I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

Before Xu Zhou established his foundation, he devoted a great deal of effort to alchemy, medicine, and formations.

Ultimately, he pushed alchemy and medicine to the peak of the first rank. Array formation was more difficult, but he still reached the threshold of the upper-grade first rank.

He was quite proud of this.

But after he established his foundation, when he tried to study again, he found that everything was different.

After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, his spiritual awareness increased significantly, his thinking became several times more agile than when he was refining Qi, and his memory also improved considerably.

Although the comprehension ability remains unchanged, it saves a lot of time on memorization and recall, and also makes the secret manual simpler.

With a sweep of his divine sense, the previously scattered connections between various pieces of knowledge suddenly became intertwined in his mind.

After a moment's thought, I immediately understood.

Xu Zhou focused on studying the technique and soon thoroughly understood the "Spiritual Spring Cleansing Chapter," which he had not yet fully mastered.

As for the other alchemical and medical techniques, they were thoroughly mastered and there was nothing they did not understand.

He has mastered these two skills to the highest level of the first tier, which can be considered as near the second tier level.

Apart from that, progress in array formations has been somewhat slower.

This skill is the most difficult of all the arts of cultivation. In addition, Xu Zhou is currently studying it on his own, without the occasional insights into array formations from the Imperial Array Hall, so it is somewhat like reinventing the wheel.

But no matter how slow it was, he was still making progress with his Foundation Establishment level learning ability.

Gradually, Xu Zhou crossed the threshold of the upper-grade array path.

Gradually, he mastered the art of high-grade array formations.

Unbeknownst to them, even the array formation was pushed to the near-second rank.

Xu Zhou stopped there.

It's not that he can't continue.

The jade slip he obtained from Zheng Feng was originally a second-tier skill, which could be further deduced.

However, as his skills improved, Xu Zhou had a vague feeling that he might have gone down the wrong path.

The way of array formations is like this: without communication with other array masters, and without actual practice, relying solely on one's own blind deductions is most likely to lead one astray.

To avoid this, the Imperial Array Hall organizes its disciples to exchange ideas from time to time, spreading their insights on array formations widely.

If he continued studying, Xu Zhou was afraid that he would go further and further astray and end up in a dead end at a higher level.

In the end, he decided to seal the jade slip in his hand first, and study it after he came out of seclusion.

After putting away the jade slip, Xu Zhou scanned his storage bag and found that there was nothing else to study.

The only second-tier inheritance he possessed was that array jade slip; there was nothing else.

There was also a second-tier cultivation technique, the "Five Thunder Golden Body" that Li Zelei had given him. As a body-refining technique, it didn't require much study.

Xu Zhou calculated the time.

Five years have passed since he went into seclusion.

He spent the first six months consolidating his cultivation, and then another six months carefully studying the "Spiritual Spring Cleansing Chapter".

After thoroughly understanding the "Spiritual Spring Cleansing Chapter", he turned to studying array formations, immersing himself in them for the past four years.

Looking back on the events before I established my foundation, they seem somewhat distant now.

"Five years..."

"Leaving the pass at this time, although it's still a bit fast, won't attract attention."

"Staying here any longer would just be a waste of time."

After thinking for a moment, Xu Zhou stood up.

After straightening his clothes, he stepped out of the cave and officially emerged from seclusion.

As he left the cave, the long-absent sunlight shone down, causing him to squint slightly as he savored the natural atmosphere around him.

The next moment, he regained his composure, and his internal magical power circulated slightly.

Xu Zhou took a cautious step forward.

With each step, magical power flowed naturally beneath his feet, and his entire body felt instantly lighter.

Its originally heavy body was lifted off the ground.

Xu Zhou looked down at the forest below and felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

But he quickly regained his footing and flew towards Jade Dragon Mountain.

...

On Jade Dragon Mountain, a slender cultivator who was practicing raised an eyebrow.

His divine sense had already detected an unfamiliar presence flying towards him.

He focused his attention briefly, and when he saw the other person's face, his expression quickly relaxed.

The slender cultivator slowly finished his practice and then walked out of the cave.

At that moment, Xu Zhou also happened to fly nearby.

"Greetings, Senior Brother."

After regaining his footing, he cupped his hands in greeting to the slender cultivator before him: "Junior brother, it took me five years to stabilize my cultivation. I've kept you waiting, senior brother."

"Only five years."

Lin Jianya smiled and said, "For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it's just an ordinary seclusion."

He led Xu Zhou into the cave.

"My name is Lin Jianya, you can call me Senior Brother Lin."

After Xu Zhou was seated, Lin Jianya scanned him with his divine sense and confirmed that his aura was stable. He couldn't help but smile and say, "Junior Brother Xu, you've emerged from seclusion in five years. I wonder what your plans are for the future?"

Xu Zhou pondered and said, "After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, there's still a lot to do. I plan to continue studying alchemy first."

Lin Jianya nodded: "That's true. Junior brother has already learned the Longevity Skill, so he doesn't need to spend extra time learning the technique, which saves a lot of time."

However, I advise you, senior brother, that the Longevity Skill is only mediocre as a foundation-building technique. It would be best to find another technique; your future prospects will be much brighter.

He only mentioned it casually and didn't elaborate further.

Then, he changed the subject and started talking about serious business.

"However, what I meant by my plan was to ask you, junior brother, where you intend to live in the future."

Lin Jianya explained, "I wonder if Junior Brother has tried cultivating? Did you feel that your spiritual energy was becoming insufficient to sustain its consumption?"

Xu Zhou pondered for a while and then nodded.

Lin Jianya smiled and said, "That's exactly what I wanted to talk about."

Once a cultivator reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, their cultivation will affect the surrounding environment. Therefore, it is not suitable for them to stay in the sect for a long time; it is best for them to find another sect's sacred land to guard.

"Junior Brother Xu, if you have your eye on any particular spiritual site within the sect, feel free to speak up. I will inform the sect leader and arrange for a cave dwelling to be opened for you ahead of schedule."

Xu Zhou, on the other hand, found it interesting.

"Any sacred site will do?"

Lin Jianya chuckled and said, "It also depends on the specific spiritual land and whether there are other elders temporarily residing here. We need to discuss the details carefully."

However, Junior Brother Xu, you can tell me your general needs, and I think the sect leader will arrange a good place for you.

Xu Zhou pondered for a while before speaking, "I need to think about this matter carefully. Could I give you an answer in a few days?"

Lin Jianya thought for a moment and then agreed: "Once you've made up your mind, Junior Brother, you only need to activate a communication talisman. Or, if it's convenient for you, you can go directly to the Sect Leader."

Xu Zhou nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, Lin Jianya handed over the elder's identity token that he had prepared in advance, asking him to keep it safe.

After chatting for a while, Xu Zhou got up to say goodbye.

Lin Jianya gazed in the direction he had left, lost in thought.

After a long pause, he smiled softly.

"It seems there's going to be some trouble on Junior Brother Gu's side."

...

Xu Zhou didn't go anywhere else, but returned to his cave dwelling at Baicaotang first.

Although he can no longer live here permanently, he has grown accustomed to it. Now that his cultivation has stabilized, he will naturally return here first to make further plans.

This time, the return trip to the mountain was made much faster by air than before.

What would normally be a journey of several days was covered in half a day.

People kept bowing and greeting him along the way, but Xu Zhou only nodded slightly and did not stop.

Let's return to the cave and rest for a while.

Afterwards, Xu Zhou found the steward of Baicaotang and inquired about where to find the second-tier medicine manual and the inheritance of alchemy.

After leaving the pass, his primary concern was naturally to replenish the sources of learning available for study.

The deacons received him with trepidation, but when asked about the second-tier inheritance, they became nervous and uneasy, only saying that they needed to submit an application. Whether it would be approved depended on the instructions of the elders in the hall.

Xu Zhou wasn't surprised by this.

A second-tier alchemy inheritance is already considered the foundation of a sect. It would be strange if the hall's stewards could distribute it at will.

It just means waiting a few more days.

They waited for three days.

The application results came out.

The application for the second-order drug code has been approved.

However, the application for the second-order alchemy inheritance was rejected outright.