Cherreads

Chapter 11 - A Grandmaster-Level Cultivation Technique

"It's been eight or nine months since this inheritance matter began, and still no resolution. Isn't that rather odd?"

"Heh, Brother Chu, you wouldn't understand the details."

"Oh? Brother Ning, do you have some insider information?" Wei Zhong asked, refilling his companion's wine cup.

"While there are multiple sets of inheritance artifacts, each set contains two items: an Inheritance Key and a Cultivation Jade Slip. The jade slip contains a technique called the Blood Body Technique, a method for cultivating Extracorporeal Incarnations. Its extreme difficulty has deterred countless cultivators."

"Rumor has it that unless you reach a certain cultivation realm, even possessing the Inheritance Key grants no hope of obtaining the inheritance."

"Hiss! I never imagined there was such a hidden condition." Wei Zhong recalled the Cultivation Jade Slip he had hidden away, wondering if anyone had discovered it.

A flicker of curiosity arose within him. In his haste to escape danger that day, he hadn't even had time to examine the technique. What kind of rigorously demanding method could possibly block so many cultivators?

"Haha, let's just take these rumors with a grain of salt. After all, this technique led to the deaths of countless cultivators in Han Bamboo City. A Nascent Soul method is more of a curse than a blessing for us Qi Refining cultivators."

"Brother Ning, you speak wisely."

The two clinked glasses.

On his way home, Wei Zhong pondered deeply.

As I suspected, the Blood Sea True Monarch's legacy has stirred up a storm in the Cultivation World. Abandoning that technique back then was the right choice.

Yet Wei Zhong hesitated about whether to reclaim it in the future.

The deeper he delved into cultivation, the more he understood the immense value of Extracorporeal Incarnation techniques.

Such methods could be said to recreate oneself, granting cultivators an extra life.

Lost in thought, Wei Zhong arrived at his small courtyard. After feeding Nine-Colored, he cast aside his lingering doubts and entered his cultivation chamber.

His cultivation base had reached the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining (25%), with little progress in the past year.

This stagnation was largely due to his Azure Wave Art remaining stuck at Proficient (99%), stubbornly refusing to advance.

At this rate, it would take Wei Zhong at least another four years to reach the peak of Qi Refining. Yet he only had two years of lifespan remaining.

Will I have to regress again?

Two years later, Wei Zhong emerged from his cultivation session with a hint of delight.

Name: Wei Zhong

Cultivation Base: Ninth Layer of Qi Refining (65%)

Techniques: Azure Wave Art - Mastered (99%); Body Nourishing Art - Proficient (1%)

Lifespan: 137/142

Just as his lifespan was about to run out, the Body Nourishing Art had finally broken through. It had healed some of his internal injuries and simultaneously increased his lifespan by five years.

This was an unexpected blessing. Wei Zhong sensed that his body's injuries were far from fully healed; another breakthrough in the Body Nourishing Art would undoubtedly further extend his lifespan.

With these five additional years, he could push his cultivation base even higher.

Wei Zhong immediately immersed himself back in cultivation.

To his surprise, the breakthrough of the Body Nourishing Art triggered a breakthrough for the Azure Wave Art as well, elevating it to the Grandmaster realm.

Azure Wave Art - Grandmaster (1%)

Could it be that Qi Refining techniques are also connected to physical constitution?

Wei Zhong had cultivated for decades but had never heard of such a thing.

Ultimately, Wei Zhong's breakthrough in his cultivation technique was a blessing. He wouldn't need to push himself to the Kryptonite-level again anytime soon, and perhaps he could even consider attempting Foundation Establishment within the next five years.

In the years that followed, Wei Zhong continued to cultivate while discreetly gathering information about Foundation Establishment, keeping his true identity hidden.

In ancient times, Foundation Establishment was believed to require overcoming three gates: Jing (Essence), Qi (Energy), and Shen (Spirit). Jing represented physical prowess, Qi spiritual energy, and Shen the Divine Soul. Only by breaching all three gates could one achieve Foundation Establishment.

However, the modern Cultivation World had long since separated these gates. Overcoming just one was now considered sufficient for Foundation Establishment.

Furthermore, cultivators were categorized into three main paths: Body Cultivators, Spirit Cultivators, and the most enigmatic Soul Cultivators.

Spirit Cultivators formed the largest sect in the Cultivation World, with some also training their bodies to mitigate their weaknesses.

Soul Cultivation techniques were rare in this realm, with only a handful of cultivators possessing fragments of Soul Dao secret methods.

Wei Zhong was currently focused on the path of a Spirit Cultivator.

With his cultivation base nearing the peak of the Qi Refining stage, all he needed was a Foundation Establishment Pill or one or two Foundation Establishment spiritual treasures to attempt the breakthrough.

However, caution was paramount. Thorough preparation for the Foundation Establishment breakthrough was essential. Historical accounts warned that failure could result in either a regression in cultivation level or, worse, permanent damage to one's foundation.

Wei Zhong had no intention of jeopardizing his Dao Path in such a way.

Ironically, Wei Zhong possessed a crucial auxiliary ingredient needed to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill.

He seemed to have acquired it from the three Spirit Farmers, but it was unclear how the Yan Clan's Spirit Farmer had obtained such a valuable Medicinal Pill. Could it have been intended for their own Foundation Establishment?

Wei Zhong shook his head. That didn't matter. What truly mattered was that this ingredient gave him the leverage to collaborate with others in alchemy.

Foundation Establishment Pills were exceedingly rare in the Cultivation World, even within the Azurewood Sect, a hub for cultivators. The sect's own supply of these pills was insufficient, leaving only a pitiful trickle for Loose Cultivators.

However, the Pill Formula itself was relatively inexpensive within the Azurewood Sect's territory, costing only a few dozen spirit stones.

The real bottleneck lay in the scarcity of skilled Pill Refiners. Only two masters within the sect—Qi and Duan—possessed the ability to refine these coveted pills.

This scarcity had given rise to a unique collaborative alchemy system within the Azurewood Sect.

Cultivators would pool their resources to collect all the necessary ingredients for a particular Pill Formula. They would then jointly commission a Pill Refiner, and the resulting pills would be distributed according to each cultivator's contribution.

The primary ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill was a three-hundred-year-old Jade Marrow Mushroom. The two key auxiliary ingredients were two-hundred-year-old Thousand-Knot Flowers and Golden Essence Ginseng. Over thirty other auxiliary ingredients were also required, but their age requirements were lower, and all were common Spirit Medicines easily obtainable from various shops.

Wei Zhong held a two-hundred-year-old Golden Essence Ginseng in his hand.

With this spirit medicine, he only needed to find two more fellow Daoists possessing the Jade Marrow Mushroom and the Thousand-Knot Flower to commission a Pill Refiner for alchemy.

If three Medicinal Pills were successfully refined, Wei Zhong could claim one to begin his Foundation Establishment breakthrough.

Concealing his true identity, Wei Zhong posted a notice for collaborative alchemy on the Market City's bulletin board.

At thirty-six spirit stones per share, the price was quite affordable for him, roughly equivalent to the cost of two High-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills.

In recent years, to accelerate his cultivation progress, Wei Zhong had already replaced all his daily Low- and Mid-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills with High-Grade versions.

"Fellow Daoist, may I have your address so we can notify you once we've gathered all the participants?"

Since Wei Zhong was using a disguised identity, revealing his true residence would expose his Chu Zhong persona.

"That won't be necessary. I'll return here every three months to check on the recruitment progress."

Leaving the name Daoist Huai, Wei Zhong departed.

Over the next few years, Wei Zhong focused on cultivation and honing his techniques, returning to the Market City every three months to check on the alchemy recruitment progress.

To his delight, within half a year, another fellow Daoist possessing one of the key ingredients was found.

Now, only the Jade Marrow Mushroom, at least three hundred years old, remained missing.

However, despite waiting for three more years, no news of this spirit medicine ever surfaced.

More Chapters