Immortality and cultivation begin with drawing talismans.

Chapter 238 Deviation! A bad feeling!

Jade Spirit Island.

After visiting the Lu family, Lin Chang'an took his leave and went to Five Dragons Island to temporarily rent a cave for cultivation.

This also put the Lu family at ease, assuring them that he hadn't gotten into any trouble and didn't need to run away.

Lin Chang'an's attitude convinced the Lu family of about 70% of his belief.

Eight points out of ten, because in the cultivation world, even Daoist partners have their own little secrets from outsiders.

【Lifespan: 133/293】

[Realm: Late Foundation Establishment (91/100)]

Inside the cave, Lin Chang'an slowly opened his eyes and looked at his cultivation level. In just one year, his cultivation level had increased by three points.

But he just couldn't feel happy.

"The limitations of low-grade spiritual root aptitude are too great."

Lin Chang'an sighed helplessly. After his cultivation level reached 90 points, he clearly noticed the slowdown in his cultivation.

The progress we've made this year is largely thanks to the assistance of these third-tier cultivation-enhancing pills.

"When we first arrived here and parted ways, Yun Yao left two. I also acquired three more through trading at the market, making a total of five."

"And this time, I took one pill during my cultivation."

Looking at the four remaining third-tier pills in his hand, Lin Chang'an frowned, and one of the pills floated in his mouth.

The remaining three flew into the medicine bottle.

"Gudong!"

Once the pill entered the stomach, enveloped in magical power, the effects of the third-tier pill began to slowly take hold.

Just when he felt his cultivation had stagnated, he suddenly felt as if he was making progress again, which made Lin Chang'an both happy and helpless.

Fortunately, he had a third-tier elixir.

Unfortunately, relying solely on elixirs for cultivation is not a sustainable solution.

After all, the higher the grade of the elixir, the harder it is to find the necessary materials.

I've heard that some cultivators in the late stage of Core Formation who obtain a high-grade third-tier pill to enhance their cultivation are usually reluctant to use it, only using it when their cultivation stagnates.

"As my cultivation level increases, the pills become more precious and harder to find. Even if I have the corresponding pill-refining skills, I won't be able to keep making them."

He's undeniably talented in this area, but he doesn't have the little green bottle.

Thinking of this, Lin Chang'an couldn't help but frown.

If a solution cannot be found, then let's address the root cause of the problem.

"Only by successfully forming the Golden Core can one resolve the issue of one's spiritual root."

There are countless secret methods and elixirs in the cultivation world for cleansing spiritual roots and improving aptitude, but they are not things he can consider.

But once you reach the Core Formation stage, things will be different.

"At least I now have a way to solve the problem of spiritual roots and even the quality of golden cores."

Thinking of this, Lin Chang'an took out a pill formula from his storage bag.

The Heaven-Mending Pill!
Or perhaps the Spirit-Replenishing Pill is the real one, because the true Heaven-Replenishing Pill is a legendary fourth-tier spirit pill that can directly elevate the quality of the Golden Core and the spiritual root to their peak.

This Spirit-Replenishing Pill was given to them by Master Lu when they met him in Tianxuan City; he later gave them a pill formula that he had improved.

The prescription is real, but it's incredibly difficult to make.

"It's quite difficult, but at least there's a direction and hope. However, what I need to do first is to form my core!"

Lin Chang'an then took a deep breath, suppressing his other thoughts for the time being. After putting away the pill formula, he wanted to circulate his magic power to slowly absorb the medicinal power.

Half a month later, just as he was slowly absorbing the medicinal power of the third-grade pill in his cave, the Lu family's communication talisman finally brought news.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, we will meet on the east coast of Five Dragons Island in twenty days. At that time, you can use the jade token to board the giant flying ship of the Dragon Family to Haiyuan City."

Lu Yujian's voice came from within the communication talisman.

After confirming the time, Lin Chang'an breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, we can go to Haiyuan City."

Lin Chang'an then began to check his storage bags again. He had previously stored some precious and small items in storage bags that could block divine sense from detecting them.

As for the large, valuable items, they have all been mostly cleared out.

What remains is the wealth that a normal late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would have.

"A large number of spirit stones have been exchanged for spirit items. When we get to Haiyuan City, we can exchange them back for spirit stones and use them again."

After secretly taking stock and finding no oversights, Lin Chang'an, unusually, stepped out of the cave.

Since he was no longer staying in his cave, he naturally had to return the spirit stones.

He initially leased the property for a year, but there was still no news, so he had to renew it for another three months.

He can't just throw away the extra spirit stones now.

Even the thinnest mosquito leg is still meat; he's currently very poor because he's trying to achieve the Core Formation stage.

……

Twenty days later.

East bank.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, this is your identity jade token."

Upon meeting again, Lu Yujian stepped forward with a broad smile and handed him the jade token, while Madam Lu nodded and smiled in return.

"Thank you, Patriarch Lu and Fellow Daoist Lu."

Upon receiving the identity jade token, Lin Chang'an smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

Meanwhile, cultivators also arrived one after another on the surrounding beaches and reefs.

Lin Chang'an secretly observed that almost all the people who came here were Foundation Establishment cultivators, and there were even two Pseudo Core Formation cultivators.

Among Foundation Establishment cultivators, the lowest level is the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Many of them were acquaintances, after all, he was a second-tier high-grade talisman master, and doing business naturally made him know many cultivators of the same tier.

"It's Patriarch Lu."

"Madam Lu."

"Fellow Daoist Lin."

Many acquaintances nodded and cupped their hands in greeting, and Lin Chang'an smiled and returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

It's understandable that so many cultivators want to leave this place.

After all, even the safest Five Dragons Island cannot guarantee safety. A place where one cannot even cultivate peacefully at home will naturally make many people want to move to another place.

Even some cultivators from powerful families, seeing the current turbulent situation, are secretly sending away several of their most talented members.

Half an hour later.

Whoosh!
Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from the sky, and a strange, giant flying ship appeared.

The flying boat shimmered with spiritual light and slowly began to descend.

The wooden structure is incredibly hard, but the strange thing about this flying boat is that its surface is covered with countless monster skeletons.

This makes the giant airship look both ferocious and menacing, while also adding practical defensive capabilities.

The bow is shaped like a huge, sharp bone spike, with two rows of menacing teeth behind it.

"My God! This giant airship is actually made from the skeleton of a complete Tier 3 sea beast!"

"This is the Bone Spike Mountain of a Tier 3 sea beast. This sea beast is huge and its whole body is covered with bone armor. In particular, the spikes on its mouth are terrifying."

"Legend has it that the giant spikes on this sea beast's mouth are more valuable than its own demon core!"

Hearing many cultivators exclaim in surprise, Lin Chang'an secretly shook his head.

"It's not just the bones of a third-tier sea beast. To refine these bones into a flying boat and unleash their maximum power, we probably also need to use demon cores and flesh."

"Only the unique geographical advantages of the Demon Beast Sea Abyss could allow it to be built like this."

As one of the four major cultivation techniques, weapon crafting is still somewhat lacking, but there are some aspects related to weapon crafting...

Although the land-based monsters are not small, they are still much smaller than those in the sea.

Sea monsters are generally larger than land monsters, especially in the deep sea where their size can be exaggerated. "Fellow Daoists, you may enter the spirit boat only after your jade tokens have been verified."

At the bow of the giant spirit ship, an old man with white hair slowly walked out, exuding the aura of a Core Formation cultivator. His expression was calm, and his deep voice echoed slowly.

"A Core Formation cultivator!"

"It's an elder of the Long family. At his peak, his cultivation was terrifyingly strong, reaching the mid-stage of Core Formation. This time, everything will definitely go smoothly."

Many people recognized the old man's identity, and Lin Chang'an was also surprised when he heard that the old man was actually a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator.

That's quite a high level of cultivation.

Furthermore, with the third-tier formation on this giant flying ship under the control of this mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, even a late-stage Core Formation cultivator would find it difficult to break through the flying ship.

Of course, it seems that this elder's lifespan is not long, and considering that his combat power will be greatly reduced, he is still stronger than a strong cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation.

However, he didn't want to risk using his divine sense to investigate.

"Listen up, everyone. After boarding the flying ship, all cultivators will enter the rooms assigned to them in the cabin. Unless there are special circumstances, no one is allowed to come out and move around at will."

After all, many major sects' merchant ships suffered irreparable losses precisely because of internal collusion…

Lin Chang'an, who was preparing to board the ship, nodded in agreement; he could understand the point.

"Once inside the cabin, we will activate the sealing formation. Only twenty cultivators are allowed to come up each day, and the rest are strictly prohibited from making any moves."

To ensure everyone's safety, all cabins and rooms are randomly assigned and cannot be exchanged. Any violation will be treated as robbery!

When a cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage spoke the last sentence, he emphasized it further, and a chill ran through his brows.

Many cultivators frowned at these rules that restricted personal freedom, and some even showed dissatisfaction.

But in the end, they all fell silent.

Anyway, it's only a few months, just hang in there and it'll pass.

Moreover, this would indeed benefit everyone.

Just as everyone was preparing to board the flying boat, ordinary spirit ships appeared, flying the banner of the Long family.

Immediately afterwards, everyone saw boxes of supplies being transferred onto the giant airship.

Lin Chang'an's eyes twitched upon seeing this scene.

"The Long family really doesn't waste a single thing; they leave out all the goods, materials, and cultivators."

But it's understandable; it's about earning spirit stones, so why be stingy?

He even dared to say that when this giant airship returned, it would purchase countless resources that were lacking in the Five Dragons Island waters from Haiyuan City and resell them back and forth.

"Originally, such a giant flying ship would only take about a month to travel from the Five Dragons Island sea area to Haiyuan City, but after the news spread that the Long family had a Nascent Soul spiritual object."

Several powerful families have formed feuds with the Long family due to their members being cultivators at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage, thus requiring them to take a longer route. The route is random and unpredictable each time, and the journey typically takes about three months.

After boarding the flying boat, Lin Chang'an heard Madam Lu's voice transmission and nodded secretly.

"I see." The sea areas along the way were not in great turmoil.

……

After a while.

Looking at the room he was assigned, Lin Chang'an fell silent.

"The Long family is really frugal."

Inside the room, there was only a bed and a coffee table, and that was it.

As for the windows? They were all sealed off; the wooden material even sounded metallic when tapped.

Although for cultivators, three months can pass in the blink of an eye when they close their eyes to cultivate, the environment here is exceptionally poor.

"This will allow me to continue my cultivation and refine the medicinal power of this pill."

Before that, Lin Chang'an brewed himself a pot of spiritual tea and leisurely savored it, finding joy even in hardship.

After calming down and feeling the airship take off, he leisurely arranged the room, knowing that it's always good to be cautious.

Only then did I begin preparing for cultivation.

When the other cultivators saw their room, many of them immediately uttered a classic curse.

But after the scolding, they could only helplessly accept it.

A boat ticket costs 3,000 mid-grade spirit stones, plus the cost of networking and bribing people.

For a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, this is no small sum.

When they discovered they were living in such a shabby place, naturally some people couldn't help but curse.

Three or four thousand mid-grade spirit stones are almost equivalent to a top-grade spirit weapon.

……

As the airship took off and disappeared into the clouds, Five Dragons Island remained unchanged.

On the deck of the flying boat.

"Elder, all the cultivators have been recorded. Among them are ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, and I'm afraid they've already used up most of their wealth this time."

"The rest are from families, and some are due to exceptional skills..."

After listening to his subordinate's report, the Golden Core elder remained silent for a moment.

“That’s right, but we can’t do this kind of thing often. Right now, it’s a special time, and my Long family is at a critical juncture. We have no choice but to do it.”

At this point, the Golden Core elder of the Long family sighed inwardly.

The trusted confidant, however, remained resolute and said in a deep voice, "Elder, all of this is for the sake of the Long family!"

"However, Elder, among those boarding this ship are two members of the Lu family. It is rumored that one of the Lu family members has become a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator from the Azure Sea Palace in Haiyuan City?"

Upon hearing this, the elder shook his head and said, "This person should not be acted upon rashly! These are turbulent times; we cannot provoke any more powerful enemies."

This person didn't become a disciple of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator; the elder sister of this Golden Core cultivator was the concubine of the Sixth Elder of the Azure Sea Palace, who was at the Nascent Soul stage.

"This...this person is really lucky!"

Upon hearing this, the confidant was taken aback, and then said enviously.

He used to envy others for being Core Formation cultivators, but now he realizes that having a good older sister is perhaps more important.

"Also, we can't go all the way this time, otherwise people will eventually become suspicious."

"Elder, rest assured, I personally contacted the Xuan Yin Demonic Sect this time. Among so many cultivators, these are the most skilled or special cultivators..."

……

There are two spirit stones on the roof of the house, namely the Sunstone and the Moonstone.

Once set up, the light will automatically change according to the time of day, and there will also be moonlight at night, so that people can know the changes of the sun and moon in the outside world.

This day!
"Hmm? The direction the spirit ship is flying... why is it veering north?"

Just then, Lin Chang'an, who was meditating cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes and looked suspiciously at the magic disc floating in front of him.

This was a special magic compass he had prepared over many years, deep within the Tongtian Fog Sea, to help him discern directions.

After he entered the room and began cultivating, he took out this magic disc as well.

"The normal flight path has been restored. Is it another detour?"

Seeing the pointer on the compass change again, Lin Chang'an frowned. For some reason, he felt a sense of dread the moment the direction deviated.

"This bad feeling! I hope it's true!"

Lin Chang'an was secretly alarmed.

A sense of crisis arose unexpectedly.

Some monks often have a premonition before encountering a crisis.

　I received an IV drip at my hometown this morning. Because I've had a weak constitution since childhood and have used too many antibiotics, oral medication is not very effective after a high fever. I can only get injections and IV drips. I can take oral medication when I have a low fever.

　　Seeing the support from all fellow Daoists, the author is truly moved. As soon as he returned at noon, taking advantage of his fever subsiding, he started writing intermittently.

　　When I get tired, I lie down for a while, then get up and continue writing. I have the plot in my mind, but my body is weak. I've had a high fever of 39.5 degrees Celsius for three days, and this morning, even with an IV drip, my fever still reached 39 degrees. The doctor said it's serious.

　　It seems I need to adjust my sleep schedule and make time to exercise.

　　[Also, I'll schedule tomorrow's update for the evening as well, as I need to continue with my IV drip tomorrow.]

　　I saw the donations from fellow cultivators. I'm too tired, I'll thank them all at once in a couple of days.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)