Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

The two continued forward, passing through the entire outer alchemy room's pavilion area, and flew towards a secondary peak behind the alchemy hall.

Upon arriving at the destination, Cao Ge explained to Wu Fan as they walked:

"The cave dwellings of our outer alchemy disciples are all built on the sub-peak behind this Luodan Peak. The inner alchemy disciples with high cultivation and exquisite alchemy skills have their cave dwellings on another sub-peak, where the cave dwellings are better and the surrounding spiritual energy is more abundant. As for the Foundation Establishment senior uncles, they can even directly open their own cave dwellings on Luodan Peak."

Wu Fan listened attentively, his eyes scanning his surroundings.

Although the second sub-peak of Luodan Peak is not particularly tall, it is lush with vegetation and has fresh air.

Before long, the two arrived at a secluded stone cave located on the upper part of the mountainside of Zifeng.

Two pots of lush green herbs were placed at the entrance of the stone cave, which looked very elegant.

"Junior brother, this is your cave dwelling."

Cao Ge said with a smile, "Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a stone cave; the layout inside is quite nice. You'll see once you go in."

Wu Fan quickly stepped forward and used his spiritual power to open the stone door of the cave.

The stone door slowly opened, and when he looked up, he was startled.

The interior of the stone cave is spacious and bright, divided into three rooms and two halls.

There is a master bedroom, a cultivation room, an alchemy room, a washroom, and a storage room.

The stone walls inside were polished smooth and flat, and several luminous pearls were inlaid in the corners, emitting a soft light that illuminated the entire cave.

"Junior brother, what do you think? Is this cave dwelling to your liking?"

Cao Ge smiled as he stepped into the cave and said, "The caves of all the disciples in our External Alchemy Room are of this standard. The disciples in the Internal Alchemy Room have more comfortable accommodations, but the location of your cave is excellent. It's several miles away from the nearest residence of the other disciples in the External Alchemy Room, so you can have peace and quiet while cultivating without being disturbed by others."

Wu Fan slowly walked to the center of the cave, feeling the rich spiritual energy in the air, and his heart was filled with joy.

He circulated his spiritual energy and clearly felt that the concentration of spiritual energy here had reached the lower grade of the second rank, which was already very close to the middle grade of the second rank.

"Senior Brother Cao, the concentration of spiritual energy here is incredibly high!"

Wu Fan couldn't help but ask, his tone tinged with surprise.

Cao Ge nodded and said with a smile:

"That's natural. The spiritual energy concentration at the very center of our Pill Hall on Luodan Peak has reached the third level. That's the cultivation ground of True Person Ziyang, who oversees our Pill Hall. As one of the core departments of the sect, it's not surprising that our outer alchemy room disciples' cave dwellings are blessed with a second-level spiritual vein."

Wu Fan was filled with mixed emotions.

Third-tier spiritual energy is a privilege reserved for Golden Core cultivators. Yet, this Qi Refining Stage 7 outer disciple, who has just entered the outer alchemy room, actually possesses a cave dwelling with second-tier spiritual veins. It truly lives up to the reputation of a Nascent Soul sect.

No wonder those independent cultivators go to great lengths to squeeze into major sects and factions.

Here, even a mere training ground is better than what a wandering cultivator could pursue throughout their entire life.

Only now did Wu Fan truly understand the importance of "land" among "law, wealth, companion, and land".

A good cultivation space can not only accelerate the cultivation process, but also make spiritual energy more refined, which is far more efficient than burying oneself in hard work.

He subconsciously began to calculate in his mind.

He now has twenty-five strands of spiritual energy within him, and there is still a piece of red iron essence he bought in the Falling Star Valley Market that he has not yet absorbed.

If the red iron essence is absorbed into the Five Elements Beads, it will likely enhance the spiritual energy by one more strand, reaching twenty-six strands.

With twenty-six strands of spiritual energy, an ample supply of pills, and the spiritual energy of this second-tier spiritual vein dojo, Wu Fan was filled with confidence.

He was confident that he could cultivate to the eighth level of Qi Refining within four years.

This speed would have been unimaginable in the past.

It should be noted that it took him a full five years to cultivate from the sixth level of Qi Refining to the seventh level.

Now, with the sect's resources and the support of the training grounds, the cultivation speed can be increased by so much!

Wu Fan couldn't help but feel increasingly satisfied.

Seeing Wu Fan's satisfied expression, Cao Ge smiled and said:

"Junior brother, I can see that you are a calm and focused person with clear goals. If you cultivate diligently and refine pills well in the future, you will surely become a great alchemist. Let me explain the rules of the outer alchemy room to you. Tomorrow morning, you will officially begin refining pills."

Wu Fan quickly came to his senses and cupped his hands in greeting to Cao Ge:

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother Cao. I am all ears."

Cao Ge nodded, and then began to explain in detail the rules of the external alchemy room:

"We don't need to stay in the alchemy room every day. As long as we complete the monthly alchemy tasks on time, we don't need to come often. However, there is one thing: at the beginning and middle of each month, Uncle Chen will come to teach two alchemy classes. Unless you have important sect matters to attend to or have asked Uncle Chen for leave in advance, you must attend. If you are absent without a reason, the consequences will be serious."

After saying that, he playfully made a face as if he were slitting his throat, and then continued:

"Also, we have to apply for the medicinal materials we use for alchemy from the alchemy storehouse every time. After the pills are refined, they must be presented to our senior uncle for inspection. Only if they pass the quality test can they be put into the storehouse; if they fail, they have to be refined again until they pass the test."

Wu Fan listened very attentively, memorizing every rule. He nodded in agreement from time to time, and when he encountered something he didn't understand, he immediately asked questions. Cao Ge patiently answered them for him one by one.

After explaining the rules, Cao Ge added:

"Junior brother, Uncle Chen may seem strict, but he is actually very thoughtful and values ​​his disciples' work attitude the most. Just do your best, and he will definitely mentor you. I will come to wake you up early tomorrow morning to familiarize you with the surroundings before we go to the pill storehouse to collect the medicinal herbs."

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Cao. You've worked hard."

Wu Fan quickly thanked him.

It was just a small favor.

Cao Ge waved his hand and said with a smile:

"Then I won't disturb you any longer as you prepare your new cave dwelling. Please settle in well. If you need anything, feel free to come find me anytime. My cave dwelling is about five miles to your left."

Having said that, he turned and stepped out of the cave, leaving straight away.

After Cao Ge left, Wu Fan closed the stone door and looked around his new cave dwelling again, his heart filled with joy.

This will be his "home" for a long time to come, and also the place where he can devote himself to cultivation and research in alchemy.

Once his mind had calmed down a bit, Wu Fan began to tidy up in an orderly manner.

He neatly folded the few changes of clothes he had in his storage bag and placed them on the stone cabinet in the master bedroom. He then took out a few exquisite little ornaments that he carried with him and placed them one by one on the stone table and stone shelf.

After tidying up the master bedroom and storage room, Wu Fan went to the cultivation room.

In the center of the cultivation room, there is a smooth, round stone platform, which is obviously where people usually meditate and cultivate.

As his gaze swept over the area around the stone platform, Wu Fan raised an eyebrow and immediately realized what was happening.

A spirit-gathering formation is missing here.

If he could set up a spirit-gathering array of a certain grade here, the concentration of spiritual energy in the cave could be raised to at least the middle grade of the second rank, or even higher, and his cultivation speed could be increased even further.

He pondered that perhaps he should go to the market and buy a high-quality spirit-gathering array.

But then I thought again, the book I have now, "The Basic Explanation of the Five Elements Array", contains the method of setting up and refining the spirit gathering array.

"Alright, let's try to study it on our own first. If it's too obscure and difficult to understand, and we can't refine it on our own, we can buy a set when the four of us get together again next time we leave the valley."

Wu Fan pulled himself out of his chaotic thoughts.

Now that he has a quiet cultivation place and has joined the external alchemy room as he wished, if he does not work harder in his cultivation, he will be wasting this hard-won opportunity.

Even though he had never been the slightest bit lax in his cultivation.

He immediately set out his plans for the next few years.

First, he would raise his cultivation to the eighth level of Qi Refining; then he would refine his alchemy skills so that he could stably refine first-grade high-quality pills without relying on the Five Elements Beads; in his spare time, he would devote himself to studying the "Five Elements Array Dao Basic Explanation" to improve his array Dao level, so that he could at least independently set up a set of protective arrays.

The path of cultivation is long and arduous, but the busier Wu Fan is, the more fulfilled he feels.

Having made up his mind, he continued to tidy up the cave.

By the time the entire cave was tidied up, the sky outside had gradually darkened.

He first washed up, and after feeling refreshed, he returned to the cultivation room and took out the red iron essence from his storage bag.

Immediately afterwards, he sat cross-legged, concentrated his mind and calmed his breath, and slowly circulated the runes within his body.

A wisp of white light flashed in Huang Tingzhong, and white runes appeared on his forehead. The red iron essence then slowly floated up, and a suction force instantly enveloped it.

In a short while, the fire elemental essence contained in the red iron essence was completely absorbed by the Five Elements Beads in his mind and transformed into a wisp of spiritual energy within his body.