Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments-Chapter 73 - 71: Cyan Wood Essence / Fake Pill / Trade Fair

Chapter 73: Chapter 71: Cyan Wood Essence / Fake Pill / Trade Fair

Xiao Chen meditated to recover some of his Magical Power, then extinguished the fire before returning to Bishui Peak.

Although he hadn’t managed to buy the Five-Colored Golden Lotus, it didn’t matter anymore.

Right now, he just wanted to see if he could find any useful clues inside the Storage Bags.

This would allow him to follow the trail and unmask the mastermind who had been repeatedly targeting him.

The Restrictions on the three Storage Bags were already mostly destroyed.

Xiao Chen completed their Refinement with ease. Just in ready-to-use Spirit Stones, there were a total of 869.

After stowing the Spirit Stones, the first thing he found was a massive Array Deployment Map.

It detailed the three different variations of the Qimen Sancai Formation, along with its key cultivation principles.

To be honest, Xiao Chen couldn’t really make sense of all the strange symbols.

Based on the diagrams, he guessed that it was an Array that required three people to deploy in unison.

Next were some miscellaneous items.

Two Talisman Brushes, three different types of Talisman Ink, two stacks of Talisman Paper, and five sheets of cut Beast Hide.

There were also eleven unused Magic Talismans, one bottle of Nourishing Essence Pills, two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills, and two bottles of Fasting Pills.

Xiao Chen examined everything and found them to be ordinary items. ’I have no use for any of this. I’ll sell it all for Spirit Stones as soon as I can.’

Then, he found a Cyan Flower Jade Purification Bottle, rich with Spiritual Qi, which immediately caught his eye.

He pulled out the stopper to find the bottle was a little less than half-full with a viscous, dark green liquid that looked like dyed honey.

A dense wave of Wood Spiritual Qi wafted out. Just a single whiff made him feel revitalized.

’Don’t tell me... this is the legendary Cyan Wood Essence?’

Feeling the pure Wood Spiritual Qi, Xiao Chen immediately thought of another Top Grade, Tier One Wood Element Spiritual Object.

Cyan Wood Essence was even rarer than Spirit Wood Spirit Liquid; it was something money couldn’t always buy.

It wasn’t just a raw material for various High Tier Elixirs.

Consuming Cyan Wood Essence could also greatly enhance a Cultivator’s affinity for Wood Spiritual Qi.

This, in turn, would lead to faster cultivation when practicing Wood Element Techniques or Magic.

For a Cultivator with a Wood Spirit Root, it was undoubtedly a Supreme Treasure they could only dream of obtaining.

Furthermore, this item was also a Wood Element Spiritual Object suitable for Foundation Establishment and could be used for the Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment.

This small bottle of Cyan Wood Essence was what Tian Laoer had painstakingly collected, as he too was planning for his Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment.

Xiao Chen felt a little wistful. ’If only this was a Metal or Earth Element Spiritual Object for Foundation Establishment. After all, I already have the Tongbi Talisman Ginseng.’

’But, I have a Wood Spirit Root, so it’s perfect for me.’

’I could keep it and drink it myself after Foundation Establishment. Every little bit of improvement helps.’

He stoppered the Cyan Flower Jade Purification Bottle and put it away. All that remained were three small booklets and a flyer.

The three booklets turned out to be a Cultivation Technique, a notebook, and a thick cookbook.

’Why is there a cookbook?’

Curious, Xiao Chen opened the cookbook first and found that it did, in fact, contain many recipes.

The pages of the cookbook were creased from being flipped through many times, a clear sign of frequent use.

He then opened the notebook, and his interest was finally piqued.

The notebook, surprisingly, contained all the information Tian Laoer had gathered over the years about Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment.

It mentioned that the order in which one absorbed the Spiritual Objects during Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment was crucial.

First, the Fire and Water Spiritual Objects had to be separated. They absolutely could not be consumed one after the other, or it would inevitably trigger a conflict and cause the Foundation Establishment to fail.

Second, the last Spiritual Object to be absorbed would have the greatest effect.

This was especially true for Dual Spiritual Root Cultivators. It was best for them to decide on a primary Spirit Root in advance and arrange to consume the corresponding Spiritual Object last.

However, Xiao Chen didn’t have this problem; he didn’t need to choose at all.

Furthermore, the notebook mentioned something of critical importance.

Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment was a process of reforging a Cultivator’s body.

If one had the means, they could add other precious Spiritual Objects to the foundation of the Five Elements Spiritual Objects.

For instance, a Sword Cultivator could take the opportunity to refine a Sword Embryo, laying the groundwork for a future Lifebound Flying Sword.

A Talisman Cultivator, for example, could choose to refine a Lifebound Talisman. From that point on, any Lifebound Talismans they drew would be twice as effective.

Another example was the Inner Core of a Demon Beast!

If one could rely on their family or elders to help them acquire a Demon Beast’s Inner Core...

...then during Foundation Establishment, they could refine the Demon Beast’s Inner Core into their body, just like a Sword Embryo.

Doing so was almost equivalent to gaining a second Dantian capable of storing Magical Power. The total amount of Magical Power one possessed would instantly double.

Not only that, but this Inner Core could also be continuously nurtured with various Spiritual Objects and fed with Magical Power, allowing it to grow.

Once it was fully formed, it would become a Fake Pill.

At that point, a Cultivator could use the Fake Pill to wield power far beyond the Foundation Establishment realm ahead of schedule.

Most importantly, a Fake Pill obtained this way would not affect the Cultivator’s normal breakthrough to the Golden Core realm.

’There’s a trick like this?’

Xiao Chen quickly flipped back to the beginning and read through it carefully again, confirming that he had understood correctly.

’As expected, knowledge is often an incredibly valuable resource.’

He had never heard of anything like this before.

Without this information, he might have gone his whole life without ever knowing what a crucial opportunity he had missed during his Foundation Establishment.

The notebook mentioned two final things at the end.

The first was a self-reminder. Tian Laoer had noted that he needed to find time to review the Dark Scripture—the cookbook.

This was to avoid having to look up the code word-by-word when trying to read a secret message.

’Oh?’

Curious, Xiao Chen flipped through the cookbook again, and this time he noticed something was off.

Some of the sentences in the cookbook were bloated and rambling, while others were extremely terse.

Furthermore, each page contained exactly fifty characters, which was obviously meant to facilitate decryption.

Although having the Dark Scripture was temporarily useless without the corresponding decryption method and key, Xiao Chen still stored the cookbook away carefully. It might prove useful one day.

The second thing mentioned was the flyer.

It was a promotional notice for a trade fair, inviting nearby Loose Cultivators to Shattered Stone Valley on the twentieth of May to trade amongst themselves.

Shattered Stone Valley was located within the territory of the Azure Flame Sect, a good two thousand li away from the Li Huo Sect.

The event was organized by a prominent local clan of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, the Xiong Family.

They claimed that not only would they be offering many Elixirs and Magical Artifacts, but there would also be several very precious Spiritual Objects up for auction.

According to the information Tian Laoer had gathered, this was the first time the Xiong Family was hosting such a large-scale trade fair.

To build their reputation, they were planning to bring out many rare items that couldn’t be found on the open market.

Therefore, the main auction would very likely feature a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object or even a top-grade Magical Artifact as the grand finale.

’Azure Flame Sect... the Xiong Family... a trade fair with Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects.’

Xiao Chen found it strange. ’Why would these three be carrying a flyer for the Xiong Family’s event, which is over two thousand li away?’

’If that’s the case, then what reason did they have to travel thousands of li just to come to the Li Huo Sect and lure me into a trap?’

’Whether it’s for the potential Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects or to investigate the truth, it seems a trip to Shattered Stone Valley is necessary.’

’There are still twenty-five days until the trade fair, which is plenty of time. I can take it slow and still make it.’