Chapter Twenty-Three Preparations
Yuan Futong thought of going out for a walk because of a piece of news brought by Feng Tao.
Since Feng Tao brought Hu Xin to Yuan Futong and refined the Xuan Shui Dan, he has been very impressed with Yuan Futong's alchemy skills. He often introduces friends to come and has also become close friends with Yuan Futong, frequently exchanging ideas on cultivation. Feng Tao cultivates a rare golden technique called "Forging Gold Decision". His golden spiritual root is also outstanding, making him a top figure in the scattered cultivation world. The characteristics of the golden technique are its strong attack power, suitable for cultivating flying sword-type artifacts, and its pure attacking ability surpasses that of fire techniques at the same level of cultivation. Although Feng Tao is a scattered cultivator, he seems to have received a legacy from his seniors, with a very good technique and magical skills. The most impressive thing is the long sword on his back, which is a rare and extraordinary artifact. It doesn't have the function of changing size like ordinary artifacts, but its attack is extremely sharp, with an additional effect of breaking armor. Ordinary protective measures and low-level artifact protection can be broken through in one strike. When exploring the wilderness, he encountered some thick-skinned and armored beasts that could be easily killed, so Feng Tao's reputation in the scattered cultivation world is quite good.
Feng Tao's Gong Fa has a method for refining the Jade Marrow Pill. This is a very special Dan medicine. Its main function is not to improve cultivation, but to improve the body. By strengthening the skeleton and bone marrow, it enhances the body's ability to withstand sword energy, thereby increasing the lethality of the Jin system's Gong Fa. This Dan medicine has a special effect on Jin system cultivators and is also very useful for other cultivators. This formula was not recorded in "Liu Yun Dan Fang". After seeing Yuan Fu Tong's alchemy skills several times, Feng Tao brought out this Dan formula. As a condition of the transaction, Yuan Fu Tong helped Feng Tao refine a furnace of Jade Marrow Pill and promised to help him with a favor when convenient.
Yuan Futong accepted the deal, and Dan had already refined it successfully with great effect. After taking it himself, Yuan Futong found it to be very effective, far surpassing the effects of the original Huang Long Dan he used to take. Having gained such a great benefit, he naturally had to pay some price for it. The price was that he would have to accompany Feng Tao on an adventure, and this time, Yuan Futong himself was also very interested in going.
Feng Tao went to the depths of Yunfu Mountains for a while. Apart from being a hub for the Li River Sword Sect, Yunfu Mountains also have a deep wilderness area known as Yunhuang. The place is rich in resources and infested with ferocious beasts, making it an ideal destination for adventure and treasure hunting. Many high-level cultivators at the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core stages often venture into the more remote areas of Yunhuang to gather herbs and search for treasures. Some Qi Refining stage cultivators who are confident in their combat abilities also form groups to explore Yunhuang, sometimes reaping astonishing rewards but other times suffering severe casualties. There have been rumors about people turning against each other due to disagreements over the distribution of spoils. Therefore, any Qi Refining stage cultivator planning to venture into Yunhuang must carefully choose companions who are trustworthy and capable.
This time, Feng Tao invited a few people to venture into the Cloud Wilderness together because he discovered a cave left behind by a predecessor. The Cloud Wilderness has dense spiritual energy and rich resources, making it an ideal place for cultivation if one's strength is sufficient. The headquarters of the Lianjiang Sword Sect was also said to be part of the current Cloud Wilderness thousands of years ago, but after so many years of development, it became what it is today. Therefore, many high-ranking cultivators who have opened up caves in the Cloud Wilderness cultivate there. Some people leave after advancing to higher levels, leaving their caves behind, waiting for someone with good fortune to discover them. Others failed and died in the Cloud Wilderness, making their caves ownerless. In the past, there were also cases of Qi-refining cultivators accidentally entering a predecessor's cave and obtaining large amounts of elixirs, secret manuals, and magical tools, becoming high-ranking experts overnight. This low-probability event happened to Feng Tao.
The misfortune in the great fortune is that Feng Tao's strength was not enough, and he only broke through the first layer of prohibition, but could no longer move forward. After passing the outermost prohibition, he gained a few flying swords and magical instruments. None of them were precious treasures, and there must be better treasures inside, but relying on himself alone, it was impossible to obtain the treasure, so Feng Tao had to come back to find more people.
According to Feng Tao's inference, this cave is likely to be the cave of a high-ranking cultivator in the foundation-building period, and the ban is unlikely to be too strong to break through. He has a Five Elements Breaking Ban Technique that requires five cultivators who cultivate the Five Elements technique to complete together. Feng Tao and Hu Xin have a very close relationship, although they did not truly become husband and wife for the sake of building their foundation, but their feelings are deep. The two people's gold and water elements have already been decided. They need to find three other trustworthy people to cooperate with, and when it comes to fire element, the two think of Yuan Futong. Yuan Futong's strength is about the same as that of the couple, and as an alchemist, his fire-based magical powers must be very pure, and he is also a trustworthy person, and it just so happens that he still owes Feng Tao a favor.
Upon receiving this news, Yuan Fugong's heart was also moved. Although his current cultivation state was very good, there was a very realistic problem that had not been resolved, which was the issue of the foundation-establishing pill.
For cultivators in the Qi Refining stage, the Foundation Establishment Pill is an extremely important thing. As its name suggests, the Foundation Establishment Pill is a medicinal pill that helps with foundation establishment, and almost all cultivators in the Qi Refining stage who want to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage need the help of this pill. It's said that if a cultivator has an exceptionally outstanding spiritual root, they can enter the Foundation Establishment stage without relying on the Foundation Establishment Pill, but such talent is extremely rare. The huge demand for the pill leads to a shortage in supply. Its formula is only possessed by the Great Gate Sect, and very few people outside of it know about it. Moreover, the medicinal materials required for the Foundation Establishment Pill are over a dozen types, with several being extremely hard to obtain, rarely appearing in the outside world, and mostly found in spiritual realms and deep within the wilderness. As a result, the production volume of the Foundation Establishment Pill in the Great Song's cultivation world is very limited, and only disciples who have made contributions to their sect can obtain it, which is also one of the reasons why the Immortal Ascension Conference is so popular. The Loose Cultivators' Alliance also has some supply of the Foundation Establishment Pill, but the price is astronomical, guaranteeing that buying just one pill would bankrupt you, and even then, it's still extremely difficult to buy.
Yuan Futong's Wind Spirit Grass in Nanhuafang City was one of the main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill, and it was mainly produced in the spiritual realm, with very few being produced outside. This was also the reason why Yuan Xing and Gu Dao Ren, two high-level practitioners at the 11th layer of Qi Refining, were willing to fight to the death. With a Wind Spirit Grass and some spirit stones, it might be possible to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill. The transaction was a huge loss for Yuan Futong, but at that time he didn't have any knowledge in this area and didn't understand the value of the Wind Spirit Grass, so he missed out on a treasure. Now thinking about it, he regretted it. Yuan Futong had a mixed spiritual root of three systems, without a Foundation Establishment Pill, it was impossible to advance, and one pill might not be enough, maybe more were needed. Now there was an opportunity to enter the cave of a high-level practitioner in the Foundation Establishment period, perhaps there would be a chance to obtain something helpful for foundation establishment. This temptation was huge for Yuan Futong. He felt that he had been cultivating in seclusion for four or five years and it was time to go out and take a look around.
Yuan Futong, still shaken by the struggle in the Immortal Realm, was extremely cautious. From the moment he decided to follow Feng Tao on an adventure, he began collecting protective items in the market. He spent a large sum of money to repair the Xuantu Shield and the Shanhe Fan, which he had obtained from the Turtle Daoist. These two items were a high-quality defensive artifact and an extreme-quality artifact, respectively. With these two artifacts, Yuan Futong's strength increased greatly. Repairing the two artifacts was not easy, as the materials were difficult to find. In the end, Yuan Futong sacrificed the fragment of the Golden Bell and purchased some additional materials before successfully repairing them.
With the two magical tools to protect himself, Yuan Futong was still not at ease. After all, he had not yet reached the 9th level of Qi training and could not use both magical tools at the same time. If he used the Xuan Gui shield, his attack power would be too weak. For this reason, Yuan Futong specially went to buy some powerful and specially effective talismans to assist in attacking.
"Quicksand Technique", "Freezing Technique", these two regional techniques can instantly turn the ground into sand or freeze a block of area, with considerable power and some control ability.
"Xuān Huǒ Zhuī", "Jīn Cì Shù", these two are powerful breakthrough techniques, used to break through others' defenses and kill the enemy.
"Concealment Technique", can hide spiritual energy fluctuations and physical form, is a lifesaving technique. However, there are many restrictions, and it is easy to be broken by high-ranking cultivators.
"Spark Arts", "Earth Spike Arts", these two are large-scale attack spells used for group battles.
"Mind-calming talisman", "Heart-purifying talisman", these are used to defend against bewildering arrays and enchanting spells.
Refine some more medicinal pills for healing injuries and detoxification. After everything was ready, the shop was closed, Jiang XiaoTie was settled in, and Yuan FuTong went to meet up with Feng Tao and the others.
