Cultivation starts from devouring the Dao fruits

The shop assistant said with a smile, "It takes one hundred spirit stones to go from the Eighth Level of Qi Refinement to the Great Circle of Qi Refining and three thousand spirit stones to go from the Great Circle of Qi Refining to the Early Foundation Establishment."

Zhao Yu's expression changed as he said, "Why is it so expensive?"

The manager of Duo Bao Building said indifferently, "Expensive? Foundation Establishment techniques are the closely guarded secrets of major Foundation Establishment clans. If you go to other places in the Northern Desolation, you simply can't buy Foundation Establishment techniques.

If it weren't for the development of the Canglong Mountain range, you wouldn't have been able to buy Foundation Establishment techniques outside of an auction."

For a Loose Cultivator to reach Foundation Establishment, it truly is too difficult!

With a sigh in his heart, Zhao Yu asked, "How many spirit stones for a Water Element Technique that can be cultivated to the Seventh Level of Qi Refinement?"

The shop assistant smiled and said, "Only ten spirit stones!"

Zhao Yu took out ten spirit stones and handed them to the shop assistant, purchasing a copy of the Water Element Technique, and then he left the Duo Bao Building to go to the market to buy the materials for refining Yellow Spirit Pills.

The Canglong Mountain range was rich in resources, with many spirit beasts, spirit grasses, and spiritual medicines. Many Loose Cultivators relied on collecting spirit grasses and spiritual medicines for a living.

Even so, Zhao Yu searched for an entire day before he found all the materials needed to refine a batch of Yellow Spirit Pills.

When Zhao Yu got home, he first passed on various common knowledge of Cultivation to Li Xianjiao, then he taught her the Water Element Technique for her Cultivation.

In the following days, Zhao Yu maintained his past rhythm, but he often went to the market to buy materials for refining Yellow Spirit Pills in bulk.

Ten days later, Zhao Yu spent one hundred spirit stones to gather the materials needed to refine five batches of Yellow Spirit Pills.

Inside the alchemy room.

After bathing and changing his clothes, adjusting his state to perfection, Zhao Yu began to process the various materials, one by one, putting them into the pill furnace that he had bought for ten spirit stones, staring intently at the furnace burning with spirit charcoal, and occasionally emitting bursts of mana.

Hisss!

A plume of black smoke, accompanied by a burnt smell, emanated from the pill furnace. The materials inside the furnace combusted in the moment of solidifying the pills, turning into small black balls.

"It failed! Twenty spirit stones gone just like that! The saying 'Alchemy impoverishes three generations' really holds true!"

Zhao Yu let out a long breath, steeling himself against the exhaustion, he took out a Cleansing Talisman worth one spirit sand and crushed it. A mysterious glow enveloped the furnace, which was instantly cleaned.

Zhao Yu persisted in bathing and changing before falling into a deep sleep.

The next day, after adjusting his condition, reflecting on the experience and lessons learned, he continued with the alchemy, but still failed.

On the third day.

"I finally succeeded!!"

Zhao Yu opened the furnace and a fragrance of pills wafted out; inside the furnace, there were seven Yellow Spirit Pills along with five waste pills.

Zhao Yu's lips curled slightly, laughter filled his eyes, "I didn't lose money after all! Thank goodness I improved my mastery with Yellow Spirit Pills to the proficient level before starting the refinement, or else I would have been ruined!"

In the next two days, Zhao Yu started the furnace to refine pills again, failing once, succeeding once, and gaining another eight Yellow Spirit Pills.

"Alchemy requires complete focus, and with my current level of cultivation, any carelessness could destroy an entire batch of pills. It took me five days to refine fifteen Yellow Spirit Pills at a cost of one hundred spirit stones, which means I can earn ten spirit stones a day."

"Indeed, alchemy is more profitable than drawing talismans. As I become more skilled in alchemy, both my success rate and pill formation rate will improve, and I will earn even more money. However, during alchemy, I cannot practice martial arts or cultivate the Earth Elemental Skill!

Therefore, even if a Pill Master has a lot of spirit stones, they may not necessarily succeed in Foundation Establishment."

After finishing alchemy, Zhao Yu began to reflect on his experience and lessons learned.

The next day, Zhao Yu set up his stall in the market with Li Xianjiao by his side.

"Eh, Master Zhao of Talismans, since when did you start selling Yellow Spirit Pills? How much for a bottle?"

A regular customer who often bought Zhao Yu's Evil-Repelling Talismans approached his stall and asked out of curiosity after seeing the Yellow Spirit Pills.

Zhao Yu said, "Nine spirit stones per bottle!"

Yellow Spirit Pills could be sold for ten spirit stones per bottle in shops, but who would buy from a street stall if it was more expensive than in a shop?

The regular haggled, "That's too expensive! How about eight spirit stones? I might as well go to a shop if I have to pay nine spirit stones."

Zhao Yu indifferently said, "Nine spirit stones, no bargaining!"

The Yellow Spirit Pill is the most popular pill that can enhance the Qi Refinement Realm's cultivation level, and in the entire Black Mountain Market, there are less than three Pill Masters who can refine such a pill. The shops often run out of stock.

After hesitating for a while, the customer gritted his teeth and said, "Then give me one bottle!"

Zhao Yu's Evil-Repelling Talismans were of better quality than those in shops, and cheaper too, attracting many regulars. Upon seeing the Yellow Spirit Pills at his stall, they all quickly bought them up, and Zhao Yu sold out his entire inventory before noon.

Zhao Yu and Li Xianjiao then went to the general store where he purchased mundane martial arts manuals, buying all sorts of top-notch secret manuals before returning to his courtyard, satisfied.

"I have already cultivated the Chi Yang Divine Art to its peak, reaching the Great Grandmaster's level of the Martial Path, with no way to advance further. This is the limit of mundane martial arts, after all—mortals have such short lifespans and cannot access resources like cultivators do."

Mortals far outnumber cultivators, and among them are many martial talents capable of creating various martial arts. The Chi Yang Divine Art, a powerful martial art that can be cultivated to the level of a Great Grandmaster, was created by a mortal.

However, mortals lack resources such as Qi and Blood Pills, spirit stones, Spirit Veins, Spirit Rice, etc., and their lifetime is short. For instance, the creator of the Chi Yang Divine Art just managed to reach the Grandmaster Realm when he began to age and naturally could not create stronger martial arts.

"The Chi Yang Divine Art I'm currently training is an internal art, characterized by its aggressive and domineering nature, enhancing physical fitness. I can also train in Health Cultivation Techniques to extend my lifespan and practice external martial arts to improve my body's defense."

"Whether it is Health Cultivation Techniques or external martial arts, it's best to cultivate them alongside Qi and Blood Pills. These pills can be bought with spirit stones!"

"The Clear Stream Sword Technique also needs to be streamlined! This mortal sword technique contains too many superfluous moves and is too flashy. While it can be unexpectedly effective against mortals, when facing cultivators, only speed, accuracy, and ferocity count. Excessive fanciness could easily become a weakness."

"Health Cultivation Techniques and external martial arts can also be optimized!"

"....."

Zhao Yu's martial talent had reached the level of a Martial Arts Genius, even surpassing the founder of the Chi Yang Divine Art. With the various resources from the cultivation world at his disposal and the ability to use divine sense for internal vision, his creation of new martial arts techniques was greatly enhanced.

Before long, with his extraordinary talent as a Martial Arts Genius, Zhao Yu absorbed the merits of various Health Cultivation Techniques and external martial arts and created his own Turtle Spirit Longevity Art and Vajra Dragon Elephant Art, and then he consumed Qi and Blood Pills to endure rigorous cultivation.