I Cultivate Longevity in the Cultivation Realm

"But?"

Zhou Changwang was startled.

"But, Foundation Establishment Pills are not easy to refine.

Nurturing a Second-Grade Alchemist capable of refining Foundation Establishment Pills is not easy either.

Even a High-Tier Second-Grade Alchemy Master cannot guarantee they’ll produce a Foundation Establishment Pill on the first try.

Often, it takes opening the furnace two or three times to succeed once.

And the quantity of Foundation Establishment Pills successfully refined is also limited.

If things go well, seven or eight pills may be produced, but if not, only two, three, four, or five might be made.

There are so many Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivators; once the major sects refine the Foundation Establishment Pills, they will certainly prioritize their own Sect Cultivators.

As for Loose Cultivators, they have to wait further down the line.

It’s said that some cultivators collected three portions of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects early, yet had to queue for Foundation Establishment Pills for as long as eight, nine, or even ten years.

Some even submitted their Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects, only to find that during the waiting period, their age exceeded sixty, causing them to miss the Foundation Establishment chance and regret it for life."

At this point, Shen Xinyue showed a touch of emotion, saying, "This is the Cultivation Realm, often this cruel.

So, most Loose Cultivators assume they must gather enough Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects before fifty and submit their application early.

Only then can they hope to receive a Foundation Establishment Pill by sixty and successfully retreat into Foundation Establishment.

Many cultivators, in their entire lives, have only one chance at Foundation Establishment.

Even more, have no chance at all.

They can only risk forcefully establishing a foundation without a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Though some succeed by luck, most perish as a result.

Out of a hundred or so, only two or three achieve success."

"Is ten years really that long?

But wasn’t Pavilion Master Tang over fifty already?"

Zhou Changwang was shocked and couldn’t help but ask.

"Senior Sister Tang is naturally different.

She’s a formal disciple of our Shuiyun Immortal Sect, so even if she has to queue, she does so with our sect’s disciples, unlike Loose Cultivators who wait that long; at most, it takes three years.

However, Senior Sister Tang has an aunt who is our sect’s internal affairs manager and also a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, so she has quite some authority.

Senior Sister Tang might wait at most a year, perhaps even less, to acquire a Foundation Establishment Pill.

That’s why she hurriedly left, returning to the Shuiyun Immortal Sect."

As she spoke, Shen Xinyue’s face also showed a trace of envy.

She herself wasn’t far from Foundation Establishment.

But, not to mention she hadn’t gathered all the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects, even if she had, she would still have to queue for at least two to three years.

She estimated that it would be difficult for her to establish a foundation within five years.

"Does that mean even if I gather three portions of the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects now, I’d still need to wait at least ten years to get a Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Zhou Changwang’s face turned a bit grim.

Only now did he realize.

Why a Foundation Establishment Pill, which should cost merely 150,000 Lower-Grade Spirit Stones, was bid up to 220,000 Lower-Grade Spirit Stones at the black market auction.

The time cost was just too high.

Ordinary cultivators simply couldn’t afford to wait.

"Sister Shen, if I submit three portions of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects now, how long will it take to get the corresponding Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Zhou Changwang pondered for a moment and asked again.

"You’ve already gathered three portions of Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects?"

Seeing Zhou Changwang shake his head, she didn’t press further, but quickly added, "Around the Divine Wind Valley Marketplace, only three sects have the ability to exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills.

They are the Qingyuan Sect, Immortal Flower Sect, and Shuiyue Cave.

If it’s the Qingyuan Sect, it would take at least nine years.

Shuiyue Cave, having relatively fewer disciples, might queue a bit faster, taking roughly eight years.

As for the Immortal Flower Sect, reportedly they have a Third-Grade Alchemist overseeing things, so the success rate of pill production is higher.

It would take about six years."

"Of course, if you trust me, I could use my position to apply for a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Shuiyun Immortal Sect for you.

Including travel and dealings, the time could be shortened to five years.

Of course, there might be an additional cost involved, roughly 30,000 to 50,000 Lower-Grade Spirit Stones."

Shen Xinyue concluded after considering.

"Nine years, eight years, six years, five years."

Zhou Changwang fell silent.

This was utterly unexpected for him.

Though, even with a ten-year wait, given his lifespan, he could afford it.

But he was now at Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation (56/100).

With his cultivation aptitude and the cultivation efficiency of his Perfection-level Pure Yang Five Elements Technique, it would take two or three months to reach (100/100) and truly hit the pinnacle of Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation.

Wait another five years? Ten years?

He couldn’t afford it and didn’t want to wait.

"Then, the only option is to wait for the next black market auction to buy Foundation Establishment Pills?"

Zhou Changwang frowned.

This was too passive.

Though the black market hosted such large-scale auctions annually, he only needed to wait a year to possibly obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.

But what if?

He couldn’t guarantee the black market would necessarily offer a Foundation Establishment Pill at the next major auction.

"Besides, there’s another option.

And that is to refine it myself."

Zhou Changwang’s eyes lit up, recalling the cultivator selling pill formulas he met last time at the black market.

According to the seller, he even had the Foundation Establishment Pill Formula.

Previously, he’d ordered a Foundation Condensation Pill Formula from him.

If it’s confirmed genuine, he might consider purchasing a Foundation Establishment Pill Formula from the same seller.

"In that case, I must wait for the next black market, obtain the Foundation Condensation Pill Formula, and make a comparison.

But in the meantime, I mustn’t be idle.

I must quickly enhance my alchemy skills.

After all, both the Foundation Condensation Pill and the Foundation Establishment Pill are Second-Grade Spirit Pills.

If my alchemy skills are inadequate, even if I have enough Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects, constant failures will lead to enormous losses.

Failures are something I cannot afford."

Zhou Changwang calculated silently; with the Nourishing Spirit Flower Shen Xinyue gave him, he now had about three portions of each Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object required.

He could afford three failures.

Still, he lacked the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Marrow...

This he wasn’t too worried about.

Compared to other materials, Ten Thousand Year Spirit Marrow was something major sects had a regular output of, available periodically.

All he needed was to keep an eye out, spend enough spirit stones, and it wouldn’t be hard to buy.

With his mind made up,

Zhou Changwang then bid farewell to Shen Xinyue, proceeding directly to various spiritual material shops for a large-scale purchase.

In the last black market, aside from ordering a Foundation Condensation Pill Formula from that alchemist named Wang Tianshuo, he also bought more than thirty other spirit pill formulas.

Despite most of these formulas being ordinary,

he, possessing the attribute panel, could rapidly enhance his alchemy prowess by refining these spirit pills.

Now, he needed to acquire enough spiritual materials to kickstart his grand plan to ’improve’ his alchemy skills!