https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-272-Tier-Three-Cultivation-Technique-Ghostly-Mystic-Chronicles/12920646/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-274-Thunder-Accumulation-Nine-Mountains-The-Vast-Sand-Desert-Wilderness/12920648/
Chapter 273: Midlife Worries and Attribute Review
Chapter 273: Midlife Worries and Attribute Review
The mountain stream's gentle breeze stirred one's thoughts.
The thunderous roar of the Silver Dragon echoed in his ears.
Luo Chen stood by the cliff's edge, his face filled with worry.
Suddenly, a surprised voice came from the side.
"Fellow Daoist Luo Chen, are you here again? Is it that your Lotus Heavens Society needs someone to reach Foundation Establishment?"
Turning his head, he saw Nan Gong Jin with a look of surprise.
He still lived nearby.
Luo Chen managed a weak smile, "Someone did attempt Foundation Establishment, but unfortunately, they failed."
Hearing this, Nan Gong Jin wanted to express his regret, but he also felt a sense of relief.
This strange scene made his expression a bit odd.
Luo Chen furrowed his brows, staring at him.
Nan Gong Jin cleared his throat, "Foundation Establishment failure is a common occurrence. Unless one possesses a Heaven Spirit Root, no matter how exceptional their talents or how thorough their preparations, there will always be a chance of failure. Don't take it to heart, fellow Daoist."
Luo Chen was puzzled.
"Why do Heaven Spirit Root cultivators face no obstacles, while others with different talents cannot succeed? What about those with Dual Spirit Roots or Unique Spirit Roots?"
Nan Gong Jin smiled slightly.
"Why is the Heaven Spirit Root not called a Single Spirit Root but is referred to as the Heaven Spirit Root? Isn't it because they are favored by Heaven and have an innate advantage?"
"As for those with other talents..."
Nan Gong Jin paused for a moment, then casually asked, "Let me ask you, how much does a low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill increase the chances of success?"
"Thirty percent!"
"Then, can these Qi Condensation cultivators, even with the most thorough preparations, make up for the remaining seventy percent chance?"
Luo Chen opened his mouth, but for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
Even with his previous robust physique at the perfect Golden Body Realm, a Soul Spirit comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and an unparalleled control over Spiritual Energy among his peers, he still experienced four failures during his meticulously prepared attempt.
On the last attempt, he barely succeeded! If not for his Five Spirit Roots' resilient and ample Dantian, the immense power of the five Foundation Establishment Spirit Medicines would have reversed and surged through his meridians, causing him severe injuries.
He even felt that his realm was no longer at the ninth layer of the Qi Condensation stage.
Under the expansion of the five Foundation Establishment Spirit Medicines, he had even momentarily reached the tenth, eleventh, and twenty-third layers!
Seeing Luo Chen speechless, Nan Gong Jin couldn't help but laugh, "Don't worry."
"Did the person survive?"
Luo Chen nodded, "Although they suffered severe injuries, after treatment, they are now fine."
"As long as they're alive, that's good. Take good care of them, and there will be another chance... How old is the person who attempted the breakthrough?" Nan Gong Jin asked.
Luo Chen thought for a moment and gave an uncertain answer.
"Around fifty-two years old!"
"That's still quite young!" Nan Gong Jin casually said, "After a few years of recovery, they can try Foundation Establishment again!"
Yes!
Still young!
Luo Chen snapped out of his thoughts and sincerely thanked Nan Gong Jin.
Nan Gong Jin waved his hand, chatted for a while, and then left Celestial Wave Peak.
Turning back, Luo Chen looked at the cave entrance.
"Brother Qin, you must have heard that too!"
Inside the cave mansion, a weathered-looking Qin Liangchen walked out.
After three days of treatment, Meng Juan Qinglian finally woke up from her coma.
Her current condition wasn't very good.
Luo Chen's healing spells, which relied on his pure Spiritual Energy, were incredibly effective.
However, in reality, injuries couldn't heal on their own without a reason.
During the healing process, it was still Meng Juan Qinglian's accumulated "Primordial Energy" that was being consumed.
According to Luo Chen's understanding, this Primordial Energy could be attributed to the vitality of the body's cells, the accumulated Qi and Blood Power from years of physical cultivation, and the dispersed Spiritual Energy.
Only by addressing both aspects could her severely damaged meridians recover significantly.
The rest would require her to quietly nurture herself.
She would need to take Spirit Medicines and consume foods rich in innate energy and Spiritual Energy.
This process couldn't be rushed.
Therefore, she would need to carefully nurture her body for the next year or two.
This was why cultivators were advised to attempt Foundation Establishment before the age of sixty.
If they failed after sixty, even if they didn't die on the spot, the time required to recuperate could take five to six years, or even over a decade.
The older one gets, the worse their bodily functions become.
The decline of Qi and Blood isn't just an empty statement.
Fortunately, Meng Juan Qinglian was still young. With a year or two of recovery, she could return to her original state and have another chance at Foundation Establishment.
However, by then...
Qin Liangchen's expression was filled with worry.
Within the Lotus Heavens Society, there were others besides this couple who had the potential to reach Foundation Establishment!
But the number of Foundation Establishment Pills they could obtain was limited.
In a year or two, it wouldn't be Meng Juan Qinglian's turn.
Seeing his silent and worried expression, Luo Chen furrowed his brows.
He could guess what was on his mind.
But he couldn't make promises to him in person.
Patting Qin Liangchen's shoulder, Luo Chen consoled, "At least, the person is alive."
Qin Liangchen nodded, "I was overthinking it. The fact that the person is alive is already an incredible stroke of luck. Luo Chen, I've taken up too much of your time these past few days. You should go and attend to your matters; I'll manage things here."
Luo Chen acknowledged and left.
...
Back at his Ether Seventeen Cave Mansion, Luo Chen sighed and decided not to dwell on the matter anymore.
He had already done his best.
Whether it succeeded or not depended on their individual fate.
Clearly, Meng Juan Qinglian had made all the necessary preparations, and they were more than sufficient.
She didn't even have the hidden concern of a weak will like Min Longyu.
Even so, she still failed.
"The chances of success..."
Luo Chen muttered these words. Whenever one attempted a major realm breakthrough, failure and success were always intertwined.
To increase the chances of success, besides relying on miraculous pills, there was another way.
That was to increase the number of attempts! But attempting breakthroughs multiple times would come at a greater cost.
One would need a sufficient supply of Foundation Establishment Spirit Medicines and a robust physique capable of withstanding the backlash from each failure.
Both were indispensable!
"When I attempt Core Formation in the future, can I still follow the same approach as Foundation Establishment?"
"With my talents, I'm afraid one portion of Core Formation Spirit Medicine won't be enough."
"It seems that from now on, I'll need to pay close attention to Core Formation Spirit Medicines at every major auction."
"However, the immediate priority is to advance my realm. Without reaching the late Foundation Establishment stage, it will be challenging to compete for Core Formation Spirit Medicines!"
Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen adjusted his mindset, cleared his mind, and entered a state of cultivation.
...
After Sima Huiwang formulated the new merit policy, the Lotus Heavens Society once again embarked on a path of rapid development.
This time, with the new merit policy, the motivation of the Luotian Sect disciples had been greatly boosted in a short period.
Whether it was the Jade Hollow Market or the Spirit Fields in the Medicine Hall, there was a constant stream of cultivators bustling about day and night.
The other halls didn't want to fall behind either.
The good news came first from the Pill Hall.
Someone from Peach Mountain had arrived!
As one of the industries of the Hundred Flowers Palace's Peach Ancestor, Peach Mountain's business had always been booming.
As the actual manager, Xuan Yu, a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator, had gained a lot from it, which greatly helped him in acquiring the Core Formation spiritual herbs for the Ice Fortress.
But it was clear that they weren't satisfied with just that.
Thus, Peach Mountain set its sights on the Multifarious Pill sold by the Luotian Sect.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator from Peach Mountain personally went to Crimson Peak and signed a batch order with Sima Huiwang.
At a fixed price of ten spirit stones per pill, they directly secured all the Multifarious Pills that Mi Li refined each month!
With just this order, it would generate nearly a thousand spirit stones in profit each month.
In a year, that would amount to tens of thousands!
This revenue was naturally not comparable to the achievements Luo Chen had made when refining the Jade Marrow Pill.
For the entire Luotian Sect, it wasn't much.
But this was a great start!
For this, Sima Huiwang specially rewarded Mi Li.
Inspired, the other three alchemists in the Pill Hall also worked harder to refine their respective pills.
The changes in the Pill Hall were just the tip of the iceberg.
The Armory Hall was where the real dramatic changes were happening!
With Duan Feng's advancement to the Foundation Establishment stage, he became even more proficient in artifact forging.
Min Longyu, a Foundation Establishment stage array master, also joined the Armory Hall as an elder.
With his array skills, he could provide great assistance in refining magical tools!
In just three short months, he and Duan Feng successfully refined a Superior Grade magical tool! It's worth noting that even a Superior Grade magical tool, no matter how useless, could sell for thousands of spirit stones.
If the attributes were excellent, selling for four to five thousand spirit stones was not impossible.
It was evident that the two were collaborating on artifact forging to prepare for repairing the Wandering Eighteen Array Disk and completing the two magical treasure embryos.
However, during this process of collaboration, they also indirectly enhanced the strength of the Armory Hall.
The artifact forging apprentices that Duan Feng had trained over the years also started to take on various challenging magical tool forging tasks.
It could be said that everything in the Luotian Sect was developing in a positive direction.
As the leader of the Luotian Sect, Luo Chen appeared less and less frequently, residing in seclusion on Celestial Wave Peak.
To outsiders, his daily activities seemed incredibly dull.
Reading, practicing spells, refining pills, and cultivating—these were the only four things he did, repeating them over and over, yet he never grew tired of it.
Time passed in a flash.
Half a year had gone by.
On this day, Luo Chen sat in the lotus position on an ice silkworm meditation cushion.
The cool and refreshing air made his mind clear and calm.
In his line of sight, an attribute panel that only he could see shone brightly.
[Lifespan: 40/190]
[Spirit Root: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]
[Realm: Foundation Establishment Third Layer 60/100, Blood River Realm 20/100]
[Techniques: Yi Mu Medicine King Scripture Mastery 840/1000, Bright Deity Shattering Evil Mastery 700/1000, Ten Thousand Beasts Scripture 10/100]
[Spells: Second Rank: Mountain Collapse Perfect 350/500, Crystal Sky Curtain Expert 200/300, Turtle Spirit Armored Shell Proficient 101/200
First Rank: Healing Spell Great Perfection, Earth Mountain Spell Mastery 625/1000, Wave Spell Mastery 650/1000, Soundproof Spell Mastery 570/1000, Mind Control Spell Perfect 310/500, Great Perfection Spells (Click to view details)]
[Pill Techniques: Jade Hand Perfection, Pure Heart Hand Perfection, Huanxi Hand Mastery 650/1000, Transforming Cloud Hand Perfect 471/500, Clear Source Wondrous Pill Technique Mastery 510/1000]
[Martial Arts: Mountain Prying Palm Great Perfection, Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers Mastery 501/1000, Wang Family Secret Scroll Proficient 249/300]
[Skills: Second Rank Alchemist: Fasting Powder Great Perfection, Multifarious Pill Great Perfection, Jade Marrow Pill Great Perfection, Spirit Gate Pill Great Perfection, Blood Burning Pill Expert 204/300, Jade Dew Pill Expert 201/300, Imperial Stream Beginner 3/100.]
[Achievement Points: 25]
Staring at the attribute panel in a daze, Luo Chen, with his clear mind, had a moment of bewilderment.
Were these the achievements he had attained by the time he reached "middle age"?
Foundation Establishment Third Layer, the Blood River Realm of body cultivation.
Even in a major sect, he would be considered an absolute Heaven's Pride existence!
After his moment of reflection, he browsed through the attribute panel to confirm his gains over the years.
His main cultivation technique, Yi Mu Medicine King Scripture, had reached a proficiency of 840, just 160 points away from Great Perfection.
To reach Great Perfection, it would take about a year of daily cultivation.
There was no rush.
As long as he cultivated daily and continuously practiced his lifebound technique, he would eventually reach the end.
In terms of spells, he had made significant progress.
Thanks to the Earth Mountain Spell and Wave Spell reaching the Mastery level, his cherished Mountain Collapse had finally reached the Perfect level.
At this level, he could initially use it in combat.
Its current power was probably not far from that of the Extreme Yang Spell at its peak.
However, casting this spell required the fusion of three first-rank spells, which was quite cumbersome.
Without achieving instant casting, he would need to carefully consider and assess the battlefield environment before using this technique.
The promotion of the second-rank defensive spell, Crystal Sky Curtain, was much slower.
After all, he had started cultivating this spell during the Qi Condensation stage.
In contrast, he only began practicing this spell after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.
Nevertheless, the advantages of this spell were quite evident.
When used for close-range defense, it was exceptionally effective, and Luo Chen had already listed it as a regular combat method.
Turtle Spirit Armored Shell was a spell he had started practicing a year ago.
The cultivation was somewhat complex, divided into four stages.
Over the past year, Luo Chen had been constantly adjusting his breathing rhythm whenever he went out.
Finally, he had completed the 'Turtle Breath' portion of the cultivation.
"If I use Turtle Breath now, the effect might even surpass that of the wandering cultivator on the Gaolingyuan battlefield!"
Luo Chen chuckled lightly and skipped over the first-rank spells section.
The only spell worth mentioning was the Mind Control Spell, which had finally reached the Perfect level with great difficulty.
The rest weren't worth mentioning.
What interested Luo Chen the most was still the Pill Techniques section.
After leaving Dahedao Market and arriving in Heavenly Wave Immortal City, five years had passed.
Over the past five years, Luo Chen personally crafted hundreds of thousands of Jade Marrow Pills and over a thousand Spirit Gate Pills. He also refined two hundred Jade Dew Pills, reaching the Great Perfection level in their refinement. This massive amount of pill refinement resulted in an unimaginable improvement in his pill refinement skills.
This improvement was not just an exaggeration but a true testament to his progress. The advancement in his pill techniques was evident, and his skills in Jade Marrow Pill refinement reached the Great Perfection level. He also achieved Mastery in the Qingyuan Mystic Pill Technique, which specializes in processing herbal medicinal ingredients, and advanced to the Master level in the Huanxi Hand and the Perfect level in the Huayun Hand.
Such an astonishingly rapid improvement in pill refinement techniques would leave anyone in awe. Among all the pill techniques, the Qingyuan Mystic Pill Technique, which he had acquired last and was used to neutralize toxic residues, was the one that Luo Chen valued the most. After five years, he had mastered it to the Master level, starting from scratch.
At this moment, within his Qi Sea, a sturdy and massive vortex was continuously spinning. Streams of spiritual energy entered the vortex, only to be flung out, washing the shores of the Qi Sea. The toxic residues clinging to the shore were washed away by the pure spiritual energy and fell off, eventually being expelled from Luo Chen's body.
The Master-level Qingyuan Mystic Pill Technique could now completely solve the problem of toxic residue left behind by pills. Luo Chen no longer had to worry about the toxic residues affecting his future realm breakthroughs. He could now confidently consume pills to accelerate his cultivation.
The significant improvement in pill refinement naturally represented an increase in Luo Chen's proficiency with pills. The Great Perfection in Spirit Gate Pill refinement was his greatest achievement in recent years. He occasionally practiced refining the second-rank Jade Dew Pill, reaching Proficiency in it. Now, his success rate in refining Jade Dew Pills reached a staggering thirty percent, and he could even refine intermediate-grade Jade Dew Pills.
Supplying the Jade Dew Pills to the Heartless Immortal Maiden was no longer a challenge. However, Luo Chen kept this secret to himself. The deadline she had given him was ten years, and only a year and a half had passed. There was still plenty of time, and he didn't need to rush.
Luo Chen wasn't too concerned about his martial arts skills at the moment. The improvement in the Wang Family Secret Scroll came from his daily practice of the Five Viscera Nourishing Fist and the Ascending Dragon Steps. However, this secret scroll covered an incredibly vast range of subjects, including fist palm finger techniques, leg techniques, light body skills, footwork, secret weapons, saber spear staff sword, and more. It was the culmination of a lifetime of effort by a great martial arts master.
But Luo Chen only dabbled in it. The reason for his improvement in strength and realm was not the cultivation of this secret scroll but the long-term cultivation that allowed spiritual energy to permeate his body, resulting in a slight natural enhancement.
One can imagine that this automatic enhancement would slow down over time if he didn't actively cultivate. Luo Chen didn't pay much attention to these minor improvements. However, the accumulation of 25 achievement points was indeed surprising. He hadn't paid much attention to them before.
Unknowingly, he had accumulated 25 achievement points through various improvements, such as advancing a spell, increasing proficiency in a pill, or other minor enhancements. The primary contributor to this achievement point accumulation was still related to pill refinement.
"With 25 achievement points, I can acquire new second-rank spells or second-rank pills."
"But at the moment, I don't have any specific needs in that regard."
He already knew enough spells, and among his peers, no one would invest as much time in spells as he did. In the eyes of ordinary cultivators, this was a wasteful approach.
However, Luo Chen had relied on his exquisite spellcasting skills to defeat enemies of higher realms multiple times in the past. He wouldn't easily give up on this aspect of his cultivation.
Regarding pills, there wasn't much to say. The Jade Marrow Pill provided financial resources, the Jade Dew Pill was crucial for maintaining connections, and the Spirit Gate Pill was used for cultivating the soul spirit.
Unless someone gave him a pill formula comparable to the Harmonious Energy Pill or the Ascending Dragon Pill, he wouldn't be able to resist learning it and refining it to the superior grade. Luo Chen had been diligently refining pills for a long time.
The reason he could advance from the third layer of Foundation Establishment (10/100) to (60/100) within a year after the auction was not only due to his superior-grade cave mansion, ice silkworm cushion, and soul spirit advancing to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, allowing him to circulate his lifebound technique multiple times.
The real hero was the thirty bottles of intermediate-grade Harmonious Energy Pills! These pills had been immensely beneficial to his cultivation.
But now, they were all gone. He had used them up.
That's why he was reviewing his attribute panel today. "Without second-rank intermediate-grade pills, I'll have to go back to refining lower-grade Ascending Dragon Pills."
Luo Chen felt a bit down. After experiencing the effects of better pills, who would willingly return to the slow "snail-like" cultivation speed of the past?
However, some things were beyond human control. Higher-grade orthodox cultivation pills were not something any major sect would easily release. They would either use them internally or circulate them within their sect.
Even these intermediate-grade Harmonious Energy Pills were only made available by the Medicine King Sect due to their abundant resources and their desire to maintain their reputation as a top pill refinement sect. "It's a pity that the Jade Dew Pill is only suitable for female cultivators. If I could refine it to the superior or supreme grade, my cultivation speed would soar!"
The Jade Dew Pill had unique effects but was only effective for female cultivators. For male cultivators, it was a flawed pill. After ingestion and refinement, the lingering cold energy in the dantian could significantly affect male cultivators. The higher the grade of the pill, the stronger the cold energy!
Female cultivators naturally preferred it, but Luo Chen didn't. Unfortunately, this flaw in the Jade Dew Pill was not a congenital defect like the Jade Marrow Pill, which solidified the dantian. It was a flaw intentionally created, and the system wouldn't optimize it.
"I must find a way, a connection, to obtain more intermediate or superior-grade Harmonious Energy Pills outside of auctions."
"Even the Ascending Dragon Pill would do!"
"Let's see, Li Jinhuang should be back by now."
"He's old, well-connected, and has many resources. He might know some ways to obtain high-grade pills."
Luo Chen was determined not to let the grade of pills hinder his cultivation progress. A few days later, a telepathic thousand-crane note flew through the Heaven and Water Defense Array and fluttered in front of Luo Chen's cave mansion.
Then, a figure left the Celestial Wave Peak.
(End of Chapter)
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