A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

I've had some family matters to attend to these past few days, so I'll probably be posting these 4,000-word chapters every night. I won't have time to update separately at noon anymore. Please forgive me.

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Half a day later, in his own residence, Zhou Ping removed the jade slip he had obtained from the Daowen Pavilion from his forehead, a thoughtful expression on his face.

He spent two merit points to obtain this jade slip, which contains detailed information about the Five Elements Realm. In addition to various opportunities, it also marks some potential dangers and accidents, so that the disciples in the sect can understand the Five Elements Realm in advance and make full preparations for the trials they may participate in in the future.

"Five elemental spiritual items... can actually replace merit points to exchange for so many rare treasures in the sect, including the Resurrection Lotus Seed! No wonder so many people are eager to get their hands on them..."

Upon thinking of this item, a rare look of surprise appeared on Zhou Ping's face.

The reason is simple: the resurrected lotus seed is extremely precious to the many disciples of the Azure Lotus Profound Sect, especially to those in the Qi Refining stage, for whom it holds a fatal allure.

This item is essential for cultivating the second form, "Rebirth of the Lotus Seed," of the Azure Lotus Three Forms, a unique secret technique of the Azure Lotus Sect. Only by obtaining this item within the sect can one continue cultivating the Azure Lotus Three Forms.

The second move of the Azure Lotus Three Styles, "Rebirth Lotus Seed," is not an offensive technique or a defensive technique like "Luosheng Lotus Shield."

It is the only auxiliary secret technique among the three styles of Qinglian, but when combined with the unique cultivation method practiced by Qinglian disciples, "Qinglian Huayuan Gong", it will produce amazing effects. It is no exaggeration to say that this technique can almost be called the number one secret technique in the Qi Refining stage of Qinglian Xuanzong.

Its only function is that after a Qinglian disciple has mastered the second form, this lotus seed will be refined into the dantian by Qingyuan magic power, becoming a "pseudo-dantian" that can store wood-attribute spiritual power.

The wood-attribute spiritual power refined into this "pseudo-dantian" by the Qingyuan Gong is now completely free of impurities. Stored within the pseudo-dantian, it can be converted into the mana that the practitioner needs at any time, almost like having an extra small dantian. Whether it is to release some powerful spells or to use it for sustained consumption when fighting enemies, it can make the practitioner more relaxed and at ease.

And this is just the most common effect of the "Resurrection Lotus Seed". With its ability to instantly convert stored spiritual power into the mana required by cultivators, it also has a usage technique that drives all Qi Refining stage cultivators crazy.

That is, when a Qi Refining cultivator is breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, if their mana is insufficient when it is being condensed from spiritual energy into liquid mana, they can instantly replenish their dantian, so that the Foundation Establishment process will not fail due to insufficient mana reserves.

This is very common when Qi Refining cultivators break through to Foundation Establishment, because Foundation Establishment is a time-consuming and gradual process that requires absorbing a large amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth to maintain this state. If the speed of absorbing spiritual energy cannot keep up with the speed of mana consumed during Foundation Establishment, then the person will most likely fail to establish their foundation.

In response to this risk, several methods have been circulating in the cultivation world to avoid it, the most famous of which is taking the "Foundation Building Pill". This pill is a sacred method of foundation building passed down from ancient times. It can not only provide the user with an extremely pure and powerful supply of mana, but also has the miraculous effect of cleansing the meridians and marrow and tempering the bones. It is the number one sacred medicine for cultivators to build their foundation.

However, everyone knows how precious the Foundation Establishment Pill is, which has led to its price reaching an prohibitive level. Ninety-nine percent of Qi Refining cultivators, even if they spend their entire lives, would find it difficult to accumulate enough spirit stones to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Therefore, although using this elixir to build a foundation is the best option, most people can only look on with envy and sigh helplessly.

In the absence of Foundation Establishment Pills, strengthening one's own magical power becomes the only option for cultivators.

However, most methods to enhance and restore mana have obvious drawbacks, especially the ingestion of pills that can replenish mana. Although this method is feasible, no elixir can achieve the pure efficacy of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Therefore, while replenishing mana, it not only fails to help cultivators cleanse their meridians and transform their marrow, but also produces a certain amount of pill poison in the cultivator's body due to the large amount of pills ingested. Under normal circumstances, this poison would be harmless, and the cultivator would simply need to find a suitable opportunity to refine and expel it from the body.

However, if a large amount of poison is generated during the foundation building process, it will be a fatal matter. Not only will it cause the foundation building process to fail, but there is also a considerable risk that the foundation builder will die.

Therefore, during the Foundation Establishment process, most cultivators, in addition to setting up some spirit-gathering arrays around them to gather spiritual energy, will also hold one or two high-grade spirit stones to continuously provide the spiritual power they need. As for replenishing mana pills, they will only prepare a small amount to deal with unforeseen needs, and no one dares to take too many of these pills.

Besides the above, cultivators from large clans or sects with the necessary resources, whose ancestral lands or sects are located on higher-grade spiritual veins, can naturally choose a place with abundant spiritual energy to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

This is also the main reason why cultivators from sects are more likely to successfully establish their foundation compared to independent cultivators.

However, all of the above alternative methods, whether it is setting up a spirit-gathering array or choosing a place with abundant spiritual energy to cultivate in seclusion and break through the realm, cannot avoid a drawback, that is, the cultivator needs to constantly circulate the cultivation technique, absorb and refine the spiritual energy in the world little by little, and then transform it into the mana required by himself. This process has almost become the key to whether a cultivator can successfully establish his foundation.

The quality of a cultivator's spiritual root attributes will be amplified without limit at this time.

Cultivators with celestial spiritual roots and various hidden spiritual roots can absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth several times faster than ordinary people. Therefore, they will find the foundation building process easier and their success rate will naturally be much higher.

The further down one goes, the more varied and complex one's spiritual root attributes become, the slower one's absorption of spiritual energy will be, and the lower the chance of successfully establishing a foundation will be.

As for Zhou Ping's pseudo-spiritual root, its absorption of spiritual energy was so slow that it was considered by the cultivation world to be one of the spiritual root attributes that made it impossible to successfully establish a foundation. It could be said to be an innate defect that could not be overcome by human power.

This is the impact of spiritual roots on cultivators. It is not only reflected in the speed of cultivation, but also plays a crucial role when breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Now, looking at the 'Rebirth Lotus Seed', the pure spiritual power it contains can be instantly converted into the mana needed by the cultivator without any side effects. This alone can make the Foundation Establishment process much easier. This point alone can make the success rate of the cultivator when attempting to establish the Foundation nearly 10% higher than usual.

Don't underestimate this 10% success rate. Even the Foundation Establishment Elixir, which is considered a sacred medicine for Foundation Establishment, can only increase a cultivator's success rate by 20% to 30% depending on the individual. From this, you can see how heaven-defying the secret technique is that the Rebirth Lotus Seed.

"If one could cultivate the 'Resurrection Lotus Seed' while simultaneously taking Foundation Establishment Pills to establish one's foundation, wouldn't the chance of success increase to nearly 40%!?"

Zhou Ping stared at the jade slip in his hand, carefully considering the feasibility of this method. This was undoubtedly a great boon to a cultivator like him who possessed a pseudo-spiritual root.

"This Five Elements Realm is truly a treasure trove... Not only does it contain all the essential ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, but it also contains Five Elements spiritual items that can be exchanged for 'Resurrection Lotus Seeds.' Even the Time Fruit, which repairs injuries to one's Dao Foundation, can only be found here. It seems I have no choice but to make the trip."

Thinking of the conditions for obtaining the "Resurrected Lotus Seed" in the jade slip, Zhou Ping shook his head helplessly.

The "Resurrected Lotus Seed" can be exchanged for 1000 merit points or five elemental spirit items...

1000 merit points!

According to the normal level of Qinglian disciples, even if they kept going on missions without eating or drinking, it would take them thirty to forty years to accumulate enough to make a fortune. This is something that ordinary disciples can only dream of.

Without some fortuitous encounters, Zhou Ping was certain that an ordinary person might waste half their life and still not be able to obtain a single 'Resurrection Lotus Seed'. Its difficulty in obtaining it was almost second only to the Foundation Establishment Pill. Naturally, he gave up on the idea of ​​exchanging merit points for 'Resurrection Lotus Seeds' without even thinking about it. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but the difficulty was too high and the time cost was too great, which he simply couldn't afford.

Thinking of his Dao injury and his future hopes for Foundation Establishment, a look of determination gradually appeared in his eyes, even carrying a hint of resolve.

Even if he can't make it to the Five Elements Realm Trial four years from now, he will still do his best to cultivate during this time. The next trial in twenty-four years from now will be his last chance.

Even if one has passed the optimal age for Foundation Establishment, if one can successfully obtain the main ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills and enough Five Elements spiritual items, the chances of successfully establishing a foundation are still quite high.

In the following months, Zhou Ping devoted all his energy to accelerating the ripening of the spiritual herbs, and used his spare time to cultivate his body with the Blood Emperor Pills he had available.

Finally, after half a year, Zhou Ping had accumulated an astonishing amount of mature spiritual herbs and planned to start refining the Golden Marrow Pill.

Qinglian Xuanzong, Longshe Peak.

In a scorching, fire-filled chamber, Zhou Ping stared at the small cauldron of Huangjing (Polygonatum) before him with a frustrated expression, carefully recalling his alchemy process, not wanting to miss any minute detail.

He had been here for more than ten days, and the thought of consuming a low-grade spirit stone every three days made Zhou Ping feel a pang of heartache.

In the past few days, he has already refined dozens of batches of Golden Marrow Pills, but looking at the few small jade bottles beside him, he just can't feel happy.

Zhou Ping's success rate in refining Golden Marrow Pills was too low, with a success rate of less than 20%, a result that was difficult for him to accept no matter what.

Even if Zhou Ping had prepared enough spiritual herbs, they couldn't withstand his wasteful spending. Compared to other alchemists' success rates of nearly 50% to 60%, he almost wanted to smash his head against the Fire-Earth Chamber and die.

Originally, Zhou Ping had high expectations for his alchemy talent, having accumulated several years of pharmacological knowledge and frequently brewing pills himself. He believed that although his cultivation talent was not great, he should be much better than ordinary people in alchemy, since who else could deal with herbs like him all year round?

But reality slapped him hard in the face; alchemy was completely different from what he had imagined, not even the same thing at all.

In the world of cultivation, none of the things that can be called the Dao are things that ordinary mortals can touch. They all contain the principles of heaven and earth and the essence of the Great Dao. How could a novice who has read a few books easily learn and master them?

Fortunately, Zhou Ping had an excellent temperament and was well prepared, so he was not in a desperate situation.

"My refining process was not wrong, but the success rate of pills was still much lower than that of other alchemists. It can only be due to my lack of experience and my control over the details."

After thinking about all this, Zhou Ping gradually calmed down and stopped paying too much attention to the success rate of the pill. Instead, he focused all his attention on the process of refining the pill and stopped overlooking even the slightest detail.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, another six months have passed.

When Zhou Ping returned to Dragon Tongue Peak, the bewilderment he had shown the first time was gone. He easily paid the required amount of spirit stones to the disciple on duty and then prepared to plunge into the House of Earth Fire.

"Junior brother, if I may be so bold as to ask, what are you refining? And why do you linger in the House of Earthly Fire so frequently and for such long periods?"

Since Zhou Ping had stayed in the House of Earthly Fire for over a month, the disciples on duty clearly showed great curiosity about his behavior and finally asked him about it when they saw him again.

This is understandable, as renting the House of Earthly Fire is not cheap. It requires one low-grade spirit stone every three days. People like Zhou Ping stay there for more than a month at a time. Apart from the Foundation Establishment stage senior uncles and elders, very few Qi Refining stage disciples dare to squander spirit stones like this.

After all, it costs more than ten spirit stones in just over a month, and ordinary Qi Refining disciples wouldn't dare to be so wasteful.

When Zhou Ping saw the other person call out to him, he frowned. This person immediately tried to pry into his secrets, which made him slightly displeased, but he didn't ignore him. Instead, he directly replied with the words he had prepared beforehand.

"This senior brother is unaware of the fact that due to my extremely poor aptitude, I have long lost the will to continue to advance. Now I just want to work hard to learn a skill to rely on and make plans for the future."

"Oh...I see. So, junior brother, which skill are you practicing?"

The disciple on duty seemed to see that Zhou Ping was only at the peak of the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage and seemed to have neglected his cultivation. Compared to his own sixth level of the Qi Refining stage, there was still a gap of one level. So the disciple spoke louder, revealing a condescending attitude.

"Weapon forging!"

Ignoring the other person's changing expression, Zhou Ping casually uttered two words and then rushed into the cave of earth fire without hesitation, hurrying towards the room assigned to him.

He didn't have time to waste with the other party. He had already used up all the Golden Marrow Pills he had refined last time, and his cultivation had reached the peak of the fifth level. He only needed to exert a little more effort, and he might be able to break through to the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage.

However, at this very moment, he ran out of the Golden Marrow Pills he had refined. Zhou Ping had no choice but to temporarily suspend his meditation and cultivation, organize the large amount of spiritual herbs that he had accelerated to maturity over the past six months, and hurriedly return to Dragon Tongue Peak to begin his second alchemy journey.