Lü Zhong voiced his doubts, and Tan Shihe offered an explanation.

"To be perfectly honest, our clan currently has a Spirit Medicine that is set to mature within the next three to five years. We need to focus the clan’s full strength on protecting it. However, we can’t neglect our other endeavors, so we have no choice but to aggressively recruit Honored Guest Elders."

Loose Cultivators like Lü Zhong, who came from a Sect and were also skilled in talisman making technique, were generally considered to be of good character. As such, they became the most sought-after candidates for the position of Honored Guest Elder among many clans.

Fearing Lü Zhong might refuse, Tan Shihe paused before adding, "Fellow Daoist Lü, you can rest assured. Here in Jingyang, the Tan Family is known as a reputable Golden Core Clan that has never broken its promises. You can easily verify this by asking around. I wonder, what are your thoughts?"

"Well..." Lü Zhong wasn’t one to take someone at their word. "Allow me to consider this carefully," he said. "Regardless of my decision, I will give you an answer in three days."

"Excellent!" Tan Shihe said with a smile, cupping his hands in a salute.

Not an outright rejection meant there was still hope.

The two continued to converse for a while. To leave a good impression, Tan Shihe even shared many insights on cultivation, which benefited Lü Zhong immensely and cleared up many of his questions.

Tan Shihe only took his leave when the dishes began to arrive.

Gazing at the eighteen exquisite dishes on the table, Lü Zhong found his appetite whetted by the aroma alone. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

As its name suggested, the Treasure Food Boat specialized in aquatic cuisine. From the Steamed Spirit Fish Belly drizzled with Spirit Grass Juice to the milky-white bonefish soup, every dish was a meticulously prepared masterpiece.

As he ate, Lü Zhong decided that after his meal, he would go to the Jingyang Market to do some investigating.

The Tan Family’s offer to teach him how to create the Flying Talisman was indeed incredibly tempting.

As a type of Tier Two Talisman, the Flying Talisman sold very well. If he could master it, while it wouldn’t be enough to fund his Core Formation or gather the necessary Spiritual Objects for it, it could certainly guarantee he’d have the resources to cultivate smoothly to the Late-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Soon, he had eaten and drunk his fill.

After this meal of Spiritual Food, Lü Zhong felt his cultivation had improved significantly.

Once he refined the Spiritual Qi from the meal, his cultivation, which had been somewhat unstable, immediately solidified.

He had already learned the primary goal of cultivation during the Foundation Establishment Stage from various texts.

Unlike the Qi Refining Stage, which focuses on the meridians while treating the expansion of the Dantian as secondary, the Foundation Establishment Stage prioritizes the Dantian over the meridians. The sole objective is to continuously expand one’s Dantian by circulating a Cultivation Technique, transforming the True Essence within from a small puddle into a vast Sea of True Essence.

He arrived at a teahouse that sold information. By simply releasing a sliver of his aura, he was immediately given an enthusiastic reception.

"Senior, I’ve compiled the information you requested on the Jingyang Tan Family. Please, take a look." The shopkeeper of the information-dealing teahouse bowed as he presented a Jade Scroll, which contained the data Lü Zhong was looking for.

Extending a tendril of his Divine Sense, Lü Zhong quickly read through the contents.

Assuming the information in the Jade Scroll wasn’t forged, not a single word Tan Shihe had said was false.

According to the information, the Tan Family had planted a "Fire-Bound Golden Flower" a thousand years ago. This flower could aid in Core Formation. While not as effective as the ultimate treasure for this purpose, the Golden Core Pill, it still possessed half of its efficacy. It could increase the probability of successfully reaching Core Formation by ten percent—a treasure that people would fight to the death for on the open market.

It was precisely because this flower was nearing maturity that the Tan Family had begun aggressively recruiting Honored Guest Elders seven years ago to bolster the clan’s strength.

Simultaneously, a genius cultivator from the Tan Family, Tan Luoyun, who was at Late-stage Foundation Establishment Perfection, had also entered seclusion.

As expected, the Fire-Bound Golden Flower was meant for this person.

If successful, the Tan Family would gain another Golden Core cultivator.

’So this is the deep foundation of a Cultivation Clan!’ Lü Zhong sighed to himself.

The Tan Family had planted the Fire-Bound Golden Flower a thousand years ago to ensure a continuous succession of Golden Core cultivators. An ordinary Cultivation Clan wouldn’t have such foresight and resolve; it would require a consensus from the entire clan, from top to bottom.

’If they have that kind of resolve, their reputation probably isn’t bad either...’

Lü Zhong decided to investigate for another two days. After all, it was better to be cautious. If he didn’t hear too much negative information about the Tan Family, he would accept the invitation to be an Honored Guest Elder and serve them for five years.

For a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, five years was practically nothing.

Having made his decision, he turned to the shopkeeper waiting nearby. Though his expression was calm, he was inwardly wincing at the cost as he tossed the man a bag of Spirit Stones.

’Since I’m a Foundation Establishment Cultivator now, I have to maintain a certain bearing.’

’Otherwise, why would they have gone to the trouble of recording the information on a Jade Scroll? They could have just written out a copy, couldn’t they?’

Without pausing, he made his way to the Jingyang Auction House.

Since he had plenty of Spirit Stones to spare and his cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, it was time to acquire a Spiritual Artifact for protection.

This time, he didn’t even need to reveal his aura before a beautiful Female Cultivator came out to greet him. Her swift appearance made Lü Zhong wonder if a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Jade Flower Sect was secretly observing the premises.

He didn’t dare to rashly probe with his Divine Sense, however, as that would be an extremely impolite gesture.

’What if there was a Golden Core Ancestor hidden in the crowd, or even a Nascent Soul Old Monster? Wouldn’t I be done for?’

After politely declining her advances, Lü Zhong was led by the Jade Flower Sect disciple to a private room far more spacious than his last one. Inside, not only were there seasonal fruits and candied pastries, but a pot of fragrant Spirit Tea had also been brewed. It was clear the auction house treated cultivators of different levels with starkly different standards.