Chapter 76

"Little Brother Fang, if you have any problems in the future, just come to me!" Fu Jingbo patted Fang Ling's shoulder forcefully, with a look of deep brotherly affection.

Fang Ling replied with a respectful demeanor, "I will surely trouble Senior Brother in the future."

Fu Jingbo laughed heartily, "We are brothers; being too polite would make us seem distant." Saying this, Fu Jingbo slapped his head as if he had suddenly remembered something, "I have some matters to attend to on my side."

A red and green ice-fire fan lifted Fu Jingbo, transforming into a long streak of light that instantly vanished into the horizon.

Fu Jingbo turned back to look at Fang Ling from the ice-fire fan, thinking to himself that from now on, he would have few opportunities to see this Junior Brother again!

As the head of Zhen Dao Sect, although his cultivation was not at the pinnacle, Fu Jingbo understood that the most important aspect of Zhen Dao Sect's array and spell cultivation was the guidance of a teacher.

The difference between truth and falsehood is like a thin layer of paper. With the guidance of a teacher's years of experience, one naturally progresses rapidly; while exploring on one's own, heh, one might not achieve anything even until old age.

Moreover, the study of arrays is vast and profound, consuming a great deal of one's mental energy.

The lifespan of a mortal, even at the Seventh Layer of Qi Cultivation, is at most 120 years, which is half that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who can live up to 240 years.

His uncle and the others had come up with a better plan than he had!

After watching the red and green light disappear into the horizon, Fang Ling began to observe his surroundings. This was a mountain peak over 500 zhang high, spanning several dozen miles, with lush forests.

Although Fang Ling had not yet learned the art of observing qi, he could still feel that the spiritual energy here was far less than that of Zhongyuan Peak, and even less than the surrounding peaks of Zhongyuan Peak.

This place, the Seven Stars Peak, was where he would cultivate!

On the way back with Senior Brother Tong, Fang Ling had gained some understanding of the situation in Zhen Dao Sect.

The entire Zhen Dao Sect was currently divided into four lineages, with Zhongyuan Peak as the main one. However, among these four lineages, the weakest was Zhongyuan Peak.

The founding masters of the other three lineages were all Golden Core cultivators, while the highest cultivator on Zhongyuan Peak was Fu Jingbo, who controlled the ice-fire fan.

Of course, these three Golden Core cultivators did not have the time to deal with trivial matters, so the leaders of the three peaks were all top Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Externally, they were the core disciples of Zhen Dao Sect.

The three core disciples, no, now it should be four core disciples. Through Qianfo Mountain, he had become one of the four core disciples of Zhen Dao Sect.

Thus, the four lineages had now become five.

There is a saying: "Newly arrived, yet entrusted with a heavy responsibility."

However, Fang Ling was a bit reluctant to accept this heavy responsibility. He was not foolish and knew very well what it meant for them to open a new lineage and move him to this Seven Stars Peak, which was a hundred miles away from the core of Zhen Dao Sect. He performed a spell, and a passage appeared before him. He floated in gracefully.

This was a simple cave dwelling with only a dozen or so rooms. The rough and crude sword marks on the ceiling seemed to tell everyone that this cave dwelling was newly built. In the main room, a sixty-year-old, calm-faced Taoist elder was quietly depicted in a painting, hanging in the main hall.

A small but exquisite incense burner was placed on a table in front of the painting.

This elder was his master, the previous founding master of Seven Stars Peak, Jin Peng Zhenren, who had passed away twenty years ago.

Fang Ling clapped his hands, took three incense sticks from the table, and respectfully placed them in the incense burner. Although his master was dead and could no longer teach him anything, he was still his master. One should respect the dead!

Sitting cross-legged on a mat, Fang Ling took out a jade slip from his storage bag and placed it on his forehead. The jade slip was given to him by Fu Jingbo and contained not only the rules of Zhen Dao Sect but also the cultivation techniques from Qi Cultivation to Foundation Establishment: *Crimson Fire Heaven Burning Technique*, *Ming Water Profound Yin Method*, *Ten Thousand Trees Welcoming Spring Technique*, *Geng Metal Severing Profound Technique*...

There were about eight or nine basic cultivation techniques in the jade slip. Fang Ling skimmed through them quickly. These techniques were mostly single-element techniques, and they all reached the peak of Foundation Establishment when cultivated to the highest level.

Fang Ling pondered for a moment and then continued reading. The next section was about arrays, with about thirty to forty of them. Among these, there were over twenty that he, at the Seventh Layer of Qi Cultivation, could use, such as the Hundred Sword Array, Gathering Spirit Array, Concealment Array, and Soul Confusion Array... These arrays were not too profound, and Fang Ling understood the general idea of some of them after a bit of thought, but some details always left him feeling something was off.

After an unknown amount of time, Fang Ling, feeling dizzy, detached himself from the study of the Soul Confusion Array. This array was not particularly profound in other aspects, but the placement of the two array eyes was something Fang Ling did not fully understand. He felt he had grasped the thread but could not quite catch it. It was like a thin layer of paper, just needing a finger to pierce it. What he lacked was that finger.

Without guidance, this array seemed even harder to learn than the other techniques!

Fang Ling looked up, his gaze falling on the portrait of Jin Peng Zhenren. The Zhenren seemed to be looking at him, but unfortunately, this painted teacher could not offer him any guidance. After a round of breathing exercises, Fang Ling recovered much of his energy.

After a tour of the cave dwelling, Fang Ling checked the surrounding restrictions and then carefully took out several storage bags. These were his gains from Qianfo Mountain, which he had not had time to sort through due to the urgency. Now, in this small world that was entirely his, Fang Ling planned to check his inventory.

Among the magical tools, there was the *Ming Water Profound Yin Knife* he could control, the red flag from Li Shan Palace's Senior Brother Tu, the *Yin Soul Banner*, *Xuan Bone Pearl*, and the *Two-Color如意* (Ruyi). Among these five magical tools, the *Yin Soul Banner* was the highest grade, classified as a high-level magical tool according to the *Myriad Ghost Record* by Qu Laoer. In the hands of a Golden Core cultivator, it could even become a magical treasure. Unfortunately, among these five magical tools, Fang Ling could only control the *Ming Water Profound Yin Knife*.

After putting away the magical tools, Fang Ling gathered the treasure talismans. During the battle with Qu Laoer, Fang Ling had destroyed two precious small sword treasure talismans, but when he sorted through Qu Laoer's storage bag, he found several treasure talismans, some of which belonged to Qu Laoer and some of which he had looted.

Now, Fang Ling had five treasure talismans: a treasure seal from Qing Luo Gongzi, a small sword, a small knife, a mirror, and a shield. Among these five treasure talismans, the jade seal talisman was already quite dim, indicating it would not last much longer.

Fang Ling had over ten thousand low-grade talismans, most of which he had obtained from the *Golden Saber Array* and the battles on the Path of Life and Death. Although the talismans were of low grade, throwing them in large numbers could still be quite effective.

He had 102,030 low-grade spirit stones and 1,005 mid-grade spirit stones. This was his current wealth. With these resources, Fang Ling was considered a small tycoon among cultivators of his level. Even more exciting was the fact that he had over a hundred bottles of various medicines. Most of these medicines were for increasing cultivation at the Qi Cultivation stage, and although they varied, their effects were similar. Just the *Jade Dragon Pills* alone, he had over a dozen bottles. With these medicines, he could quickly reach the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation. Only at the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation could he consider Foundation Establishment.

Fang Ling cleared his mind of all杂乱的念头, instantly, and focused on reaching the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment. This was his most important goal; everything else was secondary!

Taking a *Jade Dragon Pill* from a bottle, Fang Ling gently placed it in his mouth and began to cultivate...

Six months later, a layer of golden light began to emanate from Fang Ling's body. The light was not intense, but Fang Ling within the golden light gave off an aura of solemn dignity. The golden light gradually faded and eventually disappeared into his skin. At this point, his skin had a metallic sheen.

The moment all the golden light vanished, Fang Ling suddenly opened his eyes. Two half-foot-long beams of golden light shot out from his eyes. He took a deep breath, leaped up, and grabbed the *Jinghong Sword*, which he no longer used, and slashed it at his arm!

*Clang!* The sword flashed, and a white mark appeared on Fang Ling's arm!

The *Jinghong Sword* was incredibly sharp, and even a common Foundation Establishment cultivator could not withstand a direct hit from it! The white mark disappeared instantly, and Fang Ling's skin returned to its original color. He sheathed the *Jinghong Sword* and smiled.

The *Immovable Vajra Technique* hidden within the lotus seat was truly unique. Over the past six months, while cultivating the *Yuan Cultivation Technique*, Fang Ling had also practiced the *Immovable Vajra Technique* obtained from the dust of Qianfo Mountain.

With the support of over a hundred bottles of medicines, Fang Ling's cultivation progressed rapidly. In just six months, he not only reached the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation but also brought the *Immovable Vajra Technique* to a minor success. Although it could not withstand attacks from treasure talismans and above, it could protect him from most talismans, making him significantly stronger than ordinary Ninth Layer Qi Cultivators.

Leaving the cultivation room, Fang Ling sat down on a stone bench, drinking water and deep in thought. The only thing on his mind now was Foundation Establishment. He had already reached the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation, and Foundation Establishment was just a step away. However, this step had trapped many cultivators.

How would he pass the Foundation Establishment stage?

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