Translator: AnubisTL
Time flowed leisurely, and in the blink of an eye, another three years had passed.
During this time, no major events of note occurred within the Lingyun Sect, allowing Li Qing to remain in secluded cultivation within his cave abode.
Despite his diligent practice, Li Qing's cultivation remained stuck at the mid-Core Formation Realm, still unable to break through to the late-stage core formation.
At this level, achieving significant progress required either rare natural treasures or specialized elixirs.
Otherwise, relying solely on routine meditation and arduous cultivation would yield little improvement, even after ten or thirty years.
Cultivating in the core formation realm was as difficult as ascending to the heavens!
"Such meager gains," Li Qing sighed softly, slowly emerging from his deep meditative state. "At this rate, how long will it take to reach the late-stage core formation?"
For himself, slow progress wasn't a major concern. With his boundless lifespan, he could simply endure until he eventually broke through.
But now, as the sect's ancestor and a pillar of its foundation, his stagnation weighed heavily on him.
The Lingyun Sect now ruled the entire Azure Ridge Domain. Every year, without lifting a finger, vast quantities of cultivation resources poured in as tribute, making them as prestigious as could be.
However, without a nascent soul realm cultivator to oversee them, their position remained somewhat precarious.
Through years of meticulous meditation and arduous cultivation, Li Qing had clearly sensed that the spiritual energy of this world was growing increasingly dense and abundant.
The cultivation environment in the Azure Ridge Domain was improving rapidly, approaching the level of the Great Wilderness Domain.
This was undoubtedly a fortunate development, yet Li Qing remained deeply concerned.
"The Great Wilderness Domain to the south is fiercely competitive. If those demonic path sects learn that this domain's environment is becoming increasingly suitable for cultivation, disaster may befall us in the future."
If the sect had even one nascent soul realm cultivator, they could rest much easier.
Alas, nascent soul formation was no easy feat.
Over the past few years, not only had Li Qing's cultivation progress stalled, but the other core formation true lords within the sect had also made only minimal progress.
Though they weren't completely stagnant, no one had advanced to a higher realm in recent years.
"It's a pity the sect doesn't have a third-tier pill refiner," Li Qing murmured, pulling a pill formula scroll from his storage pouch. "Otherwise, this formula could be useful."
Spirit Nourishing Pill
Main Ingredients: Third-tier demon beast inner core, five-hundred-year-old Heaven Origin Flower, Azure Moon Root
Auxiliary Ingredients: Century-old Purple Blood Ginseng sap, Spirit-Corroding Fruit essence
This formula was a valuable find Li Qing had plundered from the Blood Lotus Sect's book pavilion in the World of Eternal Night. If he could refine this pill, cultivation in the core formation realm would accelerate significantly.
However, this was a third-tier pill formula, beyond the capabilities of ordinary pill refiners. Attempting it would result in a disastrously low success rate, wasting precious spirit herbs.
"And that Millennial Dragon Blood Vine... its true potential can only be unlocked by refining it into the Dragon Transformation Pill. We need a trustworthy pill refiner for that too!"
Li Qing sighed softly, lamenting the sect's lack of talent.
Currently, True Lord Fu Xuan oversaw the talisman arts, while Li Qing himself handled artifact refinement. But the sect lacked suitable experts in pill formation and array formation.
Pill formation and array formation were the most critical disciplines, especially array formation. The Lingyun Sect still lacked a proper Sect-Protecting Grand Formation.
For now, the sect faced no external enemies. But if thieves ever coveted the sect's resources in the future, the absence of a Grand Formation would be a fatal weakness.
As Li Qing pondered these matters, a sudden surge of intense spiritual energy erupted from the base of his spirit peak.
Startled, Li Qing quickly recalled something and focused his divine sense downward.
"Heh, after dragging it out for so long, the girl is finally attempting foundation establishment."
Indeed, the commotion was caused by Li Yuhuan's attempt to break through to the foundation establishment realm.
In the three years since she joined the sect, Li Qing had provided her with numerous medicinal pills, allowing her to finally reach the tenth layer of the qi refining realm.
To ensure a successful breakthrough, she had deliberately delayed consuming the foundation establishment pill she had won in the inner sect competition. Only today did she finally begin her attempt.
For someone with a thunder spirit root, this cultivation speed was hardly impressive. Several disciples who had entered the inner sect with Li Yuhuan had already successfully established their foundations ahead of her.
"Her aura is solid, and her foundation is exceptionally deep. Her foundation establishment this time should be a certainty."
Li Qing immediately assessed his disciple's true strength. With the aid of a foundation establishment pill, her breakthrough should proceed smoothly.
As expected, after about half a day, the spiritual energy in the world suddenly converged, forming a vortex that poured entirely into Li Yuhuan's body.
Immediately afterward, a condensed aura swept outward—the unmistakable presence of a foundation establishment cultivator.
"Hahaha! I did it! Master, I've successfully established my foundation!"
Li Yuhuan burst out of her cave abode in ecstatic joy, soaring directly to the summit of the spirit peak.
Knowing his disciple would come to share her triumph, Li Qing naturally lifted the restriction guarding his cave abode, allowing Li Yuhuan to rush inside.
"Master! I've successfully established my foundation!"
Her face radiant with joy, Li Yuhuan ran to Li Qing, her expression pleading for praise.
"Not bad," Li Qing replied calmly. "But the path of cultivation is long and arduous. Foundation establishment is merely the beginning."
"You've achieved only a small success, yet you're already so complacent. Such an attitude is unacceptable!" Li Qing scolded sternly, though inwardly he felt immense satisfaction with his disciple.
Upon hearing these words, Li Yuhuan's expression immediately sobered.
Seeing her reaction, Li Qing chuckled softly and shook his head. "Alright, alright. Don't be so easily offended by a few words."
"I have two Purple Yang Pills left over from before. Take them and remember to solidify your foundation. Don't rush for quick gains. The foundation establishment realm emphasizes gradual accumulation for explosive advancement. Only with a solid foundation will you have a strong chance of reaching core formation in the future."
"Furthermore, now that you've successfully established your foundation, remember to visit the Hall of Technique Transmission and select a Thunder Method Divine Art to cultivate."
Li Yuhuan finally cracked a smile, accepting the pills from Li Qing. "Understood, Master!" she chirped.
With that, she hurried out of Li Qing's cave abode, eager to fly toward the Hall of Technique Transmission at Lingyun Sect.
After watching Li Yuhuan depart, Li Qing slowly rose from his cushion.
Within his cave abode, Li Qing had a secret chamber.
At the center of the chamber lay a small medicinal field shaped like a pond. However, no spirit herbs grew there; only a blood-red lotus seed was rooted in the soil.
"Three years have passed, yet it hasn't sprouted. It seems this Blood Lotus Seed truly requires essence blood as nourishment to grow!" Li Qing's eyes flickered with resolve as he made a decision.
Along the chamber walls hung three golden cocoons, their silk radiating a golden luminescence, clearly extraordinary.
"These little fellows have certainly benefited greatly. After consuming so much spirit gold from the sect, they've finally begun their metamorphosis into cocoons." Li Qing gazed approvingly at the cocoons woven by the Golden Silk Silkworms. Once they emerged, the three little golden silkworms should be comparable to second-tier demonic beasts.
However, the path to transforming into Six-Winged Golden Moths remained long and arduous.
Fortunately, the Lingyun Sect was now vast and prosperous, making it relatively easy to acquire rare spirit gold.
With the resources of an entire sect to support them, the three little golden silkworms still had a considerable chance of undergoing metamorphosis into truly powerful demonic insects—the Six-Winged Golden Moths!
In another corner of the secret chamber, a withered vine, faintly radiating a trace of vitality, hung quietly against the wall.
This treasure had been obtained by Li Qing from the Ghost Sword Sect's treasure vault. After being nourished with Li Qing's seven-colored life essence, the vine had regained a sliver of vitality, yet showed no signs of further growth.
He couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.
Having confirmed the conditions within the secret chamber, Li Qing wasted no time and flew straight out of the cave abode.
Lingyun Sect, Alchemy Hall.
"Greetings, Ancestor Limitless!"
"Greetings, Martial Uncle Limitless!"
In the Alchemy Hall, permeated with the rich aroma of medicinal pills, both elders and disciples paused their work to bow respectfully toward Li Qing.
"Hehe, no need for such formalities. Carry on with your duties," Li Qing said with a smile, his gaze sweeping across the room.
The Alchemy Hall now featured many new faces, most of whom were disciples who had joined during the recent ascension conference.
Jiang Han, who had repeatedly defeated Li Yuhuan in the past, had also successfully achieved foundation establishment and was now an alchemy elder in the alchemy hall.
Li Qing had a fairly deep impression of this man.
Jiang Han possessed not only exceptional combat prowess but also remarkable skill in pill refinement, likely due to some early-life opportunity.
Li Qing had no desire to investigate further; it was perfectly normal for cultivators to keep their secrets.
"Jiang Han!"
"Present, Martial Uncle Limitless. What urgent matter brings you to the alchemy hall today?" Jiang Han respectfully clasped his hands in a bow.
"Heh, nothing too urgent. Just help me check if the alchemy hall currently has these spirit herbs. I have other uses for them."
Li Qing then listed a series of spirit herb names, subtly including the primary and auxiliary ingredients required for refining the Spirit Nourishing Pill.
This wasn't due to distrust of the alchemy hall elders, but rather the gravity of the matter.
After all, a pill formula capable of rapidly enhancing a core formation realm cultivator's mana would be invaluable even in the Great Wilderness Domain—a cornerstone of any cultivation sect's foundation.
Publicly revealing that the Lingyun Sect possessed such a pill formula would only invite disaster upon the sect. Therefore, it was best to keep it hidden.
"Let me see..."
"Hmm, we have Purple Blood Ginseng and Spirit-Corroding Fruit. Clear Heart Grass and Azure Moon Root were harvested from a small secret realm last year."
"It's the five-hundred-year-old Heaven Origin Flower that's the problem. This spirit herb is exceedingly rare. Not only is it scarce in our Lingyun Sect's alchemy hall, but it's likely difficult to find anywhere in the entire Azure Ridge Domain."
"Legend has it that Heaven Origin Flowers, like Essence Fusion Fruits, only grow in unique secret realms with specific environmental conditions!"
Jiang Han replied with slight nervousness.
Hearing this, Li Qing wasn't overly disappointed.
Refining the Spirit Nourishing Pill was never going to be easy. He had even prepared for the possibility that the sect might lack most of the required spirit herbs.
Given the current situation, needing only to find a Heaven Origin Flower of sufficient age was actually quite promising.
Li Qing nodded. "I see. Then the alchemy hall's next task is to gather these spirit herbs. If you hear any news about the Heaven Origin Flower, notify me immediately!"
"As you command, Martial Uncle Limitless!" Jiang Han said, clasping his hands in a respectful bow. He wisely refrained from asking why Li Qing needed these spirit herbs.
After giving these instructions, Li Qing left the alchemy hall in a relatively good mood.
"Now all I need are third-tier demon beast inner cores and the Heaven Origin Flower to gather all the spirit herbs for the Spirit Nourishing Pill!"
"Although I still don't know where to find a pill refiner, at least this is decent progress."
Li Qing now planned to venture out to sea to hunt third-tier sea beasts.
First, to collect their inner cores for refining the Spirit Nourishing Pill.
Second, to gather their essence blood for cultivating the strange Blood Lotus Seed in his cave abode.
Though he didn't yet know the Blood Lotus Seed's purpose after cultivation, Li Qing had a strong feeling it would prove invaluable.
Collecting essence blood while hunting demon beasts wouldn't be much trouble.
"That Blood Lotus Seed was the foundation of the Blood Lotus Sect. Yue Qiusheng even grew significantly stronger by relying on the blood lotus."
"After bringing the Blood Lotus Seed back to the Spirit-Infused World, it underwent a metamorphosis, absorbing massive amounts of spiritual energy and evolving far beyond its original quality!"
"If I enhance it once more with the seven-colored life essence condensed through the Transformation Demon Art, its quality might improve even further."
"By the time I cultivate it then, this blood lotus will likely be extraordinary."
Li Qing narrowed his eyes, a surge of anticipation rising within him.
With this anticipation fueling his resolve, Li Qing swiftly flew eastward from the Lingyun Sect toward the Boundless Sea.
Whump!
The sea churned with towering waves, each cresting over ten meters high, crashing relentlessly against the rocky shore.
The relentless sea winds roared across the sky, never ceasing their gale-force assault.
Any mortal foolish enough to venture out to sea in such conditions would be swept away, boat and all, by the tempestuous winds.
Moreover, the deep, dark depths of the Boundless Sea teemed with countless dangerous and ferocious sea beasts.
Thus, only cultivators dared to traverse these waters; mortals had no hope of survival here.
A solitary, upright figure soared through the sky, utterly disregarding the raging winds and towering waves as he plunged deep into the heart of the Boundless Sea.
This was Li Qing, venturing out to hunt sea beasts!
"Intriguing," Li Qing murmured, observing the surrounding endless expanse of sea. "The spiritual energy grows increasingly thin above the surface, yet it's overwhelmingly abundant beneath the waves."
"No wonder the Boundless Sea is considered one of the Azure Ridge Domain's greatest forbidden lands. Attempting to cross it solely by sustaining flight with mana would quickly drain one's reserves!"
Just then, a series of bubbles suddenly erupted from the sea surface nearby.
"Hmm?"
(End of the Chapter)
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