The scenic beauty of Shaohua Mountain remained as enchanting as ever.
Riding his Sky-Soaring Shuttle through Jianmen Pass, Qin Sang flew toward Daomen Peak. A figure flew toward him—none other than Senior Brother Zhuang Yan. Zhuang Yan had originally planned to enter secluded cultivation to attempt Foundation Establishment, but for some reason, he had abandoned the idea.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhuang."
Qin Sang halted his escape light and bowed respectfully from a distance.
Guiding his flying sword, Zhuang Yan landed beside Qin Sang. Noticing Qin Sang's expression, he asked in confusion, "Junior Brother Qin, your complexion doesn't look well. Have you run into some troubling matter?"
Qin Sang shook his head, adopting a smile as he asked, "Not at all. I merely noticed just now that the glowing clouds over Jingyue Peak have completely vanished, so I was rather curious. Has something happened in the sect recently?"
Jingyue Peak was not only extraordinarily spiritually endowed, but brilliant clouds lingered above it in a dense, unbroken canopy, highly conspicuous. Zhuang Yan had previously told him that it was an array formation laid down by the sect to prevent anyone from disturbing Fairy Chenyan during her secluded cultivation.
Qin Sang had still seen them on his last return, yet as soon as he passed Jianmen Pass this time, he discovered that the glowing clouds over Jingyue Peak were gone.
Zhuang Yan let out an "oh" and glanced toward the distant Jingyue Peak. "Junior Brother Qin, you've been staying down in Dichen Cave, so you probably haven't heard. Fairy Chenyan emerged from seclusion a few days ago."
"Fairy Chenyan has emerged from seclusion?"
Qin Sang pressed immediately, "Did she break through to the Nascent Soul stage?"
If Fairy Chenyan reached the Nascent Soul stage, Shaohua Mountain would have two Nascent Soul Patriarchs holding sway, vaulting into the ranks of the premier powers in the Lesser Cold Domain. The disciples of the sect would naturally benefit from the rising tide, enjoying endless advantages.
Zhuang Yan's expression dimmed slightly, and he shook his head without a word.
Qin Sang sighed softly. Each step on the path of cultivation was harder than ascending to heaven. Fairy Chenyan was said to be a chosen of the heavens with a heavenly spiritual root, yet after all these years in seclusion, she had still failed. Qin Sang could not help thinking of himself, and his spirits sank even lower.
"Senior Brother Zhuang, do you know if Martial Uncle Wen is at Daomen Peak?"
"Why are you looking for Martial Uncle Wen, Junior Brother?"
Zhuang Yan paused, looked Qin Sang up and down, and suddenly came to a realization. He offered congratulations in rapid succession: "Congratulations, Junior Brother Qin, on breaking through to the tenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage! You must be here to collect your Foundation Establishment Pill. Martial Uncle Wen happens to be at Daomen Peak right now."
After seeing Zhuang Yan off, the smile quickly vanished from Qin Sang's face, replaced by a faint shadow of melancholy.
After erasing every trace of Sun De, Qin Sang had not rushed back to Shaohua Mountain to claim his Foundation Establishment Pill. Instead, he had decided to stay dutifully in his cave abode for a time, watching to see how Shaohua Mountain would handle Sun De's disappearance.
In the end, Shaohua Mountain had never suspected him. Only a senior brother had visited Dichen Cave afterward, called him up to ask a few questions, and left in haste. The matter seemed to have simply faded away without further inquiry.
Easily shaking off suspicion, coupled with three Foundation Establishment Pills soon to be in his possession, should have been something to celebrate—even rejoice over.
Yet immediately afterward, bad news struck, plunging Qin Sang to rock bottom and leaving him mired in gloom to this day.
Before this, he had been focused on consolidating his realm, so he had not noticed anything amiss with the Yanluo Banner. Only when he resumed his cultivation did he discover that although the Yanwang had not become a Ten Directions Yanluo Banner's main soul and could still produce Soul Pills, the Soul Pills no longer had any effect on him!
He had tried everything he could think of, even switching to a different Yanluo Banner, but it remained the same.
To Qin Sang, this unexpected turn of events was like a bolt from the blue.
His innate aptitude was so poor; that he could match the cultivation speed of many cultivators with true spiritual roots or even dual spiritual roots had relied entirely on the Yanluo Banner and Soul Pills. Without the aid of Soul Pills, his cultivation speed was utterly despair-inducing.
Even with three Foundation Establishment Pills in hand, if he failed to break through to the thirteenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage before reaching the age of fifty and push his cultivation to the absolute pinnacle of Qi Refinement, his hopes of Foundation Establishment would remain exceedingly slim.
Qin Sang wracked his brains. Unless he could gather enough pills to consolidate his foundation and nourish his essence, or find another magic tool or cultivation method like the Yanluo Banner that carried grave risks to the origin soul but could rapidly boost cultivation, there was no other way. Yet such things were obviously far from easy to find.
Lost in his myriad tangled thoughts, he landed before the wooden hall of Daomen Peak without even realizing it. Qin Sang gathered his emotions, composed his face into a respectful expression, and knocked on the hall's wooden doors.
Martial Uncle Wen happened to be attending to minor affairs inside the hall. Hearing that Qin Sang had come to claim a Foundation Establishment Pill, he looked somewhat surprised, then chuckled. "To break through to the tenth layer so shortly after joining the sect, it seems that spiritual fruit you consumed was truly extraordinary. Come with me."
Qin Sang followed behind Martial Uncle Wen. Leaving Daomen Peak, the two flew deeper into Shaohua Mountain until they arrived at Pagoda Peak.
"Wait here a moment."
Leading Qin Sang to the doors of the hall on Pagoda Peak's second tier, Martial Uncle Wen took his waist token, instructed him to wait outside, and walked in alone.
Before long, Qin Sang heard Martial Uncle Wen call him in. Smoothing his robes, he kept his head lowered and walked inside respectfully, only to find that besides Martial Uncle Wen, there was only another elderly man well advanced in years in the hall.
"This is Senior Brother Ye," Martial Uncle Wen said, gesturing toward the elderly man.
Qin Sang dared not show any slight. Bowing respectfully, he said, "Disciple Qin Sang greets Martial Uncle Ye."
Martial Uncle Ye wore a bluish-white Daoist robe. His small eyes were slightly narrowed, studying Qin Sang with a trace of a smile. Had sharp glints not occasionally flashed in those eyes, Qin Sang would have thought he was facing nothing more than an ordinary, kindly old man.
"So this is Martial Nephew Qin. A fine and capable youth indeed!" Martial Uncle Ye spoke with unusual warmth, beaming. "You have indeed broken through to the tenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage, meeting the sect's requirement. Please wait a moment, both of you. I shall fetch a Foundation Establishment Pill right away."
Hearing footsteps recede deeper into the hall, Qin Sang let out a quiet sigh of relief, glad that there had been no complications.
Unexpectedly, before his heart could fully settle, Martial Uncle Wen waved his hand to cast a sound-insulating restriction. He cleared his throat lightly, a hint of awkwardness surfacing on his face. "Martial Nephew Qin, Senior Brother Ye asked me to inquire on his behalf—would you be willing to sell this Foundation Establishment Pill?"
Hearing this, Qin Sang was instantly taken aback, his expression shifting slightly. A Foundation Establishment Pill concerned one's entire Dao path; unless one had completely given up on Foundation Establishment, who would ever sell theirs?
"Martial Nephew Qin, don't be nervous," Martial Uncle Wen soothed in a soft voice. He, too, felt helpless. Just now, upon learning that Qin Sang possessed a five-element spiritual root, Senior Brother Ye had immediately conceived this idea and begged him to mediate.
Had Senior Brother Ye not once done him a small favor, he would never have agreed to such a thing.
"If you are unwilling to sell, no matter. Senior Brother Ye was only asking casually, not pressing you by force. If you are willing to sell the Foundation Establishment Pill, spirit stones, spirit talismans, magic tools, medicinal pills—all of these are negotiable. Senior Brother Ye has considerable wealth and will not let you suffer a loss."
Qin Sang lowered his head in thought. What he wanted most right now were pills that could consolidate his foundation and nourish his essence. Though rare, such pills could always be bought with enough effort. Foundation Establishment Pills, on the other hand, were truly priceless treasures impossible to buy on the open market; even disciples of cultivation sects received at most one, while rogue cultivators could not even dream of obtaining one.
Opportunity knocked but once; he did not need a second thought to decide firmly against trading it away.
However, the other party was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if he refused, he could not be too blunt.
After a moment's thought, Qin Sang spoke with a troubled look: "Reporting to Martial Uncle Wen, this disciple's heart has always been set upon the Immortal Dao, never wavering. If I do not even try, I will never be reconciled to it..."
Chapter 112