The reason the "Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art" was a worthless cultivation method...
Was that it required its practitioner to also study pill refining, in order to absorb the so-called "primordial aura" produced when a pill formed.
This meant that a Foundation Establishment cultivator had to reach Second-Tier Upper-Grade proficiency in pill refining before he could cultivate to Peak Foundation Establishment and attempt Core Formation.
Moreover, throughout this process, the cultivator could not take any pills that increased cultivation. He could only painstakingly meditate and refine his own magical power to advance.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator's lifespan was, at most, two hundred and forty years.
Even someone with exceptional talent in pill refining would need at least well over a hundred years of painstaking study to become a Second-Tier Upper-Grade Pill Refiner.
With only a few decades remaining, could he still reach Peak Foundation Establishment and attempt the next realm without refining any cultivation-enhancing pills?
Perhaps only a cultivator with a heavenly spiritual root could manage that!
In other words, under the restrictions imposed by this so-called "primordial aura," anyone who wanted to cultivate the "Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art" to Peak Foundation Establishment needed both a heavenly spiritual root and exceptional talent in pill refining!
Of course, if someone's talent in pill refining truly stood unrivaled throughout the cultivation world, he might become a Second-Tier Upper-Grade Pill Refiner in less than a hundred years of study.
In that case, a cultivator with a variant spiritual root might also be able to manage it.
However, talent like that in pill refining was perhaps even rarer than a heavenly spiritual root.
Purely in theory, someone with a heavenly spiritual root and exceptional talent in pill refining seemed capable of practicing the "Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art."
But here came the damned catch.
Although Li Ping did not know exactly what the so-called "primordial aura" produced during pill formation was, the senior who had created the "Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art" had explained its effects perfectly clearly in the introduction.
Primordial aura worked wonders when cultivators attempted to break through bottlenecks!
As long as they absorbed enough primordial aura, they would encounter virtually no resistance when breaking through minor-realm bottlenecks, and their chance of breaking through major-realm bottlenecks would increase by fifty percentage points!
It could practically defy the heavens!
But for cultivators with a heavenly spiritual root, that effect wasn't worth a damn. Their Core Formation attempts already had a hundred percent success rate.
Although it could also increase the success rate of Nascent Soul formation by fifty percentage points, pill-refining techniques of the third tier and above were far more obscure and difficult to understand, for one thing. For another, the high-grade spiritual herbs needed to refine third-tier pills were exceedingly rare in the cultivation world.
Even if someone became a third-tier or higher Pill Refiner, he simply would not have enough opportunities to refine pills.
Thus, without question, no cultivator would choose to practice this cultivation method.
Even though its effects could practically defy the heavens.
The "Foundation Establishment Pill," the miraculous pill most effective at assisting Foundation Establishment, only increased a cultivator's success rate by twenty to thirty percentage points, yet it could sell for over three thousand spirit stones.
A spiritual treasure that could increase a cultivator's chance of reaching Core Formation by fifty percentage points would be enough to spark a war across the entire Western Wastes Cultivation World.
Li Ping, however, was an exception. Although he only had a three-spirit root, with spiritual-root aptitude that could not remotely compare to a heavenly spiritual root or variant spiritual root...
He possessed an unrivaled, "World-Shocking Talent" in pill refining!
With his "World-Shocking Talent," he could instantly learn Second-Tier Upper-Grade pill-refining techniques, or even higher-tier ones.
Moreover, according to that senior's introduction, the greatest effect of "primordial aura" was increasing the chance of breaking through bottlenecks, but it had a few minor supplementary uses as well.
It fortified the foundation, nourished vitality, and prolonged life!
In other words, if he practiced the "Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art"...
As long as he was not killed on the spot, no matter how grievously he was wounded, he could rely on "primordial aura" to restore his vital essence and live to the full limit of two hundred and forty years.
And he could keep his bodily functions at their absolute peak right up until he passed away in meditation!
Thus, unlike other cultivators, whose chances of reaching Core Formation dropped sharply once they grew old and frail, Li Ping could attempt Core Formation at full strength even just before his death.
Therefore, for Li Ping, practicing the "Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art" came down to only two crucial questions.
First, could he find nourishment containing Second-Tier Upper-Grade pill-refining techniques to feed the Inheritance Tree and unleash his "World-Shocking Talent"?
Second, could he cultivate to Peak Foundation Establishment during the remaining two hundred years of his life without popping pills?
While Li Ping was pondering this, a cultivator suddenly picked up a jade slip and left, heading straight downstairs and drawing the attention of everyone present.
On the wooden table, a flash of white light appeared in the empty space left by the jade slip he had taken, and another jade slip materialized.
The jade slips here actually contained only introductions to the cultivation methods, not the methods themselves.
Anyone who wanted a cultivation method had to take the jade slip downstairs and ask the Wang Family Ancestor to inscribe it.
To Li Ping's surprise, the jade slip that cultivator had taken was one containing an introduction to a demonic cultivation method.
He shook his head. What someone else took had nothing to do with him. All that mattered was that he did not practice demonic arts himself.
But before he could turn his attention back, a scream came from downstairs, immediately followed by the Wang Family Ancestor's imposing voice. "You demonic cultivator! What audacity! You dared to sneak into the Immortal City to steal a demonic cultivation method! Today, I must seize you and rid the righteous path of a scourge!"
There was a surge of magical power, and soon all sound downstairs ceased.
The eleven people remaining upstairs exchanged glances and quickly realized what had happened below.
The Wang Family Ancestor had placed demonic cultivation methods on the second floor to pad out the selection, but if someone actually took one from him and practiced it, any trouble that came to light later would inevitably implicate the Wang Family!
Thus, although the demonic cultivation methods were displayed here, he would not allow anyone to take them.
Whoever dared take one was a demonic cultivator, and he would have to "rid the righteous path of a scourge"!
What an old beast! Everyone cursed him inwardly, while Li Ping, after his initial surprise, grew thoughtful.
Just then, a voice sounded directly in everyone's ears. Judging by the voice, it belonged to the Foundation Establishment cultivator who had spoken up earlier.
He transmitted his voice. "Everyone, let's go downstairs together in a moment. If that old bastard dares break his promise, we'll all strike together and fight until the fish dies and the net tears!"
The others all agreed. "All right!"
"Also, aside from these worthless cultivation methods, there are some Miscellaneous Treatises here that are worth a few dozen spirit stones!" he reminded them.
Li Ping picked up the jade slip bearing the introduction to the "Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art," then, under everyone's astonished gazes, took another jade slip from among the Miscellaneous Treatises before heading downstairs with the others.
Downstairs, the Wang Family Ancestor and the Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator who had led them inside were waiting for them.
The Wang Family Ancestor smiled. "I trust you fellow Daoists have chosen your cultivation methods. Bring your jade slips over, and I will inscribe the complete methods for you!"
"Oh, and I must first ask you all to swear an oath that the cultivation methods you receive will be for your own practice only and will not be passed on to anyone else," he added.
Everyone was speechless. They even had to swear an oath for this rubbish?
Once they had sworn their oaths, the Wang Family Ancestor said nothing further and began inscribing the cultivation methods or Miscellaneous Treatises for each of them in turn.
Soon, it was Li Ping's turn. He used his magical power to float his two jade slips—one cultivation method and one Miscellaneous Treatise—over to the Wang Family Ancestor.
The Wang Family Ancestor gave Li Ping a surprised look before saying blandly, "Fellow Daoist, every cultivation method in this Secret Arts Pavilion was collected at great expense by generations of our Wang Family's forebears. They are all heirloom treasures of the Wang Family. You're taking two texts, hehe... you'll have to pay extra spirit stones!"