Chapter 276 - 273: A Good Judge of Character

Chapter 276: Chapter 273: A Good Judge of Character

「A little over half a month later, at the Little Plum Mountain Spiritual Land.」

Li Ping summoned Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shuchen.

When the two saw Li Ping, a hint of excitement glinted in their eyes.

During this time, Yan Hengchuan had finished collecting all the useful materials from the Demon Beasts in the Cold Pool. Although most of them were Tier One Demon Beasts, there were a few dozen Tier Two Demon Beasts among them.

Even so, the two of them roughly estimated that the materials were worth over ten thousand Spirit Stones.

The combined cultivators of the Yan, Ji, and Yu families might not be able to produce so many resources even after ten years of hard work.

And that wasn’t even factoring in the compensation for the family cultivators, the benefits distributed to low-tier cultivators from other families, and the cost of nurturing newly discovered cultivators with Spiritual Roots... After all expenses were paid, their income barely covered their costs.

In truth, for them to amass such a large sum of resources, the entire clan would have to tighten their belts and live frugally for decades.

But now?

With Li Ping’s help, they had easily obtained an unexpected windfall, which could be said to have greatly increased their families’ foundation and strength.

Over the next century, as long as they developed steadily, the strength of the three-family alliance would inevitably grow step by step.

"It’s a pity that after the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm was destroyed, we lost our source of Foundation Establishment Pills. Otherwise...唉!"

The thought that their lack of Foundation Establishment Pills would inevitably constrain their families’ future development made them sigh. Even if a junior with excellent Spiritual Root aptitude was born in the clan, they would have no choice but to send them to a Sect for training.

Ji Shuchen and Yan Hengchuan sighed in unison in their hearts.

But sighing was useless. Foundation Establishment Pills required at least seven-hundred-year-old Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng as the main ingredient.

Spiritual materials of this grade could generally only be cultivated by major powers with thousand-year-old legacies and Tier Three Spirit Veins, who had the necessary spiritual land and time. How could they dare to hope for such a thing?

After obtaining a large amount of Demon Beast materials, the real bottleneck holding back the Yan and Ji families’ growth was the lack of Foundation Establishment Pills.

Although Li Ping had already promised to give them the Tier Three Spirit Vein beneath Little Plum Mountain, they wouldn’t dare to expose or manage this Spiritual Land anytime soon.

Otherwise, they could have cultivated Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng within the Tier Three Spirit Vein.

"Grandmaster!"

"Uncle Li!"

Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shuchen called out cheerfully, their eyes filled with gratitude.

They were both well aware that without Li Ping’s past help, the Yan and Ji families would not be in their current position.

This time, Li Ping had returned, killed the Demon Beasts in the underground Cold Pool, and given all the Spiritual Materials to them. This was yet another massive fortune.

Therefore, they both held immense respect and gratitude for Li Ping in their hearts.

As for the kindness their ancestors had shown Li Ping?

Compared to the help Li Ping had given their two families, it was less than a drop in the ocean.

...

Seeing the two of them arrive, Li Ping smiled and nodded. "You’re here."

Immediately after, he said something that made the two of them overjoyed.

"When I was exploring the cave mansion in the underground Cold Pool a few days ago, I discovered three stalks of thousand-year-old Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng," Li Ping said, smiling at them.

"Thousand-year-old Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng!" Hearing this, Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shuchen held their breath. "Could it be?"

Then, under their incredulous gazes, Li Ping continued with a smile, "I have a use for one of the stalks. As for the other two, considering your needs, I have spent the last few days refining them into Foundation Establishment Pills."

Golden Marrow Jade Ginseng could not only be used to refine Foundation Establishment Pills but also Pills that helped Core Formation Cultivators advance their cultivation.

"Foundation Establishment Pills?" The two were instantly stunned. Just a moment ago, they were lamenting how the lack of Foundation Establishment Pills was choking their two families’ development.

And while they were in shock, Li Ping flipped his hand, and two Jade Bottles appeared. With a gentle wave, his Magical Power guided the two bottles to float before each of them. He then spoke with a smile, "Each Jade Bottle contains ten Foundation Establishment Pills. One for each of your families!"

...

Atop Little Plum Mountain, Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shuchen watched the streak of light that was Li Ping disappear over the horizon.

For a long time, neither could recover from the immense, joyous shock.

Twenty Foundation Establishment Pills, ten for each family.

What did that mean?

If their luck was good, they could use these twenty pills to produce twenty Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Of course, they wouldn’t be so foolish.

As long as the Tier Three Spirit Vein under Little Plum Mountain remained a secret, the three families only needed one or two Foundation Establishment Cultivators per generation to protect their heritage.

In other words, with these twenty Foundation Establishment Pills, if their luck held, the three families could ensure they would have a Foundation Establishment Cultivator guarding them for the next several thousand years.

However, they were also keenly aware of the importance of not flaunting one’s wealth. The two of them resolved to guard this secret with their lives.

Unless the family produced a cultivator with a Dual Spirit Root or better, or if the family was facing a crisis of having no Foundation Establishment Cultivator, they would not use the Foundation Establishment Pills.

After all, the Yan and Ji families were backed by a Sect and had a Core Formation Master as an elder. It was normal for them to occasionally produce one or two Foundation Establishment Pills.

But if they produced too many in a short period, it would easily attract the attention of those with ill intentions.

A thousand thoughts raced through their minds. After a long while, the two finally managed to rein in their overwhelming excitement.

Yan Hengchuan couldn’t help but roar internally, ’Great-grandfather, I kneel before you! Bringing Grandmaster back to the manor to teach was the greatest investment I have ever seen in my life!’

Ji Shuchen, on the other hand, was filled with admiration for Daoist Ji. ’Grandfather, you are such a good judge of character!’

...

After distributing the refined Foundation Establishment Pills to Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shuchen, Li Ping left Jiang Kingdom and flew west.

His destination was Fenglan Immortal City, located deep within the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

Having unintentionally obtained the method for refining a Second Golden Core, he was no longer in a hurry to go to Great Zhou.

He planned to enter seclusion in the Western Wilderness to forge the Second Golden Core and also cultivate the Nine Tribulations True Spirit Scripture to the Core Formation Realm.

After all, by using Yan Liming’s Golden Core to cultivate the Nine Tribulations True Spirit Scripture, he just needed to consume Pills to advance his cultivation. He could smoothly cultivate all the way to the Early-stage Core Formation.

It was as if Yan Liming had already overcome the bottlenecks of Foundation Establishment and Core Formation for him.

Moreover, several years ago, before he left the Land of the Far North to return to the Western Wilderness, he had helped himself to Gao Ji Taoist’s treasure vault. Inside were the Spiritual Materials Gao Ji Taoist had planned to use to refine a Tier Three Puppet.

Li Ping had briefly inspected them. He only needed to purchase a few common Spiritual Materials, and he could use these Tier Three Spiritual Materials gifted to him by Gao Ji Taoist to create a Tier Three Lower Grade puppet.

With that, he would have cultivated two top-tier techniques to the Core Formation Stage and would also possess a puppet with the combat power of an Early-stage Core Formation Cultivator.

Even without having refined his Lifebound Magical Treasure, he would be able to feel a bit more at ease when he went to Great Zhou.

As long as he still had ambitions, a trip to Great Zhou was inevitable.

Only a prosperous Cultivation Realm like Great Zhou could produce Nascent Soul Cultivators!

Besides, Li Ping still needed to go to Great Zhou to find a suitable top-tier Spiritual Material for his Lifebound Treasure Banner.

Now that he had a one-hundred-thousand-year-old Divine Wood for the staff, he no longer had any interest in ordinary materials.

...

However, since he had made a rare trip back to the Western Wilderness, he planned to visit some old friends before entering seclusion.

At the same time, he would investigate the Teleportation Array leading to Great Zhou that was recorded on the stone tablet map.

And since he was preparing to cultivate in the Spirit Vein beneath Little Plum Mountain, he needed to gain control of the Tier Three Array that enveloped the island. At the very least, he had to solve the problem of freely entering and exiting the Array Gate.

After all, he couldn’t keep crawling through a hole with the Desolate Fire Sparrow every time he came and went.

That would be beneath his dignity as a Core Formation Master.

The solution was also very simple.

He just needed to become a Tier Three Array Master.

After reaching Core Formation, his lifespan and the resources at his disposal had become much more abundant. He had already planned to activate his peerless talents in "Array Dao" and "Artifact Refining."

As prominent fields among the hundred arts of cultivation, Array Dao and Artifact Refining were worthy of his focused effort.

It wasn’t about earning Spirit Stones through a trade.

Once he learned the art of Array Dao, he would no longer need to hire other Array Masters to set up his Grotto-Heaven’s protective array, which would greatly enhance his privacy.

The same logic applied to Artifact Refining.

In the future, he planned to use the one-hundred-thousand-year-old ’Radiant Star Wood’ as the main material to refine his Lifebound Magical Treasure.

According to Gao Ji Taoist, this top-tier, star-attribute Divine Wood had long since gone extinct in the Cultivation Realm.

Unlike Ten Thousand Year Cold Jade, which, while rare, could still be found if a Nascent Soul Cultivator was willing to spend some time personally searching for it.

But a Divine Wood like Radiant Star Wood? Forget a one-hundred-thousand-year-old specimen; even a ten-thousand-year-old one would cause a tremor throughout the entire Cultivation Realm if it appeared. It might even draw out those old reclusive monsters. Countless cultivators would die fighting over it.

Therefore, Li Ping would never dare to entrust the refining of his Lifebound Magical Treasure to another.

If possible, he planned to raise his skills in Pill, Artifact, Talisman, Array, and Puppet arts to Tier Four or higher in the future.

Of course, this was a long-term goal.

The hundred arts of cultivation, especially the four at the top of the pecking order—Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Talisman Crafting, and Arrays—were all obscure and difficult. The higher the level, the harder they were to comprehend. Even cultivators with great talent had to spend a vast amount of time studying and understanding them.

The highest level of cultivators in the Western Wilderness was Core Formation. Limited by their own cultivation and lifespan, it was difficult for them to advance their legacies to Tier Four.

According to what Li Ping learned from Gao Ji Taoist, Tier Four legacies were incredibly precious.

Even in Great Zhou, legacies for the hundred arts of cultivation below Tier Four were somewhat available. They occasionally appeared at auctions and could be purchased with a large amount of Spirit Stones.

But Tier Four and above legacies were each incomparably precious, the very foundation upon which the major sects stood. Unless one joined those major sects and made great contributions, it was impossible to learn them.

As for stealing them?

Putting aside the fact that major sects guarded their legacies with extreme vigilance, making theft nearly impossible, even if you did succeed, unless you kept it a complete secret and only used it for yourself... the moment you dared to reveal it? You would have to ask yourself if you could withstand the Soul Searching techniques of a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

Li Ping, however, was unconcerned about this.

He possessed a peerless talent. As long as he could obtain the tools used for a long time by those Tier Four artisans, he could directly reverse-engineer the corresponding legacy.

A Tier Four legacy was certainly treated as a priceless treasure by those major Nascent Soul sects, and not a single bit of it would be allowed to leak.

But it was unlikely that a Sect would strictly control and recycle used tools.

There was no reason to, nor was there a need.

Reverse-engineering a Pill Formula from a finished Pill was one thing.

But reverse-engineering a legacy from a Pill Furnace?

It was completely absurd. Who had ever heard of such a thing?

When artisan masters died, it was a very common practice for their descendants to keep the master’s old Talisman Brush, Alchemy Furnace, Artifact Refining furnace, Array Tokens, and other items as mementos, for their own use, or to sell them.