With a thought, he connected to the [Origin Cauldron], causing the azure radiance at its mouth to fade. Within, a golden Treasure Seed and a crimson Treasure Seed bobbed up and down.
[Origin Treasure Seed · First Layer]
[Spirit Snatch: 9/100]
[Fire Crow Treasure Seed · First Layer]
[Spirit Snatch: 6/100]
"Six months have passed, and the [Origin Treasure Seed] has only snatched nine points of spirit. Although it is extremely slow, compared to the nearly thirty years it took before to accumulate a First-Layer Treasure Seed, I don't even know how much faster this is!"
"Could it be related to my cultivation reaching the third layer of Qi Refining? The stronger my cultivation, the richer my essence blood, and the faster Spirit Snatch becomes?"
Lin Changheng gazed at the golden Treasure Seed and silently estimated.
At this pace, it would take five years to complete Spirit Snatch and obtain a Second-Layer Origin Treasure Seed.
If his cultivation rose further, he could shorten that time again.
"But with my mixed Spirit Root, tempering through the bottleneck and breaking into the Qi Refining Middle Stage will probably take five years as well. Once my Spirit Root rises another notch and becomes a Lower-Grade Spirit Root, not only will the bottleneck loosen somewhat, but the accumulation of spiritual power and the time needed to break through it will also decrease. Around four years would be a reasonable estimate."
Generally speaking, the cultivation world regarded sixty as the age limit for Foundation Establishment.
Unlike mortals, whose energy and physical strength began declining after they reached middle age at forty.
Cultivators lived longer, but they were not eternally youthful either. After sixty, they would face all manner of problems—waning vitality and blood, loss of origin, the decay of the fleshly body, and more.
Before sixty, provided they had not suffered injuries, cultivators would not undergo much change in appearance or physique.
But after sixty, they would visibly age at a dramatic rate.
Their skin and flesh slackened, their beards and hair gradually turned white, their waists and backs bent low...
For mixed Spirit Roots like Lin Changheng's, the question was not whether they could achieve Foundation Establishment, but whether they could even break through into the Qi Refining Middle Stage.
They could easily remain trapped before the bottleneck of the Qi Refining Middle Stage for an entire lifetime.
Such was also the fate of countless low-level Rogue Cultivators and Lineage cultivators.
That was why, at the Immortal Seed Spirit Testing Assembly, sects and Aristocratic Clans looked down on "mixed Spirit Roots," while even Foundation Establishment families remained indifferent, and only Qi Refining families extended an olive branch.
The crucial reason lay precisely here.
It was not that mixed Spirit Roots could not break through to Foundation Establishment. They could, but the odds were so low they were hair-raising.
Other than the two universally acknowledged and immutable "laws of Spirit Roots," anything could happen in the cultivation world, and miracles were not uncommon!
Sects and Aristocratic Clans were not fools. They could still tell the difference between panning for gold in gold and panning for gold in sand!
The effort invested and resources consumed were not proportional to the return. It simply was not worth it!
So they set down rules and simply refused to touch them.
"For a long time to come, I must focus on nurturing the [Fire Crow Treasure Seed] or other new Treasure Seeds."
"The [Origin Treasure Seed] needs time to simmer, but other Treasure Seeds do not. As long as I acquire them, they can be raised immediately, and my Spirit Root can benefit as well."
"Right, there's also alchemy..."
At that thought, Lin Changheng's eyes flickered.
During the six months since his awakening, he had not refined pills again. The materials supplied by the Xu Family had also remained untouched in the shop. It was time to try once more.
Six chances!
Moreover, tomorrow was Master Mo's rest day. The pill room would be vacant, making it perfect for use.
The next day.
Lin Changheng slept until broad daylight before getting up.
With his spirits full and his condition excellent, he stepped into the Xu Family Alchemy Shop.
"Brother Lin, morning!"
A mortal young girl from the Xu Family with no Spirit Root was sweeping the floor. Her little face was rosy, and when she saw Lin Changheng, she obediently greeted him.
"Morning."
Lin Changheng treated others kindly. He nodded with a smile in reply, then asked, "Is the shopkeeper here?"
"He's in the storeroom."
Xu Ruolan pointed behind the slanted door beside the counter.
"Thank you."
Without looking again at Xu Ruolan's delighted expression, Lin Changheng waited directly outside the storeroom.
At the Xu Family Alchemy Shop, Master Mo was the chief alchemist and oversaw all alchemy matters, while the shopkeeper ensured the supply of medicinal ingredients and the sale of finished pills.
In terms of status, Master Mo's word was final. Even if there were objections, the shopkeeper had to nod and comply.
"Oh? Changheng! Are you waiting here for this old man?"
After Xu Qianyou finished counting the medicinal ingredients, locked the door, and turned around, he saw Lin Changheng looking at him with a broad smile and immediately asked.
"Indeed!"
"Shopkeeper, Master Mo happens to be resting today. I've gained some insight into the art of alchemy, so I came to collect ingredients and give it a try. Sorry for the trouble!"
Lin Changheng deliberately put on an eager, impatient expression.
"That's more like it! Changheng, you're not even thirty yet. Life is still long, and you have plenty of time ahead. Why keep wearing a sorrowful face all day and shrouding yourself in gloom?"
"Taking ten thousand steps back, even if your alchemy fails, it does not matter. Train your spells properly, and like the Xu Family disciples, once you retire from Land Reclamation, this old man will petition the clan to find you a pretty woman and arrange a marriage. Your days might not be bad at all... wouldn't you agree?"
Xu Qianyou had been the shopkeeper at the Xu Family Shop in Zichuan Market for nearly twenty years. He had known Lin Changheng for ten years and had repeatedly tried to guide him.
Now that he saw him finally coming around, he felt greatly comforted.
"Thank you, Shopkeeper."
Lin Changheng showed deep agreement, nodding repeatedly before continuing, "But the dust has yet to settle. Until the very end, cultivators like us cannot give up lightly!"
"If I truly have no affinity with the Dao of alchemy, then I really will have to cling to you and ask for a wife—the kind you can't drive away. When the time comes, Shopkeeper, don't find me a nuisance..."
Hearing this, Xu Qianyou immediately stroked his beard, shook his head, and laughed. "You, you!"
Then he returned to business. "You still have six chances to refine pills with the materials. How many batches do you intend to make this time?"
"Six batches!"
Lin Changheng looked directly into the shopkeeper's eyes, his voice ringing like stones striking the ground.
"Six batches?" Xu Qianyou froze, then confirmed again.
"Six batches! Please fetch six sets of materials."
"Very well! Wait here."
Xu Qianyou studied him carefully for several moments, seemingly infected by his determination and bold spirit, before turning to retrieve them.
He solemnly placed six sets of materials for refining [Crimson Flame Pills] into Lin Changheng's hands. As he watched him resolutely turn and head for the pill room in the rear courtyard, Xu Qianyou's lips moved, yet in the end he said nothing. Only a long sigh escaped him.
Time turned its wheel, seas became mulberry fields. How many soaring ambitions had the word talent blocked? How many heads turned white from exhausting themselves over the classics had it washed away?
What a pity Changheng had spent ten years struggling down the wrong road.
Otherwise...
Sigh!
At that moment, Lin Changheng knew nothing of the shopkeeper's thoughts. He had already lit the fire in the furnace.
The flames leaping endlessly within reflected across his tightly shut eyes. His face showed neither sorrow nor joy, and he made no movement.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes.
In his heart, he had once again simulated the entire process of refining [Crimson Flame Pills] without the slightest discrepancy.
"The furnace has been heated."
Lin Changheng placed stalk after stalk of spiritual herb into it in sequence. Forming the "Refining Wash" pill incantation with his fingers, he continuously scoured them with spiritual power—this was "washing."
At the same time, he used the [Fire Control Art] beneath the medicinal ingredients, causing tongues of flame to breathe and coil—this was "refining."
After more than thirty pill incantations, an hour had already passed.
Within the furnace, the medicinal properties of the spiritual herbs had become incomparably pure, giving off curling wisps of fragrance beneath the firelight.
Next came liquefaction, combining the medicines, concealed refinement...
Before you continue