If Gou Cheng becomes the Dao Ancestor, the monkey will come to become his disciple.

After learning some of the secrets of Foundation Establishment from the "True Flame Technique" and "Thick Earth Technique", he began to ponder them.

Without the assistance of foundation-building spiritual objects such as "Great Sun True Flame", is it possible to directly achieve foundation building?

It seems that it is definitely possible now, but the quality of the foundation may not be high.

But what if you raise the level of your cultivation technique to its limit?

To break through each level of a low-grade cultivation technique, one needs to open 36 internal spiritual apertures; a mid-grade technique requires 72; a high-grade technique requires 108; and a top-grade technique requires approximately 144.

And what about the highest-grade cultivation techniques?

Are there even higher-level cultivation techniques?

The human body has countless spiritual apertures, as numerous as the stars. If he were to evolve his cultivation technique to its ultimate level, he might be able to create a peerless technique that could build a ninth-grade Dao foundation even without the need for a foundation-building spiritual object.

Once you have a direction,

Jiang Chuan was full of energy and prepared to go to the market to buy some food and clothing, gather the latest information, and also purchase the next stage of the Talisman Dao cultivation method, Youth Preservation Pills, and spirit herb seeds, etc.

Lingtian Exit, Octagonal Pavilion in the Center of the Lake

Zhang Hao glanced at Jiang Chuan, whose hands were empty, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, are you getting ready to go out?"

Jiang Chuan shook his head and replied, "My cultivation has hit a bottleneck, so I'm going to the market to try my luck."

Zhang Hao stroked his beard and reminded him, "You've been in seclusion for a long time and are unaware of the current situation. Due to the monster rampage, the market has been quite chaotic lately. Demons have infiltrated, and cultivators are rampant. You must be careful..."

Jiang Chuan's eyes narrowed slightly. Could it be that more than a year has passed and the monster riots are still not over?

Demons have infiltrated, and thieves are running rampant?

Has the situation become that critical?

Currently, I'm living a comfortable life farming and developing in Taihu Market. However, if the market is breached by monsters, then things will get really messy.

A sense of urgency suddenly arose in his heart.

"Thank you for informing me, senior. I will be careful!"

……

Watching Jiang Chuan's departing figure, a hint of doubt flashed in Zhang Hao's cloudy, aged eyes.

Jiang Chuan gave him a strange, even extremely dangerous feeling, like facing a terrifying beast...

"Something's not right. He's just a rogue cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining, how could he give me this feeling?"

"But I cultivate the immortal sect's 'Longevity and Nourishment Technique,' which, though of average power, provides the most acute sense of danger, and I have never made a mistake in decades."

"He must be hiding something. Should we investigate?"

Zhang Hao was conflicted for a moment.

…………

More than a year later, walking on the main street of Fangshi again,

The former hustle and bustle was long gone, replaced by a chilling atmosphere. All the other cultivators present looked hurried and wary.

As Jiang Chuan passed by the group, he could clearly sense the bloodthirsty aura emanating from them.

"The situation seems to be a bit serious."

Jiang Chuan's heart tightened. He tugged at the hem of his clothes to cover the storage bag and quickened his pace, heading towards Biyang Tower...

Biyang Tower remained bustling with people, and the cultivators coming and going all possessed powerful auras.

He glanced around and saw that most of them were cultivators in the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining.

Jiang Chuan didn't head straight for the Taoist magic area as before, but instead went to the pill area first.

Unlike the quiet and deserted Daoist area, the pill area was bustling with cultivators, and the shelves were filled with a dazzling array of pills.

By referring to the description of the pills, Jiang Chuan figured out the purpose of the three bottles of pills he had intercepted from Old Man Wang.

The two bottles contain mid-grade Tier 1 "Qi Condensation Pills," which can be used by mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators to enhance their cultivation. Each pill costs 5 spirit stones.

One bottle contains a mid-grade Tier 1 "Eternal Spring Pill," which can be used to restore mana. Each pill costs 8 spirit stones.

He estimated that the value of just three bottles of pills exceeded 180 low-grade spirit stones.

This puzzled him.

Old Man Wang and Wang Yuyan not only possess storage bags, but also multiple mid-grade cultivation techniques, high-grade flying swords, and numerous elixirs... Their wealth far surpasses his, so why would they target a poor wretch like him?

Is it really for a mere ten or so spirit stones?

Or is there another secret?

After browsing through the pill section, Jiang Chuan couldn't find the legendary "Youth-Preserving Pill," and he frowned slightly. Without the Youth-Preserving Pill, his appearance would constantly change as his lifespan increased and was depleted, causing him a lot of inconvenience.

Jiang Chuan approached a female cultivator selling goods and asked, "Excuse me, fairy, do you have any Youth-Preserving Pills?"

"A youth-preserving pill?" The female cultivator selling the goods chuckled upon hearing this, then quickly regained her composure, shook her head, and spoke in a sweet and gentle voice, like a spring breeze.

"We don't sell youth-preserving pills here."

Not for sale?

That means it exists.

Jiang Chuan then asked, "Excuse my boldness, but may I ask where you sell the Youth-Preserving Pill?"

The female cultivator shook her head again: "I don't know either!"

"However, I heard that the Youth Preservation Pill is a second-tier spiritual pill, and its main ingredients are very rare. Perhaps it can be found in Yunmeng Immortal City."

"Thank you for informing me, fairy!"

Jiang Chuan was somewhat disappointed. He had heard of Yunmeng Immortal City before. It was said to be the most prosperous immortal city in Jingzhou, with many high-level cultivators and Golden Core cultivators stationed there year-round. It was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from Taihu Market.

"Since we couldn't buy the Youth Preservation Pill, we need to find a transformation spell first."

Arriving at the Taoist scriptures section,

Jiang Chuan was browsing on his own when his pupils contracted when he saw a familiar cultivation technique.

"True Flame Technique": A mid-grade first-level cultivation technique that can be cultivated up to the Foundation Establishment stage. Price: 150 low-grade spirit stones.

"It's so expensive?"

Jiang Chuan was somewhat surprised, as the price of a mid-grade first-level cultivation technique was more than ten times higher than that of a low-grade first-level cultivation technique.

Next, he found the "Thick Earth Technique" and the "Diamond Body," priced at 140 and 130 low-grade spirit stones respectively.

"According to the system panel, the human body's spiritual root attributes are divided into: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, light, time, and space, a total of 10 attributes. I already have cultivation techniques with the wood, fire, and earth attributes..."

If you want to deduce the most powerful cultivation technique, it's best to then look for cultivation techniques of other attributes for reference.

Jiang Chuan searched carefully for a while,

They selected the Water Element Scripture (water attribute), the Metal Element Scripture (metal attribute), the Gale Force (wind attribute), and the True Thunder Guidance (thunder attribute), all of which are first-tier low-grade cultivation techniques.

As for the remaining three attributes—time, space, and light—he did not find them. These types of spiritual roots are rare, so it is normal that he could not find them.

In addition, he also found a book on transformation techniques called "Thousand Illusions Technique", a book on weapon control techniques, a book on basic formations, a book on alchemy, and a book on basic weapon crafting notes. All of them were basic techniques and were not expensive, costing him a total of 200 spirit stones.

As for advanced talisman manuals, he couldn't find them.

After Jiang Chuan paid the bill, he casually asked, "Excuse me, fairy, where can I find advanced talisman manuals?"

The young female cultivator looked at Jiang Chuan, recognized him, and let out a soft exclamation:

"...Hey, it's you. Are you a talisman master?"

Jiang Chuan was taken aback when the other person recognized him, and he stammered:

"I'm just somewhat interested!"

The young female cultivator chuckled lightly, "Look how scared you are! Do you think I'd eat you?"

Jiang Chuan gave an awkward laugh, inwardly cursing, "Who knows what you're up to?"

You gold-digging woman who looks down on people, you didn't treat me like this when I didn't have spirit stones...

Seeing Jiang Chuan's "dull" attitude, the young female cultivator quickly lost interest and pointed upstairs.

"All the advanced cultivation techniques, elixirs, and magical artifacts are on the second floor..."