txolops Chapter 20 Late Stage of Qi Refining
Chapter 20 Late Stage of Qi Refining
The healing and life-saving pills you have refined are all low-grade or mid-grade pills.
The cultivators who entered the Cloud Sea Secret Realm in the largest number were those in the early and middle stages of Qi Refining.
The demand for low-grade and mid-grade healing and life-saving pills is also the greatest.
As for high-grade pills? You haven't prepared many.
You know very well what level of spirit stones you earn.
Currently, you are only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining and a mid-grade alchemist. If you produce too many high-grade pills in a short period of time...
[It's inevitable that this will attract the attention of those with ulterior motives. While Master Yun is willing to protect you, you will definitely need to explain yourself to him.]
[Furthermore, it would require using up Master Yun's favor. You value Master Yun's favor highly and hope to save it for a crucial moment.]
[For example, when attempting to reach the Foundation Establishment stage later?]
In the first simulation, Ye Feng cultivated to the peak of the Qi Refining stage and also wanted to use Master Yun's connections to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Unfortunately, due to his arrogant personality, he failed to achieve it.
If you were Ye Feng in my shoes, with your relationship with Master Yun, you would likely not only succeed, but also gain many more benefits and conveniences.
You'd rather earn fewer spirit stones than damage your relationship with Master Yun.
[In the twenty-first year, you are thirty-six years old. Through your continuous sale of healing and life-saving pills throughout the year, you have earned approximately six thousand spirit stones after deducting costs.]
[You are well aware that over the next three years, a large number of cultivators will enter the Cloud Sea Secret Realm, creating a continuous demand for healing and life-saving pills.]
At the same time, the spirit of the Mountain and Sea Ring also awakened once again.
"Boy, I observe that your magical power is weak and your physical body is frail. In your condition, even if you manage to cultivate to the ninth level of Qi Refining, you will definitely fail in your attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment."
After carefully observing you, the spirit of the Mountain and Sea Ring frowned and said...
"Is it destined to fail?"
You were taken aback, not expecting such a reaction from yourself.
"There are three stages from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment: the Qi and Blood Stage, the Mana Stage, and the Spiritual Sense Stage. Your spiritual sense is barely passable, but the quality of your physical body's Qi and Blood, and your Mana is too poor."
[The spirit of the Mountain and Sea Ring hits the nail on the head]
[You've been refining pills for years, constantly training your spiritual sense, so your spiritual sense is quite good.]
"Here's what I'll give you: a cultivation technique called the 'Mountain and Sea Manual.' The magical power cultivated using this technique is incredibly profound, and its success in breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage is far greater than other techniques of the same level."
"Also, I'll give you a body-refining technique; remember to practice that too."
The spirit of the Mountain and Sea Ring gave a few more instructions before falling back into a deep sleep.
Your expression revealed a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection); this is one of the advantages of having elders.
[If one were an ordinary rogue cultivator, even if they were lucky enough to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining, their attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment would be 100% unsuccessful.]
These rogue cultivators will probably believe until their deaths that their failure to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage was due to bad luck, unaware that their failure was already determined the moment they embarked on the path of cultivation.
As you were feeling moved, you noticed that the crimson color on the Mountain and Sea Ring, which had previously only been faint, had increased slightly.
However, overall, the Mountain and Sea Ring is still sky blue, with the red color being only a minor part.
In the twenty-second year, at the age of thirty-seven, you successfully transformed your magical power into the power of mountains and seas.
The power of the Mountain and Sea is incredibly profound. Your power, which was close to the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining, will only be at the level of the initial sixth level of Qi Refining after you convert it into the power of the Mountain and Sea.
Of course, cultivating the "Mountain and Sea Manual" consumes significantly more resources than before, but you don't mind. By constantly using healing and life-saving pills, you are not short of spirit stones now, and your spirit stone income this year will be no less than six thousand spirit stones.
That evening, a beautiful female cultivator visited you.
"This is the spirit stone income from selling that batch of pills."
This beautiful female cultivator is You Rou, the vice leader of the Pill Alliance in Wushan Market. Zhou Qing's pills were sold through this Fairy You.
"Thank you, Alliance Leader You."
You put away the spirit stone bag, quickly counted the stones, and a smile appeared on your face.
Selling spirit stones to cultivators who enter the Mountain and Sea Secret Realm doesn't require your personal involvement, nor do you have the time to stake out outside the secret realm.
This is also the basis of your cooperation with You Rou. You give her the pills, she is responsible for selling them, and you naturally get the lion's share of the profits.
"Master Wang, you flatter me. The pills you've given me are in high demand, and they often sell quickly at a premium..."
[You Rou possessed an elegant demeanor, with eyes as clear as a spring. "I wonder if Master Wang could provide more?"]
"I doubt it will work."
You shook your head. "Refining these pills also takes time."
In reality, you still have a large quantity of these pills, but it's impossible for you to take them all out at once.
【"I see."】
You Rou nodded slightly, without questioning where you provided the origin of these pills.
[These are merely some low-grade and mid-grade pills; they're not worth her investigation as the vice leader of the Pill Alliance.]
[If it's a high-grade pill, then it's not so certain. There are only so many high-grade pill masters in the entire Wushan Market and the surrounding area, and each of them has a considerable reputation.]
In the twenty-third year, you are thirty-eight years old, and Master Yun Dan has also returned from Azure Moon Immortal City.
[Master Yun Dan did not advance to the Foundation Establishment stage; his breakthrough has clearly failed.]
[At Master Yun's age, failing to break through means he has no chance of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. In a few more years, he will be seventy years old, entering his later years, and his qi and blood will decline.]
You didn't disturb Master Yun, knowing he must be in a bad mood right now.
[The same thing happened in the first simulation; after Master Yun returned, he didn't see anyone for a full six months.]
You sighed inwardly. Although this simulation allowed Master Yun to advance to the upper-grade alchemist level ahead of schedule, giving him more time and energy to dedicate to cultivation, it didn't change the overall outcome for you.
In other words, the bottleneck between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment is like an insurmountable chasm, extremely difficult to overcome.
[In the twenty-fourth year, at the age of thirty-nine, you earned another seven thousand spirit stones by selling healing and life-saving pills.]
[Since the emergence of the Cloud Sea Secret Realm, a total of three years have passed. You have earned 19,000 spirit stones. Most cultivators have never seen so many spirit stones in their entire lives.]
With ample spirit stones, you began purchasing higher-quality cultivation resources, and your cultivation of the "Mountain and Sea Manual" progressed steadily.
In the twenty-fifth year, at the age of forty, you earned another seven thousand spirit stones.
As you know, after four years of exploration, the Cloud Sea Secret Realm has been basically depleted. Fewer and fewer cultivators will be exploring it from now on, and the demand for life-saving and healing pills will return to normal levels.
[In the twenty-sixth year, at the age of forty-one, you have finally reached the halfway point in your cultivation of the "Mountain and Sea Manual".]
The spirit of the Mountain and Sea Ring is quite troubled by your situation; your cultivation speed is clearly lower than it expected.
[In the twenty-seventh year, when you are forty-two years old, the spirit of the Mountain and Sea Ring gave you several more pill formulas, all of which are pills used to accelerate your cultivation speed to the sixth level of Qi Refining.]
After months of attempts, you have finally succeeded in refining it, further increasing your cultivation speed.
[In the twenty-eighth year, you are forty-three years old, nearing the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining.]
In the twenty-ninth year, at the age of forty-four, you finally cultivated to the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining.
At this point, the spirit of the Mountain and Sea Ring didn't urge you on, but instead told you to adjust your state and not to break through recklessly.
[In your thirtieth year, at forty-five, while adjusting your state of mind, you begin preparing various resources for a breakthrough.]
The breakthrough from the sixth to the seventh level of Qi Refining is considered a mid-to-late stage and is prone to failure without sufficient resources.
[In the thirty-first year, at the age of forty-six, you purchased a breakthrough pill for the late stage of Qi Refining through the channels of Master Yun Dan.]
You are beginning to prepare for a breakthrough.
[You will reach the seventh level of Qi Refining in half a month.]
You have joined the ranks of advanced Qi cultivators.