Immortality: Starting with the Fruit of Taiyin

The inside and outside of the sect are like two different worlds.

While the younger generation of the Han family might not feel it deeply, Han Changde personally experienced the days when even the so-called Qi-refining family had to take turns refining the spiritual energy in the first-order spiritual veins.

Although the Han family has turned their fortunes around, there will always come a day when all the windfall will run out.

To invest as much as a sect in training future alchemists is simply a pipe dream.

As for ordinary independent cultivators, the situation is even more so.

"If his surname were Han, even if it were just to gamble on the odds, I would definitely spare no expense to give him the same environment as those within the sect. Unfortunately, he is not."

"And since that's not the case, there's nothing more to say."

He spoke softly, but a hint of regret still flashed in Han Changming's eyes.

However, there's no way around it; talents in various arts are not even as easily inherited as spiritual roots, and it's very difficult to pass them down through bloodlines.

"Heh, it's a common saying that only one in a hundred people with mid-grade spiritual roots can establish their foundation, and only two out of ten people with high-grade spiritual roots can do so."

"How many independent cultivators know that in my Chen Kingdom alone, among those with the same high-grade spiritual root, the probability of sect disciples reaching Foundation Establishment is more than 70% or 80%, families reach Foundation Establishment by 30% or 40%, while independent cultivators only reach 1 in 20."

"The so-called probability is only obtained by averaging the three factors."

"As for mid-grade spiritual roots... only those within the Core Formation realm have a slim chance."

Slowly rising to his feet, Han Changming drank the wine in his glass, his expression enigmatic.

"Changde, do you think this is cruel?"

"Of course it's cruel, but that's reality. Even my Han family went through this."

"You were too young to remember things from the past, but I do."

"Back then, my grandfather possessed a superior spiritual root, but he hesitated to join a sect."

"It's because once you enter the sect, even if you successfully establish your foundation one day, you can no longer help the family, otherwise you will be severely punished by the sect rules."

"It's just a pity that the highest-ranking cultivator in my Han family at that time was only at the eighth level of Qi Refining. We had no resources at all, let alone the chance to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills."

"As a result, my grandfather failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm three times. In the end, during the third attempt, his blood and qi surged violently, and his meridians flowed backward, causing him to die."

The voice was calm, but standing to the side, Han Changde seemed to hear the patriarch's resentment.

With the wealth Han Changming has acquired, if he had stayed in Immortal City instead of the Han family, there would have been a high probability that he could have cultivated to the peak of Foundation Establishment, or even risked everything and tried to break through to the Pseudo-Core stage with a one in a hundred chance.

But he eventually returned and devoted all his energy to his family.

Whether this was influenced by his grandfather back then, nobody knows.

"So Changde, from now on, do as I say."

"Since that young man still has his own ideas, let's agree to his request."

"Sign a contract with him as a guest alchemist. I don't need him to refine pills for the Han family. I just want him to wholeheartedly impart his alchemy experience."

"Leave the rest to time."

With a calm voice, Han Changming made his final decision.

"I don't need to use my power to intimidate him; I just need to let him personally experience the hardships of being a rogue cultivator."

"Let him see clearly that his alchemy talent is being wasted, while the disciples of my Han family, even if their talent is not as good as his, can still make steady progress step by step... Before long, he will understand what reality is."

"Our ancestors went through arduous struggles for hundreds of years before my good fortune finally arrived."

"If someone with a mid-grade spiritual root could be so easily surpassed, that would be a huge joke."

"It's just a bit of talent in alchemy, not a natural spiritual body or a heavenly-grade spiritual root."

"Once he realizes the reality, you can then lure him with benefits... However, by then, we'll probably have to change the terms we offer him."

Han Changming sat down again in the private room.

Looking at his cousin, he spoke earnestly.

"Changde, I have already established my foundation, so the Han family no longer needs to cling to past habits."

"In two hundred years, what is impossible?"

"In the face of time, many ambitions will turn to dust."

"You'll get used to this gradually."

"..."

"Brother is right, I was short-sighted."

He remained silent for a moment, then looked at his cousin in front of him.

Han Changde bowed respectfully, feeling utterly convinced.

That's right, not to mention others.

When he was young, didn't he also have lofty ambitions, consider himself different from others, and think that he was the special one?

But by now, he has long since come to terms with reality.

Among the myriad beings in the world, he was merely one of them.

"Alright, since you have no other opinions, then it's settled."

Nodding in satisfaction, Han Changming didn't forget to offer encouragement:

"I'm leaving the affairs of Baihe Market to you. Although Dan Pavilion is only in name now, it represents the future of the Han family."

"You have no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, but your children still have hope... For the sake of the family's future, you should strive to help them."

"I will remember what you say, elder brother."

Han Changde bowed again and said in a deep voice.

"Alright, in that case, I won't stay any longer."

"With a sect disciple possessing such a legacy here, hopefully those good-for-nothing brats will waste fewer spiritual herbs."

"Running a business is tough, and these are all spirit stones..."

With a shake of his head and a smile, Han Changming finished his drink and pushed open the door to the private room.

The puppet master's legacy is extensive, but we can't keep building like this.

After dealing with the mess with the Huang family in two years, the Han family should also take a break.

Hopefully, everything will get back on track before resources run out.

……

The next day.

In a temporary inn in Baihefang, Wang Xuan awoke from a night of meditation.

With a slight sense of awareness, the energy within his dantian became abundant.

It has been almost two years since I broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

According to Wang Xuan's original schedule, he should have been able to break through to the sixth level in less than two years.

However, because I have been living in the market recently, the spiritual energy of the rented houses and inns cannot compare with that of the lower courtyard.

According to Wang Xuan's rough estimate, it will probably take him several months longer than originally planned.

There was no other way; just like Baiyun Mountain, the spiritual energy in all the cultivation markets was also locked up by the great formation and would not easily leak out.

However, being located in the lower courtyard, the place where the sect disciples cultivate is also the node for the supply of spiritual energy from the spiritual veins.

As for what kind of spiritual energy you enjoy in the market, it all depends on how much you can afford.

The places Wang Xuan temporarily rented mostly only provided the most basic spiritual energy, which was almost the same as a first-grade low-level spiritual vein.

For someone at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, this level of spiritual energy not only cannot help with cultivation, but will even slow down the pace by 20-30%.

This is also why Wang Xuan hopes to find a cultivation force to temporarily attach himself to. While the benefits of high-level spiritual veins to cultivation progress may have diminishing marginal returns, as a cultivator's refining ability has an upper limit, the drag on cultivation from low-level spiritual veins is not subject to this.

If Wang Xuan were to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, his first-grade low-level spiritual veins would only be able to maintain half of his cultivation speed... This is another factor that makes it difficult for rogue cultivators to cultivate.