Chapter 167: Chapter 152: A Beauty’s Affection and Another Demon Technique

Mo Zhaoli had no choice but to agree.

Just then, Mo Zhaoli received a letter from Lin Changheng. It contained great news: Lin Changheng had a breakthrough in the Alchemy Dao and had become a Tier Two Alchemist.

Mo Zhaoli was overjoyed. ’This is a timely rain,’ she thought.

She was currently short on resources and urgently needed to increase her income and cut her expenses. Increasing income meant taking on a large number of tasks, and as for cutting expenses...

...that would depend on this good news.

Having Brother Lin do her alchemy would surely save her some Spirit Stones.

It was a satisfying feeling, the kind of pride one feels when seeing their ’brother’ become successful!

Of course, Mo Zhaoli immediately shared the news with her grandfather, who was tending to the medicine garden.

Ink Master froze on the spot, the Spiritual Hoe in his hand clattering to the ground. ’Tier Two?’

’Changheng has been promoted to a Tier Two Alchemist?’

This was a dream he himself had long since buried.

’And in the end, it was achieved by one of his former Alchemy Apprentices?’

A complex mix of emotions washed over him, his thoughts a chaotic swirl. For a moment, his old eyes seemed to lose their focus.

After a long while, he sighed with immense feeling. "In this world, there truly are late bloomers who achieve success through accumulated effort..."

"Changheng, that dust-covered Bright Pearl, has finally been polished and begun to shine..."

Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, his old eyes glinted brightly as he looked thoughtfully at Mo Zhaoli.

"Grandfather, why are you staring at me? Is there something on Li’Er’s face?"

Mo Zhaoli asked softly, her face filled with confusion, but she received no direct answer.

...

"Li’Er, you just said you’re at the Second Layer Foundation Establishment? Don’t people usually just say Early Stage Foundation Establishment?"

"Just like the Qi Cultivation Stage, the Foundation Establishment Stage was originally divided roughly into three phases: Early Stage, Middle Stage, and Late Stage. This was mainly to correspond to the three bottlenecks within the stage. Of course, there are also significant changes in strength."

"There’s a small bottleneck when breaking through from the Early Stage to the Middle Stage, and likewise from the Middle Stage to the Late Stage."

"Although they’re called ’small bottlenecks,’ that’s only in comparison to the major bottleneck of breaking through from Foundation Establishment to the Core Formation Stage. In reality, each of these bottlenecks can get a great many Cultivators stuck."

"Later, as the Cultivation Realm developed, a Great Power discovered that there seemed to be certain differences within each phase of Foundation Establishment. Coincidentally, each phase could also be divided into three, which gave rise to the terms First Layer, Second Layer, and Third Layer. However, since there are no bottlenecks between these layers, they were long ignored."

"This latter system of naming was eventually accepted and now helps in gauging a person’s Cultivation. But for Cultivators outside the Foundation Establishment Stage, it’s meaningless. Without breaking through a bottleneck, there’s no qualitative transformation. Those you can beat, you can still beat; those you can’t, you still can’t. So they still just refer to them by the three phases: Early, Middle, and Late Stage Foundation Establishment..."

Mo Zhaoli’s explanation was graceful and illuminating, her red lips moving as she dispelled Lin Changheng’s confusion.

"So that’s how it is. Learning this kind of thing actually motivates me. It makes me want to see what the Foundation Establishment Stage is like even more."

Lin Changheng nodded in sudden understanding and said with a smile.

Hearing this, Mo Zhaoli suddenly sized up Lin Changheng for a few moments. "Huh? Brother Lin, you’ve reached the Peak of Qi Cultivation?"

"That’s right."

Lin Changheng hadn’t been fully operating his Qi Concealing Skill at home. Besides, he was about to crowdfund the refining of a Foundation Establishment Pill. If he wasn’t at the Ninth Layer of Qi Cultivation, how could he crowdfund? It would only arouse others’ suspicions, which would be far from ideal.

"In that case, Brother Lin really has a good chance of breaking through to Foundation Establishment! The timing is perfect, right before the sixty-year limit."

Mo Zhaoli’s eyes shone with a startling brightness. She was genuinely happy for Lin Changheng.

But then her fine eyebrows furrowed. "But the Foundation Establishment Pill..."

She naturally knew how vast the gap was between being able to *attempt* a breakthrough to Foundation Establishment and actually succeeding!

It wasn’t just a difference in probability; it was the difference between severe injury or death and a smooth breakthrough!

In the end, all probabilities boil down to two outcomes: success or failure. Attempting a breakthrough without a Foundation Establishment Pill is truly dangerous. Even geniuses from the Sect with Upper Grade Spirit Roots would want a pill in hand before starting the process.

"If I get it, it’s my fortune. If I lose it, it’s my fate. Everything depends on chance and destiny."

Lin Changheng said this with a calm expression, not revealing too much.

"Mm, then Li’Er wishes Brother Lin the best of luck."

Mo Zhaoli understood the situation and didn’t press further.

The two then agreed on a time for her to pick up the pills: she would come get them after she completed her mission.

This Sect mission was rather unpredictable; it could be as quick as a month or as slow as two or three. By then, Lin Changheng would certainly be finished with the refining.

Lin Changheng treated Mo Zhaoli to a meal at the Huangliang Residence Spirit Wine Tower, letting her sample the Immortal City’s specialties before watching her fly off into the sky on a streak of light.

In Floating Immortal City, besides the extremely powerful No-Fly Arrays set up for several li around the inside and outside of the city walls, the only other place with one was over Fusheng Lake.

These were physical no-fly zones, which even Foundation Establishment Cultivators had to obey.

Although there were no No-Fly Arrays within the city itself, flying was still prohibited. This was a prohibition by rule, to which Foundation Establishment Cultivators were an exception.

...

「Back at home.」

Lin Changheng immediately activated the restrictions, returned to his room, and began to process the Essence Blood.

First up was the Profound Spirit Level Essence Blood of the Red-eyed Fire Demon.

He had sixty vials of it here, and adding the eight leftover vials that Mo Zhaoli had given him at the Purple Extreme Sect, he had sixty-eight vials in total.

His Flame-tailed Spirit Fox Treasure Seed had been stuck at the Fifth Layer for a long time.

Now, he could finally achieve Metamorphosis Success!

However, Lin Changheng also noticed that even though both were Profound Spirit Essence Blood, there was still a gap between the Essence Blood of the Red-eyed Fire Demon and that of the Jade Wave Spirit Turtle.

The main difference lay in their quality and concentration.

’This is because the Jade Wave Spirit Turtle is a Tier Two Demon Beast, while the Red-eyed Fire Demon is still in a Tier One state. The transition from Tier One to Tier Two doesn’t just represent a change in strength, but a transformation in life level. The quality and concentration of their Demon Beast Essence Blood are naturally different.’

’This is also the fundamental reason why one portion of Jade Wave Spirit Turtle Essence Blood can yield one point of Spirit Stealing, while it takes two portions of Red-eyed Fire Demon Essence Blood to do the same. Among beasts of the same tier, the difference isn’t as obvious.’

Lin Changheng had come to this conclusion long ago.

The preceding logic was also confirmed by the fact that the Essence Blood of Tier Two Demon Beasts was more expensive than that of their Tier One counterparts.

...

Taking out twenty vials of Essence Blood, Lin Changheng began to absorb them for Metamorphosis.

Spirit Stealing: 100/100

Metamorphosis: 10/10

...

Essence Blood Full. Metamorphosis Success!

Flame-tailed Spirit Fox True Core: Supreme

Instantly, the long-dormant "Flame-tailed Spirit Fox True Core" solidified and took form.

Can Refine into Demon Beast Bloodline Ancestor Demon Technique: Illusionary Transformation

"Refine it directly!"

The True Core suddenly transformed into a streak of crimson-gold flowing fire and plunged into his body. Wherever it passed, his muscles and bones felt a pleasant numbness, as if soaking in warm water, yet his skin felt like it was draped in a layer of scalding-hot, thin silk, every inch of it trembling slightly.

It was as if a Demon Fox were gently sweeping its fluffy tail through his bone marrow.

"Mm... that’s oddly itchy."

He gained a much deeper understanding of Illusionary Transformation.

It wasn’t something learned, but something innate, as if he were born with it. The knowledge was carved into his bones and blood, making it almost instinctual.

With a slight shift in his thoughts, Lin Changheng looked at his reflection in a mirror.

He watched as his face rippled like water. His brow bones grew more prominent, the corners of his eyes tilted upward, the bridge of his nose rose...

Taking a step back, he saw his body change in the mirror as well. Lengthening and shortening, growing fatter or thinner—it was all effortless.

It was clearly a face he had never seen before, yet it felt connected to his own flesh and bone. As he raised a hand to touch his cheek and torso, the warmth his fingertips felt held a strange sense of control, as if he could freely mold his own form.

Then, a bold idea appeared in his mind. He tried it out.

"Hiss! It really works?!"

Lin Changheng looked down past his newly defined abs and was stunned. He immediately broke into a smile. ’Though, I was already naturally gifted with a generous endowment, so this isn’t necessary. A shame, a shame...’

At the same time, an instinct for illusion, carrying with it the cunning and agility of a Spirit Fox, followed his bloodline and merged deep into his Divine Soul.

He could stack another layer on top of it!

It could be said that under the enhancement of this Demon Technique, it would be extremely difficult for outsiders to perceive his true appearance.

He had a vague feeling that even a thorough sweep from the Divine Sense of a Tier Two Late Stage expert would fail to see through it!

In other words, no one below the Core Formation realm would be able to detect it; they would all be deceived!

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