Chapter 15 - Chapter 15: The Maturation of Jade Marrow Rice

The sun had just peeked over the horizon, as if smiling down at the world. Zhang Zhixuan sat cross-legged on a futon, having cycled the Qi Nurturing Technique three times.With insufficient spiritual energy at the foot of the mountain, Zhang Zhixuan rarely meditated to refine spiritual energy except after taking Spiritual Pills. However, every dawn, he would practice the Qi Nurturing Technique three times without fail. This spell was remarkably mysterious: it did not boost mana or grant any supernatural powers, but instead nurtured a wisp of Innate Purple Qi to nourish the dantian.Zhang Zhixuan had been cultivating for ten years and had broadened his knowledge considerably—yet he had never encountered another spell with the same principles as the Qi Nurturing Technique. In his understanding, consistent practice of this spell would strengthen the wisp of Innate Purple Qi in the dantian; when the time came for Foundation Establishment, this Purple Qi could replace much of the effect of a Foundation Establishment Pill. This Innate Purple Qi was gentle and mild—perfect for nurturing the meridians and dantian during Foundation Establishment.The greatest danger of Foundation Establishment lies in mana going out of control. To break through the bottleneck and transform true essence into liquid form, mana circulates faster and faster—this violent mana inevitably impacts the cultivator's meridians and dantian. Beyond purifying impurities, the most crucial effect of a Foundation Establishment Pill is to slow the rampaging mana and nurture and repair the cultivator's meridians and dantian. Even if Foundation Establishment fails, the pill can still save the cultivator's life.Thus, attempting Foundation Establishment without a Foundation Establishment Pill is extremely dangerous. According to ancient immortal cultivators' estimates, only one out of every thirty cultivators who attempt Foundation Establishment without a pill survives. Fortunately, later cultivators developed the Foundation Establishment Pill. Though only a High-Grade Rank 3 Spiritual Pill, its price surpasses that of most Rank 4 Spiritual Pills.The main ingredient requires a thousand-year-old Jade Marrow Golden Ganoderma, plus five five-hundred-year-old spiritual herbs: Flame Fruit, Poria Grass, Clear Spirit Flower, White Jade Ginseng, and Snow Lotus. Additionally, twenty spiritual herbs over a hundred years old and a batch of Rank 4 or higher spiritual water for refinement are needed.A thousand-year-old Jade Marrow Golden Ganoderma is at least a Middle-Grade Rank 4 spiritual herb, worth over five thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Each of the five five-hundred-year-old spiritual herbs also exceeds Rank 4, costing over two thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones apiece. Adding in the Rank 4 spiritual water and twenty Rank 3 spiritual herbs over a hundred years old, the total cost of ingredients for a single batch of Foundation Establishment Pills is at least thirty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Moreover, refining Foundation Establishment Pills is extremely difficult—far harder than refining most Rank 4 Spiritual Pills. Only highly skilled alchemists of Rank 4 or higher can refine them.Precisely because Foundation Establishment Pills are so difficult to refine, even a major sect like the Qingxuan Sect can only produce one or two batches every ten years—yielding as few as five or six pills, or at most twelve or thirteen. If the Qingxuan Sect struggles this much, one can imagine the predicament of smaller immortal cultivation clans and loose cultivators.Most Foundation Establishment cultivators from immortal cultivation clans spend enormous resources and rely on connections within the Qingxuan Sect to obtain one or two Foundation Establishment Pills. As for loose cultivators, who face even greater hardships, most will never even catch a whiff of a Foundation Establishment Pill in their lifetime. They can only risk Foundation Establishment before the age of sixty, gambling on the brutal one-in-thirty survival rate to seize a slim chance at advancement."The Qi Nurturing Technique is truly mysterious. If I practice it diligently for over a decade, the Innate Purple Qi in my dantian could replace much of the Foundation Establishment Pill's effect. With a few pills to purify my essence and eliminate impurities, my chance of Foundation Establishment might be no lower than that of someone using a Foundation Establishment Pill. Regrettably, my cultivation is still low, and the clan lacks the strength to support me. If this spell were made public, it would be like a child holding gold in a busy market—disaster would follow," Zhang Zhixuan thought as he exhaled the last wisp of Purple Qi, watching the rising sun.Zhang Zhixuan finished meditating and glanced at the adjacent room where little Qingchan slept. Children her age loved to sleep in, and she was still dozing groggily. A gentle breeze blew, causing the 翠绿 rice stalks to sway—they had already headed, and the broad bean-sized white jade grains were plump and full."Lazy girl, get up and eat quickly. The Jade Marrow Rice is ripe today—after eating, we'll start picking," Zhang Zhixuan called.Unlike ordinary grain, Jade Marrow Rice has large, plump grains—only three to five per stalk. Because the stalks are extremely tough, they can only be cut with magical artifacts—making harvesting far slower than ordinary rice. Once ripe, the grains must be picked within three to five days; if they fall to the ground, they will immediately germinate and become inedible. Thus, harvesting Jade Marrow Rice is like picking fruit—one grain at a time—far slower than reaping ordinary rice.Qingchan pouted in annoyance, gave Zhang Zhixuan an impatient look, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and reluctantly got up to eat. Since she had started cultivating, Zhang Zhixuan's ration of Jade Marrow Rice had grown insufficient. With her excellent spiritual root, Qingchan refined essence and opened meridians at a rapid pace—naturally, her appetite grew larger. Because Jade Marrow Rice was delicious and accelerated the cultivation of Innate Realm cultivators, this greedy little girl had grown accustomed to it; even if she went hungry, she would wait for the Jade Marrow Rice to be served before eating.Sharing one person's ration between two meant shortages were inevitable. By the end of most months, their Jade Marrow Rice would run out.Over the past two hundred years, the Zhang Clan had been a declining immortal cultivation clan, and the resources provided to cultivators were meager. Fortunately, Zhang Zhixuan cultivated quickly and had good spiritual root aptitude, so the clan gave him slightly better treatment. Even so, supporting Qingchan's cultivation would require far more resources than the clan could provide. To continue cultivating smoothly, Zhang Zhixuan needed to find an additional source of income.Qingchan reluctantly got up, and the two quickly ate a small bowl of spiritual rice before grabbing their tools to start harvesting. Now at the Fourth Layer of the Innate Realm, Qingchan had strength of several hundred jin in her arms. Though small, she was faster than Zhang Zhixuan at picking the spiritual rice.