Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

A year ago, Zhao Jinding failed in his Foundation Establishment!

The harsh reality once again confirmed that the success rate for cultivators to advance to the Foundation Establishment realm was indeed frightfully low, and the Zhao family had truly run out of luck.

That very afternoon, Zhao Sheng tidied himself up, trimming excess hair and donning a new set of robes, impatiently seeking out Zhao Keqin of the Good Deeds Hall.

Seeing Zhao Keqin again after two years, Zhao Sheng found he had aged much, looking haggard and worn.

Not only had his hair turned white, but his complexion was also abnormally sallow, coughing intermittently as if he had suffered a serious injury.

Upon seeing Zhao Sheng appear suddenly, Zhao Keqin measured him up and immediately revealed a joyous expression, exclaiming, "Haha, you have actually reached the Qi Refining Third Layer."

Zhao Sheng nodded humbly, "It's just luck."

He had just advanced to the third layer and had not yet fully concealed his aura, which allowed Zhao Keqin to see the signs.

In the Cultivation World, unless there's a big difference in realm, it's difficult for cultivators of the same level to discern each other's cultivation without specific spells.

Zhao Keqin shook his head earnestly, "This is not luck at all. Among the sixteen members of the Zhao family's 'Chong' generation, you are the only one who could endure the loneliness and seclude yourself for two years. Heaven rewards the diligent; there is nothing to be modest about."

"Let's not talk about this."

Zhao Sheng said, then suddenly asked, "Uncle Qin, why have so many fishing boats suddenly appeared on Dragon Carp Lake? Have the spirit fish found a new market?"

Hearing this, Zhao Keqin's expression changed and he sighed, "Ah, finding a market isn't that easy. Because we couldn't sell them, the family had to take the initiative to lower the price by thirty percent."

"Thirty percent! That's too much of a drop!" Zhao Sheng exclaimed in shock.

Zhao Keqin spread his hands helplessly, "If we don't lower the price, we can't sell; by lowering it, we can earn a little more. You know we only have six years left on the lease of Dragon Carp Lake. Before we leave, we have to grab what we can, right?"

Zhao Keqin had almost given up hope on renewing the lease.

He had heard that elder Zhao Jingang had already made contact with Purple Sun Foundation Establishment Chen Zichuan, and their relationship seemed rather warm.

But based on his seventy years of life experience, this... didn't seem very reliable!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng immediately realized that the family's actions were undoubtedly in preparation for their departure from Dragon Carp Lake.

But where could the Zhao family move to after leaving?

Every Spirit Vein in the Central Continent was already claimed.

As the cradle of the Human Clan's civilization in this world, Central Continent has an ancient and immeasurable history.

All the lands suitable for habitation were developed and matured over ten thousand years ago.

After countless years of big fish eating small fish, today, most of the Spirit Veins in Central Continent have been monopolized by the Major Sects.

Countless Cultivation Families like the Zhao family, and even some third-tier Cultivation Sects, must lease Spirit Veins from large powers to have a place to call home.

They are like continually growing chives, year by year harvested by the likes of Purple Sun Sect and other Great Sects.

It could be said that the class structure in the Central Continent Cultivation World is extremely rigid, with the classes nearly fixed. To cultivate, lower-class cultivators either choose to toil till death or simply give up.

While Zhao Sheng had some plans for the Zhao family's predicament, he couldn't think of a once-and-for-all solution at the moment.

Thus, he changed the subject, asking with concern, "Uncle Qin, your complexion doesn't look very good. Have you been injured?"

Zhao Keqin was taken aback by the question and quickly dismissed it, "It's nothing, I just encountered a few worms during an outing."

"Worms" refer to rotten cultivators.

In the Cultivation World, there is a group of people who, due to talent, opportunity, or injury leading to a hopeless pursuit of longevity and a dead end ahead, cease cultivation.

These people willingly degenerate, pursuing various pleasures.

Some go even further, turning to destroy the cultivation of others since they cannot progress themselves, their abhorrent actions even more despicable than those of Evil Demons and the Outer Path, making them detestable by both gods and ghosts.

These fallen cultivators are called worms of the Cultivation World, or more politely, rotten cultivators.

But did Zhao Keqin really encounter rotten cultivators?

Zhao Sheng had his doubts.

Seeing the other party reluctant to elaborate, he did not press further and promptly stated his purpose for the visit.

Upon learning Zhao Sheng wanted to take some talisman paper and talismanic ink on credit, Zhao Keqin was exceptionally cooperative, not only agreeing immediately but also providing double the amount.

In the end, he repeatedly entrusted him to produce as many as possible, as the family was in urgent need of Invisibility Talismans.

Leaving the Good Deeds Hall and returning to Harmony Courtyard.

When Zhao Sheng held the Strong Fox Talisman Pen in his hand and once again began to paint the Invisibility Talisman, he suddenly discovered a pleasant surprise.

Although he hadn't wielded a pen in two years, he realized that he felt no unfamiliarity, and his first attempt at painting the talisman was effortlessly successful.

Underneath his puzzled expression, he pondered for a moment.

Suddenly, Zhao Sheng was struck by a thought.

The reason for this ease seemed to be due to the Rock Hand.

Rock Hand: Your hands are as steady as rock.

Put another way, does it mean that once the movements of the hands become muscle memory, they will never degrade?

Judging from the outcome, it seemed this was indeed the case.

Thinking this, Zhao Sheng couldn't help but berate himself for being shortsighted, thinking that no wonder the success rate of the Spring Breeze and Rain Talisman increased so rapidly back then - the Rock Hand must have also played an important role behind the scenes.

It seemed there were no useless talents in this world, only useless people.

Later, Zhao Sheng gathered his thoughts again and commenced the second attempt.

This time, he nearly succeeded!

Then on the third try, success!

The fourth attempt failed

…

When the sixteenth Invisibility Talisman was halfway done, Zhao Sheng suddenly felt a pain in his Dantian, and the spiritual power at the tip of his pen abruptly ceased.

It was only after he emerged from his Heart Flow state that Zhao Sheng realized with a start that the spiritual power within him had completely drained away.

Looking at the five radiantly glowing Invisibility Talismans, Zhao Sheng couldn't hide his joy, but he sighed inwardly, "With just the cultivation of Qi Refining Third Layer, my level is still too low. Who knows when I will be able to reach Qi Refining Perfection."

Out of sixteen Invisibility Talismans, five were successful, more than a thirty percent success rate.

Zhao Sheng was fairly satisfied with this result and thought it seemed the elders' words were not wrong.

The higher the cultivation, the easier it became to make talismans.

Zhao Sheng did a rough calculation and estimated that, subtracting costs, his daily profit was around eight Spirit Stones.

However, this was still not enough.

Consider the dangers of the dark side of Heavenly Pillar Mountain!

Having entered it twice before, Zhao Sheng had an extremely painful and indelible experience of it.

This time, he would not joke with his own life.

Even if he had to enter Heavenly Pillar Mountain earlier than planned, he would make thorough preparations.

He needed to have Magic Artifacts, plenty of talismans, and an abundance of Elixir Pills.

...

The trees long for peace, but the wind will not cease!

After coming out of seclusion, Zhao Sheng disregarded worldly affairs and had no interest in socializing; he dedicated all his spare time outside of cultivation to painting talismans and refining spells.

However, there were some matters he couldn't avoid, and some troubles came seeking him out.

One afternoon, a month later, as Zhao Sheng was just stepping out of the Good Deeds Hall, he saw two of his contemporaries, Zhao Chongxiao and Zhao Chongwei, approaching him.

Zhao Sheng felt a bit surprised and wondered what they wanted with him.

The moment Zhao Chongwei saw Zhao Sheng, she excitedly shouted, "Chonghe, I have some good news to tell you. Guess what it is?"

"What's the good news?" Zhao Sheng asked in return.

At the same time, he also greeted Zhao Chongxiao.

Zhao Chongwei, with an excited face, exclaimed, "Brother Chongxiao has invited us to go to Qixia Peak to watch the clouds and enjoy the moon. Isn't that great news?"

Hmm?!

Zhao Sheng's face revealed a look of surprise and he couldn't help but turn his gaze towards Zhao Chongxiao.