In Yue Kingdom, the greatest forces in the world of immortal cultivation are the Seven Sects: Yanyue Sect, Spirit Beast Mountain, Yellow Maple Valley, Qingxu Sect, Huadaowu, Tianque Fort, and Jujian Sect. Of these sects, Yanyue Sect is the strongest, followed closely by Spirit Beast Mountain. The other sects are all roughly equal in strength, with no significant disparity.
Beyond these seven sects, the next most powerful forces are large immortal families headed by Jindan-stage cultivators, such as the Yan family, Yue Kingdom's foremost immortal family. Their ancestor reached the mid-Jindan stage, and the family boasts dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators, making them considered powerful within the region.
The next most powerful forces are medium-sized families headed by several Foundation Establishment cultivators, such as the Lu family, from which Lu Tiandu hails.
A hundred years ago, the Lu family boasted a Jindan ancestor and over ten Foundation Establishment cultivators, making them one of the three great families of Yellow Maple Valley and a major immortal family within Yue Kingdom.
A hundred years ago, the Jindan ancestor passed away, and the family declined, now with only three Foundation Establishment cultivators.
The smallest of these were small immortal cultivation families, some of which had previously produced Foundation Establishment cultivators, and some currently had one or several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.
For someone have a chance to pursue the Great Dao."
Lu Tiandu, seeing Han Li feeling a little discouraged, offered a soothing reassurance.
He recalled the story of the old demon Han who obtained the Bu Tian Dan and, after years of refining it, achieved a aptitude comparable to that of two spiritual roots, a method of refining spiritual roots.
Hearing this, Han Li's spirits perked up. Furthermore, he still had the small bottle; this might be his greatest opportunity, and his heart suddenly burned with excitement.
Lu Tiandu swiped the storage bag at his waist, and several items appeared on the table: an ordinary gray leather bag, several books, a small green sword, a small black shield the size of a palm, a talisman pen, several dozen talisman papers, and several small bottles and jars.
Looking at the young man with bright eyes, Lu Tiandu smiled and said, "Meeting is fate. These are common items in the cultivation world, so I'm giving them to Fellow Daoist Han!"
Under Han Li's excited eyes, Lu Tiandu explained how to use the storage bag, two low-level magic tools, the talisman pen, and so on.
"This is the complete version of the Changchun Gong that fellow Daoist is practicing. Fellow Daoist, you don't have to worry about the subsequent exercises," Lu Tiandu took out a book written on yellow paper and said, then pointed to the remaining books, "There are also these books, The True Explanation of Basic Spells, The Complete Collection of Basic Talismans, and Records of the Immortal Cultivation World, which can also fill the deficiencies in fellow Daoist practice. I will give them to fellow Daoist..."
Looking at the table full of things he had dreamed of, Han Li was really excited. He suppressed the surprise in his heart and bowed deeply: "Thank you, brother Daoist!"
Lu Tiandu waved his hand and said bluntly: "When you enter the cultivation world, you will know that these are not valuable things. If you have extra pills, just give me ten bottles of each!"
According to Lu Tiandu's judgment, a bottle of Huanglong Dan and Jinsui Wan made by Han Li was worth about four or five spirit stones, and twenty bottles of pills were less than a hundred spirit stones. It was a little worse than what he took out, but the difference was not much. It was half an exchange and half a gift.
He hadn't deceived Han Li. Otherwise, once Han Li entered the world of cultivation and gained a deeper understanding, he would undoubtedly feel that Brother Lu had taken advantage of his ignorance.
Of course, in a sense, the knowledge that had led him into the world of cultivation was invaluable. But the favor itself was another matter, one that some cherished, others ignored.
"Okay, I'll definitely collect the elixirs for you as soon as possible!" Han Li agreed without hesitation.
In the corner, Doctor Mo watched Han Li, who had been treated like a brother and thus had received this opportunity, with a complex feeling in his heart...
Three days later, after explaining some of Han Li's cultivation difficulties, Lu Tiandu departed with the six bottles of elixirs Han Li had given him.
They agreed that Lu Tiandu would return in three months to collect the second batch of seventeen bottles, and in six months to collect the final seventeen.
Gazing at Lu Tiandu's fleeting figure, Han Li was filled with yearning for his future as an immortal cultivator.
....
This time, in search of opportunity, he first obtained a small sword talisman and an Ascension Token, then solved the problem of rapidly ripening spiritual herbs. Finally, he obtained more than a dozen spiritual herbs and forty bottles of elixirs suitable for the Qi Refining stage, and incidentally, earned the favor of Old Demon Han. Lu Tiandu's trip was truly fruitful.
In a valley hundreds of miles from Divine Hand Valley, Lu Tiandu lowered his flying sword, found a secluded spot, and directed it to create a cave.
With a flick of his hand, five formation flags appeared. He placed them according to the layout instructions, chanted a few incantations, and the maze formation was instantly activated.
With another wave of his hand, he cast several warning barriers, and then Lu Tiandu flashed into the world of stone beads and began his cultivation.
At the foot of Tongtian Peak, beside the Hundred Medicinal Herbs Garden, in a wooden cabin overlooking a stream, Lu Tiandu sat cross-legged.
...
More than two months later.
"After consuming four bottles of elixirs, I've finally reached the tenth level of the Wind Spirit Art."
Inside the cabin, Lu Tiandu felt the surge of his mana, a faint smile playing on his face.
Upon returning to the Stone Pearl World, Lu Tiandu refined the six bottles of Qi Refining elixirs he'd received from Han Li through the Creation Divine Furnace, removing impurities and increasing their potency by 10-20%. Then, he began taking elixirs to boost his spiritual power.
Leveraging his exceptional spiritual roots, the Stone Pearl World's rich spiritual energy, and the abundance of elixirs, Lu Tiandu advanced from the ninth to the tenth level in less than three months.
Leaving the cabin lightly, Lu Tiandu casually practiced a few spells, feeling the increase in his mana, and then resumed his regular practice of various spells.
During his retreat, Lu Tiandu hadn't been solely meditating and refining elixirs. Besides meditating and practicing spells, he also kept in mind his pursuit of talisman crafting, which was his only way to earn spirit stones.
Because talismans are created by cultivators sealing their learned spells onto talisman paper, the classification standards for spells and talismans are identical.
Both are divided into four levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and ultimate, with each level further divided into three stages: lower, intermediate, and upper.
The blank talisman paper needed for talismans, whether beginner or intermediate, is crafted from aged spiritual herbs.
Of course, talisman paper used to seal intermediate and upper-level spells, which can only be performed by cultivators at the Jindan stage and above, cannot be made from ordinary paper; instead, it requires the spirit skins of special demonic beasts.
Due to the presence of the furnace image in his sea of consciousness and his inherent magical talent, he easily mastered various spells. In his previous sparring session with Chen Tianming, he had only demonstrated the beginner-intermediate spell "Wind Spirit Grabbing Hand," but in reality, he had already mastered seven or eight beginner-intermediate spells, including two beginner-intermediate spells.
His talent for magic combined with his aptitude for drawing talismans was the main reason he enjoyed greater wealth and advanced faster than other children from aristocratic families in the early stages.
To maintain this advantage, drawing a few talismans daily became an essential part of his daily routine.
(End of this chapter)