txolops Chapter 94 Acquired
Chapter 94 Acquired
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When the old man surnamed Mu announced the conditions for auctioning the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Master Ji's eyes were filled with admiration: "Only True Person Fenglan would be so kind to rogue cultivators. In other countries, where would rogue cultivators have the opportunity to buy Foundation Establishment Pills?"
Li Ping nodded. If he hadn't heard that rogue cultivators in the Immortal City had a chance to buy Foundation Establishment Pills, why would he have traveled thousands of miles away from home to come here?
As an almost indispensable resource for cultivators to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, Foundation Establishment Pills are a strategic resource in any country.
Unless one is lucky enough to join a sect, there is no hope of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Take the Jiang Kingdom for example. The Jiang family is in charge of distributing Foundation Establishment Pills. Apart from Jiang family cultivators and their vassal families, other rogue cultivators have no right to get their hands on them.
Ji Daozhang's granddaughter, Ji Shuwen, possesses two spiritual roots, which is considered second only to the extraordinary spiritual root and the heavenly spiritual root. However, if she stays in Jiang Kingdom and marries into the Jiang family, her hope of obtaining the Foundation Establishment Pill is very slim. She can only cross the border to a neighboring country to join a sect.
The Foundation Establishment Pill is so precious mainly because the main ingredient used to refine it is rare.
The main ingredient used to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill must be either a golden marrow jade fungus that is at least 700 years old, or a third-tier demon core.
Let's not even talk about the third-tier demon core, which can only be generated inside a third-tier demon beast. It can only be obtained by killing a third-tier demon beast, and given the strength of a third-tier demon beast, even ordinary Core Formation cultivators are unwilling to provoke it.
Therefore, in reality, almost no one would consider using this method to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill.
The other main ingredient, Golden Marrow Jade Fungus, is over 700 years old. Although the conditions for obtaining it are not as outrageous as those for a third-tier demon core, it still requires a lot of time to cultivate. Moreover, unlike other spiritual herbs, Golden Marrow Jade Fungus has very strict requirements for the spiritual energy environment in which it survives.
Golden Marrow Jade Fungus planted in a first-tier spiritual land will stop growing after a maximum of one hundred years, while in a second-tier spiritual land it can only grow to five hundred years.
Golden Marrow Jade Fungus that is over 500 years old can only be cultivated in third-tier spiritual lands.
With a third-tier spiritual land and a long period of cultivation, the rarity of Golden Marrow Jade Fungus is unimaginable. Generally, only those Core Formation forces with thousands of years of heritage have reserves of it.
However, since the growth of Golden Marrow Jade Fungus will damage the spiritual land environment and affect the cultivators' cultivation, and if the planting density is too high, it will even cause the spiritual land to be downgraded, so Core Formation forces generally do not cultivate many of them.
According to Li Ping's understanding, most of the Golden Marrow and Jade Fungus used to refine Foundation Establishment Pills in the Western Wilderness seem to come from a secret realm in the Qi Kingdom in the eastern part of the Western Wilderness.
……
The rules for auctioning Foundation Establishment Pills set by Master Fenglan seem to protect rogue cultivators.
But in reality, it's a rule that creates a win-win situation for both independent cultivators and the immortal city.
The Immortal City is located deep in the Cloud Mist Mountains, where poisonous insects abound and demonic beasts roam freely. If it weren't for the allure of Foundation Establishment Pills, why would so many rogue cultivators flock to the Immortal City?
Without the contributions of so many independent cultivators, where would the prosperity of the Immortal City today come from?
Besides, even if a rogue cultivator were lucky enough to gather enough spirit stones to auction off the Foundation Establishment Pill, and even if they were lucky enough to successfully establish their foundation, they would still have to become a disciple of True Person Fenglan and serve the Immortal City for the rest of their lives.
Immortal City not only didn't lose money, it actually made a lot of money.
Of course, most independent cultivators have average aptitude and a low success rate in Foundation Establishment, which is another matter entirely.
……
Just as Li Ping was pondering, the old man surnamed Mu on the stage finally announced: "The starting price for the Foundation Establishment Pill is three thousand spirit stones, and each bid must be at least one hundred spirit stones higher. Fellow Daoists, you may now place your bids."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the audience immediately bid: "Three thousand."
There was a pause at the price before another voice announced, "Three thousand one hundred!"
Then for a while, no one made a bid.
The auction for the Foundation Building Pill was surprisingly quiet.
This is not surprising. The auction conditions for Foundation Establishment Pills are so strict that the number of independent cultivators who can participate in the bidding is already limited. Among these limited independent cultivators, those who can accumulate more than three thousand spirit stones are even rarer.
Many of these are spirit stones accumulated over generations by independent cultivators, masters and disciples, or fathers and sons.
Besides, only one Foundation Establishment Pill is produced every five years. If we can't get one this time, we can just wait another five years.
One hundred spirit stones is something that even a late-stage Qi Refining craftsman would need to save up for several years, so there's no need to rush.
At this moment, Zhang Tie finally couldn't hold back any longer and shouted in a slightly trembling voice, "Three thousand two hundred!"
After Zhang Tie finished quoting his price, no one else made a price offer for a long time.
As time was running out, a hesitant voice called out from below, "Three thousand three hundred!"
Zhang Tie immediately increased the offer: "Three thousand four hundred!"
After he announced his bid, no one spoke up until the auction ended.
After confirming everything, the old man surnamed Mu chuckled and said, "Congratulations to this fellow Daoist on winning the Foundation Establishment Pill! The auction house's steward will immediately verify this fellow Daoist's bidding qualifications and whether he/she has enough spirit stones to pay for the Foundation Establishment Pill."
He smiled and said, "Please be patient, seniors and fellow Daoists. If this fellow Daoist is not qualified, or does not have enough spirit stones to pay for the Foundation Establishment Pill, the Foundation Establishment Pill will be auctioned again."
Sure enough, a short while later, two stewards from the Immortal City knocked on the door of Li Ping's private room and came in.
The two city stewards were visibly taken aback upon seeing a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the private room, and then proceeded to respectfully bow: "Senior, may we ask which fellow Daoist purchased the Foundation Establishment Pill?"
Li Ping pointed at Zhang Tie, and both of their eyes quickly turned to Zhang Tie.
One of the deacons smiled and said, "Please show us your identity tokens so we can verify them."
Zhang Tie quickly took out his identity token from his storage bag and handed it over. Holding the Immortal City identity token was equivalent to having an identity in the Immortal City, allowing one to freely enter and leave the Immortal City. Moreover, the identity token also contained Zhang Tie's relevant information.
For example, address, work, length of residence, etc.
Old Man Lin knew that Zhang Tie's auction qualifications were not in question, because when he brought Zhang Tie back to Immortal City and took him as his apprentice, Zhang Tie was only thirteen years old, and now Zhang Tie was forty years old.
He has lived in the Immortal City for well over twenty years.
Even so, because the matter was of great importance, he was still very nervous, worried that something unexpected might happen.
Fortunately, there were no complications in the end. After checking, the two deacons of the Immortal City confirmed that Zhang Tie's identity was correct and that he was qualified to bid for the Foundation Establishment Pill.
The older deacon of the immortal city smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, according to the price you quoted, you need to pay 3400 spirit stones!"
"Oh, okay." Zhang Tie quickly took out 3400 spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them to the two.
After confirming that the count was correct, the two put the spirit stones into their storage bags, but instead of giving the Foundation Establishment Pill directly to Zhang Tie, they entered a confirmation message into Zhang Tie's identity jade tablet.
He also reminded Zhang Tie that whenever he was ready to attempt the Foundation Establishment stage, he could take the jade token to Qinglong Mountain.
At that time, the cultivators of Qinglong Mountain will arrange a secret cultivation room for him and personally hand him the Foundation Establishment Pill, and so on.
……
Li Ping understood why the Immortal City did this.
This is mainly to prevent the Foundation Building Pills auctioned off from being resold, given away, or stolen.
Therefore, the Foundation Establishment Pill will only be given to Zhang Tie before he attempts to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
After obtaining the Foundation Establishment Pill, Zhang Tie had no freedom to leave Qinglong Mountain before attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
In that case, the Foundation Establishment Pill could only be used by him.
Of course, if you encounter a demonic cultivator who can disguise himself, then even the secret chamber in Qinglong Mountain is not very safe.
However, what Li Ping didn't know was that after Lin Yue's incident, the secret chamber on Qinglong Mountain where people were attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage was now even more heavily guarded.
During a cultivator's attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, not only will a Foundation Establishment cultivator personally supervise them, but anyone else is also prohibited from approaching.
Even demonic cultivators could no longer sneak in silently and take the person away.
……
After acquiring the Foundation Establishment Pill, Zhang Tie could theoretically go to Qinglong Mountain at any time to attempt to establish his foundation.
However, he has not yet reached the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, so he plans to apply again next year.
Li Ping agreed with his idea, believing that he should adjust his condition before trying again.
After the auction ended, Zhang Tie prepared to return the remaining 410 spirit stones to Li Ping, but Li Ping refused.
Li Ping told him to prepare for Foundation Establishment first, and that the spirit stones he owed could be paid later after he had successfully established his foundation.
……
Not long ago, just as the old man surnamed Mu was announcing the rules for the Foundation Building Pill auction, in the VIP box next to Li Ping's.
Yan Liming, who had changed into a white robe and whose appearance had changed considerably, sat on the sofa, but his divine sense was observing the cultivators in the auction hall.
After listening to the old man surnamed Mu's introduction, he couldn't help but sneer, "That woman Bai Yurong is quite the schemer."
After a cold snort, Yan Liming's eyes revealed a thoughtful expression.
In fact, he was not interested in the auction below. What good things could an auction prepared for low-level cultivators like Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment possibly have?
He only showed up at the auction because he was bored and wanted to relax.
After his nephew Yan Kun's life tablet shattered, he rushed to the Immortal City in an attempt to find the murderer who killed his nephew.
He originally thought it would be an easy task, since even Core Formation cultivators couldn't escape the Blood God's Induction from the sect, and once someone was tainted by it, even members of the Blood Shadow Sect themselves couldn't remove it, let alone outsiders.
To his surprise, he was unable to find anyone in the Immortal City who had been parasitized by the Blood God.
He had already confirmed that Bai Yurong was still at Qinglong Mountain, and that she did not possess the Blood God Guide.
In other words, it wasn't Bai Yurong who killed his nephew.
As for the mark his nephew had promised to make in the storage bag, there was absolutely no reaction.
It's unclear whether these markings were discovered and destroyed by the person who killed his nephew, or whether they weren't even near the Immortal City.
This made Yan Liming suspicious: Could it be that his nephew did not die in the Immortal City, or that the person who killed him had already left?
Actually, he could have found out the situation by simply asking Miaorou.
But after the mysterious death of his nephew, he no longer trusted Miao Rou and naturally wouldn't rashly go to see her.
He planned to observe for a while to confirm whether Miao Rou had betrayed him before deciding whether to contact her or... directly crush her life tablet.
Yan Liming saw with his divine sense that the honest-looking young man next door had counted out spirit stones to obtain the Foundation Establishment qualification, and he sneered: "Lucky guy."
To avoid alarming Bai Yurong, he had no intention of causing any further trouble.
It's hard to come up with a good title, so I'll stick with Cola Novels and every update of "Immortality Begins with Inheriting the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation".