He reached out to the [Origin Cauldron] with his mind, causing the blue radiance at its mouth to dissipate. Within, a golden treasure seed and a red treasure seed bobbed up and down.
[Origin Treasure Seed · First tier] [Spirit Seizure: 9/100]
[Fire Crow Treasure Seed · First tier] [Spirit Seizure: 6/100]
Six months have passed, and the [Origin Treasure Seed] has only gained nine points of Spirit Seizure. Though painfully slow, compared to the nearly thirty years it took to accumulate a first-tier treasure seed before, this is faster by who knows how much!
Perhaps it has something to do with my cultivation reaching the third level of Qi Refining? The stronger my cultivation, the richer my blood essence, and the faster Spirit Seizure proceeds?
Lin Changheng studied the golden treasure seed, making his own estimates.
At this rate, Spirit Seizure would be complete in five years, yielding a second-tier origin treasure seed.
If his cultivation increased further, he could shorten that time again.
But with my mixed spiritual roots, wearing down the bottleneck and breaking through to Mid-Qi Refining will probably take five years as well. Once my spiritual roots improve by another sliver and become low-grade spiritual roots, not only will the bottleneck loosen somewhat, but the time needed to accumulate magical power and break through will also decrease. Around four years would be a reasonable estimate.
Generally speaking, the cultivation world considered sixty the age limit for Foundation Establishment.
Mortals were different: their energy and physical strength began declining after they reached middle age at forty.
Cultivators lived longer, but they did not remain forever in their prime. After sixty, they would face all manner of problems: depleted blood and vital energy, loss of their fundamental vitality, and physical deterioration.
Before sixty, provided they suffered no injuries, cultivators would show little change in their appearance or physique.
After sixty, however, they would age rapidly, visibly so.
Their skin would sag, their hair and beards would gradually whiten, and their backs would stoop...
For those with mixed spiritual roots like Lin Changheng, the question was not whether they could reach Foundation Establishment, but whether they could even break through to Mid-Qi Refining.
They could easily spend their entire lives trapped before the bottleneck of Mid-Qi Refining, stuck there until death.
This was also the fate of many bottom-rung rogue cultivators and lineage cultivators.
That was why, at the spiritual-root testing assembly for promising cultivators back then, the sects and aristocratic clans had disdained "mixed spiritual roots," and even Foundation Establishment lineages had remained unmoved, while only Qi Refining lineages had offered an olive branch.
This was the crux of it.
It was not that those with mixed spiritual roots could never reach Foundation Establishment. They could, but the odds were low-appallingly low.
Aside from the two universally acknowledged, immutable "laws of spiritual roots," anything could happen in the cultivation world. Miracles were hardly unheard of!
The sects and aristocratic clans were no fools. They could still distinguish between sifting gold from gold and sifting gold from sand!
The effort invested was disproportionate to the resources consumed. It simply was not worthwhile!
So they set a rule and steered clear altogether.
For a long time to come, I'll have to focus on nurturing the [Fire Crow Treasure Seed] or other new treasure seeds.
The [Origin Treasure Seed] needs time to mature, but the others don't. Once I obtain them, they provide an immediate improvement, and my spiritual roots benefit too.
Right, there's also pill refining...
At that thought, a gleam stirred in Lin Changheng's eyes.
In the six months since his awakening, he had not refined pills again. The materials supplied by the Xu Family had remained untouched in the shop's storage. Now it was time to give it a try.
Six chances!
And tomorrow happened to be Master Mo's day off. The pill-refining room would be vacant, ready for him to use.
The next day.
Lin Changheng slept until broad daylight before getting up.
Full of energy and in excellent condition, he stepped into the Xu Family Alchemy Shop.
"Good morning, Brother Lin!"
A young mortal girl from the Xu Family, who had no spiritual roots, was cleaning. Her cheeks were flushed, and she greeted Lin Changheng sweetly when she saw him.
"Good morning."
Always amiable, Lin Changheng nodded with a smile, then asked, "Is the shopkeeper here?"
"He's in the storeroom."
Xu Ruolan pointed toward the door diagonally across from the counter.
"Thank you."
Without looking again at Xu Ruolan's delighted expression, Lin Changheng went straight to the storeroom door to wait.
At the Xu Family Alchemy Shop, Master Mo was the chief pill refiner and oversaw all refining matters, while the shopkeeper handled the supply of medicinal ingredients and the sale of finished pills.
In terms of authority, Master Mo's word was law. However much the shopkeeper disagreed, he still had to nod and comply.
"Oh, Changheng! Are you waiting here for me?"
After finishing his inventory of the medicinal ingredients, Xu Qianyou locked the door and turned around to find Lin Changheng looking at him with a broad smile. He immediately posed the question.
"Indeed!"
"Shopkeeper, since Master Mo happens to be off today, and I've gained some new insights into pill refining, I came to collect the ingredients and give it a try. Sorry for the trouble!"
Lin Changheng deliberately put on an eager air.
"Now that's more like it! Changheng, you're only thirty. Life is still long, and you have plenty of time ahead. Why spend every day with a gloomy face, shrouding yourself in darkness?"
"Even in the worst case, it won't matter if pill refining doesn't work out. Hone your spells properly, just like the children of our Xu Family. Once you retire from 'opening up the wilderness,' I'll ask the lineage to find you a lovely young woman to marry. Your life might not turn out badly at all... wouldn't you agree?"
Xu Qianyou had served as shopkeeper of the Xu Family's shop in Zichuan Market for nearly twenty years. He had known Lin Changheng for ten of them and had often tried to counsel him.
Seeing that he had finally come around filled the old man's heart with comfort.
"Thank you, Shopkeeper."
Lin Changheng nodded repeatedly in wholehearted agreement, then continued, "But the dust has yet to settle. Until the very end, we cultivators must not give up lightly!"
"If I truly have no affinity with the Pill Dao, I really will cling to you until you find me a wife—you won't be able to chase me away. When that time comes, please don't find me a nuisance..."
At that, Xu Qianyou stroked his beard and shook his head with a chuckle. "You, honestly!"
Then he returned to business. "You still have six batches of ingredients left for pill refining. How many do you intend to refine this time?"
"Six batches!"
Lin Changheng met the shopkeeper's eyes, his words ringing with conviction.
"Six batches?" Xu Qianyou froze, seeking confirmation.
"Six batches! Please fetch all six batches of ingredients."
"Very well! Wait here."
Xu Qianyou studied him carefully for a moment. Seemingly moved by his resolve and bold spirit, he turned to fetch them.
He solemnly placed the six batches of ingredients for refining [Crimson Flame Pills] into Lin Changheng's hands. Watching him turn resolutely toward the pill-refining room in the rear courtyard, Xu Qianyou's lips moved, but in the end he said nothing. He merely heaved a long sigh.
Time turned its wheel, blue seas became mulberry fields, and the word "talent" had barred so many ambitions that soared to the clouds, washing away countless souls who studied until their hair turned white!
Sadly, Changheng had spent ten years struggling down the wrong path.
Otherwise...
Alas!
Meanwhile, Lin Changheng knew nothing of the shopkeeper's thoughts. He had already lit the fire in the furnace.
The flames dancing within illuminated his face. His eyes were tightly shut, his expression neither sorrowful nor joyful, and he remained utterly still.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes.
He had once again simulated the entire process of refining [Crimson Flame Pills] in his mind, without the slightest deviation.
The furnace is heated.
Lin Changheng placed the spiritual herbs inside one after another, forming the "Purification" Pill Formula Hand Seals and continuously washing them with magical power. This was the "purifying."
At the same time, he used the [Fire-Control Art] to send tongues of flame licking beneath the medicinal ingredients. This was the "refining."
After more than thirty Pill Formula Hand Seals, two hours had already passed.
Within the furnace, the medicinal properties of each spiritual herb had become exceedingly pure, releasing wisps of delicate fragrance in the firelight.
Next came liquefying, combining the ingredients, refining them under controlled heat...