FVN Chapter 33: Anti-Mate Pill
Chapter 33: Anti-Mate Pill
Some things about the Poison Dragon cultivator remained on the island. Li Zhijing, as one of the first people to learn about the Poison Dragon cultivator and who had been mingling in the market for many years and had developed the mindset of a rogue cultivator, left his evaluation of him.
"If the Poison Dragon cultivator could successfully break through to the Core Formation stage, this area would surely become a treasure trove for cultivation. What a pity!"
Li Zhiping and Huang Sheng, however, believed that the Poison Dragon cultivator was merely a rogue cultivator, so how could he possibly break through to the Core Formation stage?
Even though he was still weak, Li Zhiping said with some resentment, "The Poison Dragon cultivator is nothing but a wicked cultivator who plays with poisons. He has gathered so many rabble and has poisoned countless cultivators."
As for Song Meng, as a cultivator from Huangfeng Valley, he somewhat agreed with Li Zhiping's idea, while Miss Cui stood on Huang Sheng's side. The middle-aged man was a family cultivator from the Huangfeng Valley region and also agreed with Li Zhiping's idea.
Finally, Li Zhiping, whose cultivation level was the lowest, felt somewhat ashamed of his reckless thoughts amidst the disapproval of the others.
Lin Changqing, a rogue cultivator, saw all of this but remained silent.
Standing in the middle of the long street, Lin Changqing's mind flashed through images of the people on the island, and some seemingly innate phrases came to mind: "Your position determines your perspective."
As Li Zhiping spent more time with him, he took the spirit stones Li Zhiping had given him and, having grown accustomed to being a rogue cultivator, began to share his thoughts, developing a few new ideas in his mind.
The difference is that Li Zhiping is not firm in his own ideas and feels ashamed, while Lin Changqing yearns to be like the Poison Dragon cultivator because only in that way can his interests be maximized.
Lin Changqing had been staying in Huangfeng Valley Market for a long time. As a rogue cultivator, he had to spend a lot of his spirit stones on purchasing resources produced by major sects or immortal cultivation families. He even had to hand over the spirit stones from his stall and cave dwelling in order to continue improving himself.
If it weren't for his superb skills in alchemy and artifact crafting, which allowed him to acquire enough spirit stones, he wouldn't have been able to support his cultivation. Therefore, for Lin Changqing, if he wanted to continue cultivating in Yue Kingdom as a rogue cultivator until he reached the Core Formation stage or even the Nascent Soul stage, he would have been forced to follow the path of the Poison Dragon cultivator.
Because he needs his own forces to help him explore secret realms, cultivate resources, obtain elixirs that the sect has not yet discovered, and provide basic cultivation resources to improve his weapon-refining skills.
Otherwise, within the Yue Kingdom, apart from sect cultivators, no one would have pills to help him break through to the Core Formation stage. He had no way to break through to the Core Formation stage and could only use his lifespan to refine them.
In the current cultivation environment of the seven sects of Yue Kingdom, even the medicinal materials for refining Foundation Establishment Pills can be sealed off, let alone the medicinal materials for Core Formation.
As for other countries, Lin Changqing didn't know either. He was just a Qi Refining stage cultivator and had never left Yue Kingdom. He had only heard that there was a demonic region in Tianluo Kingdom on the other side, and the distant Xi Kingdom region.
No matter how the region changes, if a cultivator does not join a sect, he will naturally not be able to obtain the pills to break through to the Core Formation stage. Unless he has a Heavenly Spiritual Root, what heaven-defying means can he use to break through? This is why sect cultivators like Li Zhiping and Huang Sheng are so confident.
As for joining a sect? Can someone who becomes a monk halfway through their life be the same as someone who grew up in a sect? It's easy to understand. Unless you reach the Nascent Soul stage, joining as a Foundation Establishment or Core Formation cultivator will likely make you cannon fodder, no different from a rogue cultivator. You'll also expose more of your information, making more people aware of you and targeting you... But what if you don't join a sect?
Lin Changqing's thoughts raced, wandering through many ideas. He finally realized that he hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet, and he was already thinking about Core Formation. He lightly slapped his head, interrupting his reverie, and muttered to himself, "It's time to prepare."
Before that, Lin Changqing visited Li Zhijing again, taking out the Yellow Dragon Pill and some miscellaneous books from his storage bag and leaving them for Li Zhijing.
"Zhijing, these are for you. Take good care of the stall for me. You won't lack spirit stones if you follow me." Lin Changqing left some benefits for Li Zhijing so that he wouldn't doubt his current identity because of the shame he felt on the island and want to make a last-minute gamble by using his family connections to enter Huangfeng Valley.
Of course, the probability of such a decision is very small. After all, with Li Zhijing's qualifications, he wouldn't be able to obtain many resources even if he went to Huangfeng Valley. At most, he would be a little more respectable than an ordinary person. However, if he stayed by his side, he would not only have spirit stones but also more free time. Therefore, he did not believe that Li Zhijing would do something stupid.
However, anything can happen in the world, so it's still necessary to take precautions to avoid disrupting one's cultivation rhythm.
Li Zhijing is the only talent I have right now, and I can't let her go. Otherwise, my cultivation time will be greatly reduced, and I'll have to do everything myself, like buying low-level materials. I won't have time to cultivate at all; I can just stay at the stall.
He knew he was trading Li Zhijing's time for his own cultivation time, so he naturally wouldn't mistreat Li Zhijing. Besides, Li Zhijing was also a talented person; he could repair a tattered ancient map and create a new route.
While on the island, Li Zhijing and his group looked at the map, but they couldn't understand it at all because the place names were obscure and the information was incomplete. Only cultivators who specialized in these things could uncover the secrets within.
In response, Lin Changqing began to take Li Zhijing seriously, even though he was just a Qi Refining cultivator.
After Lin Changqing encouraged Li Zhijing, Li Zhijing shyly told Lin Changqing about the situation on her family's side.
"Brother Lin, the family sent me a message asking if you could extend the payment period for your medical fees so I can repay them later. They spent a lot of spirit stones treating Brother Zhiping in Huangfeng Valley, so..."
After listening to Li Zhijing's words, Lin Changqing roughly understood that they would give the Huangfeng Valley cultivators spirit stones first, and he would receive his later. As for when that later would be, Li Zhijing did not know.
Lin Changqing waved his hand helplessly and said gently to Li Zhijing, "It's alright, I understand..."
After asking Li Zhiping about his condition, he left the northern market town and began to ponder on his way back to his cave.
"I haven't seen any downsides from cultivators from major sects yet! They're even faster at acquiring spirit stones than I am."
"I haven't experienced the benefits of independent practice yet; I feel my so-called freedom is nothing more than wandering."
Inside the cave, Lin Changqing released the horned snake from the spirit beast bag, healed it again with his magic, and then let it rest outside.
Afterwards, the spoils from the island were laid out. The broken magical artifact materials could be remelted to forge some low-level magical artifacts in exchange for spirit stones. As for the remaining bodies of the first-level top-tier serpent and the second-level azure dragon, they would be used to forge some high-grade top-tier magical artifacts.
Besides these, what Lin Changqing was most curious about were these pills and demon cores; he wondered if they could restore them all.
As for elixirs, lifespan can be restored, but as for demon cores, we'll have to try them to find out.
The reason Lin Changqing took these pills whose medicinal effects had dissipated was because these incomplete pills contained something he needed.
"Taimeiwan!"
The purpose of the Reversal Pill is to consume a cultivator's lifespan and forcibly enhance their spiritual root aptitude. It is similar to the Heaven-Mending Pill, but its effect is not as good as the Heaven-Mending Pill. Moreover, it has a huge drawback: it consumes lifespan. You must know that the purpose of cultivation is to achieve longevity. After taking this pill, not only will it not lead to longevity, but it will also shorten one's lifespan. No one takes it, so it has been left behind.
This bottle contains exactly eight Reversal Pills. Let's see how many lifespans it takes to repair one. If it's possible, I'll repair them all and use them to improve my spiritual root aptitude. This way, the number of Foundation Establishment Pills I need to break through will be reduced, and I won't have to spend lifespans repairing them anymore.
Lin Changqing gently moved a broken Reversal Pill out with his magic power, placed it in his palm, and slowly used Xiaochun's magic power to repair the pill and mend the broken pill.
Within minutes, Xiao Chun's magic restored some of the Reversal Pill's medicinal properties, but then it stopped repairing and remained an incomplete pill.
Lin Changqing was already adept at this, and began to circulate the secret technique of restoring spirit, mobilizing the lifespan in his body and transforming it into pure essence power, which was then transmitted into the Reversal of Fate Pill. A cyan-green magic power containing a thick, jade-like liquid appeared from Lin Changqing's hand, swirling around the Reversal of Fate Pill and continuously repairing the pill's defects.
Lifespan: 577 --> 569
Lin Changqing only stopped inputting lifespan after a Life-Reversing Pill was successfully repaired.
"I never expected that a single Reversal Pill would cost me eight years of my lifespan. I also don't know how effective it is, or how much more of my lifespan it will consume after taking one." Lin Changqing exhaled, wiping the small beads of sweat from his brows, and said weakly.
"Never mind, let's try this Fate-Defying Pill first and see if it tastes salty." Lin Changqing said resolutely, putting the Fate-Defying Pill directly into his mouth and circulating his internal energy to refine it.
Thus, the effects of the Reversal Pill began to take hold in Lin Changqing's body. Taking this pill was very painful, as if his spine was being repeatedly swayed from side to side, causing him great pain. However, Lin Changqing gritted his teeth and endured it without uttering a word.
If intense, singular pain can numb one, then subtle, minute pain is something that cannot be ignored. At this moment, it felt as if insects were crawling inside his body, giving him an undeniable sensation that made Lin Changqing's spirit tense, while his mind gradually became scattered.
What's even more surprising is that after taking the Reversal Pill, Lin Changqing's face turned pale, his body began to weaken, and he started to tremble slightly. His most precious essence also began to drain away.
Lifespan: 569 --> 564
After the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn, a pool of sweat had accumulated on the stone slab, and Lin Changqing's physical pain began to dissipate. However, the feeling of depletion in his body was real, and it would take some time to recover.
"I didn't expect this pill to be so unpleasant. I almost fainted. And even though it only consumed five years of my lifespan, I feel even more empty than when I took the Rejuvenation Pill. It's really strange."
"Fortunately, I have a long lifespan, and this feeling of emptiness was quickly filled, and my body regained its vitality."
As Lin Changqing lay on the stone slab, his eyes began to clear, and his body slowly recovered.
After lying down for only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Lin Changqing had fully recovered and his body was strong and healthy again.
Moreover, he clearly felt that his ability to capture the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had improved considerably, and it could no longer be described as a pseudo-spiritual root. Of course, it was not as good as the true spiritual root recorded in the book, but rather somewhere in between.
"This is the feeling! I feel like I'm getting even more spiritual energy from heaven and earth. I didn't expect to actually find something good. It seems I don't need to look for Foundation Establishment Pills anymore. After I take a few more Life Reversal Pills, I can take six more Foundation Establishment Pills. The success rate will be very high."
"It depends on how effective the Reversal Pill is. If resistance develops, then I'll have to use the Life Ring Secret Technique to cleanse myself again, consuming my lifespan."
Lin Changqing, who had been lying on the stone slab, stood up again. Without straightening his clothes or caring that he was soaking wet, he desperately took the Rejuvenating Pill once more.