148: Chapter 148 A Brief Introduction to the Daoist Rhyme

Su Cheng was in no hurry; he returned to his Immortal Cave and refined another furnace of Medicinal Pills.

Two hours later, at the foot of Qingmu Peak.

The Bamboo Pole Cultivator was drenched in sweat, clutching the contribution points tokens he had managed to scrape together.

The few of them certainly couldn't afford this batch of Medicinal Pills on their own, but fortunately, their group was quite large.

“Senior Brother Su! I... I've gathered them all!”

Su Cheng verified the amount was correct, pushed the jade box containing the remaining Medicinal Pills over, and waved them away.

How much did he earn from this batch of Medicinal Pills in total?

The cost of Spirit Medicine was almost zero, as they were all freshly picked from Qingmu Peak.

Ten High Grade foundation establishment pills were two thousand contribution points, and he also charged one thousand contribution points for the cost of ten sets of Spirit Medicine.

Six Medium Grade pills were nine hundred, and another High Grade was two hundred.

After adding it all up, it was a net profit of four thousand one hundred contribution points.

Adding the remaining one thousand-plus points from selling his own refined pills previously, Su Cheng now had over five thousand contribution points on hand.

This number looked like a lot, but when he thought about exchanging for multiple Pill Formulas and upgrading the wanbao mirror, Su Cheng frowned.

He still needed to earn more.

“I need to think of a more efficient way to earn...” he muttered to himself.

Forget it, he wouldn't think about that for now.

Over the next month, Su Cheng split his time into three blocks:

In the morning, he went to the mountaintop to supply Qi of Creation to the dragon beard vine. In the afternoon, he tightly closed the Immortal Cave's Restriction, summoned the qiankun creation furnace, and refined various supreme grade Medicinal Pills furnace after furnace.

First-rank qi gathering pills, body tempering pills, and qi recovery pills; second-rank clear spirit pills, qi sea pills, foundation establishment pills, and spirit burst pills.

He refined many rounds of everything for which he had Pill Formulas and Spirit Medicine. He sealed the finished products into jade boxes by category and stacked them neatly in a corner of his Storage Pouch.

He wouldn't take these Medicinal Pills out for now; he would wait until his next trip to the Prefecture City to hand them over to the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce and the Su Family.

In the evening, he plunged into the scripture area of the Dharma Transmission Pavilion, browsing through materials on Concept, Golden Core Breakthroughs, and various Pill Formulas.

The scripture area of the Dharma Transmission Pavilion and the Scripture Pavilion were two different things.

The Scripture Pavilion stored the Sect's treasured high-level Cultivation Techniques, Pill Formulas, and equipment diagrams; ordinary Disciples could not enter.

The scripture area was a public zone within the Dharma Transmission Pavilion that collected a large number of basic Pill Formulas, equipment diagrams, cultivation notes, and academic writings, which could be read for a few contribution points.

Su Cheng spent several months immersed in the scripture area and gained a lot.

Regarding Concept, he found a work titled "superficial knowledge of dao rhyme," written by a certain Golden Core Elder of the Danding Sect who had already passed away.

The book used very accessible language to explain the essence of Concept:

“Concept is the product of resonance between the heart and Heaven and Earth. It cannot be obtained through force, nor sought through deliberate intent. Only by honing one's Heart-Nature to a state of transparency through day-after-day cultivation can one have a slim chance to occasionally touch that wisp of Heaven and Earth's ultimate truth that belongs to oneself.”

“Those with superior Aptitude and high Comprehension Ability might catch a glimpse of the threshold during the Foundation Establishment Stage. Those with mediocre Aptitude might not attain it even after a hundred years of cultivation. However, the presence or absence of Concept is not a necessary condition for immortal cultivation. Those without Concept can still form a core and Cultivate to Nascent Soul; it is just that their upper limit is slightly lower.”

Su Cheng took these words to heart, but he always felt something was not quite right.

Back when his sister Su Yunling was at the Tiangang Sect, Elder Jing Xuan had clearly mentioned that at the Qi Refining Peak, one could already attempt to perceive Concept.

The Tiangang Sect had even produced a Prodigy two hundred years ago who touched Sword Intent during the Qi Refinement Stage.

Yet this "superficial knowledge of dao rhyme" did not mention a single word about whether one could perceive Concept during the Qi Refinement Stage.

The claims of the two Sects did not match.

Was it that the Danding Sect's system was different, or did this Elder intentionally omit the part about the Qi Refinement Stage?

Su Cheng thought about it and stopped dwelling on it.

His father and sister were already Foundation Establishment Cultivators; there was no practical significance in pondering whether one could perceive Concept during the Qi Refinement Stage anymore.

What he should care about now was how to walk the path after the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Concept was indeed important, but it wasn't the end of the world if one didn't have it.

His sister had previously entered the Tiangang Sect's Sword Intent Pavilion once to meditate. Although she hadn't successfully touched that wisp of Sword Intent, no one could say for sure whether some seeds had been planted.

However, another piece of information caught Su Cheng's attention.

The latter half of "superficial knowledge of dao rhyme" mentioned that a very small number of Medicinal Pills, usually third-rank or above, could allow a Cultivator to temporarily enter a state of "Heaven-Man Communion" after consumption, thereby increasing the probability of comprehending a Concept.

The most famous one among them was called the "Dao Enlightenment Pill."

A third-rank Medicinal Pill, something only a Golden Core Cultivator could refine, and it belonged to the extremely difficult category.

Su Cheng silently noted down the name.

With his current Divine Sense strength, he certainly couldn't refine third-rank pills, but that didn't mean he never could.

When he finished browsing the materials and came out of the Dharma Transmission Pavilion, the sky was already pitch black.

Su Cheng walked along the mountain path toward Qingmu Peak; the cold wind brushed against his face, making his mind exceptionally clear.

Returning to his Immortal Cave, he first checked the Formation once, and after confirming there were no abnormalities, he sat on the prayer mat and took out the Jade Slip that a Utility Disciple had brought back from outside the mountain gate during the day.

Fang Zhenhai's reply had arrived.

In the jade talisman, Fang Zhenhai's tone was more respectful than ever before, even carrying a hint of overwhelmed excitement.

Between the lines, he repeatedly expressed gratitude for the "Mister's" concern before getting to the main point.

“I am honored by your inquiry, Mister. My cultivation is currently at the Foundation Establishment Peak, and my Spirit Sea has expanded to the limit of this body. The supreme grade clear spirit pills and qi sea pills I consumed have had significant effects. I feel that my spiritual power purity is acceptable, but there are still three hurdles to pass before Core Formation.”

“First, although the total amount of spiritual power is abundant, I have not yet mastered the knack for the force required to compress it into a core. Every time I attempt to compress the Spirit Sea, it ends in failure, with the spiritual power always collapsing just as it is about to liquefy and solidify.”

“Second, the Cultivation Technique I practice is the water-attribute "Vast Ocean Art." My Foundation is fairly solid, but my perception of my own Great Dao remains blurry. Every time I enter seclusion to meditate, I gain very little. I dare not deceive you, Mister; with my Aptitude, I fear it will be difficult to leave a Dao Rhyme pill pattern on the core.”

“Third, Heart Demons. I have spent half my life wandering, and the things I have experienced are complex; my state of mind is not pure enough. If I rashly charge toward the Golden Core, I fear I will not be able to survive the Great Heart Demon Tribulation.”

After Su Cheng finished reading, he put down the jade talisman and closed his eyes in thought.

Fang Zhenhai's situation was a bit better than he had anticipated.

The total amount and purity of spiritual power were sufficient—those supreme grade second-rank pills hadn't been wasted. The main problems were concentrated in three areas: Core Formation techniques, Dao Rhyme perception, and Heart Demon resistance.

Su Cheng had ways to solve all three of these problems.

It was just that some could be started on immediately, while others would require some effort.

Regarding Core Formation techniques, there were relevant cultivation secret arts in the Dharma Transmission Pavilion that could be bought with some contribution points.

As for whether the effect would be good, that would depend on Fang Zhenhai's own Comprehension Ability.

Dao Rhyme pill patterns were indeed difficult, but hadn't the Danding Sect also said that one could form a core without pill patterns, just with a slightly lower quality?

Fang Zhenhai wasn't following a combat path; he was a merchant. It wouldn't be a big problem if the Golden Core quality was a bit lower, as long as he could Breakthrough.

Heart Demons, on the other hand, required ning shen pills and po zhang pills for assistance.

He had searched the scripture area of the Dharma Transmission Pavilion for several nights and hadn't found these two Pill Formulas.

He later found out from Senior Brother Chen Yuan that both ning shen pills and po zhang pills were second-rank High Grade. Not only were the contribution point prices for the Pill Formulas outrageously high, but there was also a limit on the number each Disciple could exchange.

What was even more of a headache was that the main ingredients required for these two pills, Soul-Fixing Grass and Realm-Breaking Flower, were rare varieties cultivated separately by the Sect.

They weren't grown on Qingmu Peak at all; he would have to go to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to exchange contribution points for them, and the price was also not cheap.

Adding the Pill Formulas and Spirit Medicine together, it was a significant expense.

There was no rush; he had to prepare step by step.

Su Cheng calculated for a moment, took out a blank Jade Slip, and recorded a reply in his own name: