With the Eight Immortals' magical treasures in hand, even a mortal like myself! Ha!

Seeing Gu Qing's cultivation improve, Lei Wanhe was overjoyed. Every time Gu Qing's cultivation improved, the ripening time of the spiritual herbs also increased.

This was no secret among the high-ranking Core Formation cultivators.

When Gu Qing had just entered the seventh level of Qi Refining, he was able to mature spiritual herbs that were two hundred years old. When he reached the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, he was able to mature spiritual herbs that were three hundred years old.

When Gu Qing's cultivation level slightly improved to the Foundation Establishment stage, he was able to accelerate the ripening of 400-year-old spiritual herbs. This was the reason why Lei Wanhe and Li Huayuan guarded Gu Qing during his Foundation Establishment stage.

I just don't know how many years a spiritual herb can mature now that it's in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Seeing Lei Wanhe's impatient look, Gu Qing didn't hide anything and said directly, "This disciple's cultivation has improved, and I can accelerate the ripening of five-hundred-year-old spiritual herbs. I just don't know if it's enough for my master to refine pills."

Before Gu Qing could finish speaking, Lei Wanhe became excited and stood up from the futon: "Good, good, good! Come quickly and help me ripen these herbs. I only need these few herbs to complete the pill. Even if you don't come today, I will come to find you."

Gu Qing had come here specifically for the pills needed to advance his cultivation to the Core Formation stage, so he naturally had no intention of refusing. He then asked, "Where are the seeds and seedlings?"

Lei Wanhe wasted no time and took out the seeds from his storage bag.

After obtaining the seeds, Gu Qing did not hesitate. He found a spirit field outside the cave, planted the seeds in the spirit field, and then took out his jade flute to play.

As Gu Qing played, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was stirred up, forming wisps of mist that eventually turned into spiritual rain that fell to the earth.

Nourished by the spiritual rain, the seeds sprouted from the soil, grew into seedlings, and eventually blossomed into flowers.

The longer the performance lasted, the more profusely the flowers bloomed. When the final piece ended, the entire spiritual field was covered in blossoms.

If it weren't for the array covering this place, the birds and beasts in the mountains would probably be attracted here as well.

"Good, nephew, this piece is wonderful, wonderful indeed." Lei Wanhe clapped his hands after listening to it, nodding his head. Then he hurriedly went to the edge of the spirit field to pick up medicinal herbs. He didn't seem to appreciate the music much, but was more concerned about his own spiritual herbs.

Upon seeing this, Gu Qing couldn't help but exclaim, "Vulgar!"

Only Gu Qing dared to say such a thing. If it were any other Foundation Establishment disciple, wouldn't they all respectfully call Lei Wanhe "Grandmaster Uncle"?

I have never seen anyone who disrespects their ancestors.

With the elixir in hand, Lei Wanhe became engrossed in alchemy, quickly entering a state of complete absorption.

Seeing this, Gu Qing did not disturb them, but quietly cultivated outside the cave, taking out two Qi-Nourishing Pills when one was not enough.

Two Qi-Nourishing Pills weren't enough, so he took three, and so on, until five or six were gone and the gourd was empty. Only then did Gu Qing stop consuming them and begin refining the medicinal power within the pills.

I don't know if this counts as eating elixirs as food.

As Gu Qing's cultivation reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, his absorption speed of pills also increased significantly. Previously, it would take three months to absorb and refine one pill, half a year for three pills, and a year for six pills.

The absorption rate is now more than twice as fast. All six pills were absorbed in just three months. Gu Qing could clearly feel that his magical power had improved significantly.

At this rate, absorbing another 120 pills should be enough to break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Of course, this is just a rough estimate by Gu Qing, and whether it is accurate or not will only be known after he absorbs it.

However, Gu Qing knew that if these 120 pills were for someone else, they would be worth an astronomical number of spirit stones.

It should be noted that a Foundation Establishment Refinement Pill is worth twenty or thirty mid-grade spirit stones on the market. Gu Qing would need to consume a Foundation Establishment Refinement Pill worth more than 300,000 ordinary spirit stones in order to advance to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

This level of energy consumption is too much for even a Core Formation cultivator, let alone a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

No wonder Foundation Establishment cultivators only consume pills to improve their cultivation when their progress stagnates, because they simply cannot afford to consume them.

However, Gu Qing did not have this concern. He could cultivate spiritual herbs and refine pills on his own, and the seeds were always cultivated by Huangfeng Valley, so it did not require much of his time. This was one of the few benefits of joining Huangfeng Valley.

If you need any medicinal seeds, just go to Sect Leader Zhong; he will provide everything.

"At this rate, I can reach the Foundation Establishment stage in five or six years at most, and I'll probably be almost thirty by then. Then I can spend another ten years perfecting the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation technique, and another fifty years trying to break through to the Core Formation stage. Reaching the Core Formation stage within a hundred years doesn't seem like a difficult thing," Gu Qing thought to himself.

Gu Qing's cultivation level advanced so quickly not only because of good pill formulas, but also because he was fortunate enough to choose a superior wood-attribute cultivation technique to improve his cultivation.

In the world of mortal cultivation, all cultivation techniques are divided into three types. The first type is a technique with a very fast cultivation speed but relatively few spells and supernatural powers. Gu Qing's Nightmare Wood Technique belongs to this type of technique.

He had already mastered two spells by the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. One spell was the Wooden Stake Spell, which could conjure a wooden stake to strike the enemy, causing them to vomit blood continuously.

The second spell is to create a forest of wooden stakes, which rain down from the sky to attack the enemy. If an enemy is hit on the head, they will most likely die instantly.

It can be considered both a single-target skill and an area-of-effect skill, but Gu Qing has never used them.

The second type of cultivation method is the opposite of the first. The cultivation speed is very slow, but the spells and supernatural powers are numerous and powerful. Many cultivators who kill people above their level have cultivated this type of cultivation method.

As for the third type of cultivation method, it combines the advantages of both, but most of these methods have rather strict conditions, such as requiring a unique spiritual root or a dual spiritual root of fire and earth, while a dual spiritual root of fire and wood cannot be cultivated.

Gu Qing didn't even think twice before choosing the Nightmare Wood Technique, which allows one to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage and break through as soon as their mana reaches the required level, without needing to accumulate and repeatedly cultivate again.

There are no conditions that need to be met to cultivate to the next level. The only drawback is that you can only cultivate up to the Nascent Soul stage.

However, Gu Qing knew that he could switch to cultivating new techniques, so he wasn't too worried.

This is also why Gu Qing is confident that he can form a golden core within a hundred years.

After Gu Qing finished his practice, he stood up and looked into the cave. He noticed that the aroma of the pills had become much stronger.

Knowing that Lei Wanhe was at a crucial moment in refining the pills, Gu Qing naturally did not go up to disturb him, but simply sat down cross-legged and waited quietly.

Three more days passed, and the furnace emitted a muffled thud, spewing out the last few plump pills from the dragon's head.

"Hehehe, it turns out that the pills were delayed because the medicinal herbs were not old enough. Now they're finally done." Lei Wanhe laughed loudly.

Gu Qing entered the cave, took out a pill and examined it for a moment. Then his eyes lit up. This pill was more than ten times purer than the Qi-Nourishing Pill. As expected of a pill used by Core Formation cultivators, it was indeed powerful.

If Gu Qing could take this kind of pill, his cultivation speed would increase by more than half. In other words, he would be able to advance to the late Foundation Establishment stage in just three or four years.