activa-t Chapter 150: Jindan Stage [6500 words long chapter]
Chapter 150: Jindan Stage [6500 words long chapter]
Chapter 150: Core Formation Stage【6500-character chapter】
"Zhao Shishu, may I ask who I should hand these refined pill embryos to?"
Li Lan stepped out of the valley and inquired with cupped hands.
Zhao Shishu, who seemed like a mud statue outside the valley, still had some impression of him.
Seeing him come out so quickly, he couldn't help but let out a soft sound.
But that was the extent of it.
Just a junior at the Cultivation Base of Qi Refining Late Stage.
There was still an insurmountable gap between him and the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Moreover, he was just a registered disciple.
No matter how skilled he was in alchemy, he wasn't worth the effort to focus on cultivating.
"Just give them to me."
Li Lan presented the storage bag containing the three Gathering Qi Pill embryos.
Zhao Shishu swept his gaze over it.
After confirming that the three pill embryos were indeed intact,
Li Lan's sect mission was considered successfully completed.
Seeing that the other party didn't mention the remaining two sets of alchemy materials,
He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed it was just as he had thought.
The extra materials were considered an additional reward for those whose alchemy skills passed the test.
If a Lingqi Middle Stage cultivator were to undertake such a mission,
Even if all the refining materials were completely wasted, the other party would probably still collect those waste pills.
The treatment of Cultivation Base of Qi Refining Late Stage and Lingqi Middle Stage cultivators within the sect was just that vastly different.
To prevent being too conspicuous and attracting attention,
After Li Lan refined all five Gathering Qi Pill embryos,
He cultivated in the alchemy room for a long time,
He only submitted the pill embryos just before the time limit for the sect mission was reached.
But what he didn't expect was that,
Even with such caution, he still attracted Zhao Shishu's attention.
Li Lan looked very unfamiliar; he had never been seen on Dan You Peak before.
Even he had vaguely heard of the other party's recent reputation.
Logically speaking,
The first time refining a rather complex pill embryo like soul-guiding artemisia,
The time required should have far exceeded the stipulated limit.
Even among the five pill embryos,
It was not uncommon to only refine one or two, failing to complete the sect mission.
But Li Lan, encountering an unfamiliar pill formula for the first time, directly achieved such a level.
Therefore, this made him take a second look.
In the eyes of Zhao Shishu, who didn't know the true situation,
This child should possess some talent in the path of alchemy.
However,
The talent he displayed at the moment,
Although it surprised Zhao Shishu somewhat, it was far from reaching the level where he would attach importance to it,
Or even keep him behind for a detailed conversation.
This was exactly what Li Lan wanted.
He didn't linger there for long and immediately left Dan You Peak.
Li Lan first returned to Tian Shu Pavilion to collect his spirit stone reward.
Afterward, he did not take on any new sect missions.
Instead, he changed his appearance and went to Jiuhua County City.
Li Lan currently had two Gathering Qi Pill embryos in hand. He naturally wouldn't leave this type of pill, which helps improve cultivation, idle for too long. He needed to refine them as soon as possible to experience their effects.
Among the materials for refining the Gathering Qi Pill, Li Lan already had Fire Maple Leaf, Rootless Water, and Scarlet Flame Ginseng, or substitutes.
He only lacked Profound Ice Pool Water and Jade Marrow Ganoderma.
These two main ingredients might be quite rare in a small place like Taoyuan Mountains in County South, belonging to the category of rare spiritual plants and materials.
But in Jiuhua County City, a major city of cultivation, this was not the case.
Those aged fifty years or more might be hard to find,
But those at normal maturity were quite easy to find.
Li Lan controlled the Spirit Bean Soldier, and under the guise of a hidden identity,
He easily purchased all the required materials.
It's worth mentioning that,
Although there were many Qian Business Association shops in Jiuhua County City,
Out of caution, Li Lan did not use the Qian Family token that Qian Zibin had given him.
Although the things he was buying this time were legitimate,
If discovered by a clever and observant person,
It was hard to guarantee that they wouldn't follow the clues and guess his purpose.
One must ultimately guard against others.
On the edge of Chongshan Region, in an extremely remote cave dwelling.
Li Lan sat cross-legged, with a medicine pot-sized alchemy furnace in front of him.
An orange-red furnace fire was burning fiercely at the bottom.
After an unknown amount of time,
He suddenly opened his eyes and pointed with one hand.
The furnace fire instantly extinguished, and the lid of the alchemy furnace popped open with a sound.
A fragrant aroma mixed with rich spiritual energy surged out like a tide.
It's done.
Li Lan was slightly happy in his heart. With a wave of his hand, a smooth, round pill flew out of the medicine pot furnace.
This was the rather precious Gathering Qi Pill.
If Senior Uncle Gong were here,
He would be surprised to find that this Gathering Qi Pill was slightly different from the one he refined.
This pill was more round and smooth all over,
Like a gem meticulously polished by a master craftsman.
A faint halo flowed on the surface of the Gathering Qi Pill. Upon closer inspection,
One could also find that within the pill, there seemed to be strands of spiritual energy, intertwined like threads.
These were all characteristics that ordinary Gathering Qi Pills did not possess.
Clearly,
Judging solely from its appearance, the grade of this pill was significantly higher than the former.
This was also quite normal,
After all, Li Lan had replaced two of the auxiliary materials with spiritual plants of older age and more abundant spiritual energy.
If the grade hadn't improved like this, that would have been the strange thing.
Li Lan didn't hesitate and immediately consumed the freshly refined Gathering Qi Pill.
In an instant,
He felt as if a blazing fire had ignited within his body.
A surge of vast spiritual energy erupted from the pill.
The originally calm surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth seemed to have received a summons,
And began to spontaneously gather frantically towards his body.
Li Lan quickly held his breath and focused his mind, diligently refining this spiritual energy.
Under his guidance,
The spiritual energy in his meridians surged and roared, like a river breaking its banks, turbulent and mighty.
The speed was several times faster than before.
Fortunately, Li Lan had previously advanced to the Cultivation Base of Qi Refining Late Stage.
His body had undergone an all-around baptism and transformation, and his cultivation realm had stabilized after more than a year of settling.
Otherwise,
If a Lingqi Middle Stage cultivator rashly consumed this extraordinarily effective Gathering Qi Pill,
They would surely have their meridians shattered and their body explode from the impact of this frantic spiritual energy.
Along with the rapid absorption of spiritual energy, a faint halo even gradually appeared around Li Lan's body.
He once again deeply realized,
How enormous the help of cultivation resources was for a cultivator.
At this moment,
Li Lan was refining this spiritual energy of heaven and earth in an extremely efficient manner.
The speed was even subtly surpassing the intensity of the purple sandalwood tree core and the low-grade Spirit Vein Type C cultivation cave dwelling.
One must know that,
The three types of cultivation resources were not mutually exclusive,
But could be used together.
If he were in a low-grade Spirit Vein, while using the purple sandalwood tree core to filter spiritual energy,
Taking the Gathering Qi Pill and cultivating in the Gathering Spirit Formation,
How fast would his cultivation speed become?
Perhaps even a Heavenly Spiritual Root aptitude could only look on in awe?
Li Lan fantasized for a while, then cleared the distracting thoughts from his mind.
Suppressing the stirring in his heart, he quickly adjusted his emotions.
The effect of the Gathering Qi Pill did not last long. He had to cherish this precious optimal cultivation time.
He took out the purple sandalwood tree core from his storage bag and began to cultivate with full concentration.
The cave dwelling returned to silence.
Only the roaring sound of spiritual energy occasionally echoed.
Li Lan sat cross-legged in the Gathering Spirit Formation, as steady as a mountain.
Floating before him were the purple sandalwood tree core, Judge Pen, Silver Light Needle, and other items.
As the spiritual energy surged, they flickered with different iridescent lights.
Spring passed and autumn came, and two more years flew by in the blink of an eye.
During this period,
Besides assisting the Foundation Establishment Stage experts in refining pills to earn spirit stones,
Li Lan always maintained a secluded cultivation life, rarely going out.
He avoided any matter that carried even the slightest risk, absolutely not getting involved.
It was also this attitude focused on cultivation,
That gradually made him fade from the sight of most registered disciples.
These registered disciples of Guangji Sect continuously perished in various dangerous sect missions.
Like leeks, they were replaced one batch after another.
Many in the current batch don't even know who Senior Brother Jiang Chuan is anymore.
People fear fame just as pigs fear getting fat.
This was precisely a good thing for Li Lan.
Furthermore,
With the help of various external cultivation resources such as the Gathering Qi Pill, Gathering Spirit Formation, and purple sandalwood tree core,
In just two years, Li Lan also progressed steadily, breaking through repeatedly.
He successfully advanced to the realm of Qi Refining Twelfth Level.
His remaining lifespan also returned to fifty years.
In the Cultivation World,
This Qi Refining Thirteenth Level is also called Qi Refining Great Perfection.
It is the peak of the Qi Refining Stage and a realm infinitely close to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
If the first twelve levels were the accumulation of quantity,
Then this thirteenth level could be said to be a qualitative leap.
To advance to the Qi Refining Great Perfection realm, it is not about condensing a thirteenth magic power vortex in the dantian,
But about compressing the previous twelve magic power vortexes into a single entity,
Causing the magic power to liquefy, achieving the effect of condensing Qi into a pearl, laying a solid foundation for advancing to the Foundation Establishment Stage.
It is said that,
Compared to the Qi Refining Stage, the most direct change in the Foundation Establishment Stage is in the dantian.
Cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage can only simply absorb Qi into their bodies, and the magic power in their dantian is all gaseous.
It is relatively easy to fill it up and advance.
However, for Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, the magic power in their dantian is entirely liquid.
A single drop of condensed magic power pearl can be equivalent to more than ten years of arduous cultivation for a Qi Refining cultivator.
Precisely because of this,
The gap in strength between the two is as insurmountable as a chasm.
Upon reaching the Qi Refining Twelfth Level,
Intermediate Breakthrough Pills no longer have any effect.
To take another step forward,
One must rely on the high-grade Breakthrough Pill, which is the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Converting the magic power in the dantian from gaseous to liquid,
It sounds easy, but it is extremely difficult to do.
This belongs to forcefully changing the nature of magic power with one's own strength, thus it is extremely demanding on the understanding and comprehension of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth,
As well as the cultivator's level of insight into the cultivation method they practice.
After all,
A cultivator absorbing Qi into their body, circulating it through the meridians,
Refining the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, condensing magic power vortexes in the dantian, and so on, are all completed with the assistance of the cultivation method they practice.
If the cultivation method in the cultivator's hand only has chapters for the Qi Refining Stage,
They might spend their entire life unable to fully comprehend how to successfully convert Qi into liquid and condense liquid into a pearl without damaging the dantian's foundation.
It is based on these various complex and stringent conditions,
That there are so many who enter the Cultivation Base of Qi Refining Late Stage in the Cultivation World,
But the number of cultivators who ultimately successfully advance to the Foundation Establishment Stage is pitifully small.
How many brilliant and talented individuals have unfortunately fallen at this final hurdle because they could not comprehend the profound mysteries or had bad luck.
Li Lan also didn't know how far he could ultimately go.
But one thing was certain,
As long as his lifespan was not exhausted, he would persevere to the end and never give up.
Advancing to this final Great Perfection realm is the third watershed of the Qi Refining Stage, and it is by no means easy.
With Li Lan's steady nature, he would not easily attempt it without more than seventy percent certainty.
Now that he hadn't taken on any sect missions for a long time, the spirit stones in his storage bag were also running low again.
Li Lan was preparing to take on some more missions to supplement his own needs.
Over the past two years,
He had always lived like this.
When he lacked spirit stones to support his cultivation, he would make a trip to Tian Shu Pavilion.
Li Lan was also very focused, usually only taking on missions to assist Foundation Establishment Stage Senior Uncles in refining pill embryos.
He completely disregarded the other miscellaneous tasks.
Over a long period,
that Zhao Shishu on Dan You Peak even became somewhat familiar with him.
Although his attitude remained neither warm nor cold,
occasionally, he would privately entrust him with refining some pill embryos.
While these private requests were not counted towards the twice-yearly sect contributions,
the rewards he received were often more generous than task rewards.
Li Lan accepted all of these without refusal.
His alchemy talent was neither high nor low,
but with the help of an alchemy心得 (心得 - experience/insights, not in glossary) he had obtained from Executor Zhang Jingyuan at the Human Emperor Hall years ago,
he had never made a mistake when refining most simple pill embryos.
Gradually,
the name of a registered disciple with decent alchemy skills who could be helpful,
spread among the direct disciples of the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Besides gaining some reputation,
Li Lan also quietly copied many effective pill formulas that might be useful in the future by assisting in alchemy,
waiting until they were truly needed to complete them using his lifespan.
The only drawback was,
after two years, Li Lan still hadn't been able to get involved in the refining of Foundation Establishment Pill embryos.
This meant he had never obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill formula.
Without this pill, let alone successfully establishing his foundation,
it would likely be difficult to even reach the Qi Refining Great Perfection.
Therefore,
Li Lan's primary goal before this, besides earning some spirit stones to maintain his daily cultivation,
was to go to Tian Shu Pavilion and indirectly inquire,
if there were any direct disciples of the Foundation Establishment Stage who needed Foundation Establishment Pills refined for their juniors.
If he couldn't participate in this within a short time,
then he would have to quickly figure out other ways to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Perhaps he could achieve this through Qian Zibin.
However,
the Foundation Establishment Pill was strictly monopolized by the major sects and immortal clans on the surface,
wanting to obtain it from the market, whether it was even for sale aside, the price would likely not be cheap.
While considering his next steps,
Li Lan steered his flying boat and arrived at Tianshu Peak.
He hadn't yet met Qian Zibin, but he encountered another familiar figure.
"Senior Sister Hongying? What a coincidence, what happened to you?"
Li Lan cupped his hands in greeting, his voice filled with surprise.
At this moment, Su Hongying was twenty-six, in the prime of her youth.
Her long black hair was tied high, her eyebrows like sword blades, slanting towards her temples,
exuding an innate heroic spirit in her every move.
She was tall and straight, and a tight-fitting outfit perfectly outlined her slender and agile figure,
drawing frequent side glances from most male cultivators passing by.
Her cultivation base of Qi Refining Great Perfection, however, caused many registered disciples to lower their heads in shame, not daring to meet her gaze.
Since he was young, Li Lan was good at observing details. He noticed that Su Hongying's brows seemed to hold a hard-to-conceal weariness,
despite her Qi Refining Great Perfection strength, her aura was unstable,
appearing to be seriously injured.
"Ah, Junior Brother Jiang Chuan, *cough*, it's a long story."
Su Hongying returned the greeting politely, a hint of bitterness appearing at the corner of her mouth, and then she began to recount the story.
In the past two years,
Su Pengfei had already passed the Dust Washing Ceremony and, like her, had become a disciple under Elder Chi.
Normally,
Su Hongying naturally took great care of this younger brother,
handling all miscellaneous matters for him so that he only needed to cultivate with peace of mind.
Not long ago,
a Foundation Establishment Stage Martial Uncle happened to be going to the vicinity of Feixue River to perform a sect mission,
hearing that the Su siblings' hometown was there, he cordially invited the two of them to go along.
Su Hongying thought that since her brother had his spiritual root tested and successfully began cultivating,
he had not returned home once,
although the world was chaotic now, there was no need to worry about anything happening with a Foundation Establishment Stage expert accompanying them, so she gladly agreed.
But what she didn't expect was,
this trip back home to visit relatives still resulted in an accident.
Along the way,
they encountered a group of extremely difficult rogue cultivators,
among whom there was not only a Foundation Establishment Stage expert,
but their overall strength was even no weaker than Su Hongying and her group.
What was worse,
they were deeply trapped in a Rank 4 grand formation called the Xuanming Wuxiang Formation at the time.
To break the formation as quickly as possible,
Su Hongying used many trump cards bestowed by Elder Chi, and finally, at the cost of severe injuries, she cooperated with the Martial Uncle to kill that Foundation Establishment Stage rogue cultivator.
Although the trip was perilous,
fortunately, there were no casualties on Su Hongying's side,
and the group returned safely, albeit with fright.
Su Hongying was seriously injured this time,
and the time needed for closed-door healing would likely not be short.
Therefore, she planned to arrange Su Pengfei's subsequent plans before entering closed-door cultivation.
Hence,
Su Hongying personally came to this Tian Shu Pavilion,
preparing to use her accumulated savings of pills, magical artifacts, etc.,
to help Su Pengfei complete the sect contributions that must be submitted annually,
so that he could concentrate on cultivation without distractions.
The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was attentive.
Listening to this rather familiar experience,
Li Lan's eyelids had been twitching non-stop.
Upon closer thought,
this was almost identical to the experience he had encountered when he first went to Jiuhua County City back then.
The current Li Lan was no longer the naive newcomer to the Cultivation World he was back then,
as the number of Devil Path Evil Cultivators who died by his hand increased,
Li Lan had also become well-versed in the private dealings of the Demonic Path.
This so-called Xuanming Wuxiang Formation was likely related to those who cultivated the 《Rebirth Technique》,
stimulating the reincarnated individuals to awaken their past lives' memories and recall memories from before the body snatching.
It seemed,
among Su Hongying's group,
there must have been a cultivator who had already been body-snatched by a reincarnated individual, which was why they encountered this disaster.
Thinking of this,
Li Lan's eyelids twitched even faster.
He had personally seen the cultivation method of the 《Rebirth Technique》.
He was also quite familiar with its restrictions.
When the chosen person was at the second level of Qi Refining, that was the best time for this technique to awaken past lives' memories.
Su Hongying and that Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator,
had clearly already exceeded this limit.
Among their companions, who else could have just happened to meet the conditions?
Inadvertently, Li Lan's gaze fell upon Su Pengfei behind Su Hongying.
His relationship with this kid was quite good,
every time they met in the past,
the other party would always excitedly jump out and pester him for candy beans.
But this time, Su Pengfei behaved exceptionally abnormally,
stealing glances at him from time to time, his eyes showing not the slightest hint of closeness,
but instead mixed with various emotions that were hard to describe, such as surprise and delight.
Li Lan's heart couldn't help but sink slightly,
he already had a very bad guess.
He didn't show the slightest bit on his face,
listening carefully to Su Hongying's story, he comforted her with great sympathy:
"Such a thing happened?
These rogue cultivators are too arrogant, daring to target my Guangji Sect, they truly deserve death!
But fortunately, Senior Sister Hongying's trip was ultimately a false alarm.
That your younger brother could escape unharmed from this disaster is the greatest fortune in misfortune."
After saying that,
Li Lan officially turned his gaze to Su Pengfei.
The latter seemed to be trying to conceal some thought in his heart,
his gaze flickered away upon their initial eye contact.
But he was also a very experienced person, and quickly suppressed the excitement in his heart,
adjusted his emotions, and when he looked back, there was no longer any abnormality.
"*Cough cough*, Thank you, Li— Senior Brother Jiang Chuan, for your concern."
Although the other party's reaction speed was very fast,
Li Lan, being a master of observing details, still keenly noticed the subtle difference in Su Pengfei compared to before.
Li Lan's heart became heavy,
things were clearly developing in the direction he least wanted to see.
Su Hongying, who was with him day and night, naturally also noticed her brother's abnormality,
but under the halo of familial affection,
she found a reasonable explanation for it herself.
"Pengfei was greatly frightened this time, there were many impolite moments, I hope Junior Brother Jiang Chuan will forgive him."
Li Lan had always been good at concealing his emotions,
his thoughts were a whirlwind in his mind, but his face showed not the slightest trace.
He smiled slightly, indicating understanding.
"Encountering such a matter, even we who have cultivated for a long time might be shaken, let alone a child over ten years old.
I recently refined another batch of pills that have the effect of calming the mind,
they happen to be suitable for your younger brother to soothe his shock.
I wonder if Senior Sister Hongying and Pengfei will be free later?
If you are free, you can come to my cave dwelling to sample them."
Before Su Hongying could speak, Su Pengfei quickly spoke up to refuse.
"Senior Brother Jiang Chuan's kindness is appreciated by Pengfei.
After this incident, I believe my current realm still needs to be thoroughly polished, so I want to enter closed-door cultivation for a period,
I'm afraid I won't have free time to go to Senior Brother Jiang Chuan's cave dwelling to sample the pills, please forgive me, Senior Brother.
Another day, when Pengfei's cultivation is successful, I will definitely visit to apologize."
Su Pengfei's words were impeccable, leaving no room for criticism.
But precisely because of this,
it was the biggest flaw.
Li Lan's heart was filled with suspicion,
it was just sampling a pill, why was the other party so cautious?
He hadn't shown any abnormality,
could it be that this body-snatched little demon brat saw through him?
But even so,
being in this Chongshan Region,
right under the nose of the Guangji Sect, he didn't dare to openly harm the other party,
so he didn't need to avoid him like this, right?
There must be some hidden reason.
The other party seemed to be afraid of something?
Li Lan's face showed as if he knew nothing, expressing regret,
but in his heart, he was frantically thinking about every detail.
He thought of the many restrictions listed in the 《Rebirth Technique》.
Limited by the primordial spirit and divine sense,
cultivators below the Golden Core Stage,
to be reincarnated, the target's parents must be mortals without spiritual roots.
As for cultivators above the Golden Core Stage,
the conditions are even more stringent, requiring at least one of the target's parents to possess spiritual roots and be a cultivator.
The two must never be mixed up,
otherwise, uncontrollable variables will appear.
Although Li Lan hadn't deliberately inquired over the years,
he had some understanding of this Senior Sister's family situation.
The other party's mother, Madam Su, was just an ordinary mortal with no cultivation,
while her father was the patriarch of the Su Family lineage, at the Foundation Establishment (Early Stage).
So, that means,
the guy who body-snatched Su Pengfei must be at least a Golden Core Stage cultivator.
Wait!
Feixue River, the four major rogue cultivator families, the Su Family, a Golden Core Stage demonic cultivator!
Li Lan suddenly recalled the experience he had years ago,
at the Feixue River United Market.
He still remembered that he seemed to have unintentionally offended a Golden Core Stage powerful being known as Elder Di back then.
That was also the only Golden Core Stage cultivator he had interacted with in these thirty-five years.
A chilling guess immediately arose in Li Lan's heart.
Could this Devil Path Evil Cultivator who used the 《Rebirth Technique》 to body-snatch Su Pengfei be that Elder Di?