Taibai Island.
Fang Qing hid inside his own cave residence, feeling much more at ease. He silently began reviewing the recent events.
The Azure Bird Tribe is truly cunning. They first sent out half-demons as cannon fodder. No matter where one goes, mixed-bloods like these are always treated as disposable pawns at the bottom. They were perfect for wearing down the enemy. At the sa ti, they prompted the Shangyong Sect to purchase large quantities of [Zhen Water] spiritual items to set up a grand array for defense.
Then they specially invited a great cultivator who specialized in countering [Zhen Water] with [Wei Moon] thods. The grand array was broken with ease.
This was clearly not a case of calling for reinforcents after suffering a loss. They had prepared everything in advance.
No wonder the situation on the front lines suddenly flipped from a great victory to a crushing defeat. It looks like Beixuan Commandery cannot be held.
‘Never mind. Since I have already revealed my traces and drawn the attention of those Bright Sons and Bright Consorts, I might as well focus on cultivating here in seclusion. After that, I will go settle my karma.’
He took out a voice transmission talisman and summoned Xiang Dahu. Fang Qing bestowed upon him so spiritual pills and several spiritual artifacts he no longer needed, then appointed him as the overall manager of Taibai Island. Imdiately after, he entered a deep-level closed-door cultivation.
Foundation Establishnt cultivators could already subsist on wind and dew, easily maintaining long-term fasting.
Once they entered seclusion to break through a bottleneck, several years or even decades could pass in the blink of an eye.
Several years later.
Inside the cave residence, a thick layer of dust had accumulated on the ground.
In the cultivation chamber.
Golden and coppery colors intertwined around Fang Qing’s body before suddenly transforming into Sanskrit characters that covered every part of his physique, resembling a faded kasaya robe.
In the corner stood a large jar that once contained Vajra ghee. Now only a thin layer remained at the bottom.
“Second-rank mid-grade Body Refinent, achieved!”
He looked at his own hands, feeling the terrifying power contained within, and could not help showing a satisfied expression.
“Not only that, the Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine thod is a dual cultivation of body and spirit. My divine sense can now extend outward for ninety zhang!”
For cultivators, the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit must reach perfection.
With his powerful physique and divine sense, his mana cultivation also received considerable assistance.
Of course, the greatest help still ca from continuously swallowing genuine Water Essence Pills.
After the Water Essence Pills were exhausted, he used the dicinal herbs obtained from the secret realm.
Those herbs had grown atop fourth-rank spiritual veins. Many were several hundred or even over a thousand years old, brimming with spiritual power.
Fang Qing had refined them according to various pill formulas, supplenting them with auxiliary herbs found in either Ancient Shu or this region, creating pills that accelerated mana cultivation. His progress could truly be described as advancing a thousand li in a single day.
At this mont, inside his dantian, beneath the Tide Birth Pearl, fifty drops of profound azure liquid mana had gathered into a single mass, radiating unfathomable fluctuations.
“The power of mid Foundation Establishnt has long since been perfected.”
Fang Qing could clearly sense the existence of the bottleneck.
No matter how many mana-enhancing pills he swallowed or how diligently he cultivated, he could not push the upper limit of his mana any further.
“This is what mid-grade aptitude ans. One bottleneck after another. How many cultivators with my level of aptitude, even if they luckily broke through to Foundation Establishnt, end up stuck in early Foundation Establishnt for life? Very few manage to reach the middle stage.”
“When I broke through to the middle stage previously, I could still use the excuse of being an alchemist with abundant resources. If I break through to the late stage now, everyone will start suspecting I possess so great opportunity.”
“However, it does not matter anymore. Even if people find out I have a great opportunity, so what? Even if a Core Formation ancestor ca, could they snatch it away?”
Fang Qing felt a surge of heroic spirit, then sighed with emotion. “Still, the customs here truly are simple and honest. It is much better than that wretched place.”
He sat cross-legged and adjusted his condition to its peak. Then he patted his storage bag and took out the second-rank superior Barrier-Breaking Pill he had refined several years ago.
The pill radiated purple spiritual light all over, with three exquisite pill veins on its surface.
Fang Qing remained silent for a mont, then directly swallowed the pill.
Whoosh!
The Barrier-Breaking Pill dissolved the mont it entered his stomach, transforming into a mass of dense purple qi mixed with so primal liquid. It flowed into his dantian qi sea and rged with the profound azure lake within.
A burning sensation instantly flared up. The azure lake began to boil as the Blue Sea Technique’s mana surged wildly, circulating through his ridians and completing a full great cycle.
Above the cave residence, strands of spiritual qi gathered. The originally quasi-third-rank spiritual qi grew noticeably richer, truly reaching the third-rank level.
Outside the cave residence, Xiang Dahu held an array flag and watched the scene without the slightest panic.
Fang Qing had instructed him in advance. Moreover, breaking through to late Foundation Establishnt only caused a slight fluctuation in spiritual qi, far less noticeable than the massive spiritual qi vortex during initial Foundation Establishnt. It would not attract much attention.
Refining pills or cultivating powerful techniques could also cause similar spiritual qi fluctuations.
Most importantly, even if all the disciples on the island rebelled under Bei Lingshu’s leadership, they could never break through the second-rank superior island-protecting array under Xiang Dahu’s control!
“This breakthrough… is proving quite difficult.”
Feeling his mana boil as it repeatedly slamd against the bottleneck yet always fell just short, Fang Qing’s heart stirred.
After all, this mana had been accumulated by continuously swallowing pills. Even though the Dao-Genesis Pearl constantly purified it and removed pill toxins, it was still sowhat unstable and superficial.
“Fortunately, my physique is powerful and my divine sense is strong. According to the annotations left behind by the Blue Sea Ancestor, I can use a secret technique to forcefully break through the barrier!”
Fang Qing ford a strange hand seal with both hands. His divine sense transford in countless ways, acting like a commander as it gathered a large amount of mana and launched the final assault.
Crack!
Suddenly, the spiritual qi between heaven and earth trembled.
He clutched his dantian as a trace of bright red appeared at the corner of his mouth.
A powerful mana fluctuation far surpassing mid Foundation Establishnt rippled outward from Fang Qing’s body.
If one observed with inward vision at this mont, they would see that inside his dantian qi sea, the fifty-first drop of liquid mana had clearly ford.
Moreover, all the liquid mana was condensing together, faintly gathering into one mass.
Late Foundation Establishnt, achieved!
Counting the years, Fang Qing thought to himself, 'I am already sixty-two years old this year, yet I have reached late Foundation Establishnt. This cultivation speed is only slightly inferior to heaven-grade spiritual roots, is it not? Much of the credit goes to those thousand-year spiritual herbs from the secret realm. If I continue advancing vigorously, I might even achieve Core Formation around the age of one hundred?'
According to the annotations left by True Personage Blue Sea in the Blue Sea Technique, Foundation Establishnt cultivators are best off breaking through to Core Formation before the age of one hundred and fifty. Otherwise, their essence, qi, and spirit will decline and their success rate will drop sharply.
Achieving Core Formation before one hundred and twenty years of age would qualify one as a Nascent Soul seed.
“My current strength is definitely not just one additional drop of liquid mana compared to peak mid Foundation Establishnt.
“Breaking through to late Foundation Establishnt not only removes the previous upper limit, but every drop of liquid mana I already possessed has received an amplification of at least several tens of percent!
“Both the quantity and quality of my mana have improved significantly. No wonder late Foundation Establishnt cultivators are referred to as great cultivators within the Foundation Establishnt realm. Relying solely on their own mana, they can completely crush early Foundation Establishnt cultivators and even kill them with ease.”
Fang Qing checked his divine sense and discovered that after breaking through to late Foundation Establishnt, it had directly surpassed one hundred zhang!
As expected, a breakthrough in cultivation realm also feeds back into one’s divine sense and physique, greatly strengthening divine sense and cleansing the marrow.
“Of course, the most crucial point is not this. The Tide Birth Pearl is ultimately activated using my own mana as the catalyst. The stronger my mana becos, the greater the power this external core can unleash!”
With a thought, Fang Qing activated the external core.
A mana fluctuation far exceeding the Foundation Establishnt realm appeared around him and continued climbing steadily until it firmly reached the early Core Formation level.
“With the external core power I can currently display, I am not comparable to soone who has just broken through to early Core Formation. Rather, I should be on par with an early Core Formation cultivator who has already stabilized their mana after cultivating for so ti.
“Moreover, I also possess two magical treasures and three talisman treasures.”
Fang Qing exhaled a long breath. “It is ti to resolve matters on that side. Otherwise I will have to keep hiding everywhere, which is quite inconvenient.”
“However, to ensure everything goes without a hitch, I still need so insurance.”
Whoosh!
After breaking through to late Foundation Establishnt, Fang Qing did not celebrate grandly, nor did he secretly visit a pleasure house to listen to music.
He piloted his escape light at full speed and reached Verdant Jade Island in just a few days.
When passing by the fishing village, he deliberately paused for several breaths and swept the area with his divine sense.
Old Man Cha’s house had already fallen into ruin, looking like a haunted dwelling.
It was said that when the old man learned of Cha Zhu’s death years ago, his heart and gall shattered from grief and he wailed until he died.
Fang Qing felt little emotion toward Old Man Cha. The man had rely been a passerby in his long life.
The transaction back then had been mutually beneficial. Even though the old man harbored so sches, what had he ultimately gained from it?
“The path of immortality is indeed long and arduous”
Carrying so indescribable thoughts, Fang Qing stopped outside the Blue Sea Sect’s Seven Mysteries Blue Wave Grand Array.
Before long, the grand array opened a gap and a slender white figure flew out. It was Qin Ruxue.
“Congratulations, Young Master, on breaking through to late Foundation Establishnt.”
Qin Ruxue smiled warmly and took out a storage bag. “The sect originally had no reserves of third-rank arrays.
Fortunately we later destroyed Tianxin Linked Island and the Zhong Family and dismantled their third-rank grand arrays, adding them to the sect’s reserves. Using my position as master of Array Island, I was barely able to take one set out for research, although I am not permitted to remove it from the sect.”
However, under Fang Qing’s will, sect rules ant almost nothing to Qin Ruxue.
“This array was originally deployed by the Zhong Family of Taibai Island back in the day. I have done my best to repair it. Without a third-rank spirit vein and relying purely on spirit stones for power, it can barely reach quasi-third-rank level. It is called the Dark Ice Sky Curtain Array. The thod to control it and how to set it up quickly are all recorded here.”
Qin Ruxue handed over a jade slip.
Fang Qing received it, swept it with his divine sense, and nodded slightly. “You have also reached peak early Foundation Establishnt. When do you plan to break through to the middle stage?”
“I only barely achieved Foundation Establishnt after consuming three Foundation Establishnt Pills. The sect only values my accomplishnts in array formation and does not hold high hopes for my immortal path.”
When Qin Ruxue spoke of this, a trace of bitterness appeared on her face. “The sect is currently nurturing other array masters with superior aptitude. Sooner or later they will replace .”
Aptitude was a threshold no cultivator could avoid.
It was said that after Core Formation, aptitude that was not particularly outstanding had little impact on cultivation progress. This allowed those with poorer aptitude to close the gap sowhat.
But those with poor aptitude usually struggled even to reach Foundation Establishnt, let alone achieve Core Formation.
“Right now I have accumulated enough contribution points to exchange for a Minor Barrier-Breaking Pill.”
Qin Ruxue said with a smile.
“You should use your sect contribution points to exchange for more mana-enhancing pills instead. I happen to have a Minor Barrier-Breaking Pill here. Although it is an inferior product with more pill toxins, you will simply need to spend a few extra years refining them after the breakthrough.”
Fang Qing took out a jade bottle and tossed it to Qin Ruxue, imdiately earning sincere thanks from the beauty.
He had important matters to attend to and did not linger to discuss the dual cultivation of form and emptiness with her. Instead, he left Verdant Jade Island directly.
Whoosh!
His escape light sped forward as Fang Qing calculated inwardly: ‘With this quasi-third-rank Dark Ice Sky Curtain Array added into the mix, I now have so insurance. It should be enough for to make a move against that White Bone Dao.’
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