Xuantian Immortal Cultivation Record

The Fire Crow Taoist was greatly shaken by the Molten Gold Tempering Pill. Judging by its aura alone, it surpassed any Core Formation-level pill he had ever seen in his life. He immediately entered a stone chamber for closed-door cultivation.

He didn't reappear until a full three months had passed.

By this time, Yuan Zhilin and the other two had already returned.

Ape Thirteen had also taken a Molten Gold Tempering Pill. It told Zhang Yuanjing that its bloodline memory contained descriptions of this pill, and that long-term consumption offered hope of transformation. It didn't need to enter closed-door cultivation; it could let its body absorb the pill on its own, which would take about half a year.

When the Fire Crow Taoist emerged from the stone chamber, he nodded to Yuan Zhilin, Liu Jinglong, and Mei Zhenyi, who bowed to him, and then hurriedly said to Zhang Yuanjing, "Yuanjing, this pill is truly a peerless divine pill!"

Zhang Yuanjing was delighted to hear this and asked excitedly, "Oh? What effects does it have? For you to praise it so highly!"

The Fire Crow Taoist exclaimed, "Molten Gold! Tempering the Core! The name says it all. Ordinary Core Formation cultivators, through taking pills and meditating, accumulate energy until the late Core Formation stage, but then don't know how to continue cultivating."

"Some think it's still the same old Qi refining and essence augmentation, and I used to think so too. But after taking this pill, I realized that while Qi refining and essence augmentation can increase cultivation, their effect on tempering the golden core is minimal. Therefore, late-stage Core Formation cultivators are not uncommon, but very few can reach the Great Perfection stage. This is because they don't know how to temper their golden core."

"If it's a large sect with extraordinary inheritance of techniques, they may be able to do it through their techniques, but the progress will definitely be very slow. As for small and medium-sized sects, and even rogue cultivators, it's difficult for them to even find the path. The wonder of the Molten Gold Tempering Pill is that after taking it, it's as if a hammer is born in the dantian, constantly forging the golden core day and night, removing impurities and making it continuously move towards perfection. In this way, Great Perfection is achievable, and Nascent Soul is within reach!"

He said with deep emotion and gratitude, "With this pill, I may have a chance to try to break through to the Nascent Soul realm before my lifespan runs out!"

After hearing this, Zhang Yuanjing was also very satisfied with the pill. He thought for a moment and asked, "Has Senior completely refined the pill?"

The Fire Crow Taoist shook his head, "Complete refinement will take at least a year. However, only the first three months require focused meditation and full-force refinement. After that, the medicinal effect will gradually subside, and it can be left to absorb on its own."

"This pill is very powerful, so it shouldn't be taken frequently. Based on my current cultivation level, one pill every two years is enough. As for you, Yuanjing, I suggest you don't take it yet, because your nascent core is weak and can't withstand that fierce hammering. Wait until you reach the mid-Core Formation stage before trying it."

Zhang Yuanjing nodded. The Molten Gold Tempering Pill's recipe also stated that it was for mid- to late-stage Core Formation cultivators.

Of course, this pill mainly affects the physical body and mana, and has no effect on the divine soul. For cultivators, this isn't a big problem. However, for Ape Thirteen, there's a hidden danger of the divine soul not matching the physical body.

Currently, it can still strengthen its divine soul by taking Spirit Enhancement Pills, but once its divine soul reaches the strength of a mid-Core Formation cultivator, this pill will have little effect. In the future, it will inevitably have to suppress its cultivation progress first.

He then took out twelve Molten Gold Tempering Pills, giving six to the Fire Crow Taoist and six to Ape Thirteen, and said, "Senior, Brother Ape, this pill isn't difficult to refine, but the required medicinal materials grow slowly, so I can't provide too much at once. You can take one every two years for now, and after you've used them up, I'll refine more."

Ape Thirteen squeaked twice and nodded to show its obedience.

The Fire Crow Taoist bowed and said solemnly, "Yuanjing's gift of pills is a re-creation for me. I have nothing to repay you with, so I will naturally follow you and share weal and woe with you!"

Yuan Zhilin, Liu Jinglong, and Mei Zhenyi, who were behind him, were all shocked when they heard this. They all knew that the Fire Crow Taoist was determined to follow Zhang Yuanjing, but they thought it was just an unspoken understanding. They didn't expect this late-stage Core Formation master, who had lived for more than five hundred years, to solemnly express his intentions in this way, in order to formally establish a master-servant relationship with Zhang Yuanjing. They didn't dare to neglect and respectfully bowed to Zhang Yuanjing as well.

Zhang Yuanjing quickly returned the greeting and said solemnly, "It's also my honor to have Senior's help! In the future, please take care of me, Senior, Junior Brother Yuan, Junior Brother Liu, and Nephew Mei!"

With the relationship established, the two sides became closer. Zhang Yuanjing then persuaded the Fire Crow Taoist to address him and Yuan Zhilin and Liu Jinglong as fellow disciples, with Zhang Yuanjing being the eldest as Senior Brother, followed by Yuan Zhilin, and Liu Jinglong being the youngest. Mei Zhenyi would call Zhang Yuanjing Grand-Uncle.

In the following days, Zhang Yuanjing began to make preparations for the trip. First, he picked over a hundred Golden Elephant Fruits, preserved them in jade containers, and then asked Yuan Zhilin, Liu Jinglong, and Mei Zhenyi to capture Blue-Faced Ferrets in Mist Spirit Mountain. Although the Crimson Cloud Pill was of a lower level, it was still useful for refining Spirit Enhancement Pills and Molten Gold Tempering Pills, so he naturally had to prepare more.

He also called Han Ji, Zhang Yu, and Zhang Jun to ask them to go to Zhangjiawan first, find Zhang Cheng and Zhang Wei, and form a fishing team of three to four hundred people. At the same time, it was also to allow Zhang Yu and Zhang Jun to say goodbye to their mother and clansmen. Once they left, there would almost be no chance to see each other again.

In the following month or so, Yuan Zhilin and the other two captured more than one hundred and fifty Blue-Faced Ferrets.

Afterward, the Fire Crow Taoist personally led a group of juniors, along with the Zhang family fishing team, and spent more than half a year catching three thousand Red-Finned Fire-Patterned Fish, each over two feet long, in a river section more than two thousand miles upstream of the Crimson Creek River.

Several days later, the group set off. Zhang Yuanjing summoned a low-grade Wind Control Carriage, carrying eight people and one ape, and flew rapidly westward along the Crimson Creek River.

Their agreed route was to pass through the Yushan Marsh and the south side of the Longshan Marsh, pass the Six Peaks Immortal City, bypass the Heavy Sword Sect and the Cold Yin Valley of the Six Sects to the west, and then cross the Purple-Gold Mountain Range, which was said to cover millions of miles. Then they would leave the so-called Six Sects area and arrive at the vast area between the Profound Heaven Sect and the Purple Cloud Sect. From there, they would go straight north to Tianque Mountain. Of course, the specific route would need to be explored when they arrived, or they could buy maps from local cultivators.

During the journey, Yuan Zhilin was eloquent and often made everyone laugh with his jokes. Zhang Yu was innocent and lively. It was her first time riding a Wind Control Carriage, and she was as excited as a little monkey, jumping up and down, touching left and right, and chirping like a lark.

One day, while traveling on the Crimson Creek River, he suddenly remembered something, so he pointed to the Crimson Creek River, which meandered toward the horizon, and said with a hint of regret, "Senior, there should be something mysterious about this Crimson Creek River, otherwise it wouldn't be able to nurture the Red-Finned Fire-Patterned Fish, which has both water and fire attributes. When Senior led everyone to catch fish a few days ago, did you discover anything?"

The Fire Crow Taoist shook his head and said, "That Red-Finned Fire-Patterned Fish is indeed strange. I also explored the river for several days, tracing it upstream for hundreds of thousands of miles, but I didn't find anything."

Seeing that Zhang Yuanjing seemed a little disappointed, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "Why are you so concerned about this, Yuanjing?"

Zhang Yuanjing smiled self-deprecatingly, "It's not that I'm concerned. When I first arrived at Mengshan, Zhang Xuan gave me a Red-Finned Fire-Patterned Fish. At first, I didn't pay attention to it, but after examining it, I discovered its magical properties. At that time, I thought that if I could uncover its secrets, I might be able to break through the bottleneck and enter the Pseudo-Core realm."

"However, I never had the time or the mood to explore its secrets. Now that I've reached the Core Formation realm, I still don't have the leisure. It seems that this matter is destined to be unrelated to me!"

The Fire Crow Taoist laughed and said, "That's not necessarily true. Aren't we traveling along the river now? Maybe that opportunity is waiting for you ahead!"