The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 39 Red Lotus
That day, Qinghe returned from the herb garden early, saying that she had sensed signs of breaking through her cultivation level and might soon advance to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Jiang Yuan had already advised Qinghe that since the four spiritual veins of Jia Wood, Yi Wood, Bing Fire, and Ding Fire were already fully opened, there was no need to open any other spiritual veins before establishing the foundation.

Currently, all you need to do is try your best to open up more acupoints in the wood elemental veins, especially the acupoints on the Jia wood elemental veins. This may give rise to new supernatural abilities. Even if you don't have supernatural abilities, opening up more acupoints will help you improve your cultivation level faster.

Three days later, following Jiang Yuan's guidance, Qing He indeed opened the five pivot acupoints of the Jiamu spiritual meridian.

This acupoint is located to the side of the lower dantian, where several meridians converge, hence the name Wushu (Five Pivots). It signifies the connection and pivot of the five directions (east, south, west, north, and center), its meaning self-evident. Qinghe naturally advanced to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

However, Qinghe, who was at the sixth level of Qi Refining, still couldn't defeat Jiangyuan, who was at the second level of Qi Refining, which greatly puzzled Qinghe.

Why did the difference in cultivation level seem so serious to him earlier?

"You chose this yourself, to learn magic to save lives, which shows that you are naturally averse to fighting."

"Even if one dislikes fighting, how should one win in the sect's selection process?"

"Wood-type magic is indeed too weak in its initial destructive power. If you want a fierce attack, fire-type magic is the strongest. You also have fire-type spiritual veins, but you haven't opened up the other fire-type acupoints."

"Should I open up one or two of the Bing Fire acupoints next time to enhance my fire-based killing power?"

"Absolutely not. Many alchemists only think about killing power, which leads to their cultivation stagnation."

"So what?"

Jiang Yuan then taught Qing He a fire-based spell called "Red Lotus".

This method was originally used for alchemy, specifically for refining inner elixir. It is a high-level Nascent Soul cultivation technique, and on Tianlong Star, one must cultivate "Red Lotus" to advance to the Divine Transformation stage.

Jiang Yuan simply modified the first level of the Red Lotus Technique, allowing Qinghe to condense a fiery red lotus in her palm.

With the help of acupoints and meridians, condensing true energy into a lotus flower is not difficult for an alchemist.

In just a few days, Qinghe was able to conjure a red lotus at any time, just like the ice crystals of Jiangyuan.

When fighting, the Red Lotus can be formed and held in the hand beforehand. Releasing it to injure the enemy is equivalent to instant casting, and its speed is much faster than a talisman fireball, let alone a wood-type one.

"With this spell, I guarantee you won't be at a disadvantage in battles against opponents of the same level."

Qinghe was skeptical, "It's just much faster, but its killing power doesn't seem to be as good as the talisman fireball."

Jiang Yuan raised his hand and unleashed a flurry of snowflakes, among which was an ice crystal that nearly hit Qinghe.

"I see. We can use the wood-based rain of flowers as cover to hide the red lotus in the petals."

"You have two more years. If you can break through to the tenth level of Qi Refining, you can generate at least five red lotuses at once, and their power will naturally be greater."

Achieving maximum killing power with minimal mana is a skill that most low-level cultivators cannot master. From Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, most cultivators waste their mana in battles, then consume countless pills, wasting both money and effort.

Jiang Yuan had saved up several thousand spirit stones, which weren't of much use, but he could set up a spirit-gathering formation several times.

This formation does not draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but rather consumes the spiritual power contained within the spirit stones, only collecting green and a small portion of red stones. The wood-type and fire-type spiritual power is almost entirely utilized without any waste, and it is even more efficient than directly absorbing spirit stones.

Five hundred spirit stones should be enough to help Qinghe advance one minor realm.

Qinghe could not understand her husband's extravagant spending habits. After a year of hard work in the sect, she could only earn forty spirit stones. Most small shops in the immortal market could only earn five hundred spirit stones a year.

Jiang Yuan certainly wouldn't say it directly. The spiritual root geniuses in the inner sect of Luofu Mountain consume at least tens of thousands of spirit stones a year, which is unimaginable for the ordinary people in the outer sect. After all, he was that kind of genius in his previous life.

"Once you reach a higher cultivation level, a Foundation Establishment Pill can sell for five thousand spirit stones. Why worry about such a small amount?" "Master Lu said that the materials for Foundation Establishment Pills are extremely scarce and impossible to find. How are we supposed to refine them?"

"My husband has a plan!"

In this way, Qinghe could enter the Spirit Gathering Array to cultivate with a clear conscience. Once inside, she didn't want to come out. It was so enjoyable that one hour was equivalent to two days of hard training.

……

Venus had been at Mount Ling in the Western Paradise for two or three days, but the Buddha's disciples still didn't discuss serious matters. Instead, they ate, drank, and traveled around, exchanging cryptic remarks, which puzzled Venus greatly.

The Buddha's Dharma Assembly is held at Vulture Peak every ten years. The Buddha said that all beings are equal, and all those with affinity can come to Vulture Peak to listen to the Buddha's teachings.

The Heavenly Court would always send a few people to support them. It was something that could be done with a talisman, so why send a Golden Immortal to make the trip in person?
Coincidentally, the Buddha's disciples also thought the same thing: what exactly did this old Taoist priest want to do at Mount Ling?
The only close cooperation between the Western Paradise and the Heavenly Court was when Buddha personally subdued the great demon Sun Wukong, and then allowed him to follow the reincarnated Jin Chanzi on his journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, granting him a righteous enlightenment and the title of Fighting Buddha.

Does the Buddha's Dharma assembly require the presence of Golden Immortals for negotiations? What would they discuss?
……

In this world, if a person has a goal in doing things, time will pass very quickly; three years will feel like three days.

With three months to go before the sect selection held every five years at Mount Luofu, Qinghe faces a choice: whether or not to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage.

For others, it's a question of whether or not they can build a foundation, but under Jiangyuan's plan, Qinghe's only question is when to build a foundation.

In the past two years, Jiang Yuan's small shop has earned about five thousand spirit stones. Apart from picking up a few bargains and collecting a few important materials, most of the money has been put into the spirit gathering array, pushing Qing He to the tenth level of Qi Refining perfection.

Jiang Yuan himself had never entered that deep, icy acupoint, which prevented him from opening the other half of his meridian on his own. He was still only at the second level of Qi Refining, so he had stopped cultivating long ago; it was useless.

If Qinghe were to establish her foundation at this time, her opponents would be Foundation Establishment cultivators, whose spells and magical treasures would be far superior to those of Qi Refining cultivators. However, if she did not establish her foundation, even if she won the sect's selection, her chances of entering the inner sect would be extremely slim.

The inner sect of Luofu Mountain rarely accepts disciples who already possess skills and are over twenty years old but have not yet achieved Foundation Establishment.

Although Elder Lu considered Qinghe a cultivation prodigy, having advanced from the fourth level of Qi Refining to the tenth level of Qi Refining perfection in four years, no one knew the harsh conditions of the inner sect better than him.

Old Lu regretted not being able to enter the inner sect his whole life. In his later years, he took on this disciple to fulfill his own dream, and naturally hoped that Qinghe could achieve the Foundation Establishment stage.

To ensure Qinghe's successful Foundation Establishment, Old Lu used his elder privileges to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill. He even said that after Qinghe established her foundation, he would bring out all his most treasured magical treasures and let Qinghe choose whatever she wanted, so that she could strive for victory in the sect's selection.

Qinghe thanked her profusely, saying she would think about it, and then took the Foundation Establishment Pill back to the military dependents' village.

Over the past few years, Jiang Yuan has already figured out the selection rules of the Luofu Mountain sect. Regardless of whether one has reached the Foundation Establishment stage or not, Qinghe's chances are slim. On the surface, those almost harsh conditions are just to leave some room for those in power to manipulate things behind the scenes.

These major sects, which have been passed down for thousands of years, are already an impenetrable wall, leaving no gaps for the lower-level servants.

"If you want to establish your foundation, you don't need Foundation Establishment Pills at all; you can do it tonight."

Qinghe couldn't believe it. She knew that some people had reached the twelfth level of Qi Refining but hadn't yet established their foundation, and some had taken Foundation Establishment Pills and secluded themselves for half a year without emerging. How could she, at the tenth level of Qi Refining, establish her foundation in one night without even needing Foundation Establishment Pills?

Jiang Yuan had long prepared a jade slip containing a cultivation technique called "The Birth of All Things." The first sentence of its general outline was exactly the same as that of the "Yi Wood Classic": "Heaven gives birth to all things, each with its own time..."

Qinghe immediately recognized that "The Birth of All Things" was a follow-up practice to "The Yi Wood Classic". The first chapter in the annotations after the general outline was the Foundation Building Guidance Method.

Of course, that guiding method was something Jiang Yuan made up on the spot, and it was only effective on Qing He. After all, Qing He opened several spiritual veins and several acupoints, all of which were achieved under Jiang Yuan's planning.

Qinghe meditated in the Spirit Gathering Array, reviewed the Foundation Establishment Guidance Method twice, and felt that it was almost there. Her true energy was already breaking through the three major barriers on the Ren and Du meridians on its own.

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(End of this chapter)