After Cheng Yao left,
Li Ping returned to his training room and secluded himself for cultivation.
Amidst his diligent practice, another year passed in the blink of an eye.
The annual gathering of the Tongzhou Society was held as scheduled.
Li Ping stood in the pavilion, looking at the four people sitting with him, a smile appearing in his eyes.
The other three were self-explanatory; even Bai Qing, whose cultivation was the lowest, had finally broken through to the ninth level of the Qi Chain stage. Within two to three years, he would likely reach the peak of the Qi Chain stage and then begin preparing for his trip to the Qingyun Secret Realm.
The Qingyun Secret Realm would open in four years, so he had plenty of time.
The gathering began with the collection of Foundation Establishment funds: Li Ping received 300 spirit stones, Zhang Tie, Gu Musheng, and Cheng Yao each received 100 spirit stones, plus Bai Qing received 30 spirit stones, totaling 630 spirit stones.
The total Foundation Establishment fund reached 2,380 spirit stones.
Putting away the storage bag, Li Ping smiled and looked at the other four: "First of all, I have some good news to tell you all."
"Oh?" Hearing Li Ping's words, the other four immediately became curious, all pricking up their ears to hear what their eldest brother's good news was.
Li Ping didn't keep them in suspense and continued with a smile: "Not long ago, I received a letter from Hanmo from Jixia. In the letter, Hanmo told me that he has successfully established his foundation!"
"Hanmo has established his foundation!"
"Fifth Brother has established his foundation!"
...
Hearing this, the expressions on the four people's faces instantly changed to surprise and joy.
They had been together for so long, and they naturally congratulated Qi Hanmo on his successful foundation establishment.
In addition to their surprise, Zhang Tie asked curiously: "Hey, eldest brother. The last letter Hanmo gave me said that he would return to the Immortal City after establishing his foundation. Why did he only send one letter back?"
The others also looked at Li Ping.
Obviously, Qi Hanmo had mentioned this matter in all the letters he sent them.
Li Ping explained with a smile, "Hanmo was indeed planning to come back, but his master ordered him to serve on the Yuan Kingdom's battlefield, so he can't leave for the time being." "He
went to the Yuan Kingdom's battlefield?" Gu Musheng was taken aback. "Won't it be dangerous for a newly Foundation Establishment cultivator like him to go to the Yuan Kingdom's battlefield?"
Li Ping shook his head uncertainly. "Since it's a battlefield, there will definitely be dangers, but after fighting for so many years, both sides are probably exhausted, and the intensity of the war should have decreased considerably. Hanmo shouldn't be in too much danger."
Hearing this, Gu Musheng nodded thoughtfully.
After discussing Qi Hanmo's Foundation Establishment, they took turns recounting their experiences from the previous year.
Zhang Tie and Gu Musheng, one in charge of logistics and the other of the shops, had become a rising force in the Immortal City through their combined efforts.
As Meng Qingyi's confidants, they had initially been somewhat worried about their own positions after Dai Sangyu achieved Core Formation.
However, to their surprise, Dai Sangyu went into seclusion to stabilize her cultivation after reaching Core Formation. Afterward, she not only showed no interest in interfering in Immortal City affairs but also left the city to travel far away.
They didn't even know where she was now.
In short, for the time being, Dai Sangyu's Core Formation had no impact on them.
Furthermore, Gu Musheng's wife had given birth to a daughter last year, and he had already begun planning to take concubines.
Zhang Tie, needless to say, followed the belief that many children bring many blessings and had taken two more concubines.
The Zhang and Gu families were beginning to take shape.
After reporting to Li Ping last year, Cheng Yao immediately returned to the Wang family and led all the cultivators, including Wang Xingwei, out of the city to seize territory.
Led by the two, the Wang family cultivators arrived at Yanxia Mountain and directly explained their intentions to the Xue family.
Seeing that the Wang family had two Foundation Establishment cultivators in charge, the Xue family didn't put up any futile resistance and surrendered decisively, ceding Yanxia Mountain to the Wang family.
According to the rules set by True Person Fenglan, the Wang family didn't make things difficult for the Xue family, allowing them to move out calmly with their family property.
The Wang family thus successfully occupied the second-tier spiritual vein of Yanxia Mountain.
However, when the Xue family ceded Yanxia Mountain, they also harvested all their own spiritual herbs and spiritual rice.
Therefore, for the time being, this second-tier spiritual land not only couldn't bring the Wang family any profit, but also required them to invest a lot of resources in development.
It might be several years before they saw any benefits.
Cheng Yao also mentioned that many Wang family cultivators were dissatisfied with the fact that they only received stipends from the family after working hard.
Cheng Yao certainly wouldn't tolerate them. To establish her authority, she directly expelled several sarcastic cultivators from the Wang family.
Now, the other cultivators in the Wang family are all obediently developing the immortal mountain in Yanxia Mountain.
Hearing Cheng Yao's explanation, Li Ping nodded slightly.
Perhaps because his own sect was wiped out by the demonic path, Master Fenglan was very lenient towards the cultivation families under his rule. While he didn't forbid them from fighting each other, he prohibited indiscriminate killing and absolutely forbade any act of extermination! For example, the battle between
the Xue and Wang families at Yanxia Mountain . When the Wang family's army pressed in, the Xue family, knowing they were no match, simply surrendered, ceding the second-tier spiritual land of Yanxia Mountain. Once they surrendered and handed over the land, according to the rules set by Master Fenglan, the Wang family was not allowed to kill any Xue family cultivators; instead, they were to be allowed to leave. Of course, if Xue family cultivators resisted and were killed in the battle, they deserved to die, and the Immortal City would not hold the Wang family responsible. In the Western Wilderness, all spiritual veins had owners. Cultivation families who wanted to manage spiritual veins had to either rent or buy them; they were absolutely forbidden from seizing them by force. Under the rule of the demonic path, the law of the jungle prevailed. As long as one is strong enough, one can plunder others' property at will, and wantonly kill cultivators to refine treasures; those with strong spiritual energy reside in such places. Under the rule of the Immortal City, it is not as orderly as the various kingdoms of the Western Wilderness, nor is it as unscrupulous as the demonic cultivators; it is somewhere in between. At the end of the gathering, the four sworn brothers and sisters, all at the Foundation Establishment stage, turned their gazes to Bai Qing. After Qi Hanmo achieved Foundation Establishment, Bai Qing was the only one among the six siblings who hadn't. With such a powerful support group, theoretically, they could easily obtain Foundation Establishment resources for Bai Qing. Bai Qing couldn't help but sigh, "Why am I a family cultivator? If only I were a rogue cultivator!" ... After the battle of three million Jade Dragons, broken scales and shattered armor filled the sky! The snow fell thick and fast; the goose-feather-like snowflakes were no longer 'falling,' but rather pouring down. The entire city was shrouded in a thick layer of snow, only its outline barely visible. On this bitterly cold day, a child who looked quite young resolutely stepped out of his house to deliver food to his older sister who was washing clothes by the river. Carefully warming the bread in his arms, the child closed the dilapidated wooden door and headed towards the river. Unbeknownst to him, a figure in a grey robe stood beside him, watching him. This figure, seeing the child struggling through the snow, smiled: "The sword of spirits points to him; he is the reincarnation of Master Xu." As she murmured, a wisp of her magic power probed into the child's body, examining his spiritual roots. "Five spiritual roots?" she exclaimed in surprise, finding the result hard to believe. Seemingly worried about a mistake, she checked again, and the result was correct—he indeed possessed five spiritual roots. Dai Sangyu was speechless: "How could Master Xu's reincarnation have only five spiritual roots? Such aptitude…" While she pondered, the child had already reached the street corner and was almost out of sight. With a sigh, Dai Sangyu took a step forward and followed. Turning the corner, a few hundred steps further, one reaches a small river. The riverbank is also blanketed in snow, but upon closer inspection, several figures can be seen appearing and disappearing. Under Dai Sangyu's gaze, the child quickly runs to a young girl of similar age, offering her a pancake he had carefully clutched to his chest: "Sister, have a pancake." "Didn't I tell you not to go out? I'm not hungry," the girl reproachfully says to the child. A closer look reveals an unnatural redness on her face, like a frozen, congested radish, with a faint bluish-purple tinge. Clearly, washing clothes in this weather is no easy task. As she reproaches him, the girl shakes her hands, wiping the chill from her swollen, red fingers. Taking the pancake from the child, the girl eats small bites, clearly starving. She hasn't gone home not because she's not hungry, but because she worries about not finishing the work and not earning enough money to support herself and her brother. Dai Sangyu appeared, walked to the child's side, and asked with a smile, "What's your name?" "Ah!" The child was startled by Dai Sangyu's sudden appearance, and the girl also looked at her warily. "This isn't the place to talk, let's go somewhere else!" Seeing their startled expressions, Dai Sangyu nodded nonchalantly. She then enveloped them with her magic, and with a flash of light, they found themselves in a magnificent palace. "Immortal!" The girl and child were both surprised and delighted to see her use her powers. They answered all of Dai Sangyu's questions. After a long while, Dai Sangyu nodded slightly, her expression unchanged: "You are the posthumous child of the deposed crown prince, and are not allowed to have a name. Your name is A-Yun, and you are the deposed crown prince's adopted daughter." "Then how about I give you a name?" She smiled at the child. The two were naturally overjoyed at being given a name by an immortal and readily agreed. "Your name will be Xu Ping..." Dai Sangyu paused abruptly halfway through her sentence. At that moment, she thought of her master, who had sat in the immortal city for over two hundred years, patiently waiting for her grandmaster's return. Seeing the 'immortal' remain silent, the child and girl felt a pang of unease. Just as they were filled with anxiety, they heard the immortal before them suddenly murmur, "A city of mist and rain has been spent in my life, deep in the green mountains I await the returning traveler. You... shall be called Xu Guike ( Xu Returning Traveler)." "Xu Guike!" The child was overjoyed; since birth, he finally had a name of his own. A-Yun, standing beside him, excitedly bowed in gratitude, "Thank you, immortal, for bestowing this name upon me." The immortal's words were law; no one could take away His Highness's name. Dai Sangyu nodded with a smile, her voice calm, "Guike, A-Yun, there are many people in this city who have bullied you. Shall I kill them?"
Immortal Peach Mountain.
Watching Zhang Tie, Gu Musheng, and the other three leave, Li Ping's eyes held a thoughtful expression.
Unbeknownst to them, there was a part of Qi Hanmo's letter that Li Ping hadn't told them.
It contained Qi Hanmo's request that one of his senior sisters ask Li Ping for help in finding "Yan Buping."
"Looking for me? What's the purpose?" Li Ping couldn't help but ponder the reasons behind this.
He had initially used the alias Yan Buping to heal Xiao Yunzhi's injuries. After receiving a third-tier spiritual fire from Song Yushu, he politely declined the latter's offer of recruitment and chose to leave without saying goodbye.
Now, someone was looking for him. Li
Ping
guessed that perhaps another cultivator had been seriously injured, and other physicians couldn't cure them, so Xiao Yunzhi or that Junior Sister Qiao had thought of him.
The purpose was probably to ask Yan Buping to treat patients at Jixia Academy.
"One treatment is fine, but if I treat them multiple times, I'm afraid I'll be blacklisted by the four demonic sects." Thinking of this, Li Ping couldn't help but feel a chill.
The great battle between the Defenders Alliance and the four demonic sects had even resulted in the deaths of Core Formation cultivators.
For a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him to dare get involved in this war was nothing more than a pawn—no, not even a pawn, just cannon fodder, easily crushed to pieces.
"Keep a low profile, absolutely keep a low profile. Don't try to show off; quietly making a fortune is the best approach," Li Ping repeatedly told himself.
Perhaps he could use the healing effects of his Nourishing Life Technique to gain prominence on the battlefield, amass a fortune, and even win the hearts of fairies and the respect of young heroes.
Maybe he could even earn a title like "Holy Healer."
But as the saying goes, one's hero is another's enemy; the tallest tree in the forest catches the most wind.
Demonic cultivators don't reason with you; for them, eliminating the root of the problem is basic practice.
Although Li Ping now possessed some wealth, he wasn't ready to oppose the demonic cultivators.
"Regardless of the reason, the identity of Yan Buping will no longer appear in the Western Wilderness cultivation world," Li Ping silently decided.
Back in the training room, his gaze fell on a ball of 'flame' coiled in the corner. His Wildfire Sparrow spirit beast was now almost always asleep.
Clearly, it was getting closer and closer to advancing in rank.
Li Ping smiled slightly, then sat cross-legged and began to meditate quietly.
...
Amidst the swirling snow,
a gray beam of light flew out from the snow-covered city, carrying Dai Sangyu, Ayun, and Xu Guike.
Behind them, in the snow-covered city, lay corpses strewn everywhere, blood flowing like rivers.
Thirteen years ago, on a similar snowy night, the Crown Prince, known for his virtue, was falsely accused of treason. After a fierce resistance,
the Crown Prince and all his male offspring were killed, and the women in his household were exiled. Tens of thousands of the Crown Prince's faction were beheaded.
Today, an immortal descended, taking the deposed Crown Prince's posthumous son as his disciple.
The old emperor and over ten thousand of his followers were all executed, and the capital city was emptied.
The people of the city kept their doors and windows tightly shut, afraid to look at what was happening outside.
But in their hearts, they all thought, "Killing three sons in one day, this tyrant is getting his just deserts, incurring divine retribution."
...
The gray light hadn't flown far when several black dots rapidly enlarged in the distance, and angry shouts pierced through the wind and snow, directly reaching Dai Sangyu and the other two's ears: "Who are you? You don't take my Dripping Water Pavilion seriously, daring to wreak havoc in the capital!"
Because she was carrying two people, Dai Sangyu's escape speed wasn't fast.
Hearing the other party's cursing, she simply stopped and waited for them.
Soon, the several black dots transformed into figures, aggressively rushing towards Dai Sangyu within a mile. At this distance, the divine sense of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator could already cover Dai Sangyu.
These figures swept their divine sense over Dai Sangyu, and a bitter look immediately appeared on their faces, their original anger vanishing in an instant.
Dai Sangyu stared coldly at them, making them tremble with fear. They quickly landed on the ground and respectfully said, "We were unaware of your arrival, senior. Please forgive us."
The reason they rushed here was that the Qi Refining cultivator left behind in the capital had sent a message to their sect before his death, saying that a cultivator was massacring mortals in the capital.
Qu Yuan Kingdom was a small country, with the highest-ranking spiritual veins only at the second level.
As the de facto ruler of Qu Yuan Kingdom, Di Shui Pavilion had four Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed within its ranks, making it the strongest force in reality.
When they received the message, they assumed the killers in the capital were Foundation Establishment cultivators, which was why they had rushed over so aggressively, intending to capture the murderer.
To their surprise, the other party was actually a Core Formation stage senior.
Moreover, this Core Formation stage senior seemed quite unapproachable, making the situation extremely awkward.
How could these small fry dare to cause trouble for a Core Formation senior?
As the four spoke, they were incredibly anxious, only hoping that the senior wouldn't blame them for their impudence, otherwise they would have to pay a hefty price to atone for their mistake.
As for the more than 100,000 people who died in the city, what did that have to do with the senior? They had clearly committed suicide.
"If this senior really speaks up, we'll agree to any conditions, as long as she's willing to let this matter go," the four thought silently.
But to their horror, Dai Sangyu merely nodded indifferently: "I almost forgot about you. Since you've come looking for me, then you can all die!"
"Run! She's a demonic cultivator!"
Sensing the killing intent in Dai Sangyu's eyes, the four dared not delay and quickly activated their escape techniques, scattering in all directions to try and escape.
Dai Sangyu merely showed a mocking expression. The next moment, four sword lights shot from her fingertips, each slashing towards one of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Then, without even glancing at the four fallen corpses, she directly took A-Yun and Xu Guike and left.
Half a day later, in an inn.
Dai Sangyu smiled as A-Yun and Xu Guike sat opposite her, each holding a bowl of noodles.
"Master, aren't you hungry?" Xu Guike asked curiously.
Dai Sangyu smiled and shook her head.
Foundation Establishment cultivators possessed the ability to abstain from grains; she was a Core Formation cultivator, and in her cultivation, she had long since abstained from the desire for food.
Her gaze fell on A-Yun, but she noticed A-Yun's body tremble involuntarily. She smiled and said, "A-Yun, are you afraid of me?"
Before this, she had already examined A-Yun's condition and discovered that she possessed four spiritual roots, her spiritual root aptitude even better than that of her master's reincarnated youth, which was why she had brought A-Yun along.
Ayun shook her head, timidly saying, "Immortal, you've been very kind to me."
Dai Sangyu knew without guessing that Ayun was terrified by her own killing.
"Ayun, do you know that before I took Guike as my disciple, I had already taken in another disciple?" Dai Sangyu's eyes unconsciously revealed murderous intent as she spoke, "But because of me, she suffered unspeakable things and almost died. So... I will not allow anyone who targeted my disciple to live in this world!"
Under Qi Hanmo's careful treatment, Lin Yue successfully emerged from her nightmare.
But in that nightmare, she not only suffered a mental breakdown, but her fundamental essence was also severely damaged by the demonic cultivator's exploitation. Before the damage was repaired, she would never be able to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
Dai Sangyu's trip this time, besides searching for her master's reincarnation to refine her natal magic weapon, also had another very important purpose: to find a way to repair Lin Yue's damaged essence.
Ayun nodded like a chick pecking at rice, not daring to look Dai Sangyu in the eye.
Xu Guike shouted in agreement, "Master is right! They always bully me and my sister, and they even killed my father. They're all bad people, and bad people should be killed cleanly!"
Dai Sangyu smiled and patted his head, "Are you full?"
"I'm full, Master."
"Then let's go!"
"Yes, Master."
...
In the wilderness of the Cloud Mist Mountains.
A black streak of light slowly flew over from afar, heading towards the Immortal City.
Inside the black streak of light was a handsome young man with a lazy smile on his face.
Although the young man looked young, the aura emanating from him had already reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, clearly indicating that he was of extraordinary origin!
Looking down at the desolate land, the young man suddenly murmured, "The Ancestor sent me to Fenglan Immortal City to discuss becoming Daoist partners with that newly Core Formation cultivator, Fairy Dai. I wonder what kind of temperament Fairy Dai has."
His name was Huang Yan, born in the prestigious Ziyun Valley of the Yue Kingdom, a descendant of the Great Elder Huang Yunzi.
With such a distinguished lineage and his own excellent aptitude, he successfully established his foundation before the age of twenty-five. Now, at less than a hundred years old, he had already reached the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, with the hope of achieving the Golden Core Dao in the future!
Huang Yan was a diligent cultivator, single-mindedly wanting to go further on the path of immortality.
For a hundred years, he had not even married.
The reason he agreed to become Daoist partners with Dai Sangyu was twofold:
firstly, he dared not disobey the Ancestor's order, and secondly, he himself was quite satisfied with marrying a Core Formation Daoist partner.
"I didn't expect the Ancestor to have arranged this Daoist partnership for me so early," Huang Yan thought to himself.
Before coming, he was also quite apprehensive.
After all, she was a Core Formation cultivator.
Even he himself, a genius among his peers since birth, the family's future star in the eyes of the ancestor, dared not say he could definitely form a Core! Would
coming to the Immortal City to welcome his bride be nothing more than humiliation?
But when he voiced his doubts, the ancestor chuckled and told Huang Yan that he had done Fenglan Immortal City a great service, and that the Fenglan True Person and his disciples, grateful for his kindness, had taken the initiative to propose the marriage.
Therefore, Huang Yan could go without worry.
Huang Yan naturally believed the ancestor's words without a doubt.
And so, he came to the Immortal City.
Unbeknownst to him, the outline of a colossal city, like a giant beast lying on the earth, had already appeared in Huang Yan's vision.
Fenglan Immortal City, arrived!
A hint of excitement involuntarily appeared in Huang Yan's eyes.
Soon, he would see his Core-forming Daoist partner.
Soon, he would see his Core-forming Daoist partner.
He daydreamed, "If I were to reach the Core Formation stage in the future, traveling with my partner for hundreds of years would be a wonderful thing!"
With that thought, he suddenly activated his magic power, and the speed of his escape light increased even more.
Upon arriving at the Immortal City,
Huang Yan went to Qinglong Mountain to present his visiting card. He was quickly received by Meng Qingyi, the Head of the General
Affairs Department. Meng Qingyi smiled and said, "My name is Meng Qingyi, the current Head of the General Affairs Department of the Immortal City. I greet Fellow Daoist Huang."
Facing the sweet and charming young woman, Huang Yan remained calm and greeted her with a smile, "I am Huang Yan, greetings to Head of the Department."
Under Meng Qingyi's guidance, the two sat down in the hall.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, and when a maid served spiritual tea, Meng Qingyi asked with suspicion, "Fellow Daoist Huang, what brings you to the Immortal City?" Huang
Yan
's visiting card only stated his identity.
As a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Ziyun Valley, Meng Qingyi naturally wouldn't be negligent in her hospitality.
However, she also didn't know Huang Yan's purpose, which was why she asked him directly.
Huang Yan smiled and said solemnly, "To be honest, I came to Immortal City to see your senior sister, Fairy Dai."
"See Senior Sister Dai?" Meng Qingyi's face showed a look of doubt. "Are Fellow Daoist Huang and Senior Sister Dai old friends?"
Huang Yan did not intend to answer his question, but smiled and said, "Fairy Dai knows the details very well. Please inform her for me, Sect Leader Meng."
Seeing his confident appearance, Meng Qingyi knew that he was not lying.
She shook her head with a wry smile, "If Fellow Daoist Huang wants to see Senior Sister Dai, I'm afraid you will be disappointed. In fact, Senior Sister Dai left Immortal City to travel last year, and I don't know her current location."
"Goes traveling?" Upon hearing this, Huang Yan couldn't help but be taken aback.
Meng Qingyi nodded and then said, "Although Senior Sister Dai is not in Immortal City, Master has been in seclusion there. If Fellow Daoist Huang's matter is truly urgent, shall I report it to Master on his behalf?"
Huang Yan shook his head: "This matter is not urgent. I will wait for Fairy Dai to return in Immortal City."
His intended marriage partner is Dai Sangyu. As for meeting True Person Fenglan… that is the Ancestor's business.
After seeing Huang Yan off, Meng Qingyi's eyes held a hint of suspicion. She couldn't understand what he was up to.
"Could it be that Senior Sister Dai owes someone a favor, so he's come knocking on my door now, wanting to ask for her help?" After a moment's thought, she finally decided that she should report this matter to Master.
After all, Ziyun Valley was the overlord of the Western Wilderness and Western Regions. Even after Senior Sister Dai reached the Core Formation stage, the strength of the Immortal City was far inferior.
How could she dare to be careless when it came to Ziyun Valley?
However, what puzzled her was that when she told her master about Huang Yan's visit to find Senior Sister Dai, her master only sighed.
Besides instructing her not to concern herself with the matter, he said nothing more, leaving Meng Qingyi completely bewildered.
"What exactly happened?"
...
Zhang Tie and Gu Musheng focused on managing their families, Cheng Yao led the Wang family onto the right track, and Bai Qing diligently cultivated.
Unbeknownst to them, three years had quietly passed.
With 630 spirit stones collected annually, the Foundation Establishment Fund had reached a total of 4,270 spirit stones after three years of gatherings.
This amount actually exceeded the value of a Foundation Establishment Pill.
Therefore, Li Ping solemnly announced at this year's gathering: the Foundation Establishment Fund had completed its mission, and everyone would no longer need to pay spirit stones annually!
At the same time, the gatherings would be changed to be held irregularly, no longer annually.
Hearing Li Ping's words, the other four all showed expressions of relief.
This relief wasn't due to their reluctance to part with the spirit stones, but rather the sense of ease that came after a long period of perseverance.
Observing their changing expressions, Li Ping smiled as well.
Thirty-three years ago, when the Tongzhou Society was first established, who could have predicted that they would actually fulfill the promises made in their oath?
Of the seven siblings, five, including Li Ping, had successfully established their foundations, except for Teng Feng, who tragically perished in the beast tide. Only their seventh brother, Bai Qing, remained.
Moreover, Bai Qing had recently reached the peak of the ninth level of Qi Chain, needing only one Foundation Establishment Pill to break through to Foundation Establishment!
A year later, Bai Qing would travel to the Qingyun Secret Realm in Jixia to collect spiritual herbs and earn military merits, which could be exchanged for Foundation Establishment Pills.
With these 4,270 spirit stones as a foundation, Li Ping could equip him with luxurious gear. As long as he didn't waste his time and his luck wasn't too bad, collecting enough military merits to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill shouldn't be a problem.
With his three spiritual roots, and with the aid of Foundation Establishment Pills, his chances of achieving Foundation Establishment are not low.
...
From then on, everyone was free.
So that night, everyone was very happy, and the banquet was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
Everyone excitedly discussed what equipment to buy for Bai Qing with the funds, and also provided Bai Qing with guidance on combat strategies in various situations.
Talismans, magical artifacts, and pills for quickly restoring mana…
The banquet lasted until dawn. Zhang Tie and the other two took their leave, leaving Bai Qing alone. They knew their eldest brother wanted to discuss the equipment purchase with Bai Qing.
They trusted their eldest brother completely, believing he wouldn't tamper with the Foundation Establishment Fund.
After all, their eldest brother had contributed the most to the Foundation Establishment Fund; the combined contributions of everyone else were barely comparable to his.
Even Cheng Yao, who, by chance, successfully established her foundation without using the fund, hadn't been treated unfairly by their eldest brother, who had given her considerable compensation.
They were completely convinced of their eldest brother's character.
Seeing the three leave, Li Ping smiled and looked at Bai Qing: "Bai Qing, we've discussed this all night, what are your thoughts?"
Bai Qing shook his head and smiled wryly: "Brother, don't ask me. What thoughts could a mere Qi cultivator like me have? I'll listen to everyone."
"Alright." Li Ping nodded.
After summarizing the results of the night's discussion, he listed out the equipment he planned to buy for Bai Qing's trip.
First were magic artifacts. Li Ping planned to buy three top-grade first-tier offensive magic artifacts and three top-grade defensive magic artifacts for Bai Qing.
The reason for not buying second-tier magic artifacts was that driving them as a Qi cultivator was extremely mana-intensive, and the power they could unleash was limited; it was better to use top-grade first-tier magic artifacts directly.
The same logic applied to talismans. With the mana of a Qi cultivator, activating talismans would take a long time, making them unsuitable as a regular combat tool.
Considering that magic artifacts might be damaged during combat in the secret realm, he bought three offensive and three defensive magic artifacts.
Next were spirit talismans.
The power of the talismans is sealed within them during their creation; they can be released with just a little magical guidance, so there's no need to consider their grade—the greater the power, the better.
Li Ping planned to equip Bai Qing with twenty low-grade second-tier talismans and ten mid-grade second-tier talismans that he had drawn himself.
Of course, he couldn't draw mid-grade second-tier talismans yet; he would tell Bai Qing that he had bought them by chance from the black market.
With so many talismans in hand, Bai Qing would even possess the combat power to reverse the Foundation Establishment stage.
Finally, there were pills for quickly restoring mana. Li Ping prepared a high-grade first-tier pill called the "Qingyuan Pill" for Bai Qing.
One Qingyuan Pill could restore about one-third of a Qi Refining Stage 9 cultivator's mana in a short time, making it incredibly effective in battle. Its value was far greater than pills that increased cultivation.
And Li Ping prepared five bottles of such pills for Bai Qing!
...
Several days later, he handed Bai Qing a storage bag containing all the supplies.
Li Ping smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'll be waiting for the day you successfully establish your foundation!"
Bai Qing gratefully agreed, "Thank you, brother, I will certainly live up to everyone's expectations."
Although the opening of the Azure Cloud Secret Realm was still nearly a year away, considering the long journey
, Bai Qing would soon set off under the guidance of those who had achieved foundation establishment in the Immortal City.
Therefore, Li Ping gave him these items in advance.
...
Shortly after Bai Qing's departure, a visitor's arrival surprised and delighted Li Ping.
The white-haired Daoist Ji had come to the Immortal City to visit him.
Looking at Daoist Ji, whose white hair and brows almost reached his cheeks, revealing his advanced age, Li Ping couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
Daoist Ji was already over 110 years old, and according to Li Ping's estimation, his time was likely to come in the next few years.
He had originally planned to return to the Jiang Kingdom soon to see this old man one last time, but he never expected that Daoist Ji would personally come to the Immortal City to visit him.
He couldn't help but reproach himself, saying, "Brother Ji, you're so old, why bother coming all the way to Immortal City? I should be going back to Jiang Kingdom to visit you."
Hearing this, Master Ji was quite composed. He smiled and said, "Brother Li, there's no need to blame yourself. I was just bored at home, and this trip was simply to take advantage of the time I still had."
With that, Master Ji waved for a woman who had been standing beside him to come forward.
Li Ping had noticed this woman earlier, but he hadn't paid her any attention until he saw Master Ji's gesture, at which point he focused his gaze on her again.
She was a woman with a refreshing and elegant appearance, a slender figure, and was about twenty years old, the prime of her life.
In fact, while Master Ji was exchanging pleasantries with Li Ping, she had been secretly observing him.
Now, at Master Ji's invitation, she stepped forward and said generously, "Ji Shuwen greets Senior!"
"No need to be so polite, please sit down," Li Ping nodded with a smile.
The moment the woman spoke, he already knew her identity.
Master Ji had once told him that he had a granddaughter with two spiritual roots who had joined the Crimson Flame Sect, a Core Formation sect in the Yun Kingdom—the very same Ji Shuwen before him.
At the time, he had promised to lend her a hand when she reached Foundation Establishment.
Thinking of this, he scanned Ji Shuwen with his divine sense and discovered that her cultivation had indeed reached the ninth level of Qi Chain.
"As expected of a cultivator with two spiritual roots from a sect, reaching such a level at only twenty-eight years old,"
Li Ping thought to himself, but his words immediately steered the conversation to this matter: "Brother Ji, Shuwen is preparing for Foundation Establishment, isn't she?"
Master Ji smiled and nodded: "I can't hide it from you, Brother Li. I've shamelessly come to see you precisely because of Shuwen."
He then looked at his granddaughter: "Shuwen, you tell me."
"Okay, Grandpa," Ji Shuwen nodded in agreement and began to speak fluently and clearly.
Li Ping listened patiently, nodding occasionally.