Published: March 3, 2025
Chapter 725: Deep Schemes and Long-Term Planning
Fifteen years later, at the cave dwelling on Red Cloud Mountain.
Liu Yu sat alone in a small pavilion within the courtyard, slowly flipping through a book on cultivation techniques, enjoying the rare leisure time.
At this moment, the aura around him was much deeper, clearly elevated compared to before.
Fifteen years had passed, and the "star body" had reached full mastery in the blazing sun realm, truly achieving the pinnacle of the third stage.
In terms of qi refinement, he was just a small step away from the golden core pinnacle; if calculated according to the qi refinement stage, he should be around the eighth layer pinnacle of the golden core.
With his cultivation at this level, he was already qualified to attempt breaking through the yuan ying bottleneck, and directly challenging the bottleneck posed no issue.
With Liu Yu's various preparations, he indeed had a fair chance of success.
However, breaking through the yuan ying bottleneck was always more successful on the first attempt; if one failed, even if they were lucky enough to survive, the chances of success afterward would drop sharply.
Given his character of planning every move carefully, he naturally intended to reach the golden core pinnacle before making the attempt.
In terms of body refinement, he had already reached the peak of the third stage and was qualified to make a direct challenge.
However, achieving "sacred flesh" was significantly more difficult than qi refinement.
After all, the transition from the third stage to the fourth stage marked a substantial transformation at the physical level.
The physical body primarily belongs to the "essence" aspect of the spirit, energy, and essence trio, and while it existed in a more stable state, undergoing a dramatic transformation in a short time became increasingly challenging.
Liu Yu had only managed to collect one or two ordinary spiritual objects, and with his current physical foundation, attempting a breakthrough would yield a success rate of less than thirty percent.
With such a low success rate, he occasionally felt tempted but ultimately chose to give up after some reflection.
After all, there was no room for regret in this world, and in matters concerning the path of cultivation, it was wise to be more cautious.
"Five types of essence qi."
Putting down the book in his hand, he took a gentle sip of spiritual tea, and as he pondered this matter, his brows furrowed deeply.
With his connections as an alchemist master and a full-scale search effort over the past fifteen years, he had only gathered a few pieces of information.
To collect all five types of essence qi, given the current situation, it seemed that it might take an unrealistic amount of time.
During these fifteen years, the Purple Scarf Army had also sent people to recruit him, subtly implying that if he formally joined, they could provide assistance in this matter.
However, after careful consideration, Liu Yu still politely declined.
After all, these were five types of essence qi, each requiring significant efforts to search for individually. Was it worth such an endeavor for a gold core cultivator with only some potential?
If one wanted to obtain something, they often had to pay a price.
Liu Yu was very clear-headed and understood that the Purple Scarf Army's eagerness to extend an olive branch was largely due to their interest in his achievements as an alchemist master and his solid strength.
If he joined them, he would most likely be reduced to an alchemical machine or frequently tasked with dangerous missions.
In such circumstances, not only would he be unlikely to acquire the five types of essence qi, but whether he could ultimately preserve his life was also questionable.
"To gather the essence qi and employ the 'five-color yuan ying' secret method for conception seems to be a slim hope."
Thinking of this, Liu Yu let out a bitter smile.
The Purple Scarf Army's actions couldn't be considered dishonest, as the method for conception was indeed feasible.