12dz Chapter 35 Jiao Dan
Chapter 35 Jiao Dan
Three days later.
The vortex of spiritual energy above the cave dissipated, replaced by a faint, colorful glow that was extremely beautiful and became a striking sight in the market town at the northern end of Yellow Maple Valley.
Lin Changqing, inside the secret chamber, exuded an invisible spiritual pressure that could make even novice Qi Refining cultivators tremble and lose their ability to move.
The fluctuations in magical power also possessed a vibrant vitality, like spring breezes bringing life back to life, as if they could last forever.
"It's done, the foundation building is successful."
"I, a rogue cultivator, have successfully established my foundation! Hahaha!!!"
"Oh right, let's check my lifespan." Lin Changqing was overjoyed, but he didn't forget to check his own lifespan.
Lifespan: 473 --> 472
"I must be twenty-five years old now. To have made such rapid progress, the secret method of the annual rings deserves the most credit," Lin Changqing said with emotion.
Lifespan: 472 --> 592
"Breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage has given me an extra two cycles of lifespan. The lifespan I had previously consumed has been recovered, and my aptitude has even improved. It's a worthwhile investment!"
"However, since my cultivation is not yet stable, I won't go out yet. Besides, I don't have any close friends, so I won't find anyone to share this joy with. I should focus on stabilizing my cultivation level first!"
......
The people in Huangfeng Valley Market, looking at the colorful clouds in the distance, knew that this good show was over.
"Did you really succeed in establishing your foundation?"
"Nonsense! Hand over the spirit stones!"
"I... how is this possible?! Ugh!!!"
The cultivators in the market at the northern end of Huangfeng Valley were filled with envy, jealousy, and displeasure. How could a rogue cultivator be so lucky to succeed? They who possessed Foundation Establishment Pills had all failed. Why was he able to succeed?
Unfortunately, the cultivation of immortality is just that unreasonable; success requires a bit of luck. Without luck, even if you have another chance, it's hard to succeed.
Looking at Xia Yun, Li Zhijing jumped up excitedly and rushed to the spirit stone stall, basking in the envy and jealousy of the crowd. At the same time, he was thinking, "Brother Lin has now reached Foundation Establishment, I can't fall behind, otherwise what will I do when someone else takes over the work!"
With her worries in mind, Li Zhijing took her spirit stones and hurriedly returned to her stall to resume reading, completely forgetting about cultivation.
......
A month later, Lin Changqing's cultivation level was consolidated.
Inside the cave.
Lin Changqing did not choose to leave seclusion, but instead began to study the dragon beast core he had previously acquired.
He didn't know if these dragon cores could be repaired, but demon cores were rare in Yue Kingdom. If these dragon cores could be restored, they would be very beneficial, whether for alchemy, feeding to spirit pets, or bartering.
So he wanted to try and see if he could restore the spirits of these dragon beasts and their cores.
Without much thought, Lin Changqing tried channeling his magic power into the three dragon pills to see if there was any sign of repair.
Lin Changqing's magic power surrounded the three dragon cores and slowly poured into them, but in the end, only two dragon cores showed signs of repair. One was greenish-blue and the other was fiery red. Both were dragon cores of the Foundation Establishment stage, but one was a level two dragon core and the other was a level three dragon core.
The one with a bluish-green color is a level two dragon core, which was also the first one that Lin Changqing repaired.
Seeing that the repair process had stalled, Lin Changqing began to use the secret technique of restoring spiritual energy, mobilizing the life force within his body and transforming it into pure essence to repair the dragon core.
A vibrant green magical energy, brimming with immense vitality, began to surround the Azure Dragon Core, and it wasn't until after an incense stick had burned that the core was completely repaired.
Lifespan: 592 --> 582
Sensing the depletion of his lifespan, Lin Changqing calmly said, "It seems that repairing a level-two dragon core is about the same as repairing a foundation-building core, consuming the same amount of lifespan. I suppose a level-three dragon core shouldn't consume too much either."
Meanwhile, a little over an incense stick's time passed, and another level-three dragon pill was successfully repaired.
Lifespan: 582 --> 568
As he expected, his lifespan was not consumed too much; he only used fourteen years of his lifespan, which was slightly more than that of a Foundation Establishment Pill. However, in the Yue Kingdom, this Flood Dragon Pill was far more valuable than a Foundation Establishment Pill, since all the cultivators who needed it were Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Holding two powerful dragon cores in his hands, he examined the patterns on them closely, which aroused his curiosity. These were the inner cores that only level five demon beasts could form, yet this dragon beast was able to form dragon cores at the Foundation Establishment stage. It was truly amazing, suggesting that there were indeed different talents among demon beasts.
It's unknown how talented the horned serpent is. After being nurtured by his magic power, the horned serpent's talent, or rather its bloodline, has been enhanced. It has grown another horn from its original single horn, which is a clear sign of mutation.
Generally speaking, level one demonic beasts only possess powerful demonic bodies, while some special demonic beasts possess innate magical techniques.
Under his guidance, the Horned Serpent, though only a level one demon beast, is now able to sense "wood" attribute magic.
I believe the Horned Serpent won't be too bad off, since we still have two Flood Dragon Pills. Although the Fire Flood Dragon Pill isn't suitable for it and needs to be refined, the other Level 2 Wood Flood Dragon Pill can be consumed directly to accelerate its growth.
As for why he was able to repair two of the three dragon cores, it was because those two dragon cores were of the wood and fire attributes, respectively. His cultivation technique was originally of the wood attribute, so it was normal for him to repair some spiritual objects of the wood attribute.
Wood can also generate fire, which provides some basis for repairing fire-attribute dragon cores. As for the dragon core that could not be repaired, it does not fall into either of these two attributes.
"Alright, I've been in seclusion for so long, I suppose someone must have been looking for me by now." The first person Lin Changqing thought of was Li Zhijing. He figured that Li Zhijing must have discovered something during the past month, and he also had something to ask him.
The first thing he did upon emerging from seclusion was to fly over from afar before Lin Changqing even left. He didn't even bother to look at the stalls. As for how Li Zhijing knew he was emerging from seclusion at this time, he didn't ask.
"Congratulations, Brother Lin, on achieving Foundation Establishment! May your immortal path be everlasting!!!"
Li Zhijing's eyes shone brightly, her gaze was piercing, and her eyebrows were raised, clearly indicating that she had been having a comfortable time during this period.
"Zhijing, I just got lucky. Who knew I'd be so lucky and succeed on my first try?" Lin Changqing said modestly, as was his habit.
At this time, Lin Changqing had been in the world of cultivation for many years and was no longer the young man who had just entered the world of cultivation. He looked much more mature and had more majesty in Li Zhijing's eyes, and even a feeling of a dragon appearing in the field.
In addition, upon seeing Lin Changqing's cave entrance open, a young woman named Li Yin, dressed in Huangfeng Valley attire, also rushed over and handed over a jade slip.
"Congratulations, Senior Lin, on achieving Foundation Establishment! May your immortal path be everlasting!"
"This jade slip was left by the sect leader of Huangfeng Valley. I have come here to complete a mission for my sect."
Lin Changqing was also somewhat surprised, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face. He didn't seem to have provoked Huangfeng Valley. He had always been well-behaved in the market.
After Lin Changqing received the jade slip, Li Yin, having completed her mission, flew away without any explanation.
With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Lin Changqing slightly moved his fingers, unlocked the small restriction on the jade slip, and opened it, his expression momentarily stunned.
Upon closer reading, he roughly understood the Yellow Maple Valley sect leader's intentions.
Huangfeng Valley will recruit cultivators who have successfully established their foundation in the market, even those who are independent cultivators. Of course, they will not become true disciples of Huangfeng Valley, but will join Huangfeng Valley in another capacity.
This status is similar to that of a guest elder, but even lower; it is called a guest steward.
Guest elders and stewards are allowed to establish their own cave dwellings within the spiritual veins of Huangfeng Valley. Their status is not much lower than that of the true disciples of Huangfeng Valley, since everyone's strength is at the Foundation Establishment stage, making them cultivators of the same realm.
However, their salary is naturally much lower than that of the true disciples of Huangfeng Valley, and is even pitifully small, with hardly any spirit stones. Moreover, newly recruited guest elders and stewards only receive their salary once every three years. Unless they make a great contribution and their treatment is increased, they cannot enjoy other benefits.
However, compared to the disciples of Huangfeng Valley, the status of guest stewards is more flexible. They only need to fulfill the obligation of being recruited by Huangfeng Valley, and of course, this obligation is paid.
Such conditions are very tempting for most wandering cultivators who have been drifting for a long time.
For most independent cultivators, being able to become a guest elder or peripheral member of Yellow Maple Valley, even if they cannot join a major sect, and have their own exclusive mountain peak and cave dwelling, is such a wonderful thing!
Seeing such an invitation, Lin Changqing naturally had no reason to refuse. After all, in the world of cultivation, if one wanted to enjoy high-level spiritual veins, one had to align oneself with a major sect. If one was not a disciple of a sect, then the only path was to become a guest elder of the sect.
After all, it's better to cultivate near the high-level spiritual veins of Yellow Maple Valley than to cultivate in the wilderness, as this will allow you to cultivate faster.
In the Tiannan region, these powerful forces have occupied all the good spiritual veins, so there are naturally no good spiritual veins or springs in the desolate wilderness.
Of course, things like spiritual veins aren't absolute. New spiritual veins will always be born and discovered by cultivators. However, there are so many cultivators in the Yue Kingdom's cultivation world. If you find a good spiritual vein but don't have the strength to protect it, you'll eventually be devoured by a powerful force.
Therefore, Lin Changqing decided to accept the recruitment. In any case, there hadn't been any large-scale battles in the Tiannan region for a long time, so it wasn't a bad idea for him to go in and enjoy the benefits.
As long as he wasn't conscripted, he could continue doing what he was doing as a rogue cultivator. In Huangfeng Valley, no one would try to seize his cave dwelling, since the higher-ups of Huangfeng Valley wouldn't do something so foolish as to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Of course, Lin Changqing had no better choice, and there was no difference between being a steward and being a rogue cultivator.
Before he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he had considered whether joining was feasible, and found that it was still acceptable. If he was forcibly recruited, he could run away, which would be no different from being a rogue cultivator. However, everything in his cave would be forcibly taken back, and he would be wanted by Huangfeng Valley and even the other six sects. In the end, he would have no choice but to leave the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom.
Lin Changqing, who had already established himself in the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom, naturally did not want to leave. After all, he was not familiar with other places, and his strength was still too weak to escape the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom. Without a powerful flying magic weapon, with his Core Formation stage cultivation, he might be intercepted before he could escape.
"Brother Lin, what does the letter say?" Li Zhijing asked curiously, noticing the constant changes in Lin Changqing's expression, her words carrying more respect than usual.
"I'm probably going to become a guest steward of Yellow Maple Valley." Lin Changqing smiled slightly. He had been looking forward to this spiritual land for a long time.
Admittedly, this identity didn't bring him much benefit, and it was no different from his usual identity, but he was still somewhat excited to have his own spiritual mountain and cave dwelling.
Even though these spiritual lands still belong to Huangfeng Valley and are not entirely his, Huangfeng Valley will not forcibly reclaim them as long as he does not refuse the summons.
Moreover, having their own sacred land means they will no longer need to rent cave dwellings or wander around aimlessly.
Recalling his early days in the cultivation world, he had spent some time in Qingzhu Market. However, since it was the market of the Chen family and the cave dwellings were managed by the Chen family of Huangfeng Valley, and he did not want to repeat what had happened before, he left Qingzhu Market.
With a sense of helplessness and humiliation, they arrived at Huangfeng Valley Market, which was larger than Qingzhu Market.
Huangfeng Valley Market is also a famous market in the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom. The competition here is more intense than that in Qingzhu Market, and there are also more underhanded dealings here.
Fortunately, before arriving at Huangfeng Valley Market, he had already achieved a minor level of mastery in weapon crafting, and his alchemy was also quite good. He didn't need to fight with others, as people would come to him to befriend him.
Therefore, relying on his exceptional skills in both alchemy and weapon crafting, he quickly established himself in the area. However, the hardships he endured were no less than those he faced in Qingzhu Market, except that Lin Changqing was often alone and had no one to confide in.
After Li Zhijing was summoned to Huangfeng Valley Market, she became his subordinate. In the end, he could not reveal his cowardice to him, but could only show his determination. Otherwise, Li Zhijing would not have followed him so firmly. Of course, this was his own thought. He did not know what Li Zhijing thought.
However, considering that Li Zhijing had followed him for many years, made many sacrifices, saved him a lot of time, and provided convenience for his cultivation, he was able to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage so quickly, and Li Zhijing also deserves some credit.
So Lin Changqing, seeing Li Zhijing's slightly changed expression, extended another invitation to him.
"Zhijing, would you like to leave with me?"