Cultivating Immortality: Starting from Ferrying Passengers

Chapter 154 The action begins

Foundation Building Pill?
Fang Jingxuan immediately became interested. To his shame, other late-stage Qi Refining cultivators usually start planning for Foundation Establishment Pills at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

He himself is now almost at the peak of the ninth level, but he hasn't yet focused his attention on Foundation Establishment Pills.

His biggest goal and energy are now focused on planning for Black Toad Island. Although the Foundation Establishment Pill is important, Fang Jingxuan feels that he still has time.

Fang Jingxuan felt that obtaining the Foundation Establishment Pill before the age of sixty-five was sufficient, and that one Foundation Establishment Pill was not enough to be safe; at least two, or even three, would be more secure.

In addition, the quality of Foundation Establishment Pills should be of the highest standard. Even if you can't get the top-grade Foundation Establishment Pills, the best grade is the minimum standard. You must never use the inferior Foundation Establishment Pills to make up the difference.

Therefore, Fang Jingxuan would rather wait a few more years than rush into attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

But right now, Cui Ye is a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Cui family. Could it be that he has a Foundation Establishment Pill?
"I am ashamed to say that I do not currently have a way to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills. I am selling Demon Summoning Soil now in order to collect spirit stones."

Cui Ye smiled, looked at Fang Jingxuan, and asked meaningfully:
"Didn't Fellow Daoist Chen's sect prepare Foundation Establishment Pills for you?"

When the sect was mentioned, a fleeting look of melancholy crossed Fang Jingxuan's face. After a few moments, he said:

"Chen's sect has fallen into decline and can no longer provide much support in this regard. Left with no other choice, I traveled far away to Baishan and came to the South China Sea to seek opportunities."

"So that's how it is. Qingxuan Sect? Judging from the name, it must be a famous Taoist sect. Its ancestors must have been wealthy. But what sect in the world can remain prominent forever?"

"Well, apart from super sects like Qi Yun and the Beast Taming Sect, it's difficult for sects and families like ours to build a five-thousand-year foundation without producing even a single Nascent Soul cultivator."

Cui Ye also sighed a few times, then comforted Fang Jingxuan, saying:

"Fellow Daoist Chen, the Foundation Establishment Pill is priceless. One pill can be sold for tens of thousands of low-grade spirit stones. Even with the power of my Cui family, we cannot just take out a Foundation Establishment Pill casually."

However, a year from now, our Guixufang will hold a large-scale auction. It's been nine years since the last one, and it happens once every ten years, after all.

At this point, Cui Ye took out an exquisitely crafted invitation and placed it on the table, continuing:
"However, the threshold for this auction is not low. Either you have to produce more than 50,000 low-grade spirit stones on the spot to prove your wealth, or you have an invitation issued by the auction house, or you are a Foundation Establishment cultivator, then you can naturally enter."

"I, Cui Ye, have always enjoyed making friends. Please accept this invitation, Fellow Daoist Chen. You can come in directly when the time comes."

Even if I don't win the Foundation Establishment Pill this time, it's good to broaden my horizons and prepare for the next auction.

Moreover, besides the Foundation Establishment Pill, there are other miraculous elixirs and top-grade magic artifacts, which will surely make Fellow Daoist Chen's trip worthwhile.

Fang Jingxuan was genuinely moved by Cui Ye's overtures and goodwill. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Cui Ye's actions were already extremely courteous and respectful.

Don't you see how many Foundation Establishment cultivators no longer treat Qi Refining cultivators as human beings, arbitrarily scolding and killing them at will?

The Cui family has six members who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage. In the fierce and dangerous land of the South China Sea, it is truly remarkable that they have been able to accumulate such a large fortune.

Fang Jingxuan bowed and thanked him again. Cui Ye skipped over this part and continued to talk to Fang Jingxuan about cultivation. He even shared some of his insights on his state of mind before he reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

This was indeed a great help to Fang Jingxuan. It wasn't until more than half an hour had passed that Cui Ye showed signs of fatigue, and Fang Jingxuan understood and chose to take his leave.

After the Cui family's carriage delivered Fang Jingxuan to the inn, Cui Ye's maid, a female cultivator named Rou'er, told the innkeeper that the Cui family would cover the room fees for the entire month.

Thus, Fang Jingxuan's first encounter with the Cui family ended uneventfully. Two days later, Fang Jingxuan returned to the black market outside Meteor Island.

After establishing a connection with the Cui family, the secret recipe for summoning demon soil sold out incredibly quickly, completely selling out in just two days.

Left with no other choice, Fang Jingxuan had to go to the black market to buy goods again, and this time, he planned to take another batch of Demon Summoning Soil back with him.

According to Fang Jingxuan's experimental calculations, it takes about seven drops of Moon Essence Jade Dew to refine one cubic meter of Demon-Summoning Soil into the Secret Demon-Summoning Soil.

Currently, with his monthly Jade Dew Collection Divine Power, he can only condense eighty-two drops of Moon Essence Jade Dew at a time.

After deducting the shares allocated to Tuoyuan, Liugu, and Wudaoteng, Fang Jingxuan could at most squeeze out forty-two drops of Moon Essence Jade Dew to make money.

Based on this calculation, producing six portions of the Secret Summoning Soil in a month can earn two hundred low-grade spirit stones per portion. After deducting channel fees, you will still have nine hundred and sixty low-grade spirit stones in your hands.

Over a year, that's more than ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. If you accumulate like this for ten years, you'll have enough for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

No, even if it's more than 10,000 low-grade spirit stones a month, that's too slow. It would take ten years to accumulate enough for one Foundation Establishment Pill, and how many more decades do I have to wait?

No wonder there are so few Foundation Establishment cultivators. Without the support of a family or sect, it is extremely difficult to achieve Foundation Establishment on one's own.

Thinking of this, Fang Jingxuan's gaze sharpened. He had to take down Chen Heichan, this late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, as soon as possible.

If I were to acquire his life savings, I might actually be able to bid for a Foundation Establishment Pill at the Guixu Island auction a year later.

"Guest, what kind of mission do you wish to issue? With your bronze-level token, you can hire cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage to serve you."

Inside the secret room, Fang Jingxuan was talking face-to-face with a black market manager. After the Cui Ye incident, Fang Jingxuan decided to speed up his pace.

He simply bought the remaining value of the upgrade token's pills directly from the black market, accepting the slight loss.

"I want to purchase all the information about Chen Heichan, and then ask two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators to assist me. One needs to be proficient in encirclement formations to prevent Chen Heichan from escaping, and the other needs to be able to lure Chen Heichan out of Black Toad Island and away from the range of the mountain-protecting formation. How many spirit stones would all this require in total?"

Fang Jingxuan slowly stated his needs. As a veteran Qi Refining Perfection cultivator, Chen Heichan deserved his careful treatment.

"Chen Hei Chan of Black Toad Island, please wait a moment, sir. Let me check his assessment data and see his rating before I can offer a price."

It seems that this black hand organization has its own set of evaluation standards for many cultivators, so that if assassination is needed, the price can be estimated immediately.

"Guest, according to our estimate, providing you with these services will require a total of 15,000 low-grade spirit stones. We require full payment upfront and do not accept deferred payments or payments made after the fact."

Furthermore, we only provide the services stipulated in the contract and do not actively participate in combat. Even if a guest's life is in danger, we will turn a blind eye.

"Of course, if the guests choose to have everything handled by us, that's also possible; it will only cost 70,000 low-grade spirit stones."

Upon hearing this, Fang Jingxuan's vision blurred, and he gritted his teeth, saying:
"I choose the first option. When can I start?"

Even through the cloak, Fang Jingxuan could feel the other person's smile:
"As soon as the spirit stones arrive, let's begin!"

(End of this chapter)