Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

Chapter 257 Middle Stage of Foundation Building
The day after the competition between the four major academies ended, Zhou Ling went to Dean Zhong's side hall and asked him for a reward of one thousand points and a Jade Purity Pill.

This Jade Purity Pill helps Foundation Establishment cultivators break through minor stages; it is a type of Breakthrough Pill.

"I didn't expect you to have five spiritual flames. No wonder you have five elemental spiritual roots and your cultivation progress is so fast."

"However, in this situation, it is even more important to lay a solid foundation and not to rush things."

"With your talent, plus the resources of the Dao Academy and the Heavenly Crafts Bureau, it's only a matter of time before you reach the Golden Core stage."

"Moreover, your future achievements will definitely not be limited to the Golden Core realm!"

Dean Zhong gave him a points jade token and a pill bottle, and solemnly instructed him.

Zhou Ling's talent has now been proven to be immense.

Not only is he incredibly talented in weapon crafting, but his talent in swordsmanship is also no less than that in weapon crafting.

The Taoist academy will definitely do its utmost to cultivate such talent.

"Yes, Dean!"

Zhou Ling knew that the dean was planning for his long term, but with his talent to assist him, there would be no signs of his foundation becoming unstable.

Within the Taoist academy, there were naturally many disciples who made rapid progress in their early cultivation.

However, if one's foundation is not solid, once one enters the Golden Core stage, one will lack the strength to continue and will be stuck at the Golden Core stage for life.

However, with his talent now aided and his magic power tempered by the spiritual flame, even if his cultivation level could be improved a few more times, it wouldn't be too much of a problem.

After all, he has never relied on steady progress in his cultivation.

His talents, such as [Spiritual Affinity] and [Spiritual Herb Stress], also led to the fastest improvement in his cultivation.

Therefore, he plans to cultivate to the peak of Foundation Establishment as quickly as possible.

After all, they have already obtained the Jade Returning Golden Pill, which is the key to breaking through the Golden Core bottleneck. All they need to do is exchange it for some auxiliary spiritual items.

With his natal spiritual treasures, such as the Five Elements Spiritual Flame and the Five Elements Treasure Sword, he is already capable of breaking through to the Golden Core realm.

With the assistance of spiritual flames and innate talents, the foundation will not be unstable during this process.

That way, we can strive to reach the Core Formation stage next year.

Then we can concentrate resources to help Xin'er, and she will be able to form her core within ten years without any problems.

After chatting with Dean Zhong for a few minutes, Zhou Ling also told Dean Gong about his agreement to teach at the Nine Heavens Sword Academy.

If it were before, Dean Zhong would definitely have objected.

On one hand, he planned to make Zhou Ling the dean of Xuan Yuan Dao Academy in the future.

In addition, Zhou Ling is currently a Heavenly Guard of the Heavenly Works Department.

These two jobs will consume a lot of Zhou Ling's energy and will more or less affect his cultivation progress.

Now, with the addition of instructors from the Nine Heavens Sword Academy, there's even less time left.

Totally worth the loss.

According to Dean Gong, with Zhou Ling's talent in swordsmanship, he may even have the opportunity to enter the fifth realm in the future.

Considering all this, he didn't intend to stop Zhou Ling.

After all, the Five Realms Sword Dao is rare even in the entire Dao Alliance.

Zhou Ling had the opportunity, so naturally he wanted to give it a try.

Seeing that Dean Zhong did not object, Zhou Ling left with a heart full of joy.

After leaving Dean Zhong's side hall, Zhou Ling met with his two disciples.

Song Yue and Bai Ji.

This time, the Foundation Establishment Seed Assessment of the Dao Academy overlapped with the competition among the four major Dao Academyes.

Therefore, Zhou Ling did not go to watch.

Both of them achieved pretty good results.

As expected, Song Yue won first place in the assessment.

Bai Ji actually achieved fourth place and received a Ground-grade Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward.

"One champion and one fourth place, that's enough to show they've become my disciples!"

After hearing the two report their assessment results, Zhou Ling looked satisfied.

Especially Bai Ji, who was able to achieve fourth place with only the eighth level of Qi Refining, is already quite remarkable.

He knew that Li Yu and the others had all participated this year.

Their level was already quite high last year, and although they ultimately lost to him, the gap wasn't that large.

However, Song Yue took away this year's top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, and all the efforts of the three of them over the past year were in vain.

Now they probably have a lot of opinions about him.

Not only were they defeated by him, but now they have been defeated by his disciple.

However, this is normal.

After all, new talents emerge in every generation.

No one can be sure what the situation will be like next year.
Of course, Song Yue's ability to stand out was due to her own cultivation and talent.

Zhou Ling's teaching also played a role.

The reason for this is that Zhou Ling was able to point out the shortcomings in her cultivation process and correct them in time.

Furthermore, Zhou Ling was able to point out the methods for refining many inscriptions.

Bai Ji himself is quite remarkable in terms of comprehension, but he is hampered by limited resources.

It affected the progress of cultivation.

With Zhou Ling's guidance and assistance, many problems were easily solved.

With ample elixirs, if given a few more months, he could reach the ninth level of Qi Refining or the peak of Qi Refining, and then he would be capable of becoming the champion.

"Master, I plan to start preparing for Foundation Establishment next month. Could I rent that fourth-tier spiritual chamber at the academy for another month?"

Song Yue then spoke to Zhou Ling.

In order to ensure the establishment of the Heavenly Rank Foundation and to stabilize her realm, Song Yue hoped to have the right to use the Spirit Energy Chamber for two months.

This reward is only valid for one month.

Zhou Ling nodded and smiled, "I'll talk to Dean Zhong about this later, and I don't think there will be any problems."

He is currently only an instructor in the outer academy and does not yet have the authority to decide on the use of the spirit chamber.

But for him now, such things are just minor matters.

Dean Zhong will definitely agree.

After all, if Song Yue successfully establishes the Heavenly Rank Foundation again, it will greatly enhance the reputation of Xuan Yuan Dao Academy.

Last year I successfully achieved the Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment, and this year another person has appeared, making it two people who achieved the Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment in two years.

This will make more disciples flock to Xuan Yuan Dao Academy.

"Thank you, Master!"

Song Yue thanked Zhou Ling with a big smile.

Originally, she was more curious than respectful of her junior master, Zhou Ling. Now, she was surprised to learn that her master had won first place in the combat power competition among the four major academies.

This only made her more curious.

Afterwards, Zhou Ling gave her the jade slip containing his own foundation-building experience, telling her to study it carefully and ask him if she didn't understand anything.

"Bai Ji, what are your plans now?"

Zhou Ling looked at Bai Ji and asked a question.

Bai Ji is currently at the eighth level of Qi Refining, but at his current cultivation progress, he should be able to prepare for Foundation Establishment by the end of the year.

Moreover, they now possess Earth-rank Foundation Establishment Pills, and can exchange other auxiliary spiritual items at the Dao Academy.

"Master, I want to try again next year and hope to win the Heavenly Grade Foundation Establishment Pill."

"Try building the foundation again."

Bai Ji thought for a moment, then spoke to Zhou Ling with a slightly hesitant expression.

He originally thought that being able to reach the Earthly Foundation Establishment stage would be quite good.

However, with Zhou Ling's guidance, his weapon-refining skills improved rapidly.

This made him feel that as long as he reached the peak of Qi Refining, he would have a good chance of winning the Heavenly Grade Foundation Establishment Pill next year.

It's not too late to try foundation building then.

After all, it's only been a few months.

Of course, he wasn't very confident either. If his master thought it was unnecessary, he wouldn't insist too much.

"Yes, as long as you have your own ideas!"

"However, you should be prepared that obtaining a Heaven-grade Foundation Establishment Pill does not guarantee that you will be able to establish a Heaven-grade Foundation."

"To achieve the highest level of Foundation Establishment, one must compress the spiritual energy within the body to its limit, and also has requirements such as spiritual roots."

Zhou Ling said seriously. Bai Ji had his own ideas, which he naturally saw as a good thing.

However, the difficulty of achieving Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment is considerable.

Xuan Yuan Dao Academy successfully refines two or three Heaven-grade Foundation Establishment Pills every year, but in the past thirty years, he is the only one who has successfully achieved Heaven-grade Foundation Establishment.

This shows just how difficult it is to achieve the Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment.

Even now, according to the Foundation Establishment test when Song Yue entered school, the probability of achieving Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment is only 30%.

Bai Ji hasn't tested it yet, but the probability is definitely lower than Song Yue's.

If it were up to him to make the decision, he wouldn't recommend that Bai Ji aim for the Heavenly Rank Foundation Establishment.

But since he has this idea, he supports it, though he also needs to understand the difficulties involved.

After all, failing to establish a Heavenly Foundation will have a significant impact on future attempts at foundation building.

"Yes, Master!"

Bai Ji replied earnestly.

"From now on, just focus on your cultivation. If you need any pills, you can ask your master's wife. If she doesn't have any, you can exchange them at the academy!"

The two helped out in the workshop, and Zhou Ling didn't let them work for free.

In addition to teaching the two how to cultivate their inscription skills, he also provided them with elixirs.

Moreover, Bai Ji is not like Song Yue, who has a family to rely on.

If they want to establish their foundation in the future, they will need his help.

He will definitely be the one to come up with the solutions for preparing the Foundation Establishment spiritual items.

Of course, these are no longer a big problem for Zhou Ling, as he can obtain them through the Dao Academy or the Heavenly Crafts Bureau.

"Thank you Master!"

Bai Ji cupped his hands in reply.

After arranging things for his two disciples, Zhou Ling sent a telepathic message to Dean Zhong to inquire about the spiritual energy room.

Dean Zhong naturally agreed.

He then went to the Taoist temple's treasury.

I used points to exchange for a third-tier spirit-gathering array.

Although the family currently has a third-tier spiritual vein with a spiritual energy concentration, it has not yet reached the third-tier concentration over the past few days.

It's probably only around the mid-grade of the second tier.

It may take several more months to reach the third level.

Of course, second-order intermediate-grade samples are sufficient for now.

However, he is about to attempt to break through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and in order to ensure success, he still needs to increase the concentration of spiritual energy as soon as possible.

Moreover, with the third-tier spirit-gathering array, the spiritual energy within the clan's territory will quickly reach the third tier, and will become increasingly abundant.

It can upgrade a third-grade low-level spiritual vein to a third-grade mid-level or even high-level.

This will also accelerate the cultivation of Xin'er and her mother.

It will also be of great help to them in breaking through minor limitations.

After returning home, Zhou Ling handed the Spirit Gathering Array to Xin'er and asked her to prepare to set it up.

The setup of a spirit-gathering array is relatively simple; even someone who is not an array master can set it up.

However, if a formation master sets it up, the speed will be faster and the effect will be better.

After making some plans, Wang Xin took out the array plate, chanted the incantation, and drove the array flags into the ground along the corners of the courtyard.

As the eight array flags were driven into the ground in succession, a cloud-like light shone brightly above the array plate.

Soon, Zhou Ling felt that the originally dense spiritual energy seemed to be compressed in an instant, making it appear even purer.

The Spirit Gathering Array is designed to accelerate the absorption and condensation of spiritual energy.

The source of the Chen family's spiritual vein is the fourth-order spiritual vein of the Dao Academy.

Therefore, there is no problem with spiritual energy.

After setting up the spirit-gathering array, the speed at which spiritual energy is gathered increases by at least two times.

Of course, it will take some time to gather enough spiritual veins to reach the true level of a third-tier spiritual vein.

Zhou Ling pondered that it might take several hours, and by then it would probably be midnight.

"Xin'er, do you think you can refine the Jade Purity Pill formula I gave you last time?"

Zhou Ling took out the Jade Purity Pill he had obtained from Dean Zhong and asked his wife.

Dean Zhong is already a fourth-grade alchemist, and the pills he refines are of a very high grade.

Besides, he gave it to me for free, so I figured I might as well take it.

At Xuan Yuan Dao Academy, this second-tier Jade Purity Pill would cost sixty or seventy points to exchange for.

And the quality isn't even that good.

If Xin'er can refine it, then she will save a lot of points in the future.

After all, nowadays, the family members, including the parents, Yuan Hu, and Bai Ji, also need to use this kind of pill to break through the bottleneck.

“Husband, no problem. Last time we refined two batches, and we successfully refined one batch, two pills.”

"However, it's only a single pill pattern; we haven't tested its specific medicinal effects yet!"

Wang Xin said uncertainly.

"Good, it's good that it can be refined."

"We'll test the effects on Yuanhu or Baiji later!"

Zhou Ling said with a delighted expression.

He was naturally confident in his wife's alchemy skills.

Then, he inquired about other elixirs.

Next, he needs to accelerate his cultivation.

Therefore, the use of elixirs is definitely indispensable.

Wang Xin also told him that she was already able to refine the One-Dan Pattern Enhancing Pill stably.

Hearing this, Zhou Ling was overjoyed.

The Enhancing Essence Pill is the primary elixir taken by Foundation Establishment cultivators to improve their cultivation level.

The Yidan pattern is already considered to be of good quality.

With the Five Elements Spirit Flame, he also doesn't need to worry about the existence of pill poison.

Furthermore, the quality of the [Spiritual Medicine Stress Relief] is constantly improving, and its effects are getting better and better.

"Next, to become an instructor at the Nine Heavens Sword Academy, I will definitely need to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

"Furthermore, Qin Zhizheng will be transferred at the end of the year, and by then my cultivation level will need to reach the late Foundation Establishment stage!"

Thinking about this, Zhou Ling also felt a lot of pressure.

With six months left until the end of the year, building one floor every two months is extremely difficult.

However, the position of Chief Cultivator is too low for a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

It would be really hard to believe that I'm only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

"Sigh, I'll just do my best!"

Zhou Ling shook his head and stopped putting pressure on himself.

After dinner, he went to the meditation room, sat cross-legged, and began to cultivate with his eyes closed.

Waiting for the changes in spiritual energy.

I don't know how much time passed, but I felt the spiritual energy around me become noticeably more lush.

Zhou Ling took out the Jade Purity Pill and tossed it into his mouth.

The pill melted instantly upon entering Zhou Ling's mouth, followed by an extremely rich medicinal power spreading throughout his body.

[You are absorbing the medicinal power of the Jade Purity Pill. Herbal Stress +1, Jade Purity Pill Power +2]

The potent medicinal power flowed into the meridians like a torrent of spiritual energy, entering the Qi Sea and beginning to challenge its bottleneck.

This wasn't Zhou Ling's first attempt at breaking through a bottleneck, but the previous ones were minor and not very difficult.

This is a major bottleneck, and the difficulty is several times higher than the previous ones.

However, he has the talent of [Spiritual Medicine Stress] and the assistance of the Five Elements Heart Fire.

With the aid of the Five Elements Spiritual Flame, the rich medicinal power of the Jade Purity Pill instantly washed over the area around the Qi Sea.

Soon, Zhou Ling felt the bottleneck in his Qi Sea being broken through, and the entire Qi Sea instantly expanded.

Zhou Ling manipulated his spiritual power and quickly broke through to the fourth level of Foundation Establishment.

(End of this chapter)