Cultivating Immortality in a World of Chaos

Chapter 138: Foundation Establishment Pill Formula

After slaying his enemies, Fang Xi did not linger. He commanded the Black Feather Boat and swiftly flew away from the Wan Island Lake region.

Now at Peak Qi Refinement, with abundant energy reserves, he could sustain long-distance flight using magical artifacts. With the assistance of high-grade Qi Supplement Pills, it posed little challenge.

Having flown several thousand kilometers, Fang Xi finally chose a desolate mountain to descend and establish a new immortal’s cave.

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Inside the immortal’s cave, a luminous night pearl cast its radiant glow.

Fang Xi retrieved the bags of holding captured during the Dragonfish Island battle and began examining their contents one by one.

First were the various tribulation cultivators’ magical artifacts and bags of holding… Apart from Old Monster Goldtooth contributing a high-grade ‘Black Gold Blade’, there weren’t any particularly exceptional treasures.

“Tsk… As expected, rogue cultivators are always broke,” Fang Xi muttered, fully understanding the reason. Who would bring their entire fortune to a battlefield? Naturally, they leave it for their heirs, disciples, or close friends.

He continued sifting through the items obtained from Spirit Medicine Valley, including a high-grade violet jade furnace, over twenty paste jade boxes, and several jade slips…

These paste jade boxes were specially crafted to preserve the vitality of spirit medicines and spirit wood for extended periods.

As for the jade slips, they contained numerous pill formulas, even three tier-2 formulas: ‘Waterswell Pill’, ‘Appearance-Firming Pill’, and…

“Foundation Establishment Pill?!”

Fang Xi stared at the Foundation Establishment Pill formula in his hand, feeling utterly astonished!

The ‘Waterswell Pill’ was a tier-2 spirit pill, designed to enhance magical energy specifically for water elemental Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The ‘Solidify Appearance Pill’ could be considered an upgraded version of the first-rank ‘Age-Defying Pill’. While each Age-Defying Pill only maintained youthful appearance for a few years, the Solidify Appearance Pill could preserve one’s looks for several decades, making it particularly sought after by female cultivators.

But what about the ‘Foundation Establishment Pill’?

Fang Xi took a deep breath, regaining his composure amidst the surprise. “Considering the Dragonfish Zhong Clan is one of the seven Foundation Establishment immortal families in Yue Kingdom, possessing the Foundation Establishment Pill formula isn’t unexpected, understandable even… However, having the formula alone means little; sourcing the ingredients is the true challenge!”

In fact, Baize Immortal City already sold the Foundation Establishment Pill formula, and surprisingly at quite an affordable price.

Otherwise, how would Ruan Xingling have known her spirit medicines could be used to concoct such a pill?

“Still, this saves me some spirit stones,” Fang Xi thought, feeling somewhat satisfied as he began meticulously studying the Foundation Establishment Pill formula.

This particular formula was originally created centuries ago by True Monarch Shu Tong. Over a thousand years, countless alchemists studied and improved upon it… resulting in numerous versions available. In recent centuries, it had reached a point where further refinements were deemed impossible.

“The main ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill is at least one three-hundred-year-old ‘Golden Jade Spirit Mushroom’. The two crucial secondary ingredients are ‘Dragon Ginseng’ aged over two hundred years and ‘Jade Spirit Liquid’. Additionally, there are thirteen other secondary components…”

“Fifteen of these secondary ingredients can be purchased with spirit stones and are commonly used in other medicinal pills… Dragon Ginseng and Jade Spirit Liquid might be slightly troublesome, but they should still be obtainable in Baize Immortal City, requiring only some spirit stones and time. The real challenge lies with the Golden Jade Spirit Mushroom!”

The Profound Sky Sect’s monopoly on the ‘Foundation Establishment Pill’ stemmed precisely from their control over this critical primary material!

Fang Xi had discussed this with Ruan Xingling before; according to her, the ‘Golden Jade Spirit Mushroom’ was an exceptionally delicate heavenly spirit herb, extremely difficult to cultivate in the current conditions of the cultivation world.

Rumor had it that the Profound Sky Sect, along with the Greenwood Sect and Yiling Valley, jointly controlled an arcane realm. Within this self-contained space, abundant spiritual energy thrived, harnessing nature’s fortune to nurture vast quantities of rare spirit herbs!

Every ten years, this arcane realm would open, allowing Qi Refinement cultivators from the three sects to enter and harvest spirit herbs.

Only Qi Refinement cultivators could participate because powerful restrictions within the arcane realm made it nearly impossible for Foundation Establishment or even Core Formation patriarchs to breach!

As such, the Golden Jade Spirit Mushroom is tightly controlled by these three Core Formation sects, making it virtually impossible for any to reach the outside market!

The occasional Foundation Establishment Pills found in Baize Immortal City come from an alternative source.

“A tier-2 spirit beast’s inner core, perhaps?”

Fang Xi stroked the jade slip containing the Foundation Establishment Pill formula, deep in thought.

Certain exceptionally gifted tier-2 mythical beasts can form an inner core within their bodies, which could substitute for the Golden Jade Spirit Mushroom as the primary ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill!

Baize Immortal City, being near the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range, occasionally sees cultivators hunting down tier-2 mythical beasts with inner cores to craft Foundation Establishment Pills!

However, this endeavor is incredibly dangerous!

Firstly, most tier-2 mythical beasts cannot actually develop inner cores; only extremely rare and uniquely talented ones have a slight chance of forming them!

To find such special beasts, one must venture deep into the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range!

Even if discovered, these gifted tier-2 mythical beasts possess combat abilities surpassing those of early Foundation Establishment cultivators, making them ferociously dangerous and difficult to subdue!

Lastly, the depths of the mountain range are known to harbor third-rank great monsters!

Encountering one would be a nightmare even for Core Formation patriarchs, let alone Foundation Establishment cultivators who stand little chance of survival!

Despite these dangers, countless hunting teams ventured deep into the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range each year near Baize Immortal City. Many included Foundation Establishment cultivators who risked their lives for the sake of their descendants or disciples… often meeting their demise…

“Foundation Establishment Pill…”

Fang Xi dared to go to Baize Immortal City only because he had confidence in obtaining such a pill!

“A tier-2 mythical beast’s inner core, huh?”

He stroked his chin, feeling optimistic about his chances!

The southern wilderness might be challenging, but Great Liang certainly presented opportunities!

Throughout Great Liang, there existed Monster Kings akin to the snake-dragon, possessing exceptional innate abilities!

However, due to the sparse spiritual energy, they typically remained at the peak of first rank, struggling to advance further.

“If I capture and bind one with a contract, bringing it to the cultivation world could potentially trigger its breakthrough to tier-2! Then slaughtering it for the inner core would be feasible…”

“Of course, before capturing, I must imprint my divine sense on it and use the Beast Control Technique to place numerous restrictions within its body. Additionally, setting external traps… once it breaks through to tier-2, immediately detonate all prepared contingencies!”

“With my Martial God power as backup, it shouldn’t pose too much difficulty!”

With Fang Xi’s divine sense, if he established a master-servant contract, he could instantly command even a tier-1 high-grade mythical beast like the Great Azure Fish to perish with a single thought!

For a tier-2 mythical beast, it might not result in immediate death but would still cause severe injury! Combined with traps and his own Foundation Establishment power… facing a mere newly advanced tier-2 beast felt almost unfair to Fang Xi!

“However, there’s still some risk involved… It would be best to purchase a tier-two array as backup!”

Thus, Fang Xi set his next destination: Baize Immortal City!

While he didn’t lack the main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill, he needed auxiliary materials and a tier-two array.

Furthermore, upon obtaining the monster core, he didn’t plan to entrust someone else with pill concoction; instead, he intended to do it himself!

It was entirely feasible for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to master a specific tier-two pill formula through repeated practice.

“A Tier 2 Alchemist primarily relies on their divine sense, magical energy, and intrinsic true fire…”

“I already possess divine sense, and I can substitute intrinsic true fire with earthflame or a fire-gathering formation. With my Peak Qi Refinement magical energy, supplemented by a few Qi Supplement Pills, I should just manage. After all, pill concoction isn’t combat, so it ought to be within reach…”

“I’m already a tier-1 high-grade alchemist with this Foundation Establishment Pill formula at hand. After attempting ten batches, I refuse to believe I won’t produce at least one successful pill!” Fang Xi clenched his teeth determinedly.

For ordinary major powers, nurturing an alchemist with such extravagance would be completely unthinkable.

How crucial is the Foundation Establishment Pill? How rare and precious are its ingredients?

Only tier-2 high-grade alchemists can even consider accepting tasks related to it.

Typically, when practicing with Foundation Establishment Pills, two failed batches might be tolerated at most. Under no circumstances should more than three batches’ worth of materials be wasted; if not a single pill succeeds by then, the attempt would surely be abandoned! Further support for crafting Foundation Establishment Pills would cease unless the alchemist personally gathered additional ingredients!

Collecting the main components for a Foundation Establishment Pill is as difficult as ascending to the heavens!

Even if a fortunate Foundation Establishment cultivator managed to slay a tier-2 mythical beast and obtain its inner core, they’d be out of their mind to let an inexperienced pill master use it for practice!

However, for Fang Xi, possessing resources from an entire world meant the primary materials were virtually inexhaustible, albeit requiring some time to acquire.

“This Foundation Establishment Pill formula meticulously details the refining techniques for two different sets of main ingredients - impressive indeed…”

Fang Xi carefully stored the Foundation Establishment Pill formula and began examining the last ‘Situ Ying’s bag of holding.

The bag of holding was black with a red string tied at its mouth, giving it a slightly sinister appearance.

Upon opening it, Fang Xi found numerous and varied items inside.

“So many spirit stones, magical artifacts, medicinal pills… Did this person raid the Zhong Family’s storage?”

Fang Xi emptied the contents and examined each item, feeling pleasantly surprised despite himself.

Considering Situ Ying’s position on that day, he quickly realized: ‘As expected, Lone Practitioner Ye had colluded with the Situ Clan. Situ Ying was specifically sent to reap the benefits… He can take his share, and I’ll claim mine. This is payback for years of excessive rents and exploitation - now they owe me both principal and interest!’

“Hmm?” As Fang Xi meticulously scanned every object with his divine sense, he suddenly uttered a soft questioning sound and retrieved what appeared to be an ordinary low-grade water attribute spirit stone.

Within this spirit stone, he detected a faint trace of another’s divine sense entwined around it, forming some sort of marker.

“A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s Divine Consciousness Imprint? They indeed placed tracking measures on him…”

With a cold laugh, Fang Xi promptly destroyed the water spirit stone.

A typical Qi Refinement cultivator, even at great perfection stage, would not detect a Foundation Establishment Divine Consciousness imprint. If left unnoticed during the transfer to his bag of holding, it could potentially lead demonic cultivators to trace Fang Xi’s trail later on.

“Quite cautious indeed…”

Fang Xi meticulously examined Situ Ying’s other personal items but found nothing unusual. Nonetheless, he decided to discard any suspicious or unnecessary objects.

After a brief moment, only a pitch-black jade slip remained in Fang Xi’s hand.

He infused his divine sense into it and immediately discovered cultivation mantras - unmistakably the technique practiced by Situ Ying!

“Blood Fiend Demon Art?!”

In truth, the Situ Clan had renounced their dark past long ago. However, after being annihilated, they evidently cast aside all scruples and reverted to their old ways.

Fang Xi leaned back on a stone chair carved from black gold, crossing one leg over the other, as he briefly skimmed through this cultivation method.

“So, demonic cultivators also absorb world’s spiritual energy? Just with some distinct transformations… This Blood Fiend Demon Art requires a foundation laid with a cultivator’s essence blood, truly vile… Hmm, seems like rapid progress is possible… Oh, there are several secret techniques too, quite intriguing…”