Chapter 224: Li Ping’s Reward

Chapter 224: Chapter 224: Li Ping’s Reward

In the city center.

The Flying Snow Sect arranged a secret chamber for Xiao Yunzhi several miles from the grand hall where the two Core Formation Masters resided, allowing her to attempt her breakthrough to Core Formation.

Mu Yun Master and Qianxue Master watched with their Divine Sense as Xiao Yunzhi stepped into the secret chamber. At the same time, the Array outside the chamber activated, sealing everything off.

Only then did the two retract their Divine Sense.

There were two main reasons for arranging Xiao Yunzhi’s seclusion in this particular location.

First, the Spiritual Qi environment here was one of the better spots along the entire Tier Three Spirit Vein. It might not be as good as the Spiritual Eye in the two Masters’ cultivation hall, but it was far superior to other areas.

The better the Spiritual Qi environment, the greater its effect in aiding a breakthrough to Core Formation.

Second, the two Masters had not yet completely dispelled the sliver of doubt they held about Xiao Yunzhi, so they had deliberately placed her right under their noses.

If she truly had any designs on the Flying Snow Sect, the two Masters could stop her in time.

After all, one should not plot against others, but one must always guard against them!

...

After retracting their Divine Sense, Mu Yun Master looked at his partner beside him and said with a smile, "Xue’Er, according to the messages from the Stargazing Platform, Silver Moon City, Celestial Imperial City, and one other Main City near the Ice Sea are each under siege by several Tier Three Demon Beasts and a large number of Low-Tier Demon Beasts. They’re struggling to hold on."

"According to the pact set by the eight cities, the City Lords farther from the Ice Sea are to provide support. So, I will go to Silver Moon City alone to help Brother Lu and the others fend off the beast tide. Flying Snow City will be in your hands then."

"Don’t worry, I’ll take care of things here in Flying Snow City. Brother Yun, you must be careful." Qianxue Master nodded, a lingering worry in her eyes.

Silver Moon City was being besieged by several Tier Three Demon Beasts, and now Mu Yun Master was heading there as reinforcements.

Facing a beast tide, he might very well encounter danger. How could she not be worried?

But worry was one thing; she made no attempt to stop her partner from going to reinforce Silver Moon City.

The eight great Main Cities of humanity had long ago made a pact to support each other when facing enemies. If the Flying Snow Sect ignored this call for help, they would surely be ostracized by the other Main Cities afterward.

And when the Flying Snow Sect faced a crisis in the future, the other Main Cities would likely just stand by and watch.

That was a price the Flying Snow Sect could not afford to pay.

"Don’t worry. You know my strength, don’t you? I can advance or retreat as I please. A few mere Tier Three Demon Beasts are no match for me." At this, a hint of pride appeared on Mu Yun Master’s face. "Who knows, after the beast tide recedes, I might even get a chance to go into the Ice Sea and find a piece of thousand-year Ice Jade for Tong’Er."

Qianxue Master smiled at her partner. "Brother Yun, I believe in your strength, but you must still be careful in all things."

...

Xiao Yunzhi walked into the secret chamber and activated its Protective Array.

Then, she took out a dozen or so Array Banners and set up another Tier Two Array within the chamber’s main array.

Immediately after, with a wave of her hand, she summoned her Spirit Beast, the Blazing Sun Bird, and ordered it to stand guard.

The Blazing Sun Bird was already at the Tier Two Late Stage. Possessing a trace of Fire Phoenix bloodline, its combat power was enough to overwhelm an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

With it standing guard, Xiao Yunzhi could finally relax.

After doing all this, she sat cross-legged and began to quietly adjust her condition.

Although a Celestial Spiritual Root meant there was no bottleneck to reaching Core Formation, this concerned her own Golden Core Path. How could Xiao Yunzhi dare to be careless?

In any case, she had plenty of time and was in no hurry to immediately attempt her breakthrough.

...

「In the cave residence at Changping Square.」

Over the course of a month, under Shi Yutong’s nervous gaze, Li Ping successfully refined two batches of Foundation Establishment Pills. Each batch yielded the maximum of ten pills.

Shi Yutong had brought two sets of materials for the Foundation Establishment Pills.

And now, at Li Ping’s hands, those two sets of materials had become twenty Foundation Establishment Pills inside her Storage Bag.

Her hand resting on her Storage Bag, Shi Yutong’s eyes were filled with excitement.

Previously, whenever the Flying Snow Sect gathered enough materials to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, they had to ask an Alchemy Master from another Main City for help.

This meant that, first, the Alchemist’s skill might not be high enough to make perfect use of the medicinal power, and second, the other party would demand Foundation Establishment Pills as payment for the refinement.

Therefore, even with good luck, the Flying Snow Sect could only steadily acquire about fourteen or fifteen Foundation Establishment Pills every hundred years.

To be honest, the Flying Snow Sect had never been this wealthy, receiving twenty Foundation Establishment Pills in one go.

This was the impact of a High-tier Alchemy Master.

For a Sect, the importance of a High-tier Alchemist was not much less than that of a Core Formation Cultivator.

’If only Li Ping were a cultivator of the Flying Snow Sect...’

At this thought, a smile bloomed on Shi Yutong’s face. "Brother Li, you must be exhausted after refining two batches of Foundation Establishment Pills back-to-back. I feel for you, so I’ve already prepared a banquet at Golden Goblet Tower. Please, come with me."

Hearing there was a feast of Spiritual Food to be had, Li Ping glanced at Shi Yutong, a satisfied look on his face.

’Shi Yutong might be a bit of a schemer, but she knows how to handle things.’

Li Ping smiled and said, "Since Sect Leader Shi has made the offer, I won’t be polite. I am a bit tired after a month of Alchemy. Let’s go."

"Okay." Shi Yutong nodded emphatically.

The two of them immediately flew toward the city, one after the other.

「A moment later, inside a private room at Golden Goblet Tower.」

A table laden with a feast of Spiritual Food, appealing in color, aroma, and taste, was set before them. To express her gratitude, Shi Yutong had even specially retrieved a jar of Tier Two Spirit Wine from the Flying Snow Sect’s stores.

Li Ping estimated that the Spiritual Food and Spirit Wine combined cost over three hundred Spirit Stones, equivalent to an ordinary Tier Two Dharma Artifact.

"Brother Li... uh..."

Shi Yutong raised her wine cup, about to say more, only to see that Li Ping was already digging in with gusto, as if the hard month of Alchemy had left him famished.

Seeing this, Shi Yutong could only put down her cup with an awkward but polite smile and quietly begin to savor the Spiritual Food on the table.

As she ate, she consoled herself internally: ’This Spiritual Food is truly delicious, so it’s only normal that Li Ping is so focused on enjoying the meal that he doesn’t even notice me.’

As for being alone in a private room with a beautiful young woman and treating her as if she were invisible?

Shi Yutong had already gotten used to Li Ping’s wooden personality.

After a long while, having eaten and drunk his fill, Li Ping contentedly set down his cup and utensils.

Only then did he smile and say, "I must thank Sect Leader Shi for today’s banquet. I truly had my fill."

"I’m glad you enjoyed it, Brother Li. I was worried you wouldn’t be satisfied." After drinking some wine, a rosy blush appeared on Shi Yutong’s cheeks.

Due to her "Snowman" bloodline, her complexion was already much fairer than that of an ordinary human.

Thus, under the glow of the blush, her ice-queen-like face now resembled a ripe, juicy peach, making one want to take a bite.

For a moment, even Li Ping couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.

Of course, that was all.

’One shouldn’t underestimate the self-control of a hundred-year-old man.’

"Oh, right, Brother Li, about the payment for refining the Foundation Establishment Pills..." Noticing Li Ping’s gaze, Shi Yutong felt a flicker of pride. She smiled and said, "In the Land of the Far North, the payment for refining Foundation Establishment Pills is generally calculated on a tiered basis. The more pills produced in a batch, the higher the Alchemist’s reward."

"Brother Li, both of your batches reached the upper limit of ten pills. According to custom, I should give you two Foundation Establishment Pills as payment." Shi Yutong’s voice was tinged with tipsiness and a bit of nervousness. "However, the Foundation Establishment Pills are very important to our Sect. So, I was hoping to discuss with you, Brother Li... could we perhaps buy your pills from you at a price of four thousand Spirit Stones each?"

"Buy the Foundation Establishment Pills?" Li Ping shook his head slightly. "Spirit Stones are meaningless to me."

Hearing Li Ping’s words, Shi Yutong’s heart leaped into her throat.

If Li Ping insisted on taking the Foundation Establishment Pills as payment, she would have to agree, no matter how reluctant she felt.

At this critical time in the fight against the beast tide, she couldn’t afford to offend an Alchemy Grandmaster.

Over the past three years, if it weren’t for Li Ping refining a large quantity of High-tier Spirit Pills for the Flying Snow Sect, their casualties would have been much higher.

"But the Foundation Establishment Pills are useless to me as well... Besides, your esteemed Sect is providing a Spiritual Land for my sister to attempt her Core Formation. How could I make an exorbitant demand? Let’s just forget about the payment." Li Ping smiled. "I won’t charge a fee for this round of Alchemy. Consider it a thank you for providing the Spirit Vein."

Hearing Li Ping say he didn’t want the Foundation Establishment Pills, Shi Yutong’s mood took a sharp, pleasant turn, and a look of delighted surprise appeared on her face.

But when Li Ping offered to do the Alchemy for free, she couldn’t accept. "Brother Li, lending the Spirit Vein and refining pills are two separate matters. Besides, the use of the Spirit Vein isn’t free either. Yunzhi has already agreed to fight for Flying Snow City three times without compensation after she reaches Core Formation.

"If you don’t want Spirit Stones, Brother Li... then please, tell me what you need. I will do my utmost to get it for you."

As she spoke, she gazed at Li Ping with shimmering eyes, putting on a delicate and vulnerable act, as if she could truly agree to ’any condition’ he might name.

Ignoring her gaze, Li Ping thought for a moment before smiling and saying, "Since Sect Leader Shi insists, let’s just put it on my tab for now. When I need to borrow your Sect’s Spirit Vein to attempt my own breakthrough to Core Formation in the future, I hope Sect Leader Shi will be lenient."

"So that’s your condition?" Shi Yutong set aside her playful act, feeling a strange hint of disappointment for some reason.

She quickly broke into a smile. "With Yunzhi as a precedent, if you also wish to borrow the Spirit Vein, Brother Li, that will naturally be no problem at all."

Previously, when Li Ping had requested to borrow the Spirit Vein, she hadn’t agreed immediately, instead saying she needed to discuss it with her parents.

Because there was no precedent, she wasn’t sure what her parents would think and couldn’t overstep her authority.

But now, after the matter with Xiao Yunzhi...

She was certain her parents didn’t mind someone borrowing the Spirit Vein.

In her parents’ eyes, the more human Core Formation Cultivators there were, the more confidence they would have when facing the Alien Races. It was a development they were happy to see.

So if Li Ping wanted to borrow the Spirit Vein, she could make the decision herself and just report it to her parents beforehand.

At the same time, she also hoped to use this matter to grow closer to Li Ping.

’At the very least,’ she thought, ’with this promise in place, our relationship should remain very good right up until Li Ping attempts his breakthrough to Core Formation.’

As for using the Tier Three Spirit Vein to control Li Ping and force him to serve the Flying Snow Sect?

A Tier Three Spirit Vein wasn’t exactly a rarity. If they really pushed him too far, the worst-case scenario was that Li Ping would simply find another place for his breakthrough.