Chapter 214: Chapter 214: Late-stage Foundation Establishment

Late at night.

Li Ping sat cross-legged inside his room.

Having finally settled down, he was now reflecting on his recent experiences, weighing his gains and losses, and considering his future plans.

He had been cultivating peacefully in his secret cave abode when disaster struck out of the blue. He was inexplicably teleported to an unfamiliar secret realm, got into an equally inexplicable fight, and ended up saving Xiao Yunzhi.

Finally, just before the secret realm collapsed, he was lucky enough to find a way out, emerging in the Land of the Far North, far from the Western Wilderness’s Cultivation Realm.

Of course, he hadn’t suffered any losses in the process.

On the contrary, he had killed two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Spirit Control Sect and obtained their Storage Bags, making a small fortune.

In addition, he had also obtained a rather special Ancient Treasure from Xiao Yunzhi: the ’Three Yin God-Slaying Sword’.

Although his status as a human meant he couldn’t use this Ancient Treasure even after reaching Core Formation.

But an Ancient Treasure was an Ancient Treasure, after all, and its true value surpassed that of an ordinary Magical Treasure.

As he thought of this, a question surfaced in Li Ping’s mind. ’Strange. If humans can’t use it, why was the Spirit Control Sect fighting for the ’Three Yin God-Slaying Sword’? Could it be that Old Demon Lu has a way to use this Ancient Treasure? After I reach Core Formation, perhaps I can go and... have a chat with Old Demon Lu...’

After reviewing his past experiences, Li Ping turned his thoughts to his future plans.

Essentially, he was an easy-going person. As long as his cultivation wasn’t hindered, he could live anywhere.

The conditions in the Land of the Far North were a bit poor, but he could adapt.

Renting the cave abode for ten years in one go showed that he was prepared to stay in Flying Snow City for the long term.

However, aside from cultivating, Li Ping hadn’t forgotten that he had other things to do.

First were his puppets. Their effectiveness had been fully demonstrated in his recent major battles.

Li Ping’s Divine Sense could control three puppets simultaneously, but he currently only had two, which was not his limit.

Therefore, he needed to craft at least one more Tier Two Upper Grade puppet. Only then could he fully leverage the tactical advantage of swarming his enemies with puppets.

Considering that puppets could be destroyed in battle, he also needed backups. This meant crafting at least two or three more.

However, the Land of the Far North was much more barren than the Western Wilderness. Finding enough materials to craft puppets would likely not be something he could accomplish in a short time.

Li Ping didn’t have the time to do this himself. He planned to entrust this task to Ji Shu Xuan.

Besides the puppets, another matter weighing on his mind was the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Communication Skill, a Consciousness Cultivation Method from the Celestial Skill Sect.

When Yu Menghan had given him the first-level fragment of the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Communication Skill, she had made it very clear.

The Celestial Skill Sect was a sect from the Land of the Far North, but it had been annihilated after provoking a powerful enemy.

Now that Li Ping was in the Land of the Far North, he naturally wanted to try and complete this Consciousness Cultivation Method.

After all, cultivating the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Communication Skill to the 5th Floor would allow him to control a full 108 puppets at once, and his Divine Sense would become roughly twice as strong.

What Puppet Master wouldn’t want a Cultivation Technique like that?

But since the Celestial Skill Sect had been destroyed, the technique was lost. It wouldn’t be easy for him to obtain the complete version.

’Unfortunately, I left my Ying Sea Order back in the Western Wilderness. Otherwise, I could have used the Ying Sea Commerce Association’s headquarters in the Far North to investigate the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Communication Skill.’ Li Ping thought of the mysterious Ying Sea Commerce Association and couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.

Before he entered the secret cave abode to cultivate, he had worried that carrying the Ying Sea Order might allow him to be tracked, exposing the cave’s location. So, he had buried it in a valley outside Fenglan Immortal City.

But who would have expected him to suddenly appear in the Land of the Far North? Now, separated by a world, the Ying Sea Order was naturally out of reach.

’No need to rush the matter of the Cultivation Technique. I’ll take it slow!’

’The most pressing issue is still my own cultivation.’

Li Ping formed a Magical Power shield that enveloped a ten-foot radius around him to prevent Spiritual Qi from escaping. He then took out the Jade of the Spiritual Eye, placed it before him, closed his eyes, and sank into arduous cultivation.

...

The next day, Xiao Yunzhi was busy setting up an Array.

Meanwhile, Li Ping went to Ji Shu Xuan’s shop. He left him a sum of Spirit Stones and asked him to collect the materials needed for crafting puppets, while also instructing him to keep an eye out for any information regarding the Celestial Skill Sect.

Ji Shu Xuan naturally agreed readily to Li Ping’s instructions.

Afterward, Li Ping left Ji Shu Xuan’s shop and wandered around the city for a good part of the day. The Exotic Realm-like atmosphere of Flying Snow City was a real eye-opener for him.

During his walk, he paid special attention to the Flying Snow Sect’s main gate, located in the city center.

That was also where the city’s Tier Three Spirit Vein was located.

For either him or Xiao Yunzhi to break through to Core Formation, they had to solve the problem of securing a Tier Three Spiritual Land. It was an unavoidable hurdle.

But the Tier Three Spiritual Land belonged to the Flying Snow Sect, and their Core Formation Master was cultivating right there.

Li Ping had no idea yet how to gain the right to use the Tier Three Spiritual Land.

A trade was definitely out of the question. He did possess Treasures that could move a Core Formation Master.

For instance, there was Yan Liming’s black sword Magical Treasure and the recently acquired Three Yin God-Slaying Sword.

However, he would certainly never take these two items out to trade with the Flying Snow Sect’s Core Formation Master.

He wouldn’t even entertain the thought of a trade.

’After all, what right did a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator have to trade with a Core Formation Master?’

Fortunately, the day he would need a Spiritual Land for Core Formation was still far off. He could slowly figure something out.

As for Xiao Yunzhi, Li Ping had his own hands full. He had no time to worry about her.

...

When he returned to the cave abode, Xiao Yunzhi had already set up another Array within the original one.

Seeing Li Ping return, she gave him a sweet smile. "Brother Li, I’ve set up the Array. Its defenses are average, but it’s miraculously effective at blocking a cultivator’s Divine Sense. With this Array, we’ll even know if a Core Formation Cultivator tries to spy on us."

"Oh? Then I must thank you for your trouble, Yunzhi." Hearing that it could warn them of a Core Formation Cultivator’s Divine Sense probe, Li Ping was surprised, and a smile appeared on his face.

’A mere Tier Two Array couldn’t possibly block the Divine Sense of a Core Formation Cultivator, but being able to provide a warning is already quite good.’

"Brother Li, since you and I are in this unfamiliar place, we should naturally work together and help each other out. It’s no trouble at all," Xiao Yunzhi said with a smile.

Then, she changed the subject and asked about his trip out. "By the way, Brother Li, did you find anything at the marketplace today?"

Li Ping nodded. "I made some gains."

After saying that, he fell silent, just staring at Xiao Yunzhi until she became embarrassed.

After a moment, seeing no reaction from her, he reminded her, "Yunzhi, you still haven’t given me the Token for the Array."

Xiao Yunzhi finally realized what he meant. She quickly took a Token out of her Storage Bag and used her Magical Power to fly it over to Li Ping.

Li Ping accepted the Token without ceremony, gave a nod, and then walked back into his room to continue his arduous cultivation.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye as he remained engrossed in his arduous cultivation.

During these three years, Ji Shu Xuan would occasionally visit, bringing respectful gifts and greetings.

However, since both Li Ping and Xiao Yunzhi were in secluded, arduous cultivation, he found them absent most of the time.

When he occasionally grew tired of cultivating, Li Ping would come out of seclusion to rest for a few days, dabbling in drawing Talismans, practicing Alchemy, and making puppets...

Aside from the Tier Two Upper Grade ones, he put all the finished Talismans he drew up for sale in Ji Shu Xuan’s shop.

To his surprise, due to the scarcity of Spirit Veins in the Land of the Far North, the resources produced by Spiritual Lands were limited. Most local cultivators made a living by hunting Demon Beasts. This was especially true for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, who, aside from cultivating, spent most of their time teaming up to hunt Demon Beasts in the Ice Sea to acquire cultivation resources.

As a result, Spirit Talismans were even more in demand here than in the Western Wilderness, and they sold for a higher price.

The Spirit Stones he earned were of little use to him. He was considering his upcoming breakthrough to the late-stage of Foundation Establishment, which would require him to absorb the Innate essence from Tier Two Upper Grade Pills.

So, he would Transform his Appearance and spend large sums of Spirit Stones to collect the Spirit Medicines needed to refine Tier Two Upper Grade Pills from various shops in the city.

The Pills he refined in his spare time were also sold back at a high price.

Because the profits from Talisman-crafting and Alchemy were so astonishing, even though he spent a fortune on materials for making puppets, the number of Spirit Stones in his Storage Bag didn’t decrease. Instead, it grew day by day.

This made Li Ping marvel at the outrageous money-making ability of high-tier artisans.

Of course, other artisans had a chance of failure in both Talisman-crafting and Alchemy. A single failure meant all the materials were wasted.

This was especially true for high-tier Pills. A single cauldron of Spirit Medicines could be worth several hundred Spirit Stones, and with a success rate below 30%, one could barely break even.

Any lower, and they would lose money.

Therefore, their efficiency at earning Spirit Stones couldn’t compare to Li Ping’s at all. If Li Ping truly dedicated all his time to Alchemy, the amount of Spirit Stones he could earn would be a terrifying figure.

But for Li Ping, earning Spirit Stones was not the priority. The most important thing was his own cultivation.

He still spent most of his time cultivating.

「Another three years passed in the blink of an eye.」

Over the six years, Li Ping successfully gathered enough materials to craft another Attack Puppet, which he named Jiasan.

He had discovered in previous battles that Jia Yi’s attack power was sufficient, but its endurance was lacking. It needed a new Spirit Stone after just two attacks.

This shortcoming was undoubtedly a huge disadvantage in combat.

Li Ping was reluctant to use high-tier Spirit Stones, so his only option was to craft several more Attack Puppets. Then he could deploy them together and use a "firing squad" battle strategy.

This way, two Attack Puppets could take turns attacking, creating a continuous wave of strikes.

Of course, even with a sufficient supply of Spirit Stones, three puppets were not enough to satisfy Li Ping. He instructed Ji Shu Xuan to continue collecting Spiritual Materials for him.

「Another six years passed in the blink of an eye.」

During this time, because his cave abode’s lease had expired, Li Ping made a special trip to renew it, once again paying ten years’ rent in one lump sum.

「On this day, inside the training room.」

Li Ping was calmly circulating the pure Spiritual Qi emanating from the Jade of the Spiritual Eye.

Suddenly, the Spiritual Qi within the Magical Power Shield fell into disarray. Immediately after, the aura around Li Ping’s body began to surge upwards.

After a long while, everything returned to normal. Li Ping opened his eyes, a smile on his face.

’Exactly one hundred years old. I’ve finally reached late-stage Foundation Establishment.’

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.