96: Chapter 96 First, draw a thousand shots.

When Yun Ming returned to his Immortal Cave, the night was already deep.

Jiu Jiu jumped down from his shoulder, flapped its wings, and landed back in the nest constructed from Top-Grade Spirit Stones, circulating the Qing'ai Spring Recovery to heal its wounds.

Yun Ming walked over, added a few more Top-Grade Spirit Stones to its nest, and rubbed its head: "Heal well."

Jiu Jiu nudged his palm, and that young, tender voice resonated in his mind: "I know, Master."

Yun Ming sat cross-legged in the Quiet Room but did not immediately Cultivate.

He looked at the curled-up five-colored figure in the corner and suddenly thought of a problem—what should he do when traveling with Jiu Jiu in the future?

If one day he were to suddenly die again like he did in Daqian, and after his Rebirth he was separated from Jiu Jiu by hundreds of thousands of miles, that would be troublesome.

He needed to prepare a specialized Spirit Beast Pouch for it.

A Storage Pouch cannot hold living creatures, but a Spirit Beast Pouch can. When the time comes, he could stuff it into the pouch and carry it with him. Even if he died again, he could put it inside before he died. After his Rebirth, Jiu Jiu would still be by his side.

Yun Ming thought for a moment, then shook his head.

A Spirit Beast Pouch also costs money to buy, and the good ones aren't cheap.

How about...

His eyes brightened slightly.

How about breaking through to the Golden Core as soon as possible.

Once he successfully formed his Core, he could refine the map of mountains and rivers into his Lifebound Treasure. That was a Small World; although it was only one hundred thousand miles and the Laws were incomplete, it was more than enough to hold ten thousand Jiu Jius. When the time came, he could just let Jiu Jiu live inside, and he wouldn't even need to buy a Spirit Beast Pouch.

The more Yun Ming thought about it, the more he felt this was a good idea.

It saved money, saved trouble, and was safe.

That was settled.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the distracting thoughts in his heart, and began to circulate the Dao Scripture.

This closed-door cultivation lasted for over half a year.

During this period, he occasionally came out to give a lecture or refine a few furnaces of Medicinal Pills, but all other time was spent on Cultivation. With the profound mystery of the Dao Scripture fragments, the guidance from the Core Formation method of the Youxuan Pill left behind by Daoist Lord Wanfa, and an ample supply of Spirit Stones and Medicinal Pills, his Cultivation Realm improved steadily at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The Foundation Establishment Late Stage Realm was polished bit by bit until it was harmonious and perfect.

Inside his Dantian, the more than three thousand drops of spiritual liquid became increasingly dense, each drop crystal clear and shimmering with a faint starlight. They slowly circulated according to the trajectories of the celestial stars.

One day, eight months later.

Yun Ming opened his eyes from his meditation, inspected his Dantian, and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.

He had finally reached it.

He did not rush to break through to the Golden Core, but instead stood up and pushed the door open to go out.

Sunlight spilled down. In the courtyard, Jiu Jiu was patrolling by the Herb Garden. Seeing him come out, it flew over happily and landed on his shoulder: "Master, Master! You've finished your closed-door cultivation!"

Yun Ming rubbed its head and smiled: "Go send a message to Elder Yao and Su Mubai, tell them I am about to Breakthrough, and ask them to come over."

Jiu Jiu chirped in response, flapped its wings, and flew away.

Not long after, two figures arrived together.

Elder Yao Chenzi, dressed in a green robe, looked Yun Ming up and down upon seeing him, his eyes full of surprise: "You are about to Breakthrough?"

Su Mubai followed behind him, also looking incredulous.

Yun Ming nodded: "My Realm has been polished to Perfection, and I am preparing to enter closed-door cultivation to break through to the Golden Core."

Yao Chenzi was silent for a moment, then suddenly sighed: "You kid... how long has it been? It's only been a little over a year, and you've gone from Foundation Establishment Late Stage to Foundation Establishment Great Perfection. This speed..."

Su Mubai also said: "Brother Yun's talent is truly..." He paused and gave a bitter smile, "I prided myself on having good talent, but compared to Brother Yun, it's not worth mentioning."

Yao Chenzi stroked his beard and suddenly remembered something: "By the way, I've never asked you, what exactly is your Spiritual Root? Old man here sees your Cultivation speed, it must be at least a Top-Grade Heavenly Spiritual Root, right?"

Yun Ming smiled: "Elder, you flatter me. This Junior has a Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root."

Yao Chenzi's hand paused.

Su Mubai's smile also froze on his face.

The two looked at each other, seeing shock in each other's eyes.

"Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root?" Yao Chenzi's voice rose a few notches, "That is... the worst kind of Spiritual Root?"

Yun Ming nodded.

Yao Chenzi opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Su Mubai muttered: "For someone with a Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root to reach the Qi Refining Late Stage, they would already have to be burning high incense. Brother Yun is actually about to form a Golden Core..."

Yao Chenzi took a deep breath, and his gaze toward Yun Ming became complex.

"You kid... you are a person with great Luck." He said slowly, "To reach this step with a Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root is definitely not a matter of talent. Seize it well, and do not waste this Luck."

Yun Ming nodded: "This Junior understands."

He added: "I invited the two of you here today, firstly to tell Elder Yao that I may need to go into closed-door cultivation for a period of time, so the lectures must be paused; and secondly, I would like to ask Brother Su to give a few lectures on my behalf, as the Disciples of the Outer Sect are still waiting."

Su Mubai immediately agreed: "Rest assured, Brother Yun, leave it to me."

Yao Chenzi also said: "Cultivate in peace, don't worry about anything else."

Yun Ming cupped his hands toward the two: "Many thanks."

After seeing them off, Yun Ming returned to the Quiet Room.

He did not immediately begin the Breakthrough.

Instead, he sat cross-legged on the prayer mat and silently calculated the time.

About fourteen months had passed since the last card draw.

Fourteen months, four thousand two hundred draws.

Plus the six thousand eight hundred draws remaining after the last card draw.

Yun Ming calculated silently in his heart, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

Exactly eleven thousand draws.

Name: [Yun Ming] [Dao Fruit of Longevity] (Color)

Realm: [Foundation Establishment Great Perfection]

Traits: [I Will Definitely Return] (Color) [Serious Punch] (Gold) [Accidentally Entering the Heavenly Family] (Gold) [Youre So Flamboyant] (Purple) [Budget Warrior] (Blue) ...

Occupation: Second-Rank Medium Grade Alchemist

Cultivation Technique: [Dao Scripture · Fragment] (Gold) [Great Thousand Star Evolution Sword Diagram] (Gold) [Cold Spring Jade Quenching Record] (Gold) [Indestructible Body of Ten Thousand Tribulations] (Gold) [Supreme Profound Pure Qi Art] (Purple) [Introduction to Alchemy Scripture] (Blue) ...

Spells: [Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record] (Color) [Tahua Zizai Escape Technique] (Gold) [Purple Cloud Divine Thunder Curse] (Purple) ...

Draws: [11000]

Wealth: 0

Items: map of mountains and rivers (Color), cauldron of all things mother qi · Imitation (Gold), wanxiang array-breaking sword (Gold), xuanming heaven-covering umbrella (Gold), blood-melting eerie glow needle (Gold), moonlight flowing frost robe (Gold), zixiao void-breaking thunder bead (Gold), zhoutian yuan-magnetic realm-suppressing tower (Gold), Nine Heavens Sky-Net Sword Array (Gold), jiuyou soul-capturing banner ...

Yun Ming glanced at today's Trait; it was "Auspicious for Cultivation." He secretly decided in his heart that if the next daily Trait was not "Auspicious for Card Drawing," he would not draw, no matter how many draws he had saved up.

Yun Ming took a deep breath and directly invested one thousand draws.

In an instant, countless meteors streaked past his side. Red, orange, yellow, green—streaks of light of various colors trailed long flames, weaving into a brilliant star rain around him.

One, two, ten, one hundred.

No gold.

And certainly no color.

Yun Ming watched the meteors streak by quietly, his expression calm. He was long used to card drawing—most of the time, they were just ordinary goods.

The meteor shower lasted for about half an incense stick of time before gradually thinning out.

The light faded, and a large pile of Spirit Stones appeared before Yun Ming's eyes.

Yun Ming's mouth twitched.

Fine, at least it's money.

He put the Spirit Stones into his pocket and fixed his gaze on those three streaks of purple light.

Three streaks of purple light hung in the Void Realm, their color deep and mysterious.

Yun Ming raised his hand, and the first streak of purple light fell into his palm.