"Yinlingquan, Qiuxu, Yongquan, Dadun, Xiangu, Lineiting."
"All six major acupoints on both feet have finally been stimulated once."
Inside the cave, Luo Chen bared his teeth in a grimace, blue veins throbbing wildly on his forehead.
Even though he had grown somewhat accustomed to the agony over these past days, having six acupoints stimulated simultaneously was truly almost unbearable.
Yet Luo Chen gritted his teeth and held on.
In plain truth, it was merely painful; his life was never in jeopardy.
Furthermore, by cloaking the meridians near those six acupoints in spiritual energy, he had largely averted any risk of internal injury.
So toughing it out was all it took!
He might as well treat it like a foot massage where the masseur was digging into his kidney reflex zone with all their might!
After what felt like ages—as though an entire lifetime had elapsed—Luo Chen, drenched in sweat, brought this session of Bright Spirit Fiend Shattering to a halt.
Releasing the spiritual energy needles pinned to the six acupoints, Luo Chen slumped limply against the stone wall.
"If six acupoints are already this agonizing, once all thirty-six are stimulated at the same time, won't I ascend straight to heaven?!"
Luo Chen shivered, hardly daring to imagine the future when Bright Spirit Fiend Shattering ran at full throttle.
He checked the time; in reality, barely an incense stick's worth had passed.
Yet just now, every second had felt like a year.
Dwelling on that living hell, Luo Chen could not help feeling a sudden sense of admiration for Wang Yuan and the great martial devil who had forged this technique.
Mortals numbered in the tens of millions. To rise from among so many and become one of the rare Innate martial masters truly required extraordinary mettle.
If nothing else, their indomitable martial will alone was beyond the reach of ordinary folk.
In fact, the vast majority of Qi Refining cultivators were not even worthy of being compared to them.
As for Luo Chen, he was still merely at the introductory stage, contending only with the most mundane negative sensation: physical pain.
If he wanted to temper that unyielding, fearless will that scoffed at life and death, he still had a very long road ahead.
"That's enough Bright Spirit Fiend Shattering for today. Next up is my core cultivation method."
Compared to the excruciating ordeal of Bright Spirit Fiend Shattering, the Eternal Spring Art was utterly delightful.
In the past, practicing it several times a day wore down both his body and soul.
Even with auxiliary resources like Spirit Calming Incense and Origin-Nourishing Spiritual Liquid, Luo Chen had felt weary from time to time.
Yet by comparison now, he felt that fatigue was practically nothing.
Having weathered mighty tempests, what did a little wind and rain matter?
After completing his preparations, Luo Chen circulated the Eternal Spring Art as usual.
His body became like a whirlpool, drawing in the wood-attribute spiritual energy gathered by the Spirit Gathering Formation, capturing, storing, and refining it, ultimately transforming it into spiritual energy uniquely his own.
As the hour reached the crack of dawn, Luo Chen suddenly opened his eyes.
On the status panel, a faint line of text shone brightly:
[Cultivation Method: Eternal Spring Art — Great Perfection]
There was not much surprise; this was entirely within expectations.
Reaching Great Perfection had been due within these few days, and Luo Chen had long prepared himself.
His achievement points gained another point.
Luo Chen paid it no mind, however. Taking a deep breath, he circulated the Eternal Spring Art once more, seeking to discern the difference from before.
The efficiency of capturing and refining spiritual energy had not changed.
The capacity of his dantian had not changed.
The twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary vessels had not widened either, remaining just as they were.
The trait of passive spiritual energy recovery was likewise retained.
So where was the change?
Luo Chen ceased circulating the Eternal Spring Art and instinctively struck out with a palm of spiritual energy.
*Bang!*
A patch of the rock wall was reduced to fine powder.
Looking at the power, which was a hair stronger than usual, Luo Chen came to an understanding.
"Sure enough, my guess was right!"
"The Great Perfection of the Eternal Spring Art made up for the method of refining and purifying spiritual energy that the Medicine King Sect excised."
"Now, after I cultivate, the spiritual energy within my body is faintly purified once over."
The effect was subtle, but under Luo Chen's constant scrutiny, he caught that faint difference.
It was not a passive effect, but an active one.
It only worked when he actively circulated the technique.
Even so, that was already plenty!
"Foundation Establishment is within sight!"
Luo Chen exhaled a long breath of turbid air. Who knew how many worries and anxieties vanished along with that single breath.
According to Mi Shuhua's *Insights on Qi Refining*, Foundation Establishment comprised three hurdles!
Namely: Soul, Physique, and Spiritual Energy.
The Soul determined the spiritual sense born after Foundation Establishment.
The stronger one's soul, the firmer the foundation of one's spiritual sense, allowing for far better control over spiritual energy during Foundation Establishment. After breakthrough, the spiritual sense projected outward would also be much stronger.
If one's innate soul was deficient, Foundation Establishment was virtually impossible.
On this point, Luo Chen was not particularly worried.
He had survived a heart tribulation, and his soul strength had already doubled compared to before.
The second hurdle was the Physique.
This was straightforward and posed little trouble for cultivators.
Anyone who cultivated to the perfection of Qi Refining would not have any major defects in their physical body.
The only consequence was that if Foundation Establishment failed, an insufficiently strong body would readily suffer injuries that were difficult to heal.
Luo Chen was unconcerned about this either. He had consumed plenty of demon beast meat and spirit rice.
He also continuously used Origin-Nourishing Spiritual Liquid to bolster his qi and blood.
Although most of that qi and blood was channeled into aiding the refinement of external spiritual energy, the remainder constantly deepened his foundation day in and day out.
The only thing that had worried Luo Chen for so long was the third hurdle: the Spiritual Energy hurdle.
All along, his cultivation had relied primarily on medicinal pills.
He had even developed a tolerance to Qi-Nourishing Pills because of it.
Logically speaking, cultivating with pills was not inherently disastrous.
Yet he had heard that disciples of major sects, no matter how generous their perks, had their monthly intake of pills strictly regulated by their sect.
Supposedly, the fear was that excessive pill consumption would render one's spiritual energy superficial and lacking in density.
When attempting Foundation Establishment, if spiritual energy was not sufficiently dense and pure, failure became exceedingly likely.
In ancient times, immortal cultivators were called Qi refiners; everything they cultivated came down to that breath of qi in their chests.
If that qi was not pure, how could one speak of breaking through barriers, let alone longevity?
If even great sects were so cautious, it was no wonder Luo Chen had wracked his brains searching for ways to purify his spiritual energy.
Combat and Bright Spirit Fiend Shattering were both part of his efforts.
Now that the Eternal Spring Art had reached Great Perfection, his lingering worries were finally laid to rest.
"Moving forward, the only thing left to consider is the Foundation Establishment Pill needed for the breakthrough."
"Oh, wait, first I need to reach the perfection of Qi Refining!"
Luo Chen glanced at his cultivation progress bar and chuckled.
Still at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, he was getting a bit ahead of himself.
As for how to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill when the time came, Luo Chen had actually formed a plan long ago.
Mi Shuhua's promises were untrustworthy.
Who knew whether he was truly willing to help? If Mi Shuhua feared that Luo Chen would become impossible to control after Foundation Establishment, he might even obstruct him at every turn.
Luo Chen could only rely on his own efforts!
And the path forward was simple.
Save money!
Save spirit stones!
Accumulate enough spirit stones, and then actively take part in every auction.
The major sects had not completely cut off loose cultivators; among the Foundation Establishment Pills put up for auction, one or two were always left for loose cultivators.
That would be Luo Chen's opportunity!
*Buzz!*
A faint rumbling sound echoed, startling Luo Chen from his thoughts.
What happened outside?
He rose swiftly and got dressed.
Packing up the Spirit Gathering Formation while leaving the Spirit Concealment Formation in place, he hurried out to the Pill Hall.
As he emerged, the sound grew increasingly thunderous.
*Boom!*
Another crack exploded, and a streak of silver-white lightning flashed across the horizon.
"It's thunder!"
Luo Chen came to a sudden realization. Reaching past the cliff edge, he held out his hand.
Fine raindrops fell upon his palm.
Winter had passed.
Spring thunder sounded, and all living things awakened!
……
A clap of spring thunder, a drizzle of spring rain.
The lively rain swept away the snow accumulated on the cliffs, merging into gurgling rivulets that flowed downward.
In Crescent Moon Valley, the spiritual farmers of the Medicine Hall came running out in high spirits to take down their winter preparations, such as the Eternal Spring Formation.
The previously grueling winter had finally been endured.
Compared to past years, life in the Medicine Hall had been far easier this winter.
The specific reason lay with their neighbor, the Pill Hall.
The profits generated by the Pill Hall's alchemy went far beyond merely selling pills.
A large portion of supplementary ingredients was purchased directly from the Medicine Hall.
Even at internal discount rates, that margin of profit was enough to grant the Medicine Hall cultivators a comfortable winter.
In Luo Chen's words, this was the formation of an industrial supply chain.
The high-end sector (Pill Hall) drove the low-end sector (Medicine Hall), creating a win-win situation.
However, this supply chain was still far from complete.
The sourcing of primary ingredients and the consumption of other supplies still had to be procured from outside.
In contrast, great sects like the Medicine King Sect had undoubtedly established a comprehensive industrial chain long ago—from planting raw materials to deep processing, pill concoction, packaging, channel distribution, and even after-sales service.
In between, there might be medicine testers, pill testers, specialized research facilities, and external market development departments.
Such an expansive operation was something a modest Mountain Breaker Gang could never achieve on its own.
Not even ordinary small sects could manage it.
Only giants like the Medicine King Sect could, possessing both high-end martial force to deter rivals and vast reserves of low-level labor, and most importantly, an entire domain under their control!
The Medicine King Domain spanned tens of thousands of li from east to west, an immense territory where high-grade spirit fields lay everywhere.
Standing before the Pill Hall's cliffside, feeling the brisk spring breeze, Luo Chen's thoughts wandered.
If one day he commanded such a colossal force, what glorious heights that would be!
While he was lost in thought, Sikong Shoujia brought him an unexpected item.
"Whose hand is that?"
A severed human hand encased in a block of ice sat right before Luo Chen.
Sikong Shoujia smiled faintly. "Shan Xiu!"
"The loose cultivator who tried to rob and kill me?"
"Yes. Well, aren't you surprised?"
Luo Chen looked at him with an odd gaze, showing not the slightest hint of pleasant surprise.
"If you had brought a severed head, I would be thrilled. But just a hand—not even an arm—and you expect me to be overjoyed?"
Sikong Shoujia said blankly, "A ninth-layer Qi Refining cultivator who's an experienced brigand isn't that easy to kill."
"Even for this hand, the Gang Leader had to issue a bounty over at Snow Lotus Market before someone delivered it. The Gang Leader paid a hefty reward for it, too."
Exasperated by the gang's ineptitude, Luo Chen said, "Since he was spotted, why alert the enemy? Why didn't you send enough men to reduce him to ash right then and there?"
"Snow Lotus Market isn't our territory. How could we easily dispatch people over there?!"
"You...!"
Luo Chen took a deep breath and waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, fine, take it away. It's gruesome to look at."
*We cultivators fight the heavens for the Dao, yet a severed hand is gruesome?*
Sikong Shoujia opened his mouth, truly not expecting such a reaction from Luo Chen.
He had assumed Luo Chen would be ecstatic.
Still, after the morning's pill refining concluded and Sikong Shoujia saw the tally of Jade Marrow Pills produced, he breathed a sigh of relief.
It had returned to forty percent!
It seemed Luo Chen was quite happy after all, as his alchemy had proceeded much smoother.
Paying no attention to Sikong Shoujia's knowing grin, Luo Chen walked over to the small pool to wash his hands.
The reason his success rate had risen today was simple.
After enduring the agonizing pain of six acupoints being stimulated simultaneously last night, the pain from stimulating just one or two acupoints during ordinary activity was now well within his tolerance.
Naturally, his alchemy returned to its proper standard.
He had even secretly pocketed several upper-grade Jade Marrow Pills just now.
Now that the Eternal Spring Art had reached Great Perfection, it purified his spiritual energy—a wonderful boon, yet one with a downside.
Purifying spiritual energy slowed the total accumulation of energy, thereby lengthening the time needed to break through cultivation realms.
Luo Chen certainly could not tolerate such a delay.
Thus, his demand for pills surged once more.
He no longer intended to quietly pocket thirty or forty Jade Marrow Pills a month as he had in the past.
Whenever Mi Shuhua was absent, he planned to skim a few from every batch!
Regardless of whether he could consume them all, he would hoard them first!
Just as he finished washing his hands, another thunderous roar shook the air outside.
"Thunder again?"
*It's spring, not summer; one or two rumbles should be plenty. Why does it keep thundering?* Luo Chen muttered.
Moments later, cries of shock rang out from outside the Pill Hall.
"The mountain collapsed! The mountain collapsed!"
"Nanwa Snow Mountain collapsed!"
"What mountain collapse? That's an avalanche!"
Why would an avalanche occur out of the blue?
Luo Chen walked to the cliff edge and gazed into the distance.
Nanwa Snow Mountain was not part of the Million Mountains; rather, it was one of several towering peaks separating Dahe Market from Taishan Market.
Because its summit stood lofty and jutted out abruptly like an enormous roof tile, it had been named Nanwa Snow Mountain.
Under his Spiritual Eye Art, the distant Nanwa Snow Mountain cracked and shattered inch by inch. The mountain mass, which already looked small from afar, sank visibly lower by an inch.
"No, that's no natural collapse!"
Luo Chen's gaze sharpened. In the sky, a streak of golden light cleaved through the layered dark clouds, tearing across the heavens and shooting straight toward Dahe Market.
Wherever it passed, the dark clouds scattered and torrential rain poured down.
The shockwaves triggered massive avalanches across several neighboring snowcapped peaks that had yet to melt.
Luo Chen swallowed hard. He recognized that golden streak of light.
"A sword cultivator!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Sikong Shoujia and Caiyi beside him reacted as well.
The former blurted out in astonishment, "A Golden Core sword cultivator!"
Indeed, that sort of all-cleaving escape light could only be produced when an advanced sword cultivator wielded a sword pellet and flew as a rainbow.
Ordinary cultivators riding magical artifacts could never create such a wonder.
Caiyi spoke with uncertainty, "If I'm not mistaken, that must be the Golden Core cultivator from the Sword Sect who came to Dahe Market last time to preside over the opening of the Dao Discussion Platform—Pang Renxiong!"
The two men beside her nodded in tacit agreement.
There was no mistake; it had to be him.
Yet why would he suddenly return to Dahe Market without rhyme or reason?
Although resources here were plentiful, there was only a single large-scale first-order spirit vein, completely insufficient to sustain the cultivation of a Golden Core Master.
Even ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators had to rely on pills and Spirit Gathering Formations just to scrape by in their cultivation.
By all logic, a Golden Core Master would have no reason to linger in such a place.
The streak of rainbow light flew across the sky, flaunting its power without restraint and tearing through the air with overbearing majesty. It was as though he were not merely traveling, but proclaiming his arrival to the tens of thousands of cultivators across all of Dahe Market.
In barely a few breaths, the rainbow light that had been on the distant horizon plunged straight into Dahe Market's inner city.
The cultivators of Crescent Moon Valley buzzed with speculation before returning to their respective duties.
While the arrival of a Golden Core cultivator stirred the imagination, it had nothing to do with low-level cultivators like them.
Caiyi chatted briefly with Sikong Shoujia and dismissed the matter, treating it as nothing more than idle gossip.
Only Luo Chen felt a weight settle on his heart, sensing an ominous storm on the horizon.
A Golden Core Master leaving and returning was never a good sign.
There was nothing here to attract him.
His arrival could only mean one thing: he had come for a specific purpose.
For instance... the death of Fei Baiwen, the late Foundation Establishment cultivator from Mount Ailao!
That matter had yet to reach a conclusion, and according to what he had overheard at Xianzhu Residence, suspicion pointed faintly toward the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect.
Pang Renxiong's return was likely to uncover the truth.
In the process, blood would almost certainly be spilled.
"I only hope it doesn't disrupt my peaceful cultivation in the Mountain Breaker Gang!"
Luo Chen sighed, an inexplicable sense of urgency rising within him.
Chapter 120