novelapdf Chapter 215 Taking stock of the gains and preparing for seclusion
Chapter 215 Taking stock of the gains and preparing for seclusion
"The injury has finally healed."
Inside the cave, Zhang Lingyu slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. In the Water Moon Secret Realm, he had used the Blood Burning Secret Technique twice in succession. Although he had replenished his blood and qi with the help of the Li family's pills, it was done hastily.
After returning to his family, it took him nearly half a month to finally expel the remaining poison that had been lurking deep in his body.
During these two or three months, although there was no progress in cultivation, his combat skills improved significantly. The reason for this was Huang Yunshan.
In the past, he had almost never fought with someone by crossing two minor realms. To outsiders, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator could hardly withstand more than a few moves from a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator.
But he managed to block it.
Although he looked quite miserable after the war, it also brought him considerable gains.
Master Xuanhao has already made it very clear that when the Spirit Puppet Sect opens, elites from all the sects will gather together, not just the six sects, but also other regions of Donghua Prefecture.
It won't be as simple as just one or two Foundation Establishment Peak cultivators by then.
Huang Yunshan is indeed a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, but he is only ranked in Yuhu County. He is nothing in the entire Zhao Kingdom, let alone Donghua Prefecture.
Zhang Lingyu is currently only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. If he advances to the late stage, he might be able to kill him with the help of the six [Mysterious Thunder] flying swords.
"There are still eight years until the secret realm opens. I must do everything in my power to improve my cultivation and acquire more combat skills."
He is the head of the Zhang family. With just one order, all the resources of the entire family will be at his disposal. At the current rate, four or five years is enough time for him to break through to the later stage.
Furthermore, there are some spells and techniques.
Zhang Lingyu's wealth is comparable to that of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, but it's really not enough in the eyes of those disciples from major sects. It's enough to handle combat, but he needs to make up for it elsewhere.
First, regarding the spirit and soul.
He has been cultivating the "Spiritual Profound Soul Nourishing Scripture" for many years and has now achieved great success. His soul strength is between the late Foundation Establishment stage and the peak Foundation Establishment stage. If he cultivates this first volume to perfection, he will be comparable to a Golden Core stage cultivator.
Once the divine soul is strengthened, it can simultaneously control more magical artifacts to fight enemies and unleash some divine soul spells, which can also affect cultivators at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.
In addition, the soon-to-be-completed puppet will greatly enhance one's strength.
"Speaking of puppets, we should send a message to Tianliu City to inquire how many can be made in the remaining years..."
Another point is that the terrain within the Spirit Puppet Sect is complex, and it is possible to be affected by the Spirit Puppet Myriad Transformations Box at any time. After strengthening one's divine sense, one can avoid many dangers.
Having set his goals for the next few years, Zhang Lingyu first took stock of what he had gained in the Water Moon Secret Realm.
Most of the spiritual herbs in the secret realm were auxiliary ingredients for refining the Water Moon Bright Divine Pill, which he didn't need right now, so he put them all into a storage bag to store them for later.
Furthermore, there were the storage bags of the several Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivators who were killed.
Since it was a contest for the Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor, most of the people's storage bags contained pills for healing and detoxification, while spirit stones and other pills beneficial to cultivation were left in the clan.
The talismans have been almost completely used up.
On the contrary, those magical artifacts were somewhat pleasing to his eye.
Most of them are mid-grade or low-grade Foundation Establishment level magic artifacts, which are not very useful to him now, but he can leave them in the clan for Zhang Xinghao and the others to use.
Slightly disappointed, he immediately got up and headed towards the family hall.
The old man, Zhang Yuanlin, was handling various matters in the hall as usual. Seeing the man enter, he looked up and asked with concern, "Lingyu, is your injury any better?"
"Don't worry, Second Grandfather, the remaining poison has been completely eradicated."
Zhang Lingyu responded and asked, "How is it?"
"We've been together for almost half a month now, and from what I've observed, we're both quite satisfied with each other."
Zhang Lingyu was naturally asking how Li Suzhou and Zhang Yuanli were getting along. Since they were going to be married, they had to build a good relationship.
According to the old man, Zhang Yuanli and his group had been taking Li Suzhou and the other person to stroll around Zhang family territory for the past two weeks. The four of them were all the same age and their cultivation levels were not too different, so they naturally started chatting.
Even Li Sujin gradually became more talkative.
"That's good. It's only been a little over half a month. If we spend another year or two getting to know each other and there are no major problems, we can start preparing for the wedding." Zhang Lingyu nodded in satisfaction after hearing this.
"Who can argue with that?"
Zhang Yuanlin sighed, "Time flies. I never imagined that the members of the 'Yuan' generation would already be getting married and having children. It seems we are really getting old."
Both of them were somewhat disheartened upon hearing this.
Those born in the "Yuan" generation were born during the most intense period of the struggle between the three families. There were already few who could cultivate, and many died in the years of war. Those who survived began to grow old.
Zhang Yuanlin was luckier; he managed to establish his foundation and would live a little longer.
"Alright, let's not talk about these things anymore, today..."
Zhang Yuanlin was luckier; he managed to establish his foundation and would live a little longer.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. You came to see me specifically for more than just this, right?"
"Second Grandfather guessed correctly, Lingyu is indeed in trouble."
Zhang Lingyu took out several intelligence lists from his pocket and said:
"This is the intelligence recently sent back by the Night Owl Guard. Since that demonic cultivator disappeared, the Zhao Kingdom has been much more peaceful. Most of the information here is about the locations of various spiritual objects. See if any of our clansmen who are abroad can try to retrieve them when they have time."
Most of the intelligence he possessed came from the intelligence system, with some also obtained through the Night Owl Guard.
Because I am about to go into seclusion, these tasks can only be left to my subordinates.
"Okay, I understand. I'll make the arrangements and go right away." The old man glanced at the message without saying anything more.
"By the way, Second Grandfather, I have a list here. Let Uncle Xingfu and the others look around in Yanxingfang and Tianliu City. If they find anything, buy it first, and I'll use my own spirit stones to make up the difference later."
Zhang Yuanlin took the list with a puzzled look. After glancing at it, he found that most of the items on the list were pills to improve cultivation, as well as some things to assist in cultivation.
The pills are mostly fourth-grade, and with so many of them, the cost is considerable.
"Are you preparing for a long period of seclusion?"
"Exactly."
In fact, before Zhang Yuanhua left, he left a lot of pills for the Foundation Establishment cultivators. In addition, there were also a lot of pills in the Yun family, the Ming family, and Black Tiger Mountain.
But he wasn't the only one in the family to take it.
Even with three second-tier spiritual mountains like Qingya Mountain, the speed of cultivation is still far slower than taking a single pill.
Besides, those pills are no longer enough for him now that he's in the mid-stage. If he wants to advance quickly, he still needs to buy some higher-quality pills.
If he were to go and buy it himself, it would inevitably delay his cultivation for a while. Anyway, his vision could still be used for another year or two, and the pills should be delivered by the time he ran out.
The list given to the old man contained not only pills, but also some spiritual items. Pills for improving cultivation were easy to buy, but the main items were those that aided in cultivating the spiritual and soul techniques.
The Lingxuan Yanghun Jing (Spiritual Profound Soul Nourishing Scripture) records many elixirs used to aid cultivation. He dared not openly buy them all, otherwise people would notice his true intentions.
He would break down a few important pills into spiritual herbs, buy them, and then refine them himself.
"As the clan leader, the clan's resources naturally gravitate towards you. Over the years, the family has been quite wealthy, and you don't need to contribute spirit stones or anything like that."
Zhang Yuanlin waved his hand, frowned, and asked, "There's something I'm not sure if I should ask..."
"Second Grandfather, please speak freely."
"Lingyu...have you gotten into some kind of trouble?"
Diligent cultivation is a good thing. Which Foundation Establishment cultivator doesn't spend a year or two in seclusion? The old folks can understand that.
But Zhang Lingyu's preparation of so many pills clearly indicates that he intends to enter a long-term seclusion.
The other party broke through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage in less than two years. If they want to advance to the late stage, it will take them at least ten years, since the late stage is a significant hurdle.
Otherwise, it would have troubled Zhang Xingyao for decades.
Zhang Lingyu's hasty attempt to break through to the later stage comes at a price that is easy to imagine. Not to mention, although the pills are good, long-term use will accumulate a certain amount of pill toxins in the body.
If erysipelas is not cleared, it can cause considerable harm to the physical body and the dantian (energy center).
Therefore, cultivators regularly remove the poison from pills to ensure their own safety. With so many pills, the amount of poison accumulated is considerable.
If it were just the poison in the pills, it wouldn't be enough to worry the old man. What he feared was that Zhang Lingyu might use some forbidden technique to break through to the next level as soon as possible.
When the breakthrough is achieved, the foundation will be damaged, and it will take a great deal of effort to remedy the situation.
But what exactly would make this clan leader so eager to go into seclusion?
To be honest, the Zhang family doesn't really have any external enemies right now, but after hearing about the Water Moon Secret Realm, the old man felt a little uneasy.
Zhang Lingyu's acquisition of the Water Curtain Heavenly Splendor and the killing of a Golden Core Immortal Clan cultivator will surely incur the enmity of both major Immortal Clans.
If they can't touch the Li family, how could they possibly touch a mere Foundation Establishment family?
However, Zhang Lingyu said that Xuanhao Zhenren was in the Dry Bone Forest, so neither of their families dared to act rashly. The Li family in Yuhu County would also send people to keep an eye on things, and if they sent people, they would definitely notify them in advance.
But in the old man's view, the Golden Core Immortal would leave sooner or later after finishing his business. As the saying goes, a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, and the two great immortal clans might not wait until that day.
At that time, you'll have to rely on yourself.
Perhaps Zhang Lingyu thought so too, which is why he rushed to break through and planned his path to the Golden Core stage in advance.
The old man was right. If it weren't for plotting to obtain the Golden Elixir, why would Zhang Lingyu risk his life so desperately?
He only said:
"Second Grandfather, the reason I'm in such a hurry to go into seclusion is not for anything else, but to improve my strength before the ruins of the Spirit Puppet Sect appear, so that I can seize more opportunities."
"The ruins of the Spirit Puppet Sect?" The old man's heart skipped a beat; he had never heard the other party mention this before.
But you can tell from the sound that it's not a good thing.
The dangers of the Spirit Puppet Sect ruins eight years later far exceeded anyone's imagination. Even cultivators from major sects might not survive. If the old man knew he was going, he would definitely do everything in his power to stop him!
The family was on the rise when it suddenly lost its leader, although there were still a few other Foundation Establishment cultivators and a group of promising juniors like Zhang Yuanyao.
But it's a significant blow to the entire family, and who knows what changes might occur.
Zhang Lingyu didn't tell him this in order to keep him calm.
He would find out sooner or later, so he might as well find out now.
After he finished explaining the whole story, Zhang Yuanlin surprisingly didn't try to stop him. He just stood there blankly, trying to speak several times but failing to make a sound.
Zhang Lingyu's combat ability is not bad, at least at the level of a Golden Core Immortal, but if he really encounters disciples from those major sects, he will definitely not be able to compete.
Putting aside how good their magical artifacts are, which one of them didn't grow up consuming all sorts of rare and precious herbs?
The clan chief also said that all families would definitely have to go, and it would be an extremely chaotic battle.
Zhang Lingyu is merely a family cultivator. If he were born into the Jade Light Pavilion, he might be able to offer some assistance, but the few members of the Li family alone are simply not enough.
It can be said that this journey is almost certainly a death sentence.
But the old man knew he couldn't persuade her otherwise.
After a long pause, she slowly managed to squeeze out a few words: "Lingyu... are you really sure?"
"I...have made up my mind."
Zhang Lingyu slowly said:
"Although my family occupies a county in a remote location, we are still a Foundation Establishment family. The cultivation world is full of dangers, and who knows what might happen one day."
"Furthermore, if you want to achieve the Great Dao, you can't escape the word 'competition.' If you compete, you still have a sliver of hope; if you don't compete, you can only sit and wait to die."
He has no powerful background or extraordinary talent. His achievements today are due to two factors: the intelligence system and perseverance.
An intelligence system can provide you with a constant stream of opportunities, but opportunities aren't something you can simply sit back and wait to seize.
The legacy left by Tianji Sanren and Mingyu Zhenren has been of great help to me, but it also carries considerable hidden dangers. Without exceptional strength, one cannot obtain it.
He wanted to achieve the Golden Elixir and go further, and only by striving, constantly striving, could he have a glimmer of hope.
Although Zhang Yuanhua has already gone into seclusion to attempt to break through to the Golden Core stage, everyone understands how small the chances are. However, once the trip to the Spirit Puppet Sect is over, we will know whether he succeeds or fails.
As for Zhang Xingyao, although he is in the later stages, it is hard to say whether he will have a chance to make a breakthrough within the next twenty years.
Golden Core spiritual objects can be tracked using intelligence systems, but those are almost always located in extremely dangerous places that no Golden Core cultivator can set foot in.
Even if it appears at an auction, how could it possibly compete with those Golden Core and Nascent Soul sects?
Therefore, he was determined to go to the Spirit Puppet Sect.
"Alright, since you've made up your mind, we won't stop you. With me, Xingyao, and Uncle Xinghao watching over the clan, there's nothing to worry about."
Seeing that Zhang Lingyu had already said this, Zhang Yuanlin didn't know what else to say, and as usual, he told him to be more careful.
"Don't worry, Second Grandfather, I know what I'm doing. I'm going to see if I can get some opportunities, not to die. If there is really a huge risk, I will definitely back out."
The world is vast, and the opportunity to advance to the Golden Core realm is not limited to the Spirit Puppet Sect. As long as the intelligence system remains, there are endless possibilities.
"Okay, I trust your personality the most."
Zhang Yuanlin exhaled a breath of stale air and continued, "You can focus on your seclusion. Don't worry about the clan's affairs; leave them to me."
"I will have Xingfu and the others buy all the pills on this list, so you can break through to the later stage as soon as possible!"