Translator: Cinder Translations
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After purchasing the necessary items in the market, Song Wen walked into the small alley where his own courtyard was located and saw Ai Kun standing outside his courtyard door.
Hurrying over, Song Wen quickly reached Ai Kun and asked, "Senior Ai, are you waiting for me?"
In the past two years, Ai Kun had been indulging without restraint, which had left him increasingly frail. He no longer had the vitality expected of a cultivator and looked more like a common elderly person, worn out and sagging, with a stooped posture.
Song Wen opened the courtyard door and led Ai Kun into the courtyard, where they sat down.
Ai Kun said, "I'm leaving the market. I came to say goodbye."
Song Wen was surprised and asked, "Why the sudden decision to leave the market?"
Ai Kun sighed, expressing regret.
"My health has deteriorated even further these past two years. I find drawing talismans increasingly difficult, and I'm no longer suited to stay in the market. It's time for me to find a place to retire."
"It's also my own fault. I couldn't resist the temptation of the concubines of the Hehuan Sect, which severely depleted my energy."
"You are still young and have a chance to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Don't follow my path, getting lost in desires and wasting your time."
"Looking back, I was once full of ambition and held a place among the scattered cultivator talismans in the market."
"I don't know when it started, but I fell into indulgence and couldn't extricate myself. My cultivation stagnated."
"Reflecting on the past, it really is lamentable."
Watching Ai Kun's deep emotions, Song Wen did not interrupt and quietly listened. This was the only thing he could do for the old man at the moment.
However, he couldn't help but think:
When strong and powerful, it was the Hehuan Sect's fairy.
When weak and frail, it became the Hehuan Sect's seductress.
People are indeed very changeable.
After Ai Kun finished his reflections, Song Wen finally spoke.
"Senior Ai, where do you plan to retire?"
Ai Kun said, "When I was young, I had a close friend from the Su family of Qingping Mountain. He had invited me several times to join the Su family as a talisman maker. But considering that the Su family's ancestor is a Golden Core expert, as a mid-stage Qi Cultivation talisman maker, I would not be valued in the Su family, so I declined."
"Recently, he invited me again to go to the Su family to teach their younger generation how to draw talismans. Given my current situation, it would be fortunate to retire in the Su family, so I agreed to my friend's invitation."
Song Wen said, "Then congratulations, Senior Ai."
Ai Kun waved his hand, "You don't need to call me Senior Ai anymore. Your cultivation is no lower than mine; you're about to break through to the seventh level of Qi Cultivation, right?"
Song Wen shook his head, "It's not that easy to break through to the late stage of Qi Cultivation."
"I remember you are cultivating the 'Longevity Technique,' right?" Ai Kun suddenly asked.
Song Wen nodded. He had previously inquired with Ai Kun about the cultivation techniques sold in the market and knew that the market had the Foundation Establishment technique for the "Longevity Technique," which he learned from Ai Kun.
After learning that there was a Foundation Establishment technique for the "Longevity Technique" available, Song Wen had immediately disguised himself and purchased a copy.
"The 'Longevity Technique' has longevity benefits. It seems you will live longer than this old man."
Song Wen did not want to discuss techniques and cultivation levels further. He shifted the topic.
"When is Senior Ai leaving the market? I'll see you off."
"No need. As cultivators, we shouldn't be bound by mundane customs."
Ai Kun stood up and left the small courtyard.
Two days later, Ai Kun, all alone, left East Huafang Market where he had struggled for decades.
...
Song Wen continued to immerse himself in rigorous cultivation. When he wasn't refining pills, he was concocting elixirs. In just these past two years, he had spent over 80,000 spirit stones like flowing water.
Feeding his two Sacred Gu alone consumed a hundred spirit stones daily. This was with him refining the pills himself. If he had to buy the pills for cultivation, the cost would at least double or triple.
Three more months passed in a flash, and Song Wen's "Longevity Technique" had reached the peak of Qi Refining, signaling that it was time for Foundation Establishment.
Song Wen dismantled the "Spirit Concealment Formation" and the "Nine Palaces Yin Array" in the underground secret room of the neighboring courtyard. He then left the market and traveled several thousand miles south, finding a remote valley devoid of spiritual energy. There, he dug a cave and began his seclusion.
Seven days later, having adjusted his mind, energy, and spirit to their peak state, Song Wen held the Foundation Establishment Pill in one hand and the Heavenly Spirit Fruit in the other. After a moment's hesitation, he put away the Foundation Establishment Pill and consumed the Heavenly Spirit Fruit.
Having used the Heavenly Spirit Fruit for Foundation Establishment once before, Song Wen decided to use it again, relying on his previous experience.
A little over a month later, Song Wen emerged from his temporary cave dwelling.
This Foundation Establishment process had gone so smoothly that Song Wen found it hard to believe. With just one Heavenly Spirit Fruit, he successfully established his foundation.
Song Wen did not immediately leave the valley. After stretching and moving around a bit, he returned to the temporary cave.
Before leaving the market, he had prepared a substantial amount of elixirs and spirit herbs for pill refining. He had sufficient Blood Qi Pills for his cultivation and Beast Refining Pills for his Sacred Gu. He planned to cultivate in this valley for a while, only returning to the market when he ran out of elixirs and spirit herbs.
He stayed in the valley for three months, primarily cultivating various thunder techniques.
He mastered the Polar God Thunder and Great Cave God Thunder from the Nine Great Heavenly Thunders.
Lei Tianyu's short spear had also been refined by him. This short spear was unique in that it could channel thunder techniques, giving it the sharpness of a spiritual weapon along with the power of thunder. It seemed to be a spiritual weapon custom-made by the Lei family for him.
In addition to the thunder techniques, Song Wen practiced Thunder Escape and Thunder Spear spells.
Thunder Escape allowed the user to integrate thunder into their body, moving as quickly as lightning, useful both for short-range maneuvering in combat and long-distance travel. However, it consumed a significant amount of spiritual power, making it unsuitable for prolonged use and best reserved for critical situations.
The Thunder Spear spell summoned five long thunder spears to be thrown at the opponent.
During these three months, Song Wen realized that the Blood Qi Pills were no longer as effective in advancing his cultivation as they had been during the Qi Refining stage.
For his recent pill refining attempts, he had used five-hundred-year-old Red Blood Vine, the highest-grade ingredient available in the market, but the resulting pills still failed to meet his expectations in enhancing his cultivation.
Song Wen speculated that this was because Blood Qi Pills were first-grade pills, made from first-grade spiritual herbs. No matter how much they were improved, they could not significantly boost the cultivation of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"It seems I need to develop a second-grade pill similar to the Blood Qi Pill," Song Wen thought to himself as he took out Rong Jingyun's alchemy notes for a closer look.
In the jade slip of notes, Song Wen found a second-grade pill called the 'Explosive Blood Pill.' This pill was used to unleash potential, temporarily granting the user great strength. Consuming one pill could significantly enhance the cultivation of a Foundation Establishment cultivator for a short period.
However, the pill had notable side effects, inducing a period of weakness after consumption and depleting vital energy. Repeated use could even harm the cultivation base.
While the Explosive Blood Pill differed from the Blood Qi Pill, which permanently enhanced cultivation, both consumed significant vital energy and posed long-term risks to the user's foundation.
After brief contemplation, Song Wen decided to obtain an Explosive Blood Pill to test its effects.
Author's Note:
PS: Explanation of the second Foundation Establishment of the "Longevity Technique."
Many readers have been asking about this, so here's a detailed explanation.
As mentioned in a previous chapter (Chapter 144), the power of the demonic techniques and the "Longevity Technique" in the dantian are independent of each other, coexisting like the yin and yang of a Taiji diagram without interfering with each other.
In this story's setting, Foundation Establishment involves condensing spiritual energy into liquid. A second Foundation Establishment is essentially the process of transforming the spiritual energy of the "Longevity Technique" into liquid form within the dantian.
(End of the Chapter)
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