To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

Gu Fan was greatly surprised to hear that Chen Suzhen had achieved Foundation Establishment.

"It's only been a month since we last met, and Senior Brother Chen has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage. He's truly amazing."

Although Gu Fan did not know the grade of Chen Suzhen's spiritual root, she came from Lingxi Peak and had at most a mid-grade spiritual root. Even with the support of cultivation techniques, her chances of winning in the Foundation Establishment stage were less than 20%.

Meng Wei laughed heartily, "Don't be fooled by his gentlemanly demeanor; he's actually incredibly ruthless to himself!"

"He was the most proactive in taking on sect missions in order to accumulate cultivation resources. Whether it was hunting demons, doing miscellaneous tasks in the sect, or even guiding disciples, he never missed any opportunity to earn merit points and never had a free day."

"Two years ago, in the sect's minor competition, he risked mutual destruction to fight his way into the top 36 and win a Foundation Establishment Pill. He is the only one who can cultivate the 'Kan Shui Ru Yi Jue' with such a murderous aura."

People jokingly say that he's not repairing the water of the chasm, but rather the water of blood.

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan's image of Chen Suzhen changed drastically. Her gentle figure in black robes instantly became solemn, as if stained with a trace of blood.

In addition, Gu Fan keenly grasped key information.

"Senior brother just mentioned that Foundation Establishment Pills can be obtained through the sect's minor competition?"

The sect competition is mentioned in "Lingxiao Baijie", but it only says that it is held once every ten years and all Qi Refining disciples can sign up to participate.

When the disciples take the stage to compete, the top 100 winners will receive sect rewards, but there is no mention of Foundation Establishment Pills.

"That's right." Meng Wei nodded and said, "In the sect's minor competition, as long as you enter the top 100, you will receive pills and magical artifacts as rewards. Only the top 36 will receive Foundation Establishment Pills."

"Ordinary people would be eager to swallow the Foundation Establishment Pill as soon as they get it, but Senior Brother Chen spent two years in the sect, until his cultivation technique was completely perfected and made no further progress, before swallowing the pill to establish his foundation."

Gu Fan's interest in the sect's minor competition immediately piqued, and he asked, "So, Senior Brother, did you participate?"

Meng Wei smiled and nodded, "Of course I participated. It's a pity that I was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining at that time. I relied on my cultivation technique's attributes to be good at combat and barely made it into the top 100. If I wanted to compete for the Foundation Establishment Pill, I would have to be at least at the late stage of Qi Refining."

Gu Fan realized at this moment that meeting Chen Suzhen when he first entered the sect was truly a lucky thing.

The Lingxiao Sect has over two thousand Qi Refining disciples. To be ranked among the top one hundred with a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation level is already considered a sign of strength.

Then it occurred to him that Meng Wei had been cultivating on the mountain since he was twenty, and if he wanted to establish his foundation before the age of sixty, the next sect competition would be his last chance.

"In that case, I wish you the best of luck in winning the Foundation Establishment Pill in the next sect competition!" Gu Fan picked up his teacup and raised it in a toast.

Meng Wei was overjoyed: "I'll take your kind words as a blessing, Junior Brother."

After setting down his teacup, Gu Fan asked, "Now that I have successfully cultivated Qi, I'm preparing to do some sect missions to earn cultivation resources. I wonder if you could share some of your experience with me, Senior Brother?"

"What's so difficult about that?" Meng Wei was in a great mood. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Junior Brother is only at the first level of Qi Refining. With such a cultivation level, going out to hunt demonic beasts is tantamount to courting death. He can only do some chores within the sect."

"Since you possess a fire-attribute spiritual root, junior brother, do you prefer alchemy or weapon crafting?"

"I'm going to take a look at them all, and I would appreciate it if you could teach me, senior brother," Gu Fan said sincerely.

Meng Wei pointed to the table with his finger and said in detail, "Although these two skills are very different, the methods of learning them are similar."

"In the practice of alchemy, one must know the principles of medicine, recognize all kinds of herbs, be thoroughly familiar with how to process various spiritual medicines, and then learn the method of fire control. Only after mastering these skills can one attempt to open the furnace and refine elixirs."

"In the cultivation of the art of crafting, one must be able to identify various spiritual materials, understand their characteristics thoroughly, learn the methods of fire control and inscribe restrictions, and only then can one forge magical artifacts."

Gu Fan nodded and listened. After Meng Wei finished speaking, he asked, "How long does it take to learn these two skills?"

Meng Wei shook his head: "The specific date depends on the individual's talent, so I really don't know."

"What chores did Senior Brother Meng do when he first started?" Gu Fan asked curiously.

Meng Wei revealed a smug look: "At first, I went to the Spirit Beast Peak and raised demonic beasts for several years. Once I had a thorough understanding of the habits of the demonic beasts and the ability to protect myself, I went to the Cloud Mist Sea to ask the demonic beasts in the sea for cultivation resources."

"I see." Gu Fan nodded slightly. "I plan to go to Dan Ding Peak first."

When Gu Fan mentioned Dan Ding Peak, Meng Wei's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "I happen to know someone on Dan Ding Peak. I can introduce him to my junior brother. Why don't we go together?"

Gu Fan had no objection, so he steered the white jade boat, carrying Meng Wei, straight to Dan Ding Peak.

In the past, when practicing the art of manipulating objects, he would always control a small gray sword. This was the first time Gu Fan had ever controlled a flying boat, so it wobbled a bit. Meng Wei teased him, "Junior Brother, this white jade boat of yours must have had a bit too much to drink yesterday."

"Good, I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he quits drinking tomorrow!" Gu Fan said without turning his head.

Meng Wei burst into laughter upon hearing this.

After flying for a quarter of an hour, under Meng Wei's command, the white jade boat landed on Danding Peak, in a wide square.

As soon as Gu Fan entered Dan Ding Peak, he smelled the fragrance of medicinal herbs. Around the square, he could see rows of alchemy rooms, built from the mountainside to the top.

A few wisps of smoke occasionally drifted out of the alchemy room, only to be dispersed by the mountain breeze.

"Bang!"

As soon as Gu Fan stepped off the white jade boat, he heard a loud bang. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw that it came from a pill-making room.

A moment later, a disheveled monk in a green robe emerged from the crowd, cursing and swearing.

"Haha, another explosion!" Meng Wei laughed, then shouted at the green-robed cultivator, "Li Cangzhu, when are you going to be able to refine high-grade pills?"

The green-robed cultivator was about to leave when Meng Wei called out to him. Turning around, he saw Meng Wei and angrily said, "It's still faster than your Foundation Establishment stage, kid!"

Leaving behind a message, the male cultivator, known as Li Cangshu, flew away on his magical artifact.

Meng Wei patted Gu Fan on the shoulder and led the way towards a tall attic: "Stop looking around, come with me."

Gu Fan quickly followed, and after walking for a while, he looked up and saw the three characters "Danxia Pavilion" written on the plaque above the pavilion.

Meng Wei explained in his ear, "This is where disciples exchange merit points for pills. If you need pills in the future, you can come here."

As Gu Fan stepped into Danxia Pavilion, he saw a counter with various jade bottles displayed on a wooden shelf behind it. But what attracted him most was the person behind the counter.

A long red gauze dress hugged her exquisite figure, her jet-black hair was held up by a jade hairpin, her face was as bright as the moon, and her eyes were like autumn waves. A woman who looked like a blooming peony was standing behind the counter.

When the woman saw Meng Wei, she smiled slightly and asked, "What injury did you suffer this time? What medicine do you need?"

Gu Fan glanced sideways and saw that Meng Wei's face was already flushed. He laughed and said, "What kind of talk is that? Can't you come and ask for a pill if you're not injured?"

After saying that, Meng Wei turned around and introduced, "This is Long Ying, a first-grade high-level alchemist."

Long Ying's beautiful eyes turned to Gu Fan. Even though Gu Fan had seen countless beauties in his past life, he still found her stunningly beautiful.

"My name is Gu Fan. I greet you, Senior Sister."