Chapter 2224: Foundations Building

Clouds converged, obscuring the last ray of moonlight.

Qin Sang lowered his head as he entered the pavilion. After pouring wine for Venerable Tong Shen and Mr. Lu, he quietly stood aside, listening to their conversation. His thoughts, however, were on the "Celestial Demon Refinement" cultivation method. He hadn't expected that entering this illusionary realm would point him in the direction of "Celestial Demon Refinement."

Due to the limitations of cultivating multiple paths simultaneously, Qin Sang had chosen to primarily focus on the "Purple Star Sword Scripture." However, this didn't mean he would abandon "Celestial Demon Refinement." After all, everything beyond the Integration Stage was uncertain; it was unknown which path he might ultimately take. Perhaps he might even switch to primarily cultivating "Celestial Demon Refinement" and embark on the path of brute strength. Even disregarding the power boost from dual cultivation of body and magic, according to Ghost Mother, essence, qi, and spirit were all highly beneficial for future breakthroughs. As long as his energy permitted, he would certainly strive to improve himself as much as possible.

However, after learning that the ancient demon cultivation path involved demon souls attaching to stars, Qin Sang harbored another hidden concern. Why had later generations of demon cultivators almost entirely abandoned this path? Were there significant drawbacks or hidden dangers? Since even the demon race had given it up, continuing to cultivate "Celestial Demon Refinement" seemed unwise. Later demon cultivators would also form Dharma Idols during the Void Refinement Stage, but he wondered what changes would occur after breaking through to the Integration Stage. Should the ancient path prove unfeasible, he might still be able to switch to later demon cultivation methods. Therefore, he would not abandon "Celestial Demon Refinement" before breaking through to the Integration Stage.

Qin Sang's thoughts raced, leaving him feeling as if he were seeing flowers through a mist. He wondered if the illusion could give rise to powerful beings at the Integration Stage, or even the Mahayana Stage, and in what form they would exist. In the cultivation world, reaching the Integration Stage qualified one as a Grand Cultivator, possessing vast divine powers and already touching upon the Grand Dao. If this illusionary realm could conjure lifelike Grand Cultivators at the Integration Stage, it would be too defying of heaven. The difficulty of breaking through such an illusion would be unimaginably immense.

Now, Qin Sang no longer dared to treat this place as a mere illusion. It undoubtedly held many secrets waiting for him to uncover. If he truly encountered a Star Soul Stage demon Grand Cultivator, he might even have an opportunity to seek their guidance. Given this, he also needed to pick up the "Celestial Demon Refinement" cultivation method again. Disguising himself as an ancient demon cultivator would surely be safer in this situation. It would also allow him to gather information through the demon race, which would be helpful in his search for Liuli. However, doing so would divert half of his energy, slowing down his power advancement.

While pondering these issues, Qin Sang didn't forget to prick up his ears and eavesdrop on the conversation between Venerable Tong Shen and Mr. Lu. Mr. Lu, seeing that Venerable Tong Shen made no effort to hide anything from his young apprentice, understood that Qin Sang was highly regarded by him. Thus, apart from the most crucial secrets exchanged via telepathy, everything else was spoken aloud.

"After bidding farewell to fellow Daoist," Mr. Lu said, sipping his wine, "I went to Soaring Mountain. Without much effort, I gathered a good deal of information. Almost all the Golden Eagle clan cultivators responsible for guarding the territory have received the same order to post portraits everywhere, searching for those few individuals..."

Soaring Mountain referred not to a single peak, but to an entire vast mountain range located northeast of Pure Source Mountain, serving as the habitat for the entire Golden Eagle clan. Soaring Mountain was extremely vast. The deeper one ventured, the stronger the Golden Eagle clan cultivators became. Besides the Star Soul Stage Grand Cultivators who were rarely seen, it was said that the Dharma Idol Stage powerhouses of the Golden Eagle clan all had their cultivation grounds deep within Soaring Mountain. Pure Source Mountain was situated on the outskirts of Soaring Mountain, with the Golden Eagle clan only assigning a young Eagle King from the Spirit Clarity Stage to guard it.

"Oh? Did those fellow Daoists cause a great disturbance at Soaring Mountain?" Venerable Tong Shen mused inwardly that if those individuals could create such a commotion at Soaring Mountain and still escape unscathed, then it was likely beyond their ability to interfere. He himself had been somewhat rash, incited by his disciple.

"No, Soaring Mountain has always been very stable! However, the order indeed originated from deep within Soaring Mountain." Mr. Lu's expression grew a bit more solemn. "In the past few days, I invited several Golden Eagle clan friends to a gathering. One of them, amidst the height of the banquet, revealed a piece of information: the source of this order is likely the Phoenix clan!"

"The Phoenix clan?" Venerable Tong Shen set down his wine cup, his face filled with surprise.

Mr. Lu nodded. "This fellow Daoist has a deep background, so his information should be trustworthy. If those individuals had offended the Golden Eagle clan, the clan would surely dispatch its strong cultivators to search for them. The current situation, with only portraits being posted and no major military action, suggests that the Golden Eagle clan isn't overly concerned. Perhaps those individuals merely wandered here from the Phoenix clan's territory."

"Not necessarily!" Venerable Tong Shen's tone was grave. "Perhaps there are already undercurrents at play that we are completely unaware of! I blame myself for being reckless; if we jump into this vortex blindly, we might get ourselves burned!" His and Mr. Lu's backgrounds were only slightly better than those of rogue cultivators. Their Daoist friends, similar in strength and influence, openly opposing the Golden Eagle clan would be akin to striking a stone with an egg, let alone the Phoenix clan.

Mr. Lu was startled by this. "Fellow Daoist, do you mean someone intends to lure us out? If we stop now, I'm afraid it might be too late..." It turned out that Mr. Lu had also encountered a human Daoist friend at Soaring Mountain, whose sect was located on the northern foothills of Soaring Mountain. Between the Golden Eagle and Phoenix clan territories lay the lands of several smaller clans. These smaller clans were entirely subservient to the Phoenix clan, obeying their every command. Thus, Soaring Mountain could barely be considered to border the Phoenix clan's territory. That human cultivator, entrusted by Mr. Lu, was preparing to go investigate. He had already returned to his sect, and it was too late to call him back now. Moreover, with Soaring Mountain separating the two locations, sending talismans would be even more unsafe.

An uneasy atmosphere permeated the room, but Qin Sang's thoughts delved even deeper than theirs. In ancient times, the Phoenix clan was also a super clan. Only a handful of other great clans, such as the Dragon clan, could contend with them. Above the Phoenix clan, there was only the Demon Star! If the illusionary realm had indeed evolved Integration Stage Grand Cultivators, it was highly likely that such a powerful being had detected an anomaly and was searching for intruders.

"Perhaps I've overthought it!" Venerable Tong Shen said reassuringly. "In that case, let's wait for news from that fellow Daoist before making a decision. However, we must remind Brother Kui and the others to proceed with even greater caution from now on." To rescue those individuals, just the two of them wouldn't be enough, so Mr. Lu had contacted several more friends.

"Indeed," Mr. Lu nodded, glancing around. "Many fellow Daoists frequently visit my place, making it too crowded and conspicuous. Since you prefer quiet solitude and don't draw attention, I'll rely on you to handle communications from now on."

Venerable Tong Shen agreed with a "Good." The two then discussed privately for a while longer before Mr. Lu bid farewell and departed. He watched Mr. Lu fly out of sight beyond the mountain. A trace of worry flashed in Venerable Tong Shen's eyes, and he sighed softly, "Disciple, do you now understand the perils of the cultivation world?"

Qin Sang blamed himself, saying, "It's all my fault for stirring up trouble and putting Master in danger!" Seeing that Qin Sang truly understood and was so perceptive about worldly affairs, Venerable Tong Shen's mood immediately brightened. He then chuckled, "Don't worry, disciple. Even if the sky falls, your Master will be there to hold it up! A cunning rabbit still has three burrows. Your senior brother went down the mountain this time to find another cultivation ground for our sect. If we can't afford to provoke them, we can at least avoid them. At worst, I'll settle you all, then go find the paradise jointly established by the descendants of deities and human powerhouses, and bring you there. Then you won't have to fear these demons anymore!"

After Mr. Lu left, Pure Source Mountain returned to its tranquility. The crisis they feared did not materialize, and Qin Sang lived a peaceful life within the sect. Venerable Tong Shen had originally intended to seek opportunities in the mortal world but, having unexpectedly met Qin Sang, he interrupted his travels and no longer planned to descend the mountain. Qin Sang's quiet room was next to Venerable Tong Shen's, and the Venerable often emerged from his seclusion to guide Qin Sang.

After Qin Sang's repeated insistence, Venerable Tong Shen finally, with some impatience, taught him the most basic alchemy techniques. Initially, Venerable Tong Shen had worried that Qin Sang's interest in alchemy stemmed from a desire for quick gains by relying on external resources. He never expected to be given an even greater surprise. This disciple's talent in alchemy was actually higher than his cultivation talent. For the several secret alchemy manuals Venerable Tong Shen carefully selected, Qin Sang would often grasp 80-90% of the content after just one explanation from him. With a few additional questions to his master, he would fully comprehend it. It was important to note that Qin Sang had only just begun cultivating, and even the most basic alchemy techniques contained knowledge beyond his current cultivation realm. Venerable Tong Shen had never seen such a monstrously talented disciple. The thought that as this disciple's cultivation grew higher, he might have nothing left to teach him, made him break out in a cold sweat.

Due to Qin Sang's exceptional performance, Venerable Tong Shen, for the first time, tapped into earthly fire and set up a small fire chamber for him, allowing him to personally practice alchemy and see if his talent was truly that prodigious. Of course, the spiritual medicines he had Qin Sang refine were the most basic ones, mostly powders and elixirs, and the medicinal ingredients were provided without limit. Qin Sang's performance naturally did not disappoint. A portion of the spiritual medicines he refined was presented to Venerable Tong Shen for inspection, while the other portion went into his own stomach. Coupled with the foundational nourishing pills carefully prepared by Venerable Tong Shen, and boosted by the spiritual medicines, Qin Sang's cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, quickly entering the third level of the Qi Refining Stage. In Venerable Tong Shen's eyes, this meant both cultivation and alchemy were advancing in tandem, not only without hindering each other but also having a complementary effect in the future. Of course, this was according to later generations' classifications. Qin Sang was currently still at the first level of Pure Source Mountain's foundational cultivation method.

Similar to the demon race, the cultivation realms for humans in ancient times were also vastly different from later periods. Humans had four realms: Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit into Void, and Refining Void to Dao Assimilation, roughly corresponding to the demon race's Spirit Clarity, Form Transformation, Dharma Idol, and Star Soul stages. From this, one could see the evolution of the cultivation world. After a long process, later cultivators finally summarized a complete and rational cultivation system, where what to do at each stage and the keys to breaking through to the next stage were clearly defined, distilled from the experiences of countless predecessors. In ancient times, there was also a concept of Foundation Establishment, included within the Refining Essence into Qi realm. Successful Foundation Establishment was equivalent to the later Foundation Establishment Stage, but before that, one could only explore on their own, without the division into thirteen levels of the Qi Refining Stage.

Inside the fire chamber. "It's just an ordinary iron ring..." Qin Sang had just ruined a batch of medicine. He sat beside the alchemy cauldron, idly toying with the Thousand Jins Ring in his hand. His cultivation was too low. Neither Qin Sang's cultivation base nor his divine sense could support sustained alchemy. Even controlling the heat required the aid of the spell array inscribed on the cauldron by Venerable Tong Shen. He had disguised it, and the Thousand Jins Ring had changed significantly in appearance. Qin Sang had already begun cultivating, but in his perception, the Thousand Jins Ring remained an ordinary iron ring, unable to open the small grotto-heaven.

"Is it because my cultivation isn't high enough?" Qin Sang frowned. If he had to reach his previous cultivation level for the Thousand Jins Ring to revert to its original state, even as a reincarnated cultivator, it would be impossible to achieve in a short time. With a soft sigh, Qin Sang put away the Thousand Jins Ring, silently calculating the time, and thought that his master should be emerging from seclusion soon. He glanced at the medicinal ingredients on the nearby shelf, preparing to refine the first spiritual elixir recorded in the "Pure Dew Rejuvenation Pill Art" to give his master a 'surprise'.

Speaking of this, Qin Sang discovered another difference between ancient times and later generations. Spatial artifacts here were extremely precious! In later generations, new disciples would first be given a spatial bag upon entering a sect, but Qin Sang still didn't have one. Venerable Tong Shen had once said that once he successfully established his foundation, he would buy him a spatial artifact as a reward, just as he had done for his senior brother and senior sister. Even then, the internal space would be very small, only enough for necessities. "Some people still yearn for ancient times, unaware of how inconvenient life truly was back then!" Qin Sang secretly shook his head, drew the spiritual ingredients from the shelf into the alchemy cauldron, activated the spell array, and ignited the earthly fire. The firelight illuminated Qin Sang's small face, making it glow red.

His expression was serious as he meticulously completed each step. The fire in the chamber grew brighter and brighter, almost setting his clothes ablaze. Finally, the cauldron vibrated violently, its lid clanged open, and a faint blue light seeped out from the gap. Qin Sang squinted, lifted the lid, and saw two blue pills, clear as water, which were precisely the Dewdrop Pills. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Refining Dewdrop Pills with his current cultivation was indeed quite challenging, but thankfully, he succeeded.

After a brief adjustment of his breath, Qin Sang picked up one of the Dewdrop Pills and popped it directly into his mouth. Immediately, his cheeks visibly flushed, his body swayed, and his eyes became hazy, as if he were drunk. Finally, he simply lay down on the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

"Disciple..." "Disciple?" After an unknown period, Venerable Tong Shen's voice echoed from outside the door. Receiving no response from within, Venerable Tong Shen sensed something was amiss, broke the door down, and was instantly startled.

"Disciple!" Venerable Tong Shen rushed to Qin Sang's side, his eyes widening abruptly. He saw a Dewdrop Pill in the alchemy cauldron! Qin Sang's current state was clearly that of someone who had consumed a Dewdrop Pill.

"This... this... this..." Venerable Tong Shen was too astonished to speak. It was important to know that he had only used the Dewdrop Pill as an example to tell Qin Sang what to pay attention to during alchemy, without explaining the most intricate parts of the pill recipe. Yet, this disciple had, through his own exploration, successfully refined a Dewdrop Pill! Furthermore, Qin Sang had not yet truly cultivated the "Pure Dew Rejuvenation Pill Art," so he wouldn't have received the benefits of the cultivation method!

Suppressing the tumultuous thoughts in his mind, Venerable Tong Shen carried Qin Sang back to his quiet room and personally watched over him by the bedside.

"Master," Qin Sang slowly awoke after the medicinal effects subsided, his cultivation having surged significantly.

"You truly are incredibly bold!" Venerable Tong Shen tried to put on a stern face to reprimand him, but he couldn't suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.

That very night, Venerable Tong Shen finally imparted the "Pure Dew Rejuvenation Pill Art" to Qin Sang. With external elixirs and internal cultivation complementing each other, Qin Sang smoothly reached a bottleneck, and then naturally, returned to the Foundation Establishment Stage.