A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Rogue Cultivator

Simple:

"Uncle-Master, I was really unlucky. I took on a mission and planned to handle some trivial matters in the mortal realm along the way. It should have been finished in a month or two, but unexpectedly, I encountered two scoundrels fighting each other for treasure. They were fighting fiercely, and both of them were at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining. With my abilities at the time, I could handle one of them, but facing two at the same time, I was outmatched..."

Putting aside the flying sword talisman, this is very reasonable considering only the top-tier magic weapon Vermilion Bird Ring and ten basic high-tier talismans.

"At first, I didn't intend to get involved in their affairs, but I heard that they were from the same cultivation family and were risking their lives for the Foundation Establishment Pill..."

He licked his lips, his eyes sparkling, and said:

"Uncle-Master, that's a Foundation Establishment Pill! I didn't know how rare it was before, but now that I know, how could I possibly miss it?"

These words, though seemingly gentle, were actually barbed, making Uncle Chen quite uncomfortable.

"So you took advantage of both sides being weakened, and then you stalked the cicada from behind?"

As he spoke, this senior apprentice himself began to look strange.

How could such a rare and wonderful thing happen to this kid? And which two disciples from those cultivation families are they?

"No, I absolutely did not kill them or steal their treasure. I just helped them collect their bodies when they were about to die together, and took what I was entitled to for my work."

Just kidding, how can you say something like intercepting and killing disciples of immortal cultivation families?

Besides, he didn't do that.

If we admit this, then if such a coincidence really happens to someone else later, wouldn't he be the third party who reaps the benefits?

If this had happened to the Chen family, that would have been truly entertaining.

Anyway, he doesn't have a penchant for taking the blame for others.

"Is everything cleaned up?"

Uncle Chen didn't dwell on the trivial details; instead, he became concerned with the essential skills required for murder and robbery.

“Those two bastards were truly cunning. Even in death, they tried to trick me. I was injured by the insidious magical artifact on one of them. Although it wasn't fatal, it was still disgusting, so I set them both on fire. Apart from the pills and spirit stones that could be refined in time, I didn't dare touch anything else, including the magical artifact, for fear of leaving marks left by their elders.”

Seeing the strange expression on Uncle Chen's face, Wang Li braced himself and continued:

"Originally, I planned to complete the mission first and then return to Yellow Maple Valley after I recovered from my injuries; but on a whim, a flash of inspiration struck me, and I decided to try using that Foundation Establishment Pill! After refining many pills that could increase mana on the two of them, as well as the Foundation Establishment Pill, I ended up like this."

"You used it? You mainly relied on the medicinal power of this Foundation Establishment Pill to improve your strength?"

That little bastard is wasting such a precious resource! He's utterly wasting it!

If you were my son, I'd beat you to death, you good-for-nothing.

One Foundation Establishment Pill can be exchanged for enough pills to strengthen the foundation and enhance magical power, raising one's cultivation to the peak of Qi Refining. While it wasn't unheard of in ancient times to directly use Foundation Establishment Pills to improve one's power, it would be far too extravagant in this era of scarce spiritual herbs.

"I also want to achieve Foundation Establishment, I thought I had a chance to do it all in one go..."

Wang Li's voice trailed off, accompanied by a look of grievance.

"I……"

I felt like strangling this brat in front of me.

These three or four thousand spirit stones that came for free—why use them to increase your magic power when you could use them anywhere else?

It's not that those at the eleventh level of Qi Refining have no chance of Foundation Establishment; those at the seventh level and above have a certain probability of establishing their foundation with a Foundation Establishment Pill. It's just that the probability of success varies depending on cultivation level, and after Foundation Establishment, their mana at the same level will be slightly weaker.

However, if one waits until the thirteenth level of Qi Refining before taking the Foundation Establishment Pill, the probability of success will increase significantly. Moreover, after breaking through, one will be among the most powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators of the same batch.

"Alright, so be it if you fail. With your current cultivation level, plus the Vermilion Bird Ring I gave you, you should have no problem getting a Foundation Establishment Pill or two by participating in the Blood Forbidden Trial nine months from now."

Upon hearing the previous sentence, Wang Li felt a warm sensation throughout his body.

But the sentence that followed shattered his warmth and chilled him to the bone: I knew from the beginning that you wanted me to venture into the Blood Forbidden Zone.

Uncle Chen, I have no grudge against you, why did you betray me?

"Don't wear that sour face. This time, our family's leader is leading the team, and there are also two members of my Chen family participating in the trial. When the three of you go in, try to get together and look after each other. It won't be difficult to get some elixirs and come out alive."

Is the Chen family patriarch leading the team?

Wait a minute, isn't this job the exclusive task of Li Huayuan, Han Laomo's short-lived master?

Li Huayuan, a newly promoted early-stage Core Formation cultivator from Huangfeng Valley decades ago, perished at the hands of the Mulan Man Mage thirty or forty years later.

"Could it be that he only took on this job more than five years later, during the next trial?"

While thinking this in his heart, he didn't forget to say something else:

"By the way, Uncle-Master, I would like to guard the mountain gate for a period of time, to experience firsthand your dedication to your post, enduring wind, rain, and scorching sun. I want to deeply understand the loyalty and righteousness you have silently devoted to the sect. I hope you will grant my request!"

"Guarding the mountain gate? That's a tough job, are you sure?"

What's this kid up to?

"One month, just one month. I still need to prepare for the Blood Forbidden Trial for a month. Guarding it for a month should be enough!"

"Come if you want, it's two spirit stones a month, don't try to bargain with me."

Become!

"Thank you, Uncle Chen."

Chapter 23 Final Preparations Before the Blood Forbidden Trial 1

The reason for vying for this task of guarding the mountain gate was naturally for the spirit stones of the Hidden Moon Sect's Star-Picking Pavilion.

"Alright kid, go report to the Hundred Machines Hall. You've been away from the sect for too long this time. If you don't come back soon, even I'll assume you died out there."

"Yes, Uncle-Master."

After bowing and handing over a box, Wang Li happily set up his basic Azure Leaf Flying Artifact and headed straight for the Hundred Machines Hall.

Without using a top-tier flying sword, one should avoid flaunting wealth in public to prevent others from coveting it.

Once Wang Lifei was far away, another figure appeared in the same spot.

"Senior Brother Chen, that Qi Refining stage junior has been missing for over a year. Shouldn't we question him thoroughly? It's not appropriate to just let him enter the sect like that!"

"Explanation? Hasn't it already been explained? Everyone has their own opportunities. Even you and I, when faced with something like this, why would we care about anything else? Besides, he shows no signs of demonic arts, no trace of restrictions, and as a descendant of a sage who entered my Yellow Maple Valley with an Ascension Token, what's inappropriate about him?"

"Senior brother, aren't you afraid that he's already been turned by someone else? Or that he's a spy from another faction?"

"Heh, don't say that Wang is just a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator. Even if he were a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, so what? If my great Yellow Maple Valley didn't even have this much magnanimity, how could we have risen against the odds after that battle? Junior Brother Zhao, leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future. I know you don't believe his previous explanation and want to find out his secrets; but as cultivators, which cultivator doesn't have their own secrets?"

Uncle Chen's expression was exceptionally solemn:

"If we all rely on our cultivation level to bully the lower-level disciples of the sect like this, then can the Core Formation seniors in the sect also follow suit and bully us?"

"Senior brother, it's different..."

"What's the difference? Just because you're at the Foundation Establishment stage and he's only at the Qi Refining stage; you can be an elite in the sect, while he's just an ant looking up to us?"

Uncle Chen sneered.

"Senior brother, you've gone too far."

The Foundation Establishment cultivator surnamed Zhao's face darkened: he never expected that the person in front of him would protect a mere Qi Refining junior so much.

"Junior Brother Zhao, put away your petty and underhanded thoughts. He is someone I, Chen Tianya, have taken a liking to. Even my grandfather has heard of him. You have no right to make a move on him!"

At this moment, Uncle Chen's face no longer held a smile; instead, it displayed the arrogance of a member of the Chen family and the domineering presence of a mid-Foundation Establishment senior brother.

"Junior brother, I think you should go and do your own thing. You don't need to worry about Wang's matter."

He took a step forward and stood before the cultivator surnamed Zhao, releasing his aura so powerful that it made the other man appear shorter. If there were any outsiders present, they would surely have witnessed a heartwarming scene of the older brother looking down at his younger brother as the sun set.

"Good good..."

The Zhao family member, who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, decisively admitted defeat and left in a sorry state.

"Hmph! You wicked clown, you even dare to plot against the disciples of your own sect. Is that all you've got? You're just a piece of trash."

No wonder he waited twenty years without making any progress in the initial stage of Foundation Establishment; he probably put all his energy into this.

“If a sect or a family doesn’t even protect its own disciples and clansmen, but instead covets the opportunities of the younger generation, then this sect or family is divided and only puts its own interests first. How far is it from destruction?”

Aside from this, if you ask him why Chen would go to such lengths for a junior in the Qi Refining stage, what else could he do?

Secondly, the Chen family and Wang Li would benefit from a united front.

Wang Li's return is undoubtedly a shot in the arm for the Chen family's reputation. Even a junior belatedly realized this, so how could Chen Tianya not see it?

Thirdly, the little guy gave too much.

The box that had been delivered to him earlier contained a spiritual herb that was at least three hundred years old. Regardless of anything else, Old Chen was already smitten with this kid because of his honest attitude. He might not need the herb himself, but he could easily make a profit of four or five hundred spirit stones by reselling it to someone who did.

There aren't many good kids like this who know how to share their opportunities; he can't be short-sighted and kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Fourthly, and equally important to both of them, is the Blood Forbidden Trial.

With the outbreak of the ancient demonic calamity, the spiritual energy of the human realm was neutralized by the demonic energy of the demon realm, directly leading to a significant decrease in the concentration of spiritual energy. In addition, over thousands of years, the proliferation of cultivators and their unrestrained exploitation of spiritual herbs have resulted in a substantial reduction in the concentration of spiritual energy in the human realm compared to ancient times, with many ancient spiritual herbs and plants now extinct.

Within the Crimson Forbidden Land lies the main ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, along with other ancient spiritual herbs coveted by cultivators in the early stages of Core Formation. Every five years, the seven sects of Yue Kingdom send people into the area to harvest these herbs. However, the Forbidden Land is called so because of its perilous nature and the unique wind-attribute restriction that has remained outside it since ancient times.

With this restriction in place, any cultivator who enters can only be a small fry in the Qi Refining stage.

The battles during the Qi Refining stage are commonly known as "chickens pecking at each other."

However, due to the continuous mining over thousands of years, the growth rate of the spiritual herbs in the forbidden area can no longer keep up with the harvesting speed of the seven factions. As a result, even in a mere infighting, the mortality rate has been rising year by year, now reaching as high as 70% or even more.

This has made many Qi Refining stage disciples unwilling to gamble with their lives anymore.

Especially those at the twelfth or thirteenth level of Qi Refining, and many who have the protection of senior experts; they are more willing to pass the sect's tests and easily reap the fruits of victory that those who enter the forbidden area risk their lives to obtain.

The reason Wang Li dared to return to Huangfeng Valley was precisely this; the reason Chen accepted Wang Li was also precisely this.

The Crimson Forbidden Land will open in two months.

For Wang Li, whether it was to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill or for the sake of his Uncle Chen and the Chen family's friendship, this trip was essential. The two main ingredients for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill were only found in the Crimson Forbidden Land within the Yue Kingdom. With his current cultivation at the advanced thirteenth level of Qi Refining, he was among the top tier of weaklings and was bound to achieve something significant.

Protecting Wang Li means protecting the Chen family's chances of making a fortune.

Moreover, Uncle Chen also needed someone to go inside and pick two kinds of spiritual herbs suitable for the Foundation Establishment stage.

Previously, when Wang Li traded the Foundation Establishment Pill from the Ascension Token with Uncle Chen, the latter generously gave away the ancient pill formula suitable for the mid-to-late stages of Foundation Establishment. In fact, he had just placed a small, unremarkable move on Wang Li.

Please believe that, apart from your closest relatives, there is no such thing as free love in this world.

Uncle Chen's care and concern were also based on his own selfish motives.

Someone saw this very clearly.