Chapter 170: Chapter 154: Set the Hook, Begin the Alchemy

Cui Jianshui would occasionally visit, bringing handmade pastries and Spiritual Food.

All these changes had appeared after Lin Changheng broke through to Tier Two Alchemy.

’If I were to reveal a few more of my advantages, or even break through to Foundation Establishment, her eagerness would likely become even more surprising...’

Lin Changheng understood this well enough.

After all, it was highly unlikely for a beautiful Female Cultivator to live a prosperous life in the vast Immortal City without a knack for social maneuvering.

Even he had to rely on his network and foster good relationships.

Since the matter was essentially settled, Lin Changheng used a Communication Jade Talisman to contact the Foundation Establishment Cultivator surnamed Qian. He informed him that the three main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill had been gathered and that the refining would begin in approximately half a year.

They would decide on a specific time to meet when the date drew closer.

...

For the next while, Lin Changheng became even more of a shut-in, rarely stepping foot outside his door.

With just half a year before the refining, he had a great many preparations to make.

In terms of Alchemy alone, he needed to thoroughly master the Pill Formula, perfect his techniques, and finish maturing the Nine-leaf Purple Ginseng, which had just sprouted its ninth leaf.

Beyond his preparations for Alchemy, Lin Changheng also needed to quickly get ready for his own Foundation Establishment.

Possessing a Foundation Establishment Pill was like holding a hot potato.

It could attract prying eyes, and some people might even take desperate risks.

After all, no matter how good the security was in the Immortal City, it wasn’t absolute. This wasn’t like a video game from his past life where he was simply untargetable.

If you died, you were dead. It would be useless even if the Immortal City’s Law Enforcement Team arrived afterward and subjected the perpetrator to Lingchi.

Therefore, once the Foundation Establishment Pill was refined, it was best to consume it as soon as possible for peace of mind.

He had to enter secluded cultivation for Foundation Establishment at once!

His Magical Power had already reached the Peak of Ninth Level Qi Cultivation, and his physical body had been tempered to Tier Two; only the refinement of his Magical Power was still slightly lacking.

His mental state was also incredibly important.

Some Cultivators, despite having achieved Magical Power Perfection and possessing a Foundation Establishment Pill, ultimately failed to break through. The problem lay with their state of mind.

Excitement, nervousness, anxiety... all sorts of emotions could create flaws in one’s mental state, becoming negative factors that could compromise a successful Foundation Establishment.

In his past life, people got performance anxiety just from taking exams; how much more daunting was Foundation Establishment, this "grand examination of the Immortal Dao" that would decide his very life and future?

Others, whose resolve for the Dao was weak and who cowered in the face of hardship, could also easily miss the window of opportunity for Breaking the Realm, leading to failure.

Lin Changheng had experienced great rises and falls, only to rise again, so he now often maintained a tranquil and detached attitude, which strengthened his state of mind.

Furthermore, his twofold Celestial Gift of Clear Heart had tempered his mind, making it even more resilient.

All in all, this was the perfect time to identify and shore up any remaining weaknesses.

Lin Changheng would be sure to seize this opportunity.

...

Meanwhile, after some thought, Lin Changheng sent another letter to Mo Zhaoli.

She had already completed her sect mission, picked up her pills from Lin Changheng, and returned to her Sect, where she planned to enter secluded cultivation for a while.

The message in the letter was simple: he would be starting the alchemy and attempting his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment in half a year, and he wanted to know if Mo Zhaoli would be free to come to the Immortal City and act as his Dharma Protector.

In reality, however, what Lin Changheng wanted was not a Dharma Protector.

Instead, he wanted to use Mo Zhaoli’s identity to "request a pill."

She would bring his main ingredient, along with the supplementary ingredients he’d had Elder Cheng and his son help collect, and formally come to "request a pill," acting as the initiator of the request.

Based on the value of the Medicinal Materials Lin Changheng was providing, securing a spot in the top two—if not the very top—would be no issue.

Both the Seven-Star Spirit Moon Grass and the Nine-leaf Purple Ginseng were controlled by the Sects and classified as key restricted materials, making them exceptionally rare and valuable.

The Celestial Crystal Spirit Lotus held by the gaunt Loose Cultivator, Gu Chang’an, who had arrived later, was also rare. However, due to its growth characteristics, it was difficult to control and thus relatively easier to obtain.

Therefore, it was a foregone conclusion that Gu Chang’an’s turn to pick a pill would be last.

It was just difficult to judge between the Seven-Star Spirit Moon Grass and the Nine-leaf Purple Ginseng; their relative value was up for debate.

Typically, the priority would be judged based on the age of the ingredients.

But this didn’t matter to Lin Changheng. From a single batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, he was fully confident he could refine two Genuine Pills.

The chance of the third pill also being Genuine was only about eighty percent.

Being as cautious as he was, Lin Changheng naturally couldn’t let that risk fall on him, which was why he couldn’t give up his claim to one of the first two pills.

This kind of situation could easily breed suspicion.

After all, there were precedents in the Immortal City of Pill Masters sacrificing the third person’s chance at a successful pill just to guarantee the first two were Genuine Pills.

Therefore, Lin Changheng decided to avoid distributing the pills in his capacity as the Pill Master, as it would be a conflict of interest and create an appearance of impropriety.

Furthermore, when the Foundation Establishment Pill was being refined, everyone involved had to be present to observe from a distance. Gu Chang’an was somewhat unusual, and Lin Changheng felt uneasy. He was afraid that if he was present and Lin Changheng focused solely on the Alchemy, some mishap might occur.

Thus, inviting Mo Zhaoli to act as a "Dharma Protector" was the result of Lin Changheng’s repeated deliberation and a timely adjustment to his plan.

It was worth noting that Lin Changheng did not use the Extreme South Palace’s Immortal Post to send his letter. That service was so slow that by the time the letter arrived, it would have been too late.

Instead, he went directly to the outpost the Purple Extreme Sect had established in Floating Immortal City.

Mo Zhaoli had told him about this last time and had given him a token that allowed him to send messages to her through the Purple Extreme Sect’s private channels.

It would arrive within a month—immeasurably faster.

...

Three months later, Lin Changheng received Mo Zhaoli’s reply, confirming that she could make it.

He could faintly sense the delight between the lines.

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