Fortune could be changed

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Chapter 45: Fortune could be changed

[Technique]: All Arts Converge Jianmu Heavenly Scripture · Qi Refining Chapter

[Grade]: Heavenly

[Description]: This technique leads directly to Spirit Transformation and pursues an exalted ideal. It is suitable for cultivators with dual water and wood heavenly spiritual roots. Those with outstanding talent can use it to break through the qi refining limit.

Those compatible with this technique who cultivate a water-wood dharma body during Qi Refining can comprehend the Dao to reach Foundation Establishment, forging a flawless dao foundation.

[Price]: 2,000 Spirit Origin

Chen Beiwu was not surprised by the price.

This technique was expensive-truly expensive-but it was also powerful-truly powerful. It was one of the very few heavenly-grade techniques capable of forging a flawless dao foundation.

What was a flawless dao foundation?

In the Primordial Era, cultivators who reached the ninth layer of qi refining could consume the five foundation establishment spirits to attempt a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. But the failure rate remained stubbornly high: out of ten ninth-layer cultivators, at most three would succeed.

As cultivation civilization grew ever more flourishing, towering figures of cultivation deduced the workings of the Great Dao and discovered that the ninth layer of qi refining was far from a Qi Refining cultivator's limit.

Cultivators who broke through that limit not only enjoyed a higher success rate when advancing to Foundation Establishment, but could also acquire stronger dao foundations and even improve their chances of reaching Golden Core.

Thus, the mighty figures of the Immortal Alliance added three more realms above the qi refining peak:

Qi refining limit (tenth layer): increased the chance of Foundation Establishment by twenty percentage points and allowed the cultivator to forge a supreme-grade dao foundation upon advancement.

Qi refining beyond the limit (eleventh layer): offered a ninety-percent chance of reaching Foundation Establishment without consuming the five foundation establishment spirits and allowed the cultivator to forge a transcendent-grade dao foundation upon advancement.

Flawless qi refining (twelfth layer): comprehended the Dao of heaven, automatically forging a flawless dao foundation and advancing to Foundation Establishment within a hundred days.

It was no exaggeration to say that if Chen Beiwu could reach the qi refining limit before the college entrance examination, he could skip the examination altogether and gain guaranteed admission to the Thirteen Immortal Sects.

If Chen Beiwu could go two steps further and reach flawless qi refining, even the Five Great Grotto-Heavens would open their arms to him and hold a special Immortal Examination just for him.

But that was far too difficult!

Snuffing out the thought, Chen Beiwu opened the balance on his phone. Five digits stood out on the screen.

Balance: 753.28

The Immortal Alliance's spirit beast loan charged interest. The more capital Chen Beiwu had on hand, the less loan interest he would have to pay.

Only a portion of the seven hundred-plus Spirit Origin on his phone came from his livestreaming wages. Most of it had come from his parents' support. Saying he had emptied their pockets would be no exaggeration.

Fortunately, an unexpected turn of events meant Chen Beiwu no longer needed to shoulder a spirit beast loan and could save that substantial sum. Yet he still could not afford even a third of the heavenly-grade technique's Qi Refining Chapter.

There was no helping it. Cultivation techniques were graded much like cultivators' spiritual roots, divided into six grades: immortal, heavenly, earthly, true, mixed, and mortal.

Immortal-grade techniques were exceedingly rare. They transcended heavenly-grade techniques and led directly to Void Refinement and Mahayana. These heaven-reaching immortal canons were never shared outside the Immortal Alliance and remained in the hands of its rulers-the Five Great Grotto-Heavens. They were classified at the highest levels and could not be purchased with Spirit Origin.

Immortal Alliance cultivators had only two paths to learning immortal-grade techniques: possess a legendary immortal spiritual root and win the appreciation of a mighty figure, or become a disciple of the Five Great Grotto-Heavens. Only then would they have a chance to glimpse the profound Great Dao contained within such techniques.

Consequently, heavenly-grade techniques, second only to immortal-grade techniques and capable of breaking through the limit and leading directly to Spirit Transformation, were the finest techniques available on the Immortal Alliance Official Website.

Even within the Thirteen Immortal Sects, techniques like these were rare secret scriptures. Their cultivation requirements were extremely high: only cultivators with heavenly spiritual roots could practice them.

Following the same pattern, earthly-grade techniques led directly to Nascent Soul and required an Earth Spiritual Root. True-grade techniques led directly to Golden Core and required true spiritual roots.

Mixed-grade and mortal-grade techniques were so worthless that no cultivators practiced them, so their prices on the Immortal Alliance Official Website amounted to only a few low-grade spirit stones.

Some websites and apps even shared mixed-grade techniques for free to attract traffic, allowing Qi Refining cultivators to download, study, and discuss them.

As a heavenly-grade technique, the All Arts Converge Jianmu Heavenly Scripture's Qi Refining Chapter cost two thousand low-grade spirit stones, which was already considered fairly reasonable on the Immortal Alliance Official Website.

Some particularly rare Spirit Transformation techniques, such as the [Azure Sea Calamity-Transcending Eight Treasures Scripture], charged as much as ten thousand Spirit Origin for their Qi Refining Chapter alone—equivalent to a hundred Middle-Grade Spirit Stones. Even selling Iron Egg would not cover the price.

Cultivation techniques determine my future path along the Great Dao. Better to go without than settle for something inferior, Chen Beiwu thought.

Before contracting Golden Egg, he had been a cultivator with dual water and wood Earth Spiritual Roots. His aptitude could be considered outstanding in Far Sky County, but he could only practice earthly-grade techniques that led directly to Nascent Soul.

That was why the earthly-grade techniques he had previously selected were all inexpensive. Buying their Qi Refining Chapters would cost only a few hundred, or even a few dozen, low-grade spirit stones.

But after contracting his companion beast, his aptitude had soared, and his water Earth Spiritual Root had transformed into a heavenly spiritual root.

Such aptitude made him a rare seedling of immortality not just in Fallen Dragon Prefecture, but even in Heavenly Derivation Commandery.

Under these circumstances, even though heavenly-grade techniques were expensive and Chen Beiwu would need to gather enough spirit stones before switching to the All Arts Converge Jianmu Heavenly Scripture, he refused to settle.

If I speed up my exploration of the Southern Wild Region, I should be able to gather enough spirit stones sooner, Chen Beiwu thought.

Until he saved enough spirit stones, he could make do with the Ten Thousand Beasts Art.

This foundational technique had only two drawbacks: its Qi Refining speed was steady and moderate, and it offered no method for breaking through the qi refining limit. At most, it could take him to the ninth layer of qi refining, but that was enough to tide him over.

"Beiwu."

Chen Beiwu raised his head and looked toward the voice.

Xu Ziqing and Sun Yajing had appeared with a group of senior female students.

Unlike before, Xu Ziqing now carried a fox spirit beast about three feet long in her arms, its entire body covered in scarlet fur.

Its eyes were like fire, its muzzle long and narrow, and flame-shaped tufts grew at the tips of its ears. From a distance, it looked like a moving ball of flame.

Even more eye-catching, however, was its tail, which trailed brilliant streaks of fire behind it. It brushed against Xu Ziqing's clothes from time to time, making anyone watching instinctively worry that they might catch fire.

Chen Beiwu narrowed his eyes slightly and immediately recognized what kind of spirit beast it was.

[Species]: Scarlet Flame Fox

[Attribute]: Fire

[Bloodline]: Second tier, upper grade

[Talents]: Flame Assimilation, Divine-Sense Scorching Scarlet Flame

[Possible advancements]: One-tailed golden fox (third-tier, lower-grade treasure beast), three-tailed flame fox (third-tier, upper-grade treasure beast)...

[Assessment]: The Scarlet Flame Fox is a spirit of fire, a perfect union of ferocity and elegance. It can freely control flames within a radius of a hundred zhang, condensing them into scarlet flames that melt gold, liquefy iron, and scorch divine sense. It can also create illusions, killing enemies without a sound.

A second-tier spirit beast alone was not enough to astonish Chen Beiwu. What truly surprised him was the pale orange fortune above the Scarlet Flame Fox's head.

A spirit beast whose fortune might actually be third-tier!

Chen Beiwu instinctively turned his gaze toward Xu Ziqing.

After contracting her companion beast, the pale orange fortune above her head had deepened in color and begun to shine with a warm, radiant glow.

"It's only been a few hours. Don't you recognize me anymore?" Xu Ziqing asked with a gentle smile.

Clearly, she had contracted a suitable companion beast and was in an excellent mood.

(End of chapter)