Deep in the night, Zhang Ergou and Zilin secretly slipped to the back mountain of Chunyang Peak.
Observing that no one was around, Zhang Ergou led Zilin to the cave he had hidden before.
Taking out the storage ring, Zhang Ergou's hands trembled slightly.
"We've struck it rich, we've really struck it rich. There are over six hundred portions, all refined into Qi Condensing Pills, split fifty-fifty, how about it?"
Zhang Ergou dared not keep it all to himself.
"No problem, hehe, I like eating pills the most."
Zilin accepted any pill without refusal.
Although the Qi Condensing Pills were somewhat redundant for her, it was better than nothing.
She could even eat them like candy.
After toiling for half the night, Zhang Ergou finally sorted the hundreds of medicinal ingredients by portion.
Taking out the Purple Gold Cauldron, Zhang Ergou summoned his Dan Fire: "Let's begin refining."
Zilin, standing nearby, also busied herself, assisting Zhang Ergou.
One by one, the medicinal ingredients were thrown into the cauldron by Zhang Ergou in order...
Time flew by during the pill refining process.
A new day dawned, and the disciples of the four main peaks were still fiercely competing on the training grounds.
Several times, they almost couldn't resist breaking out into a free-for-all brawl.
Of course, none of this affected Zhang Ergou and Zilin, who were diligently refining pills.
Zhang Ergou continued to meticulously refine Qi Condensing Pills, and the cave was filled with the rich aroma of pills, a refreshing scent.
Zilin, beside him, would occasionally pour out a few pills that had been refined and swallow them in one gulp.
She paid no mind to Zhang Ergou's exasperated look.
Sun and moon alternated, day and night cycled.
In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.
During these ten-plus days, Zhang Ergou took short breaks periodically before continuing his intense refining.
On another starry night, Zhang Ergou lay on the ground, exhausted, panting heavily.
His hard work was not in vain; hundreds of bottles of Qi Condensing Pills lay silently beside him, numbering four to five thousand in total.
Zilin, on the other hand, had not been idle and had already packed her share into her storage ring.
She even secretly took a few bottles belonging to Zhang Ergou and popped them into her mouth.
"Mmm, these are all yours." Zilin blinked her big eyes and handed a storage ring to Zhang Ergou.
"Ergou, you have Dan Fire, which should make you quite sought after. Why don't you go to the Treasure Pill Pavilion to learn alchemy? They have formulas for all sorts of advanced pills."
Zilin asked with a puzzled expression.
"Those guys at the Treasure Pill Pavilion never have to find their own ingredients, unlike you who's so disheveled."
"Alas, this involves a big secret. Zilin, remember not to tell anyone that I possess Dan Fire."
Zhang Ergou said with a solemn expression.
"Possessing wealth without the ability to protect it invites disaster. It's better not to let others know until I have the strength to protect it."
"You're right," Zilin nodded like a little adult.
"The Outer Sect Competition is in a month. What are your plans? Will you stay in the Outer Sect or enter the Inner Sect?"
Zilin tugged at her ponytail and asked curiously.
"If you're going to the Inner Sect, I won't stay in the Outer Sect either."
"Outer Sect Competition?" Zhang Ergou really didn't know much about such matters.
"Oh, that's the Outer Sect Competition that the Misty Sect holds every three years. Those who can fight to the end and become the outstanding ones can enter the Inner Sect." Su Dan Novel Network.
"I see. I'll have to think about it." After all, he was only at the peak of the late Qi Refining stage, and the Outer Sect Competition wasn't just for Qi Refining stage disciples.
"I'm leaving." Zilin stood up. "I'll come find you again after I've eaten these pills. Hehe!"
With that, Zilin flashed out of the cave.
After Zilin left, Zhang Ergou sealed the cave entrance directly and then sat cross-legged on the ground.
This time, Zhang Ergou poured ten Qi Condensing Pills into his mouth in one go. His Dan Fire immediately surged out, helping Zhang Ergou refine the spiritual energy of the pills.
As boundless spiritual energy poured into his dantian, the spiritual energy in the dantian began to rage like waves, a sea of rolling golden spiritual energy.
As the amount of golden spiritual energy increased, Zhang Ergou's cultivation gradually approached the Foundation Establishment stage.
Sitting on the ground, Zhang Ergou's pores were wide open, greedily absorbing the spiritual energy rapidly surging from heaven and earth.
As more and more spiritual energy gathered, Zhang Ergou's body reached a critical point.
At this moment, a sharp glint flashed in Zhang Ergou's eyes. He took out the Foundation Establishment Pill he had prepared long ago and stuffed it into his mouth.
This Foundation Establishment Pill was originally given to him by the Spring Yang Hermit. He never expected it to be useful so soon.
As the Foundation Establishment Pill entered his body, even more immense spiritual power surged into him, and the Dan Fire intensified its refining.
The cave was now shrouded in a thick white mist.
The concentration of spiritual energy had reached its peak, yet the spiritual energy from heaven and earth continued to pour in relentlessly.
*Pop... pop... pop...*
Three not-too-loud, not-too-soft sounds echoed, and the spiritual energy entering Zhang Ergou's body became even more turbulent.
If anyone were beside him at this moment, they would surely see a layer of tangible white mist-like substance emanating from Zhang Ergou's body.
With the sound of the three pulses, Zhang Ergou's dantian expanded further.
The need for spiritual energy increased, so Zhang Ergou poured more than a dozen Qi Condensing Pills into his mouth.
*Hoo!*
It took a full three hours before Zhang Ergou finally woke from his cultivation.
Exhaling a mouthful of turbid air, Zhang Ergou began to examine his body internally.
Breaking through to the early Foundation Establishment stage so quickly was definitely beyond his expectations, but everything was in line with the changes in his cultivation.
Zhang Ergou did not worry too much.
His meridians were much thicker than during the Qi Refining stage, his bones had become more resilient, and the faint golden color that had lingered in his bones and meridians had deepened.
"Hahaha!" Zhang Ergou laughed heartily. Now, if he encountered someone like Li Qiang or Wei Chen again, he was confident he could defeat them within ten moves.
And that was even when facing them head-on.
With the breakthrough in his own cultivation, Zhang Ergou's mood also improved significantly.
He discovered that refining pills not only honed his spiritual power but also consolidated his cultivation.
His smooth breakthrough this time was also greatly related to his non-stop pill refining over the past ten-plus days.
Each pill refining consumed a significant amount of his internal spiritual energy. Zhang Ergou would continuously refine pills, emptying his internal spiritual energy each time.
Then, after replenishing it, he would begin refining pills again.
This cycle made his meridians even thicker and more resilient, and his cultivation at the peak of the late Qi Refining stage became even more solid.
He slapped the ground and jumped up from the ground.
Huh?
Just as he was about to stretch, Zhang Ergou noticed that the Purple Gold Cauldron he hadn't put away had changed.
It flickered with purple light intermittently, and the runes on it seemed to flow occasionally.
"Could it be that my breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage has affected it?" Zhang Ergou muttered uncertainly.
He picked up the Purple Gold Cauldron from the ground and opened its lid. Instantly, the Purple Gold Cauldron trembled.
A vortex appeared at the mouth of the Purple Gold Cauldron, and the spiritual energy from heaven and earth was drawn into the cauldron by this vortex.
"Ah, this?" Zhang Ergou had long discovered that this cauldron had two functions.
Not only could it be used for refining pills, but it also contained its own world.
However, the change that occurred today stunned him. He quietly watched the Purple Gold Cauldron absorb the spiritual energy from heaven and earth.
He broke open the cave entrance and walked directly outside.