31: Foundation Building Cave

“Artifact Refining, like Alchemy, requires finding Earth Fire to refine artifacts before becoming a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and being able to generate Foundation Establishment Spirit Fire.”

“Then does this count?”

Lu Ming looked at the cluster of Green Flame in his hand.

The Three Yin Nether Fire had only devoured two Cultivators so far, growing from a small flame to a large one.

Its power had increased a bit, but not much.

“Subsequent Cultivation still requires the strong assistance of all Fellow Daoists.”

Lu Ming planned to start trying Artifact Refining. He currently had a lot of Materials in his pocket, so it was good to practice with them first.

Moreover, he didn't need to use Earth Fire for forging like others; the Three Yin Nether Fire was enough to melt most low-grade Materials.

After thoroughly studying [Beginner's Guide to Artifact Refining], Lu Ming began to refine.

“First, melt the Materials...”

“Refine...”

“Shape...”

“Engrave Spirit...”

...

Three hours later, Lu Ming frowned, looking at the pitch-black claw knife in his hand, and fell silent.

He had originally intended to refine a Flying Sword...

And!

Why did the Materials start to look eerie after being melted by the Three Yin Nether Fire?

How could he sell this later!

Others would think he was an Evil Path Artifact Refiner.

And he truly had no talent for Artifact Refining; no one else could refine spiritual Materials into Mortals.

“Forget it, I'll let myself off the hook for now.”

Lu Ming decided not to overthink it and would consider Artifact Refining matters again once his Realm improved.

He first contacted Zhou Yang, and after confirming that everything was fine, he planned to Cultivate first.

The gains from this trip to the black market had not been fully digested yet.

Both the Yin Thunder Palm and the Three Yin Nether Fire had just barely been introduced.

His fight with Yang Hong mostly involved forcibly raising his Magical Power level with Medicinal Pills and secret techniques; otherwise, with his current proficiency, it would be hard to even give Yang Hong a massage.

“I'll primarily focus on Cultivating the Devouring Spirit Blood Demon Art to increase my cultivation, and hone the Yin Thunder Palm in my spare time.”

“As for the Three Yin Nether Fire, it's too taxing on Fellow Daoists, so I can take it slow.”

He selected Shen Lian as the nourishment for the Devouring Spirit Blood Demon Art.

Feng Ping and Chen Yumei were chosen as recipients for the Yin Thunder Palm.

With his plan set, Lu Ming began to Cultivate.

...

Daytime, the scorching sun hung high in the sky.

Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

This continuous mountain range presented a dark and oppressive feeling, as if a giant beast, ready to devour, lay prostrate between heaven and earth.

Especially with the mountainside shrouded in clouds and mist, this sense of oppression from facing a colossal entity was even stronger.

A giant sword flew rapidly in the high sky, chasing a large Yao Beast bird ahead, and looking at its direction of flight, it was precisely the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

At this time, on the giant sword, Shen Lian was sitting with three other people, each using their methods to deal with the giant eagle.

“Brother Shen, put in more effort! This beast won't last much longer; we can't let it escape back!”

One Black-robed cultivator, after casting an ice arrow Spell, turned and spoke to Shen Lian with some dissatisfaction.

In his view, the Spells Shen Lian cast were soft and weak, not to mention harming the Silver-Ringed Green-Winged Eagle; they couldn't even break its defense.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he was petting the Silver-Ringed Green-Winged Eagle.

This was clearly slacking off, putting in effort but not power!

Shen Lian felt somewhat stifled, but he still forced himself to take a breath and cast a Spell towards the front.

Perhaps it was due to overexertion or severe Magical Power consumption.

After casting a Spell, Shen Lian's face turned pale, and he began to cough violently, covering his mouth.

“Brother Shen, are you alright?”

A nearby Cultivator saw his appearance and asked with concern.

Shen Lian took a Medicinal Pill, then waved his hand and said.

“I'm fine!”

His companions, seeing him thus, said no more and concentrated on dealing with the Yao Beast before them.

In mid-air, brilliant lights shimmered, and various Spells and Magical Artifacts glowed across the sky.

After another chase, the group finally killed the Silver-Ringed Green-Winged Eagle.

“Caw!”

The eagle beast let out a sharp wail, its blood staining the long sky, and its lifeless body began to fall downwards.

The three Cultivators leaped off the giant sword and came to the side of the Silver-Ringed Green-Winged Eagle's corpse, intending to begin distributing the 'spoils of war'.

It was then that someone suddenly asked.

“Brother Shen, aren't you coming down?”

Hearing this, everyone turned to look and saw that Shen Lian was still sitting cross-legged on the Magical Artifact giant sword, with no intention of coming down.

“I didn't contribute much, so you all can distribute it. I'll be responsible for keeping watch.”

Shen Lian said with righteous indignation.

Everyone heard him and didn't say much, beginning to distribute it among themselves. They were more than happy to have one less person to share with.

But only that Black-robed cultivator gave Shen Lian a meaningful glance.

Shen Lian sat cross-legged on the giant sword, swallowed a handful of Medicinal Pills, and looked enviously at them dividing the beast's corpse. Those were all Spirit Stones!

But he was extremely weak now, fearing to reveal any flaws, so he could only give up the current benefits to buy himself time to recover.

These few people in front of him were not benevolent individuals. If his body was fine, they would still be good Fellow Daoists.

But if something was found to be wrong with him, in this desolate wilderness, it would be hard to say what might happen.

As soon as he thought about his own situation, Shen Lian's face darkened.

“Why haven't these cursed symptoms gotten better!”

Since a month ago, his Qi and blood had been continuously draining, not only making it difficult for his cultivation to advance, but his Magical Power also became violent from time to time, and his body grew weaker day by day.

No matter how many Medicinal Pills he consumed, it was always a deficit, and he should have been in seclusion to recuperate.

But unfortunately, the consumption of Medicinal Pills and Spirit Stones was enormous, and he could no longer support his Cultivation, which was why he embarked on this journey.

Chasing Yao Beasts was merely an accident; their group's true intention was not here.

And when he thought of their next destination, his heart grew fervent.

There, he might find Medicinal Pills or Spirit Medicine to treat this strange phenomenon, or even have the Opportunity...

While he was lost in thought, the few people below had finished dividing the spoils and returned to the giant sword with smiles on their faces.

Half an hour later.

The four arrived in front of what appeared to be an ordinary mountain wall, but as they approached.

Rumble!

The ground trembled slightly, and the scene before them had already changed.

A grayish-white light screen enveloped the entire mountain wall, blocking them outside.

And in the center of the original mountain wall, a large mountain cave appeared.

The scene inside was obscured by the light screen, somewhat blurry and not clearly visible.

But that wasn't important!

In this environment, the appearance of a cave protected by a Formation might not be enough to explain anything.

Cultivators mostly adapt to circumstances, casually digging a hole outside to sleep, but who would use a second-tier Formation to guard it!

What that implied was self-evident.

A Foundation Establishment Immortal Cave!

A Foundation Establishment Opportunity!

This was the consensus of all of them.

To become a great Foundation Establishment Cultivator was almost the lifelong pursuit of all Qi Refining Cultivators.

But the Foundation Establishment chasm had stumped countless Cultivators with poor Aptitude.

Even in the Green Bamboo Market, with tens of thousands of people, there was only one Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Once one enters Foundation Establishment, one is no longer a Mortal!

That was a true transformation, a leap in the level of life, a symbol of power and status!