Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 314 - 196: The Hardship of Foundation Establishment
Maybe even higher!
Even if all five families joined forces, it still wouldn’t be foolproof.
Lu Chang’sheng was startled too.
This auction was way more intense than he’d imagined.
"No wonder it’s a Foundation-Building Pill. The other three families are probably going home empty-handed now."
Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself, feeling emotional.
The other three—Huang, Chen, and Zhao—weren’t as strong as the Qu and Fang families, so their accumulated contribution points were a bit less.
Added together, they’d have around seventy thousand.
Sure enough, just over a minute later, the bidding hit eighty thousand contribution points. The Huang family patriarch, Huang Feng, must’ve borrowed some from somewhere else and raised the bid a few more times before having no choice but to stop.
Barely reaching the threshold set by the Qingfeng Building cultivator. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
Ultimately, that pill was won by the Wang family of Liuyun Immortal City.
The second and third pills were bought by a loose cultivator.
The loose cultivator was known as Daoist Huanglong, but he wasn’t Foundation-Establishment; just late-stage Qi Cultivation.
To be publicly recognized as a "Daoist," he had to be exceptionally strong and well-connected.
"That Daoist Huanglong is pretty famous in Yellow Sand Immortal City. They say he’s killed a Foundation-Establishment cultivator before." At this, Lu Chang’an spoke up.
Over these years, besides cultivating on Fuyun Mountain, he’d spent most of his time gathering intel about people and places everywhere.
Strengths, powerful figures, local customs—everything.
So he’d gained a pretty good understanding of Daoist Huanglong.
"Is he really that good? Any idea what his techniques are?" Lu Chang’sheng asked in surprise.
Someone with such a reputation had to have some ace up his sleeve.
Lu Chang’an nodded, "Apparently, he’s got a unique grade-two magical artifact that lets him unleash some of the power of a Foundation-Establishment expert. Plus, his foundation is solid, and he’s mastered a top-tier immortal technique that can captivate the heart and mind—if a Foundation-Establishment expert has weak spiritual senses, that technique can mess with them."
"The Spirit Realm really is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers." Lu Chang’sheng mused.
"That’s why we go out as little as possible. Who’s to say an ordinary-looking Qi cultivator isn’t really a Divinity Transformation power in disguise?"
Of course, this comment came from Lu Ziyou.
His library had a few new books lately, all about Gou Dao tactics and schemes.
Lu Chang’sheng had read a few too.
Just hadn’t seen this one yet.
"Even Divinity Transformation powers are popping up? Ziyou, you shouldn’t believe too much of those tales written by loose cultivators, or you’ll jump at every shadow." Lu Chang’an said.
Gou Dao has its pros and cons.
If you treat everyone like an expert, everything gets ten times harder.
"Ziyou’s not exactly wrong, Chang’an. You spend a lot of time outside, so you should stay on your guard," said Li Nangua, quite pleased with Lu Ziyou’s vigilance.
Though she’d spent over ten years as a wealthy landlady in Great Yuan, and decades atop Fuyun Mountain, deep inside she was still just a village woman.
Like countless other rural mothers, all she wanted was for her children to be safe and sound.
"I know, Mother," Lu Chang’an said with a wry smile.
Lu Chang’sheng agreed, "Ziyou does have a point. If you’re outside, keep your guard up. Don’t underestimate anyone just because they seem weak or low-status."
"With my level of strength, most people I meet aren’t doing any worse than me," said Lu Chang’an.
Take Platinum Immortal City—every inch of land is precious. Practically no mortals live there.
Lu Chang’sheng turned to Lu Ziyou and asked, "Ziyou, what kind of existence is a Divinity Transformation power, anyway?"
"I dunno. The book just touched on them briefly."
Lu Chang’sheng felt disappointed. He’d hoped he’d finally get some insight into the Divinity Transformation realm, but clearly, he was overthinking things.
Just more stories from loose cultivators.
Divinity Transformation is above Nascent Soul. Every single one is legendary, and as far as he knew, in Guangnan Domain and surrounding areas, Divinity Transformations are unheard of, and Golden Core cultivators are rare.
The fourth pill landed in the hands of Gu Family from Platinum Immortal City.
The Gu Family was a Foundation-Establishment clan, and thanks to their Supreme Profound Sect connections, it wasn’t hard for them to win one Foundation-Building Pill.
But two? That would be pushing it.
During the bidding for the fifth pill, Gu Family made it to the final round, only for the Zhen Family from Ancient Wood Immortal City to snatch it away.
When it comes to fighting for Foundation-Building Pills, it’s the Foundation clans that really throw down.
Five Foundation-Building Pills were gone in a flash. Not many left, and lots of factions were getting anxious.
Lu Chang’sheng couldn’t see the whole venue, but when the price announcements from the Qingfeng Building cultivator started coming at longer intervals, he could guess what was happening.
Slow bidding meant people were buying time to make deals with other factions that had contribution points.
Many forces knew they had no shot at winning a Foundation-Building Pill, so instead they traded their contribution points with others, maybe even making a nice profit.
Right now, Qu Guang was kicking himself a little.
He shouldn’t have invested so many contribution points in the Barrier-Breaking Pill, because just moments ago, someone came by offering a sky-high price for the rest of his contribution points.
If he hadn’t bought that Barrier-Breaking Pill, he might’ve been able to use those contribution points to trade for even more Barrier-Breaking Pills with some Foundation clans.
"Took a loss!"
"Don’t sweat it, Ancestor. Maybe those Foundation seniors don’t have any extra top-tier Barrier-Breaking Pills on hand anyway. Wouldn’t that be an even bigger loss?"
Qu Nian tried to comfort him.
If it’s in your hand, it’s real. Anything else is pure risk.
"You’re right. If it’s about resource gains, teaming up with Alchemist Lu would probably bring in more."
Qu Nian said nothing. He actually didn’t want to hand over his contribution points to Lu Chang’sheng—too many variables—and by the time Lu finished refining Barrier-Breaking Pills, he’d be old, probably not even in the first batch who could use them.
If you don’t look out for yourself, Heaven and Earth will punish you!
Compared to Qu Guang’s dilemma, the other three patriarchs were having a blast.
The list of auction items had plenty they liked, but none they absolutely needed, so if they got one for a good price, that’d be perfect.
Too bad, after several rounds, none of them managed to win a single item.
So, they had no choice but to start making deals with other forces.
"That’s close to five times as much profit."
The three patriarchs did their negotiations at breakneck speed—the auction wasn’t about to wait around for anyone.
So, they didn’t bother comparing much and just agreed to trade away their contribution points.
"Even trading with Alchemist Lu couldn’t bring such generous returns."
"And besides, it’d take more time."
The three patriarchs all laughed.
For them, this move couldn’t be more satisfying.
The next round of bidding clearly cranked things up a notch. The sixth Foundation-Building Pill hit a jaw-dropping twenty-five thousand contribution points.
Folks who’d won pills in earlier rounds were feeling pretty lucky right now.
From then on, bids stayed in that ballpark, and it wasn’t long before every Foundation-Building Pill had an owner.
When Lu Chang’sheng rose from his chair, he felt a bit of pressure.
Just one Foundation-Building Pill had so many Foundation clans at each other’s throats. When it was his turn to break through, it probably wouldn’t be much easier.
After all, by the time it was his turn, his Immortal Dao root bone would at best be D-grade and low quality.
After leaving, Lu Chang’sheng had a sudden impulse and went to ask the Qingfeng Building steward.
"Is Foundation Establishment difficult for someone with a D-grade low spirit root?"
The steward didn’t think much of it, answering reflexively, "There’s no way. I’ve never heard of anyone making it to Foundation Establishment with a D-grade low spirit root."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he might’ve said too much.
If Alchemist Lu was asking, it was either about himself or someone close. Saying that probably wasn’t great, so he wracked his brain for a patch, "Well... it’s not totally impossible. Right, I remember someone supposedly did achieve Foundation Establishment with a D-grade low. At least, that’s how the story goes."
Lu Chang’sheng’s heart shook. "Who?" he asked.
"Profound Turtle Alchemist! But, be warned, it’s mostly rumor. Some say he had D-grade medium, some say high."
Lu Chang’sheng nodded to himself, thinking: I need to look further into Profound Turtle Alchemist.
The version he’d heard was that Profound Turtle was D-grade high spirit root talent.
That’s the mainstream version, far and wide, so the steward just went with it.
Lu Chang’sheng didn’t seem to care much about it. He had Lu Chang’an hand over a few spirit stones as thanks for the answer.
"Breaking through to Foundation Establishment with D-grade low talent is no easy task. Now, it’s time for me to start preparing."
Lu Chang’sheng thought to himself.
