Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms

Chapter 217 Tianquan Island

Qi Refining Path, Tianquan Island.

Fang Qing used the Dao Sheng Pearl to dissolve the True Elixir, and at this moment he was just an ordinary Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivator, walking on the main street of the market.

Before long, they entered a shop.

This shop looks ordinary on the outside, but it actually has the background of "Xuanzhongmen" and has a lot of good stuff.

He only found out about this by revealing his identity as an alchemist.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Xiang!"

Upon seeing Fang Qing, the elderly innkeeper immediately smiled and said, "Please come into the private room for tea..."

The two entered the private room and activated the soundproofing.

The old man poured tea for Fang Qing before asking, "Fellow Daoist Xiang, have you come here to sell elixirs?"

This Foundation Establishment alchemist possessed exceptional alchemy skills; the second-tier pills he produced were even superior to ordinary genuine pills, with minimal toxicity, which greatly pleased the shopkeeper. "Not at all… I'm merely here to acquire some materials and pill formulas for my elders."

Fang Qing took a sip of tea and handed over a jade slip.

The old man accepted it with a smile, and after scanning it with his divine sense, he was immediately moved: "This... a third-order water-attribute demon core? Is your elder perhaps a Core Formation True Person?" Fang Qing smiled without saying a word, but just looked at this person.

"This shop only has one Tier 3 Water Attribute Essence Pill..."

The old man gritted his teeth: "If you need more, I can get more from elsewhere, but not too much... These kinds of essence pills dissipate their power every day they're left... They're basically meant to be used to quickly refine tools or pills. Besides that, any third-tier pill formulas? Or anything suitable for early-stage Core Formation breakthroughs?"

He had a guess in his mind: could it be that the Core Formation Realm cultivator behind this alchemist was about to break through to the middle stage of Core Formation?

Little did they know, Fang Qing was also pondering this at the same time:

"With the 'Swallowing the Sea Technique' and the aptitude of a top-grade True Core... my cultivation in the Core Formation stage will be very fast, and I can start preparing the pills and secret techniques to aid my breakthrough to the mid-Core Formation stage." Although after Core Formation, given the quality of his True Core, even without any preparation, he would have a 40-50% chance of breaking through to the mid-Core Formation stage.

But in Fang Qing's view, what's the difference between a 40-50% chance of breaking through and failure?

Naturally, we should maximize external conditions and do our best.

It's not like the Taoist path of healing with spiritual treasures. The cultivation world in the East Sea is rich in resources, so we should make good use of them.

Otherwise, even if one manages to break through to the mid-stage of Core Formation, the unstable foundation will require several years or even decades to consolidate one's cultivation.

By maximizing external conditions, one can achieve a stable realm upon breakthrough, and then devour large quantities of demon cores and pills... making rapid progress!

Can these two be the same?

"This pill that helps one break through to the mid-stage of Core Formation is extremely rare even among powerful forces... If you want it, you'll probably have to try your luck at various auctions..." the old man said. "But... if your elders are willing to join our business, it's not impossible to obtain it immediately. To be honest, our shop belongs to the 'Qingdan Merchant Guild,' which is originally a powerful subordinate of the Xuanzhong Sect..." "Sure enough... these powerful forces won't act until they see a benefit, they're all eyeing my body... Bah, despicable, shameless!" Fang Qing thought to himself, but shook his head openly: "My elders have already joined a sect and made a vow, they can't switch... Don't you have any other options, fellow Daoist?" "Well... not entirely. Anyway, in a few days, everyone should know about this."

The old man stroked his beard and chuckled, "The art of alchemy is flourishing on Tianquan Island. Soon, a 'Dan Yuan Grand Gathering' will be held, inviting alchemy talents from all directions to compete in their skills... Those who perform exceptionally well will receive numerous rewards... Among them is a 'Star Yuan Pill' formula, suitable for cultivators in the early stages of Core Formation, and effective in breaking through bottlenecks..."

"The Grand Gathering of Elixir Essence? The Star Elixir Recipe?"

Fang Qing seemed thoughtful: "Thank you for the reminder, fellow Daoist..."

He inquired a few more times and learned that the Pill Refining Competition was divided into different sessions such as Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Core Formation, and there were also many niche competitions, such as competing in refining certain special pills, or competing in water and fire control skills, etc. "With my alchemy talent, if I went to the Foundation Establishment session, wouldn't I be able to crush everyone?"

Fang Qing's heart stirred.

He didn't care about the rewards from the Qi Refining Field, but the Foundation Establishment Field had some good stuff.

After all, the cultivation world in the East Sea is rich in resources, and the Xuanzhong Sect is especially wealthy and powerful.

"But... could it be that the Xuanzhong Sect needs to refine some kind of pill and is short of alchemists?"

Or perhaps they're planning to kidnap a few alchemy geniuses as slaves?

This wasn't because Fang Qing was overly cautious; rather, he had been tricked by Fuqi Dao and was terrified of it. Upon hearing about this, this was his first reaction.

"Would you like to participate in that Dan Yuan Grand Gathering?"

After leaving the shop, Fang Qing's heart stirred, and several plum blossoms fluttered in the air.

Little Lucky?

The divination is encountering some obstacles; it seems there's some scheming involved by a Nascent Soul cultivator?

With his current strength, he can fight against a cultivator at the peak of the Core Formation stage. Although he can't win, no one can stop him if he wants to leave.

However, if you encounter a powerful monster in the early stages of the Yuan-Marriage realm, that would be troublesome.

If the other party were to become ruthless and directly release their Yuan Qu from their body, entering the void to pursue them, Fang Qing would be dumbfounded...

He calculated again, his expression shifting once more: "It seems an old friend is coming?"

"Ahead lies Tianquan Island... the renowned water-based alchemy ground of the Xuanzhong Sect, where this year's Dan Yuan Conference will be held..."

Zhan Hongxiu, dressed in a blue robe with crimson sleeves, stood on the deck of a spirit ship, gazing at the distant crescent moon.

Secretly, he even communicated with the divine sense: "Elder Turtle... can we really find top-grade Core Formation spiritual objects in that Pill Yuan Grand Gathering?"

"Hehe...of course. This so-called Dan Yuan Conference, I can tell what the Xuan Zhong Sect is up to just by smelling it...isn't it just a pill-refining ritual...probably trying to refine some kind of high-level pill, needing to accumulate auspicious energy first, relying on the opening and failures of thousands of talented pill refiners...accumulating the possibility of success in the unseen realm..."

"This set of techniques is something I've already mastered back in the day with the Star Palace..."

"When the time comes, you can sneak in and use secret methods to collect it, and then you can refine a 'Hundred-Bend Pill Qi'... This is a top-grade spiritual item for forming a superior true pill..." Old Turtle said, "With this item, if you go into seclusion for another ten or eight years, you can barely form a core..."

Zhan Hongxiu has still not reached the completion of her foundation building.

This is actually normal. After all, although she has better aptitude than Fang Qing and possesses a spiritual body talent, she has only been at the Foundation Establishment stage for a little over fifty years. Fang Qing, on the other hand, took over seventy years to go from successfully establishing his Foundation Establishment to reaching its peak…

Although he lacks talent, he has access to a ton of resources.

Although Zhan Hongxiu didn't have access to the maximum resources, she was fortunate enough to encounter numerous fortuitous events, allowing her resources to surpass those of other Foundation Establishment cultivators. In a sense, both of them could be considered "exemplary" cultivators of the Qi Refining path... meaning that with enough resources, even a pig could form a Core! "But..."

Zhan Hongxiu thought to herself, "I'm not an alchemist... I have a wood elemental root!"

"It's simple. I'll pass on a secret technique to you: using wood to generate fire... you can then disguise yourself as a fire-based alchemist."

Old Turtle said, "As for successfully refining the pills? It's not like you're advancing in the next level. As long as you pass the preliminary rounds and manage to get into the main venue, that's enough..."

"this……

Zhan Hongxiu hesitated for a moment, and just then, a Foundation Establishment male cultivator came to the deck.

"Brother Wan!"

She was the first to bow. The man was named Wan An. He was of medium height, with a round, slightly chubby face and a friendly, prosperous smile on his face. He was wearing a worn brown robe and his cultivation level was around the early stage of Foundation Establishment. He claimed to be a rogue cultivator who ran a traveling merchant business.

"Fellow Daoist Zhan..."

Wan An solemnly clasped his hands in a respectful gesture.

After all, Zhan Hongxiu was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!

His strength far surpasses that of a mere traveling merchant like himself.

The two had merely met by chance and boarded the spirit ship together, but for some reason, this fellow Daoist Zhan was quite kind to him, which made Wan An suspicious for several days. Only after discovering that this woman did not harm him did he gradually dare to befriend her.

After chatting for a while, Zhan Hongxiu learned that this man was originally a cultivator of spiritual plants and had only managed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage by chance. He had come to Tianquan Island specifically to make friends with one or two alchemists, or at the very least to buy a batch of pills to sell in other markets and earn a meager living...

As for why I am friendly with this person?

Zhan Hongxiu was quite puzzled: "Old Turtle? What's wrong with this person?"

"Hehe... This boy's aptitude is mediocre, destined to spend his life in the Foundation Establishment stage. I don't think much of him. However, he has a magic treasure hidden in his dantian... It seems to have traces of an old friend on it." Turtle Spirit chuckled.

magic weapon?!"

Zhan Hongxiu narrowed her eyes slightly: "It is indeed an opportunity for Foundation Establishment cultivators, but can Foundation Establishment cultivators control magic treasures?"

"Of course not, but if that magic weapon is downgraded, becoming a quasi-magic weapon or a prototype magic weapon similar to a top-grade spiritual artifact, then there's a chance..." Old Turtle said quietly, "That's a bead called the 'Jingfeng Bead,' left behind by the Jingfeng Venerable... This is a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator; you, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, can't possibly try to take advantage of this..." A Nascent Soul magic weapon?

Zhan Hongxiu became more serious: "Could it be that this person is possessed by a wisp of the remnant soul of Master Jingfeng?"

After all, that's how she got here...

"Pah! Do you think everyone is like me?"

"Even the Nascent Soul cultivators of the human race only have a lifespan of two or three thousand years... How can they live for more than ten thousand years?"

The old tortoise was clearly furious: "If Venerable Jingfeng still had a wisp of his remnant soul, this 'Jingfeng Pearl' magic treasure wouldn't have been allowed to deteriorate so drastically, falling from a high-grade fourth rank to near-third rank... However, this Nascent Soul old monster's strength once dominated the East Sea, and he was known as unmatched even when a Nascent Soul cultivator didn't appear... If you could obtain his inheritance or even a trace of his legacy, it would be of great benefit to your future cultivation." "How?"

Zhan Hongxiu didn't waste any words. Having risen through the ranks from a rogue cultivator, she had long since passed the age of pedantry and was now a qualified Qi Refining cultivator. In the eyes of the Qi Refining Dao, the survival of the fittest was a matter of course. The fact that she spared Wan An's life afterward was already an act of immense kindness. A standard Qi Conquering Dao cultivator, however, would have made Wan An personally refine and upgrade the magic weapon, then deliver it to their family, establish a clan, and have generations refine magic weapons for them with their blood…