mtl008 Chapter 18 Achieving Perfection
Chapter 18 Achieving Perfection
"Junior Brother Tianli, this is the cave dwelling that Elder Sun assigned to you. It is located on the sixth of the sect's ten major peaks, where the spiritual energy is abundant. There are also several thousand medicine apprentices living nearby, whom you can summon at any time. Furthermore, you can get an 80% discount on the herbs produced by the sect's Hundred Herbs Shop."
Zhang Ze explained in detail to Zhang Yunling the rights he could enjoy as a third-grade alchemist, but as he listened, Zhang Yunling noticed something: buying herbs? He was penniless right now. When he left the Zhang family, he was only thinking about cultivation and forgot to bring any money. What was he going to do?
Zhang Yunling coughed awkwardly twice and asked in a low voice, "Um, senior brother, I'm currently out of money... what should I do?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ze chuckled and said, "Don't worry, we alchemists will never lack money. As long as you have some herbs in stock, keep refining pills every day, and ensure the quality of your pills, you can easily earn money by selling them to other disciples."
I see. That makes sense. Ordinary cultivators, if their spiritual roots do not meet the requirements to become alchemists, cannot refine pills on their own. If they want to use pills, they can only buy them from a real alchemist.
Zhang Ze looked up at the sky; it was already noon. He turned to Zhang Yunling and said, "Alright, junior brother, I've successfully helped you join the alchemy room. If you have any further questions, you can come find me at Cave No. 7 on the west side of the Sixth Peak."
Zhang Yunling turned around, cupped his hands and bowed slightly to Zhang Ze: "I, Xu Tianli, will remember your kindness today, senior brother. If I achieve success in alchemy in the future, I will surely repay you handsomely."
Both of them laughed heartily and happily took their leave. Zhang Yunling touched the storage pouch at his waist, his heart filled with excitement. The perfect Foundation Establishment Pill that Wang Po had taught him to refine was now complete, and he could now attempt a breakthrough.
Without hesitation, Zhang Yunling took to the air and took out the identity jade token personally bestowed upon him by Elder Sun. In an instant, his divine sense reacted, and his personal cave dwelling was not far above his head.
He flew into the cave dwelling, and as he had expected, stone tables, chairs, and benches—the standard stone furniture for cultivators—came into view. Moreover, a narrow path had been carved into the ground, through which clear spring water flowed continuously. Along one wall was a flower bed made of pebbles, planted with several basic medicinal herbs.
"Not bad, that's more like it." Zhang Yunling nodded in satisfaction, patted his storage bag with his left hand, and the crimson cauldron and the perfectly refined Foundation Establishment Pill flew out. He placed the cauldron in the center of the cave, clutching the pill tightly in his hand, his heart filled with excitement. He was finally about to break through to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining and step into the Foundation Establishment realm.
He sat cross-legged on a futon in the mansion, swallowed the perfect Foundation Establishment Pill in one gulp, and chewed it hard. Instantly, a surge of spiritual power flowed into his throat, traveling all the way to his limbs and bones, filling all his meridians with rampaging and tyrannical Dao power.
Seeing this, Zhang Yunling immediately began to circulate his energy, circulating his cultivation to fully absorb the spiritual power and cultivation brought by the Perfect Foundation Establishment Pill.
This continued for a day and a night. The spiritual energy in his body still caused his meridians to swell and feel uncomfortable, so Zhang Yunling had no choice but to continue to try to absorb it.
This spiritual energy began to slowly gather near the dantian, causing the two previously dormant metal and water spiritual roots to begin to stir.
Three more days and nights passed. With Zhang Yunling's cultivation level, he was unable to abstain from grains, so he was now hungry, thirsty, and suffering from persistent bloating and pain, making it extremely difficult to endure.
He recalled what Granny Wang had said: perfect Foundation Establishment was not extremely rare. Just as he could find various materials and eventually refine them into pills to achieve perfection, other cultivators might also be able to do the same.
However, how much of a future one can have after achieving perfect foundation building, and how far one can go on the path, depends on each cultivator's own abilities and fortune.
The path to immortality is incredibly difficult. If everyone could become an immortal, why would the world be divided into different classes, high and low, noble and base?
The strong are respected. Only by making real efforts and persevering can one stand out from the crowd and embark on one's own path.
Zhang Yunling still remembered that back then, in order to refine her own perfect Foundation Establishment Pill, Chu Yanbing stole his cultivation level of the tenth level of Qi Refining and his genius physique with four of the five-colored spiritual roots. She was so ruthless that he wondered what other heinous things she had done behind the scenes. But all of this was just to achieve her own perfect Dao foundation so that she could ascend to immortality in the future.
As Fan Linyuan said, the cultivation world is a dog-eat-dog world, where the weak are destined to be ruled and oppressed by the strong. This is common sense that has been formed over thousands of years and is a rule that no one can shake.
Since one has chosen to become a cultivator, one has no choice but to comply; otherwise, it will be difficult to move an inch in this world.
After this period of thought, seven days and seven nights had passed. Zhang Yunling's legs were numb, his face was as pale as paper, and his hands were tightly gripping his knees, but he still refused to give up. The spiritual power brought by the Perfect Foundation Establishment Pill in his body had expanded and extended his meridians once, and the remaining power had been completely absorbed by his dantian. At this time, the gold spiritual root and the water spiritual root had been completely and perfectly formed, and now he had all five spiritual roots.
It's time! Zhang Yunling suddenly opened his eyes, feeling all his cultivation moving with his will at this moment. In an instant, he broke free from his restraints, and his spiritual root and dantian completely merged, gradually forming a golden disc platform.
This platform is round and smooth, without any flaws or cracks. The brilliant golden light emanating from it is different from the dull yellow of the dantian. It is the perfect foundation of the Dao!
The perfect foundation for breaking through to the Dao Inquiry Realm and achieving True Immortality has been laid at this moment!
The last bit of strength in his body kept him going until he completed the breakthrough. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, the spiritual power belonging to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, which came from the Dao Foundation in his abdomen, began to spread out. His body, which had been exhausted due to hunger and thirst, quickly recovered at this moment.
Zhang Yunling suddenly reached out to brace himself against the ground, catching his body which was about to fall. He exhaled a deep breath, "I wonder how my perfect foundation compares to Chu Yanbing's. With her methods, that pill must be incredibly fierce and ruthless. And a perfect foundation-building pill refined in such a way must have given her extremely powerful cultivation."
Seven days passed, and the cave's gate remained open, yet no one stepped inside. Zhang Yunling paid no attention, his eyes fixed on the night sky outside the cave, lost in thought.
"Sixteen years ago, she had already achieved perfect Foundation Establishment cultivation. Coupled with her background as a fourth-grade alchemist, she must have reached a level of immense power and strength by now. If I want to avenge my father's death, there is only one clear path: to surpass her and cultivate into an immortal."