Mortal: Refining Weapons for Immortality

Chapter 20 Ascension Order

And so, another year passed.

Lin Changqing has been in Huangfeng Valley Market for two years.

Inside the cave, Lin Changqing had already finished his practice, concluding a day of breathing exercises.

After a year of intensive cultivation using pills, and having consumed both the pills from the auction and those he had made himself from his only two thousand-year-old medicinal herbs, Lin Changqing's cultivation level advanced two more steps, successfully reaching the twelfth level of Qi Refining, thus qualifying him to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, he only had six Foundation Establishment Pills and did not want to take the risk of Foundation Establishment. He would have to consume his lifespan again and replenish his Foundation Establishment Pills before he could be safer by raising his cultivation to the thirteenth level of Qi Refining.

If I take six Foundation Establishment Pills now, my chances of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage are only 30%, which is too risky. Once I reach the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, taking six Foundation Establishment Pills will increase my chances to 60%. After that, I can take more Foundation Establishment Pills and my Foundation Establishment stage will be secure.

Finally, to be on the safe side, Lin Changqing decided against directly attempting Foundation Establishment. He wanted to proceed cautiously, not wanting all his preparations to be in vain on the first try. That would be truly disastrous.

He stepped out of the cave, gazed at the mountains and the bright moon, and began to stretch his already stiff body.

"Roar! Ro ...

As soon as Lin Changqing appeared, the horned snake, which had been cultivating under the moon, excitedly slithered to Lin Changqing's front, circling around him and hissing, wanting Lin Changqing to transfer his magic power to help it grow quickly and increase its strength.

After such a long period of verification, he also discovered that his magic power could promote the cultivation of the horned serpent. If the magic power consumed his lifespan, it would be even more extraordinary and the effect would be stronger.

However, Lin Changqing did not choose to use his lifespan. He didn't even have enough for himself, so why would he use it for his pet? That would be foolish. He wouldn't use it even for his own spirit pet. He would only use it if there was absolutely no other way. He couldn't afford to raise the horned snake badly.

The horned serpent, which had just begun its cultivation, was very talented. Within a year, it became a mid-level first-grade demon beast. Lin Changqing's cultivation of its magical power in the late stage of Qi Refining was crucial. Otherwise, relying solely on the horned serpent's cultivation under the moon, it would never have reached such a level.

In addition to these, the horned serpent is much stronger and has a much better recovery ability than the ordinary horned serpent. Moreover, it has wood-attribute magic, which is not available to horned serpents that only have brute strength.

Thorns and entanglements...

It can be said that ordinary Qi Refining cultivators, without superior magic tools, would find it difficult to break through the scales of the Horned Serpent and harm its body.

Once Lin Changqing completes his foundation building, his magical power will be strengthened once again, and the horned serpent's progress will become even more obvious.

"Alright, continue cultivating! Stop circling around here." After Lin Changqing finished tempering the horned snake with a burst of magic power, he reminded it to go back to cultivation.

The horned snake listened to Lin Changqing and continued to cultivate while gazing at the moon.

In addition to his improvement in cultivation level, his lifespan has also increased significantly in the past six months.

Lifespan: 577

My lifespan has now surpassed that of a Core Formation cultivator, and I am officially advancing towards the lifespan of a Nascent Soul cultivator. However, Foundation Establishment is also a major problem I need to face. First of all, I have no more pills. If I want to break through to the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, I must use some good medicine. Otherwise, if I take ordinary pills, I don't know how long I will have to wait to reach the Qi Refining Perfection.

When good herbs were mentioned, Lin Changqing thought of Han Li, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. He wondered how Han Li was doing. After Lin Changqing left that time, Han Li did not leave Shenshou Valley with him. Instead, after obtaining the follow-up techniques of Changchun Gong, he decided to stay in Shenshou Valley to continue taking medicine to improve his cultivation level and stayed in the Seven Mysteries Sect.

"Alright, I'll go visit Junior Brother Han and seek some support along the way." As soon as Lin Changqing finished speaking, he put the horned snake into his spirit beast bag and used his flying sword to head towards the territory of the Seven Mysteries Sect.

The Seven Mysteries Sect's Rainbow Cloud Mountain is not far away. With his current cultivation level, he arrived at the top of Rainbow Cloud Mountain in just a few days.

However, Lin Changqing, who was standing in the air, noticed that something was wrong. Fires were rising from the direction of the Seven Mysteries Sect, and there was a lot of noise.

"Something's up?" Lin Changqing sped up and headed towards the Seven Mysteries Sect.

As night fell, those on the ground did not see any immortals flying overhead. However, Han Li, standing in the crowd, noticed something with his keen observation skills. As Lin Changqing drew closer to the mountain peak, Han Li's anxious heart relaxed considerably.

"So it was Senior Brother Lin. That was close."

"It seems the Seven Mysteries Sect is not safe either. This dwarf is skinny and dressed like a nouveau riche, but I didn't expect him to be a cultivator."

Before everyone stood a man dressed in a robe with gold cloud patterns, adorned with gold, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth when he spoke, and whose golden light technique forced the Seven Mysteries Sect to pull out their Supreme Elder, the Golden Light Master.

Lin Changqing rode his flying sword over and slashed at Jin Guang Shangren without saying a word. For Lin Changqing, who was at the twelfth level of Qi Refining and was also wielding a superior magic weapon, the slash he unleashed was something that Jin Guang Shangren, a cultivator at the early stage of Qi Refining, could not withstand.

"Bang!"

"ah!!"

Before Jin Guang Shangren could even notice Lin Changqing's arrival, the Golden Light Technique shattered, severing his body along with it.

Then, with one hand using object manipulation to take the storage bag and the other using fireballs to destroy the body and eliminate the evidence, his movements were so fluid and astonishing that even Han Li was a little frightened and thought to himself.

"Thank goodness Senior Brother Lin remembered our past friendship and didn't intend to kill me, otherwise I would be dead!!!"

After Lin Changqing swiftly and efficiently resolved the problem, he glanced in Han Li's direction and flew towards Divine Hand Valley.

It left behind a large group of dazed mortals and a young man with a missing arm, his face showing surprise and complex emotions.

Han Li saw Lin Changqing fly towards Shenshou Valley. Although Lin Changqing did not transmit his voice, Han Li knew that Lin Changqing was looking for him, so he left the crowd without making a sound.

......

"Senior Brother Lin, it's been a long time. I imagine your cultivation has improved greatly. You wiped out that dwarf with a single blow. You are truly admirable!" Han Li, dressed in coarse linen clothes, walked into the room and looked at Lin Changqing, who was sitting in the main seat, with a respectful expression.

"Han Li, you and I are now fellow disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect, so I will call you junior brother for now."

"My purpose in coming here today is very simple: I've come to ask you for a few thousand-year-old medicinal herbs, and by the way, I'm repaying the debt I owed you last time and giving you a chance."

Lin Changqing sipped the spiritual tea that had already been brewed and took a small sip.

"An opportunity?" Han Li remained standing motionless at the door, as if he were the guest.

Lin Changqing didn't stand on ceremony, laughed heartily, and stopped teasing Han Li.

"Junior brother, come and have some tea. We can sit down and talk about things in the cultivation world."

Hearing Lin Changqing's laughter, Han Li knew that Lin Changqing had been teasing him, so he could only helplessly walk to the seat next to him and sit down.

Lin Changqing used his skillful object manipulation technique to pour Han Li a cup of tea and slowly recounted the opportunity that had led to this encounter.

"Junior brother, do you know about the Ascension Token?"

Han Li sipped the warm spiritual tea, looking completely bewildered when Lin Changqing mentioned the Ascension Token.

"What is an Ascension Token?"

"What's the use?"

Knowing that Han Li had not yet experienced the hardships of being a rogue cultivator, nor was he aware of the use and value of the Ascension Token, Lin Changqing stopped keeping him in suspense and explained everything directly to Han Li.

"This Ascension Token will allow you, Junior Brother, to directly enter Yellow Maple Valley and also grant you a genuine Foundation Establishment Pill. It is an opportunity that countless rogue cultivators would fight tooth and nail for."

"Even if you have pseudo-spiritual root aptitude, you can still enter a major cultivation sect, enjoy its top-tier resources, and have the opportunity to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills, so you no longer have to struggle as a rogue cultivator."

"And there are other uses for this Foundation Establishment Pill... Yellow Maple Valley... Tainan Small Gathering."

After explaining, Lin Changqing handed the Yellow Maple Valley Ascension Token to Han Li. Seeing that Han Li was still dressed in coarse linen clothes and had only a storage bag in his arms, he gave Han Li two handy high-quality magic weapons.

"Junior brother, take these and keep them for your protection. Help me cultivate a few thousand-year-old medicinal herbs, and then I'll take you to the Tai Nan Small Gathering to see what kind of opportunity I'm giving you. It's no less valuable than these herbs you have."