When Shu Han first encountered the dual cultivation technique, it was the "Light Clouds and Charming Rain Technique" from the Purple Sun Sect's Floating Fragrance Pavilion.

According to Fei Zhengyang, a regular customer of the Floating Fragrance Pavilion, dual cultivation techniques generally benefit male cultivators, with female cultivators serving as human cauldrons to assist the male's cultivation. Furthermore, the first experience with a female cultivator is crucial.

The first night with a female cultivator from the Floating Fragrance Pavilion often fetched a hefty price. Fei Zhengyang often mentioned that once he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he would definitely save enough money to buy the first night with a female cultivator from the Pavilion. Not only was the experience enticing, but it also provided significant benefits to one's cultivation.

However, this concept was hard for Shu Han to accept. The daughter of the Sect Master of Sky Palace Sect, confined since childhood in the Long Sky Palace, cultivated the top-tier dual cultivation technique "Sunrise Phoenix Art". But for what purpose?

Why did the Sky Palace Sect receive annual extravagant gifts from top-tier immortal sects like the Great Fortune Sect? Upon closer thought, wasn't the reason clear? This was selling one's dignity for glory!

Boom!

In a fit of rage, Shu Han's fist slammed into the cave wall, causing it to shake violently.

No wonder Linlin was always reluctant to reveal the specifics to him. The two sisters, having relied on each other since they were young and having faced hardships together, were destined to become human cauldrons for others. As someone's predestined human cauldron, Linlin had given her most significant moment to Shu Han. He could imagine the future she would face.

Shu Han clutched his aching heart, taking a long time to recover.

"I must hurry up with my cultivation. I can't let Linlin wait for three hundred years. By then, it might be too late."

Refocusing, Shu Han immersed himself in the circulation of refining the Grand Yin essence.

Thus, tirelessly and devotedly, Shu Han continued his cultivation. Every time he refined a Grand Yin essence, he would request more from the Grand Yin Jade Rabbit. Batch after batch of mid-grade spiritual stones were also exchanged.

Time was lost in the cave, and cultivation had no sense of duration. In the blink of an eye, four years had passed!

When Shu Han opened his eyes, he found himself covered in thick layers of dust, with countless shards of spirit stones scattered around him. He took a deep breath, exhaling forcefully like a dragon, and blew away the surrounding dust.

Foundation Establishment Mid-term Peak!

With the aid of nearly a hundred mid-grade spirit stones and over a dozen Grand Yin essences, Shu Han had taken four years to reach the pinnacle of his current realm. What stood before him now was the seemingly insurmountable barrier to the late stages.

Shu Han had initially thought that when he reached this barrier, the dormant Dragon and Phoenix power within him would help him break through.

However, after several attempts, he found that the Dragon and Phoenix power in his Dantian was completely unresponsive as if looking down upon this late-stage barrier.

Suddenly, Shu Han understood. Linlin had intended for this Dragon and Phoenix power to be used during his Core Formation. Core Formation was a significant threshold. As Master Mystical Dragon had said, many proud talents of the heavens fell at this gateway. Even someone as powerful as Shangguan Ruotong had only recently reached Core Formation.

Being a cultivator with a five-element spirit root, the amount of spiritual power needed for his Core Formation would be astronomical. He couldn't help but smile: Linlin was truly thoughtful. She probably believed he could overcome the late-stage barrier on his own. He couldn't let her down!

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Shu Han got up, stretching his muscles and bones after sitting cross-legged for four years. The Jade Rabbit was napping on his knee. Seeing Shu Han awaken, it panicked, thinking it would be asked for its Grand Yin essence again, and swiftly dove into the jade pendant.

Shu Han chuckled. The little creature had had a tough time over the years, constantly providing its Grand Yin essence. But now that he was at a bottleneck, the Grand Yin essence wouldn't be as effective. It was time to give the rabbit a break. Next, he took out the black jar and, upon closer inspection, his eyes lit up with joy!

In four years, three small pieces of Chaotic Immortal Stone had appeared in the black jar! Although the quantity was small, it was a genuine replication of the immortal stone by the jar! Two small pieces in four years meant, by calculation, each piece was equivalent to eighty thousand mid-grade spirit stones!

The thought of this figure gave Shu Han chills. Such a terrifying Chaotic Immortal Stone. However, based on the jar's replication rate, replicating a Chaotic Immortal Stone as large as those in the Immaculate Realm would likely take three to four hundred years. At this pace, obtaining a magic treasure made purely of Chaotic Immortal Stone would be incredibly challenging!

Shu Han pondered over the plans for crafting his life's magic treasure. The Mystical Dragon Triple Rotation Divine Art offers three different personal magic treasures: Immortal Sword, Immortal Seal, and Immortal Tower.

Unlike other techniques, those who cultivate the Mystical Dragon Triple Rotation Divine Art can have three life magic treasures. Moreover, these three can be combined to form a grand formation, which, in conjunction with the technique's powerful magic power storage, is immensely powerful when deployed.

However, the crafting of these three magic treasures is incredibly challenging.

For instance, Master Mystical Dragon in North Yan wields an Immortal Sword forged from Blood Soul Demon Gold. This material is rare and valuable, but it just meets the entry threshold for crafting a life magic treasure.

Moreover, the crafting of these treasures also has cultivation requirements. With Master Mystical Dragon's early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, he could only forge the Immortal Sword. Crafting the Immortal Seal requires reaching the peak of late-stage Foundation Establishment, and the Immortal Tower demands one to be at the peak of late-stage Core Formation.

To utilize the Immortal Sword, Immortal Seal, and Immortal Tower together in a formation, one must possess the strength of the Nascent Soul stage.

This had confused Shu Han for a while. Considering the technique was created by Master Mystical Dragon in the mine, who was only at the peak of late-stage Core Formation, how could he conceive a formation for post-Nascent Soul stages?

Staring at the Chaotic Immortal Stone in the jar, Shu Han thought it best to wait a few more years. Once he accumulated enough, he could forge a personal small sword with the immortal stone. If successfully crafted, its power should far surpass the Eight-Direction Evil-Breaking Sword, solidifying his foundation.

Shu Han planned to first create a rough mold, and then slowly refine the sword with the immortal stone. Upon reaching the peak of the late-stage Foundation Establishment, he'd use Chaotic Immortal Stone and Earth Goddess Immortal Soil to craft the seal.

Given the vast requirements for the Immortal Seal and Tower, relying solely on Chaotic Immortal Stone isn't feasible. He couldn't afford to wait that long.

With the Immortal Sword, Immortal Seal, and Eight-Direction Evil-Breaking Sword, his combat strength would peak for the Foundation Establishment stage.

Having settled on his plans, Shu Han took the three small Chaotic Immortal Stones from the jar, adding a variety of spirit herbs. Lately, he had exhausted his supply of spirit herbs, even leaving the Jade Rabbit without its food. Fortunately, spirit herbs visibly grew faster in the jar than Chaotic Immortal Stones.

Despite reaching the mid-term peak, Shu Han wasn't ready to emerge from seclusion. He divided himself into three to work simultaneously. One avatar worked on crafting consumables like Thunder Tribulation Talismans and Seven-Poison Water. Another guarded the jar, replicating Thunderstones and other forging materials, preparing to craft three mid-term magic treasures based on Thunderstones.

The real Shu Han focused on practicing with the root of the Illusory Dragon Crystal Ginseng to master the Heaven-Earth Transformation Technique and the Shrinking Earth into Inches Technique. Both techniques were crucial for his survival in the cultivation world.

His victory over Shangguan Ruotong in the Immaculate Realm and obtaining the Heavenly Creation Fluid was solely due to mastering these techniques. During his avatars' crafting downtime, Shu Han decided to refine these techniques further, increasing his chances of survival in the cultivation realm.

Time flew by.

Thanks to the Illusory Dragon Blood Ginseng, Shu Han made notable progress in the Heaven-Earth Transformation Technique. His cultivation level and aura could perfectly transform, making it hard for even Core Formation cultivators to detect without special techniques or magic treasures.

However, he quickly hit a bottleneck with the Shrinking Earth into Inches Technique. Without high-quality space crystals to support it, the technique seemed to have reached its limits.

Shu Han sighed, realizing he needed to gather high-quality space crystals in the future.