In the blink of an eye, another five years have passed.

On this stormy night, as the clouds churned and the rain poured down, Li An took out a pill and consumed it!

This was a Liquid Surge Pill, which could assist a cultivator in breaking through from the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment to the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment.

Even though Li An acquired it by taking advantage of his position, it still cost more than four thousand Spirit Stones.

Upon consuming the pill, the Yin Yang Demon Skill erupted wildly, and as Xu Qiuhui cried out in pain, Li An finally broke through that barrier, making a concerted effort to enter an entirely new secret realm...

...

Over the past month, Li An and Xu Qiuhui had remained behind closed doors.

Even the household servants dared not disturb them in the slightest.

A month later, Li An finally pushed open the door and stepped out.

Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, success!

At two hundred and five years old, achieving Late-Stage Foundation Establishment.

If he were an ordinary person, this would already be the ceiling of his lifespan, and he would never be able to gaze upon the Core Formation in this lifetime.

But Li An still had over a hundred more years to slowly endure.

Enough!

"Fetch some water and attend to Miss Xu's grooming. Also, prepare a Spiritual Bird for her so she can properly nourish herself."

Li An gave instructions and then went into his study by himself.

He carefully examined his current state.

The Life Seed grew increasingly vigorous, and above its first branch, a budding green became apparent, as if a second branch was ready to sprout at any moment...

His Spirit Root, nourished by the Life Seed, had finally increased its sensitivity to 125 points!

Now, his Spirit Root level was at Yellow Rank High Grade.

It was about equal to his previous life.

The Dantian Pool had doubled in size compared to the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment.

His Dantian Pool was already larger than ordinary people's, and the Spirit Liquid within was purer than that of the average person. So purely in terms of Spiritual Power, facing Li An, most Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators would be instantly defeated!

The strength, purity, and recovery ability of his Spiritual Power were beyond those of ordinary Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

This realm, for lower-tier cultivators, was already considered "Great Cultivator" level.

"The range of my Divine Sense has reached twenty miles..."

This was very astonishing, as even a powerful Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would not exceed ten miles in terms of Divine Sense.

Li An's ability was double that of normal Late-Stage Foundation Establishment experts.

Moreover, he could still slowly improve even while in the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment.

"The Divine Sense and Spiritual Power should be sufficient for me to craft Rank Three Runes and Rank Three Arrays..."

This is one of the greatest benefits brought by the advancement in cultivation.

Generally, only experts in the Core Formation Stage can craft Rank Three items.

But it was evident that Li An's Spiritual Power and Divine Sense were exceptions.

Then, he also once again gazed into that wisp of Demonic Qi in his Dantian.

Over the years, he had refined three-fifths of it.

Only two-fifths remained.

Having entered the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, the strength of the Life Seed grew stronger, and the speed of refinement would be faster...

"Tri-Element Slash..."

He suddenly lifted his hand, using it as a blade, and slashed out a strike.

The air exploded, the sound of the sonic boom was ear-piercing, and where the slash's power reached, the air turned into a vacuum!

"Barehanded, I can slash through Tier Two defensive Magical Artifacts!"

Li An was very satisfied.

This was the first move of the Tri-Element Slash, Sever the Element Body!

It was already of small achievement.

Then, he casually picked up a piece of Tier Two Dark Iron from the table.

With strength from his kidneys, he gently grasped it.

The Dark Iron directly deformed!

Golden Treasure Skill, the kidneys were already half-formed.

"If the Golden Treasure Skill achieves perfection in all five organs, perhaps I'd be able to tear apart a Core Formation cultivator barehanded..."

He couldn't help but imagine the future.

But that was too far off.

It would require a massive amount of resources to accumulate!

Even though the Treasure Pavilion was already the largest auction house in the Northern Border, rich in resources, it was still not enough for cultivating something like the Golden Treasure Skill.

To have all five organs perfected, perhaps an entire empire would be needed to support him.

This is the harsh reality of cultivation. The higher you ascend, the more superior the cultivation techniques become, the more vast amounts of resources are needed to accumulate. And for a Loose Cultivator without power or influence, no matter how innately talented one is, often they can only remain obscure, fading into dust over time.

In addition, his Five-Colored Flower Burst Skill and Earth Demon Seventy-Two Steps had long since achieved perfection.

With Li An's current strength, he could stride unchallenged below the Core Formation level.

Meanwhile, he also looked over the arrays and talismans he currently had on hand.

Years ago, crafting the Cold Ice Small Sword and Black Poisonous Small Sword had exhausted his family's wealth. Even after more than a decade, he had not restored much of his Primordial Qi, and currently, he only had over forty Tier Two talismans and three sets of Tier Two arrays.

This was enough to deal with Tier Two cultivators but far from sufficient for Core Formation opponents.

"Starting tonight, I will begin crafting Rank Three Spirit Talismans..."

Li An took out an old, worn-out talisman brush and a small stack of talisman papers.

The talisman brush bristles were nearly all gone, clearly well-used and near obsolescence.

The talisman papers radiated brilliant light, each sheet glittered as if made of gold or jade.

The brush was a Rank Three talisman brush, the only one Li An had found over the years, and according to his estimation, it could be used fewer than forty more times.

The talisman papers totalled twenty-seven sheets, all crafted by him after gathering resources since arriving in White Tiger City.

Rank Three talisman papers were basically unavailable on the market, requiring one to gather resources and make them oneself.

He couldn't help but worry. With twenty-seven sheets of talisman papers and considering the success rate... how many could he actually produce?

As for Rank Three Arrays, he still had no clue.

Materials for arrays and restrictions were even more scarce. Over the years, he hadn't found a single one.

From what he understood, even the Divine Sword Sect, Hundred Beasts Sect, and cities like White Tiger City acquired Rank Three Grand Arrays from the Central Plains.

There was no chance for him to craft them in the Northern Border.

...

The next night.

Li An, with utmost care, picked up the worn talisman brush, prepared special spiritual ink, and began crafting talismans.

In his previous life, the highest talisman he crafted was Rank Three.

With meticulous care, stroke by stroke...

His goal was the Rank Three "Spirit Dispersing Talisman."

The effect of this talisman could affect the tangible Spiritual Power of a Core Formation cultivator, causing their Spiritual Power to become ethereal.

Be aware that compared to Foundation Establishment, the fundamental change in Core Formation cultivators is that their Spiritual Power becomes tangible!

Upon reaching this level, random gestures could gather Spiritual Power with the power to topple mountains and destroy cities. Their Spiritual Power, everywhere, was like supreme swords, capable of bearing the cultivator to fly freely in the sky.

The Spirit Dispersing Talisman, in battle, could weaken some attacks from a Core Formation cultivator.

But it was limited to just one or two strikes.

This was also the Rank Three Spirit Talisman with the highest probability of success for Li An at present.

"Boom—"

A light sound, the spiritual ink self-ignited, and the first Spirit Talisman was destroyed.

...

Another year passed in a blink.

Li An's cultivation level finally settled completely.

Because the talisman brush was ruined and the talisman papers were exhausted, his attempt to craft Rank Three Spirit Talismans had to be halted, resulting in the costly Spirit Stones, and the only outcome being a "Low Third Grade" Spirit Dispersing Talisman.

It only had half the effect of a normal Spirit Dispersing Talisman.

Li An had to continue crafting Tier Two talismans.

"Pavilion Master, we received a letter from the main pavilion, a handwritten letter from the new Pavilion Master—"

On this day, in the Treasure Pavilion, the steward presented a letter.

Li An opened the envelope, read it, and couldn't help but feel a sense of disorientation:

Old Pavilion Master Qin Xuan had fallen out of favor several years ago, and this year was finally deposed by the Prince Mansion. The new Pavilion Master Su Xiuwan had decisively wiped out all of Qin Xuan's foundations within the pavilion.

The current Chief Artifact Evaluator, Guo Ling, had also been dismissed.

Su Xiuwan's letter was an invitation for Li An to return to the main pavilion to assume the role of Chief Artifact Evaluator.

...

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