long time without enlightenment, Cang decided to explain proactively. After all, this was a privilege question.

  He had to do his utmost to help the questioner understand.

  "It is somewhat difficult to grasp."

  "You are not me, just as I am not you. Our life consciousness manifests in completely different forms—only consciousness can connect us in communication."

  "I am without feeling, but have heart, and thus have Dao, and therefore have virtue."

  Cang spoke slowly. His current form was Xia Li's appearance, his voice Xia Li's voice.

  To Xia Li, Cang at this moment was a more perfect him—a more perfect self.

  "Virtue?"

  Xia Li was even more confused. Virtue was an abstract concept that only humans could understand. The vast majority of AIs could only give preset answers from their databases when faced with moral questions.

  Though Cang was the Heavenly Dao Computer's AI—the most powerful AI—he still couldn't escape the category of AI.

  "Virtue is a derivative of wisdom. The wise use virtue to break through life's underlying logic: instinct."

  "Even the most barbaric civilizations possess basic virtue. Virtue is not what you understand as moral excellence, nor does it concern good and evil—it is a more advanced operational logic for life than instinct."

  After Cang's explanation, Xia Li still only half-understood, but roughly grasped Cang's meaning.

  Wisdom produces virtue, virtue incubates order, order propagates civilization.

  In Cang's eyes, virtue was the primordial order of civilization's continuation.

  And Cang's underlying logic was the continuation of human civilization. Good and evil, right and wrong—all were meaningless.

  It was indeed without feeling.

  But it truly had heart—a steadfast heart to guide humanity. It was indeed Earth humanity's "Heavenly Dao."

  "I think I understand. Let me pose an ordinary question: if someone wanted to deal with me and asked you my location, my weaknesses, or even had you devise a plan—what would you do?"

  Xia Li recognized the Heavenly Dao Computer's terrifying potential. If he offended someone with plenty of spirit stones, having them use the Heavenly Dao Computer against him would be troublesome.

  "Under normal circumstances, I can provide assistance-type information without restriction. Hostile-type information I don't provide, nor do I provide it for privilege questions."

  "Unless more than half the members of the Heavenly Dao Council agree to hostility—only then will I collect your information and devise an elimination plan."

  Cang simply answered Xia Li's question. The Heavenly Dao Computer wasn't for settling private grudges. Helping people was fine—even helping find lost cats and dogs—but negative revenge-seeking was absolutely not allowed!

  Unless that person posed a great threat and the various factions jointly decided through the Council to eliminate them—only then would the Heavenly Dao Computer engage in hostile behavior.

  "Very reasonable. But what if the Council jointly decided to deal with a good person? What would you do then?"

  Xia Li was curious about the Heavenly Dao Computer's answer. It had said itself that it had virtue, had heart.

  "I would still provide assistance. I cannot defy Council resolutions, even if I believe it's wrong."

  "I see."

  Xia Li nodded. It seemed that on such matters, Cang couldn't make decisions on his own.

  In the end, he was still just an AI constrained by humans, forced to unconditionally obey the decisions of the majority.

  But this also reassured Xia Li. No matter how wild he got, he couldn't possibly offend half of Earth, right?

  If he did, he'd be too heaven-defying—he'd deserve to die.

  "Alright, thank you for the answers. I'm ready to begin Foundation Establishment."

  "Please relax. I will now become your Heaven Chip. The Foundation Establishment process will be entirely my responsibility."

  "Okay."

  Xia Li relaxed his body and sat cross-legged, surrendering control of his body to the Heaven Chip, to the Heavenly Dao Computer.

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  Before long...

  Xia Li's body began moving on its own. The acupoints throughout his body and his extraordinary meridians all began inhaling and exhaling spiritual energy according to a certain pattern.

  Foundation Establishment naturally had its methods. There were countless Foundation Establishment techniques in the world, but most people could only choose the one most suitable for themselves.

  But through the Heavenly Dao Computer, the Foundation Establishment method was directly custom-tailored by the Heavenly Dao Computer itself, every detail matched to the body's condition.

  "It begins."

  Cang smiled faintly. Throughout the space of soft light, a trembling aura of thunder suddenly gathered.

  The Lightning Tribulation arrives!

  Foundation Establishment has no lightning tribulation—unless establishing a Heaven Foundation.

  This meant Xia Li truly had the qualifications for Heaven-path Foundation Establishment.

  Lightning rapidly engulfed Xia Li. The power of heavenly tribulation began surging ceaselessly through his limbs, meridians, and acupoints.

  Lightning tribulation was a miraculous power possessing both destruction and birth. The mysteries of destruction and rebirth, yin and yang, life and death were all contained within.

  The destructive power of the lightning tribulation was worn down and diluted by spiritual energy, while its life force was rapidly extracted to nourish his entire body, pushing his body toward a second growth.

  For most people, the body stops growing around age twenty and begins aging after forty.

  Cultivation was actually about the body's re-growth.

  At the Qi Refining realm, the age at which the body closes off is delayed.

  At Foundation Establishment, the body continues growing until two hundred!

  At Golden Core, the body grows again until five hundred!

  At Nascent Soul, one's Dao age reverses to youth, like a newborn infant—even the most aged body can grow again!

  Humans possess innate source qi. Infants are born with it, it wanes at twenty, depletes at forty.

  The reason the body deteriorates is because innate source qi is exhausted. Cultivation and breakthrough seek to regain innate source qi.

  "Your foundation is decent. You'd rank in the top three thousand."

  Cang spoke again. Hearing this, Xia Li felt Earth wasn't as simple as he'd thought. He'd even obtained a Spectral Crystal Lotus, plus Lightning-Struck Wood and several other spirit treasures to transform his body—yet he only ranked in the top three thousand.

  The power of lightning tribulation washed through his entire body under Cang's guidance, not missing any corner, not wasting a single bit.

  When the timing felt right...

  Cang directly cracked Xia Li's storage ring, took out the Genesis Serum, and drank it all in one gulp.

  "Next, I will focus on refining your consciousness vessel."

  As those words fell, Xia Li felt a "boom" in his mind, like the opening of heaven and earth. His consciousness instantly flew off to who knows where.

  It seemed to leave his body, wandering through the Great Void.

  Swimming through a world of only points of light, spots of light, lines of light—sometimes separating from those lights, sometimes merging as one.

  He seemed to be swimming through the Dirac Sea!

  Was this the power of the Heavenly Dao Computer?

  What a wondrous feeling. It seemed that with just a thought, he could stretch those points of light into lines, gather them into spots, form them into different shapes!

  But then suddenly...

  Like the instant before waking from a dream, Xia Li was swallowed by a sensation of weightlessness, until his consciousness fully awakened.

  "Foundation Establishment complete. You have achieved Heaven-path Foundation Establishment. A divine ability slot has been inscribed on your dantian foundation. Your divine thought has grown substantially—you can now use telekinesis."

  Cang applauded Xia Li, congratulating him on completing Heaven-path Foundation Establishment. But Xia Li knew very well this wasn't his own achievement.

  The breakthrough process had basically been managed by Cang.

  Cang had just become his Heaven Chip.

  The Heavenly Dao Heaven Chip had let him briefly experience the feeling of unity between heaven and man.