Immortality: Starting with the Fruit of Taiyin

"More than two thousand low-grade spirit stones."

"More than thirty mid-to-low-grade ritual implements."

"..."

"Twenty-one kinds of century-old medicinal herbs."

"A single Five-Hundred-Year-Old Mystic Ice Flower."

"..."

"One mid-grade magic artifact-level talisman brush, and some talisman paper and ink."

"A quantity of various first-tier spiritual materials, a quantity of first-tier pills, and a damaged high-grade spiritual artifact, the 'Spirit-Binding Net'."

"One incomplete first-order alchemy inheritance, one mid-grade magic weapon-level alchemy cauldron, and two low-grade alchemy cauldrons."

"..."

Inside the cave dwelling he was temporarily renting, a dozen or so storage bags were lined up in front of Wang Xuan.

A large number of spirit stones and magical artifacts, including those from Manager Han's collection, were poured out one by one.

In an instant, the concentration of spiritual energy within the temporary cave dwelling increased significantly.

Time passed slowly until the last two tokens of different shapes fell to the ground. Only then did Wang Xuan happily sort and arrange the items.

The spoils from the Han family's escape team were a pleasant surprise for him.

Although the quantity of spirit stones and spirit herbs was less, this was within Wang Xuan's expectations.

The Han family's migration was not limited to this one group, and the Foundation Establishment cultivator who served as the clan leader is still alive and well.

Even if they did possess some mid-grade spirit stones, thousand-year-old spiritual herbs, second-tier puppets, or other precious treasures, it would be impossible for a group of Qi Refining cultivators to carry them around.

In addition, the Han family had only recently risen to prominence and had almost no income, so it was normal that they didn't have much disposable income.

Compared to these spirit stones and miscellaneous items, what Wang Xuan truly cared about were the good things that money couldn't buy.

"Three damaged Tier 1 high-grade puppets, and two Tier 1 demon beast souls."

"The latter is essential for crafting puppets; otherwise, the resulting spirit puppets would place too much burden on the cultivator's spiritual consciousness, and even a professional puppeteer could not control more than a few."

"A superior cultivation method has no true meaning to pass on; it only includes the part on refining qi and building a foundation."

"The incomplete scroll of the Divine Sense Secret Technique does not contain a corresponding method for refining the spirit; it only records the puppet control secret technique 'Entangling Silk Hand'."

"It also includes the first and second parts of the puppet-refining inheritance 'Thousand Machines and Hundred Refinements'... It seems that this inheritance is part of the same set of cultivation techniques and divine sense secrets, and it was originally more than just the second level."

"That is to say, what the Han family obtained was incomplete, and it did not involve the part of the third-order 'true meaning'."

"Otherwise, even a Nascent Soul True Monarch cannot ignore the complete third-order Hundred Arts inheritance. If Han Changming really had such a good thing, why would he need to rely on a Core Formation power? He would probably have offered it to the Heavenly Mountain Sect in exchange for other useful resources."

With a sigh in his heart, Wang Xuan carefully put away the jade slip that had been passed down to him.

There are multiple copies of this puppet-refining inheritance in the storage bags of the Han family members, but each one contains a spiritual restriction that will self-destruct once the holder dies.

Wang Xuan guessed that this was done intentionally by the Han family.

If a member of the clan encounters a powerful enemy during their migration and is defeated, they will pass on their inheritance to the enemy.

Even an enemy would weigh the pros and cons and consider whether to continue at the risk of destroying the legacy if they were to gain a free inheritance.

In this way, although the Han family's legacy was leaked and would cause a series of related consequences, they were ultimately able to save their lives.

Wang Xuan was able to obtain it safely because his upcoming breakthrough in the Taiwei Essence Chapter allowed him to possess some of the characteristics of Foundation Establishment stage spiritual consciousness ahead of time.

As for the Azure Bird... Don't underestimate the Azure Bird just because it's a second-tier demon beast. It's common knowledge that the souls of lower-tier demons are weaker than those of humans, and the difference in their subtleties is even greater.

Faced with the restrictions on the jade slip, even a 30% chance of success would be an overstatement; the greater possibility is that overexertion will shatter the inheritance along with the jade slip.

"Resources, legacy, bait—everything we need to prepare is ready."

"Even if the only Foundation Establishment cultivator dies in the end and fails to reunite with his clan, the remaining resources are enough to cultivate several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators."

"The Han family must have put a lot of effort into preparing these things."

"Moreover, in Han Changde's storage bag, there is another crucial piece of information!"

Clang—

The sound of metal clashing echoed in the cave. Wang Xuan placed the last two tokens he had found in front of him.

One of them was dark in color, neither gold nor jade, and Wang Xuan did not know its origin.

But next to it, another white talisman with blue patterns and cloud-shaped characters was the biggest surprise of Wang Xuan's trip.

"Mysterious Talisman Foundation Building Order!"

"More than half a year ago, the Han family obtained three Foundation Establishment Tokens from the Lu family. One of them was carried by Han Changde, and not in the hands of the Han family's only Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

Wang Xuan was also somewhat surprised when he first discovered this.

However, he also knew that the Han family was incapable of forging this talisman.

It's important to understand that while the so-called "Cloud Script" may not be as mythical as the ancient legends of "Dragon Seals" or "Phoenix Registers," nor as refined as the "Golden Script" or "Jade Patterns" recorded in ancient texts specifically for writing "Golden Palace Jade Books," it still possesses the effect of "one character conveying multiple meanings, using spirit to express meaning, and using meaning to represent form" as an ancient form of Taoist script.

Many traditions based on the Yun seal script, if not the original text, can have completely different meanings even if they use the same characters.

To write cloud seal script that perfectly captures both form and spirit, one needs a spiritual transformation, transforming into 'divine consciousness'.

Everyone in the cultivation world knows what divine sense is; it's a standard feature of Core Formation cultivators and a sign of a qualitative change in their soul.

So whatever the reason, the "Mysterious Talisman Foundation Establishment Token" on Han Changde's body is most likely genuine.

"Having this token is essentially equivalent to having a Foundation Establishment Pill."

"The Lu family of Xuanfu has guaranteed its reputation for a thousand years; they wouldn't go back on their word for a single pill."

"But I'm not a member of the Han family, so I don't know if this thing will be registered or not."

"If the other party refuses to honor the deal, citing the destruction of the Han family as grounds that the item might be stolen goods..."

Wang Xuan shook his head slightly and put the talisman away for the time being.

Foundation Establishment Pills are no ordinary thing; even in the entire Southern Cliff cultivation world, they are genuine strategic resources. They are not something he can easily fool by simply disguising himself with a fake identity and changing his appearance.

Local forces in various regions keep statistics on every outflow of Foundation Establishment resources and the birth of every new Foundation Establishment cultivator, though the standards are not as strict as those for Core Formation resources.

Of course, in any case, this "Mysterious Talisman Foundation Building Token" is a genuine treasure.

For the vast majority of independent cultivators practicing Qi Refining, this is an opportunity to defy fate and change one's destiny.

……

One month later.

An unnamed hill in Binzhou.

The imperial artifact dug a large pit, and Wang Xuan left a letter and a storage bag inside. Then the pit was filled back in.

Previously, when he was still in Baihefang, in order to avoid being out of touch with the outside world, Wang Xuan had instructed his apprentice Han Li to relay news to him during his seclusion.

Later, when the Han family suffered a disaster and the entire clan migrated, the other party did not reveal the family's whereabouts, but did not forget to send a message in time, advising him to leave quickly to avoid being targeted by the Huang family.

Although the latter was not necessary for Wang Xuan, and the former was just a small favor, he did not mind using some resources in return, but there was no need to meet in person.

He merely left messages using communication talismans within the market, and the resources he provided did not come from the Han family.

Regardless of whether Han Li receives the message or how he reacts, Wang Xuan has a clear conscience and it cannot affect him.

After finishing the last of the trivial matters, I erased all traces of my existence.

Standing atop an unnamed mountain, Wang Xuan took out a jade slip containing a map of the Chen Kingdom from his storage bag.

For the past month, I've been weighing the pros and cons.

As for his future cultivation location, he ultimately chose a remote immortal city in the western border of the Chen Kingdom.

Black Narcissus City is located on the border between the states of Chen and Xu.

It was first established 1,700 years ago by a renowned rogue cultivator who had reached the Core Formation stage, with the support of several forces, as a node for border trade.

Later, the immortal passed away, and the power of the immortal city fell into the hands of others, but it was not completely controlled by any one force.

Therefore, in the cultivation world of Chen Kingdom, this place is one of the most popular immortal cities among rogue cultivators. Every so often, stories of rogue cultivators defying fate and achieving Foundation Establishment are told.

"In the cultivation world, every 'immortal city,' no matter how small, has a near-third-tier spiritual vein and a pseudo-core cultivator in charge, so the order is relatively stable."

"Moreover, there are many Foundation Builders preparing in such places, so it won't attract the attention of others."

"As for Wanze Immortal City..."

Wang Xuan shook his head slightly. For him, a place near the Wanze Mountains, where Core Formation Real Persons frequently emerged, was not suitable.

On the contrary, small immortal cities like Blackwater, with various forces behind them, are generally more stable because there are many independent cultivators and their pills have no trouble finding a market.