Translator: AnubisTL
"After cultivating for so many years, I've finally become a thousand-year-old turtle," Li Qing chuckled self-deprecatingly as he stroked the Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer in his cave abode. The turmoil in his heart gradually subsided.
His current lifespan rivaled the combined lifespans of several core formation realm cultivators—an invaluable treasure indeed.
With over fifteen hundred years of lifespan at his disposal, Li Qing felt immensely wealthy. The urgency he once felt to advance his cultivation realm had suddenly eased considerably.
Of course, while his mindset had relaxed, as a cultivator on the dao, he still needed to continue his ascent.
After all, in the Great Wilderness Domain, while core formation realm cultivators were considered formidable figures, they were far from invincible!
Many still posed a threat to his life.
"The cultivation world is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Humility and composure are essential for survival!"
With this in mind, Li Qing began planning his future path on the dao.
First, his cultivation still needed to advance. However, now that he had reached the core formation realm, relying solely on meditation and absorbing heaven and earth spiritual energy would likely yield unsatisfactory progress.
The higher one's cultivation realm, the slower their progress became—this was an ironclad rule of the cultivation world, known to all.
"It's time to prioritize finding a second heavenly spirit fire," Li Qing mused.
Having mastered the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, he could still rely on taming heavenly spirit fires to accelerate his cultivation.
During his foundation establishment realm, he had already tasted the benefits of the Netherworld Cold Fire's assistance in his cultivation.
Now that he possessed the third scripture of the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, he had no intention of switching to another cultivation manual and planned to continue down this path.
The problem remained: heavenly spirit fires were exceedingly rare.
Even in the Great Wilderness Domain, a region renowned for its thriving cultivation world, Li Qing had never heard of any place where such fires existed.
"At the core formation realm, relying on a single heavenly spirit fire no longer provides any significant boost to cultivation speed. I need to find a second one."
"But so far, I haven't even heard rumors of any, let alone the fires themselves."
Li Qing sighed deeply, resolving to task the black market's intelligence network with the search.
This was precisely why Li Qing had tasked Zhang Da with establishing his intelligence network in the first place—to search for heavenly spirit fire across this vast territory. Relying solely on his own efforts would be impractical.
He was also deeply concerned about the group dispatched by the Shangqing Sect to the Great Wilderness Domain.
However, with the black market's intelligence network yet to deliver concrete information, Li Qing decided against hasty action. He resolved to remain hidden, quietly accumulating his strength.
Enemy in the open, I in the shadows—this is my greatest advantage.
"Finally, I must fulfill my promise to that master and servant regarding the third-tier crimson crystal. After all, I swore a great heart demon oath!"
It was undeniable that the higher one's cultivation, the greater the binding power of a great heart demon oath. Li Qing remained deeply wary of these mysterious, unspoken forces.
Moreover, having successfully achieved core formation and refined his natal magic treasure, his confidence had grown considerably.
"I should make time to visit the World of Eternal Night soon! Now that I've reached core formation, discovering some decent immortal dao heritage there would be a stroke of luck."
"But before that..."
Li Qing extended his left hand, revealing four crystalline drops of dark golden dragon marrow shimmering in his palm.
Before anything else, Li Qing needed to consume the dragon marrow. Delaying any further risked its spirituality dissipating.
With this thought, Li Qing lost interest in playing with the Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer.
He murmured, "Shrink!"
In his hand, the Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer instantly shrank to an incredibly tiny size. The massive stone hammer transformed into something no larger than a finger, now appearing delicate and exquisite.
For magic treasures of this level, freely changing size was commonplace.
If Li Qing wished, he could make the Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer as large as a small mountain with a single thought.
Of course, such an activation would require a significantly greater expenditure of mana.
Observing the shrunken Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer, Li Qing opened his mouth slightly and swallowed it directly into his dantian.
A natal magic treasure naturally belonged within one's dantian qi sea, where it could be nourished by true essence and pill fire, gradually enhancing its power.
If Li Qing possessed a dragon vein like the Ancient Hua Immortal Dynasty once did, even after his death, he could submerge his natal magic treasure within the dragon vein for continued nourishment.
Over time, future generations could inherit an unparalleled magic treasure, invincible in all circumstances!
Unfortunately, Li Qing lacked a dragon vein and currently had no plans to produce offspring.
The next moment, as the Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer returned to his dantian qi sea, Li Qing's expression froze slightly, a look of understanding dawning in his eyes.
"So that's how it is."
He realized that nourishing his natal magic treasure with his true essence and pill fire was no simple task.
Within the dantian, only by completely permeating every inch of the treasure with his true essence could he successfully nourish it once.
While this process wouldn't hinder his cultivation, the resulting increase in power was negligible—a barely perceptible trace.
"No wonder those great masters never chose structurally complex artifacts as their natal magic treasures! There's a hidden principle at play here!"
Each complete permeation of his natal magic treasure with true essence required considerable time. As the treasure's structure grew more intricate, the time required would only increase.
Each session of nourishing only increased the weapon's power by a barely perceptible fraction.
For complex artifacts like bells, cauldrons, towers, and furnaces, the time required was even greater. Over the long term, this clearly wasn't worth the effort.
Simply put, nourishing swords and blades offered a much better return on investment!
"That's why in the cultivation world, one's natal magic treasure is usually a simpler type, while auxiliary magic treasures like bells, cauldrons, towers, and furnaces are never refined as natal magic treasures!"
Li Qing nodded in understanding, belatedly grateful he had chosen the Peerless Hammer instead of foolishly attempting to forge artifacts capable of bearing the Great Dao.
"If I continuously nourish the Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer within my dantian, its power will accumulate steadily over time. It's not impossible that one day it could even rival the ancestral imperial sword!"
He was confident, not for any particular reason, but because his cultivation strategy prioritized longevity above all else!
Having settled this matter, Li Qing finally withdrew his focus from his magic treasure and silently began replenishing his spiritual energy.
Time flowed by. Li Qing, who had monopolized the spiritual energy of an entire mountain peak, spent over half a month fully restoring his mana to its peak.
Finally, in this excellent state, Li Qing retrieved a highly viscous drop of dragon marrow and silently swallowed it.
The drop, which had resembled a bead of gelatin, instantly dissolved upon entering his mouth, flowing down his throat and into his abdomen.
A warm sensation surged from his abdomen, enveloping his entire body in a comforting warmth.
Without hesitation, Li Qing activated the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, diligently refining the hard-won medicinal power of the dragon marrow.
Though only a single drop, its effects were remarkably potent—after all, this spiritual object had been accumulating within the dragon vein for millennia!
Had anyone probed Li Qing's body with their divine sense, they would have been astonished to find his internal organs now coated in a layer of golden light.
His once flesh-and-blood organs had transformed into exquisite works of art, as if crafted from pure gold.
This was the coveted treasure that countless core formation realm cultivators dreamed of possessing. Not only did it extend lifespan and enhance cultivation, but it also significantly revitalized the body's organs.
Even a single drop had bestowed considerable benefits upon Li Qing.
Now, he finally understood why Gui Fan had worn such a pained expression when Li Qing had asked for an additional drop of dragon marrow that day.
This substance was indeed invaluable; no core formation realm cultivator would ever have enough of it!
Time flowed steadily onward. Refining four drops of dragon marrow took Li Qing nearly three months. He completely absorbed each drop before consuming the next.
By the time he took the fourth drop, its spirituality had already begun to subtly diminish.
After absorbing the final drop, Li Qing slowly opened his eyes, awakening from his brief period of cultivation.
A flash of dark golden light flickered through his eyes before receding into the depths of his pupils.
"So this is dragon marrow," he murmured. "Just four drops have been equivalent to nearly three years of arduous meditation. No wonder so many core formation true lords went mad for it that day."
Moreover, Li Qing's lifespan had visibly increased by another year!
If just four drops yielded such benefits, he dared not imagine what a full portion of dragon marrow could achieve. He might even break through to the mid-core formation realm within a few years.
Li Qing exhaled deeply, calming his surging emotions.
With a mental probe, he discovered another spirit letter had appeared outside his cave abode, its arrival unnoticed until now.
(End of the Chapter)
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