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

Here, a fierce battle must have taken place between those above the Foundation Establishment stage; this mountain crevice, and several large pits around the mountain that are now submerged in vegetation, are most likely "old wounds" left behind by the violent shaking of the mountain caused by that battle.

However, judging from the timeline, it must have happened a very long time ago.

This spring of spiritual light was likely formed not too long ago, otherwise it wouldn't have survived until now.

Then they plugged up the small holes in the karst caves that had been weathered and were leaking spiritual energy from the spring.

He simply didn't have the patience to search one by one, so he simply used earthen wall talismans inside the mountain to weld the cave space where the eye of the spirit spring was located with layers of hard and thick rock walls.

Wang Li only stopped when he tested the mountain with the Twin-Eyed Rat, and when the little guy in his arms looked at the mountain in front of him with a blank expression and could no longer find the original source of spiritual energy.

The dual-pupiled rat can indeed see through obstacles like soil and rocks, but that's relative.

They are powerless against thick layers of soil and rocks.

Furthermore, without any leaked spiritual energy to guide them, their sensitive noses are essentially useless.

The fourth step, following immediately, was to dig tunnels for an escape route:

Using tunnels as a retreat is a valuable lesson learned from our ancestors.

Wang Li understood the essence of it.

Therefore, he dug three escape tunnels in total, one for the fake cave and one for the real cave. All of them were located more than a hundred feet underground and were reinforced twice with earthen wall talismans; only those who had not reached the Core Formation stage could use magic treasures to forcefully attack them, otherwise the earth and soil would not collapse and the tunnels would not be destroyed.

Considering the pursuers, Wang Li instructed the Iron-Armed Beast to dig seventy or eighty li in one go towards Xizhou, Yuanwu Kingdom, and Huangfeng Valley.

The passageway leading from the fake cave to Yellow Maple Valley serves a clear purpose.

The fate of the two passages to the True Cave Mansion remains to be seen.

As for where to go at that time, it will depend on the situation.

During this period, he carried all the gravel and mud in more than a dozen storage bags and dumped them all into the Xizhou Desert, letting the wind and sand do the work for him.

While the three iron-armed beasts dug energetically ahead, he stayed behind, refining pills and casually casting spells to reinforce the passage. As a result, despite lacking an earth-attribute spiritual root, his proficiency in basic earth magic was almost catching up to that of some specialized fire magic users.

Thus, at an average pace of about three miles per day, the project took fifty-three days in total.

However, Wang Li was willing to make this slight delay.

During this period, he also opened up several stone chambers and medicinal fields in the thick mountain wall next to the eye of the spiritual spring, specifically for cultivating spiritual herbs. He transplanted dozens of spiritual herbs and placed the Thousand Star Bee swarm and insect nests and eggs that he had planted under the restriction.

He also lavishly mixed spirit stone fragments corresponding to the attributes of the spirit herbs into the soil to maintain the fertility of the medicinal field. Furthermore, he diverted a small stream from the small pool of the spirit spring, ensuring that the spirit herbs in the medicinal field were not rootless duckweed. And in order not to damage the foundation of the spirit spring, the small stream he diverted was dammed.

Only when the water in the pool of the spiritual spring overflows the sluice gate, will the spiritually imbued spring water flow down the ditches and irrigate the spiritual fields.

This cycle occurs approximately once every seven days.

With the care of the Thousand Star Bees, maintaining the status quo of the spirit field is basically not a problem; and since the spirit field is fine, the Thousand Star Bee swarm, which relies on the spirit herbs and the Earth Origin Fruit Tree, will naturally not have any problems.

Finally, the fifth step: all that's missing is a more sophisticated array to complete the look.

Wang Li casually stuck the small illusion array flag bestowed by the sect outside the fake cave dwelling, just to make do. Following behind was a high-quality small illusion array produced by the Tianxing Sect, which, like the others, could only be used temporarily; neither was particularly effective.

"It's a pity that we couldn't find out any news about Qi Yunxiao and his grandson, nor could we find out where the Xin family was. Alas, Xin Ruyin and Qi Yunxiao are still young and probably not even ten years old yet."

Otherwise, we would definitely find it at any cost and then trouble these two to study the formation and weapon crafting for him.

To be honest, he knew a little about the Qi family's background; but Xin Ruyin's family seemed anything but simple!

Numerous ancient array formation manuals and methods for cultivating the second Nascent Soul stage suggest that one of their ancestors was a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator. It strongly suggests a family decline.

"With my current cultivation level at the early stage of Foundation Establishment (high level) and my cultivation speed, even with ample elixirs, it will still take me at least a year to reach the middle stage of Foundation Establishment..."

However, time waits for no one.

He was determined to obtain the complete Qingyuan Sword Manual, especially the Three Revolutions Rejuvenation Technique.

A few days later.

I am visiting Tianxingzong Market again.

This time, he wasn't there to buy anything, but to pick something up.

The magical artifacts and talismans should all be finished being crafted.

At the weapon-refining shop, the weapon refiner surnamed Xu has excellent skills.

The Human-Faced Scorpion crafted the following items: a common top-tier magic weapon "Soul-Stealing Hook", a fine top-tier magic weapon "Soul-Shattering Scissors", a high-tier magic weapon "Human-Faced Smiling Face", and two one-time consumable items "Shadow Mist Beads".

The Golden Python crafted the following items: a common top-tier magic weapon called "Thousand-Section Whip", two common top-tier magic weapons called "Black Heart Needles", a high-tier magic weapon called "Golden Leather Armor", and a bottle of a one-time consumable item called "Anesthetic Powder".

The items crafted by the Heavenly Bullfrog include: the common top-tier magic weapon "Jade Bead Silk", the upper-tier magic weapon "Pressure Clip", the upper-tier magic weapon "Microscopic Mirror", and the upper-tier magic weapon "Black Wind Thorn".

The Three-Eyed Fire Wolf crafted the following items: the high-grade magic weapon "Fire Wolf Fur", seven high-grade magic weapons "Fire Rocket", and a pair of high-grade magic weapons "Flying Claws".

The Azure Winged Demon Bat crafted the following items: the common top-tier magic weapon "Azure Winged Bat Wings" and a pair of high-tier magic weapons "Azure Fang Daggers".

Aside from a pair of high-grade magic artifacts called "Silver Thread Sets," the remaining materials were several other items taken from top-tier level one demonic beasts, but the forging ultimately failed.

(All of the above-mentioned monsters were obtained in the Crimson Forbidden Land; two of them were not explicitly mentioned.)

It's a pity, but the losses are still within a controllable range.

Moreover, the more than ten high-grade and top-grade magic artifacts he had entrusted to someone else's shop directly brought him more than 2,100 low-grade spirit stones, making his pockets bulge again.

"Master Xu, it's a pleasure doing business with you."

"Senior, thank you for your kindness."

"I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again in the future."

"Don't dare, don't dare..."

Good gathering and good dispersal.

The talisman shop acquired a total of fifty-two high-level beginner talismans and eleven mid-level beginner talismans.

Originally, the shop owner only needed to give Wang Li fifty high-level talismans, and the rest would be his due reward; but Wang Li casually spent two hundred spirit stones, taking not a single one. He also used five hundred spirit stones to buy the shop's last dozen or so low-level high-level talismans, plunging the shop into a shortage crisis.

From then on, only the final step remained in the preparations for the long journey.

The wind rises in Yue Kingdom

Chapter 55 Getting Something for Nothing 1

Yellow Maple Valley, a wholesale place for beginners' gear.

To be precise, it was Senior Brother Lin's workspace.

"Knock knock knock."

Outside the door, Wang Li, wearing a brand-new pair of high-grade magic artifact gloves called "Silver Silk Gloves," gently knocked on the door of the former young master of the Thousand Bamboo Sect:

“Wang Li, the sixth disciple of Li Huayuan, has come to discuss something with Senior Brother Lin.”

"Squeak..."

The door opened.

"Come in."

The sounds emanating from inside the house were filled with an inexplicable sense of vicissitude.

Upon hearing this, Wang Li raised an eyebrow, subtly gaining some understanding of the resentment and unwillingness in the hearts of those inside.

Stepping inside, you are greeted by a spacious and empty hall.

"what?"

This was his subconscious exclamation of surprise.

The reason is simple: from the outside, the house appears to be only 300 square meters; but once inside, it seems to be at least 400 square meters. Furthermore, the height of the house has increased by approximately 30%. It's unclear what tricks this person has played on the house, resulting in a transformation akin to a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru.

Apart from that, the only word to describe the entire room is "messy".

All sorts of miscellaneous items were scattered everywhere, piled up here and there. There were standard clothing from Yellow Maple Valley, the Blazing Sun Sword and the Cold Moon Blade, Green Leaf magic weapons, and low-level storage bags with ten times the storage capacity. Even everyday tools like hammers and shovels were plentiful.

What attracted Wang Li's attention the most was the gray-robed, disheveled old man sitting behind a table in the center of the room.

The man was intently carving a small, exquisite yellow wooden doll, completely ignoring the uninvited guest.

Seeing this, Wang Li was not in a hurry.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do," and so on. At most, it's just... "Damn it, he's been carving non-stop for a whole day?! I'll definitely chop this guy up when he's done."

For once, I cursed silently in my heart.

It's conceivable that even someone as calm and humble as him was worn down to the point of losing patience, which gives one a sense of the repression that this Senior Brother Lin must have been experiencing.

Because the more reserved a person is, the more resentful they are inside.

"This junior brother looks familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

Finally, the other side broke down first.

Wang Li breathed a sigh of relief, and with a slight smile, calmly replied:

"Senior Brother Lin, more than three years have passed, and you still remember me. Is this an honor for me?"

"Three years ago?"

"That's the Qi Refining stage disciple who entered the sect with the Yellow Maple Valley Ascension Token and was brought here by Uncle Chen Tianya to receive his beginner's gear."

"It's you?"

The old man was taken aback, quite surprised.

"It seems that Senior Brother Lin has remembered."

"Of course, how could I not remember a young man who was able to voluntarily give up the Foundation Establishment Pill that was part of the Ascension Token and seek the protection of the Chen family? He is a rare person who has self-awareness and knows how to make choices.

There was a hint of mockery in his words. It was unclear whether he was referring to Wang Li or mocking himself.

"Alright, I'm very busy. Junior brother, if you have something to say, just say it. If not, go do your own thing. Don't you find it boring to just wait silently in my humble abode like before?"

You're pretty arrogant, aren't you?

I greeted you as I entered, but you didn't greet me.

And then he started playing the patience game with me.