Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Plan to Improve the Blood Wing Escape Skill

Lost in diligent cultivation.

Before he knew it, another year was about to pass.

Bai Lin came to Li Ping early to ask for leave, preparing to return to Gaoji Mountain.

Li Ping checked her cultivation and found that she had already broken through to the Qi Refining Sixth Level.

He couldn’t help but nod. ’It’s a little slow, but at least she broke through.’ To be honest, though, given her resources, this cultivation speed was rather slow.

"Go on, then." Li Ping nodded, approving her leave.

Watching Bai Lin leave cheerfully, Li Ping shook his head slightly. ’This is the downside of cultivators from family clans. They always put their family first.’

They would even sacrifice themselves to protect their family and continue its lineage.

’Actually, this also has something to do with Bai Lin not having children of her own,’ Li Ping mused. ’If she had a child, she would probably shift her focus and put the child first.’

Women are very emotional. When they have children, a mother’s every emotion and all her love are poured into them.

Shaking his head, Li Ping turned his gaze to the fiery-red Spirit Bird dozing on the pavilion.

The Desolate Fire Sparrow seemed to be on the verge of advancing. It was absorbing a massive amount of Spiritual Qi every day and was constantly drowsy.

Once the Desolate Fire Sparrow advanced, with its powerful bloodline, matching a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would be no problem.

At that point, Li Ping would have another powerful general under his command.

Moreover, he had other plans for the Desolate Fire Sparrow.

The senior who created the ’Thunderfire Escape Technique’ had based it on a celestial spirit bird, the Azure-Eyed Thunder Roc.

Although speed wasn’t the Desolate Fire Sparrow’s specialty, its bloodline was powerful, not at all inferior to the Azure-Eyed Thunder Roc. In terms of speed, it was only a hair slower than the Roc.

Besides, that senior had only obtained the skeleton of a dead Thunder Roc, whereas Li Ping’s Desolate Fire Sparrow was a living Spirit Bird.

He might be able to improve upon the Blood Wing Escape Skill and create a new Escape Technique tailored specifically for himself and the Desolate Fire Sparrow.

When the time came, if he encountered danger, he could merge his Magical Power with the Desolate Fire Sparrow’s and make a swift escape!

Ultimately, while the Blood Wing Escape Skill was useful, burning his Origin was too extreme, and it lacked endurance.

In the future, he would need an incredibly powerful Escape Technique with extreme endurance, one that could let him flee ten thousand li in a single breath.

With brilliant precedents like the ’Thunderfire Escape Technique’ and the Blood Wing Escape Skill to use as reference, it wasn’t entirely hopeless for him to create a new Escape Technique suited for him and the Desolate Fire Sparrow.

...

「On this day.」

The remaining four members of the Friends Association arrived early at Immortal Peach Mountain.

Li Ping’s Divine Sense swept over the four. There was little to say about Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng. Cultivation in the Foundation Establishment Stage was not something accomplished overnight.

Even if they were fully dedicated to cultivation, let alone with their minds elsewhere, a year or two of training would yield no noticeable changes.

Perhaps only after several decades would the difference between dedicated and undedicated cultivation become apparent.

As for Cheng Yao, Li Ping could see that she had reached the peak of the Qi Refining Ninth Level. However, her aura wasn’t quite smooth yet. She would probably need a few more months of polishing before it could be considered true Perfection.

Bai Qing had been close to a breakthrough last year. This year, he finally achieved his goal, successfully breaking through to the eighth level of Qi Refining and moving one step closer to the Peak of Qi Refining.

As was tradition, they first collected contributions for the Foundation Establishment Fund.

Li Ping contributed three hundred Spirit Stones, Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng one hundred each, and Cheng Yao and Bai Qing thirty each.

The total was five hundred sixty, bringing the Foundation Establishment Fund’s grand total to one thousand one hundred twenty.

Barring any surprises, in three years when it was Cheng Yao’s turn to use it, the total would reach two thousand eight hundred.

After paying into the Foundation Establishment Fund, the other four members each recounted their experiences over the past year.

Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng exchanged a smile, their relationship clearly excellent.

The two were sworn brothers and martial brothers. They had also both married women from the Meng family, making them brothers-in-law of a sort.

Most importantly, they both worked within the Immortal City’s system. One managed logistics, while the other managed the Ten Thousand Laws Tower. Their positions were closely related and intertwined, and by joining forces, they had formed a tight-knit interest group.

As a result, their bond had naturally grown stronger at a rapid pace.

Furthermore, they had already arranged a childhood engagement for their children.

In the future, the Zhang and Gu families would remain on good terms for generations.

After some polite deferrals, Zhang Tie was the first to speak. He described his life as plain yet busy; besides cultivation, he was involved in everything from the Immortal City’s general affairs and learning Artifact Refining to having children.

Listening to him, one got a strong sense of a happy and fulfilling life.

Li Ping shook his head inwardly as he listened, but ultimately said nothing.

After Zhang Tie finished, it was Gumu Sheng’s turn.

In the past year, he had not only successfully achieved Foundation Establishment but had also found a master, married a wife, and become the manager of the Ten Thousand Laws Tower. His tone was inevitably filled with a bit of smug satisfaction.

From the looks of it, he had "lain flat" even faster than Zhang Tie.

After all, he had Four Spirit Roots, a talent even worse than Zhang Tie’s.

If Zhang Tie cultivated diligently, he still had a chance to break through to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment in this lifetime. But even if Gumu Sheng did nothing but focus solely on cultivation, he would likely struggle to even reach the Mid-stage.

So why struggle? It was better to simply enjoy the long two hundred years he had left and avoid leaving his life with regrets.

Li Ping understood their way of thinking, but perhaps influenced by Dai Sangyu’s Core Formation, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

When Gumu Sheng finished speaking, Li Ping suddenly asked the two of them, "By the way, has that senior who reached Core Formation last year come out of seclusion?"

A Core Formation Cultivator could influence the wider environment, so Li Ping couldn’t afford to be careless about her movements.

Hearing this, Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng glanced at each other. In the end, Zhang Tie answered honestly, "Brother, Senior Sister Dai hasn’t come out yet. I heard from my Master that she isn’t in a hurry to emerge and will remain in seclusion for at least a few more months to stabilize her realm!"

Li Ping nodded and asked no more questions.

Next, it was Cheng Yao’s turn to recount her year. However, she had spent the entire year in arduous cultivation at the Wang family’s ancestral lands and had rarely left seclusion, so she had no special experiences to share.

Finally, it was Bai Qing’s turn. He was much like Cheng Yao; aside from cultivating in seclusion and going out to treat patients, he had little else to report.

When everyone had finished, Li Ping smiled at Gumu Sheng. "You have already reached Foundation Establishment. This time, why don’t you be the one to give a lecture and resolve doubts for Cheng Yao and Bai Qing."

Giving a lecture was customary, so of course, Gumu Sheng wouldn’t refuse.

However, just as he was about to speak, he remembered something else and quickly said, "Oh, right, Brother. Regarding Sixth Brother’s misfortune, the Spirit Stones he contributed over the years were supposed to be returned to his village. But I was a poor judge of character and gave all the Spirit Stones to that Demon Cultivator who used Possession. I must take responsibility for this matter. Therefore, I’ve decided to use my own Spirit Stones to support Sixth Brother’s village for ten years. I hope you’ll permit this, Brother."

Li Ping shook his head. "This is a good deed. Of course, I won’t stop you. Go ahead and do as you see fit."

"Understood, Brother."

Having received his brother’s permission, Gumu Sheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to speak about his insights from achieving Foundation Establishment.

Li Ping sat to the side, lost in thought.

He knew that Gumu Sheng had specifically asked him because he had likely learned what happened in Teng Feng’s village through some channel and had subsequently guessed the role Li Ping played in it.

That was why he was worried that going directly to help Teng Feng’s village might make Li Ping wary of him.

...

Early the next morning, the four took their leave.

Li Ping returned to his training room for more arduous cultivation.

After nearly five years of collecting Spirit Medicine and practicing Alchemy, he had absorbed enough Innate Spiritual Mechanism from Tier Two Lower Grade Pills. There were no longer any bottlenecks to breaking through to Mid-stage Foundation Establishment; he just needed to spend some time on it.

And since he had no use for them himself, he didn’t plan to continue refining Tier Two Middle Grade Pills.

He wasn’t even going to continue refining Tier Two Lower Grade Pills.

As for Spirit Stones, having enough was sufficient.

When his own cultivation had yet to break through, there was no need to earn an excessive amount of Spirit Stones.

In the Cultivation Realm, one’s own cultivation was fundamental.

Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Talisman making... no matter which of the hundred arts of cultivation one studied, the goal was always to serve the advancement of one’s cultivation!

He couldn’t mistake the means for the end.

Of course, since he was using the Meng family’s Spiritual Land, he would still fulfill his obligation to draw a certain number of Tier Two Lower Grade Spirit Talismans each year to trade with them.

As for anything more, they could forget about it.

...

The magnificent Jixia Immortal City, built against a mountain.

A black Escape Light shot out from it, flying rapidly in the direction of the nations of the Western Realm.

Within the Escape Light was a handsome young man of about thirty, none other than Wang Xingwei, who had been sent by Cheng Yao to Jixia Immortal City to purchase a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object.

As he flew, Wang Xingwei recalled the events of his trip.

Last year, as soon as he arrived in Jixia, he had followed Cheng Yao’s instructions to find Qi Hanmo, who was cultivating at the Academy Palace, and inquire about the situation in the city.

Afterward, under Qi Hanmo’s guidance, he had successfully spent over two thousand Spirit Stones to purchase a Profound Ice Fruit, a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object with effects quite similar to Jade Heart Liquid.

Not long ago, just as he was preparing to leave Jixia.

Qi Hanmo had sought him out, bringing with him a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Female Cultivator. The female cultivator introduced herself as Xiao Yunzhi and wanted to ask him for a favor.

Having stayed in Jixia Immortal City for several months, Wang Xingwei was naturally well-acquainted with the renowned name of the ’Crimson Flame Fairy’.

However, he didn’t immediately agree to her request. He waited until Xiao Yunzhi explained the specifics of the favor, and only after confirming that it wouldn’t cause any trouble did he agree to help.

At the same time, Qi Hanmo had also asked him to take back several letters for Li Ping, Zhang Tie, and the others.

Right now, those letters were in his Storage Bag.

Thinking about the favor Xiao Yunzhi had asked of him, Wang Xingwei couldn’t help but feel puzzled. ’She asked me to inquire about a cultivator named Yan Buping along my way. Strange, what is the relationship between this Yan Buping and Fairy Xiao?’

The great war between the Daoist Guardian Alliance and the four sects of the Demon Dao had lasted for several years. After both sides suffered heavy losses, the fighting had gradually subsided, and public order in the Qi Kingdom had greatly improved.

Therefore, Wang Xingwei left the Qi Kingdom smoothly without encountering any danger.

Along the way, he didn’t stop to ask about Yan Buping. Instead, he rushed back to Fenglan Immortal City without pause to deliver the Profound Ice Fruit into Cheng Yao’s hands first.

To him, Cheng Yao’s Foundation Establishment was clearly far more important than the request from Fairy Xiao.

"Sister Cheng Yao, these are the letters Hanmo asked me to bring you." Wang Xingwei placed all the letters in front of her before telling her about Xiao Yunzhi’s request.

He smiled and explained, "So, I’ll have to go out again to inquire about that Physician, Yan Buping."

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