Generally speaking, the materials for refining a Foundation Establishment cultivator's Natal Magical Treasure were relatively easy to find. The Foundation Establishment stage was just a transitional period for a cultivator; only by condensing a Golden Core could one truly embark on the long path to immortality.
However, if a Foundation Establishment cultivator had determined that they could no longer condense a Golden Core in this life, they would spare no time or expense, searching everywhere for rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures to refine a powerful Natal Magical Treasure for themselves. This would grant them great power for a short time and could even be passed down to future generations.
Apart from this situation, there was another special case: a cultivator with great ambition who wanted to refine an Evolving Treasure during their Foundation Establishment.
Such treasures would grow along with the cultivator's cultivation. Nurtured by the cultivator's increasingly vigorous Spirit Power and Essence Blood , the treasure would continuously grow and become stronger.
In future cultivation, even after ascending several major realms, there would be no need to refine a new Natal Magical Treasure. Due to their familiarity and compatibility with it, its power would be multiplied.
Although Wei Zhongran had been paying attention to Li Yan's "Fragmented Poison Body," he had also been worried about how far Li Yan would go and whether another miracle would happen, allowing him to become a Golden Core cultivator.
Now, it seemed his disciple's ambition was not small. He was now certain that Li Yan intended to refine an Evolving Treasure. He couldn't help but re-evaluate his disciple's dedication to the Dao.
'Even Wuyi never had such a plan. It was only after condensing his Golden Core that he came to discuss with me whether to re-forge his current Natal Magical Treasure or refine a new one.'
But after just a thoughtful glance at Li Yan, Wei Zhongran still did not ask for details. He tapped his fat fingers rhythmically on the armrest of his chair before finally speaking.
"As for the remaining two materials, if they are not easy to find, you can tell me what they are. I might just have them on hand, you never know."
He said this considering that Li Yan might be wary of others deducing his Natal Magical Treasure from the refining materials, so he left the decision entirely up to Li Yan.
As soon as these words were spoken, Li Yan's eyes lit up below. He felt that this was certainly feasible. The reason he hadn't asked Wei Zhongran for help before was that the harm Strategist Ji had caused him was too great, so he had never believed in this so-called master-disciple relationship.
Although Wei Zhongran had been concerned for him later on, every time Li Yan saw Wei Zhongran, he would inexplicably think of the sinister Strategist Ji, so he was unwilling to have much contact.
This had led to him being the most special disciple under Wei Zhongran. In the years since he joined, he had rarely asked his master about cultivation matters, let alone had a pleasant chat between master and disciple.
Wei Zhongran was helpless about this. He later noticed Li Yan's wariness. While Wei Zhongran was definitely intelligent, he wasn't exactly a meticulous person when it came to teaching disciples.
Initially, he had wanted to guide Li Yan in his cultivation to gradually eliminate this unnecessary wariness, but he soon discovered that apart from not understanding the most basic skills, Li Yan hardly needed his guidance in other areas.
Moreover, the Myriad Essence Art Li Yan had chosen was very common. It was an overkill for Li Wuyi to explain it on his behalf, so what need was there for him? Li Yan's continuous breakthroughs later on were due to the mutation of the "Fragmented Poison Body," one of the three great peerless poison physiques. So, the most Wei Zhongran could do was find some Jade Slips and records about the Malevolent Spirit Sect's three great poison physiques for him.
He let Li Yan grow on his own. So, when it came to some of Li Yan's private matters, he either didn't ask or handled them through Li Wuyi. The two of them rarely communicated.
In contrast, after two years of experience, Li Yan's perspective was no longer the same. He already knew that this fat master was not like Strategist Ji, who was just using him. So now, hearing Wei Zhongran's words, he of course thought it was feasible. Otherwise, if he had to search on his own, who knew how long it would take.
Thus, a happy expression appeared on Li Yan's face, and he proceeded to name the two materials: Jade-Horned Serpent and Ice Cloud Feather. After hearing the two materials Li Yan needed, Wei Zhongran had a general idea of the magical treasure Li Yan wanted to refine.
'So he's refining a water-attribute magical treasure. But that's not surprising. Among his five-element spirit roots, the water-attribute is the better one. It's the most suitable for him, I suppose.'
When Li Yan first joined Little Bamboo Peak, Wei Zhongran had personally tested his spirit roots, so he was crystal clear about Li Yan's aptitude. The two materials Li Yan needed were both water and ice items, which were ultimately water-attribute materials. A knowing smile appeared on Wei Zhongran's face.
Seeing Wei Zhongran's smile, Li Yan's heart leaped with joy. 'Could it be that Master really has these two materials?'
Li Yan didn't think his luck would be that good, but he was filled with anticipation all the same.
Sure enough, Wei Zhongran smiled and said, "As for the Ice Cloud Feather, I did have three of them originally. I obtained them from a Seven-Colored Ice Goose when I was traveling back then. I gave one to Li... to a fellow Daoist for artifact refining. I still have two left now, which should be enough for you."
With that, Wei Zhongran lifted a hand from the armrest and made a grasping motion in the air. The entire cave instantly turned as cold as winter, the chill biting to the bone. Amidst a layer of white mist, two feathers, each about a foot long, appeared in his hand.
However, just now when Wei Zhongran mentioned giving one of them to a certain fellow Daoist, a fleeting look of embarrassment appeared on his face, but it quickly returned to normal.
Li Yan, below, remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard, but a strange thought arose in his mind. 'That fellow Daoist must be the Peak Master of Never-Parting Peak, right!'
Wei Zhongran gave a flick of his hand, and one of the feathers, which should have been weightless, flew towards him like a heavy arrow. However, its momentum was extremely slow. Li Yan did not hesitate to reach out and catch it. As soon as the Ice Cloud Feather was in his hand, the weight vanished, and it immediately became as light as nothing. This all demonstrated Wei Zhongran's meticulous control of force.
An intense chill spread from Li Yan's palm, piercing through his skin, and for a moment, it felt as if it wanted to freeze him into an ice sculpture. A black Spirit Power had already risen from Li Yan's hand, its surge instantly blocking the cold.
But in just that moment, a thin layer of frost had already formed all over Li Yan's body. Even his eyebrows and eyelashes had sprouted white icicles. This frost and these icicles shimmered with seven colors, like ice crystals in the sun.
Beneath the seven colors, a black aura faintly surged, like a raging tide in the ocean. Li Yan's entire body began to glow.
Seeing this, Wei Zhongran's eyes narrowed slightly, a piercing glint flashing from within the slits, but it was gone in an instant. He had been prepared to intervene at any moment, but Li Yan had actually managed to withstand it, and even seemed to have strength to spare.
These two Ice Cloud Feathers were part of the materials he had obtained after killing a third-rank Seven-Colored Ice Goose with someone else years ago. Wei Zhongran knew that even an ordinary Initial-stage Golden Core cultivator would have to be careful to handle the chill from these two Ice Cloud Feathers.
Although Wei Zhongran didn't want to know the reason for Li Yan's breakthrough, he still wanted to test Li Yan's true strength. Now that he had the chance, he suddenly had the urge to test him, but he was also ready to intervene at any moment.
Wei Zhongran had two Ice Cloud Feathers in his hand. He felt that Li Yan couldn't even handle one, so he had only shot out one of them.
Although Li Yan was almost instantly frozen, Wei Zhongran could roughly judge Li Yan's current strength from the fluctuations of his resisting Spirit Power.
The result was something Wei Zhongran had never expected. This youngest disciple of his had not only caught a third-rank Ice Cloud Feather, but from the way his Spirit Power was hidden and not fully released, he clearly wasn't using his full strength.
In fact, the moment the Ice Cloud Feather entered his hand, Li Yan sensed something was wrong. But he was always cautious. Although he knew Wei Zhongran wouldn't harm him, he was still on high alert against anything that came near him.
The bone-chilling cold from the Ice Cloud Feather caused the True Scripture of Gui Water in his body to circulate rapidly on its own. By the time Li Yan realized it, the True Essence of Gui Water had already surfaced on his body.
Fortunately, Li Yan reacted quickly. He immediately forced down the even more turbulent Spirit Power in his Dantian . Otherwise, the ice crystals covering his body would not be there now, and he would have truly revealed his full strength.
'Master still wants to test my cultivation. Hehe, this is definitely a material from a demonic beast at the peak of the second rank or higher.'
Li Yan immediately made a judgment in his heart. While maintaining the Spirit Power defense on his body, he did not feel any dissatisfaction towards Wei Zhongran. It was only natural for a master to test his disciple; it was just that he had never liked to expose himself.
Wei Zhongran, who had been about to intervene, immediately stopped when he saw that Li Yan seemed to have strength to spare. He just watched Li Yan with a smile.
After a while, he began to have some doubts. It seemed his judgment wasn't entirely accurate. Although Li Yan could resist the bone-chilling cold from the Ice Cloud Feather, his body couldn't move, nor could he throw the feather out. The ice crystals on his body were getting thicker and thicker.
'Did I guess wrong? Although he can defend against it, his true strength is actually only a line stronger than the cold emanating from the Ice Cloud Feather. If this drags on, he'll run out of strength.'
He came to this judgment because in just a breath and a half, he felt the aura on Li Yan's body begin to fluctuate, showing signs of instability.
Thus, Wei Zhongran no longer hesitated. He waved his other hand, and a gentle force enveloped Li Yan's body. The frost on Li Yan's body instantly vanished as if under a scorching sun. At the same time, the Ice Cloud Feather flew out of his hand.
Only then did Li Yan, who had been like a wooden sculpture, sway slightly. A large amount of water vapor rose from his body, and he then looked at Wei Zhongran with a shocked expression.
Wei Zhongran nodded and said, "To be able to last for a breath and a half, Li Yan, your cultivation should have the strength of around the Late-stage Foundation Establishment. On this trip north, this harvest alone is better than obtaining the refining materials."
He did not deliberately hide his intention to test Li Yan, nor did he show any displeasure because Li Yan had hidden things from him. In fact, he was even more gratified.
At the same time, he thought to himself, 'I just don't know if this Late-stage Foundation Establishment strength is his true realm or a realm-skipping ability manifested due to his body's mutation.' He still couldn't see Li Yan's true realm from that short test.
It should be known that when Li Yan first came under his tutelage, it was only out of a moment of sympathy. Afterward, he wasn't optimistic about this disciple's future. Even when Li Yan later told him he had succeeded in a seventh-rank Foundation Establishment, Wei Zhongran still felt that Li Yan's chances of condensing a Golden Core in this life were slim.
However, at that time, he still held a sliver of hope for the miracle of the "Fragmented Poison Body." But Wei Zhongran still felt that Li Yan would have to be at least one hundred and fifty years old to have a chance of reaching the Pseudo-Core Realm , and in this process, Li Yan would have to put in several times more effort and hardship than others.