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

"Alright, let's open up a cave dwelling nearby and start cultivating. If I remember correctly, Han Li's cave dwelling should be around here. That would be really interesting," Gu Qing said with a smile.

The seven factions of Yue probably never imagined that they would be blind to their own shortcomings, as they actually ran back to Huangfeng Valley's territory, even near their own disciples.

As for Han Li, he is a cautious person, and it's safe to say he won't reveal what happened today.

Han Li is the kind of person who prefers to avoid trouble, and besides, he also has secrets in his heart, so he probably doesn't want to attract too much attention.

Having made their plans, Gu Qing and Tieguai Li opened up a cave dwelling in a nearby mountain range.

The pills that were previously placed in Tieguai Li's gourd to be nurtured are almost ready.

As mentioned before, pills nurtured in Tieguai Li's gourd are easier to absorb, and even mortals can swallow and digest these potent pills.

This also gives Tieguai Li's pills the special effect of curing all diseases. In other words, while the body suffers damage from the impact of swallowing multiple pills on the meridians, it is also nourished by the pills.

This might explain why elixirs imbued with immortal energy can be consumed by ordinary mortals, let alone a cultivator like Gu Qing.

Therefore, Gu Qing doesn't need to go through the trouble of consuming one before swallowing the next.

Gu Qing swallowed all ten pills at once. This method of swallowing pills was also recorded in the Immortal Realm and was very safe with no side effects.

Of course, this is not a record from the mortal realm of immortals, but a record from the primordial immortal realm. There was a monkey who swallowed a large number of immortal pills and eventually gained powerful magic.

The only drawback of this method of ingestion is that it requires a slightly longer refining time.

And so, Gu Qing went into seclusion, focusing solely on absorbing the medicinal power of the pills, ignoring everything else. As for safety, Tieguai Li was there for him.

The effects of the Peiyuan Pill are excellent. Absorbing ten pills together can raise one's cultivation level to a visible degree. A faint blue magical power was circulating on Gu Qing's entire body surface. This was the medicinal power that had nowhere else to flow flowing to the surface of his body. Fortunately, this medicinal power did not dissipate over time, but was instead absorbed into his body.

The Peiyuan Pill is a type of advancement pill that can be used up to the late stage of Core Formation, making it extremely durable.

Moreover, Gu Qing doesn't need to worry about developing drug resistance from absorbing pills, as Tieguai Li's gourd can solve the problem of drug resistance.

Once imbued with immortal energy, the pills no longer have any resistance; they can be directly absorbed and cultivated until the pseudo-core stage is reached.

Even those in the Core Formation stage can absorb the Qi Cultivation Pill. However, the amount of mana required for Core Formation and Foundation Establishment stages is worlds apart; they are simply incomparable. It is estimated that Gu Qing will change to a Core Formation stage pill formula at that time.

Gu Qing had a pill formula for Core Formation stage cultivators, called Guiyi Pill.

Besides cultivating elixirs, the immortal energy in Tieguai Li's gourd has many other uses, including the ability to bring the dead back to life, though it is unknown what limitations this ability has.

I wonder how the gourd extracts its celestial energy. Could it be like the Heavenly Bottle, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon and then transforming it into a wisp of celestial energy?

However, there's no evidence that the gourd absorbed any essence of the sun or moon, suggesting that its operating principle isn't that simple.

Gu Qing once asked Tieguai Li about the mystery behind it, but Tieguai Li himself was not very sure, only saying that it was related to water.

Then there's the concept of "One begets two, two begets three, three begets all things." All things carry yin and embrace yang, and through the interaction of these energies, harmony is achieved.

This is the core theory of Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching," and Gu Qing only vaguely understood it.

Cultivation knows no time. In the blink of an eye, Gu Qing had absorbed and refined more than eighty pills. Because he had dual spiritual roots, and the Nightmare Wood Technique he cultivated was known for its fast cultivation speed, the speed at which he refined pills was extremely fast.

In just three years, Gu Qing's cultivation level reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Thinking back, it has been almost seven or eight years since I left Huangfeng Valley. Half of those seven or eight years was spent refining pills, while the other half was spent refining pills and collecting materials.

No wonder Nascent Soul stage ancestors eventually build their own forces; it's just too time-consuming to handle materials all by themselves.

If you factor in the time spent searching for medicinal herbs, it would probably take at least several decades for a Nascent Soul cultivator to refine a batch of pills that would significantly improve their cultivation.

Fortunately, Gu Qing had the Purple Gold Flute, a powerful cheating tool, so he didn't need to spend too much time searching for medicinal herbs from the right year.

"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on breaking through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. You are one step closer to the Great Dao." Tieguai Li came up to congratulate Gu Qing on his breakthrough.

Gu Qing shook his head slightly, then smiled and said, "I still have to thank you for nurturing the pills with the gourd. Without those pills, we might still be out searching for pill formulas and herbs."

"Hehehe, everything is what you deserve, fellow Daoist. Now that you've emerged from seclusion, where are you planning to go? Or will you continue your cultivation to break through to a higher realm?" Tieguai Li couldn't help but ask.

After pondering for a moment, Gu Qing said, "Judging by the time, it has been three years since I last saw my disciple. It seems the invasion of the demonic path is about to begin. It's time to go out and make some preparations."

Gu Qing did not intend to continue his seclusion, but instead prepared to go out to find a teleportation array and also to find Xin Ruyin to repair it.

If you want Xin Ruyin to repair the formation, you have to see the formation first. Even if Xin Ruyin has extraordinary abilities, she cannot repair the formation if she hasn't even seen it.

As for where the formation is, Gu Qing wasn't really sure, but he did have a clue: by following Han Li, there was a chance he could eventually find the teleportation array.

As for why it's said to be a probability, it's because of Gu Qing's intrusion; it's unknown whether Han Li will go to Yan Family Fortress.

If Han Li hadn't come to Yan Family Fortress, none of what happened afterward would have occurred.

If nothing else happened, it would be difficult to guess which mine the teleportation array was located in.

In short, this matter is somewhat troublesome.

Gu Qing cupped his hands to Tieguai Li and said, "I'll leave everything to you, fellow Daoist, to protect me."

"That's how it should be!" Tieguai Li said with a smile, leaning on his cane.

The two exchanged a smile and then left the cave. Afterwards, Tieguai Li and Gu Qing re-entered the Yue Kingdom.

At this time, the seven sects of Yue Kingdom were still searching for Gu Qing's whereabouts and had not stopped. However, because the rogue cultivators were making a ruckus, they were not as strict as before.

After entering the Yue Kingdom, Gu Qing and Tieguai Li met at a gathering of immortal cultivators and received a portrait that showed Gu Qing's true appearance.

However, this appearance is from six or seven years ago. Gu Qing's appearance has changed a lot since then, and with the disguise, basically no one would recognize her.

Unless he encounters the patriarch of one of the seven sects of Yue, who can see through his disguise.