ATPnovel Chapter 100 The Difficult Path to Immortality
Chapter 100 The Difficult Path to Immortality
Moreover, in order to obtain that sliver of opportunity to establish one's foundation, one must also spend a great deal of time and energy cultivating body-refining methods such as the "Nine Revolutions of the Sun and Moon Forging Tribulation Scripture" and tempering one's divine consciousness with the "Great Evolution Myriad Souls Technique".
For an ordinary cultivator with a low-grade spiritual root, there simply wouldn't be enough time to manage the schedule, leaving them only to struggle desperately before their lifespan runs out.
The cruel theories of the cultivation world surfaced in his mind.
Ninety-nine percent of those with low-grade spiritual root aptitude reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
Although his spiritual root sensitivity is close to the middle grade, according to common sense, his ultimate goal is probably to reach the Qi Refining Perfection stage, with no hope of Foundation Establishment.
Even if one is fortunate enough to achieve Foundation Establishment by sheer luck, they will be trapped in the early stages of Foundation Establishment for life due to their advanced age and depleted potential. The ethereal Golden Core Path will remain nothing more than a mirage.
In the vast and fiercely competitive world of cultivation, only cultivators with mid-grade spiritual roots or higher are qualified to stumble forward on the path of immortality and glimpse more distant scenery, unless they have a great opportunity to defy fate.
"The Heavenly Way is fifty, the Heavenly Evolution is forty-nine, and one is removed, which is the variable."
Yang Changsheng silently recited the ancient Taoist verses, his eyes growing increasingly resolute.
"Everything has a glimmer of hope, and the chance to defy fate is not nonexistent. It's just that this 'one' is incredibly rare, and can only be obtained by those with great perseverance, wisdom, and opportunity."
He was determined to fight for this sliver of hope!
The mark of the golden ancient tree is his greatest asset!
Slowly finish the exercise and calm your breathing.
Yang Changsheng stood up and walked steadily out of the training room. He did not go to the courtyard immediately, but instead turned to the puppet workshop next door.
After six years of dedicated practice, this place became another place where he poured his heart and soul into his work.
Inside the workshop, seven Fire Archer puppets stood in neat rows, their golden and red bodies gleaming with a cold, hard luster in the light streaming through the windows.
These are the results of the past six months.
On the workbench next to it, the main frame of a Fiery Archer puppet has been completed, awaiting the subsequent engraving of runes and installation of the core.
With a flick of his sleeve, Yang Changsheng stored the seven completed Fiery Archer puppets into his storage bag.
Stepping into the courtyard, sunlight streams in, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere.
After seven years of management, he has brought this small courtyard of green bamboo to life.
The clear pond, about three acres in size, shimmered with light. Five hundred blue carp, their bodies glowing with a faint blue light and their scales resembling cloud patterns, swam leisurely in it, lively, agile, and full of spirit.
They are nearly a foot tall, and the spiritual light flowing beneath their scales is becoming increasingly intense. They are only half a month away from being fully mature enough to be harvested and exchanged for spirit stones.
This is one of Yang Changsheng's stable sources of income.
The two acres of spiritual fields next to it have soil that is warm and jade-colored, exuding a fresh scent of soil mixed with spiritual plants.
The first batch of blood-clotting flowers planted were harvested several years ago, either sold or kept for other uses.
The newly planted seedlings of the Blood Clotting Flower are now thriving thanks to Yang Changsheng's imprint of the ancient golden tree, the rudimentary methods of nourishing life he learned from the "Qingdi Longevity Scripture," and his meticulous care.
Its leaves are thick, with faint blood vessels running through the veins, foreshadowing a good harvest in the future.
The accumulation of wealth over the years has yielded remarkable results.
Because breaking through the major bottleneck of the seventh level of Qi Refining requires a long time to hone one's magical power and solidify one's foundation, the resource consumption of the "Mysterious Origin Technique" has actually been reduced to a minimum.
Besides maintaining the Spirit Gathering Array and the Puppet Workshop, the main expenses are the pills and spiritual items needed for spiritual cultivation techniques.
Therefore, the number of spirit stones he had accumulated had reached an unprecedented level.
Four thousand five hundred low-grade spirit stones!
This number stirred a ripple in Yang Changsheng's heart.
Four thousand five hundred spirit stones!
This even slightly exceeds the starting bid for the Foundation Building Pill.
There was a time when I was a fisherman and farmer at Biyue Lake, I was barely making ends meet even with a few spirit stones. I could only accumulate a few hundred spirit stones by killing bandits and selling my spoils.
Now, they have actually reached the threshold of the divine pill that countless Qi Refining cultivators dream of.
However, the excitement was fleeting, and reality quickly brought him back to his senses.
"It's only slightly above the starting bid," Yang Changsheng said, shaking his head self-deprecatingly.
Two years ago, to celebrate the Lu family's complete control of the area and their awe of all sides, Qianxuefang held a large-scale auction spearheaded by the Lu family.
Although he did not attend such occasions in person, he learned a lot of information through discussions in the markets, teahouses, and taverns.
An ordinary Foundation Establishment Pill can often be sold for six or seven thousand spirit stones, or even more.
A high-quality Foundation Building Pill with multiple red patterns is even more expensive!
His meager savings wouldn't even qualify him to play a supporting role in the real battle for the Foundation Establishment Pill; they were far from sufficient.
"The road ahead is still long."
Yang Changsheng calmed his mind, glanced across the courtyard, and casually waved his hand. A gentle surge of magical power flowed out, rolling up several spiritual letters placed on the stone table in the courtyard into his hand.
There were eight letters in total.
The three letters came from Ye Qingxian, her delicate handwriting carrying the unique liveliness of a young girl.
A letter came from the direction of Biyue Lake, signed by Wang Ergou. The handwriting still had a bit of an rustic feel, but it was much neater.
The other four letters came from Liuyun Immortal City, signed by Su Wanqing, with gentle and calm handwriting.
Five years ago, Yang Changsheng spent a sum of spirit stones at the newly established cross-domain post station "Feihong Pavilion" in Qianxuefang City, and finally re-established a stable communication channel with Su Wanqing, who was far away in Liuyun Immortal City.
During a market transaction, he happened to meet Li Qingshan, who was representing the Lu family's foreign affairs office to purchase supplies.
Although the former mutual aid guild for immortals has disbanded, old friends reunited, and after a few cups of spiritual wine, they resumed simple communication.
After settling down at Bishui Lake, Wang Ergou would occasionally send letters through the post station to let them know he was safe.
Yang Changsheng first opened Ye Qingxian's three letters.
The girl's letters, as always, were like her personality—lively and full of energy.
The content is all-encompassing.
She excitedly told herself that she had finally broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refining last year, just one step away from the later stage.
He went on and on about the "disaster" in his alchemy room, how many times his furnace exploded, how many precious first-grade materials he wasted, and how many times he was reprimanded by letters.
They complained about which spiritual materials in Qianxue Market had gone up in price, which pills were hard to sell, and gossiped about which young member of the Lu family had made a fool of himself.
She also inquired about Yang Changsheng's puppet creations, whether the Azure Cloud Carp in the courtyard should be sold, and earnestly invited him to visit the newly opened "Baiweizhai" to try their new spirit cakes when he had time...
"They're really lively."
As Yang Changsheng thought about the time he spent with the girl, a smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.
Ye Qingxian's spiritual root aptitude is of superior quality, and with the relatively abundant resources provided by Su Wanqing, her cultivation speed is indeed incredibly fast.
He had already reached the sixth level of Qi Refining in his early twenties, a talent that would make countless rogue cultivators envious.
However, her alchemy skills were still far inferior to those of Su Wanqing, who was already a first-grade low-level alchemist at the same age in Biyue Lake.
The letter mentioned that she has only been able to consistently refine mid-grade first-level pills so far, and the success rate and quality are still not high.