Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 407 The middle stage of golden elixir
Master Funiu was born in Funiu Mountain with a mid-grade spiritual root. His mother died young due to the impact of a battle, and his father was devoured by a grassland monster before he even began practicing Qi cultivation. At a young age, he took on the responsibility of caring for his younger sister.

Regardless of their natural talent or family background, they are all at the bottom of this world.

In the eyes of many, they are pitiful people who have no hope of attaining enlightenment in this lifetime and are lucky enough to even reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

As it turns out, his spiritual practice and even his life were exceptionally difficult.

Several times I almost got evicted because I couldn't pay the rent for the market.

Ultimately, thanks to his mastery of spiritual plant cultivation techniques using his wood-type spiritual root, he cultivated spiritual herbs of excellent quality, which caught the eye of a local beast-taming family, who offered him a job.

Only then could they truly establish themselves in this place and solve their livelihood problems.

However, his subsequent path of cultivation was fraught with obstacles.

When he saved up the spiritual resources he had painstakingly cultivated to buy a superior cultivation technique to rebuild his cultivation, everyone around him advised him not to be too ambitious, as the cultivation technique left by his father was already sufficient for foundation building.

However, he made a surprising statement: if one wants to glimpse the pinnacle of this place, one must lay a solid foundation, and the earlier one dissolves their skills and begins to cultivate again, the less impact it will have on their potential.

This made those around him frown inwardly, thinking that he was ambitious but unrealistic, and that he was indulging in wishful thinking. They all tried to persuade him to face reality, saying that setting his goal at Foundation Establishment was already an achievement, and that if he wanted to form the Core Formation, then he was just being unrealistic.

But he remained unmoved and persisted in his own way.

Later, not only did he lose his secure job because the cultivation of spiritual herbs was delayed due to the need to rebuild his cultivation, but the lack of teachers and fellow cultivators made his path to rebuilding extremely difficult.

Fortunately, after rebuilding and restoring his cultivation, his spiritual plant skills also improved due to the increase in his magical power, and he was able to earn an income again through his spiritual plant skills.

At this point, he was no longer cultivating spiritual herbs for his employer, but cultivating and selling them himself.

However, this process was full of twists and turns, with several setbacks and losses. During the most difficult time, his sister advised him to join the Beast Taming Family to earn spiritual resources steadily for a more secure future.

But he would always just smile and shake his head, never arguing with anyone, and simply go his own way.

After countless failures, I finally gained a foothold.

He finally reached the Foundation Establishment stage at the advanced age of sixty.

Now they will face the greatest challenge for cultivators here: Foundation Establishment!

With his superb skills as a spiritual plant master and decades of accumulated experience, he should have been able to afford a low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.

Unfortunately, in order to avoid the toxicity of low-grade pills affecting his future potential, he not only sponsored his sister to take high-grade pills, but also took high-grade pills himself, almost exhausting his spiritual resources. He had no extra spiritual resources to trade for Foundation Establishment Pills.

Fortunately, because he had practiced superior techniques, had a solid foundation in the Qi Refining stage, possessed pure and profound magical power, and had honed his skills for decades, he had a success rate of over 60% even without taking Foundation Establishment Pills.

He was also exceptionally courageous. When he reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, he did not hesitate to rent a training ground and attempted to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm without using Foundation Establishment Pills.

After successfully establishing his foundation, he was filled with pride and joy, and many friends came to congratulate him, finally becoming the first Foundation Establishment cultivator in his clan.

His sister also married a member of a nearby Foundation Establishment family.

His cultivation path became much smoother after that, and with his Foundation Establishment cultivator status and position, it was much easier for him to acquire spiritual resources.

This allowed his original small-scale herbal medicine workshop to be further expanded and upgraded.

Under normal circumstances, if they settle down here, marry, have children, and expand their family, a new family might rise to prominence here a hundred years from now.

They can even accumulate enough spiritual resources for their descendants, be strict with their family education, and be skilled in planning. Ten generations later, there is still hope that a True Person who has reached the Core Formation stage may emerge.

Unfortunately, his heart was not in this; he continued to gaze ahead without ever stopping.

In this way, although it would be easier for him to earn spiritual resources after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the cultivation during the Foundation Establishment stage would naturally consume more resources.

He still only took high-grade pills. Second-grade pills were already expensive, let alone high-grade ones.

Within a few years, Lingcaofang's business experienced several cash flow crises.

This even drew some opposition from her younger sister and her sister's marriage into the family.

However, thanks to his superior cultivation techniques and solid foundation, thirty years later, he actually reached another level and stepped into the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

This shocked her sister, who had married into the family, and she brought several clansmen who had previously gossiped to apologize that day.

Those who previously spoke in secret about Master Funiu being unrealistic and having lofty ambitions have now changed their tune, saying that he is ambitious, motivated, and a role model for the world.

His sister was once again proud of him.

However, what puzzled everyone again was that after advancing to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, Fu Niu Sanren was not satisfied, but instead became even more unruly.

In order to advance to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he actually sold off the Spirit Herb Shop.

This time, although no one gossiped, no one was optimistic about it.

After all, he had a mid-grade spiritual root and was at an advanced age to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, so being able to advance to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage was already a breakthrough in destiny.

In the late stage of Foundation Establishment, there is an almost insurmountable bottleneck for those with mid-grade spiritual roots.

And this time, just as everyone guessed, Fu Niu Sanren seemed to have exhausted his potential, and even after spending all his wealth, he still failed to break through the bottleneck.

In the end, Fu Niu Sanren left the market and embarked on an adventure.

With his mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation level, he can be considered a powerful figure in the market.

However, compared to the entire group of adventurers in the Funiu Mountain region, they were just a drop in the ocean and not particularly noticeable.

Countless people fall like him every day.

Those who get the opportunity are very few and far between.

For the next twenty years, there was almost no news of Fu Niu Sanren in the market.

Occasionally, rumors circulate that someone has been seen in a forbidden, secret realm, a place where death is almost certain.

That year, when his sister returned home to pay respects to their ancestors, she also erected a cenotaph for him.

The epitaph carved for him reads: "My brother was blessed by Heaven and brought glory to our ancestors, but he was ambitious and unrealistic. He did not follow the grace of Heaven, but instead wanted to go against Heaven. In the end, he was reduced to ashes. Future generations should take this as a warning..."

If Fu Niu Sanren hadn't encountered that blue ox in the grassland cave, perhaps this would have been a reflection of his life.

It was that green ox that not only helped Fu Niu Sanren escape to heaven, but also brought him an even greater opportunity.

Fifty years later, Fu Niu Sanren returned, having already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

He had originally returned because his mental state was unstable during the Core Formation stage, and he wanted to come back to settle his younger sister down before heading to Funiu Immortal City to try and break through to Core Formation.

As a result, standing before his own cenotaph, his mind gradually cleared, and he was no longer bound by any constraints.

They then left immediately.

Two years later, the Taoist name of the Fu Niu Zhenren resounded throughout the area.

It was not only because he successfully formed his core and advanced to the True Person realm, but also because he condensed an upper-level True Core in one fell swoop, making his magical power profound and boundless.

In addition, it was also because of the third-tier great demon, the Azure Ox, that always accompanied him.

……

This third-tier green ox fought alongside him several times afterward, and gained a foothold in Funiu Immortal City, which was then embroiled in conflicts between various forces.

Ultimately, they defeated their rivals, who were funded by various powerful forces, and successfully unified the Funiu Mountains.

Before coming to Huangtianyu, Li Ji'an was very interested in the experiences of the Venerable Funiu, and was also moved by his green ox.

Previously, I often told Guagua stories about this place.

However, the true strength of this blue ox remains a mystery.

What he saw with his own eyes at that moment truly shocked him.

It was obvious that this green ox was much stronger than Master Fu Niu.

Adding to the primal aura emanating from him, Li Ji'an believed that even with all his trump cards up his sleeve, he was not qualified to fight him.

He even suspected that the bull might have been able to transform into human form.

"Hmm?" As the Green Ox descended carrying Xiao Jiu, it unexpectedly glanced in the direction of Li Ji'an's dojo, its breath emitting a human-like sound. "Whoosh!" Li Ji'an's expression changed instantly, and he abruptly turned to glare at the remnant soul of the true dragon that had emerged from Ning Sujin's sea of ​​consciousness.

Fortunately, before he could even look at it, the latter had already quickly retreated back into Ning Sujin's sea of ​​consciousness.

Ning Sujin's expression instantly hardened, and her mind began to tremble slightly.

Li Ji'an held the Great Teleportation Talisman in his hand, ready to activate it at any moment.

This place is not only shrouded by the Daoist temple formation, but also by a third-order restriction formation he set up, which is specifically designed to counter the soul.

Similarly, Ning Sujin's primordial spirit power was also concealed.

The fact that the green ox could still sense the remnant soul of the true dragon meant that its spiritual sense was definitely no weaker than Ning Sujin's primordial spirit.

This posed a life-or-death threat to Li Ji'an!

However, the next moment, the blue ox stretched out its hoof and rubbed its eyes in a human-like manner, showing a rather puzzled look.

He then shook his head and ignored it.

This finally loosened the grip on the Great Teleportation Talisman in Li Ji'an's hand.

"Not a divine sense perception?"

"It shouldn't be. Even if its spiritual sense is stronger than mine, when it deciphers this place, there must be fluctuations in its spiritual energy. But I didn't sense anything, unless... its spiritual sense is more than twice that of mine!" Ning Sujin said confidently after calming down.

Li Ji'an frowned, his heart uneasy.

According to Ning Sujin, if it wasn't divine sense that broke through, there wasn't too much to worry about.

But if it is true that divine sense has broken through all the defenses of his dojo, then that would be too terrifying.

A divine sense twice that of Ning Sujin's primordial spirit... at least comparable to a Nascent Soul Heavenly Lord!
"Phew~" The next moment, Li Ji'an suddenly relaxed.

If it were truly a Nascent Soul Celestial Lord in person, there would be no need to wait until now; the other party would probably have discovered him the moment he entered the Funiu Mountain area.

Even if he used all his methods, he had no chance of escaping from the Divine Transformation Heavenly Lord.

Worrying is unnecessary.

Conversely, he doesn't need to worry too much.

Immediately afterwards, Li Ji'an and Ning Sujin turned around and returned to the secret room, no longer caring about the outside world.

Half a month later, Xiao Jiu suddenly came to visit.

This incident has proven that Xiao Jiu was not part of the scheme of the old villain Chun Yuan, and that he was indeed acting out of kindness to obtain the third-tier longevity pill for Ning Sujin.

Regardless of whether his self-serving attitude was appropriate or not, Li Ji'an recorded this act of kindness.

He never makes excessive demands on those who have good intentions.

However, to his slight embarrassment, he and Ning Sujin came out to greet him together this time.

Xiao Jiu, however, was no longer as enthusiastic as before.

Her little face was filled with a variety of emotions: grievance, resentment, disappointment, and resentment at being betrayed.

After leaving behind the third-tier beast blood that the old thief Chun Yuan had mentioned, he gave a gruff explanation on how to find the old thief Chun Yuan for priority trading, and then turned and left.

Watching Xiao Jiu's departing figure, Ning Sujin sighed slightly and looked at Li Ji'an with some helplessness.

Li Ji'an could only shake his head with a wry smile.

Of course, I understand the little girl's thoughts.

He could even sense that the purpose of his personal delivery of the beast blood was to give the old couple a chance to explain.

Any plausible reason and a sincere apology should be enough to make the little girl feel better.

However, he and Ning Sujin could not tell her that they first suspected she was a pawn of the old thief Chun Yuan, and then they had a premonition of good fortune and avoiding misfortune.

"I hope there will be an opportunity to bring about a good outcome for them in the future," Li Ji'an said, gently patting Ning Sujin's shoulder.
-
As soon as they left Li Ji'an's training ground, Xiao Jiu stomped her feet in anger.

Then he glanced back with some resentment.

The other party has not offered any explanation.

They didn't even call out to her!

Why don't they offer any explanation? Are they really so indifferent to me? I've been friends with them for years, but what am I to them?

Granny Yao walked over from the side, her face full of kindness, and said, "Jiu'er, I've told you before, where in this cultivation world is there any true affection? Besides, even if there is, it's definitely not something that such a cold-hearted person could have."

How can a cold-hearted person have genuine feelings?

"Granny Yao, but they seem very loving to me. They are the most affectionate couple I have ever seen among all the cultivators." Xiao Jiu was still somewhat unwilling to believe it.

"Hehe, Jiu'er, what tender feelings? Maybe that female cultivator is being controlled by her through some means." Granny Yao sneered.

"Granny Yao, do you think it's possible that Grandpa Changqing isn't strong enough? He wanted to save me, but he didn't dare?" Xiao Jiu asked again.

Granny Yao gave a wry smile: "Jiu'er, you're just too naive."

"I'm not the only one telling you what happened during this time; the boss and the others all saw it with their own eyes. That old bastard actually used a recording talisman to imprint your words beforehand..."

"This..." Xiao Jiu felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this.

Seeing that Xiao Jiu was still hesitant, Granny Yao said again, "Even if the old scoundrel is not strong enough and doesn't have the guts to look for you, he should at least show some appreciation, right?"

The Venerable Master Shanyuan sought you out solely because this matter was related to his refining of the third-tier Longevity Pill. Comparing the two situations, you should understand the situation.

"Sigh!" In the end, Xiao Jiu nodded heavily, finally feeling completely relieved.

"Granny, Xiao Jiu understands. From now on, in Xiao Jiu's heart, they will just be one of the millions of people in Funiu Mountain."

“It’s time for me to wake up from those false romantic fantasies, Core Formation…” His clear eyes became even more resolute.

Li Ji'an and Ning Sujin witnessed this scene from afar and smiled knowingly. It seemed that by sheer accident, Xiao Jiu, who had been uninterested in cultivation, had managed to calm his restless mind.

In the following days, details of Xiao Jiu's ordeal were made public.

Xiao Jiu claimed that he was ambushed on the grassland a year ago, and the magic technique used by the attacker was none other than the famous technique of Master Fu Niu, "Qian Kun Cuo".

She then fell into an underground river, but miraculously survived.

She returned safely only after the blue ox found her.

As for the attacker, she wasn't sure who it was, and couldn't rule out the possibility that it was her fifth senior brother.

After that, Xiao Jiu began to cultivate in seclusion, preparing to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment and plan to form the Core.

The entire Funiu Mountain area continues to be presided over by the eldest disciple, Master Fengyin.

To Li Ji'an's surprise, the old thief Chun Yuan disappeared after the appearance of the green ox, claiming that he went out to find some special medicinal material.

This made things much easier for Li Ji'an, and he then devoted himself to cultivation for sixteen years without fail.

Sixteen years have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Li Ji'an suddenly opened his eyes, and a green magical power flowed and swirled in his eyes before disappearing.

At the same time, a smile appeared on his face.

"It's actually several years ahead of schedule!" Li Ji'an was filled with excitement as he felt the power of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.

In addition to breaking through several years earlier than expected, it was also because the power of the Golden Core at this time was much greater than expected.

Compared to a seasoned mid-stage Core Formation cultivator like Master Fengyin, his current Golden Core power is twice as strong, and its purity is incomparable.

In terms of overall magical power, he even considered comparing himself to a low-level Core Formation cultivator like the old thief Chun Yuan.

(End of this chapter)