Mortal Alchemy

“It’s not much, just borrowing forty spirit stones.”

Chen Ping nodded and said, “Okay.”

He counted out forty spirit stones from his storage bag and gave them to Xu Fengshan.

Xu Fengshan’s face flushed red. “Thank you, Junior Brother Chen.”

Taking the spirit stones, Xu Fengshan hurried away.

Xu Fengshan had saved a lot of money to send his grandson to a better department, not knowing how much he had spent on bribes.

This Pill Hall is a pit. Xu Fengshan has been in the Pill Hall for fifty years and doesn't want his children and grandchildren to step into the fire pit, mainly because the alchemy disciples don't have other pill formulas.

Alchemy? A dead end.

Without opportunity, one cannot establish a foundation. Cultivating immortality for a lifetime is futile.

Chen Ping has opportunities and works extremely hard, but his path to foundation establishment is extremely difficult. Whether he can succeed in foundation establishment in this life is still uncertain.

Now, besides refining pills, he returns to the dojo to practice swordsmanship, drink tea, and during his breaks, he goes to the market to check prices and wanders around to enjoy the scenery.

Once, he also passed by the foot of the Eastern Xuan Sect, a place that countless cultivators yearn for, but ninety-nine percent of them cannot enter.

One day at the end of the month, Mu Lu妃 arrived at Chen Ping's dojo as usual to make a transaction.

Talking about Xu Fengshan, Mu Lu妃 said quietly, “This old man has bet his entire life's fortune for his grandson.”

“He sent his grandson to the Talisman Department, spending five hundred spirit stones to get that connection.”

“The situation is similar to that of Junior Brother Fang.”

Chen Ping nodded and said with a smile, “Senior Sister Lu妃, when do you plan to break through to the eleventh level of Qi training?”

Mu Lu妃 paused for a moment, smiled faintly, and said in a gentle voice, “It’s not that fast.”

“There are countless people stuck in the late stage of Qi training, unable to improve their cultivation. Only after reaching the late stage of Qi training does one know how difficult cultivation is.”

“Talent, resources, cultivation methods, opportunities, and even pill toxins.”

“Most cultivators swallow a large number of pills in the early stages of cultivation. Although their cultivation is fast, they also plant hidden dangers.”

“Pill toxins enter the bone, and the late stage of Qi training requires spiritual power to transform the body. Just the pill toxin alone blocks many people, damaging their spiritual roots and preventing their cultivation from improving.”

Chen Ping was shocked, fortunately, he had ancestral inheritance.

Chen Ping said, “In that case, wouldn’t it require more resources to remove the pill toxins in order to restore normal cultivation speed?”

Mu Lu妃 nodded slightly, “Originally, it would take effort to improve the strength of the physical body, but now there is an additional task of removing pill toxins. Busy every day, in the blink of an eye, the time for foundation establishment is missed.”

Chen Ping felt the pit of the late stage of Qi training.

Before the age limit for foundation establishment, there is not enough time at all, let alone collecting foundation establishment resources.

One pit after another crushes countless Qi training cultivators to death.

Chen Ping is also in this shadow now.

Only by establishing a foundation can one find freedom.

Before leaving, Mu Lu妃 said, “Li Erniu is preparing to establish his foundation.”

“At that time, our Jiazi Courtyard should be able to gather again.”

Chen Ping was stunned. Li Erniu is twenty-four years old and is about to establish his foundation!

He also wants to break through to the tenth level of Qi training as soon as possible, but the bottleneck of spiritual consciousness cannot be solved overnight. Even if he takes spiritual consciousness pills to enhance his spiritual consciousness, the monthly increase is only a little. No matter how many spiritual consciousness pills he takes, if his body's potential is not enough, his spiritual consciousness will not increase.

Chen Ping can only wait.

Three months later.

Mu Lu妃 came to Chen Ping and brought good news:

“Junior Brother Chen, there is news about the Red Horn Blood Bull.”

Chen Ping's spirit was shaken. “Where is it?”

Mu Lu妃 said, “In a swamp eight thousand miles away, located at the junction of the Eastern Region and the Eastern Wilderness.”

“So far?” Chen Ping was shocked. “Eight thousand miles, this round trip will take at least half a month.” The travel expenses alone would cost at least ten spirit stones.

“Senior Sister Lu妃, can you issue a task to have the disciples of the Deacon Hall do this task?”

Mu Lu妃 shook her head slightly. “Probably not. The tasks of the Deacon Hall are generally within four thousand miles. Beyond four thousand miles, only the hall master can assign tasks.”

“Junior Brother Chen, if you break through to the tenth level of Qi training, I can accompany you on a trip, just as an experience.”

Chen Ping was shocked. “Such a long distance… Senior Sister Lu妃, are you willing to go with me?”

Mu Lu妃: “That’s not important. What’s important is when can you break through to the tenth level of Qi training?”

She had long seen that Chen Ping was at the peak of the ninth level of Qi training.

Chen Ping smiled bitterly. “Senior Sister Lu妃, your thousand gold body, it’s too dangerous to rashly follow me to such a distant place.”

“Tell me the address, and after I reach the tenth level of Qi training, I will go there myself.”

Riding Mu Lu妃's White Jade Flying Boat would take at least half a month. If Chen Ping used his own flying gourd, it would take at least two months.

The speed of a sixty spirit stone flying artifact and a thousand spirit stone flying artifact is completely different.

His flying gourd can fly at most five hundred miles a day, while Mu Lu妃's White Jade Flying Boat can fly two thousand miles a day.

Mu Lu妃 said with a smile, “If you don’t agree, I won’t tell you the address.”

Chen Ping's face darkened. “Okay, I promise.”

“Within a month, I will be able to break through to the tenth level of Qi training.”

Mu Lu妃's face turned serious:

“A month? Good, then we can set off at the end of next month. I also have time to ask the hall master to apply for a long-distance mission.”

Chen Ping nodded. “Okay.”

He also wants to collect the Red Horn Blood Bull as soon as possible to refine the Body Tempering Pill and test its effect.

Before leaving, Mu Lu妃 said, “The Red Horn Blood Bull is considered a relatively dangerous first-order monster. Junior Brother Chen, you must prepare well.”

Chen Ping smiled confidently, “Don’t worry, I have a way to deal with it.”

The power of his Four Seasons Swordsmanship cannot be underestimated, which is the only advantage of having poor spiritual roots.

People with poor spiritual roots actually have an advantage in practicing techniques.

After Mu Lu妃 left.

Chen Ping directly entered a state of closed-door cultivation.

After such a long time, the bottleneck of spiritual consciousness can be said to have been worn through by Chen Ping taking spiritual consciousness pills.

Chen Ping first swallowed Yuan Qi pills, and then swallowed spiritual consciousness pills. The majestic and massive spiritual energy began to impact the bottleneck of the tenth level of Qi training!

“Boom! Boom boom!!!”

The massive spiritual energy was washing away the bottleneck.

Seven days later, Chen Ping's face turned pale, and he was covered in cold sweat.

He had not yet entered the tenth level of Qi training.

He should have thought of it long ago. He encountered a bottleneck of spiritual consciousness at the eighth level of Qi training. Now, breaking through to the tenth level of Qi training, the bottleneck of spiritual power and physical body has come.

A moment of carelessness can lead to cultivation deviation.

His aptitude is too poor.

Cultivating like walking on thin ice for thirteen years, the problem of resources can be solved through inheritance, but the problem of poor talent cannot be solved.

“Boom!”

A burst of air exploded from his body, and Chen Ping entered the tenth level of Qi training.

At the same time, Chen Ping's body churned, and he spat out a large mouthful of bright red blood.

His body fell to the ground, and his brain was vaguely conscious.

Chen Ping lay on the ground half-dead, motionless, but the cultivation method ran smoothly, maintaining his cultivation and life.