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

This distance is beyond the reach of a typical Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense.

It wasn't that he didn't want to help people.

If this is Jianzhou under the jurisdiction of Huangfeng Valley, then there is no problem with him taking action.

Even if the evil cultivator was at the late Foundation Establishment stage, he wouldn't mind joining forces with his fellow disciples to fight him.

But this isn't Jianzhou; it's a prefecture under the Giant Sword Sect.

Why are you, an outsider, meddling in this?

Not only will doing good deeds not bring goodwill, but it will also cause trouble for no reason, leading people from the Giant Sword Sect to speculate wildly about what Huangfeng Valley is up to.

He had only heard rumors about helping an old lady who had fallen to her feet, and then getting himself into trouble and losing his family, but these stories were not entirely unfounded.

Moreover, it was not appropriate for him to reveal his identity on this trip, otherwise he would be in considerable trouble.

Therefore, offering a reminder to reduce casualties is already a concession he made by taking some risks.

A more cautious approach would undoubtedly be to leave quietly.

So, after offering a friendly reminder, I didn't intend to say another word and promptly left.

"The path of immortality, the path of immortality, ah, when the path of immortality prospers, it is the mortals who suffer; when the path of immortality declines, it is still the mortals who suffer."

If my abilities reach that point in the future, perhaps I can try to change the current state of the first and second realms.

Now is not the time to be overly charitable or to be self-righteous!

And so it went, without fanfare or trouble...

Nothing unexpected happened during the rest of the journey.

……

Ganzhou, Mengshan.

This place is occupied by four rogue cultivators at the Qi Refining stage.

The four men were known as the Four Friends of Mengshan.

The eldest brother was a middle-aged man with a cultivation level of the twelfth level of Qi Refining. Unfortunately, he was past the age limit for the Ascension Conference and was therefore unable to participate in the Cloud Mist Platform Arena.

The second brother was a middle-aged man, at the tenth level of Qi Refining.

The third sister was a rather attractive woman with a cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi Refining.

The youngest of the four, a young man with a scholarly air, is also the most handsome, and has reached the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Wang Li arrived here half a month ago.

The most important reason for coming to find these four people was undoubtedly to inquire about the whereabouts of the Heavenly Thunder Stone. Secondly, there was also the intention of having the youngest but most talented of the four join the Giant Sword Sect, and then using him to target the barefoot giant.

Mengshan Lao Si is the second most suitable candidate besides Zhang Tie.

This junior brother Zhang, whose mind is still not mature enough, is clearly more suitable.

Unlike the three major forces in the Xi Kingdom's cultivation world, such as the Luoyun Sect and the Baiqiao Academy, which are very exclusive, the seven sects of Yue Kingdom, although mostly family-based sects, do recruit outsiders, but with higher requirements.

The main reason why many independent cultivators look forward to the once-a-decade Ascension Ceremony is the allure of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

If one truly possesses the cultivation level of the eleventh or twelfth level of Qi Refining, one can actually begin to understand it.

Furthermore, because the seven sects of Yue Kingdom were essentially appendages of both the righteous and demonic paths, they were open to all, and their tests for new disciples were not as extreme as those of the three sects of Xi Kingdom. (Otherwise, the Ascension Conference and the Ascension Token would be a joke.)

Therefore, in order to successfully obtain the silver pages from the barefoot giant, Zhang Tie, who was somewhat lacking in temperament, could only serve as a safety net; the four friends of Mengshan, who were considered promising talents, especially the fourth one, were the main force. At the age of eighteen or nineteen, with a cultivation level of the eighth level of Qi Refining, he was definitely a gifted individual among many rogue cultivators.

Training is the least labor-intensive and lowest-cost method.

And so, on a dark and windy night...

"Senior, Tian Lei Zi is in the Bai Bao Tang in that small market town a few hundred miles from here..."

Wang Li was the first to attack the leader of the group.

"A small market run by a cultivation family?"

After the middle-aged man revealed the information Wang Li wanted, Wang Li knocked him unconscious with a karate chop, then administered the Forget-Me-Not Pill. As the name suggests, this pill allows the user to forget what just happened without pain or worry. Wang Li had spent nearly a year diligently preparing for this, especially the materials needed to forge low- to mid-level puppets.

As for the fourth son?

In the form of a cave dwelling left behind by a cultivator, he secretly bestowed upon this fellow an opportunity, allowing his cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds within a few months, reaching the eleventh level of Qi Refining.

Furthermore, clues were left behind, indicating that this cave was created by a senior member of the Great Sword Sect who inherited the legacy of the Ancient Sword Sect. Only those who bring items of the same lineage can unlock the subsequent restrictions and ultimately obtain the greatest fortune within this cave.

In other words, it's a chance to establish a foundation!

"It's reasonable that the seriously injured senior of the Greatsword Sect would set up such a test to prevent the benefits from falling into other people's hands, right?"

The so-called "one lineage" refers to the sword-making method recorded on the surface of the "silver page".

It doesn't need to be flawless; it's enough to arouse the greed of ordinary people.

The opportunity to establish a foundation is far too tempting for the vast majority of independent cultivators who are stuck in the Qi Refining stage for their entire lives.

Otherwise, how could the Black Fiend Cult have grown to thousands of followers in just over a decade?

To be honest, Mengshan's fourth brother is also a heartless person.

The other three took great care of him, treating him like a younger brother with all their heart among countless independent cultivators.

However, he felt perfectly justified in eating alone.

There was absolutely no intention to share the benefits left behind by the cultivators in their cave dwellings.

Chapter 59 Fishing

Therefore, Wang Li valued this person even more.

Hopefully, this person can lure out the barefoot giant.

Next, Wang Li entered a state of arduous cultivation again, practicing the Azure Origin Sword Technique and the Great Evolution Technique while refining the puppets from the Puppet True Explanation.

At the same time, he began to learn the four complementary techniques: the Dividing Spirit Technique, the Soul-Trapping Technique, the Soul-Gathering Technique, and the Soul-Refining Technique.

The Divine Separation Technique allows one to dedicate a wisp of divine consciousness to the puppet, thus enabling skillful control. This is far more refined than Wang Li's crude and stiff control of magic power during his Qi Refining stage.

The Soul-Trapping Technique, Soul-Gathering Technique, and Soul-Refining Technique are the techniques that need to be practiced to create puppets.

The Soul-Trapping Technique can guide the soul out of a corpse.

This technique is relatively weak, has a low success rate, and can only be used on recently deceased corpses; compared to demonic arts that specialize in the soul, it is far inferior. It has many drawbacks. The advantage is that it has extremely low requirements for the practitioner's magical power level; it can be used normally at the Foundation Establishment stage, which is perfect for Wang Li at his current stage.

The Soul Condensation Technique is a method for condensing the soul.

It can also be seen as a means of creating a powerful artificial soul.

After all, naturally powerful demon souls are hard to find in the cultivation world of Tiannan. Based on this, the method of artificially combining multiple weak souls into a powerful one came into being.

The more advanced puppets mostly use artificially created powerful souls, born from the fusion of dozens or even hundreds of souls. While these souls are not as effective as naturally powerful souls, they are still stronger than puppets made from lower-level souls.

The final soul-refining technique involves modifying the soul.

A puppet is ultimately just a puppet; it's impossible to directly fuse an ordinary living soul with an inanimate puppet. The special processing step of the Soul Refining Technique plays a crucial role in this process.

At first, Wang Li started with small animals such as mice, lynxes, and birds.

Extract the souls of these little guys and then try to craft puppets.

Perhaps it was because he had mastered the first level of the Great Evolution Technique, but his divine sense had greatly increased, and the entire process of guiding, condensing, and refining the soul went very smoothly. He could also flexibly control the divided spirit by entrusting it to the artifact, making it even easier than simply using magic power to control the artifact.

However, the difficulty level increases dramatically when it comes to crafting mid-level first-grade puppets.

The first month or so ended in failure.

He nearly wiped out all the small animals near Mengshan, causing a sudden, inexplicable mass migration. By the time Wang Li came to his senses, most of the snakes, insects, and rodents had vanished, leaving him quite annoyed.

By the way, the souls of the seven little loaches should be quite good, right?

It's a demon beast's soul, isn't it?

The essence of demonic beasts can not only be used to refine highly flexible puppets, but also to enhance magical artifacts, greatly increasing their spirituality.

However, each magical artifact can only be imbued with a spirit the first time, becoming a spirit-like entity; and regardless of whether it succeeds or not, the artifact will resist the entry of a second spirit afterward.

Just like the three elements of possession, this is also an ironclad rule in the world of cultivation.

Therefore, Wang Li's gaze as he looked at the spirit beast pouch at his waist suddenly changed.

"Never mind, people aren't plants or trees, how can they be without feelings?"

I've been with him for a year now, and I'm finding it hard to bring myself to do it.

It's definitely not about waiting for the seven little ones to grow up before taking action.

More than half a year later, Wang Li was overjoyed for several days after successfully crafting a first-level high-grade puppet comparable to a high-grade magic weapon.

Because of him, he now possesses a powerful technique that is not afraid of late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Moreover, the large amount of ironwood, fir wood, and other refining materials that he had been hoarding in his pocket these past few days finally found their purpose.

The clanging and banging of forging.

One, two, three...

On the other hand, the script unfolded exactly as Wang Li had predicted: Mengshan's fourth brother, who had abandoned the other three without saying goodbye, secretly joined the Giant Sword Sect, which was thousands of miles away; and more than a year later, he returned to Mengshan and went straight to the so-called cave dwelling left by a cultivator that Wang Li had specially arranged to seek opportunities.

"Senior brother, this is the place. I don't need the follow-up method of your sword-condensing technique; but you must give me the opportunity to establish my foundation."

No one knows what method the fourth brother of Mengshan used, but he managed to find the barefoot giant among tens of thousands of Qi Refining stage disciples in such a short time.

As for how to bring it out?

Wang Li knew exactly what was going on.

The answer likely lies in the jade slip he left for the other party.

"No problem, no problem. This opportunity originally belonged to my junior brother. I am already fortunate to have obtained the Foundation Establishment stage sword condensation method. Why would I covet my junior brother's Foundation Establishment opportunity?"

On the silver page, there was only a sword-condensing method suitable for the Qi Refining stage, a fact that Wang Li was well aware of.

Therefore, the special sword-condensing methods mentioned in the jade slip, which allow for cultivation of Foundation Establishment and even Core Formation stages, are extremely attractive to the Han Dynasty. It's easy to imagine how much importance the barefoot giant would place on this information after learning about it through the young man.

"Phew, that's good."

Having received the great man's sincere assurance, the young man felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

"Senior brother, this way."