Chapter 79: Demand for Pills
Inside the cave abode.
“What, the daughter of the Zhou Clan Head?”
After the Zhou Clan Head left, the remaining Li Erniu rubbed his hands awkwardly and conveyed the task entrusted to him by the clan.
Lin Chang’an nearly spat out a mouthful of spirit tea. Li Erniu scratched his head awkwardly and began explaining.
“Brother Lin, don’t get anxious. The Clan Head’s daughter, Zhou Bingyun, possesses a mid-grade spiritual root and has quite the talent in alchemy. She’s also extremely beautiful.”
“Of course, this is a task from the clan, so I must relay everything to you, Brother Lin.”
Looking at Li Erniu, Lin Chang’an smiled and shook his head. This was the kind of change in status that came with becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
When you lack strength and talent, even marrying into another family would get you picked over.
In just a few decades, the daughter of a Foundation Establishment Clan Head from the Zhou Clan could now be offered in marriage.
And her spiritual root was just a hair away from being high-grade.
Now Lin Chang’an truly understood the influence that came with strength.
“Erniu, with the cultivation world in constant upheaval and the state of Yue Nation so tense, how could I dare to take a wife and bear children?”
But Lin Chang’an still shook his head and declined. He carried too many secrets.
More importantly, he simply didn’t have the time right now to marry and raise descendants.
All he wanted now was to earn spirit stones, buy spiritual liquid, and nurture his immortal vine.
Seeing Lin Chang’an decline, Li Erniu looked envious.
“Brother Lin, I truly envy you. You know, she’s the beloved daughter of the Clan Head. But you’re right—this world is unpredictable. Remember how the Wang Clan just vanished overnight?”
Speaking of this, Li Erniu couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
Who could predict what tomorrow might bring?
Just like the once-mighty Wang Clan that had oppressed the Zhou Clan to the point of suffocation—then the tides turned. Now, in the Bamboo Mountain Marketplace, not a single Wang Clan member remained.
And Lin Chang’an, once rejected for marriage, now stood on equal footing with the Zhou Clan Head as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“Erniu, you also know how volatile the world of cultivation is. Sometimes, what must be given up, must be given up.”
Under Lin Chang’an’s meaningful gaze, how could Li Erniu not understand?
Wasn’t this about him? That Barrier-Breaking Pill should be used when necessary. Strength was the true path.
“Brother Lin, of course I understand.”
Li Erniu gave a bitter smile, then shook his head and sighed. “But everyone has a few unrealistic dreams. I never thought I’d achieve something great like you, Brother Lin. I just wanted to break through by relying on my own efforts.”
“That way, maybe in the future, I could glimpse the Ninth Level of Qi Refinement, and shelter Yifan and the other children in the Zhou Clan.”
Reaching the Ninth Level of Qi Refinement meant becoming one of the Zhou Clan’s senior management. Naturally, status and standing would be different.
“But Brother Lin is right. In the world of cultivation, strength is everything. I’ll prepare when I return and use the Barrier-Breaking Pill.”
At the same time, Lin Chang’an understood well—this marriage proposal was real, but it also served as a cover.
If Lin Chang’an showed interest, the Zhou Clan would be more than happy to make it happen.
Even if it didn’t happen, it was still a way to conceal the matter of exchanging the Foundation Establishment Pill today.
At the very least, they needed to wait until the Zhou Clan had used the pill before revealing its origin to outsiders.
The two looked at each other and let out hearty laughs.
Those two youths of the past, after more than thirty years in the world of cultivation, were no longer green.
……
After the wind and snow, Tianxuan City was full of vitality.
Standing halfway up the mountain and gazing down at Tianxuan City, Lin Chang’an felt a wave of emotion from the elevated viewpoint.
“No wonder everyone wants to climb higher. Only by standing taller can one see farther.”
After relocating to the Foundation Establishment Cave Abode, the completely new scenery made Lin Chang’an feel reflective.
Glancing back, the corner of his eye caught the three tallest mountain peaks. Through the Spirit Eye, the convergence of spiritual energy was clearly visible. Lin Chang’an couldn’t help but feel drawn.
“Golden Core cultivators, huh? Who’s to say I can’t reach that as well!”
With a determined gaze, Lin Chang’an revealed a faint smile.
He had extraordinary talent and the fortune of obtaining ancient secret arts—there was no reason he couldn’t succeed.
【Lifespan: 55/205】
After the snow, this year, Lin Chang’an of Tianxuan City, a rogue cultivator, was fifty-five years old.
……
Inside the cave abode.
At that moment, Lin Chang’an was fully focused, holding the Spirit Brush and drawing a second-rank talisman.
At the instant the stroke ended, spiritual light appeared—the second-rank talisman was complete.
【Second-rank Talisman Master +2 (Proficient 1/500)】
As the panel data changed, his second-rank talisman skills had advanced from beginner to proficient, and Lin Chang’an couldn’t help but reveal a satisfied smile.
“From now on, I am a true lower-grade second-rank Talisman Master.”
A lower-grade second-rank talisman was worth 1–2 mid-grade spirit stones, and one mid-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for 150 low-grade ones.
Just think, a premium-grade first-rank talisman was only worth about fifty low-grade spirit stones—and that was due to the price increase from the recent turmoil.
“Who would’ve thought I’d live to earn mid-grade spirit stones.”
The corners of Lin Chang’an’s mouth curled uncontrollably. Even among Foundation Establishment cultivators, most had techniques still stuck at the first rank. Breaking into second rank was no small feat.
It all came down to talent.
“A genius talisman master like me, with excellent aptitude, could craft quasi-second-rank talismans during late-stage Qi Refinement. Advancing to second-rank after Foundation Establishment is only natural and shouldn’t arouse suspicion.”
“Still, these second-rank talismans aren’t as easy to sell as the first-rank ones.”
After all, only Foundation Establishment cultivators could use second-rank talismans. How many Foundation Establishment cultivators were there in all of Tianxuan City? And how many of them could draw talismans?
Upon realizing this drawback, Lin Chang’an frowned slightly.
Some talented talisman masters had slightly higher success rates than average, which was fine. According to his knowledge, there were still two genius talisman masters in Tianxuan City whose success rates were three times higher than normal.
“The problem is my success rate is at least ten times that of an ordinary talisman master.”
Faced with this thorny problem, Lin Chang’an fell into thought. Of course, that wasn’t to say there were no solutions.
“I can’t possibly sell them in secret to demonic cultivators, robbers, or even to the Divine Sword Sect’s forces, right?”
In the next moment, he immediately rejected that dangerous idea. Just to earn a few spirit stones, was it worth taking such a huge risk?
“My own talisman production can reach double. If I secretly sell talismans at one to two times the regular amount in the marketplace to exchange for resources, and disperse the transactions mainly through those monster-hunting cultivator teams, there shouldn’t be much of a problem.”
That way, he could handle four times the production volume, but there were still six times left.
“But! My biggest issue right now is cultivation. Even if I could sell talismans at ten times the rate without any risk, so what?”
Suddenly realizing this, Lin Chang’an furrowed his brow.
【Realm: Early-stage Foundation Establishment (2/100)】
【Cultivation Technique: Eternal Evergreen Technique (Beginner: 1/100)】
Looking at the realm and cultivation technique panels, Lin Chang’an fell silent.
He could understand the cultivation technique progress—after all, it was an ancient technique that reached the Nascent Soul stage, so it was natural that its comprehension difficulty would be high.
But as for his cultivation realm, even though he had just recently broken through and hadn’t progressed further, Lin Chang’an could clearly feel how slow his cultivation speed had become.
“My biggest problem now is my low-grade spiritual root, which causes my cultivation speed to almost stagnate. Even with the spirit stone resources exchanged from tenfold talisman output, it’s still a drop in the bucket.”
The limitations of a low-grade spiritual root became particularly obvious after reaching Foundation Establishment. During the Qi Refinement stage, he could rely on spirit stones and other common means to accelerate cultivation, but after Foundation Establishment, their effects became far less noticeable.
“Although the Eternal Evergreen Technique is powerful, like all wood-attribute techniques, its early-stage cultivation progresses slowly and focuses on laying a solid foundation. It’s all about long-term accumulation.”
“Am I really supposed to spend another fifty or sixty years in early-stage Foundation Establishment?”
Lin Chang’an, who had initially been a bit pleased after breaking through to Foundation Establishment and gaining over two hundred years of lifespan, now felt a headache coming on.
Given his extraordinary talent, the acquisition of an ancient technique, and the fateful opportunity of the Xuantian Immortal Vine—if he just wasted away like this, he couldn’t possibly be content.
“Now, if I can improve my spiritual root aptitude, then all problems would be resolved. But that’s simply not something I can do at this point.”
There were indeed secret techniques and elixirs in the world of cultivation that could enhance spiritual root aptitude, but none of them were something a Foundation Establishment cultivator could obtain. So he didn’t even consider it.
“Then there’s only one option left—pills!”
As this thought occurred to him, Lin Chang’an narrowed his eyes. If he could use second-rank pills to assist his cultivation, he could greatly accelerate his progress.
As for the issue of overusing pills causing difficulties in forming a core later on—that wasn’t something he needed to worry about right now.
“If I can’t even raise my strength, what’s the point of talking about forming a core?”
Lin Chang’an was very clear-headed about this. He would look for a solution after his cultivation reached late-stage Foundation Establishment.
The world of cultivation had no shortage of treasures. As long as he had the strength, he’d have the chance to obtain them.
“This way, I could even use the time freed up from drawing talismans to improve my alchemy skills.”
Thinking this far, Lin Chang’an nodded silently to himself.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to use spirit stones to purchase second-rank pills—but those that could help Foundation Establishment cultivators improve their cultivation were extremely rare, considered strategic resources even among the three great sects.
“Although second-rank pills are hard to come by, ordinary pill recipes and ingredients can still be bought with spirit stones.”
As the saying goes, rely on the mountain if you live by the mountain, rely on the water if you live by the water.
Tianxuan City neighbored the Cloudmist Mountain Range, where spiritual herbs and fruits were in abundant supply—as long as one had spirit stones, one could buy whatever they needed.
“Alchemy, huh!”
Lin Chang’an silently made calculations, feeling there was great potential.
After all, no one would suspect that a second-rank Talisman Master would waste time learning a secondary craft like alchemy.
And a few second-rank pills entering the market wouldn’t make a difference.
He could sell most of what he produced himself. Not to mention, the outside world was in complete chaos right now.
In Tianxuan City alone, there were countless cultivators openly and secretly acquiring spiritual herbs and pills, whether for cultivation or for healing.
The most common example were cultivators preparing for Foundation Establishment, who were purchasing spiritual herbs and fruits—these were all resources usable by Foundation Establishment cultivators to improve cultivation.
Let alone just him doing so in secret—even if there were ten more like him, it wouldn’t cause a single ripple.
When the time came, he would earn spirit stones through talisman crafting, use the stones to buy herbs, refine pills, and then consume them to improve his cultivation—forming a perfect closed loop.
“Who would ever expect that behind the scenes, a second-rank Talisman Master was also an Alchemist?”
At that thought, Lin Chang’an couldn’t help but smile.
This way, not only would his talents not be wasted, but his cultivation speed could also catch up.
Even if a few second-rank pills made it into the market, it didn’t matter—after all, demand for pills was different from talismans.
The biggest issue with second-rank talismans was that they required strong divine sense to activate, making them unusable by Qi Refinement cultivators.
But pills had no such limitation.
Especially for late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, second-rank pills were coveted—this meant the market was astonishingly large.
Completely unlike talismans, which were difficult to sell in secret and easy to get into trouble with.
“Still, I must not slack off with talismans. This is the foundation of my status on the surface.”
Lin Chang’an understood clearly—once he could craft upper-grade second-rank talismans, or even quasi-third-rank talismans, even Master Lu of the Blackwater Turtle from Tianxuan City would personally try to recruit him.
A quasi-third-rank or third-rank Talisman Master—there were barely any even in the three great sects, which showed just how precious they were.
At that point, whether it was acquiring Golden Core resources or anything else, it would all become much easier.