Chapter 101: Chapter 30: The Passage of Time
Lin Jing nodded. The yin-cold spiritual power on this item was indeed strong. If it weren’t for the fact that he had reached the tenth layer of Qi Cultivation Stage, and he himself had an ice attribute physique, touching it would definitely have had an impact on him.
He put away the marriage certificate and stored it in a storage bag. Although it wasn’t very useful, it still contained spiritual power. If he threw it away, he’d have gained nothing from this class.
After putting away the marriage certificate, Lin Jing looked at the Squirrel Spirit. Though it had talent, its treasure-hunting skills were likely just at the beginner level, finding only one of the three spirit-rich ancient treasures that Mr. Cao placed here. It probably didn’t find the other two.
However, knowing that the highest quality ancient treasure was just something like the Yin Resentment Marriage Certificate, Lin Jing didn’t have much expectation for the other two.
"Mr. Cao, I heard you once said that anyone who breaks through the extreme realm in the Dragon and Phoenix Grotto Heaven could obtain the right to use the Academy Cave Mansion for 60 years. Both I and the Squirrel Spirit broke through the extreme realm in the Grotto Heaven. Do we get 120 years of cave mansion usage or the right to use two cave mansions for 60 years each?" Lin Jing asked Cao Zhiwei as the main topic suddenly came to mind.
Mr. Cao smiled upon hearing this: "You’re sly, no losing out either way. Logically speaking, you and this Squirrel Spirit should be considered as one..."
Lin Jing looked pained: "The student sect is declining, the family is poor..."
"There’s an unoccupied cave mansion on the mountain next to you. I’ll let you use it as well," Mr. Cao waved his hand and said, "Make good use of it."
Lin Jing immediately saluted, "Thank you, Mr. Cao."
...
Several days passed in the blink of an eye. It was unclear whether the other two spirit-rich ancient treasures were found by others or if the Squirrel Spirit’s treasure-hunting technique couldn’t pinpoint them. Until the course ended, the ancient marriage certificate remained Lin Jing’s only gain.
During these few days, he also tried to practice treasure-hunting skills diligently. Unfortunately, his talent was poor. Despite working hard for a few days, he could only find three or five broken pieces, falling far behind the Squirrel Spirit’s talent, leading Lin Jing to finally give up on learning treasure-hunting skills.
However, if one must speak of his greatest gain, it would definitely be having one more cave mansion. As for this cave mansion, Lin Jing thought it over and decided not to rent it out but to transform it into a "Spirit Field," expanding the planting area to grow alchemy materials for the Squirrel Spirit.
As for the current cave mansion, it needed to be converted into a Dan Mansion for shared use with the Dragon Carp.
Everyone spreads out, using more spiritual qi without fighting over it.
"Finally, the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique has been mastered..." Returning to the cave mansion, Lin Jing looked at the back of his hand and saw that the golden juvenile dragon had fully formed. This meant he could freely enter and exit the library floors to learn and understand more things.
"Next thing I need to face is Foundation Establishment."
"However, I have plenty of time. Staying in Qi Cultivation Stage for three to five more years means nothing to me."
"A tall building starts from the ground. Next, I’ll take advantage of the time to learn as much as possible for more perfect Foundation Establishment." Lin Jing’s gaze was firm as he wiped away his inner impatience, trying his best to calm himself.
Too much impatience is incompatible with the Longevity Body and is even more detrimental to cultivation.
The years passed by swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
In three years, Lin Jing continued selling bamboo guns, distributing them across various cities in the ancient realm, remaining reclusive except for a few academy classes, and focusing wholeheartedly on studying alchemy.
His peers, Xu Zhizhi, Gao Sheng, Chen Lingxi, Wang Xiao... have all established their foundation, only Lin Jing still remained at the Qi Cultivation Stage. This puzzled many why this genius, who also reached the tenth layer of Qi Cultivation Stage, had yet to break through.
During this period, Wang Xiao challenged him several times but was turned away by Lin Jing. Until Wang Xiao established his foundation, he lost interest in challenging him.
As for Gao Sheng, seeing Lin Jing unable to establish his foundation yet, he did not feel right to invite him for an investigation together.
In the cave mansion, surrounded by danxia and flying dragon flames, Lin Jing opened his eyes as a fiery Dragon Carp floated out of the Hundred Beasts Cauldron...
And then it spat out a red pill.
"Finally succeeded."
Many people did not know, in three years, Lin Jing devoted most of his time to studying alchemy, using a great deal of his accumulated hidden dragon luck for alchemy skill exploration, and nurturing the Dragon Carp.
Now, both Lin Jing and the Dragon Carp could be considered third-grade alchemists, capable of occasionally refining third-grade pills. But this wasn’t their biggest gain over the past three years.
The greatest gain was the creation of one new kind of pill after another, by synthesizing Spirit Plant combined from the Squirrel Spirit and integrating it into pill formulas through luck and various improved alchemy techniques.
The pill currently in Lin Jing’s hand is the "Dragon Ascending Pill," made with dragon attribute beast flame, purple Dragon Bone Flower, and Dragon Blood as core materials.
It is a third-grade pill.
"According to pharmacological calculations, this pill should enable any demon beast to possess highly refined dragon blood and become a dragon blood demon beast! If it’s already a dragon blood demon beast, it can significantly enhance bloodline quality. But for specific effects and toxicity, it’s still necessary to find a little white mouse for testing!"
He looked at the exhausted Dragon Carp; he couldn’t let it test the pill.
Third-grade pill’s potency is powerful. If an error occurs, it can indeed cause accidents. The current effects are merely theoretical assumptions.
"Unexpectedly, even after ceasing to use white mice for synthesizing Spirit Plant, the pills they produce still need white mouse testing."
Lin Jing stepped out from the cave mansion. After being confined for three months to refine this Dragon Ascending Pill without sunlight, now with the success, he was eager to verify the outcome.
"Found it." Lin Jing walked around, laughed heartily, catching a small green worm munching on leaves. This little green worm, regularly bathed in spiritual qi, had also attained a cultivation of the first layer of Qi Cultivation Stage.
"It’s you, old one... granting you a fortuitous encounter," he said, gesturing like a senior.
"If you survive, I’ll title you as my tester underling."
Lin Jing grabbed the small green worm with one hand. Under its terrified gaze, he stuffed the Dragon Ascending Pill into its mouth. In fear it couldn’t digest it, he followed it with a golden pill.
The latter was refined from golden Spirit Rice, eliminating the drawback of losing rationality after consuming golden Spirit Rice, significantly enhancing digestion.
He named it the Gluttonous Pill.
"Squeak—" After consuming both the Gluttonous Pill and the Dragon Ascending Pill, the little green worm nearly blacked out, though soon a miraculous scene ensued.
"Roar!!!"
From the body of the tiny green worm emanated a powerful dragon aura, enveloped by a coiling dragon shadow, its cultivation advanced continuously, second, third, fourth layer of Qi Cultivation... until stagnating at the ninth.
Simultaneously, it exuded strong white light under which its body expanded, growing green scales. Although ultimately still the size of a small arm, resembling a worm, its presence had transcended, its authority far surpassing beasts of the same rank!
"Whoosh!!" With intellect awakened, its gaze was both alarmed and fierce, instantly opening its maw towards Lin Jing, spitting out a stream of green Dragon Breath, then turning to flee.
Bang.
Dragon Breath directly hit Lin Jing, who did not evade, walked out of the smoke with tattered clothes, eyes burning with enthusiasm.
"The intensity of this Dragon Breath has already surpassed the spirit bean bombs," Lin Jing remarked with a chuckle. "And this was just a little green worm that transformed with little cultivation. If a naturally strong demon beast consumed it, the effect would likely be stronger, and the strength wouldn’t be inferior to the projections within the Dragon and Phoenix Grotto Heaven."
"However... it should be ineffective on the Dragon Carp since its bloodline strength has already been elevated too high by the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique."
None of this mattered. What thrilled Lin Jing most was that the Dragon Ascending Pill was the precursor to the "Exclusive Longevity Foundation Establishment Pill" he envisioned. Layering various alchemy techniques, now being able to refine the Dragon Ascending Pill implied that refining the exclusive Foundation Establishment Pill was imminent.
But before that... Lin Jing glanced at his hand. The golden luck juvenile dragon had dimmed significantly.
"Three years have passed; perhaps I’ve already been forgotten."
"The Dragon Ascending Pill, The Beast Taming Sect lacks such dragon transformation pills; I wonder how the market will respond!"
"Let’s experiment at the academy first."
"Let many students see the strength of a dragon-blood carp nourished by the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique, then promote the Dragon Ascending Pill.."
"Moreover, previously Liu Yu formed a student organization named ’Tong Alliance’ at the academy. Can I establish a student organization centered on dragon taming? People like Brother Gao naturally prefer draconic beasts as pets; there’s no reason others wouldn’t like handsome draconic beasts as mounts. Liu Yu was right, joining an organization provides mutual aid, joint cultivation of the Hidden Dragon Secret Technique yields better results, numerous Dragon Tamers backed by forces can help promote my products, same principle as leveraging the Lotus Pavilion." Lin Jing’s eyes sparkled, beginning to strategize.