"But this inheritance affair had been going on for eight or nine months already, yet there was still no outcome. Isn't that strange?"
"Hehe, Brother Chu, then you simply don't know."
"Oh? Could it be that Brother Ning had some inside information?"
Wei Zhong poured him a cup of wine and asked.
"Though there were several portions of this inheritance, each came with two items. One was an Inheritance Key, and the other was a jade slip containing an art called the 'Blood Body Technique.'
This art was used to cultivate an Extracorporeal Incarnation. Its difficulty had barred a great many cultivators.
It was said that unless one reached a certain realm, even holding the key in one's hand would not grant the slightest chance of obtaining the inheritance."
"Tsk! I never expected there to be such a hidden crux."
Wei Zhong recalled the jade slip of the art he had buried. He did not know whether anyone had discovered it.
At the same time, a trace of curiosity arose within him toward this art. Back then, he had been fleeing disaster and had not even had time to inspect the method. What sort of harsh art could stop so many cultivators in their tracks?
"Haha, you and I can just treat such rumors as entertainment. Because of this art, a whole swath of cultivators had died in Hanzhu City. A Nascent Soul art was a calamity, not a blessing, for Qi Refining cultivators like us."
"Brother Ning, that makes sense."
The two clinked cups.
On his way home, Wei Zhong fell into deep thought.
As expected, the inheritance of the Blood Sea True Lord had stirred up a storm in the cultivation world. Abandoning that art back then had been the right choice.
Yet Wei Zhong hesitated over whether he should retrieve the art in the future.
As his cultivation deepened and his understanding of the path of cultivation grew, Wei Zhong became increasingly aware of the preciousness of Extracorporeal Incarnation arts.
Calling such an art the creation of another self would not be an exaggeration. It was equivalent to giving a cultivator another life.
By the time he finished thinking, he had already returned to his little courtyard. After feeding Nine Colors, he cast aside the distracting thoughts in his heart.
Wei Zhong entered the cultivation room.
His cultivation had now reached the ninth level of Qi Refining (25%). A year had passed, yet his cultivation had not improved much.
That was also because his Azure Wave Art had remained stuck at Proficient (99%), utterly unmoving.
At this pace, he would need at least four more years to reach the perfection of Qi Refining. Yet he only had two years of lifespan left.
Would he have to drop a level again?
Two years later, Wei Zhong emerged from cultivation with a hint of joy.
Name: Wei Zhong Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 9 (65%) Arts: Azure Wave Art · Proficient (99%); Nourishing Body Art · Skilled (1%) Lifespan: 137/142
At the critical juncture when his lifespan was nearly exhausted, the Nourishing Body Art had finally broken through. It healed part of the injuries within his body and increased his lifespan limit by five years.
This was truly an unexpected delight. At the same time, Wei Zhong could sense that his bodily injuries were still far from fully healed. Once the Nourishing Body Art broke through again, his lifespan would surely rise further.
With these five extra years, he could push his cultivation another step forward.
Wei Zhong immediately immersed himself in cultivation once more.
What surprised Wei Zhong was that along with the breakthrough of the Nourishing Body Art, the Azure Wave Art had also broken through into the Master realm.
Azure Wave Art · Master (1%)
Could it be that Qi Refining arts were connected to one's physique as well?
Wei Zhong had cultivated for many years, yet he had never heard of such a thing.
But in the end, an art breaking through was a good thing. For the time being, he would not need to drop a level again. Perhaps he could consider Foundation Establishment within five years?
Over the following years, Wei Zhong cultivated while secretly concealing his identity to inquire about Foundation Establishment.
For Foundation Establishment, the ancients spoke of three gates: essence, qi, and spirit. Essence was the physique, qi was spiritual energy, and spirit was the soul. Breaking through all three gates was Foundation Establishment.
In today's cultivation world, these three gates had long since been separated. Breaking through even one of them counted as Foundation Establishment.
People also divided Foundation Establishment cultivators into Body Cultivators, Spirit Cultivators, and the most mysterious of all, Soul Cultivators.
Spirit Cultivators made up the largest group of cultivators in the cultivation world. Some cultivators also trained the body as a secondary path to make up for their weaknesses.
As for Soul Cultivator arts, there were few rumors of them in this world. Only some cultivators possessed one or two secret soul-path techniques.
The path Wei Zhong was currently considering was that of a Spirit Cultivator.
His cultivation was about to reach the perfection of Qi Refining. As long as he found a Foundation Establishment Pill or one or two Foundation Establishment spiritual items, he could consider attempting a breakthrough into Foundation Establishment.
But he still had to be cautious. Attempting Foundation Establishment required thorough preparation. The experience of those before him showed that failure to break through could mean a loss of cultivation at best and damage to one's foundation at worst.
Wei Zhong did not want this to affect his Dao Path.
Speaking of Foundation Establishment Pills, interestingly enough, Wei Zhong actually possessed a medicinal herb that was an important supplementary ingredient for refining one.
It seemed to have come from those three spirit farmers. He had no idea why the Yan family's spirit farmers possessed such a herb. Could they have been preparing for their own Foundation Establishment?
Wei Zhong shook his head. That was unimportant. What mattered was that with this herb, Wei Zhong had the capital to join forces with others in alchemy.
Foundation Establishment Pills were rare treasures in the cultivation world. Even in the Azurewood Sect, where cultivators gathered like clouds, this was still the case.
The Azurewood Sect did not even have enough Foundation Establishment Pills for its own use, and the number that found their way into the hands of rogue cultivators was pitifully small.
However, the recipe for the Foundation Establishment Pill was not expensive within Azurewood Sect territory. It could be bought for a few dozen spirit stones.
But there were very few alchemists capable of refining this pill. Within the Azurewood Sect, only Alchemists Qi and Duan could refine it.
Thus, a method of joint alchemy had emerged within the Azurewood Sect.
Cultivators would gather the medicinal ingredients listed in the recipe, jointly hire an alchemist to refine the pill, and then divide the finished pills according to their contributions.
The main ingredient of a Foundation Establishment Pill was one Jade Marrow Mushroom over three hundred years old. The two important supplementary ingredients were a Thousand Knot Flower over two hundred years old and Gold Essence Ginseng. There were also over thirty other supplementary ingredients. Their age requirements were not high, and they were all common spirit herbs easily found in shops.
What Wei Zhong possessed was precisely a Gold Essence Ginseng over two hundred years old.
With this spirit herb, as long as he found two more fellow cultivators possessing Jade Marrow Mushroom and Thousand Knot Flower, they could pool their funds to hire an alchemist.
If three pills were successfully refined, Wei Zhong could take one of them and begin his attempt at Foundation Establishment.
Concealing his identity, Wei Zhong posted news of the joint alchemy effort on the marketplace notice board.
Thirty-six spirit stones per pill was not expensive to Wei Zhong. It was merely the price of two High-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills.
Over the years, in order to advance his cultivation faster, Wei Zhong had long since replaced all the low- and mid-grade Qi Nourishing Pills used for daily cultivation with high-grade ones.
"Could Fellow Daoist leave an address, so that we may conveniently notify you once enough people have been gathered?"
The identity Wei Zhong used this time was a disguise, so naturally he could not reveal his residence. Would that not expose Chu Zhong as his alias?
"No need. Every three months, I will come here to check on the progress of the recruitment."
After leaving behind the name Locust Daoist, Wei Zhong departed.
Over the following years, Wei Zhong cultivated while honing his techniques, and every three months, he went to check on the alchemy recruitment.
To his delight, in just half a year, he found another fellow cultivator who possessed one of the main ingredients.
At that point, only the main ingredient remained: a Jade Marrow Mushroom over three hundred years old.
Yet after waiting another three years, there was still no news of such a spirit herb.
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