My path to immortality began with my posting to guard Dawancun.

Chapter 218 Returning
The process of breaking through from the peak of the ninth level of Qi Induction to the Nascent Soul realm is also known as Foundation Building.

Foundation Building, as the name suggests, is the process of establishing a foundation. The quality of this stage directly affects the ease or difficulty of a cultivator's future path of cultivation and the ultimate heights they can reach.

If one can cultivate and strengthen their divine soul before advancing to the next level, reaching the point of separation from the body, then upon beginning the Foundation Establishment breakthrough, they can absorb rare treasures of heaven and earth, seize their five elements' power, and forge a spiritual body.

Whether or not one has successfully cultivated their spiritual body is the threshold for advancing to the Profound Core stage in the future.

[This information is top secret. Top-tier powers like the Jade Purity Sect have joined forces to deliberately suppress it, making it virtually impossible for the outside world to obtain. Even within the Shen family, this is the case. Therefore, if one cultivates a spiritual body, one must never reveal it to others casually.]

This technique is called the Soul-Locking Concealing Technique, which can completely seal off the aura of a spiritual body. Even in battle, there will be no leakage. After cultivating a spiritual body in the Foundation Establishment stage, you must diligently practice this technique.

Within Dawan Village,

Shen Changchuan held a jade slip, browsing through the information within. His expression was somewhat solemn, and his eyes flickered with uncertainty.

This jade slip was taken from the storage bag that Shen Chong had thrown to him.

not long ago,

After leaving Qijia Town, Shen Changchuan and Nangong Cheng returned to Dawan Village.

After the matter was settled, Nangong Cheng said that he had other things to attend to and would not want to disturb him any longer, so he prepared to take his leave.

Since he had other matters to attend to, Shen Changchuan didn't try to keep him.

However, as a reward, he still gave him several storage bags of the ninth-level cultivators he had killed in Qijia Town.

Nangong Cheng naturally declined, but Shen Changchuan still forced it on him.

Finding Shen Zeyu's whereabouts undoubtedly solved a major problem for Shen Changchuan.

I must thank you.

After Nangong Cheng left...

Shen Changchuan then took stock of the remaining spoils and opened the storage bag that Shen Chong had given him.

What he found surprised even Shen Changchuan, who was used to seeing all sorts of things.

Ten mid-grade spirit stones.

Twenty thousand ordinary spirit stones.

There are also all sorts of miscellaneous medicinal herbs.

Ordinary spirit stones and those spiritual herbs are fine, but the important thing is these ten mid-grade spirit stones.

The spiritual energy concentration of a mid-grade spirit stone is more than a hundred times that of an ordinary spirit stone.
It is also purer and easier to absorb, providing excellent assistance to cultivators.

Such beings are already no less powerful than ordinary spiritual creatures.
Even for cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage, these are extremely precious cultivation resources, and they rarely end up in the hands of cultivators at the Qi Refining stage.

With these ten mid-grade spirit stones,

Shen Changchuan was confident that he would be able to raise his cultivation to the late stage of the ninth level of Qi Induction, or even the peak of the ninth level, within a month!
And these,
That wasn't even the most valuable item. In Shen Changchuan's eyes,

The most precious thing is the message attached to this jade slip!
"Foundation building, spiritual body. As expected, the vested interests will instinctively set higher thresholds to prevent newcomers from reaching the same level as them."

"Directly killing potentially threatening junior talents is undoubtedly the most foolish method. Blocking some key information and gathering most of the divine sense cultivation techniques is undoubtedly simpler and more efficient."

A slightly mocking smile appeared on Shen Changchuan's lips.

No wonder he couldn't find any secret techniques for cultivating divine sense in the Shen family's library.
The secret techniques that can refine and enhance the soul are probably like the secrets of Foundation Establishment and Spirit Body Condensation, all collected and sealed by the top-level powers!
By employing this two-pronged approach,

Even if there are many cultivators outside, and the population base is large, if they cannot advance to the Profound Core stage in the future, it will be difficult for them to have an impact.

and,

Even if someone is incredibly lucky and obtains the inheritance of their predecessors from the ruins of an ancient cave, learns the secrets of Foundation Establishment, and successfully condenses a spiritual body during the process of advancing to the Out-of-Body stage,
Or perhaps they receive an extraordinary opportunity, and even if they miss the chance to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage, they can still reshape their bones and muscles and condense a spiritual body later on.
Even powerful figures at the top have their limitations.

They can easily find them by the distinctive aura of spirits.
Or fighting and killing,

Or they could be absorbed into their own system and become one of their own.

It doesn't matter if there are any more that slip through the net.
Because from the stage of leaving the body to the stage of spiritual travel, and then to the stage of the Profound Core, each step of the cultivation path is extremely difficult.
Ultimately, if someone can truly achieve the Profound Core True Person realm as a rogue cultivator, they will be an extremely rare existence!

One or two isolated cultivators at the Xuan Dan level could not pose any significant threat to the powerful forces standing at the top.

not to mention,
Once a rogue cultivator achieves the status of a Profound Core True Person, they may establish a family or sect to pass on their acquired knowledge.
For the sake of future generations, they might tacitly join the ranks of the top powers, sealing off the secrets of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Bodies and the secret techniques for cultivating the soul.
"Ugh, it's like there's a trap at every turn!"

"Without the support of a powerful force, or the guidance of a profound lineage or a renowned master, it is almost impossible for a rogue martial artist to reach the pinnacle on their own!"

Shen Changchuan couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

Especially after carefully studying the method for condensing a spiritual body recorded in the jade slip, Shen Changchuan felt this even more strongly.

The jade slip records the process of condensing a spiritual body in great detail.
It is specifically noted that when building a foundation and condensing a spiritual body, one must pay attention to the following: the rare and precious materials used and the spiritual body condensed must be compatible with the cultivation method.

For example, that rising star of the Jade Purity Immortal Sect only advanced one level in a year when he was in the Qi Refining stage. This was because he wanted to master a certain Nine Yang Technique so that he could condense the Nine Yang Body when he advanced to the Out-of-Body stage.
If the cultivation method is not compatible with the spiritual body, the success rate of condensing the spiritual body will be very low.

Furthermore, if the spiritual body one wants to condense conflicts with the attributes of the cultivation technique one is practicing, the most likely result is that one will self-destruct and die!

In this way, even if a rogue cultivator genius accidentally stumbles upon the part where spiritual bodies are condensed, lacking relevant information, he will most likely seek his own death.

However, the good news is that...

The Xiangshan Qi Refining Technique, the introductory cultivation method of the Xiangshan Sect, once the overlord of the Southern Region.

Since its method is not unusual and is moderate and peaceful, when building a foundation and condensing a spiritual body, one can freely choose to condense a spiritual body according to the spiritual objects of heaven and earth that one has obtained, without any restriction that it must be compatible with the cultivation method.
Even now,

Shen Changchuan then realized,
No wonder the Xiangshan Qi Cultivation Technique seemed so mediocre to him, yet it was the introductory technique of the Xiangshan Sect in the past.

Indeed, the more ordinary something is, the more extraordinary it is!
(End of this chapter)