Chapter 101 The Path of Cultivation

Ji An laughed loudly a few times, venting his excitement.

All the hardships endured during the foundation-building process have become part of the scenery along the way, making this moment even more beautiful.

Outside the bamboo building, the gray-feathered sand goose sensed the spiritual pressure emanating from the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. Its eyes darted around a few times, and it let out a fawning hiss.

The spirit-seeking mouse scurried about, squeaking incessantly.

After a while, once his mind had calmed down, Ji An began his first cultivation session after establishing his foundation, to solidify his realm.

At this moment, the Qingyuan Scripture seemed insufficient; its range and efficiency in absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth could not meet the current needs, as it could refine any spiritual energy it absorbed in an instant.

He examined his body internally and found that his immortal meridians were even more resilient and thicker, with many smaller branches branching out, resembling capillaries.

Suddenly, a look of joy appeared on his face, and his mind was shaken so much that he could barely maintain the operation of his cultivation technique.

Ji An calmed his mind and continued to activate his cultivation technique, focusing his mind on his dantian.

The stone tortoise floated in the magical liquid, its surface shimmering with a subtle spiritual light, its aura becoming even more ancient and profound. He had a faint feeling that it was a living creature.

Its spirituality has become stronger, but that's not the reason why Ji An was so shaken just now.

He felt the refined magic power dripping into his dantian. The stone tortoise would still devour it, but the proportion it devoured was much less than before, and the amount of refined magic power was only 30% less.

With the help of strengthening his immortal veins through foundation building, his aptitude has improved, and the proportion of magic power absorbed by the stone turtle has decreased. In the future, he will be more efficient in improving his cultivation, and at the same time, he can save a lot of spirit stones. It can be said that he has three happy events.

Ge Ying looked at the disciple whose spiritual pressure occasionally leaked out, nodded with satisfaction, and said gently:

"Very good. Only after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage can one truly embark on the path of immortality. At your current age, the sect will certainly increase its efforts in nurturing you."

Every three years, the sect recruits disciples from various academies, with each batch of disciples ranging from two to three thousand.

There were too many people to take care of, so a laissez-faire approach was adopted towards the Qi Refining stage disciples.

If one can stand out and successfully establish a foundation under such circumstances, it indicates that there is value in further cultivation.

The sect knew that this method was very unfriendly to disciples without a strong foundation, but they had no better solution.

Although there are many resources, they still feel insufficient when averaged out to each individual.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master. If it weren't for the high-quality Foundation Establishment Pills you provided, I would have encountered many difficulties during my Foundation Establishment process."

Ge Ying waved her hand and smiled:

"There's no need to be modest. Apart from those cultivation seeds whose aptitude reaches the Earth grade or above and are guaranteed to establish their foundation, in my opinion, the difference between a 60-70% chance of establishing a foundation and an 80-90% chance is not that significant."

There are only two possible outcomes: success or failure. I've even seen people with a 90% chance of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage fail.

Who's so unlucky? Ji An grinned. Doesn't this mean he'll be nailed to the pillar of shame for the rest of his life?

Ge Ying pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"Now that you have successfully established your foundation, you will soon face the issue of choosing a cultivation method. Let me share my experience with you for reference."

After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, we begin to truly explore the mysteries of cultivation. The magical power we cultivate through techniques will possess distinct characteristics.

"Some exercises exhibit characteristics such as wind, thunder, and ice, and these types of exercises have requirements for physical constitution."

Most cultivation techniques belong to the Five Elements, and their magical power manifests the meaning of the Five Elements. Some techniques have a single attribute, while others have multiple attributes, such as water and wood, wood and fire, and there are even techniques that contain more than three of the Five Elements characteristics.

Foundation Establishment cultivators should choose single-attribute cultivation techniques. Mastering a technique of one attribute is enough to have one foot in the door of the Origin Realm.

"Practicing the Wood element will manifest a vigorous, upward, and ever-renewing power, while practicing the Metal element will manifest a desolate and bleak image."

By studying the divine intent of cultivation techniques, we can more easily comprehend the intent of similar spells.

"Your talent for planting is outstanding. You can practice the three types of techniques: water, wood, and earth, all of which will be helpful for the way of planting."

I suggest practicing water or wood element techniques. These two types of techniques will be of great help if you study alchemy in the future.

I highly recommend you practice the Wood Element Technique. It will be more beneficial to your future development, and practicing the Wood Element Technique can also prolong your life.

In fact, for a sect, the significance of Lingnong practicing earth-based techniques is greater, and it has a greater advantage in cultivating spiritual veins.

However, this requires a group of outstanding Foundation Establishment stage spiritual farmers among the disciples in each generation, which the sect obviously cannot provide. Therefore, for the sake of the disciples' future, Ge Ying does not recommend that the disciples cultivate earth-type techniques.

"If one has not taken a longevity pill and has not suffered a serious injury that damages one's foundation, the lifespan limit for a Foundation Establishment cultivator is two hundred years."

Depending on the level of comprehension of the divine intent of the cultivation technique, cultivators who practice wood-elemental techniques can extend their lifespan by twenty to fifty years. My current lifespan is forty to fifty years longer than that of cultivators who practice other types of techniques.

Ji An pondered for a moment and said:

"Master, since comprehending the cultivation method allows us to better understand the meaning of the spells, then if I comprehend the meaning of the water-based spells, will it also be helpful in comprehending the divine meaning of the cultivation method?"

Ge Ying paused, then said:

"Yes.

Although you have grasped a trace of the essence of water magic, your understanding is incomplete; it is only a part of water magic.

Everything has yin and yang attributes, and the water element is divided into Ren and Gui.

The meaning of the Dharma you have grasped is only the meaning of Gui Water. Only when you grasp the meaning of Ren Water, the harmony of Yin and Yang, will you truly have entered the path.

"We can also switch to other types of cultivation methods, but doing so will result in the loss of some magical power, so it's best not to do that."

Ge Ying stopped speaking, giving her disciple time to think.

After hearing his master's explanation, Ji An felt relieved. Others would first comprehend the divine intent of the cultivation technique and then use it to assist in comprehending the meaning of the technique. He could do the opposite: comprehend the meaning of the technique first and then use it to assist in comprehending the cultivation technique.

“Master, I choose the Wood Element Technique.”

After careful consideration, he made a decision: living a long life always has some advantages.

Because of the stone tortoise, he had a much greater advantage in cultivating magic than others, and it was easier for him to improve his magical level. This was his advantage.

Therefore, even if he cultivates wood-element techniques, the effect of his metal-element and fire-element spells will not be worse than those of cultivators who practice these types of techniques.

After advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, as long as the sect can meet his cultivation needs, he will obediently stay in his own cave.

Unlike sword cultivators who must hone their skills through combat, he only needs to occasionally go out to hunt demons with a few familiar fellow cultivators to maintain his combat prowess.

If it weren't for the threat of a demon calamity, he probably wouldn't want to go demon hunting.

Why do some cultivators emphasize the importance of competition and plunder in the pursuit of immortality?

Since resources are limited, why not cultivate without fighting for them and starving? Given any other choice, no cultivator would be willing to risk their life every day to compete for opportunities.

If you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. You never know when you might encounter unforeseen circumstances and be forced to your knees.

He has skills in planting and talisman making, and now that his aptitude has improved, his requirements for cultivation resources have decreased somewhat compared to before.

"I cultivate the Wood Element Technique, the Evergreen Wood Technique. This technique can support us in cultivating up to the Origin Stage without having to change techniques along the way."

If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me.

"If you achieve Foundation Establishment before the age of thirty, you meet the requirements for being a key disciple of the sect and can exchange for Foundation Establishment early and mid-stage cultivation techniques for free."

Disciples without family backgrounds are valued more by the sect, while those family disciples who want to squeeze into the core of the sect must gradually sever their ties with their families.

Otherwise, if the disciples you painstakingly train are thinking about their own families, how can the sect have any cohesion?

"I will seek more guidance from my master in the future."

Ge Ying's expression became much more serious, and she said in a deep voice:

"We have always said that only by establishing a foundation can one truly embark on the path to immortality. There is another very important reason for this: the cultivation philosophy after the foundation establishment stage is different from that of the Qi refining stage."

The Qi Refining stage is entirely a process of seeking outwards, where cultivators draw spiritual energy from heaven and earth or from various elixirs and spiritual objects to nourish themselves.

During the Foundation Establishment stage, while seeking external benefits, one must also focus on internal cultivation, using the body as a furnace and spiritual energy as fire to refine the great elixir of life.

"The characteristic of breaking through from the Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage is that the mana is transformed into liquid, while the characteristic of breaking through from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Origin Stage is that the primordial fire is ignited."

The "Flame of Destiny" has no connection with the "Elemental Qi of Fire"; it refers to the "Fire of Life."

It's too early to say anything now. You'll gain insights once you break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage and comprehend the divine intent of the cultivation technique.

Seeing Ji An's somewhat confused expression, Ge Ying smiled and said:

"There's no need to think so much now. Thinking too much about some things only creates trouble. When you reach that level, you'll naturally understand what you need to understand."

“I’m very happy that you’ve reached the Foundation Establishment stage so quickly, but the herb garden needs disciples to manage it, and it’s impossible to find a spiritual farmer of your level.”

However, I've been busy with alchemy lately. Could you please go to the General Affairs Hall to issue a task and recruit one or two spirit farmers whose magic level is up to par?

It requires that at least one of the Lesser Cloud Rain Technique and the Thick Earth Technique be perfected, and the other be at a high level of mastery.

"This disciple will stay at Ningcui Cliff for a while longer to help Master make a selection and find a satisfactory candidate."

Ji An chuckled and then said:

"Actually, I originally had a candidate to recommend. He was a disciple who had been in the sect for seven or eight years and had some talent for planting."

However, since he lacked spells at the perfect level, he had to give up.

He was referring to Huang Feihu; it seems the other party didn't have that luck.

This is good too; he needs someone to manage things, and Huang Feihu is just right.

Ge Ying's eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded gently:

"That's thoughtful of you."

After a long talk, Ji An bid farewell to his master and went to the medicine garden.

Xiang Yong felt the spiritual pressure emanating from him, and his eyebrows twitched.

"Congratulations, Martial Uncle!"

Having successfully established his foundation, he knew the other party was about to leave. He felt very reluctant to part with them. When they were around, his life was much easier, and he could even earn extra money.

I don't know what level the successor will be at, but they certainly won't be as good as the current one.

Congratulations!

Ji An waved his hand and smiled:

"Old Xiang, you are a veteran of the herb garden. You should mentor the younger generation to help them complete their assigned tasks."

He offered a few words of encouragement, saying that the new Lingnong needed a period of adjustment, and that Lao Xiang should be given more responsibilities during this time.

"Don't worry, Uncle-Master, I guarantee I'll complete the mission flawlessly."

(End of this chapter)