After obtaining the "Hun Yuan Wu Xing Gong," Xiao Fei returned to his cave dwelling and spent seven days reading the cultivation technique from beginning to end.
His mood was somewhat heavy, as there was always a significant gap between ideals and reality.
At the end of the cultivation technique, the life story of its creator was recorded.
This individual was born into a family of cultivators, possessed extraordinary intellect from a young age, was well-read, understood astronomy and geography, and possessed the talent to govern the world.
However, the world is rarely perfect. While possessing exceptional intellect, his cultivation aptitude was extremely poor.
He was a "waste talent" like Xiao Fei, with all five spiritual roots complete, each with only 20 points of aptitude.
How could someone with such a keen mind easily admit defeat? He persisted in his cultivation, only by paying more effort and sweat than others.
During the Qi Refining stage, he encountered a great opportunity, and his cultivation soared, directly breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
Subsequently, this person perused numerous cultivation techniques, entered seclusion for fifty years, and combined the experiences of his predecessors. Based on his own spiritual roots, he created a cultivation technique most suited to them, transforming disadvantage into advantage.
Ordinary cultivators only practiced one attribute of spiritual power.
If two were cultivated simultaneously, two irreconcilable spiritual powers would appear within the body.
This situation was not beneficial, leading to impure, chaotic, and sometimes conflicting spiritual power.
However, if all five elements were cultivated simultaneously, the outcome would be different.
The five elements, arranged and combined in different ways, form all things in heaven and earth.
Whether mutually generating or overcoming each other, the five elements form a cyclical whole.
Therefore, cultivating two or three or four attributes simultaneously was not feasible, but cultivating all five elements was theoretically possible.
It wasn't that no one had considered this before, but they only had two or three spiritual roots to cultivate.
A person with balanced and complete five-element spiritual roots was rare, encountered perhaps once in tens of thousands of years.
No one would idly search for such a person with great effort for something that did not concern them, and then create a cultivation technique suitable for simultaneous five-element cultivation.
After creating the cultivation technique, this exceptionally intelligent senior cultivated all five elements, with a combat power at least five times greater than cultivators of the same level. He forged a formidable reputation in the cultivation world, known as "Ancestor Hun Yuan."
This "Hun Yuan Wu Xing Gong" was continuously modified and improved throughout Ancestor Hun Yuan's cultivation journey.
However, this book could only be cultivated up to the late Golden Core stage. The subsequent cultivation techniques had not yet been created by Ancestor Hun Yuan and would require later disciples to devise them themselves.
Creating cultivation techniques was still a distant matter.
What troubled Xiao Fei somewhat was that Ancestor Hun Yuan had personally created a five-element Foundation Establishment method, laying the foundation for the Hun Yuan Gong during Foundation Establishment.
The Foundation Establishment Pills used were also different from the commonly used ones.
It required consuming five Foundation Establishment Pills, each containing a different attribute, to utilize the opportunity of Foundation Establishment to cultivate Hun Yuan spiritual power and expand the Dantian Sea.
This meant that the Foundation Establishment Pills Xiao Fei had obtained could not be used, and he had to refine these special Foundation Establishment Pills himself.
Of course, he could also use ordinary Foundation Establishment Pills to establish his foundation first and then cultivate the "Hun Yuan Wu Xing Gong" after successful Foundation Establishment.
But doing so would mean he would miss the opportunity to expand his Dantian Sea, greatly affecting his strength.
Xiao Fei pondered for a long time, weighing the pros and cons.
Many alchemists and artifact refiners in the sect were not skilled in combat.
They only needed to do their jobs within their specialties, and their safety would be handled by the sect.
However, this reliance on others for personal safety made Xiao Fei uneasy.
As the saying goes, "Lean on a mountain and it will collapse; lean on a person and they will run."
Ultimately, having one's own strength was the capital for survival. Now that there was an opportunity to become stronger, why should he give it up?
However, refining Foundation Establishment Pills was not an easy task. These were second-tier pills that required a second-tier alchemist to refine.
Moreover, several of the spiritual herbs in the pill formula were rare and difficult to find.
But he was only at the eleventh level of Qi Refining, and only in his twenties, so he still had time to search slowly.
...
The Dan Xin Sect's triennial grand sect competition was held as scheduled.
Xiao Fei once again registered for the Alchemy Competition.
Moreover, in the competition, he overwhelmingly defeated Zuo Qiu Liang and Shen Chu Yao, once again securing the first place on the Alchemy Ranking.
If the previous competition had an element of luck, Xiao Fei's alchemy skills displayed this time convinced everyone.
In the two rounds of alchemy trials, Xiao Fei refined two furnaces consecutively, achieving a ten-percent pill yield for both.
Furthermore, in a batch of Qi Gathering Pills he refined, there were four mid-grade pills, and one was high-grade.
With the alchemy talent Xiao Fei had demonstrated, he was already worthy of being recorded in the sect's history.
Zhu Yu, who had successfully entered the top 90 in the previous round, did not perform outstandingly this time, remaining in the 90s.
However, Huang Fei Fei successfully entered the top twenty in the Formation Competition, ranking fifteenth.
Following the four major competitions of Artifacts, Pills, Talismans, and Formations, the competition for the combat power ranking commenced.
This list held the highest value and was the main event.
This time, Xiao Fei only reached the fifteenth level in the Trial Tower before he gave up resistance.
He dropped his weapon, sat cross-legged on the ground, and waited for the large tiger on that level to kill him.
Seeing such a golden opportunity, the ferocious tiger roared and pounced, biting Xiao Fei's neck.
"Crack—Snap!"
Xiao Fei's neck was unharmed, but the tiger's teeth broke.
The tiger roared in pain, refusing to believe it. It pounced again, using its teeth to bite, claws to scratch, and tail to whip...
After a long struggle, the tiger grew tired, whimpered, and retreated to a corner, deciding to let the human kill it.
Xiao Fei looked at the disappointed tiger and shook his head. He picked up the flying sword from the ground and drew it across his own neck.
"Grind!"
A sound of metal friction echoed, and only a shallow mark appeared on his neck.
"What the heck is this? Is even suicide this difficult?"
"Then I'll take my time!"
Thus, while others in the Trial Tower were locked in fierce battles with demonic beasts, Xiao Fei's area remained tranquil and harmonious.
A large tiger quietly huddled in the corner, watching Xiao Fei's acrobatic performance.
Xiao Fei used the flying sword in his hand like a saw, repeatedly cutting at his neck.
After an unknown period, on the plaza outside the Trial Tower, Xiao Fei slowly opened his eyes.
"Senior Brother Xiao, how many levels did you reach?"
Seeing Xiao Fei wake up, a Qi Refining disciple beside him asked with concern.
"Cough, cough, cough... I am not skilled in combat. Even with all my effort, I could only reach the fifteenth level."
Xiao Fei put on a weary expression and quickly took out a pill bottle from his embrace, pouring out a pill and swallowing it.
"Senior Brother Xiao focuses on alchemy, so it's normal that he doesn't have time to cultivate techniques and such."
The disciples around him, hearing this, collectively breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much more balanced.
If a disciple possessed extraordinary alchemy talent and was also exceptionally strong in combat, it would be against natural law.
Now, however, this genius's combat power was as poor as theirs, instantly boosting their confidence.
"Senior Brother Xiao, just focus on alchemy. If you need anything regarding combat, don't hesitate to ask. I, Wang Er Ma Zi, will be there whenever you call!"
"Yes, me too!"
"..."
Several disciples patted their chests, promising to help Xiao Fei. How much of it was genuine remained unknown.
Everyone wanted to curry favor with such a talented disciple.
Next, the top 100 from the Trial Tower would compete for the combat power ranking.
Zhu Yu made a surprising surge, breaking into the top ten.
Coupled with his handsome appearance, he instantly became famous, a prominent figure in the Dan Xin Sect, favored by many male and female disciples.
There were even instances of male and female disciples fighting over him.
While envious of Zhu Yu's popularity, Xiao Fei could only scoff, cursing him as a pretty boy and deeming relying on looks as no skill at all.
Additionally, Huang Fei Fei was much more low-key, with her combat power ranking 26th.
Her appearance was also pure and moving. By rights, she should have had many fans.
However, due to her ruthless and merciless fighting style, resembling a frenzied tiger and fighting with extreme desperation, she frightened many male disciples, preventing them from harboring any improper thoughts.