Chapter 40: Refining the Foundation Establishment Pill
Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Refining the Foundation Establishment Pill
Li Ping walked out of the cave abode under Feng Qufeng’s respectful guidance.
At the same time, he was still pondering the conversation between Master Hu and his disciple.
Doubts began to rise in his heart. ’That Elder Wang from the Wang family is here to see him? Is it the Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Wang family that I know? What does he want with Master Hu? Alchemy? Or something else?’
The Wang family’s old ancestor had swindled him out of one hundred Spirit Stones. Although, in reality, he hadn’t actually suffered a loss, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of resentment.
If the opportunity arose, he wouldn’t mind making a move and teaching the man the meaning of cruelty.
...
As Li Ping was lost in thought, Feng Qufeng’s cautious voice reached his ears, interrupting his musings. "Elder, I’ve actually heard of your great name for a long time."
"My great name?" Li Ping looked at him, slightly puzzled. Their footsteps didn’t stop as they spoke.
Feng Qufeng quickly explained, "I’m very close friends with Fellow Daoist Gumu Sheng. He has mentioned Elder Li to me many times, and his words were always filled with great respect for you."
"Oh, so that’s how it is." Li Ping came to a sudden realization.
Not long ago, when he had seen Gumu Sheng, he discovered that Gumu Sheng’s cultivation had broken through from the Qi Refining Sixth Level to the Qi Refining Seventh Level, making him a Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivator.
He was displaying a cultivation speed that didn’t match his natural aptitude.
Gumu Sheng had told Li Ping that he had managed to break through successfully because he bought a Qi Condensing Pill from one of Master Hu’s disciples, a pill that could help him overcome the bottleneck to the Qi Refining Seventh Level.
It now seemed that the one who sold him the Pill was this very senior disciple standing before him, the one who wasn’t valued by Master Hu.
"So, young friend, you’re friends with my third brother." Once Li Ping understood, he once again took a Tier Two Lower Grade Spirit Talisman from his Storage Bag. "My third brother mentioned that you’ve taken good care of him. Please accept this Spirit Talisman as a token of my gratitude."
With a Tier Two Spiritual Land as his cultivation ground, Li Ping’s Magical Power recovery speed had greatly increased, so the efficiency with which he could draw Spirit Talismans had naturally improved as well. Giving two Spirit Talismans to Master Hu’s disciples as a meeting gift was really nothing much.
’Besides, these two might be useful in the future when I make a play for Master Hu’s Alchemy Furnace.’
However, he had originally planned to give one of the Tier Two Lower Grade Spirit Talismans he had drawn to each Cultivator in the Friends Association during the New Year’s Eve gathering as a life-saving trump card.
Now that he had given two away, he would have to sacrifice a little of his cultivation time.
...
"A Tier Two Spirit Talisman." Feng Qufeng was astonished. He hadn’t expected his friend Gumu’s sworn brother to be so generous.
After his initial shock, Feng Qufeng immediately tried to refuse. "Elder, this is too valuable! I can’t accept it."
But despite his words of refusal, his eyes betrayed his deep longing and desire.
Li Ping smiled and simply pushed the Spirit Talisman into his hand. Feng Qufeng quickly put it away.
After accepting Li Ping’s Spirit Talisman, Feng Qufeng’s attitude became even more enthusiastic. He answered every one of Li Ping’s questions without hesitation.
Li Ping pretended to be curious and asked about the purpose of Elder Wang’s visit to Master Hu. Feng Qufeng didn’t think much of it and immediately began to explain, "Elder Wang is here to ask Master to perform Alchemy... He has gathered enough Spiritual Materials for a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills and has asked Master to refine them."
"He gathered enough Spiritual Materials for a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills? To refine Foundation Establishment Pills?" Li Ping was stunned when he heard this.
The Foundation Establishment Pill, a divine medicine in the eyes of Low-tier Cultivators, had a Pill Formula and required Spiritual Materials that were no secret; many could recite them by heart.
When refining Foundation Establishment Pills, the supplementary ingredients were easy enough to find. The main ingredient, however, was a huge headache and the very reason the Foundation Establishment Pill was so precious.
There are two methods for refining a Foundation Establishment Pill, and each requires a different main ingredient.
One of the main ingredients is the Spirit Medicine ’Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng,’ and it must be at least seven hundred years old. On top of that, the older, the better.
A seven-hundred-year-old specimen can yield up to three Pills. For every additional hundred years of age, the yield increases by two Pills. If one uses a Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng that is over a thousand years old, a single batch can produce a maximum of ten Foundation Establishment Pills.
The other main ingredient is the Inner Core of a Tier Three Demon Beast, which has an effect equivalent to a thousand-year-old Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng.
For the Wang family’s old ancestor to ask Master Hu to refine Foundation Establishment Pills meant that he had obtained at least one of these ingredients. If he was lucky, he could even produce three more Foundation Establishment Cultivators for his family.
Of course, even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, there was still a chance of failure in achieving Foundation Establishment.
But three Foundation Establishment Pills should be able to produce at least one Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator!
’What an extravagant move. No wonder he was shameless enough to run a scam for money.’
Li Ping sighed, inwardly drawing circles and cursing, ’I hope your Alchemy fails.’
But then he remembered that Master Hu was a Tier Two Upper Grade Alchemist, with a very high success rate in refining Foundation Establishment Pills. This curse might not work.
So he quickly changed his curse: ’I hope your family’s Cultivators fail their Foundation Establishment.’
...
After being respectfully seen off by Feng Qufeng, Li Ping rode his Escape Light back to his own cave abode.
Sitting cross-legged in the main hall, Li Ping once again mulled over his conversation with Master Hu. He still felt that the man’s attitude was somewhat off.
Just like the Meng family’s old ancestor, Master Hu was a little too enthusiastic toward him.
As he thought about it, he couldn’t help but pull a bronze mirror from his Storage Bag to look at himself.
Hmm, he still had the same ordinary face—fair and beardless. He hadn’t transformed into a round-faced, bearded man.
Li Ping was baffled. ’Strange. Could it be that Master Hu also has a grudge against that damned Sword Cultivator?’
...
In the Alchemy Room at the back of Master Hu’s cave abode, two figures sat facing each other. Master Hu’s closed-door disciple, Liu Yuan, was attending to them at the side.
One of the figures was Master Hu. The other was none other than the Wang family’s old ancestor, the one who had swindled Li Ping out of one hundred Spirit Stones.
The Wang family’s old ancestor politely cupped his fists in a salute. "Master Hu, I will be troubling you this time!"
As he spoke, he took out the various materials for refining the Foundation Establishment Pills from his Storage Bag, along with the payment for Master Hu’s services.
Among the many materials, the most precious was naturally the seven-hundred-year-old Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng. In order to buy this Spirit Medicine from that person, he had paid more than double the high price.
He had previously exhausted many of the family’s resources in an attempt to break through to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, but he had failed.
This time, in order to gather the funds to purchase the materials for the Foundation Establishment Pills and pay Master Hu’s fee, not only was the Wang family nearly bankrupted, but he even had to resort to setting up a scam, ruining his own reputation to scrape Spirit Stones from those Loose Cultivators.
Master Hu nodded and carefully inspected the various materials the Wang family’s old ancestor had brought.
He was especially meticulous when examining the seven-hundred-year-old Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng.
After a long while, Master Hu looked up and sighed. "The materials are fine. It’s a pity, though. If this Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng were cultivated for another three hundred years, its value would increase several times over."
The Wang family’s old ancestor smiled but said nothing. As if he could wait another three hundred years.
Master Hu said solemnly, "I shall now begin the Alchemy for you, Fellow Daoist. You may watch from the side!"
The Wang family’s old ancestor nodded. With so many precious Spiritual Materials involved, of course he had to watch Master Hu perform the Alchemy.
Otherwise, who knew if the other man would secretly pocket some of his Spiritual Materials.