When it comes to cultivating immortality, it naturally starts with upgrading the herb garden.

Qian Renzhong remained silent, amazed by the other party's bizarre thought process.

Who would choose a name like "Old Qian"?

"Qian Renzhong? I'll still call you Old Qian."

Song Chen murmured something, and upon hearing this, Old Qian's cheek twitched slightly, then a smile suddenly appeared on his face:

"You deserve some credit for my survival."

Song Chen didn't answer, he just looked at the other person.

What is said at this time may affect Qian Lao's subsequent actions, so it is not appropriate to speak rashly.

"If you hadn't reminded me at the last moment to counteract it, instead of continuing to promote it, I probably would have already died."

"After decades of researching the integration of tools and techniques, I never imagined I would almost die because of it."

Old Qian smiled bitterly, but his expression showed not only sadness but also a hint of smug relief at surviving a disaster.

He opened his palm, revealing a white magic bead, and said, "I'm giving you this Enlightenment Bead as a token of good karma."

Song Chen bowed and thanked him, then took the magic bead without saying a word and put it in his pocket.

There's no need to be polite about something so scarce; just take it quickly so the other party doesn't change their mind.

Old Qian's lips twitched again as he read this: "You really don't hold back."

Song Chen took out several thousand spirit stones and piled them beside Elder Qian: "I won't take them for nothing. Use these spirit stones to help you cultivate your wealth path."

The magical artifact for enlightenment is worth tens of thousands of yuan, and this amount of spirit stones is simply not enough to buy it; it's just a small token of my appreciation.

Old Qian paused for a moment, then laughed heartily: "Alright!"

......

"Golden Yuyuan"

The name of Qian Lao's residence also matches his character.

Song Chen carried him and flew smoothly. After searching for a while, they found the place and escorted Old Qian to the door, thus completing the good deed.

"Have you been to Dongfu District before?"

Qian Lao sensed from behind that Song Chen was walking very naturally in the Dongfu area, as if he had been there many times before.

This is quite rare among Qi Refining cultivators, as most of them are reluctant to live in cave dwellings because they find them too expensive.

"I live in 'Moonfall Inn,' which isn't far from here, just over there."

Song Chen explained simply.

Old Qian, standing behind them, looked at Song Chen with newfound respect.

This kid is not bad; he's willing to make sacrifices for cultivation and has the ability to pay rent for his cave dwelling.

Arrive at the entrance of Qian Lao's cave.

Old Qian climbed down from behind Song Chen, staggered towards the house, and before entering, turned his head and said:

"If you have any questions about Taoist techniques or Foundation Establishment, feel free to ask me. I will answer them when I have time."

Upon hearing this, Song Chen's lips curled up slightly.

He probed his consciousness into the Enlightenment Pearl in his storage bag, and into the figure of Elder Qian.

This unexpected gain was truly substantial.

Build a foundation of connections and acquire the tools for enlightenment.

The former yields immense benefits, while the latter is worth tens of thousands.

Song Chen really hit the jackpot this time.

When Song Chen discovered that Qian Lao was still breathing in the ruins, his emotions were complicated.

Saving someone incurs karma, let alone saving someone whose strength far surpasses one's own at the Foundation Establishment stage. Afterwards, the relationship between the two will only become closer.

There are good and bad.

The network of connections that allows Song Chen to build a foundation can dramatically broaden his horizons and improve his thinking in all aspects, leading to rapid growth in his cultivation.

However, in the cultivation world, the order of precedence is determined by the Dao.

The Foundation Establishment True Person is powerful, naturally surpassing Song Chen. Their relationship is certainly not equal. The best possible relationship would be that of teacher and student, or superior and subordinate. Neither of these would make Elder Qian offer his full assistance, and he would have to act like a grandson to the other.

Song Chen disliked being subservient to others with little reward, and he also didn't want to let go of Qian Lao's excellent Foundation Establishment connection, so he resorted to this inferior strategy.

Since he's going to be treated like a grandson anyway, why not just let Mr. Qian treat him like his own grandson?

A joking tone to build rapport, a helpful attitude, and a casual manner...

These are all things that a grandchild would say, and judging from Mr. Qian's reaction, they are very applicable to the other party.

As long as Song Chen maintains a proper distance and continues to build closer relationships, he can profit from it.

......

Song Chen left the "Golden Jade Courtyard" and headed home.

"Go back and use the Enlightenment Beads to thoroughly study the auxiliary method. Later, circle any parts you don't understand and ask Master Qian for clarification."

As he pondered, a fragrant figure brushed past him.

Heroes are drawn to beautiful women, and Song Chen was no exception.

He turned to look at the person who had just passed by; she was a female cultivator with a voluptuous figure and exceptionally beautiful appearance.

Song Chen didn't use her divine sense. There was no guarantee that the person in the cave was a female cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage. It wouldn't be good to offend her.

This woman is not like those otherworldly fairies who are devoted to Taoism, with outstanding temperament. Instead, she is quite down-to-earth and even a bit down-to-earth.

Song Chen didn't care about any of that; he was just taking a look.

He admired the female cultivator for a moment, then, seeing her disappear into the cave, he withdrew his gaze and remarked with a sigh:

"She looks terrifying!"

and many more.

Song Chen hurriedly looked back at the gate of the cave where the female cultivator had just entered.

"Nantingyuan"

A thought flashed through Song Chen's mind: Wasn't this the same doorplate he had encountered when he moved into "Jingyue House"?

He had specifically asked Li Shengxiang and Du Fei about the previous owner.

Unfortunately, both of them said that "Jingyue House" was vacant when they moved in, and no one had ever lived there.

Jingyue House remained vacant for a long time until Song Chen moved in, and the time gap was quite large.

Song Chen's investigation yielded no results, and the neighbors nearby were also unaware of the situation, so the matter was shelved.

Unexpectedly, by sheer coincidence, I found a place to stay here today, which is quite surprising.

However, Song Chen did not excitedly enter, but returned to the Moonfall Courtyard.

Regardless of whether "Nanting Courtyard" changed owners midway, Song Chen is currently unaware of the previous owner's intentions in leaving the inscription. It would be too reckless to rashly explore the alluring female cultivator who appears to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Furthermore, what if someone has some family troubles and treats Song Chen like a thug, killing him outright?

Song Chen lacks nothing now and can just focus on his cultivation. With Elder Qian as his support, there's really no need for him to take any more risks.

......

"Moonfall Courtyard"

Song Chen sat down in the house, cleared away all the surrounding items, leaving only a field beneath him, with the Foundation Establishment Auxiliary Technique in front of him.

His hands were relaxed and placed on his lap, one on top of the other. There was a white bead in his palm, and spiritual energy from his dantian was flowing into it, which was emitting a strange light.

Bathed in the radiant light, my thoughts surged, and as I turned the pages of the book, one question after another was answered.

In just a short moment, there was still more time left than Song Chen had spent several weeks cultivating on his own.

Like a vicious wolf, Song Chen relentlessly devoured the contents of the Foundation Building Technique. The vague Foundation Building Technique gradually became clearer, and his understanding of it also increased.

He continued until he was dizzy and his mind was completely blank, and he could no longer cultivate. Only then did he give up.

"Unfortunately, the Enlightenment Bead does not directly improve comprehension. Every time you cultivate for a period of time, you need to accumulate thoughts again, otherwise your mind will be empty and you cannot store anything."

"But this is still pretty good."

Song Chen put away the Enlightenment Pearl and began absorbing spiritual energy to solidify his foundation.

The essence of the Enlightenment Bead is to increase the number of thoughts a cultivator has, increase the speed of their thinking, and thus indirectly improve their comprehension, rather than directly improving comprehension as initially envisioned.

Human thought has its limits, but the things that humans can think of are limitless.

Therefore, Song Chen could not use the Enlightenment Pearl to cultivate continuously; he needed to stop and rest after cultivating for a period of time.

Even during the pause, he didn't rest, cherishing every second to improve his own strength.

The spiritual energy flowed into the base, gradually making it thicker and more solid.

The lower abdomen did not feel uncomfortable; on the contrary, it was enveloped by a sense of weight, giving people a sense of peace.

Song Chen enjoyed the feeling of slowly becoming stronger, and sometimes he became so engrossed in it that he couldn't extricate himself.

However, he knew that he could not increase the base for a long time, otherwise it would backfire and burst his dantian.

As the night passed, the sky brightened, but the sun had not yet risen in the east.

Song Chen finally felt that his dantian was approaching its limit, so he reluctantly gave up and stopped cultivating the foundation.

He then turned to cultivating the Body Condensation Technique to improve his physical strength, which could also indirectly increase the strength of his dantian, allowing him to withstand a more powerful foundation and prepare for Foundation Establishment.

With a thought, the spiritual energy flowing into the dantian changed direction and was sent into the body. The muscles throughout the body subtly expanded, then stabilized and developed in the direction of striving for excellence.

This way, the muscles won't become too large, and the physical foundation can be enhanced, achieving two goals at once.

Once his physical body had reached its current limit, Song Chen changed direction again, taking out the Soul Bell to begin cultivating the Soul Path.

When discussing the path of the soul, one cannot help but mention the "Soul Imprint" spell.

They use soul seeds to absorb the essence of others' souls and strengthen themselves.

The soul seed was refined some time ago, but it has not been planted yet.

In fact, Song Chen had already planted a soul imprint on one of them in the first few days after arriving in Fengye City.

Logically, this method should be applied to several cultivators for the best effect, but selecting targets is too difficult, and in the end, the method was applied to only one person.

Song Chen gazed towards the bustling city, muttering to himself, "These past few days, with the help of the Soul Seed, my soul's foundation has been slowly increasing; it's time to reap the rewards."