Chapter 146: Entering the Eighth Level of Foundation Establishment

On the top floor, sandalwood curled upward, accompanied by a faint, refreshing floral fragrance that gladdened the heart and refreshed the spirit.

Liu Xiaoxian sat bent over her desk, her golden hair and golden eyes lending her a uniquely captivating charm.

Beneath a loose Daoist robe was a voluptuous and curvaceous mature figure. This Grade-G Golden Core cultivator still possessed an arresting, mountainous bounty that delivered a powerful visual impact.

Her rebellious disciple sneaked in quietly, yet he could not escape Liu Xiaoxian’s divine sense.

Without lifting her head, Liu Xiaoxian said, "I managed to procure three of the auxiliary ingredients for the Golden Origin Pill for you, but the Three-Leaf Gold Ganoderma is far too scarce. Even at the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion headquarters, it is difficult to secure a single stalk; they were all bought out by others."

Being able to acquire three auxiliary ingredients for the Golden Origin Pill was already quite impressive.

After all, materials for breakthrough pills of this caliber were instantly sold out the moment they appeared.

Liu Xiaoxian had also had to pull strings just to get her hands on those three auxiliary ingredients.

"No matter. I currently have six sets of Golden Origin Pill materials in my possession, three of which are capable of refining top-grade Golden Origin Pills. Right now, Cao Feng’s refined Golden Origin Pills are the more urgent priority."

Li Guanxuan walked over, sat down beside his master, and expertly slid his right hand around her soft, delicate water-snake waist. He smiled and said, "As for the Hua family, any grade will do, as long as it's not substandard."

"Don't wander, and keep your hands off the lower regions! I'm busy working!" Liu Xiaoxian quickly warned.

She knew all too well how profound and intricate her precious disciple's techniques were.

Li Guanxuan smiled warmly. "Master, I am giving you a massage to relieve your fatigue, but you need to help me straighten my spine in return. Otherwise, it will remain crooked."

"Let me finish my work first," Liu Xiaoxian turned her head to cast him a reproachful yet charming glance.

Li Guanxian keenly perceived that his master's pair of golden eyes were already swimming with allure, ripples of moisture shimmering within them, while her body temperature slowly began to rise.

This was entirely normal. After all, over the past few years, due to the matters concerning Chen Yinshan and his wife, the two of them had rarely immersed themselves in each other's embrace or enjoyed tender moments together.

Just like an unsealed gap, if it was not plugged in time, it would sooner or later overflow into disaster.

Right now, Li Guanxian needed Liu Xiaoxian to flood the three armies.

"You tend to your work, and I'll tend to mine."

Li Guanxian was also in urgent need of elevating his spiritual root aptitude.

His metal, wood, and fire spiritual roots had already reached top-grade aptitude; only his earth spiritual root remained at high-grade aptitude. If he wished to forge a higher-quality Golden Core in the future, he had to elevate his earth spiritual root to top-grade aptitude as well.

Only then would he truly possess a four-element heavenly spiritual root, pushing his immortal cultivation aptitude directly to the maximum.

After all, the reason Liu Xiaoxian had been able to forge a Purple Golden Core back then was entirely because she had used all her immortal energy to enhance her aptitude.

Shortly after, the loose Daoist robe began to rise and fall with magnificent, surging waves, resembling rolling, turbulent tides. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the tofu-curd treasures.

Li Guanxian gently pressed, kneaded, and rolled the pumpkins, his massage technique having long since reached the realm of perfection.

The so-called pumpkin stalks delivered an intense sensation.

A moment later...

Liu Xiaoxian's mature, charming golden eyes were already swimming with moisture, sultry and hazy. To prevent the sensory impact from becoming too overwhelming, she reached out to sweep a lock of her golden hair across her chest as a shield.

"I'll be done very soon..." Liu Xiaoxian said through clenched teeth.

She truly felt both love and exasperation toward this precious rebellious disciple.

She loved that he had made her understand what it meant to be a woman after living for over a hundred years.

Hated him for always coming up with so many new tricks every single time, practically torturing her to death.

Li Guanxian's lips curled upward as he murmured softly beside her ear:

"Never mind that bit of work on your desk for now, Master. Let's make artemisia cakes together."

As he spoke, his single-handed massage escalated to both hands.

Liu Xiaoxian pressed her lips tightly together, soft moans escaping her lips from time to time, though her eyes remained fixed on the documents upon her desk. Her voice was soft, tingling, and rich with magnetic cadence as she said:

"The Myriad Phenomena Pavilion also operates on a system of contributions. Only by accumulating contributions can one obtain more resources. If you don't wish to run about fighting and killing in the future, and want to steadily cultivate your way to the Nascent Soul stage, you had best let your master finish this work first."

Li Guanxian smiled. "When can't work be done? But making artemisia cakes must be done with haste. After all, the atmosphere has already reached this point; if we don't ascend to the immortal realm together right now, it would seem rather impolite."

Liu Xiaoxian spat, "Is that your idea of a proper ascension?!"

"Of course. As long as we continually pursue the Dao of immortality, ascension is merely a matter of time."

Li Guanxian continued, "Presently, my metal, wood, and fire spiritual roots have all reached top-grade aptitude. As long as the earth spiritual root reaches top-grade aptitude as well, I will become a four-element heavenly spiritual root... Once the five elements harmonize in the Deity Transformation stage, the path ahead will be much smoother."

Liu Xiaoxian retorted ungraciously, "You haven't even reached the Golden Core stage yet, and already you're dreaming of Deity Transformation."

The green-robed sword cultivator squeezed the pumpkin stalks firmly and asked softly, "What did Master just say? This disciple didn't hear clearly."

"Rebellious disciple! Rebellious disciple! Rebellious disciple!"

Liu Xiaoxian was utterly flushed with indignation.

Li Guanxian laughed heartily, reflecting with deep emotion: "The Qi Refining stage was the hardest to endure. My aptitude was poor back then, and resources were scarce... Now, my residence sits atop a spiritual vein, allowing me to absorb spiritual energy at any time, which, coupled with the dual-cultivation techniques, is why my cultivation speed has finally accelerated. In another year or two, I will naturally break through to the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment."

Within the top-floor room, the sandalwood continued to burn, mingling with the rich, lingering fragrance of dual cultivation...

Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Li Guanxian successfully stepped into the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment!

Qin Jiyue slowly collapsed onto the couch, drifting into a deep sleep. Just before losing consciousness, her right hand still absentmindedly rested upon Liu Xiaoxian's pumpkin.

Li Guanxian looked over his battle achievements with profound satisfaction. Full of vigor, he immediately sat cross-legged.

His central yellow court had been fully connected, and eighty drops of liquid magical power had condensed as a matter of course.

Even his earth spiritual root, which had long lingered at high-grade aptitude, had finally reached top-grade aptitude thanks to his diligent efforts over the past two years.

A four-element heavenly spiritual root!

Having achieved his goal, Li Guanxian was thoroughly content.

For his subsequent cultivation, he would no longer need to spend immortal energy on upgrading his aptitude. Aside from his cultivation level, he only needed to enhance the strength of his divine sense.

"My divine sense has also reached the peak of the early Golden Core stage, rivaling a cultivator of the third layer of Golden Core."

"My array formation and artifact-refinement skills are both at the upper second rank... largely because I spent this entire period focusing on improving my aptitude and cultivation, leaving little time for those crafts."

Li Guanxian slowly refined the immortal energy within his body, causing his bones and joints to crackling rhythmically.

With his cultivation having reached the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment, he now possessed the capability to refine top-grade Golden Origin Pills.

As long as he helped Cao Feng weather his tribulation, his own days would become much more tranquil thereafter.

After all, since Liu Xiaoxian was a Golden Core elder of the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion, she could not remain lingering in Silver Maple City indefinitely.

"In the blink of an eye, I am already eighty-eight years old..."

Li Guanxian felt a deep sense of emotional reflection within his heart.

He checked a letter sent to him by Chen Yinshan.

The couple had settled down in Meiling Town of the Hong Kingdom, living an ordinary life, and were currently preparing to have a few children, having already begun earnest efforts toward that goal.

Regarding this, Li Guanxian had replied asking if they needed any medicinal herbs for that purpose, offering to help prepare them.

As for Fang Xingzhi, no further letters had arrived.

Yet Li Guanxian was not particularly worried.

Fang Xingzhi acted cautiously nowadays, being far steadier than Chen Yinshan, and practically never courted trouble.

"It is time to begin refining the Golden Origin Pills."

Li Guanxian put on his clothes, glanced at the two women fast asleep in the boudoir, left the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion at the first marketplace, and returned to the Peace Courtyard.

To make the pill-refining process smoother, upon returning to the Peace Courtyard, Li Guanxian also engaged in a session of pursuing the Dao of immortality with Wen Xin and Song Zhiqiang, accumulating a surplus of fire-element and wood-element immortal energy.

After all, the craft of alchemy still required the assistance of these two types of immortal energy.

Cleansing the cauldron, adding ingredients, dissolving medicines, purifying, and isolating...

Li Guanxian had already become thoroughly proficient in these steps of alchemy.

The most difficult step in alchemy lay in the aspect of fusion.

Only by successfully fusing the purified medicinal liquids and injecting spiritual energy to transform them into medicinal spiritual energy would the spiritual medicine liquids slowly condense into pills.

For two full months, Li Guanxian went nowhere, remaining secluded entirely within the cultivation chamber.

A rich medicinal fragrance constantly permeated the Peace Courtyard, intercepted by array formations so that it never leaked outside.

Another month passed...

Pill fragrance filled the air.

A soft sigh echoed from within the cultivation chamber.