Cultivating Immortality Through a Hundred Lifetimes: I Possess the Heavenly Book of Merit

Fake pills.

Yu Yan silently repeated the two words.

The foundation building stage is followed by the formation of the golden elixir. Only by condensing the golden elixir can one be called a True Person.

But the Golden Elixir is not so easy to achieve.

Some people lack talent, some lack opportunity, and some are nearing the end of their lives, so they can never take that step no matter how hard they try.

Thus, the path of using fake elixirs came about.

Refine the demon core of a third-tier demon beast, and use the power of the demon core to forcefully break through and enter the pseudo-core realm.

This path is much easier than condensing the Golden Elixir, but the cost is also much higher.

After refining the demon core, one's lifespan will not increase. One will live the same number of years as before. Furthermore, one's cultivation will be permanently stagnant, and one can never take another step forward.

More importantly, the strength of a pseudo-core cultivator depends entirely on the quality of that demon core.

A low-grade, third-tier demon core is capable of clashing with cultivators in the early stages of Core Formation. A mid-grade, third-tier demon core corresponds to the mid-stage of Core Formation.

As for a third-tier high-grade demon core, once refined, it grants the user the strength of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator.

Yu Yan guessed that the demon core that Yunmeng Zhenren had refined was at least a mid-grade third rank or higher, since he could be stationed in such a celestial city.

It might even be a top-grade third-tier item.

"Speaking of which, Master Yunmeng is a legendary figure in the nearby cultivation area."

At this moment, Zhou Yan took on the role of guide and began to speak eloquently.

"When this true master reached the peak of Foundation Establishment as a rogue cultivator, his lifespan was only one hundred and fifty years."

"With his mastery of the Hunyuan Palm technique, he could even withstand several moves from a Core Formation expert."

"A person of such divine talent should, in theory, be able to put up a fight against someone at the Core Formation stage."

At this point, his voice lowered, and a hint of regret crept into it.

"Unfortunately, I don't know what Yunmeng Zhenren went through, but he suddenly lost his previous sharpness. Moreover, I don't know where he got a demon core, so he directly chose another path and completely ruined his cultivation."

"This master has been stationed here for over a century now; no matter what, he probably won't be able to hold on for much longer..."

Zhou Yan suddenly stopped talking. They had reached the edge of the island, and there were obviously more people gathered around. They lightly touched the ground with their toes and landed gracefully. The small boat behind them turned around and returned on its own.

Yu Yan raised his head and looked at the immortal city that was getting closer and closer.

The city walls were made of jade, gleaming softly in the sunlight. The city gates were wide open, with cultivators coming and going. Above the gates were three large characters:

Yunmeng City.

"Welcome to the Cloud Dream Immortal City."

Zhou Yan said with a smile.

"You'd better stick close to me from now on. The buildings in the Immortal City are a maze, and flying isn't allowed inside, so it'll be very difficult to find your way around."

"The first time I came to this place, I almost got lost for three days and couldn't find my way out."

The dock was bustling with people.

Their behavior was just too down-to-earth.

There were cultivators carrying loads of herbs and loudly hawking their wares to attract customers.

There were wandering cultivators carrying bundles, walking hurriedly, it was unclear whether they had just arrived or were about to leave.

There were also groups of three or five cultivators gathered together, talking in hushed tones, occasionally letting out a burst of laughter.

Zhou Yan skillfully led Yu Yan through the crowd toward the city gate.

The city gate was wide open, standing about three zhang tall. The two doors were made of a single piece of black ironwood, covered with densely engraved runes, from which a faint spiritual light flowed.

The doorway was very deep, more than ten zhang deep. Walking through it, one could feel waves of oppressive power emanating from above.

We passed through the archway and entered the city gate.

Directly opposite the city gate is a wide bluestone street, large enough to accommodate five or six carriages side by side.

Shops lined both sides of the street, their signs one after another.

There were vendors selling magical artifacts, elixirs, talismans, spirit beasts, and all sorts of strange and unusual things—it was dazzling to behold.

Yu Yan scanned his surroundings, secretly noting down the shops and intersections along the road.

The city was much bigger than he had imagined, and if he really got lost, it would probably take him a lot of effort to find his way out.

Zhou Yan led him forward for a while, then turned at a fork in the road and came to a relatively secluded place.

There were far fewer people here, with only a handful of cultivators coming and going.

Not far ahead stood a small, two-story, unremarkable building with blue bricks and gray tiles. A long queue stretched out in front of the building, with many people waiting.

A wooden plaque hangs on the wall of the building, with three characters written on it:

Registration office.

"arrive."

As Zhou Yan spoke, he walked to the end of the line and joined the queue.

Yu Yan followed and stood behind him.

"Is this where I register my identity?"

"Yes." Zhou Yan nodded.

"Although Yunmeng Immortal City is open to independent cultivators, not just anyone can enter. Cultivators arriving for the first time must register here and receive an identity jade token. Only with the jade token can one move freely within the city, rent a cave dwelling, and buy and sell goods."

He paused, then added:

"Those without jade tokens can only move around the dock area and cannot enter the city."

Yu Yan nodded, indicating that he understood.

The procession moved forward at a moderate pace.

After waiting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, it was finally their turn.

An old man sat in the registration office. He had white hair and beard, a thin face, and wore a gray Taoist robe. He looked quite ordinary.

However, Yu Yan noticed that the old man's breathing was faint and his body was emitting subtle spiritual energy fluctuations, indicating that his cultivation level was at least at the Foundation Establishment stage.

The old man raised his eyelids, glanced at them, and said in a hoarse voice:

"Name."

Zhou Yan quickly stepped forward, his attitude respectful.

"This is Zhou Yan, and this is Yu Yan."

The old man nodded and picked up two jade tablets from the table.

The jade pendant is rectangular, about the size of a palm, pure white, and faintly glows with a spiritual light.

The old man placed the jade tablet on the table, extended two fingers, and lightly touched it.

Two beams of spiritual light entered the jade tablet from his fingertips, and two words immediately appeared on the tablet:

Yunmeng.

Then the old man took out two smaller jade tablets, infused them with spiritual light as before, and handed them to the two people.

"Identity jade pendant, bound to the owner by a drop of blood. Must be worn when entering and leaving the city. Replacement costs ten low-grade spirit stones if lost."

The old man's voice was flat, businesslike, and devoid of any emotion.

"You can go to the lower three levels; you can rent cave dwellings, buy and sell things there. The upper three levels..."

He paused, raised his eyelids slightly, and glanced at the two of them.

"To enter the upper three levels, you must have a purple-gold token issued by Yunmeng Prefecture; otherwise, you cannot enter. If you try to force your way in, the formation will automatically attack. Anyone below the Core Formation stage will undoubtedly die."

Yu Yan took the jade pendant, and as instructed, bit his fingertip and dripped a drop of blood onto it.

The blood seeped into the jade pendant and disappeared. The jade pendant felt slightly warm, then returned to normal. (The rest of the text is missing.)

Zhou Yan also finished dripping blood and hung the jade pendant on his waist.

"Thank you, senior."

The two bowed and left the registration office.

As Zhou Yan walked out the door, he said:

"We don't need to think about the Purple Gold Token for now. It's for the three major families and the City Lord's Mansion, as well as some cultivators who have made significant contributions to the Immortal City. It's said that the spiritual energy concentration in the upper three levels is more than ten times higher than that in the lower three levels, which is more than enough for even Core Formation cultivators to cultivate in."

He shrugged.

"However, for us Qi Refining stage cultivators, the spiritual energy of the lower three levels is sufficient. Perhaps we can go up and see what it's like when we have the chance in the future."

Yu Yan nodded.

He wasn't in a hurry to go up to the third floor.

With his current cultivation level, the things he can access in the lower three levels are indeed sufficient.