Cultivators' Combat Power

"Junior Brother Han, there is no need to be discouraged over losing one Foundation Establishment Pill. Aside from the trial in the Bloody Forbidden Zone that I just mentioned, the sect has another way to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills: the once-every-ten-years Sect Grand Tournament.

As long as one is under thirty and makes it into the top two or three hundred, they can receive a Foundation Establishment Pill after the tournament ends. The exact ranking required depends on how many Foundation Establishment Pills the sect higher-ups are willing to offer.

Though both methods are exceedingly difficult, they are still far better than when you were a Rogue Cultivator, crying to heaven with no answer and finding no way forward."

Luo Hong had completely settled into the role of a senior brother. Teaching Old Demon Han gave him a strangely satisfying feeling.

"Senior Brother Luo also wants to establish his foundation, right? If it were you, which one would you choose?"

Han Li could not make up his mind. The Bloody Forbidden Zone was incomparably dangerous, and he absolutely did not want to go. Yet he had no confidence in fighting techniques during the tournament either. So far, he had only blasted Venerable Golden Light to death in a sneak attack and slain two Rogue Cultivators with a Flying Sword Talisman Treasure.

The tournament involved direct confrontations, and he could not possibly waste the Talisman Treasures he used to preserve his life. The secret techniques and martial arts he had learned in the mortal martial world were likely not enough on their own.

"Junior Brother Han, you have a Fourth-grade Spiritual Root, correct?" Luo Hong tipped back his head and took a drink, suddenly changing the subject.

"That is correct. I am Lacking Gold in the Five Elements." Han Li was somewhat puzzled as to why Luo Hong had suddenly answered with something unrelated.

"Like you, I also have a Fourth-grade Spiritual Root, except I am Lacking Wood in the Five Elements. Junior Brother Han, do you know why the Cultivation World looks down so much on Cultivators with Fourth-grade Spiritual Roots like ours, even calling our Spiritual Roots 'False Spirit Roots'?" Luo Hong put on a melancholy expression.

"I ask Senior Brother to enlighten me." Han Li had only recently learned of his Spiritual Root aptitude and did not yet understand the details.

At the same time, he was surprised by Luo Hong's Spiritual Root aptitude, and an inexplicable sense of shared hardship arose within him.

"Slow cultivation is only a secondary concern. The true key lies in the success rate of establishing one's foundation after taking a Foundation Establishment Pill. The chance of people like us establishing our foundations with a single Foundation Establishment Pill is pitifully low. So if I had to choose, I would choose them all!

I would go to the Bloody Forbidden Zone and participate in the tournament as well!"

Luo Hong had said all this for Han Li's benefit. As for himself, as long as his Dantian reached completion, Foundation Establishment would not be a problem at all. One Foundation Establishment Pill would be enough.

After all, Spiritual Root aptitude only affected Mana Purity. As long as the Dantian was large enough, the requirement for Mana Purity would decrease accordingly.

Compared with greatly refining one's magic power, Luo Hong believed that another inconspicuous effect of the Foundation Establishment Pill was the true reason it deserved its name.

Ablution of Marrow?

It definitely was not that simple!

"Junior Brother Han, there are still over two years before the next opening of the Bloody Forbidden Zone. We should not focus solely on arduous cultivation. We need to start preparing now."

Arduous cultivation?

Han Li glanced at the Jade Dragon Gourd in Luo Hong's hand and secretly thought, Every time I see you, you are drinking and enjoying yourself. Where is there even the slightest sign of arduous cultivation?

"When does the tournament begin, then?"

Han Li did not dare trust Luo Hong's words blindly. If possible, he wanted to take a Foundation Establishment Pill himself and verify it.

"The tournament has only just ended, but the Minor Competition will begin in a few days."

"What is the Minor Competition?" Han Li thought that Yellow Maple Valley had far too many rules and procedures. Without Senior Brother Luo's guidance, who knew how many opportunities he would have missed?

"The Minor Competition is held every year. Its purpose is to let Qi Refining Stage disciples recognize their own strength, so that too many people will not enter the tournament and delay it. I have already signed up for this Minor Competition. I heard that the prize for first place is three bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills."

"Gasp—three bottles of Yellow Dragon Pills!" Han Li sucked in a breath.

The corner of Luo Hong's mouth twitched slightly. Old Demon Han's acting was a little too good. The Yellow Dragon Pills in your Storage Bag have probably piled up into a small mountain already!

"That's right. Tempting rewards, aren't they? Junior Brother Han, would you like to sign up as well?"

"My cultivation is too shallow. I should not go onstage and make a fool of myself. But when the time comes, I will certainly be there to watch and cheer for Senior Brother."

Han Li mainly wanted to gain some experience in fighting Cultivators. Cheering him on was merely incidental.

After leaving Hundred Herbs Garden, Luo Hong let out a long breath and sighed that he had been fortunate to arrive early, when Old Demon Han was still a blank slate. With just a few casual words, he had accomplished all his objectives.

Flying back to Fanghua Garden, Luo Hong muttered to himself as he summarized the gains from this trip:

"As long as I display exceptional mastery of spells in the Minor Competition, I can replace the original Wu Feng and become Old Demon Han's spell instructor. Then Old Demon Han will come looking for me every day, instead of me having to chase after him and kiss up to him every day. That will complete the purpose of befriending him.

"Furthermore, once he gets that Qi Harmonizing Pill Formula, Old Demon Han will definitely devote himself to refining pills. Even with the Sky Controlling Bottle to help him, he will still need quite a few Spirit Stones to rent an Earth Fire Room. At that point, selling batches of inconspicuous Yellow Dragon Pills and Golden Marrow Pills will be perfectly natural. All I need to do is launch a Spirit Stone offensive, and I can solve the Pill gap on my way to Qi Refining Great Perfection.

"Hehe, because of my special cultivation method, Drug Resistance is still a long way off for me."

Why did Cultivators develop Drug Resistance?

The fundamental reason was that when ordinary Cultivators refined Medicinal Power, only around thirty percent was turned into magic power, while most of the remaining seventy percent was absorbed by their flesh and blood.

Over time, flesh and blood saturated with the same Medicinal Power would naturally become increasingly resistant to that kind of Pill.

But under the Great Method of Spiritual Pressure, all Medicinal Power was confined within the meridians. At most, the flesh and blood absorbed only that tiny amount released when the Pill was taken.

Therefore, for Luo Hong to develop Drug Resistance, he would theoretically have to consume ten or twenty times more Yellow Dragon Pills than Old Demon Han.

With Han Li dealt with, Luo Hong turned his attention back to himself.

For the sake of Foundation Establishment Pills and cultivation after Foundation Establishment, Luo Hong would definitely have to make a trip to the Bloody Forbidden Zone. Moreover, he had to help Li Huayuan win his wager, so that after establishing his foundation, he could make that excessive request of Li Huayuan.

Thus, improving his combat power became the top priority.

A Cultivator's combat power consisted of many parts. Common ones included Magic Artifacts, talismans, spells, spirit beasts, and secret techniques.

Of these, the most influential was undoubtedly Magic Artifacts!

Possessing a top-grade Magic Artifact could immediately cause a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator's combat power to soar.

However, specializing in Magic Artifacts also had obvious drawbacks. The first was undoubtedly the cost in Spirit Stones, which Luo Hong could ignore. The second was that one could easily be countered.

The restraining relationships between Magic Artifacts were secondary. The main point was that truly formidable opponents would have one or two methods specifically meant to counter Magic Artifacts. After all, as long as they controlled or damaged an enemy's Magic Artifact, victory in the fight was basically assured.

Among the methods Luo Hong knew, the closest was Treasure Woman's Azure Condensing Mirror. Further afield were the Evil Techniques cultivated by Demonic Cultivators that defiled others' Magic Artifacts. Of these, the Protective Blood Mist of Wang Chan, the young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect, had left the deepest impression on Luo Hong.

Conflict with Demonic Cultivators lay in the not-too-distant future, so aside from Magic Artifacts, Luo Hong needed other methods as well.

Old Demon Han was taken care of. He would show his face at the Minor Competition, then bring him out again at the Bloody Forbidden Zone. The protagonist's side was about to enter a dungeon.