’I can now threaten Core Formation Stage Demons.’

Being able to threaten them and being able to kill them were two entirely different things.

However, being able to threaten them meant he had a chance to kill them.

If an Early-stage Core Formation Demon was careless enough, it might actually fall to him.

After putting away the Upper-Grade Earth Yellow Sword, Fang Yun tested out its Middle-Grade counterpart.

His Spiritual Power cost reduction for using Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifacts had already reached ninety-nine percent.

With such a high cost reduction, the Spiritual Qi he passively absorbed was enough to offset the expenditure. This meant he could now use Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifacts indefinitely, as long as he had the stamina.

The percentage increase in power was greater for the Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact than the Upper-Grade one, but the absolute power gained was still less. The base power of the Upper-Grade artifact was, without a doubt, much higher.

If this was the case for Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, there was no need to test the Lower-Grade ones; he could certainly use them continuously as well.

Still, Fang Yun gave it a quick try afterward.

’Am I even using any Spiritual Power?’

While the Middle-Grade Spiritual Artifact still consumed one percent of its original cost, the Spiritual Power required for the Lower-Grade one was practically negligible.

Next, he needed to test the maximum distance for precise control over his Spiritual Artifacts.

Fang Yun left his cave residence and returned in less than half an hour.

He had completed his tests.

The maximum precise control distance for a Lower-Grade Spiritual Artifact reached eight hundred zhang, easily surpassing five li.

For Middle-Grade and Upper-Grade Spiritual Artifacts, the maximum distances were six hundred zhang and three hundred zhang, respectively.

A typical Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s Divine Sense had a range of about sixty zhang. With their Divine Sense attached to a Spiritual Artifact, their maximum precise control distance was also about sixty zhang.

Shortly after Fang Yun broke through to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, it became early January.

Because he had spent so much time last month pushing for the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, his monthly settlement of Talent Points had dropped below two hundred thousand.

This was the first time in years that his monthly settlement had yielded less than two hundred thousand Talent Points.

After drawing a Life Talent, he promptly began his first cultivation session as a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

’Let’s see what effect an Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill has now that I’m in the Late-stage Foundation Establishment.’

Fang Yun didn’t take out an Upper-Grade Primordial Spirit Pill to aid his cultivation. Instead, he took out one of his nine remaining Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pills.

It took less than half a day to consume the Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill and completely refine its medicinal energy.

His absorption rate at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment was much faster than it had been at the Middle Stage.

Fang Yun inspected the growth of Liquid Spiritual Power in his Qi Sea.

’They say Spirit Ascension Pills aren’t very effective for Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators, but this is even worse than I expected. The energy from refining one Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill is less than what I’d gain from seven days of arduous cultivation.’

And for a Five Spirit Roots Cultivator, seven days of arduous cultivation barely yielded any increase in Spiritual Power at all.

And this was from an Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pill—an Upper-Grade pill meant to aid cultivation, which was supposed to be well-absorbed, highly efficient, and provide a large boost to Spiritual Power.

If he were to use Middle-Grade or Lower-Grade Spirit Ascension Pills instead, the overall efficiency would be even more abysmal.

Soon, Fang Yun took out an Upper-Grade Primordial Spirit Pill, swallowed it, and began the process of refinement and absorption.

As he began refining the Upper-Grade Primordial Spirit Pill, Fang Yun immediately felt the difference compared to the Spirit Ascension Pill. The first thing he noticed was its potent medicinal energy.

As expected, using a Primordial Spirit Pill was a much better way for a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator to practice.

「Two days later.」

Fang Yun had yet to finish refining the Upper-Grade Primordial Spirit Pill when a Communication Spiritual Light appeared before him.

It pulsed with the Spiritual Power of Supreme Elder Zhong Yankun.

Fang Yun stopped his cultivation and received the Communication Spiritual Light without hesitation.

’Looks like there’s going to be a mission soon. He’s telling me to prepare.’

The message mentioned that the Celestial Cloud Sect would likely be attacking the Celestial Demon Sect.

This news didn’t come as a surprise to Fang Yun. During a previous conversation, Zhong Yankun had mentioned that the Celestial Demon Sect might support the Dragon Demon Palace in its fight against the Wind Ling Sect.

If the Celestial Demon Sect truly made such a move, the Celestial Cloud Sect would have to respond.

This message was his advance warning.

The exact timing of the operation would depend on Battle Peak.

Having understood the situation, Fang Yun resumed refining the Upper-Grade Primordial Spirit Pill.

「A few hours later.」

He finally finished refining and absorbing the Upper-Grade Primordial Spirit Pill.

’One Upper-Grade Primordial Spirit Pill saved me almost fifty-seven days of arduous cultivation... No, wait, it should be just over fifty-three days.’

In his initial calculation, Fang Yun had forgotten to factor in the time spent refining the pill. It had taken him over two days, so he had to subtract that period of potential cultivation from the total.

A Five Spirit Roots Cultivator who had just entered the Late-stage Foundation Establishment would need about two hundred years of constant, arduous cultivation to reach the peak of the stage.

The normal Life Span of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator was only about 230 to 240 years.

This cultivation speed was simply far too slow.

’With a sufficient supply of Upper-Grade Primordial Spirit Pills, my plan is to consume four to six of them per month to aid my cultivation. At an average of five pills a month, it would take me twenty-two to twenty-three years to reach the peak of the Late-stage Foundation Establishment...’

It had taken Fang Yun over thirty-six years to go from the beginning of the Middle-stage Foundation Establishment to his current Late stage.

And that was with a plentiful supply of Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pills.

Spirit Ascension Pills were most effective during the Early-stage Foundation Establishment, but they still worked reasonably well for cultivation in the Middle Stage.

Primordial Spirit Pills, on the other hand, were most effective during the Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

Upper-Grade Primordial Spirit Pills were far more expensive than Upper-Grade Spirit Ascension Pills. Cultivating faster in the Late-stage Foundation Establishment required consuming a vast amount of resources. When converted to Spirit Stones, the cost of cultivating in these two stages was vastly different.