Rule the heavens from eternity on

"Brother, you've also come to Tainan Valley, haven't you? I am Li Santong from the Li family of Zhushan. How about we go together?"

Upon seeing Fang Xiao, the boy ran over, somewhat embarrassed.

This was his first time here, and he wanted to attend the "Tainan Small Gathering." Although his family had told him that the Tainan Valley was shrouded in white mist year-round, Li Santong couldn't pinpoint its exact location.

In this unfamiliar place, he asked the villagers for directions to Tai Nan Valley, but they didn't know much about it either. Seeing other cultivators, he figured they were also there to attend the "Tai Nan Assembly."
Li Santong then wanted to ask about the road leading into the Tainan Valley.

"Alright, come with me."

Fang Xiao said.

They led the boy to a hillside about ten miles east of the village. The other side of the hillside was shrouded in mist all day long, which was where the Tai Nan Valley was located.

"May I ask which family Brother Fang belongs to?"

Li Santong asked curiously.

This Brother Fang's understanding of cultivation is truly unique. Even a few casual words from him have given me a strong sense of inspiration, making me feel that his level of understanding is subtly superior. Clearly, this person's level of understanding far surpasses mine.

"He is just a rogue cultivator, not from a family of cultivators."

Fang Xiao then said.

"I admire your profound understanding of the path to immortality!"

Li Santong was surprised.

Because of Li Santong, Fang Xiao also successfully entered Tiannan Valley.

Tiannan Valley is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with its only exit being a hillside shrouded in mist. The entire valley covers several hundred acres, with a large number of pavilions in the center, where many cultivators dressed in strange costumes come and go.

In front of the pavilion was a wide square made of blue bricks, with many stalls set up by cultivators. Others would come and inquire about prices from time to time. Both the stall owners and the cultivators strolling around were in their teens or twenties, and their cultivation levels were all in the Qi Refining stage. Most of them were only at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining, while a few had reached the tenth or even eleventh level.

There are none at the Foundation Establishment stage.

That does fit the image of the younger generation of cultivators.

Fang Xiao observed that the cultivators here were generally divided into two categories: independent cultivators and disciples of large families. Independent cultivators mostly lived in groups.

The stalls of these cultivators mostly sell low- and mid-level spirit talismans, such as "Thunderfire Talisman," "Fire Dragon Talisman," "Great Strength Talisman," "Diamond Talisman," "Frost Talisman," "Rejuvenation Talisman," and so on.

In the original work, talismans in the human realm are divided into three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. These three levels of talismans basically correspond to the techniques at the Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Core Formation stages. Each level is further divided into three grades: low-level, intermediate-level, and high-level.

To purchase items such as talismans here, you generally need to use spirit stones.

Spirit stones are stones imbued with spiritual energy, capable of replenishing magical power and used to set up formations. Based on their spiritual energy content, spirit stones are divided into four grades: low, medium, high, and super-grade. Spiritual energy possesses different attributes, such as metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and thunder, thus spirit stones also possess different attributes.

A basic, low-level spirit talisman usually sells for only 1 to 2 low-level spirit stones.
The price of beginner and intermediate spirit talismans is doubled; spirit talismans with defensive attributes can be sold for 6 to 10 low-level spirit stones.
Basic and advanced spirit talismans are not sold in large quantities, often costing twenty or thirty low-grade spirit stones. In addition, blank talisman paper is also sold, and basically twelve can be bought for one low-grade spirit stone.

It is worth mentioning that these talismans are generally drawn by specialized "talisman makers".

Training a talisman maker is extremely resource-intensive. After all, talisman making is not simply about drawing talismans; it also requires ensuring the stability of spiritual energy on the talisman paper and preventing it from becoming disordered or exploding. This process requires a lot of practice to gradually gain experience.

The acquisition of materials for crafting talismans alone results in a significant deficit.

The higher the level of the talisman, the more expensive the materials required for its creation.

Even the major cultivation sects of Yue Kingdom could hardly afford the cost of training a mid-level talisman maker.

"Brother Fang, are you here to participate in the Ascension Ceremony?" Li Santong asked.

Even with his own Qi Refining Level 7 strength, he couldn't see through Brother Fang's cultivation level, indicating that Brother Fang must be a master above Qi Refining Level 7. Furthermore, he's of suitable age and qualified to participate in the "Ascension to Immortality Conference."

"Exactly."

Fang Xiao nodded.

In the original novel, cultivators in the Qi Refining stage of the Yue Kingdom who wish to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage not only need to cultivate their basic techniques to the seventh level, but also need to consume "Foundation Establishment Pills," which can only be refined by major sects, in order to have any hope of breaking through the bottleneck and successfully establishing their foundation.

The materials for refining Foundation Establishment Pills are extremely scarce. Even if the seven major immortal cultivation sects of Yue Kingdom joined forces, it would take ten years to refine just a few batches of Foundation Establishment Pills, with only a little over a thousand pills in total.

Foundation Establishment Pills are so scarce that they are far from meeting the needs of the seven major sects, let alone being leaked to the outside world.

This sparked collective discontent among the independent cultivators of Yue, leading to a sharp conflict between the two sides. Later, these cultivation sects devised a plan: to hold a tournament among the independent cultivators when the Foundation Establishment Pills were being refined. Each of the seven major sects would contribute ten disciples and ten Foundation Establishment Pills as a reward for the winner. This was intended to select talented individuals and quell the anger of the independent cultivators.

The arena tournament, held every ten years, allows the winner to join a cultivation sect, hence it is known as the "Ascension Ceremony." The Foundation Establishment Pill is also called the "Ascension Pill" in the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom.

The rules of the Ascension Ceremony are also very simple.

Those are the Hidden Moon Sect, Yellow Maple Valley, Spirit Beast Mountain, Pure Void Sect, Blade Transformation Valley, Heavenly Palace Fortress, and Giant Sword Sect. These seven major cultivation sects each set up their own arenas. Those wishing to join a sect's sect would enter that arena. Matches would be held in pairs, with the winners advancing to the next round. This cycle would continue until the ten strongest independent cultivators were selected, who would then receive Foundation Establishment Pills and the qualification to join a cultivation sect.

The reason why there are so many cultivators coming to Tainan Valley, numbering in the thousands, is that many of them actually want to participate in the upcoming Ascension Conference.

Although the rules of the Ascension Ceremony are simple, those who wish to enter the Immortal Gate must endure extremely fierce battles, and cultivators often die in these fights.

"Then I congratulate Brother Fang on your immediate success!"

Upon hearing that Brother Fang had actually decided to participate in the upcoming Ascension Conference, Li Santong said...

The Ascension Tournament has always been extremely intense. Although he is only at the seventh level of Qi Refining, he is qualified to participate, but he still needs to hone his skills further if he wants to win a ranking.

Soon after, Li Santong encountered an elder in his family, and the two parted ways.

Fang Xiao, on the other hand, began making preparations in advance.

He planned to buy some books on talisman making and study them first.

For Fang Xiao, once he understood the essence of talisman making, he could create talismans at will. With his Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, he was already capable of creating mid-to-low-level Five Elements talismans.

Besides the spellbook, he also needed to buy some cinnabar and a talisman-drawing brush.

All of these require spirit stones.

However, this was naturally no challenge for Fang Xiao.

Before this, he had already obtained the refining methods for some low-level pills such as "Yellow Dragon Pill" and "Bone Marrow Pill" from Doctor Mo and Yu Zitong.

Having cultivated the "Great Five Elements Technique" and transformed into a Five Elements Spiritual Body, Fang Xiao is now even more formidable in the art of alchemy. Through his research and improvements, these alchemy methods can reach a quality comparable to mid-grade pills, meaning they can be effective even for Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

While in Jiayuan City, Fang Xiao casually refined quite a few pills.

Although most of them are basic, intermediate, and advanced pills, they are sufficient for cultivators who are at most at the eleventh level of Qi Refining.

Now is the perfect time to sell them in the square and exchange them for spirit stones and materials. (End of Chapter)