Qin Yujian flew for several hours across the skies of the Northern Qi Kingdom, eventually seeking refuge in an inconspicuous, remote mountain town far from the border skirmishes.
He retracted his artifact and sat cross-legged atop a pile of hay behind an ordinary farmhouse, closing his eyes to regulate the flow of spiritual energy within him. As his fali circulated, the large, blue-black frostbite scars on his arm rapidly faded, the chill within his body dispelled. His slightly pale complexion returned to normal.
When Ye Qin dueled with Cultivator Ling Ru, his arm had been injured by the dense barrage of ice cones she unleashed.
This fact left him deeply frustrated.
The ice cones cast by Cultivator Ling Ru attacked with frightening speed and density, and they shattered upon impact, engulfing a wide area, making them practically impossible to evade.
Even though he activated his Gang Protective Shield, the chilling essence still managed to penetrate his meridians, leaving him quite frozen and even slowing the output of his fali. Had he not managed to use the Soul-Seizing Bell in an extremely brief window to daze and slay Cultivator Ling Ru, he feared he would have certainly ended up frozen solid.
Ye Qin was acutely aware of his true strength. If it hadn't been for the Soul-Seizing Bell's powerful stunning effect, he would have been no match for Ling Ru. After all, he had only been cultivating along the path of immortality for a mere decade or so. In terms of the depth of his fali or his mastery of spells, he simply could not compare to veteran cultivators who had practiced for decades, even centuries. The gap forged by such long, cumulative years of training was not something that could be easily bridged.
His victory relied, to a large extent, on the Soul-Seizing Bell.
The stunning effect of the low-grade artifact, the Soul-Seizing Bell, and the freezing effect of the ice-elemental magic cast by Cultivator Ling Ru were, in essence, two paths leading to the same goal. Dazing directly robbed the opponent of their ability to act. Freezing gradually reduced the opponent's mobility until they were completely immobilized.
Using the Soul-Seizing Bell allowed for quick attacks, instantly stunning the opponent, but the duration of the stun was very brief. The freezing from the ice magic took much longer to completely encase the target. However, once frozen, the opponent would remain rigid for a considerable period.
That Cultivator Ling Ru had blocked his escape route outside the cavern. She likely never dreamed that he possessed such a rare stunning artifact. It was only because of this surprise that he managed to slay her in one swift move.
Ye Qin had sustained minor injuries during the fight, and afterward, he had been relentlessly harassed by Ba Sha, Daoist Zheng, and others, preventing him from purging the invading cold energy. Only now did he have the respite to expel the residual chill and warm his body with some Fire Fruit Wine, simultaneously replenishing his rapidly dwindling fali.
Ye Qin sat in contemplation for a while, lost in thought.
During his fierce battle with the six Foundation Establishment cultivators, he had overheard fragments of conversations between Ba Sha, Ling Ru, and others. Cultivators of their status, like Ba Sha and Ling Ru, occupied only ordinary positions within the cultivation worlds of the Azure Vault Plain and the Ten Thousand Moon Lake.
Ba Sha seemed to be a Guardian within some sect of the Azure Vault Plain's cultivation world—roughly equivalent to a mid-level cultivator in the Azure Pill Gate, far below the status of a sect Elder. Such individuals were typically dispatched to carry out various missions. Cultivator Ling Ru's background was unknown, and her status likely wasn't high either. This meant that if conflicts erupted between the major cultivation worlds, cultivators at their tier were highly likely to encounter one another.
Ye Qin let out a bitter smile and shook his head. His escape from their encirclement this time had involved a degree of trickery. But if he encountered them repeatedly, once his methods were deciphered by his opponents, he might not be so fortunate next time.
He flipped open a Storage Pouch he had scavenged—this one taken from Ling Ru's corpse. Her spell mastery had been exceptional, and he hoped to study how she cultivated her techniques. This was the only storage pouch he had dared to retrieve amid the chaos.
Upon opening the pouch, he saw... (More/Updates/Fastest http://w/a｜p.1｜6｜k|x|s.c｜o|)
The pouch contained a wealth of spirit stones, almost exclusively composed of them. Especially rare were the Ice Spirit Stones; this pouch surprisingly held quite a few, totaling over a thousand low-grade Ice Spirit Stones.
As for other items, they were surprisingly few. There was only a small amount of raw materials, and even a manual on immortal arts was just a thin volume titled Compendium of Ice Elemental Arts. Flipping through it, he found many of Ling Ru’s personal insights on cultivating her spells.
After examining the manual, Ye Qin began to understand why her storage pouch was so filled with spirit stones. The primary use of spirit stones was to rapidly replenish depleted fali. The more spirit stones consumed, the more proficient one's spell casting naturally became, enhancing both casting speed and power.
Cultivator Ling Ru had dedicated the vast majority of her wealth to purchasing spirit stones for spell practice. Her ability to hone a basic Ice Cone Spell to a state of perfection was largely achieved through the sheer expenditure of spirit stones.
Ye Qin pondered for a long time, remaining silent.
Cultivation involves core methods for increasing one's strength, supplemented by numerous auxiliary techniques.
The core method is the cultivation of immortal techniques to acquire primordial energy (yuanqi) and elevate the level of one's Destiny Nascent Soul. A cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage is never a match for one at the Foundation Establishment stage.
The stronger the Nascent Soul, the longer the lifespan will be.
All other means are auxiliary: alchemy, artifact refining, spell mastery, and so on.
Alchemy relies on spiritual elixirs to gain extra yuanqi, advance the cultivation of the Nascent Soul, and raise one's power level. This method is extremely "costly" in terms of spiritual herbs. The older and higher the grade of the herb, the more valuable it is. Using spiritual elixirs to increase strength is essentially…
For sects that do not specialize in cultivating spiritual herbs, like the Azure Pill Gate, it is difficult for many cultivators to rely on consuming elixirs for long-term advancement.
Artifact refining allows one to acquire various spiritual artifacts and magic tools, rapidly leading to a significant surge in combat prowess; this is also a very strong auxiliary method. However, both spiritual and magic artifacts are easily damaged, especially combat-oriented tools. No matter how powerful an artifact is, if it breaks, it's useless, forcing the cultivator to seek replacements. Ye Qin rarely uses his Bat King Wings or the Soul-Seizing Bell, lest they suffer damage. This method "burns" through raw materials like ores, though it is slightly less demanding than alchemy.
Furthermore, achieving mastery over various spells is another way to enhance combat strength. This path is arduous in the beginning, with slow progress that yields little immediate reward. However, as time passes, spell mastery only deepens, and the power increases continuously.
There are quite a few cultivators in the immortal world who specialize in this manner, focusing solely on spell mastery. However, Ye Qin had rarely encountered them before.
Cultivator Ling Ru, this Foundation Establishment cultivator from Ten Thousand Moon Lake, forced him to deploy three low-grade artifacts in succession using just a single beginner-level Ice Cone Spell, ultimately necessitating the use of his trump card, the Soul-Seizing Bell. This sufficiently demonstrated the terrifying power achieved through refined spell mastery.
Beyond these, there are methods like taming demonic beasts, using talismans, employing auxiliary formations, and countless others that can enhance a cultivator's might.
The lifespan in the Dao of Cultivation is typically long, especially for Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators, reaching two hundred to five hundred years. Therefore, if one dedicates themselves entirely to spell cultivation, they will undoubtedly become overwhelmingly powerful in the later stages; few cultivators could withstand a torrent of spell attacks capable of moving mountains and overturning seas.
As Ye Qin considered this, a wry smile touched the corner of his lips.
The Azure Pill Gate excels at alchemy but is not particularly skilled in spell cultivation. He, too, had no choice but to diligently practice alchemy, relying on spiritual elixirs to advance his cultivation.
He could use his three years of outside training as an excuse to remain away from the sect, but once those three years passed, he would eventually have to return to the Azure Pill Gate.
When that time came, he would inevitably be drawn into conflicts between the Spirit Mist Cultivation World and other such realms—this was what troubled him the most.
During this period, he absolutely had to find a way to boost his own strength; preserving his life was paramount.
Once Ye Qin had clarified his thoughts, he mounted his sword and took to the sky. After discerning his direction, he departed the mountain town. He possessed a military topographical map copied from Yan Xuan and Lü Yuan, which allowed him to vaguely ascertain his position.
The map marked a mountain range situated to the north of the Northern Qi Kingdom, on the edge of the Chaos Lands.
This range was crimson red, frequently erupting with fire, spewing volcanic ash and lava, earning it the name Flaming Mountain Range. Only immortal practitioners could enter; few mortals could survive the journey in or out. It was rumored to be home to demonic beasts, making it exceptionally perilous.
Of course, such danger was relative to ordinary mortals; for cultivators, it might not be so absolute.
Ye Qin intended to locate this Flaming Mountain Range and seek out the demonic beasts dwelling there.
Several days later, Ye Qin passed through the Northern Qi Kingdom and arrived at the northern border, where the scene before him stunned him. This section of the Flaming Mountain Range was strikingly obvious—the entire expanse, earth and sky, glowed crimson, spanning thousands of miles as far as the eye could see. Numerous peaks were billowing smoke. The surface consisted of reddish-brown sandstone, uneven and rugged, riddled with deep chasms hundreds of feet deep, plunging into the earth.
An intensely scorching fire-elemental aura could be clearly sensed hundreds of miles away. Ordinary vegetation could not survive here; only fire-elemental flora managed to persist.
Ye Qin’s expression shifted to delighted surprise. He dove directly into the Flaming Mountain Range and landed on one of the smaller peaks. Where there was fire yuanqi, there must be fire-elemental demonic beasts, which was precisely what he needed.
The Purple Jade Ancient Slip detailed the method for refining the Nascent Soul artifact, the "Southern Bright Scorching Fire Sword." It required a three-thousand-year-old purple fire-elemental ore crystal, the Samadhi True Fire from a Golden Core cultivator, and the primal essence condensed from a Golden Core cultivator's Nascent Soul.
He already possessed the required purple ore crystal and had the Azure Flame Earth Fire, which could substitute for the Samadhi True Fire in artifact refining. What he currently lacked was the primal essence. He had previously traded medicinal herbs with the Zhou Clan of the Great Zhou Kingdom for a secret technique to refine primal essence from demonic beast cores.
The secret technique specified that the minute amounts of primal essence refined from fire-elemental demonic beast cores were the most suitable for incorporation into a fire-elemental Nascent Soul artifact.
A Nascent Soul artifact was a type of extremely powerful weapon described in immortal classics, whose might far surpassed ordinary artifacts. To rapidly increase his strength and gain more means of self-preservation in a short time, refining this immensely potent Nascent Soul artifact was undoubtedly the best solution.
Although Ye Qin had never encountered a Nascent Soul artifact, the fact that the ancient Nascent Soul cultivator Lord Purple Sword of Immortal Fate City held it in such high regard—to the point where a single drop of residual primal essence left by a Golden Core cultivator used in refining such an item was fiercely coveted by late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators—meant this artifact could not be an ordinary item.
Even possessing a single Nascent Soul artifact would be enough to prevent him from having to flee in disarray when facing a fellow Foundation Establishment cultivator.