Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation

Compared to the Qi training stage, the dantian after Foundation Establishment undergoes a significant qualitative change. The mana within flows continuously, and its power and abundance are on a completely different level.

“As expected, this isn't a gap that quantity can bridge.”

Slightly circulating his mana, Li Ji'an felt terrifyingly strong.

“I appreciate everyone's well wishes. Please return. We'll gather again after I finish consolidating my cultivation.” With a surge of mana, he responded to the congratulations outside his cave.

A month ago, they respectfully addressed him as senior. Now, they can finally interact as equals, which is much more relaxing.

Immediately afterward, he sent voice transmissions to Tong Yaoyao and Zhao Shuyao, thanking them for protecting him.

Now that Foundation Establishment is complete, he only needs to seclude himself for a period to stabilize his cultivation without worrying about being disturbed.

After the crowd outside his cave dispersed, Li Ji'an meticulously reviewed and summarized his first Foundation Establishment experience, planning ahead for his next life.

“My mana is more than pure enough, but it lacks abundance. The cultivation technique is the main reason. I must practice a more profound technique in my next life.”

“There's still room to improve my physical body. If I could attempt Foundation Establishment with the body of a Tier 2 body cultivator, and accommodate twice as much spiritual energy, perhaps the spiritual pressure would be sufficient.”

“My spiritual soul is already more than adequate, and there's even a surplus. I can proceed step by step!”

“The main effect of the Foundation Establishment Pill is merely to compensate for one's own shortcomings… If one's own strength is sufficient, wouldn't it be better to do without it?

What exactly was that faint sense of foreboding before taking the Foundation Establishment Pill?

If I don't take the Foundation Establishment Pill in my next life, can I grasp that wisp of inspiration? What benefits might there be?”

…

After summarizing, Li Ji'an once again meticulously sensed the results of his current Foundation Establishment.

The dantian and mana need no further explanation.

His spiritual soul has been further enhanced due to the success of Foundation Establishment, faintly touching the level of the late Foundation Establishment stage, which was also expected.

His physical body hasn't changed. To break through to Tier 2 body refinement, he can only use Tier 2 demon cores for further refinement.

Then, he made a horizontal comparison.

“The aura of my mana… seems to be stronger than Yan Qingwan's aura twelve years ago.”

“Xiao Changfeng didn't seem to have as strong an aura as I do now when he just achieved Foundation Establishment last year.”

After careful recollection and comparison, Li Ji'an felt slightly surprised.

If the other two hadn't used secret techniques to conceal their auras, he felt that his current mana aura surpassed theirs.

“Could it be that there really are different levels of strength in Foundation Establishment?”

Over the years, he had consulted many materials about Foundation Establishment.

One viewpoint stated that Foundation Establishment also has its advantages and disadvantages, such as inferior Dao foundations, superior Dao foundations, and even Heavenly Dao foundations, and even claimed that it would affect subsequent realms.

However, this view was refuted by many powerful figures, including the late Golden Core stage ancestor of the Bi Yun Sect, who said that Core Formation was unrelated to Foundation Establishment, and denied it with empirical evidence from observing the differences in Foundation Establishment among many core disciples and inner disciples within the sect, finding no obvious patterns.

He said that after Foundation Establishment, the dantians of all cultivators were no different, only differing in the weakness of their mana, which was unrelated to Foundation Establishment and should be affected by the cultivation during the Foundation Establishment stage and the quality of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

However, there are also ancient books that only say that Foundation Establishment is related to the path of the Dao, but do not mention the advantages and disadvantages of Foundation Establishment.

However, this theory was also denied by the old ancestor of the Myriad Dharma Palace, the highest cultivation in the entire Sky Cang Domain, who said in the Nascent Soul realm that he did not feel the influence of Foundation Establishment on the Nascent Soul.

“Could it be that, as the old ancestor of the Bi Yun Sect said, the grade of the Foundation Establishment Pill affects the mana situation after successful Foundation Establishment?” After a little thought, Li Ji'an compared himself and Yan Qingwan to argue.

He and Yan Qingwan practiced the same technique, and neither of them took any rank-breaking pills during the Qi training stage. From the perspective of mana, the biggest difference is that he took the high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill to assist in Foundation Establishment, while Yan Qingwan took the low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill to assist in Foundation Establishment.

After personally experiencing the Foundation Establishment process, he determined that the effect of the Foundation Establishment Pill was mainly to supplement mana to the dantian and to additionally increase spiritual pressure.

“It should be!” After rational argumentation, Li Ji'an had a high probability of reaching a conclusion.

The high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill supplemented more and stronger mana and spiritual pressure, so the condensed liquid mana was stronger and more abundant.

Xiao Changfeng's mana was already strong, and although he did not have the Foundation Establishment Pill to assist him, he had already surpassed the mana that Yan Qingwan had supplemented with the low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill.

After obtaining this conclusion, Li Ji'an felt fortunate and grateful to the Little Fire Spirit.

The quality of the Foundation Establishment Pill not only affects the success rate of Foundation Establishment, but also affects the strength of the foundation after Foundation Establishment.

“I achieved Foundation Establishment at the age of thirty-seven in this life, and because I took the high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, my starting point is unexpectedly high. I can't let it down.”

After determining the achievements of Foundation Establishment in this life, Li Ji'an made prospects and plans for the future.

“In this life, I should try my best to seek Core Formation without affecting my safety!”

Without planning for the moment, one cannot plan for a lifetime.

Without planning for a lifetime, how can one plan for longevity?

Moreover, now that Foundation Establishment has been achieved, vitality is more vigorous, and lifespan is conservatively estimated to be at least two hundred and fifty-six years.

He has at least two hundred years in this life before he returns to his old age.

Of course, when he fed the ant queen with qi and blood in his previous life, he already understood that consuming qi and blood can also advance the time of returning to old age. He even reasonably speculated that some secret techniques similar to blood burning escapes that consume a lot of qi and blood and vitality can greatly advance the time of returning to old age.

Strictly speaking, the upper limit of his return to old age is controlled by his cultivation, but the lower limit has always been controlled by himself.

If it is beneficial to the ultimate goal of longevity and immortality, he can completely return to old age a hundred years in advance.

However, from the current point of view, this is completely meaningless, and every time he returns to old age, it is a huge crisis and challenge.

No matter how perfect the arrangement, it is not as practical as mastering your own strength.

“Core Formation!” With the next goal in this life, Li Ji'an's eyes were firm.

Foundation Establishment has three levels: initial, middle, and late, and each level has a qualitative change.

Whenever there is a qualitative change, the power and abundance of mana are greatly improved.

The higher the realm, the greater the difference in qualitative change.

In many records, the middle stage of Foundation Establishment is more than double that of the initial stage, and the late stage of Foundation Establishment is twice that of the middle stage.

“With my mid-grade spiritual root talent in this life, and the cultivation of this kind of technique, it will probably take at least thirty years to complete the initial stage of Foundation Establishment!” Recalling many records and combining them with his own actual situation, Li Ji'an recognized himself and knew what he was doing.

“Even if I can complete Foundation Establishment and be qualified to attack Core Formation, it will probably be a hundred years later!”

This does not include the two major bottlenecks in the Foundation Establishment stage.

The two major bottlenecks in the Foundation Establishment stage are more difficult than those in the Qi training stage. Even high-grade spiritual roots cannot avoid them. Except for earth spiritual roots and above, they all need to face them.

However, Li Ji'an is not too worried about the bottleneck in the Foundation Establishment stage, because the records say that the bottleneck in the Foundation Establishment stage, in addition to basic resources such as spiritual veins and dojos, mainly lies in the state of mind and perception, and does not involve mana refining. Many people need to enter the world to experience or retreat and think hard.

Because of the increase in comprehension from multiple returns to old age, he has confidence in this.

“The cultivation world is changing rapidly. No one can say what will happen in these hundred years. I still lack a way to protect myself!” Li Ji'an concluded that the safest way to fight and kill in the cultivation world is to control spirit beasts, control puppets, and arrange magic arrays in advance for ultra-long-distance fighting and killing. He doesn't even need to meet his opponents, which not only reduces the chance of injury and death, but also avoids being chased and killed.

The next best thing is talismans and magic weapons, which can be controlled and fought from a distance.

This can be used in an emergency, and can also avoid close contact with opponents, and consumes less of your own energy.

The next best thing is spell fighting, which requires you to fight head-on and consumes a lot of energy.

The worst thing is the physical cultivator's close combat and some secret techniques and techniques for close combat.

The cultivation world is strange and bizarre. It is difficult to guarantee that the other party does not have any secret cards. In close combat, if someone takes out an artifact, they will not be able to escape.

However, when Li Ji'an prepares his own method of protection, this order is just the opposite.

First of all, ensure that the physical body can withstand a fatal blow at a critical moment. This is the key to guarding against the old six, and it is also his bottom card, which is not revealed in ordinary times.

Secondly, you must learn one or two escape secret techniques so that you can withdraw as soon as possible in a crisis. The Scarlet Dragon Escape that Yan Qingwan taught him before is of this type.

The third is talismans and magic weapons.

Now that the Foundation Establishment is successful, the mana is abundant, and the spiritual soul is comparable to the late Foundation Establishment stage. He must make progress in Tier 2 talismans. Although this is not his most core card, it must be his most destructive card.

If he can draw Tier 2 late-stage attack talismans, he will have the attack power of the late Foundation Establishment stage.

The last trump card, and also the outermost trump card, is Gua Gua.

As for the formation inheritance that Granny You passed on to him, he does not have more energy to study for the time being, and that formation inheritance only has Tier 1 inheritance, which is not very useful for his current Foundation Establishment stage identity.

“Tier 2 body training requires a Tier 2 Golden Armor Beast demon core… The difficulty is too great, so put it back first.”

“There are few profound techniques in the state for Foundation Establishment stage spells.”

“Tier 2 talisman… The talisman inheritance given by the Great Elder should be given priority.”

“It is already a great help from Xiao Qiao and Fire Spirit that Gua Gua's low-grade bloodline can be promoted to Tier 2. If nothing unexpected happens, there is no possibility of further progress.”

…

A month later, the transformation of the dantian was complete, and the Foundation Establishment stage realm was stable. Li Ji'an left the seclusion.

“Qi is here to congratulate Daoist Li on behalf of the main family! This little gift is not a sign of respect.” Steward Qi estimated the time in advance and waited outside.

As soon as Li Ji'an left the cave, he handed over a red spirit ginseng, an auxiliary medicine for a Tier 2 primary elixir, and also the main medicine for the Rejuvenation Pill, worth about 300 spirit stones, which is key and difficult to find.

This gift is not light.

“Steward Qi is being polite.” Li Ji'an smiled and accepted the gift. For ordinary Foundation Establishment loose cultivators, and those who are not particularly close, a gift of 300 spirit stones is a bit expensive, but for a Tier 2 alchemist who has refined top-grade elixirs, it is not important at all.

Moreover, Li Ji'an understood his thoughts and what he wanted.

If there is one more Tier 2 alchemist in the fairy city, it will bring more popularity and benefits to the fairy city.

“Congratulations, Daoist Li, Han is a little bit of a thought, please accept it.”

“Daoist Li, congratulations, congratulations, a bright future.”

…

Those who can settle in the inner city of the fairy city are basically Foundation Establishment loose cultivators who are extraordinary in some skill. They have a greater demand for Tier 2 elixirs and are more willing to make friends with a Tier 2 alchemist who has refined top-grade elixirs.

Similarly, Li Ji'an is also interested in the skill inheritance of some of them and is willing to make friends.

Anyway, he didn't want to be famous last time when he refined the top-grade elixir, and he was already famous. And the goal of this life is Core Formation, and there are more than two hundred years of long time. Maybe he can survive these older generations, and he is not in a hurry to consider the next return to old age.

“Li thanks you all, Daoists. I will host a small celebration another day, and I hope you all will show your face.”

After greeting a group of artisan friends.

“Xie Gui has met Senior Li, and was ordered by his master to send a small gift to congratulate Senior on the success of Foundation Establishment.” Xie Gui kept his head down all the way, holding a jade bottle in both hands.

“Master Zou is thoughtful, thank Master Zou for me.” Li Ji'an has seen a lot of Master Zou's character and has no special emotions.

Xie Gui hurriedly bowed and took a breath.

Previously, Alchemist Zou relied on his age to be frivolous to Li Ji'an. A month ago, when he heard that Li Ji'an had successfully established his foundation, Alchemist Zou was worried that Li Ji'an would bear a grudge.

At this time, Li Ji'an actually called him "Master Zou" in front of everyone, which made Xie Gui feel relieved in an instant.

Just after sending Xie Gui away, another person appeared, which made Li Ji'an feel a little surprised.

“Jiu Chan represents the Liu family to congratulate Daoist Li on the success of Foundation Establishment and the prosperity of the Immortal Dao.”