Cultivating Immortality: What kind of cheat can you use if you don't have money?

Chapter 182 Life's End Makes It Difficult to Reach the Purple Palace; Fortune's Shallowness Prevents Supernatural Powers

You stopped arguing with her, and with a thought, took out the system reward, the Complete Collection of Torture Instruments, and handed it to Qin Xiyue.

Qin Xiyue took it, glanced at it briefly, and her eyes flashed with even colder light.

In the months that followed, the quiet little courtyard was occasionally filled with painful sobs and vehement curses.

Anything produced by the system is guaranteed to be of the highest quality; the instruments of torture and methods used far exceed the imagination of this world.

Xihe, though a True Person of the Purple Mansion, possessed a steadfast will, yet she was ultimately still of flesh and blood, a spirit of flesh and blood.

Finally, on a stormy night, Xihe, whose mind and body were on the verge of collapse, revealed the only possible remedy.

She can use a forbidden derivative technique that steals supernatural powers, grafting the life essence of others onto your body.

However, the requirements for the candidate are extremely stringent—they must be of the same bloodline as you, or have an inseparable causal relationship with you.

Upon hearing this, Qin Xiyue looked directly into your eyes without hesitation: "Use mine."

You resolutely refused: "Xiyue, you've already done so much for me."

In a flash, you released the Azure Puppet that had been stored in your sea of ​​consciousness for many years. Upon seeing this, Xihe's face was filled with disbelief.

She couldn't understand why there would be a puppet whose very essence was identical to yours.

You naturally wouldn't explain the reason to her. Xihe said that she could transfer the life essence of the puppet to you, just for a quick death.

Qin Xiyue directly and forcibly refined the stolen divine power held by Xihe.

She never believed Xihe, and Xihe cursed her.

Only then do you learn that after Qin Xiyue broke through to the Purple Mansion realm, she joined forces with several other Purple Mansion realm cultivators to target Xihe and avenge you.

You were deeply moved.

Year after year, Qin Xiyue obtained the stolen divine power from Xihe.

She stated that Xihe's struggle before death damaged his ability to steal supernatural powers, and she would need to spend time repairing the damage.

You said it was fine, you'd waited so many years already, a few more wouldn't make a difference. In the world of cultivation, time flies; decades pass in the blink of an eye.

Qin Xiyue ultimately filled the gaps and stole the life essence from Qingkui to repair your missing essence.

The moment the grafting is completed, you feel a long-lost sense of wholeness returning.

Although your cultivation level didn't increase immediately, that indescribable feeling filled you with joy.

Decades have passed in the blink of an eye. You and Qin Xiyue have traveled all over Cangling, and even explored the surrounding areas through the channels of Tingyu Pavilion, but that wisp of "Heaven and Earth Qi" that perfectly matched you is still nowhere to be found.

Age waits for no one. You are over fifty years old. Although your energy and blood have not declined, your potential is not as good as it was in your prime.

The older one gets in building a foundation for immortality, the more impurities accumulate, making the foundation less pure and narrower one's path to immortality.

Under Qin Xiyue's worried gaze and your own increasingly anxious pressure, you finally gave in.

You found a wisp of the celestial quality "the earth's capacity to sustain all things," which you neither rejected nor felt any particular connection to.

This energy is calm, profound, balanced, and harmonious. While it doesn't perfectly match the sharpness of your swordsmanship, it is still compatible.

After three months of seclusion, with the help of years of accumulation and Qin Xiyue's protection, you finally managed to draw Qi into your body, establish your immortal foundation, and successfully enter the Foundation Establishment stage.

A surge of immense magical power swept over him, his lifespan increased dramatically, and he felt an overwhelming sense of strength, shattering the shackles that had plagued him for decades.

On the day you emerged from the pass, you looked up to the sky and roared, your voice echoing across the land, sweeping away years of pent-up frustration.

Outside the cave, Qin Xiyue, dressed in a fiery red wedding gown, stood quietly, tears welling in her eyes, yet her smile was radiant.

She asked softly, "Li Qingyi, you've wasted half your life, amidst constant turmoil. Now that you've reached the Foundation Establishment stage and your lifespan is extended to two hundred, would you be willing to—marry me?"

Looking into her eyes, filled with decades of deep affection and waiting, and recalling everything she had done for you in the past, you felt no more hesitation, only overflowing tenderness and love.

You stepped forward, grasped her hand tightly, and nodded emphatically: "With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for? Xiyue, I am willing."

The news that the young master of Tingyu Pavilion and the peerless genius of Qingchi Immortal Sect, Fairy Yue, have become Daoist partners has shaken the entire Cangling Domain.

On the wedding day, the main hall of Tingyu Pavilion was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and guests flocked to the venue. Representatives from the Three Sects and Six Schools, royal families of various countries, and major powers all sent envoys to offer their congratulations, and gifts piled up like mountains, making it an unprecedentedly grand occasion.

With red candles burning brightly, amidst the gaze and blessings of the crowd, you held hands and made a vow to walk the path of life together.

However, foundation building is only the beginning. The path ahead remains arduous.

Due to your age and foundation, your immortal foundation is not top-tier, and your cultivation speed is far slower than Qin Xiyue's back then.

She felt sorry for your wasted early years and did almost everything she could to help you.

Leveraging my exalted position and vast resources within the Qingchi Immortal Sect, I can exchange them for various rare elixirs, precious natural treasures, and access to secret realms to aid your cultivation.

They forcibly used resources to push your cultivation level to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Hundreds of years have passed in the blink of an eye. You jokingly say you've been "living off your wife for over a hundred years," but your gratitude and love for her are deeply ingrained. Having such a virtuous wife is truly a blessing, surpassing countless others in the world.

However, being busy improving your basic cultivation level has consumed most of your energy and time.

You no longer have the strength to delve deeper into the profound and mysterious "True Explanation of Swordsmanship".

If you open "The True Explanation of Swordsmanship" now, you will find many of its subtle sword principles and artistic descriptions to be obscure and difficult to understand, as if you were looking up at a book written in the heavens.

You can never recapture that initial spark of understanding, that resonance of souls, you felt when you first met them.

You're thinking of breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm first, which would greatly increase your lifespan. After your realm improves, you might be able to rekindle your swordsmanship.

Qin Xiyue also fully supports you, and from some ancient ruins, she obtained a rather advanced Purple Mansion Realm secret technique, "The Record of Ascending to the Profound Realm," to help you solidify your foundation and illuminate your path forward.

You feel grateful and long to break through as soon as possible, to have greater power, and to stand shoulder to shoulder with her, instead of always being protected by her.

You secretly resolved that once you had completed your mission in the Purple Mansion, you would make it up to her and become a truly carefree and joyous couple.

[In a top-tier spiritual vein cave that Qin Xiyue has carefully selected for you.]

She set up multiple arrays and prepared countless rare and precious pills to protect her heart meridians and replenish her spiritual power.

You have begun your seclusion to break through to the Purple Mansion realm.

The first step is to use the secret method of the "Record of Ascending to the Great Void" to activate one's own immortal foundation, causing it to surge upwards from the dormant dantian.

Passing through vital points, it crashes directly into the Giant Claw. This process is extremely dangerous. Once the immortal foundation leaves the sea, there is no way to retreat. It is like rowing against the current. The slightest mistake will cause the immortal foundation to shatter and the person to die and their cultivation to vanish.

You were well-prepared, relying on elixirs and perseverance, enduring the pain of your meridians being torn apart and your soul being hammered, and making difficult progress step by step.

Finally, with unstoppable momentum, the Immortal Foundation broke through the Giant Gate Pass! You were covered in blood, yet filled with ecstatic joy; the first step was complete.

However, the real impasse has only just begun.

The second step requires harnessing the Immortal Foundation, ascending to the Twelve-Story Tower, and finally arriving at Shengyang, where one's own supernatural powers will begin to take shape.

This process is akin to a mortal ascending to heaven; with each level, the pressure increases exponentially, demanding the utmost from one's magical power, mind, physical body, and fundamental nature.

You swallowed the Purple Heart Protector Pill and Nine-Turn Jade Liquid that had been prepared beforehand, gritted your teeth, and rode your immortal foundation upwards.

One level, two levels — each level felt like carrying a mountain while climbing.

His soul began to ache terribly, his magical power was rapidly depleted, and his physical body emitted mournful cries of unbearable strain.

When you finally managed to reach the third level with all your might, an unprecedented feeling of weakness and sluggishness suddenly overwhelmed you, and your immortal foundation teetered on the brink of collapse.

At this critical moment, you suddenly feel a faint cracking sound coming from somewhere inside your body.

Something tightly bound together suddenly broke open with a crack.

Immediately afterwards, a sense of emptiness and disintegration originating from the deepest part of one's being rapidly spread.

You instantly realized that it was that life essence grafted from the Green Puppet.

It was taken from Qingkui, who was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. When your body was stolen, you were at the half-step Foundation Establishment stage. Although you later reached Foundation Establishment, the strength of your origin was different.

Initially, because the grafts were from the same source and your cultivation level was not high, you were able to maintain a balance and there were no obvious problems.

However, at this moment, when attempting to break through the Purple Mansion, especially at a critical juncture like ascending to the Twelfth Floor where the strength of one's life essence is extremely demanding, this wisp of essence is slightly weaker.

Those who couldn't withstand the terrifying pressure were the first to collapse and scatter.

"No!!!" You roared inwardly, trying to regain your composure, but your primal force crumbled like a dam breaking, spiraling out of control.

[When life is exhausted, one cannot attain the Purple Palace; when fortune is shallow, one cannot achieve supernatural powers.]

[You're dead. Rewards are being calculated.]

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