Chapter 65: The Road is Over

Chapter 65: The Road is Over

Chapter 65: The Road is Over
When the auction ended, it was already late at night.

After Chen Yuan returned to the cave, he took out the Lingyun Pei and injected a trace of magic power into it.

The two words "Lingyun" on the jade pendant shone brightly, and wisps of white mist rose from the surface, condensing into the shape of a white cloud.

He had never connected the Lingyun Pei with the Ascension Order before, and had kept it in his storage bag until it saw the light of day again today.

Chen Yuan withdrew his magic power, put away the Lingyun Pei, and a smile appeared on his face.

With this Ascension Order, he can save a lot of spirit stones.

Chen Yuan had already planned to participate in the Ascension Conference, which was the most reliable way to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill.

However, his cultivation was still shallow before, so he had no time to take care of other things and put all his energy into alchemy and cultivation.

But now that he has the Xuepo Pill in his hand and the Ascension Order is ready, he only needs to break through the bottleneck in the late stage and improve his cultivation to the tenth level of Qi Refining, then he can participate in the Ascension Conference.

After all, there is no bottleneck between the seventh and tenth levels of Qi Refining.

……

The next day, Chen Yuan came to Manager He's office at Huanyue Pavilion and paid an additional thirty-five spirit stones to rent a first-class cave. He only had thirty spirit stones left.

With the help of spiritual veins, the chances of breaking through the bottleneck will be much greater.

In order to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, Chen Yuan spared no expense.

Class A caves are much simpler than Class D caves, but there are spirit-gathering formations engraved in the training rooms, and the spiritual energy is rich.

With Chen Yuan's cultivation level of the sixth level of Qi Refining, one year of hard training in a Class A cave is equivalent to two years in a Class D cave, which is more cost-effective than taking pills.

However, this requires absorbing spiritual energy day and night, which is impossible for a casual cultivator to do by earning spiritual stones.

This is also the reason why the rental of a first-class cave is only forty spirit stones a year.

After Chen Yuan moved to the Grade A cave, he did not rush to take the Xuepo Pill. Instead, he meditated first to regulate his breathing, concentrate his mind, and clear his mind.

Gradually, Chen Yuan's state of mind became calm and he felt a sense of unity between man and nature. Only then did he take the Xuepo Pill to break through the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining.

But only an hour later, Chen Yuan opened his eyes again, his face ashen.

After the Xuepo Pill was taken, it immediately turned into a huge amount of pure spiritual energy and rushed into the meridians.

He immediately followed the method recorded in "The Art of Red Flame" to guide this pure spiritual energy and break through the bottleneck.

But no matter how hard he tried, the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining was unbreakable, without even the slightest loosening, until the spiritual power transformed by the Xuepo Pill disappeared.

The elixir bought with four hundred and ten spirit stones only made the spiritual power in Chen Yuan's body more refined.

Not to mention increasing the chance by 30%, there is not even a 10% hope of breaking through the bottleneck.

Could it be that this Xuepo Pill is fake?
Or is it that the bottleneck faced by cultivators with five spiritual roots is so difficult that even the Snow Soul Pill is of no use at all?
Chen Yuan's thoughts were in turmoil, and he had no intention of continuing to practice. He stood up and walked out of the cave, and came to a shop selling jade slips and classics.

There are not many shops of this kind in the market, and they mainly sell basic skills, maps of the Fantasy Moon Mountains, and incomplete inheritances of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, but there are also some miscellaneous jade slips and ancient books.

Chen Yuan spent ten spirit stones to buy more than a dozen jade slips, then returned to the cave and read them carefully.

These jade slips are not expensive, and they record the historical legends of the Qi State's immortal cultivation world.

A day later, Chen Yuan slowly put down the last jade slip with an ugly look on his face.

These jade slips recorded many legendary events such as the great battles between good and evil, the Nascent Soul duels, and the beast riots, but only two of them mentioned the foundation-building cultivators who possessed the five spiritual roots.

Both of these people lived three or four thousand years ago. They were able to break through the foundation-building stage by accidentally taking legendary elixirs.

It is extremely rare to find a cultivator with five spiritual roots who can break through to the late stage of Qi Refining. All of them have obtained tremendous opportunities. Over thousands of years, there have been only a dozen or so such people.

In the past five hundred years, no cultivator with five spiritual roots has been able to break through the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining.

"The path of cultivating immortality is indeed against the will of heaven..."

Chen Yuan sat down dejectedly and smiled bitterly.

The stone chamber fell into dead silence.

Chen Yuan looked gloomy and confused.

Is his path going to end here?
Under the scorching sun, I followed my parents to plow the fields.

In the Chimang Mountains, he killed Wu Dong in three moves and fought against Manager Li.

Ambush Black Wind Village, kill Jiang Feng, and find Xie Quan's treasure.

He fought hard against a tiger demon, suffered being cut into pieces, and finally obtained the martial arts skills and embarked on the path to immortality.

Fighting to the death with Master Duan Fang, he was trapped in a desperate situation, and his blood soul accidentally exploded...

Memories of the past came to Chen Yuan’s mind.

He slowly calmed down, reached into his arms, and took out an exquisite brocade bag.

After opening it, there was a delicate and warm jade inside, which emitted a faint glow under the illumination of the night pearl on the top of the stone chamber.

Chen Yuan gently stroked the jade beads, and his eyes became firm again.

"Even if it goes against the will of heaven, I will fight for a chance of survival!"

……

In Cave No. Ding 279, Cao You was meditating and practicing.

Suddenly, a clear voice came from outside the courtyard:

"Brother Cao, are you in your house? I, Chen, am here to visit you." Upon hearing this, Cao You immediately stopped practicing and stood up to greet him.

Outside the gate, Chen Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, waiting quietly.

The cave is protected by an array. Divine consciousness cannot penetrate into it, and sound cannot be transmitted. This is the only way to visit it in person.

After a while, the door opened, Cao You smiled and raised his hand to signal:
"Brother Chen, please come in."

Chen Yuan bowed slightly and stepped in.

The two of them came to the main hall and sat down as host and guest.

Cao You checked the concentration of spiritual energy on Chen Yuan and asked:
"Brother Chen, haven't you taken the Snow Soul Pill yet?"

Chen Yuan shook his head:

"Chen has taken the Snow Soul Pill, but failed to break through the bottleneck."

Cao You showed a look of surprise, but he immediately concealed it and said with a smile:

"It seems that this Xuepo Pill is not worthy of its name..."

Chen Yuan sighed softly:
"Fellow Daoist Cao, there is no need to comfort me. Family members know their own business. Chen made mistakes in his past cultivation. His foundation is not solid. It is much more difficult for him to break through the bottleneck than ordinary cultivators. I came here today to ask Fellow Daoist Cao if there are any elixirs in the market that can increase the chance of breaking through the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining?"

Cao You was embarrassed when he heard this:
"As far as I know, there are two or three other elixirs that have this effect, but none of them can compare to the Snow Soul Pill. If the Snow Soul Pill is useless, the other elixirs may be even worse."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly, as if he was not surprised by the result, and asked:
"Besides the auction held by Guiyuan Sect, does Fellow Daoist Cao know of any other trade fairs?"

Cao You was startled:
"Brother Chen, are you trying to find a way to break through the bottleneck at the trade fair?"

Chen Yuan nodded:
"That's right. Although there are many rare treasures at the auction, it is impossible to include all the elixirs and secrets. I want to try my luck and see if I can find a chance."

Cao You lowered his head and thought for a moment, then hesitated and said:

"I know a cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining who is quite well-informed. I heard him mention an underground trade fair, but his words were a bit vague and not very true. If Brother Chen is interested, I will introduce you to him."

Chen Yuan's eyes lit up:
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Cao. No matter what the outcome of this matter is, I will refine a furnace of elixirs for you!"

……

During the day, the streets of Huanyue Market are bustling with people.

Guiyuan Pavilion is always crowded with people, and the shops established by several cultivator families are also constantly populated by cultivators coming in and out.

But a shop located in a remote corner of the street was deserted and almost completely deserted.

This is a two-story building with a plaque with the words "Lan Yue Xuan" written on it. The door is open, but no one visits.

An old woman sat lazily in a recliner, with her eyes closed, looking peaceful.

She has rich spiritual energy and has reached the tenth level of Qi Refining, almost touching the threshold of foundation building.

A monk wearing a loose black robe and a black scarf covering his face walked in, breaking the silence in the store.

The old woman said in a hoarse voice without opening her eyes:
"We have nothing to sell in this store, please go back, fellow Taoist."

The black-robed monk said nothing, stroked his storage bag, took out a bronze plate and handed it over.

The old woman opened her eyes, slowly straightened up, took the bronze plate and looked at it carefully.

There is a golden toad carved on one side of the bronze plate and the word "Ling" engraved on the other side.

"Fellow Taoist, please follow me."

The old woman stood up from the recliner, handed back the bronze medal, and walked into the inner room.

The black-robed monk put away the bronze plate and followed her into the inner room.

The room was empty. The old woman took out a formation plate, made some hand gestures, and injected a trace of magic power into it.

The blue brick floor opened silently to both sides, revealing a stone staircase.

The old woman turned around and raised her hand to signal:
"Fellow Taoist, please come in."

The black-robed monk walked down the stone steps, and behind him, the blue brick floor slowly closed.

The old woman put away the formation plate, sat back on the recliner, closed her eyes slightly, and waited for the next guest to arrive.

……

Chen Yuan walked on the stone steps, holding a golden armor talisman in his hand hidden under his black robe. The magic power in his body was ready to activate the talisman at any time.

Three months ago, he learned about the existence of this underground trade fair from the seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator introduced by Cao You.

This underground trade fair is held once a month. Any cultivator who wants to participate must spend one hundred spirit stones to purchase a Golden Toad Token, so it is also known as the "Golden Toad Meeting."

The items traded at the Golden Toad Society are all extraordinary things, and there are even many things that cannot appear in public.

When Chen Yuan heard the news, he immediately returned home to make elixirs and accumulate spirit stones.

During these three months, he refined seventeen furnaces of Bailing Pills, excluding the ones used for starlight infusion, and sold sixty-five pills in exchange for two hundred and forty spirit stones.

Three days ago, he bought a Golden Toad Order, concealed his true appearance, and came to participate in today's Golden Toad Meeting.

Perhaps the items at the Golden Toad Fair would not be more valuable than those at the Fantasy Moon Auction.

However, in such underground trade fairs, there would often be some strange spiritual objects and mysterious techniques that might help him break through the bottleneck.

(End of this chapter)