Eternal Life Begins with Learning

Chapter 366: Chapter 337: Aftermath

"Bai Zhi is as white as snow and shaped like a gardenia. Its medicinal properties are mild, and it addresses deficiencies of the spleen and kidneys. Combined with Polygonum multiflorum, Mu Zhen..."

Outside the cave, the young boy stood at the entrance, speaking aloud with a thoughtful expression.

Chu Mu reclined on a wooden lounge chair, occasionally asking a question to test the boy’s knowledge.

The boy was deeply respectful. Chu Mu leisurely sipped his Spirit Tea—a Tier Two Lower Grade Moon Shadow Tea he had acquired in Jingmen. He quite enjoyed its mind-calming effects.

As a cup of Spirit Tea went down, it felt as if his Divine Soul had been cleansed. Although it was largely an illusion, the feeling of clarity and refreshment was quite pleasant.

Time flew by amidst this back-and-forth of questions and answers.

Elder Li’s hopes for the boy were clearly immense.

Although the boy hadn’t touched upon any overly advanced alchemy knowledge, limited as he was by Elder Li’s own cultivation and understanding, his grasp of the fundamentals—recognizing herbs and their properties—was deep and thorough.

It was far more thorough than his own understanding had been when he left Nanshan Town all those years ago.

One could easily predict that with such a profound foundational knowledge, plus the inheritance for his Immortal Path from Elder Li, this boy would undoubtedly make his mark on the Cultivation Immortal Realm. Even if Chu Mu hadn’t intervened, as long as the boy safely entered the world of cultivation, he would surely live up to Elder Li’s hopes.

After several generations of this cycle, the legacy stemming from Elder Li’s hopes would surely establish a firm foothold in the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

From there, they would put down roots, passing down their heritage, growing and prospering...

In the Cultivation Immortal Realm, this was the path most Cultivators followed.

The origins of most Loose Cultivators could be traced back to this same process.

It could be said that nearly every Foundation Establishment Cultivator in the Cultivation Immortal Realm was the culmination of generations of hope. They were the product of several generations’ worth of resources and wealth, combined with all sorts of fortuitous encounters.

’If I didn’t have the "Spiritual Radiance" to help me, with my talent, I would have likely followed the same path.’

’Stagnating, falling into despair, and then pinning all my hopes on my descendants...’

Recalling the past, Chu Mu couldn’t help but think of Xu Yuan, who was now a million li away.

This little brother of his, who had followed him from the mortal world into the Cultivation Immortal Realm, had already found Dao Companions and had children long ago. He had prematurely embarked on the same path as the vast majority of Cultivators.

Clearly, Xu Yuan had long held his own understanding of the Cultivation Immortal Realm. More than that, he had long since made... his own choice.

’But...’

’Foundation Establishment Pills... or a bloodline...’

Chu Mu rubbed his forehead, a headache coming on.

Xu Yuan’s talent was poor. With a Five Spirit Roots aptitude, it was safe to say he had no chance of reaching Foundation Establishment.

In fact, if not for the constant supply of Elixirs from Chu Mu, it would have been a blessing from the heavens for someone with Five Spirit Roots to even reach the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation.

To break through to Foundation Establishment, he either needed a massive amount of Foundation Establishment Pills, or he had to cultivate his Essence, Qi, and Spirit to Perfection on his own. The only other option was to choose the path of a Human Cultivating a Demon bloodline to bypass the limitations of his Spirit Root.

But all three options were exceedingly difficult, even for someone like Chu Mu.

Needless to say, the Foundation Establishment Pill was required by nearly one hundred percent of Cultivators to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

Furthermore, the main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill were expensive and rare, and the refining process was difficult.

All these factors combined made the Foundation Establishment Pill, a mere Tier Two Lower Grade item, as rare and expensive as a Tier Three or Tier Four Elixir. And... scarce!

Although with his financial resources he could afford Foundation Establishment Pills no matter how expensive they were, the problem was that he had no way to buy them.

Even the contribution system that evolved after the war between the Righteous Alliance and the Longevity Sect kept an extremely tight grip on Foundation Establishment Pills.

Besides the high contribution point requirement, one also had to sign a contract with the Righteous Alliance that came with all sorts of conditions...

The major powers had clearly turned the Foundation Establishment Pill into an important tool for controlling the Loose Cultivator population.

Of course, the most important thing was that one or two Foundation Establishment Pills would be of little use for someone with Xu Yuan’s Five Spirit Roots talent.

As for having Xu Yuan cultivate his Essence, Qi, and Spirit to Perfection on his own—Qi Cultivation and Body Refining were manageable, but cultivating the Spirit was another matter. From what Chu Mu currently knew, there didn’t seem to be any common Cultivation Technique for it, aside from special methods like Saber Intent and Sword Intent.

As for Demon Beast Bloodlines, he had quite a few. Unfortunately, bloodline cultivation required more than just the bloodline itself. He didn’t know much about the corresponding Cultivation Methods.

’The Vast Sea...’

Chu Mu recalled the many things he had learned about the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World. Perhaps he really did need to make a trip to the Vast Sea.

’Bloodline cultivation directly bypasses the shackles of Spirit Root Talent. For Xu Yuan, it might be the best choice.’

’Besides, I also need to gain a deeper, more detailed, and thorough understanding of bloodlines.’

’Wangcai needs it, and so does Xu Yuan.’

As his thoughts drifted, Chu Mu continued to casually test the boy before him. He didn’t stop until the sun had set.

"This Jade Scroll records the vast majority of the foundational knowledge for the art of alchemy. Inside this Storage Talisman, there are eight hundred and ninety-six types of Tier One Lower Grade Spirit Medicines and Spiritual Plants, as well as some basic support Cultivation Elixirs..."

As he spoke, Chu Mu waved his hand. A Jade Scroll and a Storage Talisman floated down gently in front of the boy.

"A year from now, if you can successfully refine a cauldron of Grain Avoidance Pills, I will bestow upon you the rest of the inheritance."

"This junior understands."

The boy bowed respectfully. Chu Mu waved his hand, and the boy immediately retreated with another bow, turning and walking into the cave.

Chu Mu gazed toward the horizon. The setting sun cast a brilliant golden glow over a vast stretch of mountains, making them look like a majestic, sprawling range of golden peaks.

Further on, where the mountain range extended, lay the site of the former capital of Great Chu.

The now-annihilated Chu Capital City.

Normally, if a dynasty’s capital was destroyed and its Emperor and all his officials were wiped out, the realm would instantly descend into chaos.

But that was clearly not the case for the current Great Chu.

The annihilation of the capital and the death of the Royal Family and its ministers had no impact whatsoever on the mortal dynasty of Great Chu.

According to the transmission from Xu Changqing, on the very next day after the capital’s destruction, the Longevity Sect had slaughtered the remaining descendants of the Great Chu Royal Family under the pretext of colluding with Demon Cultivators.

Immediately after, they renamed Changzhou to Chu Capital, installed a new Emperor, and re-established the mortal imperial court. The world bowed its head, and everything continued as usual.

It was an absurd event, yet in the Cultivation Immortal Realm, it was also completely normal.

In comparison, the demon scourge in the Chu Capital was clearly drawing more attention.

In just a few short months, the incident at the Chu Capital had thrown the Cultivation Immortal Realm into a state of panic.

When he had gone to some of the surrounding Marketplaces a few days ago to gather information, all the clamor was about the demon scourge in the Chu Capital.

The news released by the Longevity Sect, in particular—that a Nascent Soul True Demon had escaped the Chu Capital—caused a massive uproar.

In fact, from what he had gathered, the fierce battle on the front lines between the Longevity Sect and the Righteous Alliance had come to a direct halt because of this True Demon.

Although the specific details were unknown, it was obvious that the Longevity Sect was using this True Demon for some kind of scheme...

After all, he had experienced the demon scourge in the Chu Capital firsthand. He had been there for practically everything, from beginning to end.

Even if that Residual Soul had been a Nascent Soul Realm expert in its past life.

It had just seized the body of a True Demon that hadn’t fully recovered and had suffered heavy damage multiple times. Its own Divine Soul was also incomplete. One didn’t need to think twice to know that recovering its Nascent Soul Realm cultivation would be incredibly difficult.

Right now, that True Demon had probably hidden itself away in some remote corner to recuperate in seclusion. How could it possibly drag its heavily injured body out to cause trouble...?

...

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