Chapter 262: Chapter 54: Returning and Long-term Cooperation
Several days later, the three of them finally finished refining the medicinal power and got up one after another.
Jiang Liyan was the last to complete the refinement, and upon inspecting his Qi Sea again, he found that the Purple Mansion had been mostly repaired and was faintly taking on the outline of the Jade Mansion.
As previously mentioned, cultivators with first-rate aptitude typically enter the path at the age of ten, fill their Qi Sea by fifty, and achieve great success in Marrow Cleansing at sixty.
By the age of one hundred ninety, they would roughly have a hundred and thirty years’ worth of Refining Mansion cultivation level.
That is to say, to form a Third Grade Golden Core, one would need to supplement an additional seventy years of external cultivation power at the least.
As for the source of the cultivation power, people often refer to it as “Purple Mansion Secret Realm” or “Purple Mansion Spiritual Medicine”.
Purple Mansion Secret Realms are either under the control of major sects, such as Kunlun’s Heaven’s Gate Hall, or they are kept strictly confidential, such as the Five Qi Toward Yuan Cave.
Purple Mansion Spiritual Medicine is somewhat easier to obtain, such as the widely circulated Mercurial Elixir Liquid, which Shushan produces steadily every year.
Although the internal disciples of the sect never get enough each year, somehow a portion always ends up in the outside world, and no one knows why.
The Golden Nectar and Jade Liquid that the group ingested this time is a typical Purple Mansion Spiritual Medicine.
Seventy years of Refining Mansion cultivation power is first among all known Purple Mansion Spiritual Medicines.
Vermilion Grass, a rare spiritual medicine that exists only in ancient texts—wouldn’t it be rare with at least a hundred thousand years of history?
Source: NovelFull.com, updated on Ɲονǥ0.ᴄο
All in all, the fortuitous encounter this group experienced is, from any aspect, of the kind that can only be encountered rather than sought after.
The news stemmed from the Qilin of Yu Long Mountain, and the success in passing the trials owed much to Wei Dongliu—what ordinary cultivator would have such opportunities?
At this thought, Jiang the Witch suddenly realized that Wen Yang and Gu Lie had already gotten up and were now whispering in a corner of the room.
As for Wei Dongliu and Long Xiaoqi, they were nowhere to be seen, probably tired of waiting these past few days and had gone out to clear their minds.
While she was quietly pondering, she suddenly saw Wen Yang wave at her.
“What’s the matter?” Jiang Liyan went over skeptically.
“We owe Wei Daoist Friend a great debt of gratitude.” Just as she approached the two of them, Gu Lie started speaking with a serious tone.
“Tsk!” Jiang the Witch immediately let out a disdainful sneer.
Gratitude? Among us of the Intercepting Cult, what is there to speak of as gratitude?
Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re up to!
“Ahem, it’s like this.” Seeing her sneer, Wen Yang knew immediately that his prepared speech would not fool her, so he could only speak frankly, “Jiang Daoist Friend, we truly wish to repay Wei Daoist Friend’s kindness… Without him this time, how could we have had the chance to forge a top-grade Golden Core?”
Once again, Purple Mansion Spiritual Medicine is too rare.
Even the top disciples of the Three Pure Orthodox Sect can’t guarantee that in the one hundred thirty years of their cultivation path in the Purple Mansion Realm, they will definitely get their hands on Purple Mansion Spiritual Medicine,
First, it depends on whether the sect has it, and secondly, whether you deserve to obtain it.
Even Shushan, which can produce Mercurial Elixir Liquid consistently, would only have several spoonfuls every hundred years. However, just the Direct Disciples of the Various Peaks’ Peak Masters alone number over twenty. They must compete with one another to obtain it.
Wen Yang and Gu Lie speak of receiving a great favor, which is indeed true, but what of it?
When they talk about finding an opportunity to repay him, they are essentially seeing that Wei the Demon Lord possesses vast divine skills and wish to cling to him for their own future gains!
Seeing Jiang Liyan’s teasing expression, Gu Lie couldn’t help but say:
“Jiang Daoist Friend, don’t let beauty cloud your judgment. Wouldn’t you, too, seek to make connections with a powerful ally like Wei Daoist Friend?”
“Make connections?” Jiang Liyan said contemptuously, “I’ve known Dong Liu for a long time and have no need to deliberately make connections… His two disciples even have to call me ‘Senior Jiang’!”
Wen Yang chuckled awkwardly a few times before urging again,
“Although Fellow Wei’s cultivation level is indeed profound, it’s a pity that he’s a Mortal Life Path cultivator. Who doesn’t know that the Mortal Life Path is as loose as sand? The ancestral secrets of the Ancient Intercepting Cult’s inheritance have been almost completely lost!”
“Within our sect, there are a large number of ancient records passed down from generation to generation, many of which mention bits and pieces about several secret realms. It’s just that our current cultivation realm is low and our strength too weak to explore them.”
“Fellow Wei, on the other hand, is certainly capable of exploring them, but suffers from a lack of reliable information, unaware of the whereabouts of many ancient secret realms.”
“Wouldn’t it be a win-win situation if we join forces?”
Jiang Liyan also thought it made sense. After all, two birds in the bush are not as good as one bird in hand.
Previously, whenever we found the whereabouts of a secret realm, we had to worry about whether we had the ability to explore it, which necessitated careful probing. This often took a long time, and whether we could reap any benefits in the end was another matter. The key issue was that sometimes we underestimated the dangers of the secret realms, which made it easy to lose our lives within them.
Now, with the mighty Wei the Rogue, the four of us can split up to look through our sect’s records, find the whereabouts of secret realms, and then take Wei the Sorcerer to fight. It’s like having the strength of a Golden Core Rank with us the entire way.
At this thought, Jiang the Witch found her heart racing.
“Ahem.” She coughed once, frowning, “Why didn’t you mention this sooner? Fellow Wei isn’t the kind to be hard to talk to. I’ll go and discuss it with him in a moment.”
When Wen Yang and Gu Lie heard her say this, despite their wide experience and knowledge, they couldn’t help but retch internally.
Who was it that had just put on a protective wife act, eager to send us away? Perhaps she’d already ceased being human!
After a few more hours, Wei Dongliu and Long Xiaoqi also returned from outside.
While the three were refining the effects of the medicine, they went for another round through the remaining rooms of Mirror Lake Divine Palace.
Apart from some books that were not related to cultivation techniques, they found nothing else.
Long Xiaoqi showed great interest in these books, flipping through them one by one.
Wei Dongliu was also somewhat interested, but to maintain his persona as a mysterious big shot, he was forced to feign total disinterest, allowing the Kunlun Mirror to secretly record everything on his behalf.
Once everyone gathered again, they prepared to set sail and return… Considering the time, the period of miasma dissipation was also almost over.
Leaving the Divine Palace, crossing Mirror Lake, and returning to reality, on their way out of Ailao Mountain, Jiang Liyan cheerfully proposed a long-term partnership.
Simply put, it involved using the information resources of their respective sects to locate ancient secret realms left behind from ancient times, and then teaming up with Wei Dongliu for expeditions.
Whether it was Jiang Liyan, Wen Yang, Gu Lie, or Long Xiaoqi, almost all of them were elite disciples within their sects with complete lineages and sufficient status. This was fundamentally different from “Mortal Life Path Loose Cultivators” like Wei Dongliu, thus they could provide the informational intelligence he was most lacking.
Wei Dongliu was responsible for the most critical combat power, with the split of the final gains calculated based on contribution.
Because he held the top combat power in the team, the more dangerous and difficult the secret realm, the more benefits he would be able to obtain.
Although it might seem like he was eating meat while others were drinking soup, the four working together, with the number of explorations added up, could also mean that even drinking soup would be satisfying.
Had they sought help from other Golden Core Cultivators within the sect, they wouldn’t have found such a good deal! Basically, those individuals would swallow both meat and soup, given they also had Foundation Establishment juniors within the sect.
Wei Dongliu listened quietly and suddenly felt that something was off.
This… Their logic, wasn’t it the same as the outer disciples of Kunlun Sect who sought help from Big Brother Qiu Changtian for cultivation guidance? It was exactly the same!
In essence, it’s the excessive exploitation of the lower layers by the upper echelons of the Cultivation Realm that’s the issue. Only someone like himself, who needed to increase his Synchronization Value… No, rather, one who is bright, noble, and righteous with a generous character willing to fairly and reasonably accommodate others, could gain the trust of so many fellow sect members and outer disciples!
Of course, the key was that Wei Dongliu’s persona carried the responsibility of finding information about the Hell Path.
Forming a sect and training disciples to help gather information was an effective method;
Personally reaching out, making widespread friends across various paths, and subtly probing for secret news was another viable strategy.
“Hmm.” Having thought through the details, Wei Dongliu nodded and accepted the proposal.