Chapter Seventy-Four: Zhū Jī Dān

  Ding Yuanyan also knew that Lei Dong was moved because of his talent, and his cultivation was very hard. Especially in the small yin evil cave that time, for a whole year, he didn't take a single step out, nor did he slack off, every day was spent struggling in the most severe yin evil place. A sentence "struggling to survive" was simple and sincere, but it stirred up ripples in Ding Yuanyan's heart, making her feel slightly sentimental.

  After a brief silence, as if infected by the desolate tone of voice, Ding Yuanyan lightly sighed and said: "Lei Dong, what you said is right. Although our innate talents and cultivation are slightly superior to yours. But who isn't struggling in this world where the strong prey on the weak?"

  Those words that were so lacking in spirit, yet so true to life, made Lei Dong's heart skip a beat. Dong Fang Xue also gave him a slight sideways glance.

  "Haha, don't be too sad, sister. Under the sky, which big shot isn't like us, step by step, slowly rising up?" Lei Dong's expression turned bright and cheerful again, laughing: "As long as everyone works together, sooner or later you'll become a powerful woman who shakes the world with a stomp of your foot."

  It was fun to hear him say that, and Ding Yuanyan's gloom was also swept away. Her cheeks were slightly pink, but her eyes couldn't help but fly towards him, lightly scolding: "You're talking about the demon girl again, Lei Dong. It seems like this is your only hobby?"

  Pink face peach blossom, looking back and forth with a charming expression, as if smiling and frowning. Even though Leidong's heart was very determined, his mind still wavered, and he felt inexplicably light-headed. Subconsciously, he added a sentence: "That's right, I'm the Great Demon King, of course I like Shizhi... uh..." Leidong said halfway, seeing Ding Yuanyan's face turn bright red, staring at him with wide eyes. He quickly shut his mouth, silently scolding himself for being young and impulsive, hormonal trouble, this thing was really uncontrollable.

  "You, you, you..." Ding Yuanyan's face turned red with embarrassment and annoyance. But after a long time, she still couldn't say anything. She could only lower her head, her face still red, and mutter: "What kind of big devil are you? At most, you're just a little demon star."

  Lei Dong laughed dryly and knew that continuing the conversation would lead to another unclear argument, especially in public. He quickly changed the subject: "Sister, look! There's a Foundation Establishment Pill being auctioned off, just in time for your upcoming foundation establishment."

  As soon as the foundation pill was mentioned, even Ding Xianyan's face turned red and she couldn't help but glance over. Meanwhile, Gu Lao, who had been drowsy, suddenly became excited and started introducing the foundation pill in his hand with a greedy tone.

  It's not necessary for him to say it, everyone knows that building the foundation is a good thing. Humans break through their innate nature from acquired nature, and build a immortal foundation in their body, which is originally a huge turning point. Unlike other small realms, where failure only damages the acupoints and meridians, and at most requires rest for a few days to recover. However, building the foundation is forcibly breaking open the most important Tianling Baihui acupoint in the body, and then opening up the bridge between heaven and earth, causing the true energy inside the body to form a complete and massive internal cycle, circulating endlessly without stopping. From this point on, one can transform their bones and truly become different from ordinary people, and truly embark on the path of cultivating immortality.

  But if the foundation is not successful, and the Tianling Baihui hole is damaged, it's not something that can be recovered from in a day or two. Adding to that, the loss of confidence and morale plummeting, those who never recover are also not uncommon. That can be said to be the first major obstacle on the path to immortality. For those building their foundation, the most important thing to look at is innate talent. Those with exceptional talent will have a higher success rate. Next, one must look at the purity of their true energy. However, even someone like Ding Wenyuan or Dongfang Xian, who are incredibly talented and have the best innate abilities, cannot guarantee success in building their foundation even after reaching the peak of the 12th layer of the Lianqi period. They would rather put in more effort to condense their true energy into something even purer, prepare thoroughly, and only consider building their foundation when they have a 70-80% grasp of it.

  Of course, this big comparison is also one of the important reasons why they temporarily do not go to the foundation. One success is fine, and achieving the foundation period can naturally sweep the scene and take first place. However, once the foundation fails, it may take one or two years to recover, and this time's big comparison is equivalent to directly giving up. Seriously affecting the quality of the next generation of disciples, concerning the long-term development of the cave mansion.

  As a result, Dongfang Xiang and Ding Yuanyan both reached the peak of the Refining Qi stage, but did not rush to attack the Foundation Establishment stage. However, after the big competition, their primary goal must be to prepare for the attack on the Foundation Establishment stage. It is precisely because of this that they pay special attention to that Foundation Establishment Dan. Because this Foundation Establishment Dan can greatly increase the chances of successfully establishing a foundation.

  However, the effect of Zhū Jī Dān is more pronounced on some cultivators with poor qualifications who barely managed to reach the peak of the Qi Refining stage. It's not that they took Zhū Jī Dān and their success rate surpassed that of Ding Yuanyan. Rather, it's just that these people originally had a very low success rate in cultivating without Zhū Jī Dān. Taking one pill of Zhū Jī Dān would at most raise their success rate to around 20-30%. In contrast, someone with Ding Yuanyan's qualifications could already achieve a 40-50% success rate without taking the pill, and with one pill, her success rate would increase to around 80%. This is the difference in qualifications, leaving one helpless.

  However, for some who are still eligible, there is a chance to advance to the foundation-building period. The Foundation Pill is their must-have item. Even if it means bankrupting their family or selling their soul, they must obtain it. Normally, such pills would not appear at auctions targeting Qi-refining cultivators. But this time, it's a special auction held once every ten years. Many senior brothers and sisters who have cultivated for twenty to thirty years but still haven't succeeded in building their foundation are present here today, having saved up money just for this occasion, all for the sake of this one Foundation Pill. Even if they had to sell all their magical tools or their life and soul, it would be worth it.

  "Zhu Ji Dan, starting price 30,000 Ling, each bid must not be less than 1,000 Ling."

  As Gully's slightly excited voice rang out, about 80% of the people present were directly eliminated from the competition. However, for those who had been cultivating for thirty years and were in the old Qi Refining stage, spending 30,000 spirit stones to buy a piece of equipment might seem like a loss. But buying a Foundation Establishment Pill was an entirely different matter, it was something they would gladly spend money on. Moreover, 30,000 spirit stones was just a starting price.

  And for those cultivators in their forties, this is probably the last chance in their lives. They have already used up all sorts of methods to accumulate a large amount of spiritual stones, especially after completing some difficult tasks from their sect, the rewards are very generous. Moreover, they have twenty more years than Lei Dong to accumulate spiritual stones.

  As the enthusiastic bidding continued, the price of the Foundation Establishment Pill quickly broke through 50,000 spirit stones, eliminating a batch of people who were not financially strong and unprepared. Those individuals looked disheartened and disappointed, clenching their fists tightly. However, after catching a glimpse of Old Gu's strength at the sixth layer of the Foundation Establishment stage, they could only helplessly sit down and watch as others continued to drive up the price step by step.

  It was soon approaching 800,000 yuan. At this point, the price increase slowed down. Only a few families were left competing for the item. Ding Xiang and Dongfang Xiang seemed to be interested in it at first glance, but after experiencing some initial attention, they became calm and composed, as if waiting for the best moment to arrive.

  As a middle-aged cultivator of the Ghostly Sect, he fiercely shouted out the price of 1 million spirit stones while saying "Who dares to compete with me? I'll destroy whoever it is!" At this time, Dongfang Xiang had made her move.

  "One hundred and twenty thousand." In one breath, she directly raised the bid by twenty thousand, but she didn't even glance at that old fellow who was shouting "Who dares to rob me?"

  "Dongfang owes you one, this pellet of foundation establishment has a great use." Ting Yanyan said with a hint of embarrassment, her slender hand raised slightly as she calmly stated: "One and a half million."

  As soon as this quotation came out, those who had previously quoted a sky-high price for half a day were all red in the face and speechless.

  ……

  (Normal updates twice a day, usually at noon and before 24:00. Noon is uncertain due to unforeseen circumstances, so I'll try to update around 12:00, but it might be later. Nighttime is generally more fixed, around 23:50. If there's an explosion, that's a different story. During the new book period, I won't be able to have too many explosions, please forgive me. After May Day goes live, I'll try to update more frequently! Also, asking for May's monthly tickets in advance~)