Chapter 187 - 162: A Great Harvest, Changheng’s Shock
Chapter 187: Chapter 162: A Great Harvest, Changheng’s Shock
The third instance was his use of the alias "Gu Chang’an."
Without the Tier Two Alchemy Inheritance in hand, Gu Qiusheng was naturally unable to persuade that Tier Two Alchemist.
By chance, he learned from his dao companion that Lin Changheng, who had just advanced to Tier Two Alchemy, possessed formidable skills.
Wasn’t this a light at the end of the tunnel? So, he took out the Celestial Crystal Spirit Lotus he had acquired from the Wilderness and asked Lin Changheng to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill instead. The result was a Substandard Pill.
...
The idea of plotting against Lin Changheng had slowly formed during this process.
’Since acquiring a Pill was so difficult, why not just control an Alchemist? And make him a Pill Slave?’
As someone accustomed to living on the edge, he was blinded by greed and immediately began to devise a meticulous plan, even making his dao companion a crucial part of it.
A Tier Two Alchemist, especially one like Lin Changheng, had a terrifying ability to rake in wealth. Cui Jianshui couldn’t help but be tempted. Coupled with her dao companion’s promise of a Foundation Establishment Pill, she finally agreed to join the scheme.
But for all his scheming, Gu Qiusheng never calculated that Lin Changheng was not only an aged Tier Two Alchemist, but also possessed a Tier Two Body Refining cultivation!
What’s more, Lin Changheng later succeeded in reaching Foundation Establishment in one go!
Man proposes, Heaven disposes. That’s just how it is.
No matter how meticulous his plan, encountering Lin Changheng was simply courting death!
With success seemingly within reach, Gu Qiusheng began to look down on the Substandard Foundation Establishment Pill he possessed. He decided to give it to Cui Jianshui to placate his dao companion and ensure her full cooperation with the plan.
Even if it meant sacrificing herself to bait the wolf.
As for himself, he would take the wealth generated by his "Tier Two Pill Slave" and buy a Genuine Foundation Establishment Pill at the grand Immortal City auction three years later.
...
Lin Changheng held the Substandard Foundation Establishment Pill he had taken from Cui Jianshui’s Storage Bag.
It was perfectly round and full, with the luster of cyan jade and a faint Spiritual Light flowing around it.
He toyed with it in his hand, a thoughtful, amused expression on his face.
"After all that, you’ve finally returned to my hands."
This was the very Pill that Lin Changheng had personally refined. He had given it to "Gu Chang’an," who in turn gave it to Cui Jianshui.
He didn’t know why Cui Jianshui hadn’t consumed it, but it had ended up in his hands, much to his benefit.
She hadn’t made it to the end; by the time Lin Changheng prepared to use Soul Search on her, her Divine Soul had already dissipated.
One possible theory was that the woman had also been greedy. She and her dao companion were two peas in a pod; she likely wasn’t satisfied with a Substandard Foundation Establishment Pill either...
He gleefully put the Pill away, storing it with great care.
After all, a Substandard Foundation Establishment Pill had once fetched a price of nearly sixteen thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones at an Immortal City auction.
But he had no intention of selling it.
’This Pill...’
Lin Changheng’s gaze flickered as he sank into thought, contemplating its purpose.
...
Before long, Lin Changheng made a decision and once again took out the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object that had belonged to Gu Qiusheng.
This was the very Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object that Gu Qiusheng had won at the last Immortal City auction, having given up bidding on the Tier Two Alchemy Inheritance to acquire it.
Gu Qiusheng had stored it in a specially crafted Ice Jade Box.
A chilling aura emanated from it, and it was bone-chillingly cold to the touch.
This was Lin Changheng’s first time handling a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object up close. The last time had been at the Ruins District auction, where he had only seen one called the Cyan Falling Cold Branches from a distance.
In reality, it had fallen into Xu Hanji’s hands, and for a moment, the thought of snatching it had crossed Lin Changheng’s mind.
’This Spiritual Object is different from the Cyan Falling Cold Branches. It’s called Celestial Cyan Spirit Milk.’
The name of the object flashed through Lin Changheng’s mind.
’It’s said to be a Spirit Liquid from the summit of a Ten Thousand Feet Ice Peak, formed when the extreme yin energy of the snowcap blends with the essence of the sun, moon, heaven, and earth under special conditions... That’s why it can only be preserved in Cold Jade.’
He opened the lid a hair’s breadth. A blast of intensely crisp, cold air instantly flooded out, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet. A thin layer of frost even formed on the tabletop.
Tiny ice crystals clung to Lin Changheng’s eyelashes.
Peeking through the crack, he saw a pool of celestial cyan liquid, like liquid jade. Its surface shimmered with a soft, moon-like glow, and faint Spirit Patterns swirled within it, making it seem alive.
What was even stranger was that the spirit milk itself didn’t feel bone-chilling at all. Instead, it radiated a gentle vitality, like fire hidden in ice, or warmth born from extreme cold.
According to the information Gu Qiusheng had gathered: ’Rumor has it that consuming this item forms a Spiritual Membrane in the Dantian. This smooths the process of compressing Magical Power and building the Tao Foundation, thereby increasing the chance of a successful Foundation Establishment by ten percent...’
It was obvious from what he could sense that this item was also effective for Foundation Establishment Cultivators.
After a moment of silent contemplation, Lin Changheng put this item away as well.
...
It was safe to say that Lin Changheng had already taken the most valuable items from the two Storage Bags.
Next came the process of a quick inspection.
There weren’t many Spirit Stones in Gu Qiusheng’s Storage Bag, only about two or three hundred.
Lin Changheng figured they had all been spent on materials and other expenses in preparation for his Foundation Establishment attempt.
After all, the Substandard Foundation Establishment Pill and the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object had both originally belonged to Gu Qiusheng.
For a Cultivator at the Peak of Ninth Level Qi Cultivation, unless they resorted to robbery like a Tribulation Cultivator, it would be considered incredibly lucky to accumulate enough wealth for just one of those items by honestly hunting demons in the Wilderness.
Among the other items, the first to catch Lin Changheng’s interest was that Tier Two Array.
The Flowing Clouds Covering Moon Formation!
In the future, he could set it up over his cave residence to conceal any disturbances and repel Divine Sense to a certain degree.
It would make living there much safer and give him more peace of mind.
Second were the five Upper Grade Magical Artifacts.
Five slender, purple Flying Blades!
At the time, Lin Changheng had judged it impossible for Gu Qiusheng to control five Upper Grade Magical Artifacts simultaneously.
And it turned out he was right.