Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Within the Foundation Establishment Realm, the late stage is a relatively special phase.

Because upon advancing to the Seventh Layer of Foundation Establishment, even an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator could have the opportunity for a qualitative transformation in their Spiritual Power.

Once they successfully complete the transformation of their Spiritual Power, the strength of a late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator would soar remarkably. It's not to say they could take on ten at once, but handling two ordinary cultivators of the same realm alone would not be an issue.

If it were a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment instead, defeating three to five would also be manageable. Winning might not be guaranteed, but maintaining a stalemate would be considered normal, and at the very least, escape would not be a problem.

If we drop another half-step to the Early-stage Foundation Establishment, a powerful late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator (after the transformation of Spiritual Power, wielding a top-grade Spiritual Artifact, and having cultivated a Golden Core Level skill above), could indeed take on ten alone. It could be likened to an adult fighting a group of children.

Zhao Yunxian had no idea if Zhao Sheng was the legendary powerful cultivator who could fight ten on his own, but from his extremely strong Divine Sense, it was clear that even if he wasn't that strong, he was far from weak.

As the monster tide was about to erupt and the Zhao family could face a crisis of annihilation at any moment, it was undeniably akin to having the blessing of ancestors when a powerful ally like Zhao Sheng emerged all of a sudden for the Zhao family.

From this, one could understand why Zhao Yunxian was so excited.

Hum!

Following a humming sound, six beams of black light instantly flew back in front of Zhao Sheng and reassembled into the Six Harmonies Mayfly Shield.

The foot-long top-grade Spirit Shield fell downward, and Zhao Sheng caught it with one hand before casually stowing it into his Storage Bag.

If a Cultivator wishes to wield a Spiritual Artifact at will, as if it were an extension of their own arm, they must undergo years of Refining it and merging it with their spirit.

What Zhao Sheng had just done with Divine Sense to skillfully manipulate the shield was merely for show. A single powerful collision could cause the Spirit Shield to lose control.

"Not bad, Daoist is extremely satisfied with this Six Harmonies Mayfly Shield. I thank the Family Head for this gift." Zhao Sheng gave a smile and clasped his hands in thanks toward Zhao Yunxian.

"Haha! It's good that Daoist Cen Hezi is satisfied," Zhao Yunxian said with a beaming smile, laughing heartily.

...

From then on, Zhao Sheng settled down on Dome Turtle Island.

He was a person who preferred quiet to activity, and although he had repeatedly declined invitations from the various branches of the Zhao family, he had not been the least bit discourteous. Each time he politely refused, he would reciprocate with a few bottles of Elixir Pills, both First and Second Order, and of high quality.

Such a down-to-earth demeanor pleased the different branches of the Zhao family greatly. For a time, a variety of invitations flew to him like snowflakes.

Zhao Sheng was not truly a pushover. Initially, he had declined out of consideration for the fact that each branch was made up of his descendants, and it was simply a pretext for bestowing favors, as it's always better to keep resources within the family.

However, their greed in trying to take an inch and gain a mile was nothing short of wishful thinking.

Zhao Sheng's approach was exceedingly straightforward; he simply handed over all the invitations to Zhao Yunxian.

Within a day, this ill wind disappeared, and tranquility quickly returned to Zhao Sheng's residence.

As a homebody Cultivator, his daily schedule was fully booked.

He had three designated hours for cultivation each day, and half an hour for deep sleep.

Every day he allocated one hour for talisman refining, to keep his hand in practice. Meanwhile, he spent two to three hours each day on Alchemy, mostly refining First-stage Spirit Pills, and occasionally when inspiration struck, he would spend a few days refining a batch of Second Order Spirit Pills.

During this time, when he was in peak condition, Zhao Sheng also crafted a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, successfully producing three pills, one mid-grade and two low-grade.

As a side note, after the mad alchemy on Nine Virtuous Isle, his success rate for refining Foundation Establishment Pills had reached an astounding eighty to ninety percent, although the number and quality of pills produced were not always satisfactory, averaging one to four. He had produced over thirty Foundation Establishment Pills, but not a single one was top-grade.

The reasons for this could have been the quality of the Spiritual Medicine, the Alchemy techniques, or perhaps some unknown secrets.

In any case, limited by his own knowledge and horizons, Zhao Sheng admitted he had reached a bottleneck, and it would be difficult to break through it in the short term without external help.

Currently, he had accumulated as many as six Foundation Establishment Pills, but only three Thousand-Pattern Star Algae Fruits remained.

If he didn't make new breakthroughs, he had already decided to temporarily stop refining Foundation Establishment Pills.

The rest of his time, apart from refining the Six Harmonies Mayfly Shield, was mostly spent on broadly reading and researching ancient books, secret abnormal skills, Cultivation Techniques, and knowledge of the Hundred Skills of Immortal Cultivation. This was not only in preparation for advancing to the Golden Core, but also a further reinforcement of his foundation.

The deeper he went into his studies, the more Zhao Sheng realized how vast and profound the knowledge of a Cultivation Civilization was.

He was so engrossed in the thrill of exploring the unknown and the pleasure of cultivation that he felt there was never enough time; he wished there were forty-eight hours in a day.

Zhao Sheng knew his mentality was not quite right. With the Hundred Lifetimes book in his possession, there was no need for such impatience; leisurely enjoying life should have been the correct approach.

He understood all this, but... it was truly hard to describe his current state.

"Obsessed without enlightenment" is not a good descriptor, but it applied quite fittingly to Zhao Sheng in this life. He was indeed "obsessed," but had not truly reached "great enlightenment."

Perhaps in some future life, when he felt tired, he would truly attain enlightenment.

In this life, he was "happily engrossed, obsessed without enlightenment."
Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire

...

The Monster Tide came!

It's hard to say exactly when it began, but once a grain transport ship was attacked and sunk by a sea beast near Dome Turtle Island, the island was thrown into instant chaos, with the atmosphere growing tense as if the slightest disturbance could trigger panic.