Chapter 147: Mid Foundation Establishment Stage

Conversation concluded.

Qin Ming retrieved five fully intact Jade Blossom Spirit Lotus plants, along with some Spirit Nest Rice and Gathering Spirit Tea from his storage pouch, entrusting Gu Qingzhao to send these items together to Su Yuqing.

“What about me?” Huangfu Qi looked at Qin Ming eagerly.

Qin Ming smiled faintly. “Of course, I wouldn’t forget Daoist Huangfu.”

He then took out a hundred jin of Spirit Nest Rice and two Rice Flower Spirit Fish to sell to Huangfu Qi.

Huangfu Qi was a man of formidable cultivation, and maintaining good relations with him was certainly beneficial.

Now that Qin Ming possessed the Longevity Vine, ensuring a long life, his guiding principle was to foster more kind connections.

“Heh heh heh, Daoist Qin is quite discerning. Since that’s the case, I suppose you’re not short of spirit stones either,” Huangfu Qi chuckled.

“In that case, I propose an exchange with this item. What do you think?” Huangfu Qi produced a yellow jade slip from his pouch, offering it to Qin Ming with a smile.

Qin Ming took the jade slip with curiosity. Upon releasing his divine sense to examine it, a pleased expression spread across his face.

The characters “Phantom Light Transformation Technique” appeared clearly in his vision.

This was a secret technique capable of unleashing an incredibly rapid burst of teleportation speed for a brief period.

When cultivated to advanced stages, the burst speed could increase two to threefold over the practitioner’s original speed, varying with each cultivator.

Given Qin Ming’s current teleportation speed, learning this secret art would allow him to achieve speeds comparable to late Foundation Establishment even in its early stages.

Of course, as described in the technique, activating it consumes mana exponentially and cannot be sustained long-term; prolonged use risks complete mana exhaustion—a tragic fate.

However, for Qin Ming, whose mana reserves were exceptionally robust, this secret art was a powerful asset.

After considering, Qin Ming found the item worthwhile. Although he already had the Silver-winged Frost Bee for travel, having an additional life-saving trump card was never a disadvantage.

“Deal, Daoist Huangfu,” he agreed to the exchange immediately.

Next, Qin Ming entrusted Gu Qingzhao to sell some of the pills he had recently refined.

Most were lower second-grade pills for Foundation Establishment practitioners, with a few of medium second-grade quality.

Both Gu Qingzhao and Shopkeeper Liao were delighted; with this batch of second-grade pills, they could confidently maintain their standing.

The momentum of Mirror Snow Pavilion’s growth was becoming increasingly promising.

“Daoist Gu, please keep an eye out for any news regarding third-grade spirit seeds or spirit plants.”

“Of course. If I find anything, Aunt Long will notify Daoist Qin immediately.” Gu Qingzhao was aware that after Qin Ming’s advancement to a second-grade superior spirit planter, he would surely aim higher.

However, third-grade spirit plants were exceedingly rare—not only in Canghai Immortal City but throughout the entire Wei Kingdom cultivation world.

After the banquet, Qin Ming exchanged a few words about spirit planting with Chen Qiaoling.

Then he bid farewell and departed, as he had pressing matters awaiting.

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Outside Canghai Immortal City, Qin Ming summoned the Silver-winged Frost Bee and sped like a gale toward Moonview Island.

The journey was uneventful—no heroic rescues, no bandit attacks—and he returned to his lair smoothly.

He opened the Mist Illusion Realm and flew toward the island.

Upon landing, he released the Mysterious Water Crocodile, which had been restless to accompany him outside but had been confined in the spirit beast pouch for several days—likely no longer eager to venture out.

The Wu family was busy tending the spirit fields and looked up as Qin Ming returned.

He greeted Wu Jiang before returning to his cave dwelling atop the main peak.

The haul this trip was substantial; most notably, he had gathered nearly half a bottle of Ten Thousand Wood Maternal Qi, amounting to dozens of wisps.

This would greatly aid the growth of his life-bound spirit plant—the Longevity Vine.

The most crucial point was that he sensed a breakthrough in his abundant mana was imminent—likely today.

Yet, he did not rush to feed the Longevity Vine. Instead, he first cooked a pot of premium Spirit Nest Rice and ate heartily, followed by a large bowl of Rice Flower Spirit Fish soup.

When attempting a breakthrough, one must proceed with utmost caution.

Then, approaching the Longevity Vine, he opened the jade bottle and poured half a bottle of Ten Thousand Wood Maternal Qi onto it.

Suddenly, the vine radiated a soft, shimmering light. The tendrils burst forth into countless new branches.

Silver runes began to swirl around the entire plant.

Through Qin Ming’s eyes, nourished by the Ten Thousand Wood Maternal Qi, the Longevity Vine surged upward by several zhang in height.

The vine overflowed with spiritual resonance, and divine silver spirit patterns illuminated its surface.

Soon, a vast, majestic wave of wood and plant essence, infused with the power of time, flowed from the Longevity Vine into Qin Ming’s body, endlessly.

He activated the Ancient Wood Longevity Technique and began circulating the microcosmic orbit, cultivating the “Ancient Wood Evergreen Body.”

Boom!

A faint silver rune shot forth from his brow, transforming behind him into a spectral silver Longevity Vine.

Qin Ming himself seemed to become a millennia-old tree, standing tall through the river of time, resonating with his life-bound spirit plant.

Profound insights flooded his mind.

The silver spectral Longevity Vine behind him absorbed the essence of years and swiftly grew to seven or eight zhang tall.

In an instant, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, converted by Qin Ming’s spiritual roots, doubled in efficiency.

Several hours later, the cultivation progress of the Ancient Wood Evergreen Body advanced to halfway.

Rushing currents of verdant liquid mana accumulated inside him. The mana in his dantian and energy sea expanded from a small pond to a vast lake.

---

At this moment, Qin Ming’s will stirred.

The “High-Purity Effect” token leaves in his sea of consciousness vanished, and a miraculous multicolored aura descended upon him, entering his body to purify the verdant liquid mana.

Time passed slowly.

After using five “High-Purity Effect” token leaves consecutively, the verdant liquid mana within Qin Ming was now exquisitely pure, devoid of any impurities.

As the continuous influx of external spiritual energy was refined into liquid mana, the mana reserves in his dantian and energy sea expanded to the maximum limit achievable by the Ancient Wood Evergreen Technique at early Foundation Establishment.

Boom!

Under the immense external spiritual pressure, Qin Ming sensed a breakthrough deep within—a certain barrier shattered.

His mana lake instantly filled with the purest verdant liquid mana.

At that moment, he successfully advanced to mid-Foundation Establishment.

Qin Ming closed his eyes, consolidating his realm.

He now resembled an evergreen ancient tree; the mana fluctuations around him brimmed with vibrant life, carrying the scent of wood and plants through the cycles of time.

After a long while, Qin Ming opened his jet-black eyes, feeling an indescribable sense of refreshment and ease.

“This breakthrough through the Ancient Wood Evergreen Body feels utterly natural. My mid-Foundation Establishment mana has been purified without even using any breakthrough pills.”

“Although my spiritual roots are ordinary, the blessing of the Ancient Wood Evergreen Body has clearly removed all former bottlenecks.”

Not only that, upon reaching mid-Foundation Establishment, Qin Ming’s lifespan extended by approximately thirty years.

Generally, minor realm breakthroughs do not yield much lifespan increase.

However, Qin Ming cultivated the Ancient Wood Longevity Technique and was supported by the Longevity Vine.

Extending his divine sense, he checked his surroundings—astonishingly, he could now cover an area of about fifteen li, comparable to a perfected Foundation Establishment practitioner.

Next, he focused his divine sense on his dantian and energy sea.

“When I was early Foundation Establishment, my liquid mana already surpassed peers at the same stage, rivaling mid-Foundation Establishment.”

“Now that I have broken through to mid-Foundation Establishment, my mana has surged severalfold, forming a mana lake, and the purity of the liquid mana is unmatched by peers—even those top-tier Foundation Establishment prodigies from sects with advanced cultivation techniques.”

“In fact, I’m even stronger.”

“Ah, nothing beats the thrill of overwhelming opponents through sheer realm advantage!”

“With my formidable body refinement techniques and such overpoweringly pure mana, effortlessly crushing late-stage sect prodigies should pose no problem. Heh heh heh!”

“Still, with five hundred years of lifespan now, I must stay low-profile and avoid making enemies unless absolutely necessary.”

“For me, cultivating good relationships and steadily managing my fields is the path to longevity.”

“However… those I have noted down in my little book before…”