Before achieving Foundation Establishment, Xu Zhou had devoted considerable effort to alchemy, medicine, and formation.
Ultimately, he reached the peak of the first tier in alchemy and medicine, while formation was more difficult, but he still touched the threshold of the upper-grade first tier.
He was quite proud of this.
However, after achieving Foundation Establishment, he found everything was different when he tried to study these arts again.
After Foundation Establishment, his spiritual sense greatly increased, his thinking was several times more agile than when he was at the Qi Chain stage, and his memory was much stronger.
Although his comprehension ability remained unchanged, he saved a lot of time on memorization and recall, making the manuals much simpler.
With a sweep of his spiritual sense, the previously scattered connections between various pieces of knowledge instantly linked together in his mind.
After a little thought, he immediately gained understanding.
Xu Zhou focused on studying the techniques and quickly mastered the "Spiritual Spring Cleansing Chapter," which he had not yet fully grasped.
As for the other alchemy and medicine techniques, he had mastered them proficiently, with no more questions.
He had already mastered these two techniques to the pinnacle of the first tier, reaching a near-second-tier level.
Aside from that, progress in array formation was somewhat slower.
This skill was inherently the most difficult of all cultivation arts, and with Xu Zhou currently studying it on his own, without the occasional insights from the Array Formation Hall, it felt somewhat like working in isolation.
But no matter how slow, he was still advancing with the learning ability of a Foundation Establishment level cultivator.
Slowly, Xu Zhou crossed the threshold of the upper-grade array formation. Gradually
, he mastered the upper-grade array formation.
Unconsciously, his array formation skills were also pushed to near-second-tier.
Xu Zhou stopped there.
It wasn't that he couldn't continue.
The jade slip he obtained from Zheng Feng was a second-tier skill, which he could continue to refine.
However, as his skills improved, Xu Zhou vaguely felt that he might be on the wrong path.
Array formation was like this; without communication with other array masters and without practical practice, relying solely on blind deduction was most likely to lead to the wrong path.
The Array Formation Hall also aimed to avoid this, which was why it occasionally organized exchanges among its disciples to widely disseminate insights into array formation.
If he continued studying, Xu Zhou was afraid that he would go further and further astray, and end up in a dead end at a higher level.
Ultimately, he decided to seal the jade slip in his hand and study it after he emerged from seclusion.
After putting away the jade slip, Xu Zhou scanned his storage bag and found nothing else to study.
His only second-tier inheritance was the array-based jade slip; nothing else. He
also possessed a second-tier cultivation technique, the *Five Thunder Golden Body*, given to him by Li Zelei, which, as a body-refining technique, didn't require much study.
Xu Zhou calculated the time.
Five years had passed since he first went into seclusion. He spent
the first six months stabilizing his cultivation, and another six months meticulously studying the *Spiritual Spring Cleansing Chapter*.
Only after thoroughly mastering the *Spiritual Spring Cleansing Chapter* did he turn to studying array formations, immersing himself in it for the past four years.
Recalling those events before Foundation Establishment now felt somewhat distant.
"Five years..."
"Emerging now, though a bit fast, won't attract attention."
"Continuing to stay would only be a waste of time."
After thinking for a moment, Xu Zhou stood up.
He straightened his clothes, then stepped out of his cave and officially emerged from seclusion.
Leaving the cave, the long-absent sunlight streamed in, causing him to squint slightly as he savored the surrounding natural atmosphere.
The next moment, he regained his composure, his internal energy circulating slightly.
Xu Zhou cautiously took a step forward.
With each step, his energy flowed naturally beneath his feet, and his body felt instantly lighter. His
previously heavy body lifted off the ground.
Xu Zhou glanced down at the forest below, feeling somewhat unaccustomed to it.
But he quickly steadied himself and flew towards Jade Dragon Mountain.
...
On Jade Dragon Mountain, a slender cultivator who was cultivating raised an eyebrow.
His divine sense had already detected an unfamiliar aura approaching.
He focused his mind briefly, and when he saw the other's face, his expression quickly relaxed.
The slender cultivator slowly finished his cultivation and then stepped out of his cave.
At this moment, Xu Zhou also flew nearby.
"Greetings, Senior Brother."
After regaining his footing, he bowed to the slender cultivator before him, saying, "Junior brother, it took me five years to stabilize my cultivation. I've kept you waiting, senior brother."
"Five years is nothing,"
Lin Jianya smiled. "For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it's just a routine seclusion."
He led Xu Zhou into the cave.
"My name is Lin Jianya. You can call me Senior Brother Lin."
After Xu Zhou was seated, Lin Jianya scanned him with his divine sense, confirming that his aura was stable, and couldn't help but smile, "Junior brother Xu, you've emerged from seclusion in five years. What are your plans for the future?"
Xu Zhou pondered and said, "After Foundation Establishment, there's still a lot to do. I plan to continue studying alchemy."
Lin Jianya nodded, "That's true. Junior brother has already learned the Longevity Technique, so you don't need to spend extra time learning other techniques, which saves you a lot of time."
However, senior brother advises you, the Longevity Technique is only mediocre as a Foundation Establishment technique. It's best to find another technique; your future will be much brighter."
He only offered this casual suggestion and didn't elaborate further.
Then, he changed the subject and got down to business.
"However, what I meant by 'plans' was to ask you, Junior Brother, where you intend to reside permanently in the future,"
Lin Jianya explained. "I wonder if you've tried cultivating, Junior Brother, and if you've felt your spiritual energy becoming insufficient to sustain your cultivation?"
Xu Zhou pondered for a moment and nodded.
Lin Jianya smiled: "That's exactly what I wanted to discuss.
After a cultivator reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, their cultivation will affect the surrounding environment. Therefore, it's not suitable to reside within the sect for long; it's best to find another spiritual land within the sect to guard.
Junior Brother Xu, if you have your eye on any spiritual land within the sect, feel free to tell me. I will inform the sect leader and have a cave dwelling prepared for you in advance."
Xu Zhou found this quite interesting.
"Any spiritual land will do?"
Lin Jianya chuckled. "It depends on the specific spiritual land and whether other elders are temporarily residing there. We'll need to discuss it carefully.
However, Junior Brother Xu, you can give me a general idea of your needs, and I think the sect leader will arrange a good place for you."
Xu Zhou pondered for a while before speaking, "I need to think about this carefully. Could I give you an answer in a few days?"
Lin Jianya thought for a moment and then agreed, "Once Junior Brother has considered it, you only need to activate a communication talisman. Or, if it's convenient for you, you can go directly to the sect leader."
Xu Zhou nodded in agreement.
Afterward, Lin Jianya handed over the elder's identity token he had prepared, instructing him to keep it safe.
The two chatted for a while before Xu Zhou got up to take his leave.
Lin Jianya gazed in the direction he left, lost in thought.
After a long while, he smiled gently.
"It seems there's going to be some activity on Junior Brother Gu's side."
...
Xu Zhou didn't go anywhere else but returned to his cave dwelling in the Hundred Herbs Hall first.
Although he couldn't stay here permanently in the future, he had grown accustomed to it. Having just stabilized his cultivation, he naturally wanted to return first before making further plans.
This time, relying on flight, his return to the mountain was much faster than before.
What would normally take several days was covered in half a day.
Along the way, people constantly bowed in greeting, but Xu Zhou only nodded slightly without stopping.
He first returned to his cave to rest.
Afterwards, Xu Zhou found the stewards of the Hundred Herbs Hall and inquired about where to find second-tier medicinal scriptures and alchemy inheritances.
After emerging from seclusion, his primary concern was naturally replenishing his learning resources.
The stewards received him cautiously, but when asked about second-tier inheritances, they became nervous and uneasy, only saying that an application had to be submitted. Whether it would be approved depended on the instructions of the hall's elders.
Xu Zhou wasn't surprised by this.
Second-tier alchemy inheritances were already considered the foundation of the sect. It would be strange if the hall's stewards could distribute them so easily.
It would simply mean waiting a few more days.
Three days passed.
The application results came in.
The application for the second-tier medicine manual was approved.
However, the application for the second-tier alchemy inheritance was directly rejected.