The road is vague

Chapter 267 Stagnation of Magic Power
As the saying goes, time flies when you're in the mountains.

On Xiaoquan Peak in the back mountain, a babbling stream meanders down the stream. The water is clear and cool, wildflowers grow along the riverbank, butterflies flutter about, and occasionally a squirrel darts by, creating a warm and harmonious scene.

The top of this low mountain is shrouded in mist all year round, faintly exuding a sense of coolness.

Unknowingly.

Li Mo has been in seclusion at Xiaoquan Peak for five years.

In the mountaintop chamber protected by flag arrays and puppets, rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathers, swirling like dew, making one feel as if they are in a fairyland.

Li Mo sat cross-legged here, breathing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

After a while.

He slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the rich spiritual energy in the room, a hint of contemplation in his eyes, and a faint sense of relief.

"In any case, I have finally cultivated my magic power to the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage."

Two years ago, he actually encountered a stagnation of magical power!
According to his original plan, after advancing to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he intended to spend three years using the incredibly rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the secret chamber to raise his magical power to the peak of the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and then spend about a year comprehending the Five Thunders to Dust Technique.

Once you master this supernatural ability, even if you encounter a Golden Core cultivator, as long as they are not an old monster who has lived for three or four hundred years, you will have the means to save your life.

This way.

It would be much safer to enter the State of Lu to participate in the Longevity and Enlightenment Conference.

However, it backfired.

Starting two years ago, he encountered a phenomenon of stagnant magical power that had almost been forgotten.

At first, he was slightly curious and didn't care too much about it. But when he found that his magic power was stagnant, he immediately took out the remaining pills and swallowed and refined them, forcibly breaking through the current stagnation of magic power and continuing to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

However, as the momentum of the breakthrough brought about by the pills ended, the stagnation of his magical power returned, forcing him to continue consuming pills.

After repeating this process many times, he finally came to understand how terrible and helpless it was.

No wonder so many cultivators were ultimately trapped and killed by the stagnation of their magical power!

This is all due to insufficient understanding and perception of one's state of mind.

Therefore, he had to spend some time refining all three pill formulas brought by Cao Lingjie into pills. Then, he spent another year before he could barely raise his cultivation to the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage with the help of the Misty Spirit Eye Array and the Composite Eight Trigrams Spirit Gathering Array.

However, the plan to comprehend the Five Thunder Dust Transformation Technique was obviously delayed as a result.

Moreover, it was precisely because of the stagnation of his magical power that he fully realized the inadequacy of his own mental understanding. He knew he must not rashly attempt to advance to the Golden Core stage, lest he fail and create inner demons that would further increase the difficulty.

Li Mo looked thoughtful.

"For any Lingmu Sect disciple who attempts to advance to the Golden Core stage for the first time, the sect will provide an Ice-Fire Pill free of charge. The raw materials and refining process of this pill are not complicated, but it can greatly increase the probability of advancing to the Golden Core stage. Although other pills and secret techniques are precious, their effects are not as good as the characteristics of the Ice-Fire Pill. In addition, there are three secret techniques in the Ancestral Hall that are very helpful for breaking through bottlenecks, but they are quite troublesome to achieve."

He pondered his next plan.

He wasn't entirely confident about advancing to the Golden Core stage and dared not act rashly. It seemed that the Lu Kingdom's Heaven-Seizing Faction's grand meeting three months later was inevitable.

"Although I still have a high-grade spirit stone with a slight leakage of spiritual energy and a pot of jade marrow liquid in my hands, which were rewards from the imperial court after I presented them to the Nine Nether Soul Refining Array and helped me break through the Golden Core bottleneck, even with more external forces, they are far less important than the cultivator's own foundation for breaking through the bottleneck."

Currently, Li Mo's main cultivation technique is "True Spirit Eye," and he has also cultivated two top-tier techniques, "Seven Apertures Returning to Origin Technique" and "Li Mo's Inner Classic," so his foundation is already quite profound.

If he were to further cultivate the "Secret Scroll of Mountains and Seas" to achieve the conditions for cultivating both body and mind, his foundation would undoubtedly become even more solid.

"With such a foundation, if one can further comprehend the transcendent realm and advance to the Golden Core stage, it will be practically a sure thing."

The term "foundation building" literally means the foundation of a cultivator.

The cultivation methods of cultivators are the foundation of this refinement.

"It's time to emerge from seclusion, report to my master, and seek his guidance."

……

Half an hour later.

Inside the main hall of the Dharma Protector Hall.

“Master, I have been in seclusion for the past five years. Although I have raised my cultivation level to the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, I am still slightly lacking in the ability to advance to the Golden Core stage. Therefore, I am writing to inform you that I am going to the State of Lu to attend the Longevity and Enlightenment Conference of the Duotian Sect in three months, to see if I can find an opportunity.”

Upon learning that Li Mo's cultivation had reached the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, even with Lu Qi's composure, his expression was one of shock. He looked at Li Mo with a mixture of resentment and anticipation, a truly complex mix of emotions.

Even he had to admit it.

In front of this disciple, the achievements he was once so proud of seemed insignificant.

However, as his master and the head of the Lingmu Sect's Protector Hall, his pride in Li Mo quickly outweighed his resentment at the competition between these two geniuses.

"With your strength, I am not worried about dealing with the true disciples of other sects in Lu. But I am afraid that someone with ulterior motives will recognize your identity and then be hunted down by high-level cultivators in Lu. You must be careful when you get there and try to disguise yourself as a disciple from another country. Also, since you have decided to participate in the Longevity Enlightenment Conference, you can take this Illusionary Gold Net."

After Li Mo received this top-grade magic artifact, he discovered that apart from its large coverage area, it had almost no power.

He couldn't help but show a look of doubt.

Lu Qi smiled slightly.

“That divine herb doll is an innate formless body. As a disciple of the Spirit Eye Sect, you have no fear of it. However, it can enter the soil and hide in the wood. Capturing it is almost no easier than capturing a Nascent Soul cultivator. With your late Foundation Establishment cultivation, you have absolutely no chance. Only through this Illusionary Gold Net is there any possibility.”

"I see, thank you, Master!"

Li Mo suddenly remembered the Ye Yan fan.

That is, when he sacrificed himself to the Seven Star Realm Witch Clan in the Southern Wilderness Plains, he obtained the leaf-shaped magical artifact from there, which has a suppressing and sealing effect, and seems suitable for this scenario. Apart from that...

Li Mo had another goal in attending this so-called Longevity and Enlightenment Conference: to find a way to obtain some Longevity Pills and try to decipher their formulas.

However, it is said that to refine this pill, it must be combined with the main cultivation method of the Longevity Pill Sect. Therefore, even if the pill formula is deciphered, whether the Longevity Pill can be refined is still unknown.

"Master, I have encountered some problems during this seclusion and would like to ask you for advice."

Li Mo then inquired about the issues related to transcending the mortal realm, receiving the Ice and Fire Pill, and the rituals required for the Spirit Blessing Technique.

Lu Qi stroked his beard, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Regarding the understanding of transcending the mortal realm, I have a good method. If you do not want to understand it naturally, then conceal your true identity, go to the military, and try to integrate into it. If you encounter a large-scale war, you may gain some insights."

After a moment of deep thought, Li Mo suddenly realized the truth.

The main focus of transcending the mortal realm is to understand the gap between high-level cultivators and the mortal world, bringing oneself into the perspective of high-level cultivators and experiencing the fragility and humility of mortals.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death are one aspect, but controlling one's destiny is another.

Lu Qi's method does have some merit.

"As for the Ice and Fire Pill, since your cultivation has reached the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, you can go to the head of the Alchemy Hall to get it at any time. The sect usually has reserves. As for your plan to complete the so-called Spirit Blessing Ritual on Qingming Mountain, as long as it does not involve evil or dark matters, you can report it to the Enforcement Hall in advance."

"I see."

However, there are only three months left until the start of the Longevity and Enlightenment Conference.

The ritual of begging for spirits in the Spirit Protection Method requires at least several dozen days of prayers on the spiritual veins before one can receive the protection of the Spirit Protection Method during the tribulation, as described in the "Ethereal Box," forming an effect similar to the lightning rod. He definitely didn't have time for that.

After chatting for a while, Li Mo got up from the futon to say goodbye and headed to the alchemy hall.

In the main hall of the Alchemy Hall, besides the hall master Chen Huiling, Chen Rong was also present.

Li Mo and Chen Rong locked eyes.

Seeing that Chen Rong's gaze remained cold and filled with resentment as she looked at Li Mo, Li Mo sighed inwardly, stopped looking at her, and turned to look at Chen Huiling.

"Master Chen, I'm here to collect the Ice and Fire Pill."

Upon hearing this, Chen Huiling frowned slightly, puzzled.

"Please return, sir. According to our sect's rules, only those who have reached the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage can receive the Ice and Fire Pill. You are currently only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Even if you are a true disciple of our sect, I cannot make an exception for you."

Li Mo then realized that he had not yet registered at the Ancestral Hall and changed into new clothes.

He shook his head, clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, his face showing apology.

"It was my oversight. Due to my long period of seclusion, I did not have time to report and change my clothes in time. Please forgive me, Master Chen."

So he immediately displayed his spiritual pressure at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Upon seeing this, Chen Huiling couldn't help but show a look of surprise.

She turned her head slightly and looked at Chen Rong.

Chen Rong was completely stunned, staring blankly at Li Mo, her teeth clenched, her fists clenched as she muttered to herself.

"Impossible, impossible, impossible."

She simply couldn't understand how Li Mo's cultivation speed could be so unbelievable.

After a sigh, Chen Huiling could only nod.

"Since Junior Nephew Li's cultivation has reached the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, according to the rules of our sect, he is indeed qualified to receive an Ice-Fire Pill. Junior Nephew, please wait here for a moment."

Say it.

Chen Huiling left the main hall, leaving only Li Mo and Chen Rong in the room.

Chen Rong could no longer contain her shock and anger.

"How could Heaven be so unfair! How could someone like you, who would even kill his own friends and family, possibly possess such profound blessings!"

"Junior Sister Chen, watch your tone of voice."

Li Mo changed his usual way of addressing him.

"Now that the truth has come out, I acted rashly for the sake of my sect, out of desperation. You, however, have been fixated on trivial details, thinking yourself a moral exemplar, but in reality, you are blinded by a leaf, indecisive, and incapable of achieving great things."

Chen Rong gritted her teeth.

"you……"

"My mind is clear and my conscience is clear, so my cultivation will naturally follow. Junior sister, you have remained at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage for so many years. You should look for the reasons within yourself."

Although Li Mo was angry and his words were sharp and sarcastic, he did not hate Chen Rong.

Even though the other party wanted to kill him back in the True Yang Secret Realm, the thought of Chen Rong's genuine kindness to him made him feel no hatred. He just wanted to use this opportunity to anger the other party and vent his displeasure.

"Good, good, good."

Chen Rong was so angry that she stomped her foot and turned to leave.

(End of this chapter)