Cultivation is just so scientific!

The effect of various new types of spirit pills taken by cultivators is the strongest at first, but with time and increased consumption, the effect continually diminishes.

Half a year later, Zhong Qiang's cultivation had recovered to the peak of the late-stage Foundation Establishment, largely due to the second-grade high-level spirit pills provided by Li Shiming.

On this day, Zhong Qiang went to Tribulation Mountain without asking Li Shiming to accompany him.

Half a day later, Zhong Qiang returned; by this time, he had already become a Golden Core cultivator.

A long-lost smile appeared on his face, as he no longer had to worry about insufficient life span.

Li Shiming saved him precious time, and Zhong Qiang was full of gratitude for this.

Do not underestimate the importance of time. Zhong Qiang's body was already a hundred years old at this moment. Although the life span of a Foundation Establishment cultivator can reach two hundred years, after surpassing a hundred years, the body begins to degrade.

The older one gets, the more severe the degradation of the body becomes, which is why many cultivators cannot break through to the Golden Core Stage before a hundred years old, and even if they do so afterwards, their potential isn't great.

It can be said that for Zhong Qiang, staying even one more day in the Foundation Establishment Stage would severely delay his future cultivation and increase the difficulty of restoring his strength.

Finally relieved of the worries of his life span, only then did Zhong Qiang's mood improve.

Even though there was still a great distance between the Golden Core Stage and the Nascent Soul Stage, the substantial increase in life span brought him immense confidence.

He entered Li Shiming's cave residence, where besides having the authority to enter and exit, he only had access to his own room.

He cast a spell, requesting to meet with Li Shiming.

Li Shiming always had a Nascent Soul that could move at any time, so upon receiving Zhong Qiang's communication technique, he quickly arrived at the room where Zhong Qiang was located.

Seeing that Zhong Qiang had already reached the Golden Core early stage, he was not surprised at all.

If Zhong Qiang couldn't even break through the Foundation Establishment Stage, that would be strange. Zhong Qiang's body was fused with his previous Nascent Soul, retaining much of its talent and transforming this body.

When he was amnesiac and not doing well, it was mainly because he hadn't awakened his memory and couldn't truly harness the talents of his body.

"Congratulations, senior brother!" Li Shiming said with a smile.

"Junior brother, what's there to be congratulated about?" Zhong Qiang shook his head and said helplessly.

After recovering his memory, whenever he thought of his former abilities and compared them with his current self, he became even more acutely aware of his shortcomings.

"Here are some third-grade spirit pills I prepared for you, senior brother. Some are left over from before, and some are newly refined!" Li Shiming took out thirty jade bottles this time and handed them over.

The reason why there were so many third-grade spirit pills was because he had refined a large number when he was on the Beishu Continent, and the surplus held in his hands was far more than he and his clone Li Yuanba could consume.

At that time, he also dared not sell these third-grade spirit pills, as he used the 'Hundred One-point Pill Technique.' If a large batch of third-grade spirit pills without a spiritual medicine source appeared on the market, he would be in trouble if it was found out.

Before he could figure out a way to dispose of these third-grade spirit pills, his realm continued to rise, until after advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage on the Dongqi Continent, these third-grade pills became collectibles in the Mustard Space.

What he took out this time was just a tiny portion of his stock, yet it was enough for Zhong Qiang to cultivate for ten years.

"Junior brother, I have prepared a gift for you!" Zhong Qiang took all the jade bottles without needing to look, knowing that they were all cultivation assistance spirit pills prepared for him. He put away the jade bottles and looked at Li Shiming seriously.

"Senior brother, there's no need for such formality with me!" Li Shiming waved his hand.

The things he did for Zhong Qiang were not solely for him, but more because of the instructions from his master, Grandmaster Hu.

"Let me tell you how I ended up in such a state!" Zhong Qiang ignored Li Shiming's words, his eyes slightly vacant as he fell into memory.

Li Shiming closed his mouth, also curious about how Zhong Qiang ended up in such a miserable state with the strength he had back then.

"It was a hundred years ago when I was exploring on the Central State Continent and entered a remnant mansion where I got a fragment of the treasure map of Great Power Qiu Hengyi. At that time, several Nascent Soul cultivators were exploring separately, and they obtained the other fragments of the treasure map.

Among them, Zhao Lingyu and I were the strongest. We seized the treasure map fragments from the other Nascent Soul cultivators. I got slightly injured then, so I returned to the Dongqi Continent with half of the treasure map fragments.

After spending years healing my wounds, I went to find Zhao Lingyu. However, Zhao Lingyu set a trap, and only my Nascent Soul escaped!" Zhong Qiang solemnly recounted what happened back then.

A well-known treasure-snatching story, something that happens almost every day in the cultivation world.

But a treasure map sought after by two Nascent Soul middle-stage cultivators from major sects must have a crucial reason for its allure.

"Was Great Power Qiu Hengyi very strong?" Li Shiming interjected curiously.

He knew little about the great powers in the cultivation world, and hearing that they were fighting over Qiu Hengyi's treasure map, he was very curious about Great Power Qiu Hengyi.

"Not strong; perhaps he could be called the weakest among the Mahayana realm great powers. Qiu Hengyi wasn't even recognized as a great power by those in the Mahayana realm, having stopped at the half-step Mahayana!" Zhong Qiang explained without any reservation.

"Then the treasure shouldn't be very valuable, right?" Li Shiming asked in confusion.

His perspective was very high, as he had Cave Heaven from Great Power Zhai Ge, who was a true Mahayana stage great power, with inheritance within the Cave Heaven from Zhai Ge.

Thus, learning that Great Power Qiu Hengyi was only half-step Mahayana left him a bit disappointed, as he thought the treasure was of great importance.

"Qiu Hengyi's treasure doesn't hold much value for breaking through to the Mahayana realm, but for breaking through to become a great cultivator from the Nascent Soul middle stage, it holds great importance!" Zhong Qiang continued, his eyes never losing their gleam.

When he learned of Qiu Hengyi's treasure, he had been excited for quite a few days, and even risked his life battling Zhao Lingyu for the complete treasure map.

Li Shiming did not fully understand and looked at Zhong Qiang with a questioning gaze, awaiting further explanation from him.

"Although Qiu Hengyi stalled at the half-step Mahayana stage, he left behind a half-step rule Cave Heaven Core.

If he were a true great power, even if he left behind a Cave Heaven Core, it wouldn't be something we could comprehend. However, this half-step rule Cave Heaven Core is a treasure that Nascent Soul cultivators can comprehend.

Comprehending even a part of the half-step rule Cave Heaven Core content means advancing to a great cultivator would not be a problem!" Zhong Qiang continued to explain.

Li Shiming grasped the concept; just as Zhong Qiang said, he had encountered several Cave Heavens, but his perception of them was limited to being within the Cave Heaven space, as Cave Heavens abide by their own rules.

As for realizing the rules of a Cave Heaven, that's entirely unfeasible; the tier of rules is too high and distantly beyond his cultivation level.

However, the half-step rule Cave Heaven Core of someone in the half-step Mahayana stage can be understood by cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage.

It's like a key, allowing Nascent Soul middle-stage cultivators to perceive the rules of a great cultivator.

What makes great cultivators extraordinarily unique at the Nascent Soul stage is their personal comprehension of rules, allowing them to manipulate rules to a degree.

Although the application of rules by great cultivators might be quite shallow, rules are the fundamental essence of the world, and the mere ability to manipulate such a level of power means an individual has reached a higher level of existence.

This is why the half-step rule Cave Heaven Core left behind by Great Power Qiu Hengyi is of unparalleled importance to any Nascent Soul middle stage cultivator hoping to advance to the level of a great cultivator.

Achieving the great cultivator status from the Nascent Soul middle stage is extraordinarily rare, as Nascent Soul cultivators from the great sects appear generation after generation, but only a few ever become great cultivators.

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