Life Foundation Complete, Cultivation Accelerates
Li Zhengjun first solemnly accepted all the gifts intended for the Sun Household before speaking:
"Now that the Sun Household's trump cards have been thoroughly analyzed by the clan, we can catch them off guard at a crucial moment."
Then, somewhat hesitantly, he said:
"Brother, I trust the clan's alchemy skills, but won't this cost us a lot of high-level spiritual resources again?"
He recalled how his grandfather had helped him refine his physique, which had cost him nine Immortal Foundation spiritual items. This was to make up for the depletion of his body caused by years of indulgence in wine and women, allowing him to have enough Qi and Blood to cultivate the "Double Radiance Bright Yang Wheel-Nurturing Scripture".
Now that his Lineage has said they've found a way to quickly condense the Spirit Primordial Wheel, he was naturally delighted, but along with his joy, he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
Li Zhengchen glanced at True Person Yuhong, shook his head, and smiled:
"My lord, you are overthinking it. No matter how precious this pill is, it is only for the Qi Ingestion level. Even though the spiritual materials used are indeed considerable, it is far from causing serious injury. There are still some Bright Yang spiritual items in the spirit warehouse. As long as you can grow faster, we can provide them to any number of Lineage."
Then, he took out the first batch of pills and pushed them in front of Li Zhengjun:
"This pill is called the 'Scarlet Dawn Inception-Congealing Pill.' It's a special kind of pill, only effective for condensing the Spirit Primordial Wheel. It has no other uses, therefore its toxicity is extremely low. You can take it with complete peace of mind. The clan's Alchemist have made seven bottles, enough for your use during this seclusion."
Li Zhengjun could sense the immense Bright Yang Spiritual Qi within just by glancing at it.
This spiritual item, which would otherwise be used to refine pills for Qi Ingestion at other households, was now being used only to help Li Zhengjun form the Spirit Primordial Wheel —it was an extreme waste!
However, the elders in the hall still seemed unsatisfied. If Li Zhengjun's cultivation level weren't so low, they would probably have used all their resources to help him reach the Immortal Foundation.
Li Chenbin then added some suggestions. Although Yuhong and the others were not as nervous as they were during the Ning Kingdom Demon Extermination, and were more composed, they still dared not be careless in the slightest.
After analyzing the movements of various surrounding forces for days, the clan finally came up with a deeper plan: to use this confrontation with the Sun Household as a test to gauge the bottom line of the surrounding forces towards the Li Household, an outsider.
Li Zhengchen interjected, "Besides the magical duel, we also followed the clues and discovered some rather interesting shady dealings. The Sun Household's control over the islands under their jurisdiction is almost like squeezing the marrow from the bone, and the various smaller forces have long been resentful, but they dare not speak out."
"As the saying goes, 'Tyranny breeds disloyalty; adversity inspires wisdom; hardship strengthens a nation.' The Sun Household has accumulated deep resentment, presenting us with an opportune moment to divide and weaken them. We can exploit their internal discord to maneuver and further solidify the Li Household's position. Although even a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake, if these local snakes are already disloyal, the Li Household won't need to handle everything personally; someone will step forward."
As he spoke, he unfolded a map, which was drawn based on the testimonies of Sun Xing and the other man, supplemented by the memories of Hidden Snipe.
"One suitable candidate is the Yang Household of East Cliff Island, located in the northern part of Jade Wave Island. This Yang Household divides the island into north and south, with the 'Northern Yang' being a staunch vassal of the Sun Household, while the 'Southern Yang,' for some reason, refuses to submit to the Sun Household and has long been suppressed. Our analysis suggests that the 'Southern Yang' must harbor resentment, and we can then use this as a starting point to support the 'Southern Yang' in their struggle against the 'Northern Yang.'"
"Once Southern Yang rises to power, the other smaller forces oppressed by the Sun Household will follow suit. At that point, we only need to add fuel to the fire, and the Sun Household's dominance in this sea area will crumble."
True Person Yuhong had said from the beginning that developing alone and being too aggressive would only provoke public anger. Although the Li Household did not take the Sun Household and other people in this sea area seriously, the Ten Thousand Spirits Sect was Foundation Establishment Immortal Sect, so they still needed to be careful.
Li Zhengjun wholeheartedly agreed and nodded.
"Rest assured, everyone, I understand the importance of the matter. As for Southern Yang, I will find a pretext to make contact with him later."
Having said that, he vanished from the Chongming Hall in a flash.
"Great Scarlet Realm"
Ten days have passed in this world.
Upon seeing his return, Li Yuankai hurriedly said:
"My lord, the Frozen Water creatures are currently at their peak production, with yields more than 30% higher than before. Furthermore, Ye Xiufan has confessed to entering the cultivation world and has recently been in contact with the Dongping; it seems he intends to go to [Gold-Bearing Mountain]."
"With the revelation of his cultivation level, this young man has no more scruples about collecting spiritual items, and he has now reached the top of the Contribution Points rankings."
Li Zhengjun nodded, then asked:
Has the Sun Household made any unusual moves?
Li Yuankai thought for a moment and said:
"We came here some time ago, but didn't see the master, so we turned back. However, our people have already found out that the Sun Household was using the pretext of a visit to spy on Gold-Bearing Mountain."
Li Zhengjun nodded, not surprised:
"The Sun Household wants to guard against us, but they're also reluctant to give up that Ginseng-Cloud Tiger. It's best if they test each other. We'll have to climb this mountain sooner or later, so I'm not in a hurry."
He gave some instructions and then went into his meditation room to begin his practice.
Li Zhengchen gave him a total of seven bottles of pills. Since the other party said there were no restrictions on the amount of pills he could take, Li Zhengjun simply swallowed a whole bottle of pills in one go.
After consuming a bottle of pills, Li Zhengjun finally understood what "tailor-made" meant.
This Scarlet Dawn Inception-Congealing Pill is quite compatible with the batch of pills from True Person Dayu. Dayu's [Celebrate Yang's Balance] harmonized the Yin and Yang within his body, altering his life foundation, but also leaving a small flaw.
[Night Star Fire] is Tinder Fire. Although it can resonate with the Bright Yang, it will remain suspended without the warmth and nourishment of the sun, and will eventually go out.
The bright yang energy provided by the Scarlet Dawn Inception-Congealing Pill can fill the gap at this moment, bringing the Tinder Fire into the morning light and turning the sparks into the dawn.
At this moment, the medicinal power entered his Dantian, transforming into strands of extremely pure crimson qi, constantly impacting the still-unmanifested spiritual gate. Li Zhengjun felt a new outline faintly emerging deep within his Dantian.
He immediately entered a meditative state and activated the "Double Radiance Bright Yang Wheel-Nurturing Scripture" to refine the medicinal power.
Originally, he could only refine three or four strands of Bright Yang Spiritual Qi after ten days of arduous cultivation, but now, with the aid of pills, his efficiency has more than doubled.
More than twenty days passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Li Zhengjun consumed five bottles of pills and completely refined their medicinal properties.
It must be said that the body, after being tempered by Dayu, greatly improves its absorption efficiency of these elixirs.
"Just as my grandfather said, [Celebrate Yang's Balance] harmonizes Yin and Yang, making my life foundation like fertile soil, greatly improving the absorption efficiency of elixirs. And [Night Star Fire] is the first spark in the long night, making my physique no longer as purely forceful as before, but with a balance of strength and gentleness, brightness within darkness, perfectly matching the Bright Yang [the beginning of light in the long night]. Procreation is just the tip of the iceberg; the true wonder of this physique lies here."
Li Zhengjun could sense that even though he hadn't specifically trained his body, his physique had already reached a terrifying level.
Another twenty days have passed.
On this day, Li Zhengjun swallowed the last bit of the medicinal power from the last bottle of pills.
He sat cross-legged in meditation, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him. He felt a sudden jolt in his Dantian, and the outline of his Spirit Primordial Wheel suddenly lit up.
The next moment, all six wheels vibrated simultaneously, and crimson light surged like a tide, turning his entire body a deep red.
The Spirit Primordial Wheel has been completed.
The so-called "beginning of spiritual awareness" refers to the initial feeling of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Once this cycle is formed, one can prepare for the Qi-absorbing technique, ingest the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and enter the Qi-absorbing realm.
Li Zhengjun suddenly opened his eyes and murmured:
"Now that my destiny foundation is complete, and I have dealt with the Golden Mountain, I can return to my clan to cultivate the Qi-gathering technique."