Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

For a while after that, Lan Xuan lived at Zhang Chi’s place. Zhang Chi, in turn, got to enjoy the privilege of having someone wait on him at all times.

Although Lan Xuan had never served anyone before, she was eager to learn and very attentive, making her an excellent maid.

At the same time, Zhang Chi learned some Beast Taming knowledge from Lan Xuan, which he found immensely beneficial.

However, Zhang Chi had too many secrets and didn’t want to delay Lan Xuan’s regular Cultivation. So, after three months, he had Corpse Puppet No.1 send the reluctant Lan Xuan back.

Before that, Zhang Chi had also taken Lan Xuan on a quiet trip to Shifang Immortal City. They purchased some supplies that were scarce in Yuan Bei but relatively cheap there. In doing so, he played the part of a reseller for a bit, and it also prevented Corpse Puppet No.1 from making an empty trip just to escort her.

In the days that followed, Zhang Chi continued his Cultivation in Seclusion. Corpse Puppet No.1 and the Spirit Snake, on the other hand, became professional long-distance drivers, gaining considerable experience and rewards in the process.

Every year, they would make a round trip, bringing over some Demon Cultivators and trading some goods on the way there and back.

A one-way trip usually took three months, making a round trip six months. For the remaining six months of the year, they would hunt in the Demon Abyss near Azure Dragon Ridge.

However, Lan Xuan never came along again.

After all, even with the powerful Corpse Puppet No.1 and the Magical Treasure Flying Boat, crossing the Demon Abyss was still fraught with danger.

Once the business stabilized, Zhang Chi and Lan Xuan earned a large amount of Spirit Stones from it.

They only took ten people each time, and with each person paying about 150,000 Spirit Stones, that amounted to 1.5 million Spirit Stones a year.

Adding in the profits from trading goods, they could also earn several hundred thousand more Spirit Stones each year.

However, there were also expenses, such as Lan Xuan maintaining relationships with her family and sect members, finding clients, and so on.

The Magical Treasure Flying Boat was also frequently damaged, requiring Zhang Chi to spend Spirit Stones to maintain and even repair it.

Occasionally, they would encounter powerful Demons on the road, which also led to certain costs and losses.

Finally, the two of them had to split the Spirit Stones; it wasn’t possible for one person to take all the income.

But even so, Zhang Chi could still make a million Spirit Stones a year, while Lan Xuan’s income fluctuated above 500,000.

As a result, both Zhang Chi and Lan Xuan were making an absolute fortune, becoming wealthier than ever before.

Zhang Chi had become a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator. Especially after his Body Refining and Refining God Cultivation had greatly improved, his Refinement of Ganlin Jade Marrow and Profound Crane Blood became faster and faster. He now consumed one drop of each every ten days on average.

Coupled with various Tier Two Spirit Wines, Spirit Teas, and Spiritual Foods, he spent several tens of thousands of Spirit Stones each month just to supply his Cultivation.

If word of such extravagant consumption got out, it would definitely make even some Golden Core Powerhouses green with envy.

But Zhang Chi’s smuggling business made an annual expenditure of several hundred thousand Spirit Stones seem trivial.

Not to mention, Zhang Chi himself had always been practicing Alchemy and Artifact Refining, as well as Talisman Making, which also generated substantial profits.

Of course, with the smuggling business, Zhang Chi no longer had to work so desperately at Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Talisman Making.

After all, one pursued Cultivation for longevity, and longevity was for enjoyment, not for doing hard labor every day.

Furthermore, he finally had surplus resources to improve his Puppetry Technique and Turtle Shell Divination Skill.

Both of these were very expensive. While the former allowed him to recoup costs by selling finished products, the latter was a pure investment.

Moreover, once the Divination Technique reached Tier Three, it became a massive drain on Spirit Stones.

Each divination consumed a Tier Three Demon Beast’s turtle shell, which cost at least ten thousand Spirit Stones and was also very difficult to acquire.

But without consuming them, or by using only Low Tier turtle shells, he couldn’t raise the Level of his Divination Technique.

Fortunately, Zhang Chi had a connection through Lan Xuan. The Spirit Control Sect had many Demon Beasts, and their business in related materials was large. With the Lan Family’s significant influence, they were just barely able to supply him with a relatively sufficient amount of materials.

At the same time, this also prevented Zhang Chi from having to purchase turtle shells on his end, which would have risked attracting the attention of watchful eyes and having his secrets exposed.

And since the Divination Technique was so costly, this expense alone meant that even with the smuggling business, Zhang Chi’s Spirit Stones were merely sufficient.

But the progress was also obvious. With Tier Three Turtle Shells, Zhang Chi quickly raised his Turtle Shell Divination Skill to Tier Three Low Grade, and his proficiency continued to improve over time.

The Heavenly Dao Retribution from a Tier Three Inference Technique was significantly greater. Therefore, after each divination, Zhang Chi would wait for a period of time to let the Jade Pendant recover before proceeding with the next one.

In this way, time flew by, and soon it was the twenty-fifth year since Zhang Chi’s entry into the sect. His Cultivation had finally reached the limit of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.

At the same time, Zhang Chi’s various Immortal Cultivation Techniques had also improved tremendously. Aside from Spirit Plant cultivation and the Turtle Shell Divination Skill, which were already at Tier Three Middle Grade, the rest had all reached the Tier Two Peak.

Zhang Chi had also revealed a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivation five years prior, as a matter of natural progression.

At this moment, with his Cultivation unable to advance any further, Zhang Chi took a deep breath, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to break through to the Foundation Establishment Peak.

This time, however, he finally discovered that he had encountered the legendary Cultivation Barrier, or bottleneck.

Apparently, even though his Essence, Qi, and Spirit were all very powerful, the shortcoming of his Spirit Root could still not be completely overcome.

In fact, for him to have reached such a high Realm before encountering a Cultivation Bottleneck was already a heaven-defying feat.

Fortunately, he had long been prepared. He immediately took out a finger-sized white elixir that shimmered with light and swallowed it.

This elixir was called a Realm-Breaking Pill, precisely what Foundation Establishment Cultivators used to break through Cultivation Bottlenecks.

The Small Realm-Breaking Pill from the Qi Cultivation Stage was a simplified version of this elixir.

And this particular elixir was at the Tier Two Peak, making it quite precious.

But this elixir was one Zhang Chi had refined himself. He had the Pill Formula in his inheritance, and the main ingredients for refining it were among the Spirit Medicines he had obtained during his last exploration.

Therefore, for him, the cost of this elixir was not particularly high, and he felt no pressure in consuming it.

After swallowing the Realm-Breaking Pill, the circulation of Spiritual Power in Zhang Chi’s body immediately accelerated, gaining a sharp quality needed to break through the barrier.

At the same time, Zhang Chi directly activated his Divine Whale Devouring Sea Technique. In an instant, the phantom image of an incomparably huge Giant Whale appeared behind him.

ROAR!

Following the roar, a massive amount of Spiritual Power was devoured by the Giant Whale and, under the guidance of Zhang Chi’s will, violently poured into his body.

CRACK!

Instantly, the Cultivation Barrier Zhang Chi had encountered shattered, and his Cultivation broke through to the Foundation Establishment Peak Realm in one fell swoop.

BOOM!

At the same time, a Spiritual Energy Vortex appeared in the sky above Divine Needle Peak, and a tremendous pressure spread out violently.

Three hours later, everything returned to calm.

Zhang Chi, for his part, had completed his breakthrough. His physical body, Spiritual Power, and Divine Soul had all been greatly enhanced.

His overall Combat Power was now on a completely different level.

’Good, I’ve finally reached the Foundation Establishment Peak! If I have enough resources, I can try to congeal a Golden Core in another twenty-four or twenty-five years at most. By then, I’ll only be in my sixties. And yet, many cultivators have only just reached Foundation Establishment at that age.’

Zhang Chi finished his Cultivation, feeling the immense changes within himself, his face filled with elation.

At the same time, for the first time, he truly felt the meaning of the saying, "the years have no meaning in Immortal Cultivation."

This Cultivation session leading to his breakthrough was the longest he had ever spent, taking a full twelve years to go from the Foundation Establishment Late Stage to the Foundation Establishment Peak.

That was enough time for a young child to grow into a strong young man.

A mortal’s youth often only lasts about twelve years.

And in those dozen or so years, some changes had also occurred to the people Zhang Chi knew well.