Born with immortal seed

Chapter 224 Changes
"When it is time to stop, stop; when it is time to act, act. If one's actions and stillness are not out of time, then one's path will be clear."

After Bai Zichen murmured these words, a sound like the playing of the Yellow Bell and the singing of the Great Lü resounded.

It did not come from the outside world, nor did it resonate in one's mind.

A mysterious voice descended from the heavens, each sound purifying his mind and making the path ahead bright and clear.

Without needing anyone to relay the message, he could clearly know that this was his own theory of alchemy, a theory of alchemy that resonated with him and pointed out the path for him.

"I wonder what other people's theories on alchemy are like? If they follow the path of killing or fire, it might be easier for them to encounter the true meaning of the Great Dao in the future?"

The number of Core Formation True Persons in the Qingfeng Sect is not large, with only one or two per generation.

Those who can generate alchemical treatises and understand the path before forming the elixir are extremely rare; in the last five hundred years, there have only been two such individuals: Ge Cang Zhenren and Wei Dao.

Of course, after today, another name was added to the list.

Achieving perfect Core Formation is already a further requirement for the most outstanding core disciples of a Nascent Soul sect.

Because of the limited number of people, each person's experience is not widely applicable.

That's why Master Ge Cang is so careful in choosing who to pass on his experience and insights into Core Formation, fearing that his disciples might go astray and waste their precious time.

Only those super sects with orderly lineages and tens of thousands of years of history, accumulated through generations of genius disciples, can achieve this.

Only with enough successful examples can we categorize and summarize them.

When the younger core disciples attempt to achieve perfect core formation and develop their own theories on core formation, they provide effective guidance.

As the grand and profound sound of the Yellow Bell and the Great Bell ceased, Bai Zichen not only experienced a spiritual cleansing and transcendence, gaining clarity on his future path, but also unexpectedly discovered that his divine sense had increased significantly.

"No wonder that few who achieve mastery of alchemy fail at the stage of forming the core... A strengthening of one's spiritual sense is of great benefit in the stage of entrusting one's spiritual sense to alchemy."

Several small boats on the lake are releasing fish fry, a new task assigned by the General Affairs Office this year.

Release a large number of delicious, fast-growing Tier 1 fish fry into Jade Moon Lake.

It can be caught the following year and become a spiritual dish on the tables of sect disciples.

A slightly overweight, dark-skinned man stood at the bow of a covered boat, directing the other disciples as they scattered the fish fry.

It was Tong Huan, whom I hadn't seen for seven years, who had already reached the ninth level of Qi Refining.

It seems that even without Bai Zichen's guidance over the years, he hasn't fallen behind in his cultivation at all.

As the divine sense spread outwards, a silver-white carp was swimming leisurely in the lake.

The silver carp was plump and nearly as tall as a person, with two long whiskers growing from its lips.

It was clearly a mid-grade second-tier water beast, with a trace of dragon blood, and was transforming into a dragon carp.

"There are quite a few demonic beasts with dragon blood in Jade Moon Lake..."

Seemingly sensing Bai Zichen's divine sense, the silver carp, which had been leisurely devouring fish and shrimp, suddenly sprang to its feet, cautiously looked around, and immediately darted to the bottom of the lake.

It circled twice among the dense aquatic plants and then disappeared.

Furthermore, his divine sense caught a glimpse of a mountain-sized dragon turtle in the distance. It stood out in the lake like a lantern in the darkness, radiating an astonishingly vast aura of blood and energy.

"The purity of the old tortoise's dragon blood should have increased again, it's almost on par with a third-tier demonic beast..."

Bai Zichen sensed that his divine sense range had reached its limit and withdrew his Tenglong divine sense.

The upper limit of his divine sense range reached about five hundred feet.

"In this way, the path before Core Formation is smooth for me, with no difficulties to overcome... I can even use that drop of Pure Spirit Jade Marrow without having to hand it over to the sect or exchange it with others."

Originally, I estimated that it would take another two or three years to cultivate to the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage.

But once the alchemy treatise was completed, he had an epiphany: even with the help of top-grade spirit stones, it would still take fifteen months.

The time taken was even accurate to the month.

The drop of pure jade marrow he obtained from Mo Changzhi still had more than ten years before it expired, enough time for him to take the final step in his attempt to break through to the Core Formation stage.

Bai Zichen no longer needs to spend a lot of time accumulating magical power and buying breakthrough pills to break through bottlenecks, so he can finally spare some time to pick up what he has abandoned.

"I will first master the Desolate God Stealing the Sun Technique, then learn the True Sword Art, and leave the Five Crystals Eternal Body Forging for last... Although I am not yet sixty, which is considered young among Foundation Establishment cultivators, it is still too extravagant to spend twenty or thirty years cultivating."

Leaning against a pillar, watching the sun completely set and the moon rise, Bai Zichen returned to his quiet room.

The next day, the servants of Baiyulou were summoned, and they discovered that one familiar face was missing from the people standing below the hall.

"What about Cai Heng? Does she have any official duties to perform?"

After Bai Zichen returned all the spiritual fields he had rented to the sect, several of his subordinates were assigned to management positions, mainly in the Law Enforcement Hall and the General Affairs Hall.

However, they are basically not assigned any duties; they are still allowed to work at Baiyulou, only receiving an extra salary.

“Reporting to Master, Brother Cai caught a cold two years ago, which triggered his old illness... He was bedridden for several months and unfortunately passed away.”

Tong Huan stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and replied.

As Bai Zichen's only disciple, Tong Huan represented Baiyulou in welcoming and seeing off fellow disciples during his seclusion.

"And then there's Senior Brother Su Lie, who resigned from his position as head of the General Affairs Hall several years ago because he was too old to continue working... I've recommended Senior Brother Hou to take over."

Tong Huan is already a true disciple, and he has a master like Bai Zichen. Even though he lives in seclusion at Feiyue Lake and rarely interacts with other true disciples, his influence among the true disciples is still considerable.

True disciples have the right to recommend their attendant disciples to be in charge, let alone just changing the successor.

Hou Kehai possesses late-stage Qi Refining cultivation and is also a second-tier low-grade spiritual plant master, making him more than qualified to serve as a manager.

"Okay, you can handle these things as you see fit."

Bai Zichen sighed inwardly, realizing that his cultivation had improved too quickly, and his several attendant disciples were far from keeping up with him.

Apart from Lu Song, who had other opportunities and was already an elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, the others were either too old or dead.

The managers in the hall were all people who voluntarily stayed at Baiyulou after receiving his guidance and favor during the later stage of opening up the spiritual fields.

However, in just a few decades, he rose from a newly promoted elder to one of the few figures below the Core Formation Ancestor in the sect. His followers were still at the management level and could not provide any real help.

Therefore, Bai Zichen was happy to entrust these matters to Tong Huan, as it would be good to be able to provide some assistance to his disciple.

Over the years, he has been busy with his own cultivation and has given little guidance to Tong Huan, only managing to do so once every few years, which he feels guilty about.

He dismissed everyone else, leaving only Tong Huan.

"You've already reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, and in a few years you'll be facing the most crucial hurdle... What are your plans for Foundation Establishment?"

"After I reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, I plan to hunt demonic beasts near Jade Moon Lake with several true disciples. This will not only hone my skills in battle but also allow me to accumulate contribution points through demonic beast materials."

Over the years, Qingfeng Sect has opened its gates wider and wider, recruiting more and more disciples each year.

Over the decades, some progress has been made.

The most obvious point is that the current twelve true disciples are all present, no longer the case that there were only five or six true disciples in each generation in the past.

If we persevere for a while longer, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Qingfeng Sect will experience a surge.

This is not just due to the increased number of disciples, but also the culmination of the cultivation resources and accumulated foundation built up by generations of cultivators in the sect, finally reaching the moment of harvest.

Consequently, the competition among the true disciples has become more intense.

Originally, any true disciple attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage would be guaranteed to receive a Foundation Establishment Pill.

However, in recent years, there have been instances of true disciples breaking through bottlenecks with just a foundation-building spiritual item.

The number of Foundation Establishment Pills remains the same, but the number of true disciples required has doubled. It is normal to wait for two Foundation Establishment Pill opening times after submitting an application.

It's just that this group of true disciples didn't come at the right time; it wasn't like Bai Zichen's era where there were fewer competitors.

It wasn't until around the time the sect war ended that the sect's Foundation Establishment Pill inventory reached its historical peak, thanks to the unprecedented presence of three thousand-year-old Golden Crown Lingzhi mushrooms and a third-tier demon core.

According to Tong Huan, there are currently no Foundation Establishment spiritual items left in the Transmission Hall.

The Pure Yang Qi and Black Water Qi stored in the Transmission Hall are far from enough for the rapidly growing number of Qi Refining Perfection disciples in the sect.

In addition, with the ironclad rule that every true disciple must have a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object, the number of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects left for ordinary disciples is even smaller.

"Your ability to cultivate to this point today has little to do with me as your master... This Xuan Shuang Gang Sha is my contribution to your foundation building. If you still need more contributions, you can tell me later."

Bai Zichen tossed out a jade bottle containing the Xuan Shuang Gang Sha collected from the nameless valley.

"Thank you for your reward, Master... This disciple will certainly live up to your high expectations and achieve Foundation Establishment."

Tong Huan held the jade bottle and bowed deeply in gratitude.

The price of Foundation Establishment spiritual items like Xuan Shuang Gang Sha has been rising steadily, and they can now sell for two thousand spirit stones each among sect disciples.

With the Xuan Shuang Gang Sha and the Foundation Establishment spiritual item bestowed upon the true disciples by the sect, plus Tong Huan's own accumulation, he basically had enough of the 10,000 contribution points needed to exchange for the Foundation Establishment Pill.

When Old Man Tong passed away a few years ago, he left him an inheritance.

"It's not for me, it's for yourself... The sect needs fresh blood like you, and I also hope to have a few old friends to walk with on the road."

Bai Zichen chuckled to himself, realizing in a daze that so many years had passed since he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Back then, his senior brothers gave him earnest advice and placed high hopes on him, and in the blink of an eye, it was his turn to become the one who imparted knowledge and taught.

"If you successfully establish your foundation, I will give you a spiritual artifact as a congratulatory gift."

"I will follow my master's teachings."

Tong Huan waited for a moment, and seeing that his master had no further instructions, he bowed and withdrew.

Bai Zichen returned to the quiet room and entered a state of cultivation in a very unique way.

When will I cultivate the Fire Dragon Returning to Origin Scripture and absorb some spiritual power from top-grade spirit stones?

When will one learn the Wuzhen Sword Manual and master its exquisite sword techniques?

It's as if he has a perfectly accurate alarm clock that reminds him at the right time to stop what he's doing and do something else.

Only in this way can maximum efficiency be achieved.

This is the biggest change his theory of alchemy has brought him at present.

Two months later, a shocking message arrived, forcing him to stop his cultivation and temporarily emerge from seclusion.

Ci'en Temple, which had already decided to relocate to the Northern Yuan and withdraw from Liang, had over 1,200 people, including the True Man of the Golden Core, Ruyi Monk, all of whom died on the border between the two countries.

Not a single survivor.

(End of this chapter)