Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

Inside the cave at Lingxiu Peak.

Zhang Li sat cross-legged on the futon, regulated his breathing for a while, and after ensuring that his mind was calm, he took out the jade slip containing the "Golden Crow Burning Flame Scripture", placed it on his brow, and began to study the technique word by word.

This Qi cultivation technique is divided into ten levels, each corresponding to a minor realm.

The first seven levels of the cultivation technique consist of about four thousand words, which isn't a lot of content, but it still took him ten days to begin to comprehend it.

This speed far exceeded Zhang Li's expectations; he had originally intended to take longer.

It was noon that day.

Zhang Li timed his arrival perfectly and went to the summit of Lingxiu Peak, where he found a spacious, deserted bluestone platform.

After setting up several talismans around him as a warning, Zhang Li sat cross-legged on the bluestone platform, his palms facing upwards. Under the blazing sun, he silently recited the incantation of the cultivation technique while simultaneously forming hand seals to guide the vital energy of the sun that was circulating around him.

Countless tiny golden specks of light fell from the blazing sun, drawn together by the hand seals, and transformed into a slender, blazing golden thread that entered his body.

The moment the essence of the sun enters the body, a tearing, burning pain instantly spreads throughout the body, as if a red-hot iron wire is constantly being pierced through the body, and the skin of the whole body turns a hot, reddish color.

In that instant, he thought he had returned to those two days and nights of practicing the Root Shaping Method.

Despite the excruciating pain, Zhang Li dared not be careless in the slightest. He gathered his energy and focused his mind, slowly circulating his qi through his body according to the cultivation technique, forcibly dragging this wisp of violent sun essence along the predetermined meridians, refining it little by little.

The originally pale red magic power gradually turned golden red as it flowed.

Not only is the purity and quality of its magic power far superior to that cultivated by the original Qingxuan Breathing Technique, but it also possesses the supreme yang power and violent might of the Great Sun. Its seemingly stable magic power contains extremely strong explosive force.

It is far more useful in combat than the magical power cultivated by the Azure Profound Breathing Technique.

Using this magic to activate fire-based spells will make them even more powerful. With this technique, he will definitely have a significant advantage in future battles.

Switching to a new cultivation method cannot be rushed, especially for a method like the "Golden Crow Burning Flame Scripture."

Zhang Li did not deliberately pursue speed. He spent half a month completely transforming the original magic power in his body into the magic power of the "Golden Crow Burning Flame Scripture".

"My cultivation level is indeed somewhat unstable."

Elder Lin's words flashed through Zhang Li's mind, and he shook his head.

After the complete transformation, he felt the total amount of mana remaining in his dantian, which was roughly equivalent to the mana power possessed by a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator.

Zhang Li knew that it was normal for his magical power to drop after switching to a higher-level cultivation technique, but to drop two levels directly was a bit too much.

The reason for his unstable cultivation level was naturally due to consuming too many pills, which was an unavoidable problem.

Limited by his spiritual root aptitude, how could he possibly cultivate to the late stage of Qi Refining so quickly without taking medicine?

"Fortunately, the quality of this cultivation technique is high enough, and the absorption of the Great Sun's essence also has the effect of refining magical power, so my future cultivation will not be as superficial as before."

Feeling the solidified magical power, Zhang Li felt it was necessary to find a technique specifically for refining magical power.

As one's cultivation level increases, the medicinal power contained in the pills consumed will only increase, and eventually, the Great Sun Essence will not be able to keep up.

The cultivation method can be found slowly; for now, the Great Sun Essence is sufficient.

"Truly worthy of being a cultivation technique that allows one to reach the late stage of the Golden Core realm."

With this cultivation technique by his side, his chances of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage have increased.

……

After successfully switching cultivation techniques, Zhang Li took advantage of the rule that he was exempt from miscellaneous duties during his first year as an inner disciple and simply began his seclusion.

It was only after he went into seclusion that he realized there were quite a few things waiting for him to cultivate and deal with.

In terms of techniques, I need to continue to comprehend the first move of the Burning Cloud Sword Technique, and I also need to start cultivating the second level of the Azure Flame Technique, which has not progressed in the past ten years.

He has already purchased the Green Wood Core for his secondary cultivation.

There's also that silver page he obtained from the cave of a Foundation Establishment cultivator; he needs to find time to decipher the ancient seal script on it.

The understanding of cultivation techniques should precede the cultivation level. Now that I have just switched to cultivating the "Golden Crow Burning Flame Scripture", I need to thoroughly understand the mental techniques of the later levels in advance, so as not to be at a loss when I advance to a higher level.

In addition, there are two other skills that are the most time-consuming and laborious: alchemy and talisman making.

Needless to say, alchemy is a given, and the refining of the Qi-Nourishing Pill must be put on the agenda as soon as possible. In terms of talisman making, we should also start trying to draw the first mid-grade spiritual talisman.

Zhang Li is now in the late stage of Qi Refining, so at least a mid-grade spirit talisman is needed to be effective during his battles.

"There's just not enough time."

Zhang Li sighed silently and took out the Aoki Core he had bought earlier from his storage bag.

He wanted to test how many Green Wood Cores he would need to successfully cultivate the second level of the Azure Flame Technique.

The core of the green wood is taken from a spiritual tree called the Evergreen Tree. The most valuable part of this spiritual tree is the core of the green wood, which can be used as a substitute for pills for cultivators who practice wood-attribute techniques.

Although the core of the greenwood comes from the spirit tree, it is not wood. It resembles jade but is not jade. Its texture is relatively soft and more like a gelatinous substance. It emits a unique fragrance. It is round in shape, and a well-preserved one is about the size of an egg.

Zhang Li picked one up, placed it in his palm, and then activated the Azure Flame Technique, enveloping the entire Azure Wood Core in azure flames.

As a wood-attribute spiritual object, Green Wood Core is not very resistant to fire.

Enveloped in the azure flames, it quickly turned into a liquid state. Zhang Li seized the opportunity and activated the second level of the Azure Flame Technique, refining the liquid azure wood core into the azure flames.

After the first refining, Zhang Li activated the Azure Flame again and immediately saw the changes in the Azure Flame. The color was darker and the power seemed to be stronger than before.

However, the change in intensity was very limited; he could only vaguely perceive that there was a change.

"At this rate, we'll definitely need a lot of core wood, so it's more cost-effective to grow our own."

After a rough estimate, Zhang Li ultimately decided to plant it himself.

"Take it slow. The more you need for the transformation, the stronger the power will be after the transformation is complete."

After saying that, he took out another green wood core and began a new round of refining.

For the next period of time, Zhang Li became busy again. Even though she tried to allocate her time reasonably, her days were still packed full, leaving no free time at all.

During his seclusion, several fellow disciples living nearby sent him visiting cards, and he was able to take a few hours of rest while they visited.

A few days later, Zhang Li received a reply from Lu Ran, who congratulated him on his advancement to the inner sect and his breakthrough to the late stage of Qi Refining. However, she was also currently in seclusion. She also took the time to reply, indicating that after she came out of seclusion, the two of them could arrange to trade again as before.

Zhang Li readily agreed and then entered seclusion once again.