Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Cultivation Through Copulation.

Episode 35: Foundation Establishment Pill

In the Medicine Hall of Grass Dragon Peak, Elder Bu was diligently refining pills today as well. The series of processes involving boiling, steaming, and simmering were conducted with Elder Bu’s reverent touch, as if performing a sacred ritual.

Yuk-gyeong carefully entered the refining room and sat in a secluded corner.

Without even glancing at Yuk-gyeong as he entered, Elder Bu, who was focused on the furnace, asked,

“You went out, didn’t you? Did something happen that required you to leave?”

“I had some urgent matters to attend to.”

I was raped, and committed murder, terrible things one after another.

There were so many things I couldn’t bring myself to say.

Elder Bu shook his head indifferently and gestured toward Yuk-gyeong.

“Enough. Come and help with the fire control.”

As expected, he was a pill fanatic.

Yuk-gyeong approached the furnace at Elder Bu’s words and took charge of the air holes.

If the fire seemed weak, he opened the holes to intensify it; if it was too strong, he closed them to reduce it.

Initially skeptical of Yuk-gyeong’s skills, Elder Bu tested him several times and, realizing his extraordinary ability, entrusted him entirely with the fire control.

‘I should thank So-hyang.To think that the Fire Control skill would be this useful. Thanks to that, the medicine attendant work is incredibly easy. Once I help a bit with the fire control, I don’t have to do the medicine attendant tasks for the rest of the day.’

As Elder Bu diligently added ingredients to the furnace and infused it with Spiritual Qi, he suddenly said,

“There is a path even in alchemy, and it’s called the alchemy path. This elder has devoted himself to the alchemy path to see its end.”

Elder Bu occasionally uttered such musings while refining pills.

Today, it seems to be a lament about his situation.

Yuk-gyeong managed the fire control while letting Elder Bu’s words go in one ear and out the other.

Listening to the madman talk about the alchemy path is bad for mental health.

Yuk-gyeong was busy stirring the fire and opening and closing the air holes, but when Elder Bu’s voice grew louder, he listened.

“…The alchemy path is absolutely not a minor path. The alchemy path is a great path. The alchemy path is the way to make humans into immortals, so who dares to belittle it?”

Yeah, yeah. So you have an inferiority complex towards those who say the alchemy path is a minor path.

Even Yuk-gyeong partly agreed that the alchemy path wasn’t a minor path.

In cultivation, medicine greatly aids in nurturing the body and uplifting the spirit, and it’s even encouraged to reach immortality through it.

But that’s just theory; who would walk the immortal path with medicine alone?

If the medicinal properties are too strong, they become poison to the body, and as they accumulate, tolerance builds, so relying on medicine to ascend the immortal path is like walking on one leg.

In such a situation, elixirs are merely an aid in cultivation, not the main path, thus cultivation is considered the great path and alchemy is belittled as the minor path.

Elder Bu must be quite dissatisfied with this.

“I see.”

At this point, you have to respond once. Otherwise, he’ll scold you for not listening.

“What do you mean ‘I see’? This rascal has been letting my words that are flesh and blood to him go in one ear and out the other again!”

Oh dear, today he scolds even when I respond.

Such a capricious old man.

Yuk-gyeong quickly added more words.

“No, Elder. I was listening attentively to your advice, Elder. However, managing the fire and listening together, my response was lacking, and I apologize for that.”

“You sure know how to speak. Enough, just focus on the fire. Hmph, like I’m going to give you such good advice again. It’s all advice that’ll become flesh and blood.”

Thank you, for not doing it again.

But it was obvious that he’d forget and start rambling about the past after a while. It’s not like this was the first time this happened.

Anyway, he’s just not very honest.

Yuk-gyeong, who reached the Qi Condensation stage, continued to train steadily. He could almost say he had mastered the Taiyi Celestial Whisper Scripture.

Training according to the Taiyi Celestial Whisper Scripture was something he could do with his eyes closed. He had memorized it down to every single word.

He had completely read through the Taiyi Celestial Whisper Scripture!

And then… Yuk-gyeong encountered a bottleneck.

A bottleneck. When you look at a bottle, its neck is narrow, preventing the liquid inside from spilling out. In the same way, when a road suddenly narrows, traffic occurs due to this very bottleneck.

This happens to training as well.

Even when training progresses smoothly, once it hits a wall, one is unable to progress any further.

Yuk-gyeong rarely encountered bottlenecks in the Qi Condensation stage.

Usually, one encounters bottlenecks at Qi Condensation 3, 5, and 8-Star, but for Yuk-gyeong, it progressed smoothly without any sense of a bottleneck.

It was just that he was completely stuck at the Qi Condensation Great Perfection stage.

Of course, others also find it difficult to transition from the Qi Condensation Great Perfection stage to the Foundation Establishment stage. They often say it feels like hitting a huge wall rather than just a bottleneck.

Having never felt a bottleneck before, Yuk-gyeong was anxious when he encountered the bottleneck at Qi Condensation 9-Star. Perhaps because it was his first time experiencing such a training bottleneck.

It felt like he could break it, but he just couldn’t. That subtle sensation made Yuk-gyeong uncomfortable.

“I heard there’s something called the Foundation Establishment pill that helps you quickly reach the Foundation Establishment stage.”

Only now, after hitting a bottleneck, did Yuk-gyeong start eyeing the pills.

Yuk-gyeong, acting on a sudden thought, ran to Elder Bu to ask about the Foundation Establishment pill. Elder Bu was in the herb garden.

“The Foundation Establishment pill, is there any way I could get just one? I’m having trouble progressing from Qi Condensation stage 9-Star to Foundation Establishment.”

“Do you think Foundation Establishment pills are ordinary items? They contain rare Spiritual Herbs that only grow in certain eastern regions. Even there, they can be harvested in very small quantities, which is why wars break out between sects over them.”

Elder Bu, with a nonchalant expression, caressed the herbs, cherishing them.

It was like a principal polishing the leaves of a precious orchid they received as a gift every day.

Elder Bu was as sincere about herbs as he was about the alchemy path.

Of course, he would be. Yuk-gyeong probed further about the Foundation Establishment pill.

“Is it really that rare?”

“Rare indeed. Moreover, the refining method is so intricate that even in a large sect like ours, only a few can be made. Stop talking nonsense and go train. Foundation Establishment pill, my foot. Talk about that after you’ve perfected the Qi Condensation stage.”

At Elder Bu’s words, Yuk-gyeong snorted inwardly.

Perfect the Qi Condensation stage and then come?

That’s why I’m here, Elder Bu.

“I’m already at the Qi Condensation Great Perfection stage.”

“What? Qi Condensation Great Perfection stage? How long has it been since you reached 8-Star…”

Elder Bu was shocked and grabbed Yuk-gyeong’s wrist to check his level. He looked more surprised than when his pill furnace exploded.

“It’s true! How did this happen? Weren’t you at Qi Condensation 8-star? Surely, you must have hit a bottleneck in your training!”

“I’m facing that bottleneck right now.”

“Does this seem like a simple matter to just talk about? To cultivate without bottlenecks all the way to Qi Condensation Great Perfection. Is the talent of a Single Spiritual Root truly this remarkable? Huh?”

Yuk-gyeong scratched the back of his head awkwardly and replied. You’re praising me too much.

“How would I know something about myself for the first time?”

“Goodness, you achieved in just over a week what took me until my forties, and you speak so casually.”

Elder Bu chuckled helplessly and shook his head. It was astonishing, yet seeing Yuk-gyeong’s calm demeanor, one wonders if it was truly surprising. Yuk-gyeong had that peculiar charm.

Of course, the atmosphere is just like that.

The amazing fact was that Yuk-gyeong had reached the Qi Condensation Great Perfection so soon after reaching Qi Condensation 8-star.

What kind of stage is Qi Condensation Great Perfection?

To exaggerate, it’s a stage where the body connects with Heaven and Earth. The body’s interaction with the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth becomes free, and that Qi that used to just brush past the body now begins to linger slightly.

It’s the completion of the Qi Condensation stage, ensuring the maximum lifespan of a hundred and fifty years for those at this level.

Reaching Qi Condensation Great Perfection is almost like having one foot in the Foundation Establishment stage, a level that usually takes decades of training for ordinary people.

How much hardship do those who cultivate as immortals in the human world endure to reach Qi Condensation Great Perfection?

Even just reaching Qi Condensation Great Perfection allows one to go out into the world and pose as an immortal convincingly.

To reach Qi Condensation Great Perfection, which is truly the rank of a genuine cultivator, one must face many cultivation bottlenecks.

The bottleneck of the Qi Condensation stage, which could take several months if mild or several years if severe, was an obstacle that cultivators had to face before truly embarking on the path of immortality.

Even the current Foundation Establishment elder, Elder Bu, had only reached the Qi Condensation Great Perfection in his forties, a clear example of how extraordinary Yuk-gyeong’s achievements were.

There are many geniuses in the world.

But Yuk-gyeong was a genius beyond that.

Joining the cultivation sect in just a week?

That time was hardly enough to lay the foundation. No, what foundation? It was barely enough time to even adapt.

“Elder, do you know how to make Foundation Establishment pills? I really need one.”

“How do you think I became an elder while being at the Foundation establishment stage? If the materials are prepared, I can make Foundation Establishment pills. If I refine them, 50 percent will become Foundation Establishment pills, and the remaining 50 percent will be useless waste.”

Being able to produce such difficult pills as Foundation establishment pills with a 50% success rate was an impressive feat.

Considering that most alchemists had a success rate of 30 to 40 percent for Foundation Establishment pills, Elder Bu clearly had a genius talent in alchemy.

“Then can’t you make one for me?”

“Who’s going to gather the materials? If you go to the Foundation Establishment market and buy them, I’ll make it for you.”

“…You’re so stingy…”

“What? Do you know how precious Foundation Establishment pills are? You rascal! I was also able to receive one only after making great contributions to the Sect!”

Yuk-gyeong quickly ran away to avoid Elder Bu’s wrath.

Mean old man!