Translator: AnubisTL
It's often said that cultivators spend more than half their Lifespan in arduous cultivation and closed-door meditation.
This statement is absolutely true, especially as one's cultivation level rises. Closed-door cultivation periods become even longer, often lasting a decade or more—a common occurrence.
Since Li Qing refined the Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain spear, more than two years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
After such a long time, the heaven and earth spiritual energy around the cave abode once again stirred restlessly.
However, this time, the disturbance wasn't caused by Li Qing's artifact refinement. It was Fan Tong breaking through!
Eyes closed, Li Qing sat cross-legged like a stone statue, immersed in deep cultivation. He had almost lost all sense of time passing.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and two sharp beams of light shot out from them.
Fan Tong's breakthrough had startled him from his deep meditation. After completing the final cycle of the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, Li Qing slowly stood up.
Cobwebs had already formed in the corners of the cave abode, and a layer of dust had settled on the stone benches and table that had never been used.
This didn't resemble the cave abode of a foundation establishment cultivator at all. It could easily be mistaken for a cave abandoned for years.
Realizing this, Li Qing forced a wry smile. He then casually cast several wide-area spells, combined with the Purifying Water Technique, to thoroughly clean the cave abode.
It wasn't that he was careless; he had been so engrossed in cultivation lately that he hadn't bothered with such matters.
After finishing, Li Qing took out his Identity Token and glanced at the information displayed on it. His contribution points had automatically increased from zero to four hundred!
As a sect elder, he was entitled to three mid-grade spirit stones and two hundred contribution points annually.
The former had to be claimed in person at the Hall of Merit, while the latter was automatically added to the elder's Identity Token. A simple mental check would reveal his current contribution point balance.
"Two years have passed in the blink of an eye. This stubborn fool is finally about to break through. It's been a long time coming," Li Qing sighed, feeling as though he had been transported to another world.
He wasn't worried about Fan Tong's breakthrough. He could clearly sense that Fan Tong's accumulation was exceptionally deep and profound, his aura remarkably condensed.
Especially the waves of Tiger's Might emanating from him—they would undoubtedly send many low-level cultivators fleeing in terror.
As expected, Fan Tong's breakthrough should go smoothly, with a much higher success rate than when it consumed its second foundation establishment pill.
"Roar!"
Fan Tong let out a low growl, sounding full of fighting spirit—a stark contrast to its usual lazy, slumbering posture.
Vast amounts of heaven and earth spiritual energy washed over its body, while Li Qing's spiritual sense remained constantly focused.
He saw faint shadows appear on its majestic tiger frame. These shadows—some with wings, others with white scales—represented the various mutations it had undergone after consuming the Crimson Crystal.
Finally, the shadows completely vanished, leaving only Fan Tong's heterochromatic tiger eyes, now gleaming with spiritual light.
One red, one black—a truly eerie sight.
"Awooo!" Fan Tong roared, drawing in massive amounts of spiritual energy through its gaping maw. Soon, within its body, a dark crimson crystal began to slowly solidify.
A demon beast crystal core!
At this point, Li Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that with this development, Fan Tong's advancement was all but assured. No major setbacks were likely.
The most crucial characteristic of a Second-Tier Demonic Beast is its crystal core. Possessing this small gem signifies a quantum leap in the demon beast's power, and its value skyrockets!
Next came the birth of the Demon Spirit, a phenomenon akin to the divine soul of cultivators.
While the Demon Spirit of a Second-Tier Demonic Beast would still be relatively fragile and unable to unlock human-like intelligence, it would undoubtedly become somewhat smarter.
After a long wait, Fan Tong's Crystal Core finally solidified. Its tiger eyes seemed to clear and become more lively.
"Hahaha! You stubborn brute finally broke through! All that white ape flesh I fed you wasn't in vain. Now you're finally worth something!" Li Qing roared with laughter. Through the close connection of the Blood Contract and soul contract, he could sense Fan Tong's significant increase in power. In future battles, he could definitely rely on it!
Who would have thought that a tiger demon with such a mixed bloodline could reach this stage and become a Second-Tier Demonic Beast?
"Awoo!" Fan Tong charged out, clearly overjoyed. It leaped directly at Li Qing.
Seeing this, Li Qing didn't dare hesitate. He immediately activated his Limitless Golden Body, channeling his Martial Dao cultivation to circulate Vital Energy throughout his body. Even with this, he barely managed to catch Fan Tong's leap.
The physical body of a Second-Tier Demonic Beast had reached a terrifying level. Its mere physique could contend with foundation establishment cultivators, even with a considerable chance of victory. This alone spoke volumes.
Although Li Qing had also cultivated his physical body, the lack of a Second-Tier body refinement secret technique had left his progress stagnant.
"Damn, you're trying to crush me! A regular foundation establishment cultivator's body wouldn't even withstand a single slap from you!"
Li Qing was secretly shocked, marveling at Fan Tong's current strength. In terms of raw power, it had already far surpassed him.
Even if he were to acquire a Second-Tier body refinement secret technique now, he doubted he could surpass it in this regard.
"Roar!" Fan Tong, having just broken through, was clearly excited. Reaching the Second-Tier level also triggered a metamorphosis in certain parts of its body.
For instance, the bone spikes on the white ape's back were its most resilient features, excellent materials for artifact refinement.
Fan Tong also possessed such unique traits. Its heterochromatic tiger eyes had developed an innate divine ability-like attack.
"Easy now, don't blow up my cave abode," Li Qing cautioned, urging Fan Tong to demonstrate the power of its tiger eyes' innate divine ability.
Fan Tong's dual crimson and black tiger eyes suddenly deepened. Without warning, two spiderweb-thin beams of light shot out from its tiger eyes.
In an instant, the hard rock ground was pierced through, leaving two incredibly deep holes.
Of course, this was only because it was holding back its power. Otherwise, the destructive force would have been far greater.
"Hmm... just gained a ranged attack method?" Li Qing mused, not overly surprised.
"Not bad. A normal Black Fiend Tiger wouldn't have this ability."
After careful consideration, Li Qing was satisfied. Ordinarily, the bloodline of a Black Fiend Tiger would struggle to support its growth to the Second-Tier Demonic Beast level. Even if one did reach that tier, it wouldn't possess an innate divine ability like Fan Tong's. It all came down to the Demon beast's bloodline.
"Like father, like son; like dragon, like phoenix; a rat's son will dig holes."
This old saying wasn't just a saying!
Fan Tong's newfound ability was entirely due to the Crimson Crystal it had consumed, which triggered a metamorphosis.
Of course, the current Fan Tong could no longer be considered a pure Black Fiend Tiger.
In addition to their innate divine abilities, Second-Tier Demon beasts also experience a significant increase in lifespan, far greater than that of cultivators.
Demon beasts naturally live far longer than humans. Li Qing estimated that Fan Tong could easily live for another three or four centuries, or even longer.
"Excellent, excellent. Stay in your cave abode and thoroughly experience the changes in your strength. I'll be going out for a while, and then I'll prepare to head to the World of Eternal Night."
With that, Li Qing left Fan Tong in the cave abode and soared out alone, riding his azure wind spear.
Having been in seclusion for over two years, he couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia as he gazed at the beautiful scenery of the sect.
"Alas, the mountains and rivers remain the same, yet my cultivation is still stuck at the early foundation establishment stage."
Indeed, despite over two years of arduous cultivation and consuming three Purple Yang Pills, Li Qing's cultivation remained at the early foundation establishment stage.
His mana had grown significantly since he first established his foundation, but he remained stuck at the mid-foundation establishment stage.
"No wonder so many elders in the sect take up official positions after reaching foundation establishment. Poor Spirit Root aptitude truly limits one's path on The Dao."
Of course, another reason for his slow progress was the lack of heavenly spirit fire to enhance the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art. Without it, the cultivation manual's efficiency was indeed somewhat lacking.
However, he knew that even if he switched to a normal fire attribute cultivation manual, his cultivation level wouldn't likely be much higher.
Li Qing sighed deeply, his heart now pinning its hopes on finding heavenly spirit fire. It was his greatest hope for his future on The Dao.
The good news was that his lifespan was still quite long. After refining all four Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain spears, his lifespan had increased dramatically once more!
He now had 631 years of lifespan remaining!
Each of the four high-grade magical artifacts had added 41 years to his lifespan, totaling 164 years!
Two more years of secluded cultivation passed. Li Qing's lifespan was now astonishingly abundant, exceeding that of most core formation realm cultivators.
Normally, foundation establishment cultivators, even after consuming various lifespan-extending Spirit Herbs or pills, could only hope for a lifespan of at most three hundred years!
The longest lifespan recorded for a foundation establishment cultivator in the Azure Ridge Domain was three hundred and ninety-eight years, just shy of four hundred. And that cultivator had been practicing a wood attribute cultivation manual known for its longevity-enhancing properties.
Core formation cultivators, on the other hand, typically had a lifespan of at least five hundred years. Moreover, finding methods to extend their lives became relatively easier at this stage. Some long-lived cultivators even managed to live for eight hundred years!
As for Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, there was no need to mention them. They were all ancient monsters, perfectly described as "thousand-year turtles."
Lost in these thoughts, Li Qing arrived at the sect's Hall of Merit to collect his two years' worth of spirit stone salary.
(End of the Chapter)
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