"Why hadn't Brother Ning gone to the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range to try his luck?"
In the small courtyard, Wei Zhong and Ning CanKun raised their cups and drank together.
"I'm old. I don't want to move anymore, and these old bones of mine don't want to risk their lives again."
Ning CanKun drained a cup of spirit wine, a faint flush appearing on his face.
"Did Brother Ning gain nothing from his last trip to the Qingchuan Secret Realm?"
The latter gave a bitter smile.
"My grandson wanted to buy a dharma sword and was still short of some spirit stones, so I paid part of it for him.
Then I thought about how I hadn't fought anyone with dharma arts for many years. Even if I found something good in that secret realm, I wouldn't be able to keep it.
So I gave up on the idea. Nowadays, once you take one step back, you keep retreating step by step. I don't want to take even the slightest risk."
"Alas, Brother Ning was broad-minded.
But when I saw those spiritual materials being transported back from the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range, my eyes turned red with envy."
Ning CanKun glanced at Wei Zhong and said,
"This old man still advises you to abandon that thought."
"Oh?"
Wei Zhong wanted to hear about the Azurewood Sect's development of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range, so he proactively filled Ning CanKun's cup.
"Do you know why our Azurewood Sect suddenly began advancing into the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range?"
Wei Zhong considered his words.
"Could it be that the Qingchuan Secret Realm's resources had become insufficient?"
The latter nodded.
"Besides that, this matter was also an arrangement from above."
"Brother Ning meant...?"
"It was the idea of those Core Formation stage seniors. Perhaps even the legendary Spirit Transformation stage cultivators were involved in the various prefectures' development of the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range."
Wei Zhong sucked in a cold breath. Just as he had guessed, this was a decision made by the upper echelons of the human race.
It was only because of regional differences that Mangyuan Prefecture had begun later than Nether Luo Prefecture.
"Then why did Brother Ning advise me to abandon the idea?"
"Hehe. Although it was a decision from the higher-ups, our Azurewood Sect had started later than the neighboring Rakshasa Sect, and the front lines were still unstable.
We humans coveted the resources in those mountains, but why wouldn't the demonic beasts in the mountains covet human flesh?
Especially the spirit-rich flesh of cultivators like us. In the eyes of demonic beasts, it was even more delicious than spirit herbs."
Wei Zhong felt a chill run down his spine at his words.
"Don't be fooled by how much we were harvesting now. All of it was fought for with cultivators' lives."
"Over this past year, Azurewood Sect cultivators had suffered grievous losses in the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range. There were rumors within the sect that one-third of the first batch of disciples sent there had died within a year."
"Even the True Inheritor Disciples had suffered casualties. The strongest among them, the Second True Disciple, had nearly died at the hands of a Core Formation demonic beast. Had Hall Master Yu not brought him back in time, the current eight great True Inheritors would have become seven."
"Oh, was that Senior Lu, the one in white robes carrying a paper fan?"
"Precisely, precisely. It was said that he wielded Eight Second-Order Flying Swords and possessed extraordinary strength. Who would have thought that even such an exalted senior would nearly lose his life?"
Wei Zhong could not help but sigh.
"The Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range truly deserved to be called a dragon's pool and tiger's den in the eyes of human cultivators."
"Brother Chu, after farming for so many years, you should stay away from such dangerous places. Build up your savings properly. Even if you cannot buy a Foundation Establishment Pill, you can still trade for one or two Foundation Establishment spiritual items. It might not be impossible for you to attempt Foundation Establishment within your lifetime."
Wei Zhong raised his cup.
"Then I'll accept Brother Ning's auspicious words."
"Speaking of which, had any new Foundation Establishment cultivators appeared nearby this past year?"
"Of course. Several cultivators who emerged from the secret realm a year ago successfully established their foundations, including one Rogue Cultivator.
"Besides that, several disciples from the group that went to the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range also established their foundations."
I hadn't expected so many cultivators to successfully establish their foundations in just one short year.
After watching Ning CanKun leave, Wei Zhong returned to the small courtyard. He instructed Nine Colors to guard the house, then entered the grotto-heaven and resumed cultivation.
His task of accumulating lifespan had yet to be completed, and he had not even begun changing cultivation arts. There was no need to rush into Foundation Establishment.
Once the outside world became more stable and the Azurewood Sect thoroughly gained a foothold in the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain Range, it would not be strange for a few Jade Marrow Mushrooms to appear on the market.
For the time being, he would let the Jade Marrow Mushroom within the grotto-heaven grow a little longer.
In the blink of an eye, spring passed and autumn came, and ten years went by.
To outsiders, this middle-aged cultivator named Chu Zhong had steadily farmed in the Azurewood Sect for twenty years, making him an old senior among spirit farmers.
No matter how turbulent the outside world became, he had always upheld his belief in farming. Relying on his farming experience and wine-brewing skills, he had accumulated an enviable network of connections within the Azurewood Sect.
Not only was he on good terms with the outer sect deacons responsible for leasing Spirit Fields, he also had connections among the sect's True Inheritors.
One of them was especially notable: Shen Yuqi, the True Inheritor disciple of the Pill Hall Master and a distinguished alchemist.
It was because, during his leisure time over the past few years, Wei Zhong had improved the Green Vine Intoxication recipe, further enhancing its ability to nourish the body.
This caught the attention of Shen Yuqi, who had remained in the sect. He wished to spend a great sum to purchase Wei Zhong's wine recipe, but Wei Zhong gave it to him for free.
The latter was overjoyed and said that he owed Wei Zhong a karmic debt. If Wei Zhong encountered any trouble, he could seek him out.
Wei Zhong was naturally pleased with this arrangement. His wine recipe was not so easily obtained.
Perhaps in the future, Shen Yuqi would need to repay the debt with several batches of precious pills before it could be settled.
These ten years had also brought Wei Zhong abundant gains.
Name: Wei Zhong Cultivation: Qi Refining Ninth Layer (99%) Cultivation Arts: Azure Wave Art · Mastery (89%); Nourishing Body Art · Proficient (9%) Lifespan: 105/150
Over ten years of cultivation, he had not only advanced from the seventh layer of Qi Refining to the complete ninth layer, but had also experienced one level-up, gaining ten years of lifespan.
The Azure Wave Art was not far from Grandmaster level, but unfortunately, he would soon change cultivation arts. No matter how high this art's proficiency became, it would be useless.
What delighted him was that the Nourishing Body Art had successfully entered the Proficient level, thoroughly healing Wei Zhong's hidden injuries and restoring his lifespan limit to one hundred and fifty years, reaching the standard of an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator.
Moreover, the Nourishing Body Art still had room for further development. He did not know whether it would increase his lifespan limit like certain life-extending cultivation arts.
In short, Wei Zhong had already accumulated a surplus of forty-five years of lifespan and could begin changing cultivation arts.
He had heard that cultivating high-grade cultivation arts made it easier for cultivators to break through realms. He did not know whether that was true.
Inside the grotto-heaven, Wei Zhong picked up the cultivation art Jade Slip containing the Spring Autumn Water Refining Art and changed his cultivation art according to its description.
Since both were water-attribute cultivation arts, Wei Zhong encountered no difficulties during the transition. After a month, all the spiritual power within his body had been converted into the unique spiritual power of the Spring Autumn Water Refining Art.
At this moment, Wei Zhong's cultivation had fallen from the ninth layer of Qi Refining to the sixth layer.
Changing cultivation arts naturally involved a certain degree of loss. Besides that, Wei Zhong had dropped an entire minor realm because the spiritual power of the Spring Autumn Water Refining Art was far stronger than that of the Azure Wave Art.
If Wei Zhong's previous spiritual power had been like driftwood floating on the surface of water, then his current spiritual power was like rocks hidden deep beneath the water.
Its quality had risen by far more than one level, carrying a unique sense of weight and solidity.
The various dharma formulas he cast with it were also considerably stronger than before.
The Years Dao Method section on the Status Panel had also lit up. With a single thought from Wei Zhong, he could instantly become a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
This book set the lifespan of Qi Refining cultivators at 150. Some novels set it at 100.
I felt that after cultivating immortality through Qi Refining, living only a hundred years was too pathetic, so I added fifty.
Before you continue