Chapter 29: Foundation Establishment in Sight

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Fulfilling a Promise?

As Master Mo lay dying, the light in his eyes rapidly faded. Even to the very end, he could not remember exactly what promise he had made, for throughout his life he had drawn too many grand promises for too many people.

After swiftly gathering the spoils and reducing the bodies to ashes beneath a cloud of fire, Li Ji'an slipped into Gua Gua's inner world and fled into the distance in an instant.

Now that Gua Gua had advanced to become a second-rank spirit beast, the universe within its mouth had expanded once more. It was larger than a grand courtyard house, with a height of more than fifty feet. The only drawback was that living creatures could not remain inside for long.

Otherwise, Li Ji'an would have taken the time to decorate it properly.

“As expected of a high-grade second-rank alchemy furnace!”

He first examined all the spoils with his spiritual sense, making certain that none bore any other marks. Only then did he pick up the high-grade alchemy furnace.

He tested it lightly with alchemical fire, and the result far exceeded his expectations. It was several times better than the one Yan Qingwan had given him.

With his years of skill, he had been able to refine top-grade late-stage pills even with a middle-grade first-rank furnace. With this furnace, the rate at which he produced high-quality second-rank pills would surely be impressive.

It was not until he returned to the Immortal City that he finally set down the furnace, still reluctant to part with it, and began counting the rest of his spoils.

When he finished, he could not help but click his tongue.

“The Zheng Family is going to suffer a devastating blow this time.”

Aside from the alchemy furnace, the storage bags of the other three men contained finished late-stage pills worth nearly three thousand spirit stones, along with various medicinal ingredients worth more than two thousand.

There were also over a thousand spirit stones and three middle-grade magical artifacts.

The Zheng Family had directly brought nearly ten thousand spirit stones to the Immortal City for purchases.

Unfortunately, they had not managed to acquire any second-rank strategic resources capable of influencing the war.

In addition, the storage bags of the five men who had previously robbed Master Mo and his companions contained nearly eight hundred spirit stones and several middle-grade magical artifacts.

This single haul was equivalent to three years of Li Ji'an's painstaking earnings from alchemy.

He naturally understood the principle that killing and arson made a golden belt, but he understood even better that it was not a sustainable path, nor one suited to his own principles.

He had sought out Master Mo this time merely to bring his association with him in his previous life to a close.

“These pills are of too poor a quality. I can only dispose of them through the black market. And then there are these magical artifacts.”

He placed together all the goods that could not be sold openly, then gathered all the spirit stones in one place.

His wealth had once again climbed to more than eight thousand spirit stones.

“I have enough materials for a Foundation Establishment Pill!”

Over the following period, besides refining pills as usual and becoming accustomed to the high-grade second-rank furnace, he often searched through the Immortal City.

Along the way, he purchased several auxiliary ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill.

It was clear that the resources in the Immortal City's various shops had improved qualitatively compared with the days when the Azure Cloud Sect had been in control.

The rules of the Immortal City were also changing imperceptibly.

Anyone entering through the city gates who was not a permanent resident of the Immortal City now had to pay one spirit stone as an entrance fee.

A special street-stall district had also been established, allowing private individuals to set up stalls after paying a booth fee.

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Many restrictions imposed during the Azure Cloud Sect's rule—measures intended to maintain control but unfavorable to commerce—were gradually disappearing. Just as Li Ji'an had predicted, the economic atmosphere throughout the Immortal City was growing better and better.

The number of cultivators entering the city each day continued to rise, and more and more cultivators settled there, causing housing rents within the Immortal City to soar.

At the same time, vicious ambushes and killings in the vicinity of the city were becoming increasingly frequent.

Two months later, Li Ji'an received a message from Yan Qingwan bearing good news.

For some unknown reason, the group of external reinforcements hired by the Zheng Family had fallen into internal strife over a short period of time. The bandits seized the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, only to discover that the Zheng Family had secretly hidden a second-rank illusion formation.

One of the bandits' Foundation Establishment leaders was trapped within it. In the end, the Zheng Family's foremost mid-stage Foundation Establishment ancestor was gravely wounded, while one Foundation Establishment cultivator among the bandits was slain.

Both sides had suffered heavy losses.

The alliance of five families represented by the Yan Family became the greatest victor. Not only did they reclaim a high-grade medicinal field previously occupied by the Zheng Family, they also recovered the joint market town seized by the bandits.

Li Ji'an had already anticipated this outcome when he was tallying the spoils taken from Master Mo and his companions.

However, he had not had long to celebrate before a communication talisman that had been silent for twelve years suddenly began to tremble.

It was the very talisman he had left with Chen Qingling before setting out for the Golden Radiance Immortal City all those years ago.

It was bad news—unwelcome, yet within his expectations.

Chen Zhaohu, who had served as their guide into this world, had died peacefully of old age at the age of one hundred and eight.

When Li Ji'an had left back then, he had sensed the decline of Chen Zhaohu's vital energy and blood and realized that the man probably had less than ten years left to live. Before departing, he had given him a bottle of pills to replenish his vital energy and blood. Evidently, they had prolonged his life by several years.

After sending his condolences through the communication talisman, Li Ji'an naturally asked about Chen Zhaohu's master, the Scarletstone Wanderer.

He was told that everything remained as usual. The old man still went in and out of the deep mountains and ancient forests, and nothing unexpected had happened.

“He should be close to two hundred years old by now. In theory, Foundation Establishment cultivators have a lifespan of three hundred years, but very few actually live that long. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators are usually nearing the end of their lives by two hundred and fifty or sixty. If he suffers injuries or encounters some other misfortune... it seems there is a chance I may live long enough to see it happen in this life.”

After calculating the man's remaining lifespan, Li Ji'an found himself looking forward to it somewhat.

He then sent word of Chen Zhaohu's death to Dong Jiangling and Zhang Tiezhu.

As for Zhao Shuyao, she had accompanied Tong Yaoyao on a distant journey several years earlier, taking them beyond the effective range of ordinary communication talismans. He still had no way to contact her.

Chen Zhaohu had been their guide when the five of them had arrived in this world sixty-seven years ago. He had also been the first person to help them understand this cultivation world.

Zhang Tiezhu immediately declared that, now that the situation on the wasteland had stabilized somewhat, he would represent the five of them in seeing Chen Zhaohu off.

At the same time, both Zhang Tiezhu and Dong Jiangling were filled with emotion. Chen Zhaohu had already departed this world, and their own turn would not be far behind.

The two men also asked about Zhao Shuyao's circumstances, and Li Ji'an told them the truth.

Unexpectedly, only three days after this exchange, Li Ji'an received a message from Zhao Shuyao.

“Xiaofan, Aunt Yao will be back soon. You have hope of achieving Foundation Establishment!”

The moment he received this news, Li Ji'an's expression tightened.

Zhao Shuyao had previously hinted that she would do everything in her power to support him.

However, given her identity, Li Ji'an had never dared to expect too much. He had already been immensely satisfied that she had introduced him to the Nine Cauldron Merchant Association at the earliest opportunity.

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Later, Zhao Shuyao had also mentioned that as long as the main ingredient for Tong Yaoyao's Foundation Establishment Pill was not a problem, which had given him some hope. He had merely been waiting for Tong Yaoyao to return, intending to find a way to purchase the main ingredient, Nine-Star Fushen, from her.

But this time, Zhao Shuyao's words had been so direct and certain that even Li Ji'an was astonished.

A month later, Zhao Shuyao returned to the Immortal City and summoned Li Ji'an at once.

“Aunt Yao.”

When he saw Zhao Shuyao again, he found that her hair had turned almost completely white and that her face had grown visibly more aged. After all, she was already ninety-five years old. Even with the cultivation of a peak first-rank body cultivator, she had at most twenty years of life remaining.

“Mm, not bad. Your vital energy and blood are vigorous, your spiritual power is pure, and you have reached the peak of Energy Refining. You haven't disappointed Aunt Yao.”

Zhao Shuyao looked at Li Ji'an kindly, but before she could say anything more, Tong Yaoyao approached with her hands behind her back. After looking him up and down, she nodded approvingly.

“Thank you, Aunt Yao.”

Li Ji'an turned his gaze toward Tong Yaoyao. After so many years apart, she remained youthful and beautiful, while the pressure radiating from her was even greater than before. Clearly, she had made another breakthrough.

“You're a much more pleasant sight than your father, brat. So, do you have a dao companion now?”

Tong Yaoyao nodded, then suddenly asked the question.

Li Ji'an shook his head. “Aunt Yaoyao, you're joking. In my circumstances, how could I possibly be qualified to seek a dao companion?”

“You aren't qualified yet, but you will be once you establish your Foundation.”

Zhao Shuyao smiled and shook her head, interrupting Tong Yaoyao's frivolous teasing.

“Yaoyao, stop teasing Xiaofan. Hurry and give him the item.”

“Aunt Yao, I wasn't teasing him. I am a mighty mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator now, an exalted senior. Isn't it only right that I worry about a junior's lifelong affairs?”

Tong Yaoyao protested, but she stepped forward affectionately and linked her arm through Zhao Shuyao's. There was not the slightest trace of the dignity one would expect from a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

“You, honestly...”

Zhao Shuyao chuckled fondly and patted Tong Yaoyao's hand.

The scene was warm and touching—especially in a cultivation world such as this, where such warmth was exceedingly rare.

Tong Yaoyao possessed astonishing spiritual aptitude and boundless potential for the future. Even her current mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation made her one of the foremost figures in the entire Azurecloud Prefecture.

Among ordinary Foundation Establishment families, and even among the Five Great Families, the moment anyone successfully established their Foundation, their bearing would change completely.

Someone like Tong Yaoyao was truly a rarity.

Much of it had to do with her family background.

“Hey, remember this. Your Aunt Yao gave up her chance to advance to the second rank of body cultivation in order to obtain this for you. You must remember her kindness.

“And whatever you do, don't let my mother find out. Go to a second-rank alchemist in the Immortal City and have it refined yourself.”

Tong Yaoyao tossed a storage bag to Li Ji'an with a backward flick of her hand.

“Hm?”

The moment Li Ji'an caught the storage bag, he froze.

Inside was an entire set of materials for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The gift had come so suddenly that he was completely caught off guard.

In the cultivation world, there were no shortage of people who turned against their own siblings, masters, disciples, and even fathers and sons over the chance to establish their Foundation.

Although Li Ji'an knew how much Zhao Shuyao cared for him, he had never imagined that she would give him such an enormous gift.

He was not someone who liked to take advantage of others, nor had he ever considered accepting another person's generosity for free. Even on his way there, he had brought plenty of spirit stones. As long as Tong Yaoyao could help him obtain a single stalk of the main ingredient, he would not only remember this kindness, but would also be willing to pay a high price for it.

He had absolutely never considered taking it without paying.

Yet now, as he looked at Zhao Shuyao and saw the satisfaction on her face, the hope in her eyes, and the relief in her expression, the hand he had prepared to reach into his storage bag for his spirit stones faltered...