The Elven Cultivator

Back in the treehouse, Anton immediately pushed the day's events to the back of his mind. He opened the Taoist Jade Scroll and began searching for the texts he needed.

The appearance of the Rigesplitter Dragon Beast today reminded him of Frost Pattern Silver, and by extension, the matter of Foundation Establishment.

Although by his estimates he still needed another decade or so to reach the threshold of Foundation Establishment, it was always wise to prepare for a rainy day. The time had come to make arrangements in advance.

Foundation Establishment was a supremely important step on the great Dao of cultivation.

It was the key for a Cultivator to cast off their mortal body and establish their Dao Foundation.

After a Cultivator refines one hundred and eight wisps of Spiritual Qi, they can begin to compress it, turning it from a gaseous state to a liquid one, thereby forming a Dao Foundation.

Once successful, their Spiritual Qi would undergo a qualitative change into True Essence. At the same time, their Divine Soul would strengthen, and their Spiritual Sense would advance into Divine Sense. They could then extend their Divine Sense outwards to perceive their surroundings, and even control flying swords to slay enemies a thousand miles away.

It could be said that only upon successfully reaching Foundation Establishment could one be considered to have truly stepped onto the path of cultivation, possessing a longer lifespan and greater power.

The quality of one's Foundation Establishment was of the utmost importance, as it directly affected their subsequent cultivation speed and ultimate potential.

This was mainly determined by the Cultivator's Cultivation Technique.

The more powerful the Cultivation Technique, the greater the potential after Foundation Establishment, and correspondingly, the greater the difficulty of achieving it.

The Taichu Hiding Skill that Anton practiced was one of the most supreme Cultivation Techniques, so the difficulty of its Foundation Establishment naturally far exceeded that of ordinary techniques.

Therefore, from the moment he decided to practice the Taichu Hiding Skill, he had been prepared to use a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The main purpose of a Foundation Establishment Pill was to help a Cultivator stabilize their condition during their breakthrough; it wasn't an absolute necessity for Foundation Establishment.

Many Cultivators could successfully achieve Foundation Establishment even without a Foundation Establishment Pill.

However, considering the difficulty of his own Foundation Establishment, Anton felt it would be good to have a Foundation Establishment Pill to see him through the process. It would significantly reduce the difficulty of this ordeal.

As for the Foundation Establishment Pill, the Taoist Jade Scroll contained recipes for it.

And not just one or two, but tens of thousands of them—a frighteningly large number.

In fact, after countless eons of development and refinement, the Foundation Establishment Pill in the Cultivation Realm was no longer just a simple recipe but had evolved into a philosophical concept of alchemy.

It was no exaggeration to say that as long as one had a medicinal herb that met the standards of the Foundation Establishment Stage, it could be used as the primary ingredient. Combined with anywhere from a few to several dozen supplementary ingredients, one could concoct a passable Foundation Establishment Pill.

Of course, the effects of such a "generic" Foundation Establishment Pill were certainly nothing to write home about.

The finest Foundation Establishment Pills were those concocted using carefully selected ingredients that were compatible with the elemental attributes of the Cultivator's Cultivation Technique.

Anton's goal was precisely this kind of Foundation Establishment Pill.

Besides wanting to pursue the best possible results, it was also because the ingredients for the recipes in the Taoist Jade Scroll simply couldn't be found on the Dawn Continent. He could only use local materials.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Anton had no intention of copying these recipes exactly. Instead, he planned to follow the philosophical concept behind the Foundation Establishment Pill, gather materials with the right properties, and concoct a Foundation Establishment Pill unique to him.

'The Taichu Hiding Skill is a Cultivation Technique that encompasses all Five Elements. That means the Foundation Establishment Pill will require primary ingredients of all five attributes.'

Anton calculated inwardly.

'For the Wood Attribute primary ingredient, I can use a branch from the Eternal Tree.'

'For the Water Attribute primary ingredient, I can use Life Spring Water.'

'For the Metal Attribute primary ingredient, I can use Golden Marrow.'

Golden Marrow wasn't a single specific material, but rather the "primordial essence of metal" extracted after a large quantity of the same rare metal was tempered and purified through a special technique.

Just as marrow is to bone, Golden Marrow was the essence of metal.

It was an excellent material for both Artifact Refining and Alchemy.

The higher the quality of the purified metal, the finer the grade of the resulting Golden Marrow.

The legendary Taiyi Gold Essence was one of the highest-grade Golden Marrows.

Of course, one didn't need an exceptionally high-quality Golden Marrow to concoct a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Anton's plan was to use Frost Pattern Silver to create the Golden Marrow.

The existence of the Rigesplitter Dragon Beast indicated that there was a Frost Pattern Silver vein in the Thousand Rock Hills. As long as he could find and develop the mine, he could obtain enough Frost Pattern Silver to create the Golden Marrow.

'The key is, how do I develop the mine?'

Anton definitely couldn't develop a mine on his own. He would have to rely on the power of the Clan.

The Thousand Rock Hills were teeming with Dragon Beasts and were exceptionally dangerous. Venturing deep into the hills to find and develop a Frost Pattern Silver mine was no simple task; the risks were extremely high.

He needed to present a sufficient incentive to convince the Elder Council.

Anton's mind raced, and he quickly formulated a plan.

Talismans!

This was clearly an excellent justification!

The Dao of Artifact Refining within the cultivation system had been perfected over millions of years of development.

Its most obvious feature was that costs had been compressed to the absolute minimum.

Anton had made a private comparison: a Talisman cost only about one-third as much as a magical item of comparable power.

If he could also solve the issue of Frost Pattern Silver, the primary ingredient, the cost of Talismans could be reduced by another large margin.

They would be perfectly suited for mass production and widespread use.

He would use Frost Pattern Silver to craft a Talisman, show the Elder Council how powerful it was, and make them realize the huge impact Talismans could have on the Clan's strength. That would surely convince them to develop the Frost Pattern Silver mine.

'That's the plan.'

Anton quickly made up his mind.

First, he would make a trip to Bishui Port, purchase a small amount of Frost Pattern Silver, and craft a sample.

While he was there, he'd see if the Tulip Commerce Association had any suitable Fire Attribute and Earth Attribute materials.

As long as he gathered the five primary ingredients, the remaining supplementary ones would be easy to handle.

With a complete philosophical framework to guide him, combined with his past seven years of experience in Alchemy, Anton was confident he could concoct his own unique Foundation Establishment Pill.

Putting his thoughts into action, Anton saw that it was still early and set out immediately.

With his status as a Wind-speaker, he no longer had to sneak around and could leave the Silver Moon Forest openly.

The Elder Council had already recorded his aura into the Eternal Tree. The Songbirds, living thorns, and sentry trees would not be alerted by his presence, so Anton swaggered right through the warning perimeter.

Over the years, he had come to Bishui Port several times a year. Most of the time he was there to purchase materials, and occasionally to gather intelligence. He was already quite familiar with the port city.

Passing through the city gates, he headed straight for Tide Street.

It was worth mentioning that on the notice board outside the Misty Tavern, the wanted poster for Canglan was still posted. The bounty had even increased by a fair amount.

One could only say that the Flame Trade Association was quite persistent.

Anton wasn't bothered, though. He could change his identity at any time.

Arriving at the Tulip Commerce Association, Anton first purchased a small amount of Frost Pattern Silver.

This stuff was a rare material used for making magical items, and its price was not cheap.

If he were to buy enough to create the Golden Marrow, even his entire net worth would be far from sufficient.

This was also why he had set his sights on the Frost Pattern Silver mine.

After that, Anton asked about Fire Attribute and Earth Attribute materials.

Faced with a major client like Anton, the manager readily produced a list of materials for him to choose from.

The good news was that Anton found a Fire Attribute material called Melt Heart Grass. Its Spiritual nature and energy were just enough to meet the Foundation Establishment threshold, making it suitable as the Fire Attribute primary ingredient for his Foundation Establishment Pill.

The bad news was that he didn't find a suitable Earth Attribute material.

Left with no choice, Anton had to use his VIP privileges to commission the Tulip Commerce Association to search for it on his behalf.

As for when they might find it, that would depend on luck.

Fortunately, he had plenty of time and wasn't in a hurry.

After finishing all this, Anton returned to the Silver Moon Forest without stopping.

He couldn't wait to try his hand at Artifact Refining.

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