In the darkness of night.
The Wang Family Ancestor looked at the restrained figure before him, disappointment showing in his eyes. He should never have made that boy Qu Yan the patriarch. There was nothing wrong with the boy's competence-he kept every aspect of the lineage's affairs in perfect order-but his temperament was too weak, always seeking the safest course.
That temperament was naturally no problem while the ancestor was still alive. He would make the important decisions himself, and Wang Qu Yan, as patriarch, needed only to carry them out.
But now, his failed attempt to break through to the late stage had damaged his vital essence. It was not quite as the rumors outside claimed-that his days were numbered and he might pass away at any moment.
Still, the fifty or sixty years of life he had originally had left had indeed dwindled to a little over ten.
Once he died, how could a patriarch like this possibly lead the lineage forward?
He could see through his junior's thoughts at a glance. The boy thought their forebear's legacy of favor would let them sleep soundly without a care in the Immortal City.
The Wang Family's forebear had indeed been a trusted confidant of Windmist True Person and had earned distinguished merit for the Immortal City.
But even a noble man's legacy of favor was exhausted after three generations!
By his generation, little of their forebear's favor remained.
The main reason the Wang Family could command so many resources in the Immortal City and enjoy its current standing was his strength at the Foundation Establishment middle stage!
Once he passed away, did the Wang Family still expect to sleep on its ledger of past achievements?
The Immortal City had only so many resources, not even enough to divide among Windmist True Person's disciples. What right did the Wang Family have to claim a share without a Foundation Establishment cultivator holding the fort?
In the future, the Wang Family would probably lose even the right to compete for Foundation Establishment Pills.
Moreover, the Wang Family Ancestor vaguely suspected that someone had secretly sabotaged him while he was in seclusion attempting to reach the Foundation Establishment late stage. That was why his breakthrough had failed and he had nearly died on the spot.
The Wang Family Ancestor let out a long sigh inwardly. I must nurture a Foundation Establishment cultivator for the lineage before I pass away. Otherwise, the lineage is finished!
As for the position of patriarch... The Wang Family Ancestor looked at the restrained figure before him. If there is a Foundation Establishment cultivator holding the fort, then let him err on the side of caution!
In truth, he had never liked Wang Qu Yan, nor had he ever felt comfortable entrusting the lineage to him.
Originally, he had still had fifty or sixty years to live. Given Wang Qu Yan's age, the man would run out of energy after thirty years at most. Once Wang Qu Yan stepped down, he could nurture a suitable new patriarch for the lineage.
But now, he had less than ten years left. It was already too late to train a new patriarch.
If anything unexpected happened in the meantime, it could easily throw the lineage into turmoil. The losses would outweigh the gains.
Inside the small courtyard, Li Ping put away his equipment and let out a soft breath.
This trip had been full of twists and turns, and the other cultivators had all been badly fleeced.
For him, however, it had not been a loss.
Through a fortunate turn of events, he had more or less resolved the question of his cultivation method.
Indeed, he had already decided to cultivate the Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art as his primary cultivation method.
Its ability to ignore minor-realm bottlenecks and increase the success rate of major-realm breakthroughs by fifty percent was simply too tempting.
From Li Ping's past cultivation experience, bottlenecks were the most tormenting part of cultivation.
During everyday cultivation, differences in Spirit Root aptitude mattered, but they affected only cultivation speed. It was a difference between fast and slow.
During a breakthrough, however, those differences affected whether one could break through at all. It was a difference between something and nothing.
Those with poor aptitude sometimes could not break through on their own at all and had to spend heavily on resources to assist them.
If the attempt failed, they could even suffer injuries that depleted their vital essence!
His third brother, Gu Musheng, for example, had been forced to take a Qi Condensation Pill to help him break through to Qi Refining.
If even Qi Refining was like that, Foundation Establishment went without saying.
The Bo Family Ancestor had dual spirit roots, yet he was over two hundred years old and still at the peak of the Foundation Establishment early stage. Was that because he did not want to break through?
Dai Sangyu possessed a cloud-type variant spiritual root and had a Core Formation master backing her. Yet she had only attempted Core Formation when she was over a hundred and seventy, with death drawing near. Was that because she had not wanted to try sooner?
Then there was the Wang Family Ancestor he had just met. Li Ping did not know what Spirit Root aptitude he possessed, but the fact that he had reached the Foundation Establishment middle stage was proof enough that his Spirit Root was no worse than the Bo Family Ancestor's.
And what had happened?
He had failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment late stage, and his days were numbered.
Li Ping's Spirit Root aptitude was even worse than theirs. Mastering several Second-Tier Craftsmanship through the Inheritance Tree could indeed earn him a great many spirit stones.
But there were some resources that spirit stones could not buy!
Windmist True Person controlled an entire Immortal City. Would she lack spirit stones?
Yet her disciples still struggled to make any headway in the Foundation Establishment realm!
Li Ping was not so arrogant as to believe he could obtain resources that even a Core Formation cultivator could not get.
By cultivating the Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art, however, he could skip the bottlenecks between minor realms. For him, there would be only one barrier throughout the Foundation Establishment realm: the final step into Core Formation.
Moreover, he would have a fifty-percent chance of achieving Core Formation. If he was lucky enough to obtain some Core Formation Treasures when the time came, his success rate could even rise to sixty or seventy percent!
In fact, it would not matter even if he used no other Core Formation Treasures.
Combined with the Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art's ability to spare its cultivators from fearing injuries during breakthroughs, he could attempt Core Formation again and again, provided he had enough time.
If one attempt had a fifty-percent chance of success, what about ten?
The only concern with cultivating the Marsh Water Life-Nourishing Art was whether he could reach Peak Foundation Establishment within two hundred years without taking pills.
Li Ping believed that should not be a problem. As long as he did not waste time running around outside and devoted himself wholeheartedly to arduous cultivation in a spirit land, two hundred years would be enough for him to reach Peak Foundation Establishment.
Perhaps it would not even take that long.
After all, he was not useless trash with Five-Spirit Root or Four-Spirit Root. He was a cultivator with Three-Spirit Root. Though his cultivation speed could not compare with those possessing heavenly spiritual roots, variant spiritual roots, or dual spirit roots, it was hardly slow.
Now that I've settled on a cultivation method, I'll go to the Inner City tomorrow and rent a cave abode. While I'm at it, I'll plan how to activate my world-shocking talent, Li Ping thought to himself.
Having finished considering his cultivation method, Li Ping picked up the miscellaneous treatise he had taken from the Wang Family's Secret Arts Pavilion.
"Miscellaneous treatises" was the collective term for all books other than cultivation methods, craft inheritances, and spells.
The miscellaneous treatise Li Ping had chosen was a cultivator's travelogue titled the Evergreen Gazetteer. Its author was a Foundation Establishment cultivator who styled himself the Evergreen Hermit.
According to the introduction at the beginning of the gazetteer, the Evergreen Hermit had been active over a hundred years ago. Originally a rogue cultivator, he had obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill through a fortunate turn of events and successfully achieved Foundation Establishment.
After achieving Foundation Establishment, the Evergreen Hermit had no interest whatsoever in founding a lineage. Instead, he had traveled for pleasure, visiting nearly every region of the Western Wastes Cultivation World.
Before he passed away, he recorded everything he had seen and heard, producing the Evergreen Gazetteer.
Li Ping had chosen this miscellaneous treatise in the hope that the Evergreen Gazetteer would teach him about the current state of the Western Wastes Cultivation World, including the distribution of its powers, renowned experts, dangerous places, and so on.
Li Ping was even eager to learn what lay beyond the Western Wastes Cultivation World.
After all, if this place was called the Western Wasteland, was there an Eastern Wasteland? A Northern Wasteland? A Southern Wasteland?
Of course, just as he had never set foot beyond a single country before achieving Foundation Establishment, Li Ping reckoned that Foundation Establishment cultivators probably lacked the ability to travel beyond the Western Wasteland.
As a Foundation Establishment cultivator's travelogue, the Evergreen Gazetteer could deepen Li Ping's understanding of the Western Wasteland. That alone was enough to satisfy him.