The road is vague

Chapter 87: Young and Beautiful
That night.

Li Mo came to the alchemy room again and continued to condense the thunder crystal.

"Come to think of it, today is the Flower Festival."

Li Mo sighed lightly, and it was not until late at night that he left the Alchemy Hall and walked back to the dormitory in the Continuing Education Hall to rest.

The third-year disciples nearby had all moved away, and the area was deserted.

As Li Mo walked through the bamboo forest, he couldn't help feeling a little lost.

Although he had anticipated this, it was another matter when he actually experienced it. Then he suddenly realized the meaning of what Deputy Hall Master Han Mu had said when he entered the sect three years ago.

"The Lingmu Sect has been established for over 1,200 years. The next three years will be an unforgettable period for you. You will make true friends here and appreciate the greatness of the Lingmu Sect's Taoist heritage..."

This kind of simple disciple life will never happen again.

The classmates who once lived together, knew each other together, grew up together, and struggled together will now go their separate ways and head towards different futures.

After feeling a little sad in the bamboo forest, Li Mo's steps became more determined.

Although he was reluctant to leave this place, from the perspective of his outlook on life, he was a person with long-term goals, and this place was just a transitional place for him to practice and learn skills.

Being the inspector of Tianming Division in Bai'an County is his ideal goal in life!

the next day.

Li Mo got up very early.

He considered whether he should occupy an abandoned cave in his master's sect as a temporary cave and experience the life of a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

But he quickly rejected this naive idea.

We will be leaving in two days, and setting up a temporary cave is a complete waste of time.

After washing up, Li Mo left his master's sect and flew towards the market at the foot of the mountain.

The wind control technique of the Qingming Crane Cloak allowed Li Mo to soar in the air like an eagle. Although his speed was not too fast, it was definitely not comparable to the floating speed of a Foundation Establishment cultivator who controlled a high-grade or top-grade magic weapon.

Even if you encounter special circumstances, you don't have to worry about falling to death.

Of course, outsiders cannot understand the joy of flying freely in the air.

It usually took at least an hour and a half to get there, but now Li Mo arrived at the market at the foot of the mountain in less than half an incense stick of time.

However, Li Mo also discovered a problem.

That is, the mana consumed to maintain the Qingming Crane Cloak's wind-controlling technique is indeed not low.

With his current magical power, he can only fly continuously for about two hours at most before it is completely used up, which almost cuts off his possibility of long-distance flight.

For monks, they generally need to keep their magic power at more than half to be safe.

If all the magic power is used up, it will be a very dangerous thing. If you encounter danger, a cultivator without magic power will not be much better than an ordinary person.

"If I have the chance in the future, I'll have to prepare a special flying device so I can fly long distances."

While Li Mo was daydreaming, he came to the pharmacy he visited last time.

There were still no customers in the pharmacy in the early morning.

The shopkeeper seemed drowsy, and Li Mo suspected that he often stayed up late.

As a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage, Li Mo walked silently. It was not until he stood in front of the shopkeeper that he suddenly woke up and was startled.

"Sir, you want... Hey, it's you, Senior Li!"

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up.

He clearly remembered that this person came to the store a few days ago and sold a Foundation Establishment Pill.

"Senior Li, I don't know if you are planning to buy some panaceas or sell them this time. Our store has already given you the highest discount according to the boss's instructions."

Li Mo smiled slightly, took out a jade bottle and gently placed it on the counter.

"Selling elixirs."

"Oh?"

The shopkeeper looked excited.

"I don't know what kind of elixir it is. I'll ask our alchemist to come and identify it. Senior..."

"Foundation Pill."

Li Mo's calm response immediately made the smiling shopkeeper's eyes widen in disbelief.

Another foundation-building pill?
After seeing that Li Mo didn't seem to be joking, his shock turned into surprise.

"Senior, you are...Okay, I'll go call the alchemist right away!"

About half an hour later.

With the shopkeeper's respectful farewell, Li Mo came to Jinbao Pavilion again with the 900 spirit stones he earned from selling the foundation-building pills.

He walked up to the second floor of the Jinbao Pavilion and looked at the display cabinets selling high-grade and top-grade magic weapons.

However, what surprised him was that the flying needle magic weapon was no longer there.

"Shopkeeper, where is that flying needle supreme magical weapon?"

"Oh, sir, that magical weapon was bought by another guest a few days ago. I'm really sorry. Would you like to take a look at other magical weapons?"

Li Mo frowned and sighed in his heart.

After a slight hesitation, he actually came to the top-grade magic weapon and pointed at a flying sword that looked very similar to the Thunder Sword, intending to make do with it for now.

Next, he planned to comprehend the "Sword Heart Sutra", and he needed a handy flying sword to match it.

"That's it."

The shopkeeper smiled slightly when he heard this.

"This top-grade magical weapon, the Thunder Sword, is not only incredibly sharp against enemies, but also possesses lightning and thunder properties, capable of illuminating darkness, expelling evil spirits, and disrupting sonic attacks. It is a rare and exquisite item among top-grade magical weapons, and is priced at 750 spirit stones."

Li Mo looked at the shopkeeper with a strange look.

Isn’t this just an upgraded version of the top-grade Thunder Sword, with just a slightly changed name?

However, this so-called Thunder Sword was most likely an imitation of a magical flying sword. Even its introduction was not much different from that of the shopkeeper on the first floor, and its selling price had increased from 250 spirit stones to 750 spirit stones.

After Li Mo picked up the Thunder Sword, he tested it briefly in his hand.

As expected, there is no essential difference from the Thunder Sword, it is just of higher quality and can withstand stronger mana. It should have reached the standard of floating and flying, and he still uses it easily.

After nodding, Li Mo did not rush to complete the transaction, but took out his Thunder Sword.

"This mid-grade magical weapon also comes from your Jinbao Pavilion. Can it offset the original price in spirit stones?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper took the Thunder Sword and observed it carefully for a while.

Finally a reply was given.

"If you want to sell it in exchange for spirit stones, this Thunder Sword can be exchanged for 200 spirit stones in our store. If you want to exchange it for the Shocking Thunder Sword, you can get a discount of 230 spirit stones. You can see that it's obviously worn and depreciated here, so it needs to be properly maintained."

"make a deal."

Li Mo was quite satisfied with this condition.

He immediately chose to exchange it with the Thunder Sword, and took out the corresponding spirit stones to complete the transaction.

Then he left Jinbao Pavilion.

Although the Thunder Sword is not a top-grade magic weapon, it is enough to serve as a transition.

After all, many top-grade magic weapons only increase their power by 30% to 40% compared to top-grade magic weapons, and the spirit stones saved can be used in other places in the future.

At last.

Li Mo stopped in front of an inconspicuous stall on the street, where various expensive crowns were being sold.

The so-called twenty-year-old.

According to the old Zhou Li system, when a man turns 20, a capping ceremony will be held, which can be regarded as a ceremony of adulthood.

First, parents and brothers will consult divination, choose an auspicious date, and invite family elders, relatives, and friends to participate in the ceremony.

Then the father and brothers would choose a distinguished guest to crown the young man.

After that, the man will tie his hair into a bun on top of his head, then put on the crown, and then use a hairpin to fix the crown and the bun together. This process will be repeated three times.

The first time was with a black linen hat, indicating that men would have the right to participate in political activities.

The second time is to add a hat made of animal skin, which means that men will have the right to fight for their country.

The third time was to add a juebianguan, a brown hat made of hemp cloth or silk, very similar to a crown, indicating that men would have the right to offer sacrifices.

Next comes the naming of characters, which will be completed by the distinguished guest who has been crowned. After a man has a courtesy name, he can use it in social interactions.

Finally, the man will visit relatives and friends, as well as local elders of high repute.

all in all.

This is a set of etiquette that is more important than becoming a child.

However, what many people today don’t know is that in the Zhou Dynasty, only monks and nobles were qualified to perform this complicated ceremony. Although common people also had the ceremony of coming of age, the process was very simple.

Many countries still continue the Zhou rituals.

However, the capping ceremony in the current Daqian Kingdom is different from that in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The capping ceremony in the Daqian Kingdom no longer has the three crowning stages. Instead, the ceremony is considered a coming-of-age ceremony, with only the noble crown, or noble hat, worn once to secure the bun.

The materials used to make the noble crown include fragrant wood, spiritual wood, gold, stone, jade, ivory, agate, coarse cloth and fine silk.

It can be said to be varied and diverse.

Furthermore, the Daqian Kingdom's coming-of-age ceremony, except for a very small number of self-righteous scholars, basically did not include the character-giving ceremony. Instead, it included the wearing of jade pendants and sachets, as well as the elders' earnest teachings on the relationship between heaven, earth, and the ruler and his subjects...

After Li Mo bought the necessary items, he flew back to his master's sect on his sword.

Flying with a sword during the Foundation Establishment Stage is a kind of floating technique. Its speed is much slower than the Qingming Crane Cloak Wind Control Technique, but it saves more mana.

After returning to the sect, everyone had to walk.

Li Mo returned to the dormitory and stood in front of the bronze mirror.

His face showed a solemn expression, as if he recalled the scene five years ago when his master Zhang Dongliang tied his hair for him in Jimin Hall to help him become a child. After his eyes became slightly moist, he wiped them gently, and then began to follow the ceremony of the coming-of-age ceremony. He completed the crowning ceremony by himself, put on the jade crown, and fixed it with a wooden hairpin.

Then he carefully fixed his hair and added a sachet that exuded a delicate fragrance.

Finally, Li Mo straightened his crane cloak, looked at the completely different self in the bronze mirror, took a deep breath, and gradually smiled. He was no longer sad about the end of his three-year disciple career in the training hall, and began to look forward to the future.

"Next, I will visit a highly respected senior."

Thinking this, he walked to the Alchemy Hall and found Chen Rong.

"Senior Sister Chen."

After seeing Li Mo's clothes, Chen Rong couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, until Li Mo called out "Senior Sister Chen", she came to her senses.

"Junior Brother Li, you've actually established your foundation!"

Chen Rong came over quickly and looked at Li Mo with eyes full of surprise.

"I remember that you, Chen Lan, and Chen Yu were from the same class of disciples. In just three short years, you've already established your foundation. This, this, this is truly incredible. I've never heard of anyone being able to establish their foundation while still in the training hall!"

Li Mo couldn't help but laugh. He behaved properly and didn't hide anything.

"It was just a fluke."

"In front of the great road, how can we talk about luck?"

Chen Rong shook her head, not approving of Li Mo's humility.

"There is no luck involved in a cultivator's advancement to any realm. Junior brother, you are being too modest. But you obviously didn't come here just for this matter, right?"

"indeed so."

Li Mo probed, "I'm already a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but I don't have any recipes for elixirs that can help improve their cultivation. I heard that similar to the Qi Condensation Pills used in the Qi Training Stage, Foundation Establishment cultivators also have a relatively common Spirit Condensation Pill, so I wanted to come and ask Senior Sister how to obtain the recipe."

"It seems that Junior Brother still doesn't know something."

Chen Rong shook her head and chuckled.

"The Foundation Establishment Stage and the Qi Condensation Stage are completely different realms. Not only are the preciousness of elixirs incomparable, the number of elixir recipes is much rarer, and the amount of mana required for advancement is also incomparable to that of the Qi Condensation Stage. Refining elixirs can only reduce the merit of meditation. Moreover, the higher the level of the cultivator, the less likely it is to rely on elixirs in the daily process of accumulating mana."

Speaking of this, Chen Rong gave a brief analogy.

"Take me for example. I'm already in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. Not to mention the preciousness of those elixirs that can improve my Foundation Establishment cultivation, even if I were to refine seventy or eighty of them in succession, I'm afraid it would be difficult to raise my mana to the peak of the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, let alone higher-level cultivators."

Chen Rong revealed a look of melancholy as she looked towards the spiritual light of the great formation on Qingming Mountain.

Her eyes looked a little dazed.

"At the end of cultivation, one ultimately relies on long periods of meditation to accumulate mana. This relies on one's own spiritual roots, the spiritual veins and eyes of the mountain gate, and the understanding of the great ways of cultivation. Pills will gradually become a means of advancement when cultivation stagnates, or to break through bottlenecks. Therefore, pills that can improve cultivation aptitude are what high-level cultivators pursue."

Li Mo's expression grew slightly serious upon hearing this.

But if you think about it carefully, this makes sense.

"As for the Soul Gathering Pill commonly used by Foundation Establishment cultivators, the sect has an order that the recipe cannot be passed on to others. It can only be obtained through contributions to the sect. In addition, the sect has several recipes that can improve Foundation Establishment cultivation, but most of them are in the hands of the alchemists of various families. They are the core secrets of the sect and can only be traded for finished pills. There are also a few recipes that are considered exclusive patents by individual alchemists and are never passed on to others."

Only then did Li Mo realize the difference between the foundation-building period.

The beautiful pastoral days of Jinxiutang are gone forever.

So he asked about the recipe for the Soul Gathering Pill and the contribution required from his master, and Chen Rong immediately gave him a staggering number.

It is calculated based on the contribution to the master that the third-year disciples in the Advanced Study Hall can obtain through their monthly rotation tasks.

I'm afraid it will take at least seventy or eighty years to collect so many contributions from the master.

Even though the contribution that a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage can obtain from the sect by performing tasks in various halls is much higher, if there are no rewards for major tasks, there is no hope for the next ten years.

This is the case when contributions to the sect only come in and never go out.

"The recipe for the Soul Gathering Pill is so difficult to obtain. I'm afraid the difficulty of obtaining other recipes will only get higher. No wonder Foundation Establishment cultivators are vying to teach in the Advanced Training Hall. Sometimes, contributions from the master seem to be much more useful than spirit stones."

Li Mo thought so in his heart.

Next, he inquired with Chen Rong and learned that there were three independent cultivators in the Alchemy Hall who possessed elixir recipes that could help improve the cultivation level of the Foundation Establishment Stage. Then he said goodbye to them.

Li Mo visited the three of them one after another, and as expected, he was turned down.

All three of them proposed corresponding exchange conditions, the simplest of which was to exchange for five thousand spirit stones.

The conditions offered by the other two were even more outrageous!

One asked him to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Korean Lingcao Sect, and the other asked him to exchange it for a pill recipe that could help him break through the bottleneck of the late Foundation Establishment stage.

From this point of view.

In the short term, Li Mo can't rely on refining elixirs to improve his cultivation.

But that’s fine too.

His cultivation has improved too quickly over the past three years, and it's time for him to take some time to calm down.

Now that he has been promoted to the Foundation Establishment Stage, his life span will be greatly improved. He can also take this opportunity to study puppetry and weapon refining techniques.

There is still a book called "Cui Cui's Notes" in the storage bag, which I haven't studied carefully yet.

As for the art of refining weapons, he had to start from scratch, and then combine it with the sword-making method in the "Lingzhao Sword Manual" to conduct in-depth exploration.

Besides, alchemy cannot be said to be absolute.

After all, there are still a large number of Piaomiao Demon Pills in his storage bag that have not been used. Although the main function of the Creation Pill is not to improve the magic power, it will indirectly assist the cultivator to improve the magic power in the process of improving the physical fitness. Even if the effect is slower, it is better than meditation and hard practice.

Thinking like this.

Li Mo left the Alchemy Hall and came to the Hidden Merit Pavilion.

He first spent some of the contributions he had accumulated from his master to copy a low-level spell called Lightning Spell on the first floor of the Canggong Pavilion.

This is a thunder-attribute spell used only to illuminate darkness for a long period of time, and can also be used to intimidate mortals.

Then he came to the gate of the second floor, looked at the strange senior sister stationed there, and took out her identity badge.

"Hello, this is the identity badge that the ancestral hall just issued. I want to enter the second level of rubbing spells."

Upon hearing this, the female cultivator in charge of guarding this place carefully checked Li Mo's badge.

"Well, you can choose two mid-level spells on the second floor. After you've chosen, bring the jade slips containing the spells, and I'll copy them for you."

"Yes!"

After Li Mo entered the second floor of the Canggong Pavilion, he found that the various attribute spells here were obviously much less than those on the first floor, probably only about one tenth.

But it’s better this way, as it saves him from rummaging around.

The books here are divided into stone carvings, bone inscriptions, leather books, bamboo slips, and jade slips, with very different styles.

Li Mo came to the area where thunder spells were placed. There were only twenty or so thunder spells on the bookshelf, all of which were sealed jade slips. After he examined them one by one, he looked at himself considering.

Now he could only see the grade and effect descriptions of these spells.

Logically speaking.

Although both are mid-level spells, mid-level mid-level spells are obviously more valuable than mid-level low-level spells, and mid-level high-level spells are also more valuable than mid-level mid-level spells, so you should choose mid-level high-level spells as much as possible.

But this brings us to another issue.

That's practicality.

Even Li Mo could not see any hope of advancing from the early stage of foundation building to the middle stage of foundation building in a short period of time.

Therefore, if he chooses a mid-level or advanced spell, he will not be able to use it for a long time.

Even if it is a mid-level spell, he has just established his foundation and it is difficult for him to use it and it is difficult for him to master it.

finally.

Li Mo selected two bamboo slips and came to the female cultivator stationed on the second floor.

"This senior sister, I have chosen."

The female cultivator took a look and nodded.

"Intermediate low-level spell, summon thunder beast, intermediate intermediate spell, read the thunder spear, okay, wait a moment."

Li Mo naturally had his considerations for choosing these two spells.

Summons a thunder beast with both offensive and defensive capabilities, and can be paired with the top-grade magic weapon, the Yin Shui Hu.

The reason why Li Mo chose the Zha Nian Thunder Spear was because he didn't have enough means to deal with the thick-skinned monsters. Moreover, as a mid-level spell, although Li Mo couldn't use it skillfully at this stage, he could still use it. Maybe it could kill the monsters with one blow at a critical moment.

(End of this chapter)