Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

Back inside, Li Xiuyuan deftly poured the spirit rice into the rice jar.

The animal meat was blanched in a large pot to remove its fishy smell, and the spiritual fruits and vegetables were properly preserved.

An hour later, Li Xiuyuan picked up a bowl of fragrant spirit rice and a piece of savory beef steak, and smiled with satisfaction.

"How wonderful it would be to eat meat every day!"

Li Xiuyuan believed that his aptitude for cultivating immortality was not bad, otherwise he would not have been able to draw in Qi into his body and refine Qi to the first level within a year.

The real problem is the lack of resources for spiritual practice.

He's poor! Not bad at it!

This is also the reality for countless unaffiliated cultivators at the bottom of society. They are struggling to make a living, so they have no time or resources to cultivate.

Now we have hope for the future and motivation for life.

Li Xiuyuan wolfed down all the spiritual meat and rice on the table.

The monster meat was oily and tender when you ate it.

After swallowing it, you can feel the faint power of qi and blood nourishing your body and replenishing your qi and blood.

"It's a waste that not all of this vital energy was refined. If only there were a method to transport vital energy and temper the body."

As far as he knew, erysipelas damaged his meridians and impaired his qi and blood, thus shortening his lifespan.

If one can find a way to replenish the body's Qi and blood, continuously generating new blood to replace the old, it might be possible to make up for lost lifespan.

"We can go to the market in a few days to inquire about it."

Then he thought of the rumors circulating in the market about those Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan members, whose direct descendants were born with low-grade spiritual roots and could easily cultivate to the late stage of Qi Refining by relying on the residual influence of their ancestors.

Li Xiuyuan couldn't help but sigh.

"The difference between people begins at birth! Some are born into privilege, while others are born into poverty."

If he eats large mouthfuls of spiritual meat and large bowls of spiritual rice every day, he will be able to break through to the third level of Qi Refining in less than a year.

"When I have more spirit stones, I'll buy storage bags and move to a better house!"

The thought of having spiritual meat at every meal, a storage bag full of spirit stones, and living in a large house brimming with spiritual energy made him hum softly.

……

After finishing his meal, Li Xiuyuan used his divine sense to observe his neighbors and, finding nothing amiss, activated the array within the courtyard.

He began processing the materials he had purchased for the fasting pill: demon beast meat, white spirit rice, and spirit water diluted to a ratio of 1:500...

It took him three hours just to process one hundred portions of spiritual materials.

He wasn't in a hurry; he carefully cleaned each and every piece of medicine.

They treated her with the same care and attention as if she were their own child.

Another half hour passed.

"We can begin refining the pills!"

Li Xiuyuan rolled up his sleeves and wiped the beads of sweat the size of soybeans from his forehead.

His face showed no signs of fatigue from several hours of hard work; his eyes were full of excitement.

"Hopefully, I can get a few more runes this time."

He swiftly followed the standard alchemy procedure written in the notes: ignition.

A fireball flew into the furnace, and the next moment the green wood ignited with green flames.

This wood was specially bought by him for alchemy, and is also known as elixir wood.

One spirit crystal is worth ten taels, which is ten times the price of ordinary wood.

This wood produces a faint, pure wood-like aroma when burned, which helps stabilize the fire.

"With this, the risk of an oven explosion can be reduced by 30%!"

After all, his [Mid-Grade Fire Control Technique] was completely exhausted, so he had no choice but to spend spirit stones to buy Danmu wood.

Fireball +1

[Spell: Fireball - Minor Mastery 151/300]

Li Xiuyuan methodically heated the alchemy furnace and then added the demon beast meat, white spirit rice, diluted spirit water, and so on.

As the various medicinal herbs inside the alchemy furnace melted, intertwined, and entwined, a faint fragrance wafted into Li Xiuyuan's nose and mouth through the openwork of the furnace.

A refreshing aroma of medicinal herbs instantly lifted Li Xiuyuan's spirits.

"The aroma of the elixir fills the air; this batch of pills is complete!"

Li Xiuyuan focused intently, circulating his spiritual energy and manipulating the flames within the furnace to slowly nourish it, ensuring harmony between yin and yang and stabilizing the medicinal properties.

Fire Control +1

[Grain-Breaking Pill +1]

"The old man who sold the cinnabar wood was right; the burning green wood did indeed stabilize the flame."

Li Xiuyuan gazed at the familiar numbers dancing on the crystal-clear panel deep within his sea of ​​consciousness, and his heart settled.

He knew the batch of pills was ready just by smelling the fragrance.

……

The days of alchemy were always tedious and boring. Four hours later...

Li Xiuyuan looked at the several small ceramic jars laid out in front of him, his face beaming with the joy of a bountiful harvest.

"One hundred portions of medicinal herbs yield forty pills, a success rate of forty percent. That's not much different from the direct disciples of the Pill Cauldron Sect!"

What excited Li Xiuyuan the most was not this, but at this moment his attention was entirely focused on the panel in his sea of ​​consciousness.

[Immortal Lord: Li Xiuyuan]

Lifespan: 30/31

[Spiritual Root: Mid-grade Fire Spiritual Root (Twelve Strands of Fire Spiritual Aura)]

[Realm: Qi Refining Level 2: 80/100]

[Cultivation Technique: Lesser Yuan Refining Fire Technique, Advanced Level: 81/100]

[Spells: Fireball (Minor Mastery) 152/300, Fire Control (Minor Mastery) 107/300]

[Cultivation Skills: Bigu Pill (Minor Success) 200/300, Weapon Refining (Beginner) 30/50]

He was overjoyed when he saw the three new runes: [Grain-Clearing Pill [White Rune]: Mixed Mana x3 (Refinable)].

"After refining pills a hundred times, I obtained three 'mixed mana', accumulating a total of eight. Once I've gathered some more spirit stones, I'll try to break through to the third level of Qi Refining."

Last night, while refining pills, Li Xiuyuan continuously circulated his spiritual energy and controlled the pill fire.

He felt the spiritual energy within his body being continuously refined and purified under the control of the pill fire.

"Forging Yuan and Refining Fire, is it simply about constantly refining and controlling fire, allowing one's spiritual power to be continuously tempered by the flames, achieving purification and condensation, thereby improving one's cultivation level?"

The essential principles of the "Minor Forging Yuan Fire Refining Technique" appeared in Li Xiuyuan's mind, and he immediately felt the spiritual energy in his body gradually filling his Qi Sea.

In his view, his dantian was like a pool of water.

The spiritual energy he had refined and stored in his dantian was like a pool of water.

Now we have reached the critical juncture of rising water levels. We are just one step away from crossing the barrier and reaching the third level of Qi Refining.

He plans to refine more pills to accumulate more spirit stones before attempting a breakthrough.

After all, he is no longer troubled by corvée labor and taxes, and he is making progress in alchemy every day.

There's absolutely no need to learn from the characters in those stories, thinking that destiny is on your side and you're blessed with a golden finger, and then rashly break through without any preparation.

He's not some novel protagonist who gets divine help when he fails to break through, with all sorts of opportunities and rare treasures delivered to his door.

Given his personality, he only needs to cultivate step by step, and he will naturally break through to the next level.

"Hmph, I won't go out and have fun just because I have a cheat system. Steady progress is the way to seek the Dao!"

Li Xiuyuan suppressed his burning desire to break through his limits and carefully put away the fasting pill.

I plan to sell them in a few days, and I can't sell them all at once.

After all, a 40% success rate for a novice alchemist is already astonishing.

As far as he knew, even with the guidance of their teachers and relatives, the direct disciples of the Dan Ding Sect could only achieve a success rate of 20-30% in refining the Bigu Pill using the best alchemy furnaces, alchemy wood, and medicinal herbs.

Even a master alchemist of the highest rank cannot guarantee that they will be at their peak every time they refine pills.

Alchemy is extremely taxing on a cultivator's essence, energy, and spirit.

As is well known, the success rate of alchemy gradually declines with the number of attempts.

However, Li Xiuyuan felt unaffected. "Every time I finish refining pills, I feel full of energy, as if I have taken a great tonic. I don't feel dizzy, lightheaded, sore, or weak at all as described in the book."

"This must be the power of a certificate that lasts forever! It allows me to always maintain peak condition for alchemy and ensures consistent quality of the pills."

……

Morning light filters through the green leaves and shines on the door.

Birds perched on branches in pairs, chirping and chattering, creating a lively scene.

In the latter half of last night, Li Xiuyuan, full of energy, did not feel tired from refining pills.

He turned around and chose to refine the eight strands of 'mixed magic power' stored in his body.

At this moment, he felt that the spiritual energy in his body was much more abundant than yesterday, and the pure feeling of the spiritual energy entering his body was still clearly visible.

[Realm: Qi Refining Level 2: 88/100]

[Cultivation Technique: Lesser Yuan Refining Fire Technique, Advanced Level: 85/100]

The proficiency in the technique increased by four points, and even the cultivation level improved significantly.

This "mixed magical power" can enhance the spiritual energy within his body, but it cannot directly help him comprehend cultivation techniques.

Therefore, their cultivation level improved more.

After all, the improvement of one's cultivation technique depends entirely on one's own understanding of the principles of heaven and earth.

The examination assesses a cultivator's "comprehension," thus creating a distinction between "geniuses" and "mediocrities" among them.

Li Xiuyuan had never heard of or seen a spiritual object that could directly enhance one's understanding of cultivation techniques or assist cultivators in comprehending the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.