Chapter 75: Dan Jin Ceremony
Chapter 75: Dan Jin Ceremony
Wei Zhong looked at his foundation-building skills and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
As the shopkeeper in charge of the entire Luohe Mansion, he is just a foundation-building cultivator.
Recalling that a remote city like Mangyuan Prefecture has a Jindan storekeeper in charge, how could the more important Luohe Prefecture be managed by a foundation-building person?
Seeing the surprise on Wei Zhong's face, Xu Xuan was not annoyed, but stroked his beard and smiled:
"Fellow Daoist, are you surprised that a Foundation Establishment cultivator like me would be the shopkeeper?"
Wei Zhong nodded and bowed slightly:
"I am indeed a little confused, but I have absolutely no intention of offending you."
"I understand, I understand. Anyone who sees a mere foundation-building person serving as the treasurer of this mansion will look at him with a little more respect."
Seeing that the other party had no intention of blaming him, Wei Zhong felt relieved.
“As a guest of our Yunji Chamber of Commerce, you should understand that the right to speak in this chamber of commerce is not determined by strength, but by skills.
If you have two or three advanced skills, even if you are a Taoist friend, you may not be unable to compete for the position of shopkeeper."
Wei Zhong suddenly realized: "I've learned something from you!"
"Haha, if you need anything, you can tell Yun girl. I'll leave now."
The two sides bowed to each other, and Wei Zhong looked at Xu Xuan's departing back with a strange look in his eyes.
After saying goodbye to Yun Luo, Wei Zhong left.
Most of the supplies for this trip have been purchased. Wei Zhong left Yunji Tower, changed his appearance, and left on his flying sword.
Most of the ingredients of red spirit wine have been deduced, but there is still a long way to go before it can be successfully replicated.
Wei Zhong was already thinking about whether or not to return to the secret realm to subdue the third-level spirit monkey.
At this moment, with his cultivation in the middle stage of foundation building and the triple-time Taoism, he might still have a chance, but after careful consideration, he decided to give up.
I looked at my current life span:
【Shouyuan: 211/275】
A few days ago, the group in the secret realm used the magic of time to resist the attack of the monkey, which cost them twelve years of their lifespan.
In order to be safe, he later hunted down Mou Yuanfeng and spent another 24 years to advance to the early stage of Jindan.
The two times took a total of thirty-six years, and now the remaining life span is only sixty-four years, which is not enough for him to perform the triple time Taoism twice.
Now, it is not worth it to catch that monkey just for a kind of magic wine.
Moreover, after he was promoted to the middle stage of Jindan, he was just a child swinging a sledgehammer. He was not familiar with the fighting methods of Jindan and might not be able to defeat the golden-browed red monkey.
It is better to wait until you enter the late stage of foundation building before considering this matter. It will be safer then if you can rely on the law of time to climb to the late stage of Jindan.
After taming the third-level spirit monkey, his own safety can be guaranteed. At least it can protect him until he advances to the Jindan stage without any worries.
After thinking for a moment, Wei Zhong returned to Yunxia Island on his flying sword.
After entering the cave, Wei Zhong immediately began to practice cultivation, without worrying about his lifespan and starting to level up right away.
Instead, he tried to enter the late stage of foundation building in the next twenty years. Such a small realm improvement would also bring him several decades of life. Then he could plot against the third-level spirit monkey.
With the blessing of the heavy water spirit body, Wei Zhong clearly felt that he was more sensitive to spiritual energy, and his cultivation became much smoother and several times faster.
Occasionally when he was bored, he would make elixirs, brew wine, or spend time with Xie Linghua.
This kind of days lasted for more than a year.
Wei Zhong went out again to participate in the auction held by the Yunji Chamber of Commerce and won the thousand-year-old Nine Heart Fruit, spending 12,000 low-grade spirit stones.
The cost was not that much. On the one hand, there were not many third-level alchemists who could use this elixir to refine the Dust-Reducing Pill.
On the other hand, two Dust Reducing Pills appeared at the auction, attracting a lot of attention to Wei Zhong.
One of them was bought by Zhu Shen, a second-level alchemist in the late stage of foundation building, at a high price of 53,000 high-quality spirit stones, which made Wei Zhong sigh that Luohe Prefecture had abundant resources and many rich people.
Zhu Shen has made a lot of money through alchemy in recent years, and he is planning to take this step towards the stage of forming an elixir.
As for the other Dust-Reducing Pill, it was taken by Ling Ziwei's brother Ling Hua, who also spent more than 50,000 low-grade spirit stones.
It seems that he has also started preparing for the Dan formation. No wonder Ling Ziwei hasn't come to see Wei Zhong recently. Maybe she is too busy with her brother's Dan formation.
After Wei Zhong won the Nine-Heart Fruit he desired, he returned to Yunxia Island to practice in seclusion again.
This cultivation lasted for thirteen years before Wei Zhong came out because of an external message.
"Ling Hua invited all the cultivators to watch the Dan-forming ceremony?"
Wei Zhong looked at the message in the letter sword, with a strange look on his face:
"This is something new. Normally, when cultivators form a pill, they all find someone to protect them, and then secretly find a place to pass the tribulation and form the pill. But Ling Hua went so far as to invite all the cultivators to watch the ceremony.
With such a big fanfare, aren't you worried that others might sabotage it?"
Wei Zhong couldn't figure it out, but he decided to go and see it anyway, after all, it was Ling Ziwei who invited him. He couldn't let her down for such a major event.
When he went out, Wei Zhong nodded when he saw that Xie Linghua had reached the eighth level of Qi Refining.
'The other party has not forgotten my instructions over the years and has been practicing hard.'
After rewarding the other party with a second-level magic sword to encourage him, Wei Zhong left the island and headed towards the Ling family.
There was no plan to bring Xie Linghua along to watch the ceremony this time, because Wei Zhong guessed that there might be something fishy about this ceremony, which would most likely lead to a large-scale fight among monks, and Wei Zhong was not sure he could keep her safe.
Looking at one's own cultivation:
【Name: Wei Zhong】
[Cultivation: Sixth level of foundation building (83%)]
[Kung Fu: Spring and Autumn Water Refining Technique·Master (91%); Health-preserving Kung Fu·Master (50%)]
【Shouyuan: 225/275】
Thirteen years have passed, and Wei Zhong's cultivation has begun to reach the end of the middle stage of foundation building. It will take only more than a year to reach the peak of the middle stage of foundation building, and then he can begin to prepare to break through to the late stage of foundation building.
If Ling Ziwei hadn't invited him this time, Wei Zhong wouldn't have come out halfway.
Another good news is that "Spring and Autumn Water Refining Art" is about to break through the master level and enter the grandmaster level.
When you break through at that time, your cultivation speed will be greatly improved.
The other "Health-preserving Exercises" was not very popular, and Wei Zhong only practiced it during his daily self-cultivation.
The only thing that worries Wei Zhong is that he only has 50 years left to live, which makes him a little anxious.
However, it was still enough to perform the triple-level time-based method once, and in an emergency, it could even be used to save lives. As long as Wei Zhong did not fall below the foundation-building stage, he could maintain temporary Jindan combat power many times.
There aren't many concerns about safety.
Riding on the green boat, Wei Zhong took out the "Falling Moon Red" he brewed and drank it. This was Wei Zhong's poor imitation of the red spiritual wine that enhanced spiritual awareness.
This wine is slightly stronger than "Warm Tears" and has a significant effect on improving spiritual awareness, but its effect on the spiritual awareness of cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage is quite limited.
It is far inferior to the magic wine brewed by the magic monkey.
But after all, it was brewed with spirit stones, so it would be a waste if you don't drink it.
While drinking, he looked outside the boat and suddenly saw a beam of light approaching.
"Daoist Qingze?"
"Oh, it turns out to be Fellow Daoist Wei," the escaping light approached and landed on the boat, revealing the figure of Taoist Qingze.
The other party still looked unkempt, but his aura was slightly different, revealing his cultivation level of the late stage of foundation building.
"I didn't expect to meet Fellow Daoist Qingze here. I haven't even congratulated you yet on your successful advancement to the late stage of foundation building," Wei Zhong lifted the cloth hanging outside the cabin and invited him in.
"Alas, he is only in the late stage of foundation building, not even a small foundation building cultivator. If he does not enter the Jindan stage, he will be an ant in the end. Is Fellow Daoist Wei also going to the Luo family to watch the ceremony?"
Wei Zhong poured wine for him and nodded: "Fairy Ling invited me, I dare not refuse."
“Haha, I’ve heard that Fellow Daoist Wei and Fairy Ling are good friends, and it’s true.
I think it would be a good idea for Fellow Daoist Wei and Fairy Ling to become a Taoist couple. Fellow Daoist Wei is an expert in alchemy, and Fairy Ling is an expert in formation. They will be a perfect couple made in heaven.
In the future, there is also Ling Hua, a brother-in-law who has reached the Jindan stage. His future is limitless!"
Wei Zhong shook his head slightly:
"I am devoted to cultivation, so I don't have time to think about this. Besides, as you said, if you can't form the elixir, you will end up being an ant.
I am already poorly qualified and have not even reached the late stage of foundation building, let alone forming a pill.
Fellow Daoist Ling Hua, no, maybe I should call you senior in the future, now he is about to form a pill.
Fairy Ling, who has similar talent as him, must be not far from forming a pill.
How can I, with my shallow cultivation, climb up to such a high branch?"
Although Wei Zhong said this, there was no trace of loss on his face. Instead, he looked neither humble nor arrogant.
"Fellow Daoist Wei is truly a hardworking practitioner!"
Qingze praised him and drank a glass of spirit wine, with a slightly shocked look on his face:
"Brother Wei actually treated me to this kind of spiritual wine. That's really generous of you."
What he drank was the Falling Moon Red brewed by Wei Zhong. This kind of treasure that can increase spiritual awareness is rare, and it is extremely precious even for Qingze who is in the late stage of foundation building.
"Just a little wine."
The more nonchalant Wei Zhong was, the more Qingze felt that Wei Zhong was a man of high character.
"Could this wine be brewed by Fellow Daoist Wei?"
Wei Zhong shook his head: "No, this wine was obtained by chance. I only have a few pots of hidden treasures in my hands."
A trace of regret appeared on Qingze's face.
Then he talked with Wei Zhong about the major events that had happened in the cultivation world in recent days.
Among them was the great battle between good and evil launched in Mangyuan Prefecture. The Qingmu Sect resisted the attack of the evil forces, and its subordinate forces and independent cultivators suffered terribly.
Many small and weak forces began to move away from other places to avoid such disasters. Wei Zhong also thought of one or two of his old friends and felt deeply moved.
'I don't know if Fellow Daoist Li and Fellow Daoist Chen are okay. And Ning Jiaqi has a master who is a guest of the Yunji Chamber of Commerce, so he should be fine. I just hope he won't be trapped by love...'
"Does fellow Daoist know about Zhu Shen's failure to form the elixir a few years ago?"
Wei Zhong was brought back to his senses by these words and nodded.
The breakthrough to the Core Formation stage from the Foundation Establishment stage was considered big news in Luohe Prefecture. When Wei Zhong was in seclusion, Xie Linghua also informed Wei Zhong of this event.
"Zhu Shen is a man who has done too much evil and will eventually be killed. He was allowed to bid for a Dust Reducing Pill, but he failed to seize the opportunity.
I heard that he failed to form the elixir and damaged his body. If he doesn’t recuperate for a few decades, he won’t be able to achieve the elixir formation again.”
Having said that, Qingze showed a slightly satisfied smile on his face.
Wei Zhong has been building his foundation for so many years, and he has also inquired about the relevant procedures for cultivators to form a pill.
Dan formation is different from foundation building, and requires a special stage of undergoing the baptism of heavenly tribulation. The cultivator needs to first condense a true elixir in the body, then survive the tribulation of the inner demon, and finally face the coming heavenly tribulation. This tribulation is the tribulation of heavenly thunder, and if it is successfully survived, it will be Dan formation.
"It's a pity that old guy Zhu Shen is not strong enough and couldn't complete the first step of condensing the pill. Otherwise, it would be better to let him condense the pill reluctantly and fail under the inner demons and thunder tribulation," Qingze said with some regret.
Wei Zhong rolled his eyes.
'Qingze is hoping that Zhu Shen will die sooner. The inner demon tribulation and thunder tribulation are not like the pill condensation. If the pill condensation fails, the body will be damaged at most. But if the latter two tribulations fail, it is very likely that the body will die directly.'
"Perhaps Zhu Shen has consumed too many pills after years of cultivation, and is a fake in his foundation-building process?"
Wei Zhong said without blushing or beating his heart.
'Although his cultivation was also gained through knocking, Wei Zhong mainly used spirit wine. Compared with the elixir, it was very pure and had no elixir poison.
Although there is some residual drug poison, it is much better than elixirs.
Moreover, he had cultivated the top-level technique "Spring and Autumn Water Refining Technique" to the master level, and his foundation was extremely solid. Compared with people of the same level of foundation building, he also had a solid foundation.'
"Haha, Brother Wei is right. Let's have a drink," Qingze laughed when he heard Wei Zhong's remarks.
The two drank and chatted, and soon arrived at the Ling family.
Because most of the spiritual veins of Luohe Prefecture rely on water veins, the Ling family, as a foundation-building family, is also located on the edge of the water veins.
Unlike Yunxia Island where Wei Zhong lives, which is adjacent to Yunxi River, the Ling family relies on the largest river in the prefecture, Luo River.
It is a second-grade superior spiritual land, which is stronger than the Yunxia Island where Wei Zhong is staying. It can even be called a quasi-third-grade spiritual land.
Ling Hua was about to form his Dan, and the Ling family had already set up a large formation for their safety. A white light shield was like a jade bowl, trapping the Ling family upside down inside.
"A third-level formation?" Wei Zhong narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Sure enough, these foundation-building families all have their own heritage. With such a formation led by Ling Ziwei, who is in the late foundation-building stage, even if a Jindan cultivator comes, he can be stopped."
"You, the Ling family, invited people to watch the ceremony, why did you leave us here in the wilderness?"
When Wei Zhong arrived, many monks had already arrived.
Among them, one or two monks wanted to enter the Ling family, but were blocked by the formation and began to blame the people who entertained them in the Ling family.
When Wei Zhong saw that a banquet had been set up outside the formation, he knew that this man was being unreasonable.
So he put away the flying boat and landed in front of the man.
"The Ling family has already prepared a banquet for us, why are you being so aggressive, fellow Taoist?"
Hearing Wei Zhong's voice, the man turned around and looked at Wei Zhong with a fierce look, but he saw that Wei Zhong's cultivation was in the middle stage of foundation building, which was one level higher than his.
There was also a Taoist priest Qingze who was in the late foundation building stage following him, and his head suddenly shrank.
When he came to his senses, he realized that he had shown his cowardice. He snorted and turned away.
"Thank you, Senior Wei," the younger generation of the Ling family bowed and saluted in gratitude when he saw Wei Zhong helping him out.
Wei Zhong helped him up and recognized him as Ling Yunsheng, the rising star of the Ling family.
This person is a generation behind Ling Ziwei and Ling Hua. More than ten years ago, he successfully established his foundation with the help of the foundation-building pill provided by Wei Zhong to the Ling family.
He was a humble and slightly weak person, which was why he was bullied by a casual cultivator in the early stage of foundation building.
Wei Zhong helped him up:
"My nephew Yunsheng has also successfully established his foundation, so he should be tougher in character. He should just send away such unreasonable cultivators with a few words. There is no need to argue with them.
You should know that your Ling family is not an ordinary foundation-building family. And in a while, it will become a well-known Jindan force in Luohe Prefecture."
Wei Zhong patted his shoulder and consoled him.
Ling Yunsheng's expression changed slightly, and he said, "Senior Wei, what you said makes sense."
Wei Zhong didn't know whether he had heard these words or not, when he suddenly heard Ling Ziwei's voice:
"Thank you for your help, Brother Wei. Ziwei still needs to preside over the formation at the moment, so it is not convenient for me to receive you. I will come back to accompany you later when you succeed in forming the elixir."
Wei Zhongzhi heard the voice but didn't see the person. He knew that the other party had used the power of the formation to see the scene clearly and transmitted the sound to him.
So Wei Zhong bowed to the formation, turned around and pulled Qingze to the banquet table, quietly waiting for Ling Hua to form the elixir.
During the dinner, Wei Zhong also met many old acquaintances, such as Lan Fangyi, Tan Bo and others who were acquainted with "Song Zhong", and Zhu Shen who had a rift with Qingze.
Many foundation-building cultivators came to join in the fun.
The monks at the scene had different expressions. Some were envious, some were jealous, and some, like Wei Zhong, didn't care and just came to watch the fun.
"Friend Wei, look how ugly Zhu Shen's face is," Qingze said with some pride on the side.
Wei Zhong followed his gaze and saw Zhu Shen with a very gloomy expression.
The other party failed to form a golden elixir many years ago, and now he sees a fellow with extraordinary talent about to form a golden elixir, and there is an indelible jealousy on his face.
When Wei Zhong looked at him, Zhu Shen also noticed Wei Zhong's gaze.
Wei Zhong smiled at him and raised his glass to him. It was meant to be a friendly gesture, but Qingze laughed beside him.
Zhu Shen immediately regarded Wei Zhong's action as a provocation, his face became even darker, he picked up the wine on the table and began to drink alone.
Wei Zhong felt helpless, he really wanted to have a good relationship with him to have fewer enemies, but the other party didn't understand. Wei Zhong was too lazy to try to please the other party, so he started chatting with Qingze.
Suddenly, the spiritual energy in the field changed. The free spiritual energy in the surrounding area began to gather towards the Ling family, forming a spiritual energy vortex with a diameter of half a mile in the sky.
Wei Zhong felt the concentration of spiritual energy at hand. He wondered what method the Ling family had used to make a second-grade top-quality spiritual land have the effect of a third-grade spiritual land.
"here we go!"
A vortex of spiritual energy formed a backflow trend above the Ling family, and the cultivators present understood that Ling Hua had begun to form a pill.
"Hsi, with this cyclone of spiritual energy, Fellow Daoist Ling Hua has started to condense his elixir, right?" Qingze beside him also began to sigh.
The spiritual energy cyclone lasted for a full stick of incense before slowly dissipating.
"Is this a successful pill condensation?"
The first step was successful, and the only things left were the inner demon tribulation and the heavenly thunder tribulation.
One must have a firm determination to overcome the inner demon calamity. During this period, the mind will be tempered by the calamity, and the spiritual consciousness will also be trained and strengthened in the process.
I don’t know how long this world in my mind lasted, but to the outside world it was only a few breaths.
The spiritual energy cyclone dissipated, and suddenly dark clouds covered the sky, and silver snakes danced wildly. The bright sky just now was instantly covered by dark clouds.
"I have passed the inner demon tribulation, and now I have only the last level left, the heavenly thunder tribulation."
As soon as he finished speaking, a golden figure rose into the sky and actually rushed directly out of the formation, facing the mighty power of heaven.
This person is Ling Hua.
Seeing this scene, four foundation-building cultivators suddenly rushed out from the field and headed straight for Ling Hua.
"Sure enough, someone is causing trouble."
Wei Zhong sighed in his heart, greeted Qingze beside him, and wanted to step forward to stop them.
After all, Wei Zhong still has some friendship with the Ling brothers and sisters, so it would be inappropriate for him to just stand by and watch.
Suddenly a golden bell appeared in the air, blocking the four people.
"Where did you come from, little bug, to dare to run wild here?"
A monk in a yellow robe appeared in the air. It was Sikong Changming.
Ling Hua had just reached the Jindan stage, and as expected he invited his good friend who had reached the Jindan stage to come.
"Hehe, Brother Sikong, why do you have to bully the weak here? Can't the younger generation solve the grudges of the Ling family by themselves?"
A Taoist priest in black robe appeared in front of Sikong Changming, and his cold voice revealed a hint of chill.
"Where did you come from, you cunning creature? Do you dare to show your true identity and fight with me?"
Sikong Changming roared like thunder, but the man in black robe remained calm. He took out a black magic sword and attacked him.
The two of them fought with great momentum, but they were getting farther and farther away from Ling Hua. Even the two of them did not want to be involved in this kind of Dan-forming tribulation.
These four foundation-building masters who suddenly appeared out of nowhere came from nowhere, but they were determined to drag Ling Hua into the water even if it meant death.
Wei Zhong flew to block one person, and the other three were also stopped by the Ling family's foundation building.
"Fellow Daoist, cultivation is not easy, why seek death here?"
Wei Zhong was facing a cultivator with a hideous scar on his face, who was in the late stage of foundation building.
"Master Wei Zhong, I will not kill you because of your good reputation among the independent cultivators. Please leave quickly and do not get involved in the personal feud between me and the Ling family."
"I'm afraid it will be difficult to fulfill my wish," Wei Zhong said as he took out a red magic sword. Two talismans were floating around him. To deal with this cultivator whose cultivation was one level higher than his, Wei Zhong was fully prepared.
Looking nearby, the other three people were one in the late foundation building stage and two in the middle foundation building stage.
Except for the brothers and sisters in the Ling family who are in the late stage of cultivation, the highest cultivation level of the others is no more than the middle stage.
At this moment, Ling Ziwei was in charge of the formation and could no longer escape to fight the enemy. The people of the Ling family had a hard time dealing with these people.
This is also the reason why Wei Zhong took the initiative to take on an enemy who was a cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage.
"Okay, okay, since you insist on getting involved in this mess, don't blame me for being ruthless."
This person waved his hands, and in an instant he performed an extremely complicated seal.
He pointed his two fingers at Wei Zhong and a black shuttle flew out, as fast as lightning, and arrived in front of Wei Zhong in the blink of an eye.
Wei Zhong's face changed. He pulled out a talisman from beside him, injected spiritual power into it, and a golden seal phantom smashed down towards the black shuttle.
When the two collided, cracks instantly appeared on the shadow of the golden seal.
'The other party is actually using a magic weapon.'
Wei Zhong looked at him and saw that this man was using the power of foundation building to forcefully drive the magic weapon, and he was also feeling very uncomfortable. His face turned pale and he staggered back several steps.
He forced himself to swallow the blood, then made hand gestures again and controlled the shuttle to attack Wei Zhong.
"Boom!"
Electric snakes danced wildly in the air, and a bolt of lightning struck Ling Hua straight down.
Ling Hua's face was firm, and the ochre-colored spiritual energy was injected into the armor he was wearing.
Suddenly, the armor flashed with dazzling golden light and formed a golden shield around it.
The thunder from the sky struck, and the shield was damaged within a moment. The remaining power of the thunder and lightning penetrated into his body through the protective armor, causing him to frown.
After the first strike, the second bolt of thunder fell immediately, leaving no time for it to adjust.
(End of this chapter)