Chapter 161 Gift Pill
Chen Yuan sighed, "Fellow Daoist Ren, please accept my condolences. I am also very sad to hear about Fellow Daoist Cao's death. However, Fellow Daoist Cao has been hunting monsters in the Huanyue Mountains for a long time and has rich experience. Why did he suddenly suffer such a misfortune?"

Ren Man burst into tears: "This matter is also my fault. In the past, my husband and I went into the mountains to hunt monsters together. We looked after each other and never made any mistakes. But five years ago, I happened to have cultivated to the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, and stayed in the market to practice in seclusion. My husband and two other friends went into the mountains to hunt monsters together, and never came back. Their bodies were nowhere to be found. If I had not been in seclusion, but went into the mountains with my husband, he might not have gotten into trouble..."

Chen Yuan's eyes turned cold: "The other two? Where are they now?"

Ren Man said: "They, like my husband, died in the Huanyue Mountains and never returned."

A hint of surprise flashed across Chen Yuan's eyes. He thought that these two people were related to Cao You's death, but he didn't expect that they also died in the mountains. This ruled out their suspicion.

He said in a deep voice: "Fellow Daoist Ren, there is no need to blame yourself. Monster beasts are rampant in the Huanyue Mountains. Fellow Daoist Cao and the other two must have encountered a powerful monster, which is why they were not spared. This is a natural disaster and has nothing to do with you."

Cao Xianji also advised, "Yes, mother, uncle is right, father died accidentally, so don't blame yourself."

He touched his storage bag, took out a silk handkerchief, and handed it to Ren Man with both hands.

Ren Man nodded gently, took the handkerchief, wiped the tears from her face, stopped crying, and sighed: "I also know this, but before my husband went into the mountains, he told me that he would go to the depths of the Huanyue Mountains to pick hundred-year-old spiritual herbs and buy me a bottle of Yuhua Pill to celebrate my cultivation to the tenth level of Qi Refining. That's why I blame myself deeply. If it wasn't for my breakthrough, he wouldn't have gone to the depths of the mountains, and maybe nothing would have happened..."

Chen Yuan had been in Huanyue Market for twenty years, so he knew the situation in Huanyue Mountains. He said in a deep voice, "The depths of Huanyue Mountains are extremely dangerous. Level 2 monsters are very common, and there are even level 3 and 4 monsters. Fellow Daoist Cao's move was a bit reckless."

Ren Man said softly, "I also tried to persuade my husband with this at the time, but he had already reached the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining at that time, and his other two friends were also at a similar level. The three of them each had a top-grade magic weapon in their hands. Even if they encountered a second-level monster, they would not be powerless to fight. That's why I took the risk, but I didn't expect that he would still suffer in the end. This must be fate."

Chen Yuan's eyes showed surprise: "Five years ago, Fellow Daoist Cao had already cultivated to the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining, and he also has a top-grade magic weapon in his hand? This is extremely rare."

Ren Man explained, "Fellow Daoist Chen also knows that my husband is a warm-hearted person. Nine years ago, my husband and I went into the mountains to hunt monsters. We happened to see a foundation-building senior from Guiyuan Sect fighting a demon cultivator and losing the upper hand. The two of us fought desperately and killed the demon cultivator and saved the senior. Afterwards, the senior rewarded my husband with a large amount of spirit stones and two top-grade magic tools. My husband used them to cultivate to the tenth level of Qi Refining, and I had the opportunity to glimpse this realm."

Chen Yuan finally understood. Cao You and Ren Man were both cultivators of the four spiritual roots, and they were not proficient in all kinds of arts. If they did not have the opportunity, it would take at least forty to fifty years to accumulate enough spirit stones for them to cultivate to the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining and buy two top-grade magic tools.

But they had received rewards from the foundation-building cultivators, and things had become much easier. They even had enough spare capacity to provide Cao Xianji with cultivation resources, allowing him to cultivate to the sixth level of Qi Refining.

At this time, Ren Man raised her eyes slightly, revealing a look of reminiscence: "At that time, my husband and I rented a first-class cave, and Xian Ji didn't have to worry about cultivation resources. Everything was so beautiful... Until five years ago, my husband and two friends passed away, and I had to join forces with others to hunt monsters in the mountains, but we were wary of each other and the harvest was meager. We couldn't afford the rent of the first-class cave, so we moved back here. Xian Ji also had to hunt some low-level monsters on the edge of the Huanyue Mountains in exchange for spirit stones for cultivation."

At this point, she glanced at Cao Xianji, her eyes revealing pity: "It's just that in the past two years, demon cultivators have been rampant, and some have even set up ambushes outside Huanyue Market to rob and kill independent cultivators. Xianji's cultivation is low, so I strictly ordered him not to go into the mountains to hunt demons. But this child is ignorant and has sneaked into the mountains several times, which makes me very worried."

Cao Xianji lowered his head and whispered, "I just saw that mother was working too hard and had to help me raise medicine for cultivation, so I wanted to help mother reduce the burden..."

Ren Man frowned and said, "I have already cultivated to the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining. My cultivation cannot be further improved. What is so hard about it?"

Cao Xianji said, "In recent years, Guiyuan Sect has started to auction Foundation Building Pills. I don't want my mother to spend too many spirit stones on me, so I save them up and buy a Foundation Building Pill when the time comes. When the foundation is successfully built, it will be much safer to go into the mountains to hunt monsters."

Ren Man said angrily, "Nonsense! Foundation Building Pills are so precious, how can we casual cultivators covet them? Mother's talent is limited, and it is a fluke that she can cultivate to this level. On the contrary, you should practice hard while you are still young and have a solid foundation. This is the right thing to do!"

Cao Xianji said helplessly: "Yes, I will listen to you in everything and will not slack off."

This was a family affair between the two of them, so Chen Yuan couldn't intervene and could only watch silently from the side. At this time, he asked, "Fellow Daoist Ren, when I went to Lingyun Market before, I also heard people say that there were foundation-building pills appearing at the auction. Is this also the case in Huanyue Market?"

Ren Man replied, "Yes, three years ago, Guiyuan Sect suddenly started auctioning Foundation Establishment Pills, and it has continued for the past two years. Every time an auction starts, it attracts many cultivators to participate. Not only Huanyue Market, but I heard that Mingfu Market under Ziyang Sect is also the same."

Chen Yuan became even more confused after hearing this.

The three major sects are auctioning Foundation Establishment Pills, and the other three major sects should do the same.

Why didn't the six sects leave the Foundation Establishment Pills for their disciples to use, but instead put them up for auction?

He was puzzled and put the matter aside for the moment. He touched his storage bag, took out a jade bottle, and raised his hand to hand it to Ren Man.

Ren Man took the jade bottle and asked in confusion: "This is..."

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "This is a foundation-building pill. Fellow Daoist Ren and I meet again after twenty years, so I have prepared a small gift to express our friendship." Ren Man's face changed, and she hurriedly opened the bottle cork, poured the pill into her palm, and examined it carefully.

Cao Xianji stared at the strange black and white pill with wide eyes, muttering, "It's really a foundation-building pill!"

Ren Man took a deep breath, put the pill back into the jade bottle, raised her hand and pushed it back to Chen Yuan, saying, "Fellow Daoist Chen, the foundation-building pill is too valuable, I cannot accept it."

Chen Yuan took the jade bottle, put it on the table, and said calmly: "Since Chen has given this pill to you, how can I take it back? Don't worry, Ren Daoyou, a foundation-building pill is nothing to Chen."

Ren Man hesitated for a moment, then stood up, bowed, and said solemnly: "Thank you, Daoist Chen, for the gift of the elixir."

At this time, Cao Xianji suddenly strode in front of Chen Yuan, bent his knees, knelt on the ground, kowtowed three times in succession, and his forehead hit the bluestone bricks with a bang. He said loudly: "Nephew Cao Xianji, thank you uncle for your great kindness! Uncle helped my mother build the foundation. The kindness is as heavy as a mountain. Nephew will never forget it. If I succeed in cultivation in the future, I will definitely repay uncle!"

Seeing Cao Xianji's sincere expression and his gratitude, Chen Yuan nodded slightly and said, "Get up. You just need to practice well and be filial to your mother, which is your way of repaying your gratitude."

Cao Xianji said loudly: "Yes, nephew will remember your uncle's instructions!"

He stood up, his forehead was already bruised.

The floor tiles in this Dingdeng cave were also covered with restrictions and were extremely solid. Even though Cao Xianji was a cultivator, he could not escape unscathed even though he kowtowed with all his might.

A trace of pity flashed across Ren Man's eyes, but it disappeared immediately. She said softly, "I cannot repay Daoyou Chen for giving me the elixir, but I have something that may be of some use to you."

She touched her storage bag, took out a white jade talisman, and raised her hand to hand it to Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan took the jade talisman and looked at it carefully. He saw a lifelike mandarin duck painted on it. It was about three inches in size and was shining with a faint light.

He looked up at Ren Man and asked, "This is..."

Ren Man said, "This mandarin duck jade talisman was found in a cave seven years ago when my husband and I went into the mountains to hunt monsters. There were two of them, and the other one was black and exactly the same shape as this one. Next to the two jade talismans, there was also a rotten corpse, a storage bag with a broken internal space, and several broken pieces of magic tools."

At this point, she paused, and her voice suddenly dropped: "This talisman can resist a blow from a cultivator in the early stage of foundation building. My husband and I each have one, and within a three-mile radius, we can sense each other. After my husband went into the mountains and never came back, I still had a glimmer of hope in my heart. I once took this talisman into the mountains to look for it, and also ventured into the depths of the mountains, but after two years, I found nothing. I knew that my husband must have used the jade talisman, but he still died in the mouth of the monster, so I gave up the idea."

As soon as Ren Man finished speaking, Cao Xianji's face changed and he said, "Mom, have you ever entered the depths of the Huanyue Mountains alone? That's too dangerous. Why didn't you tell me?"

Ren Man ignored him and just stared at Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan sighed softly: "This jade talisman is so important to Fellow Daoist Ren, I cannot accept it."

Ren Man said sternly, "I kept this talisman with me. Seeing it reminds me of you, but it only adds to my worries. Moreover, Daoist Chen also said that we are old friends. Since we are old friends, how can I accept your gift without giving something in return? If Daoist Chen regards me as a friend, please accept this jade talisman."

Seeing Ren Man say this, Chen Yuan no longer refused: "In this case, Chen will accept this talisman."

Ren Man then smiled, picked up the jade bottle containing the Foundation Establishment Pill on the table, and put it into the storage bag.

Chen Yuan put away the mandarin duck jade talisman and said, "Chen has something else to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

Ren Man and Cao Xianji escorted him out the door. Chen Yuan bowed and said, "You two stay. If we are destined to meet, we will meet again in the future."

After saying that, he turned and left without any hesitation.

The two stood outside the courtyard gate, watching Chen Yuan's back gradually go away and disappear at the end of the mountain path.

(End of this chapter)

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