After nearly ten years of accumulation and three prior attempts, Li Ye had finally broken through to the late Foundation Establishment stage.
This was undoubtedly a great cause for celebration!
Once he had stabilized his cultivation after the breakthrough, Li Ye immediately exited seclusion, summoned his four handmaidens, and held a grand feast in celebration.
During the banquet, as the four of them attended to him at close range, their expressions carried a subtle daze.
It had been over fifteen years since Li Ye had broken through the formation array, claimed the mountain, and become the master of Pingyang Mountain.
Rong Yue, Xia Qiong, Hong Yao, and Ruan Jin all four of them had willingly come to serve him with shared intentions.
Following Li Ye, they lacked for nothing spiritual pills and elixirs were in abundant supply. Even rare Beautifying Pills, which could preserve one's youth, had been taken during the prime of their appearance.
And indeed, they still looked just as they had back then curvy or slender, each beautiful in her way.
But only these four women knew the truth: despite their cultivation having progressed steadily with Li Ye's help, all reaching or nearing the late Qi Refinement stage over the past decade, time had nonetheless begun to wear on them.
Subtle signs of aging had begun to show reflected not just in appearance, but in their aura and demeanor.
Each of them now carried a more mature air.
To some, this maturity might have added an extra layer of charm. But to the women themselves, it was an unwelcome change.
In contrast, Li Ye seemed untouched by the passage of time. He still radiated youthful vitality, as if he were a jade-like young master unchanged by the years.
Even to the four who served him day and night, Li Ye gave the impression of growing younger with each passing year!
Even Luo Feibai, who had also reached the Foundation Establishment, had merely improved in vitality nothing close to the miraculous change seen in Li Ye.
This contrast inevitably stirred feelings of envy and self-doubt in their hearts.
All four of the handmaidens had mediocre or slightly below-average talent. Their backgrounds were unremarkable. By relying solely on their cultivation, there was no chance they could have reached the late Qi Refinement stage at their age.
Otherwise, they would have long been nurtured by their families as potential Foundation Establishment candidates, rather than being sent to serve as someone else's maid.
Given their circumstances, none of them were certain whether they had any real chance of ever breaking through to Foundation Establishment in this lifetime.
To make matters worse, over the years, various factions across the Chidi Mountains had tried to send more beautiful young girls to Li Ye's side. While he usually rejected them with a polite excuse saying he had enough people already it didn't make the underlying threat any less real.
Once their cultivation stalled, and their youthful beauty began to fade...
What would become of women like them whose roles had, from the beginning, depended on their appearance when faced with someone like Li Ye, who remained dazzling and eternally youthful?
This question had lingered in their hearts for years, yet even now, they had no answer.
All they could do was serve more attentively and train harder in hopes of improving even just a little.
Li Ye noticed all of this and deep down, he felt a ripple of emotion.
As someone whose lifespan did not diminish in fact, was steadily growing thanks to the Void Realm Tree and its spiritual essence this was an issue he knew he would inevitably have to face.
The secrets of the Void Realm Tree and its spiritual energies were the foundation of his cultivation. Whether others viewed him as heartless or selfish, he could never allow that secret to leak not in this lifetime.
The only thing he could do… was to be generous with his elixirs and pills, and give those closest to him a greater chance at breaking through their bottlenecks and reaching new heights in cultivation.
For someone like him now, whether it was Foundation Establishment Pills or Longevity Elixirs they were no longer hard to come by.
Not only did he still have reserves stored away, but over the years, many had come offering spiritual herbs in exchange for pills delivering quite a few ready-made elixirs right into his hands.
If not for the fact that only Pingyang Mountain and Dengjin Mountain within the Chidi Range had second-grade spiritual veins the number of cultivators the land could support rather limited...
And that an overabundance of Foundation Establishment cultivators here would inevitably draw more attention and external involvement, creating unnecessary trouble...
He could've easily produced a dozen or more Foundation Establishment cultivators by now!
"Hmm… at the very least, I should ensure that each of them has a real chance to attempt Foundation Establishment," Li Ye murmured.
As he strolled across the mountain, the Qingluo Grass and Qingluo Silver Grass along the path swayed and rustled as if they had minds of their own, gathering toward him willingly laying themselves down to form a soft carpet beneath his feet.
After the celebration, with the joy of his breakthrough fully vented, Li Ye's state of mind became even clearer.
In the end, this was the conclusion he came to.
Li Ye carried many secrets and matters tied to his very life and future which he was destined to keep to himself.
However, when it came to alchemical resources, his reputation had long spread far and wide. He was well-known for his generosity in this area, and it caused no harm to ensure that his trusted followers never lacked such support in their cultivation.
After all, refining a batch of pills from time to time was hardly an effort for him. With his third-tier alchemy skills, even if he was only looking to relax or pass the time, he could still casually produce spirit-patterned pills out of ordinary first-tier elixirs.
Bestowing them occasionally was more than enough to help the handmaidens make great strides in their cultivation.
Before long, they would reach the peak of Qi Refinement and be ready to attempt Foundation Establishment!
At that point, whether they succeeded or not would be up to their fortune…
After spending many days in seclusion, it was time to inspect the spiritual plants across the mountain. Although he had formations and spirit insects maintaining them, it was still necessary to personally check for any overlooked issues.
So Li Ye walked through the mountain, stopping occasionally along the way to greet the Void Realm Tree, checking on the Jade Cluster Fruits and Blood Amber Flowers, as well as inspecting the other spiritual plants he had planted over the years after removing the Qingxuan Rice.
Just as he was about to head toward Dengjin Mountain to check on the third-tier Qingxuan Rice cultivated there, a small snake only a few inches long suddenly leaped out from the grass. Its body was a shimmering greenish-blue laced with strands of silver as if woven from blades of grass.
In a flash of spiritual light, it landed squarely in Li Ye's outstretched hand, rubbing affectionately against his fingers.
It was the Qingluo Wood Spirit, which had already taken on the physical form of a grass snake shape that could temporarily move about independently from its source body.
As long as there was Qingluo Grass in the vicinity, it could replenish itself freely. Nearly the entire Pingyang Mountain was its domain!
Having not seen Li Ye in days, the Qingluo Wood Spirit was delighted.
It shook its little head enthusiastically, and with a flash of green-blue light, released a stream of energy from its body into Li Ye's palm.
[…]
[You have received feedback from the Tier-3 spiritual plant Qingluo Silver Grass (Wood Spirit). Insight deepened. Solidified Spiritual Resonance +0.3%…]
As Li Ye immersed himself in the experience of the Qingluo Wood Spirit's growth from an ordinary Qingluo Grass plant, to ascending in rank under mysterious power, gaining sentience, and growing to its current state
lines of data once again appeared across his interface.
His insights were transformed into tangible power, further enhancing his abilities.
[…]
[Qingluo Spiritual Resonance fully solidified (100%). Converting into corresponding passive trait…]
[Your skill Planting has gained Level 3 enhancement in the passive trait Adaptation!]
[Adaptation (Level 3)]: Adapt to the environment or cause the environment to adapt to you.
Negative environmental effects on you will be reduced significantly.
Your ability to process and adapt to different types of spiritual energy is moderately improved.
Spiritual plants personally sown and tended by you will have improved resilience and adaptability to adverse conditions.
When cultivated at a sufficient scale, these plants may slightly influence the environment itself, gradually reshaping it to better suit your needs.
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