A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu Transmigrates into a Book, the Dao Ancestor of Rein

Chapter 90: Building a Foundation with Loans, Forging Good Relationships, and Exploring the Path Through Mining
With the invasion of the Six Demonic Sects imminent, Han Li still hopes that more outstanding Qi Refining disciples from Yellow Maple Valley can become Foundation Establishment cultivators, thus giving those aspiring cultivators more strength to protect themselves. After all, in a large-scale war, Foundation Establishment cultivators are more useful than Qi Refining cultivators and have a greater chance of survival.

"The rules for distributing Foundation Establishment Pills remain unchanged."

Dong Xuan'er shook her head:
“Junior brother, as you know, there are many families that have joined Huangfeng Valley, and their influence is deeply entrenched. If we concentrate the Foundation Establishment Pills in the hands of a few people, we won't be able to treat everyone fairly. This would cut off the path to advancement for many cultivators. Although Master persuaded Uncle Chen, Uncle Li and Uncle Lei remained neutral, and Uncle Du, Uncle Huang, and several other uncles directly refused. Moreover, many cultivation families also disagree. Therefore, this matter can only be left unresolved.”

Upon hearing this, Han Li sighed inwardly.

It turns out that just three years before he went into seclusion, he had Dong Xuan'er deliver some messages to Master Hong Fu.

It describes the difference between distributing Foundation Establishment Pills to hundreds of people one pill each, and distributing them to fifty or sixty people two pills each.

His proposal was to distribute the Foundation Establishment Pills obtained by the sect in pairs, prioritizing them for a small number of people, so that sect disciples with top-ranking overall abilities could be the first to achieve Foundation Establishment.

The success rate of a Foundation Establishment Pill is simply too low.

More than a hundred people each took a Foundation Establishment Pill, but only about ten people achieved Foundation Establishment at a time. In other words, Huangfeng Valley only produces about ten new Foundation Establishment cultivators every five years. That's twenty-odd people every ten years, and only about five hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators every two hundred years. Indeed, Huangfeng Valley only has about five hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators in total.

Is this reasonable?

In Han Li's view, this was very unreasonable.

Every five years, Huangfeng Valley distributes hundreds of Foundation Establishment Pills.

Ten years is more than two hundred.

Two hundred years would amount to more than 4.

What would happen if we concentrated over 4 Foundation Establishment Pills on over 1 outstanding disciples with at least three spiritual roots, and each disciple tried to establish their foundation with three or four Foundation Establishment Pills?
It is certain that there are far more than five hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators in Huangfeng Valley.

It's more than doubled.

Of course, Huangfeng Valley couldn't truly cut off all disciples' escape routes; they couldn't be too cowardly. Therefore, Han Li proposed increasing the number of Foundation Establishment Pills an outstanding disciple would receive from one to two each time. Two Foundation Establishment Pills would be given to a cultivator with three spiritual roots, allowing them to reach the peak of the twelfth level of Qi Refining or even the thirteenth level before consuming both pills. At that point, there would be at least a 60% chance of successfully establishing their foundation.

In this way, the number of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators in Huangfeng Valley might surge to three or four times its current number.

With more Foundation Establishment cultivators, the benefits that the Yue Kingdom can share will naturally increase significantly.

With more Foundation Establishment cultivators, there will be more benefits to be shared, and the probability of new Core Formation cultivators being born will naturally be higher.

With more Core Formation cultivators, the profits to be divided will naturally be greater.

If the sect and many others support one person, the probability of a new Nascent Soul stage cultivator being born should be increased.

Then, they recruited more geniuses with excellent spiritual roots.

Let the snowball grow bigger and bigger until it hits a resource bottleneck.

This is what snowballing is all about.

To some extent, that's exactly what the Hidden Moon Sect did.

Han Li, of course, wasn't simply letting his outstanding disciples take two Foundation Establishment Pills for free. His rule was that one Foundation Establishment Pill was free, while the other was on credit. It was something these disciples owed the sect, and it needed to be repaid.

It will be sold at an internal price of 3,600 spirit stones.

Anyone who achieves Foundation Establishment using two Foundation Establishment Pills will be required to perform tasks for the sect for free for a certain period afterward, including specific duties. It's essentially a "foundation establishment loan." The sect's management will have to figure out the details themselves.

The profits from the loan will be distributed among the top-ranked Qi Refining stage elites who haven't yet received the Foundation Establishment Pill. This allows them to use the wealth to improve themselves and strive to excel in the next competition. This provides reassurance and also has a positive incentive effect.

Those like Wu Feng, who were sentenced to death after failing to establish their foundation by only taking one Foundation Establishment Pill and were subsequently left to fend for themselves, can be saved and rescued.

Those who can establish their foundation with just one Foundation Establishment Pill will have the extra pill returned immediately, without having to take on a loan from the sect.

in this way.

If each batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, numbering over a hundred, only affects about sixty people, it should result in at least thirty people achieving success. With good luck, it's entirely possible for over forty people to succeed with just over a hundred Foundation Establishment Pills.

pity.

Han Li had a very rosy idea.

However, the various powerful families that were rooted in the Yellow Maple Valley and sucked its blood were mutually restraining, and none of them were willing to suffer the loss first.

Thus, Master Hongfu's first attempt ended in failure.

"Oh, right, junior brother, this is for you." Before parting, Dong Xuan'er handed over a storage bag with a considerable capacity.

"What?" Han Li asked.

"Didn't you make a deal with Uncle Dong before you went into seclusion, asking the Dong family to help create some Foundation Establishment stage giant wolf puppets?"

I remember now, that's true.

"There are fifteen here. We haven't collected enough materials for the remaining thirty-five, so you'll probably have to wait a few more years."

These Foundation Establishment stage puppets were crafted by a master craftsman from the Dong family a few years ago, before he went into seclusion, for over 20,000 spirit stones. He didn't have many materials to make Foundation Establishment stage puppets, but he could seek them out from the various families in Huangfeng Valley.

Various families would exchange goods and resources.

If you can influence even one of the major families, it's equivalent to influencing most of the cultivation families in Yellow Maple Valley.

The Dong family is a very good choice among them.

Although the Dong family had some unpleasantness with Master Hongfu and their relationship with Dong Xuan'er was also distant, the fact that Master Hongfu was still taking care of the Dong family at the Hongying Mountain cave meant that they were still connected by blood. He would naturally want to be closer to her if possible.

of course.

There will definitely be a price to pay.

Spirit stones are only one of the costs; the two methods for crafting Foundation Establishment puppets in the Puppet True Explanation are another.

The three auxiliary techniques—Soul-Trapping Technique, Soul-Gathering Technique, and Soul-Refining Technique—all come at a price.

However, these techniques are fragmented and without the assistance of the Great Evolution Technique, even if the Dong family obtains the True Explanation of Puppetry, they will be unable to fully develop and utilize them. The most crucial elements are still in his hands.

This price is perfectly acceptable.

His overtures were welcomed by the Dong family.

The two sides hit it off.

The three-zhang giant wolf puppet is comparable to a level 3 puppet in the early to mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

The cost of one head is over a thousand spirit stones.

It is more than ten times more expensive than a level 2 puppet in the late stage of Qi Refining.

But it's still great value for money.

If activated with a mid-grade spirit stone, its power would be considerable. With his current mastery of the Great Evolution Technique, he could easily control twenty or thirty puppets to fight simultaneously.

An ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator in front of him…

Ha ha.

...

Return to Lingquan Cave.

Han Li threw the two live eggs that his master Hong Fu had not taken a liking to, along with the four eggs that Dong Xuan'er and the other two women had returned to him, into the Spirit Eye Spring.

The Spirit Eye Spring is the best incubation ground for spirit insect and spirit beast eggs, continuously enhancing the spiritual power and activity of the young eggs, allowing them to develop healthily. It should be no more than a year or two before several little mantises hatch.

Turning back, he went to the Qilin Pavilion and found more than a dozen mid-level level 1 Iron-Armed Beasts, which were actually pangolins that had become demon beasts.

In the future, professional excavators will be indispensable for mining spirit stones.

After all, he can't be the one to mine the minerals himself, can he?
Two months passed in a flash.

Han Li obtained the top-tier magic weapon he wanted.

A set of crescent-shaped throwing knives with gold, green, white, and gray patterns.

Of the four colors, gray is the most prominent, and gray is the color of the Goldenback Mantis itself.

The three colors, gold, green, and white, represent the essence of gold, copper, and tin, respectively.

These two matching crescent-shaped throwing knives were crafted from the forelimbs of the Golden-backed Mantis, and were incredibly sharp. They were even sharper than the Silver Radiance Sword, almost comparable to a true magical artifact. In terms of hardness, they were truly at the level of a magical artifact. When Master Hongfu gave them to him, he was amazed by the quality of the copper essence.

The two crescent-shaped throwing knives were practically magical artifacts that weren't powered by the magic power of a Core Formation stage cultivator.

In addition, he also received a flying boat.

"Master is so generous! Knowing I lacked a suitable flying vehicle, he gave me this airship." Flying swords are fine for one person to pilot, but with three or five people, they become crowded and their speed is greatly reduced. Unlike airships, which don't experience a significant speed reduction with the addition of one or two people.

This cloud boat is quite small, in shades of blue and green, and only about ten feet long. Its size is just right to accommodate four or five people.

The flying boat is inlaid with two pairs of oars on both sides, which are made from the fore and hind limbs of some kind of demonic beast. The hull is made from the carapace of another level-three flying demonic beast that Master Hongfu hunted in a dangerous wilderness many years ago. The combination of the two created this Flowing Cloud Boat.

Even before the oars were activated, the flying boat's speed was comparable to that of a mid-to-late Foundation Establishment cultivator flying on a sword. It was approximately 240 feet per second.

If both propellers are in operation, the continuous vibration and acceleration can even reach a flight speed of 360 feet per second.

The key is that it doesn't require much mana.

It can be activated using the spiritual power of the spirit stone.

However, in Han Li's view, the Flowing Cloud Boat was merely a bonus. The true masterpiece of his master, Hong Fu, should be the precious armor she gave him: the Golden-Backed Cloud Armor.

"That golden-backed mantis must have been suffering a lot lately."

Above a body of water in Yellow Maple Valley, Han Li, with two pairs of thin wings on his back, whizzed through the air. As he intentionally lowered himself to fly at a low altitude, the air currents swirled and surged, his clothes and trouser legs rustled, and the water's surface was parted with a whoosh, instantly creating two rows of white splashes on the turquoise lake, a truly beautiful sight.

These two pairs of wings, as thin as cicada wings, are the wings of the golden-backed mantis.

That's right, Master Hongfu forcibly removed the mantis's wings.

Combined with the breastplate of that giant mantis, they were forged together into the Golden Back Cloud Armor, a top-grade flying magic weapon and a precious defensive armor.

Yes, a large piece of the breastplate and carapace were also torn off...

"hiss…!"

Just thinking about it makes me feel excruciating pain for the Golden-backed Mantis.

"Buzzing..."

Behind the armor, the cicada wings connecting to his spine vibrated rapidly, his speed far exceeding when he was piloting the flying sword and the Flowing Cloud Boat. Not only was he faster, but he was also more agile.

"With this precious armor as a help, plus the escape technique that burns my life essence, who below the Core Formation stage can catch me?"

The cool lake breeze felt wonderful on his face.

In this way, in terms of top-tier magical artifacts, he has everything, whether it's attack, defense, control, long-distance flight, or short-distance agility.

He also has a level 4 giant tiger puppet and numerous level 2 and 3 puppets to assist and cover him.

"The Six Demonic Sects are invading? Bring it on."

...

The sect's council hall.

Han Li met Zhong Lingdao.

"Senior Brother Sect Leader, did you summon me here because you have good news?"

“I’ve found you a good buyer. He’s willing to pay a high price for those rare insects you have,” Zhong Lingdao said with a smile.

"really?"

Han Li's eyes lit up.

“It is true.” Zhong Lingdao stroked his beard and nodded.

"Is your background clean? I don't want to be an ally of the enemy," Han Li said cautiously.

"Don't worry, junior brother. He comes from a family in my Yellow Maple Valley, and he is definitely one of our own."

"Oh? Which sect's senior brother are you?"

"Junior brother, do you know which three super families our sect has?"

"The Chen family, the Lei family, and... the Linghu family!" Han Li replied, his eyes flickering thoughtfully. "Could it be that one of these three families wants my batch of spirit insects?"

“That’s right, just as you guessed, Junior Brother. The other party is indeed a junior brother from the Linghu family.” Zhong Lingdao nodded in affirmation.

It turns out that the Linghu family wants to buy his spirit insect?

Does the Linghu family also have cultivators who play with spirit beasts and insects?
"If it's a senior brother from the Linghu family, I have no objection, but I wonder what price that senior brother is asking for?" Han Li asked seriously, "The price can't be too low."

"Don't worry, junior brother. The price that Junior Brother Guang offered is even higher than the market price. You definitely won't lose out."

"So rich? Wait, what's his relationship with the Ancestor or Uncle Huiming? Could he be a direct descendant of the Linghu family?" Han Li asked nervously.

"Junior Brother Han also knows about Junior Brother Guang's matter?"

"No, not at all." Han Li shook his head.

Everyone knows about the Nascent Soul stage master of Yellow Maple Valley, "Old Ancestor Linghu".

However, many people overlook the Linghu family, which was under the protection of the Linghu Patriarch.

The eight Core Formation cultivators of Huangfeng Valley are: Li Huayuan, who started as a rogue cultivator and later joined the sect; Hong Fu of the Dong family; Uncle Du of the Du family; Uncle Feng of the Feng family; Uncle Huang Nie of the Huang family; Uncle Lei Wanhe of the Lei family; Old Ancestor Chen of the Chen family; and finally, Linghu Huiming of the Linghu family.

Moreover, like Master Hongfu, this person is another powerful figure in Huangfeng Valley who "possessed a title at the Core Formation stage." Although he is only in the mid-Core Formation stage, his strength and skills are almost on par with those of ordinary late-Core Formation stage cultivators.

He is the second most important person in the Linghu family.

He is still relying on a certain elixir bestowed by Ancestor Linghu to break through the bottleneck, hoping to enter the late stage of Core Formation as soon as possible.

However, he was several decades older than Master Hongfu, and belonged to the same generation as Old Monster Qiong. Therefore, even if he later reached the late stage of Core Formation, and even with the strong support of Ancestor Linghu, the step of Nascent Soul Formation would be extremely difficult.

Chen Qiaoqian then became his disciple.

If the Foundation Establishment stage senior brother of the Linghu family who wanted to buy his spirit insect had no connection with these two, he probably wouldn't be able to afford it.

"Sect Leader, could you tell me about Senior Brother Guang from the Linghu family?" Han Li chose a seat and sat down.

Zhong Lingdao didn't hide anything:

"Junior Brother Guang's second uncle is none other than Senior Uncle Huiming. Junior Brother Guang's master is Senior Uncle Du."

The Master Du from the Zhong Sect was actually much younger than Master Hongfu, about twenty years younger.

He should be addressed as "Uncle-Master".

"Junior Brother Guang is almost a hundred years old. Although he is not a Core Formation seed of the Linghu family in this generation, but only a three-spiritual-root seed, two of the Core Formation seeds with the best spiritual root aptitude in the Linghu family in this generation are his offspring. Moreover, the one with the best aptitude and special physique is his eldest daughter."

"This woman entered the late stage of Foundation Establishment before she was sixty years old. The key is that she rarely took medicine before, and only started taking medicine to help purify her mana after entering the late stage of Foundation Establishment (thus maximizing the effect of the medicine). I think she will reach the Pseudo-Core stage in another twenty or thirty years."

"Therefore, Junior Brother Guang's identity is very special. Junior Brother should befriend him and not lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of a small matter."

Upon hearing this, Han Li nodded repeatedly:
"Thank you, senior brother, for the tip."

I am truly grateful to Chung Ling Tao for providing this information.

"Junior Brother Guang doesn't have any other hobbies, he just likes to raise spirit beasts and insects, especially some rare species. Junior Brother probably doesn't know that about 20% of the spirit beasts in the sect's Qilin Pavilion were collected and raised by Junior Brother Guang."

"Then shouldn't I thank Senior Brother Guang? My spirit pets all come from the Qilin Pavilion," Han Li said with a smile.

Zhong Lingdao stroked his beard and smiled in return.

“Junior Brother Han, Junior Brother Guang once had a vision: to learn from Spirit Beast Mountain and enhance the foundation of our Yellow Maple Valley by inheriting spirit beasts. If the sect could have several more high-level spirit beasts like Spirit Beast Mountain, the sect's status in Yue Kingdom would naturally rise accordingly. However, it has never been recognized, and it has indeed failed to produce any results. Junior Brother, please don't mention this matter in front of Junior Brother Guang, lest it cause unpleasantness.”

"Okay, I'll pay attention."

Clearly, that senior brother Guang's idea was very good.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to achieve.

After all, the sect's resources are limited. They are not enough to train tens of thousands of disciples, so where would they find the extra resources to train spirit beasts?
Without resources, relying solely on time for a spirit beast's advancement is far too slow, several times slower than that of an ordinary human cultivator. A spirit beast's growth is difficult to demonstrate in a short period, and cultivating a high-level inherited spirit beast within a few decades is simply a pipe dream. As a result, the sect sees no tangible results and naturally won't proceed according to Linghu Guang's plan.

then.

That senior brother Guang has been trying for decades, but he hasn't made a ripple at all.

“Alright, junior brother, how do you plan to trade? When will you trade?” Zhong Lingdao asked.

Han Li was also straightforward, simply taking out several bottles and jars from his spirit beast pouch:
"Senior brother, I have five kinds of spirit insects here: Thousand-Jointed Insect, Crystal Jade Flying Beetle, Black Blood Fierce Mosquito, Moon Shadow Moth, and Ironclad Army Ant. Among them, the Thousand-Jointed Insect ranks over 180 on the list of rare insects at Spirit Beast Mountain. The larvae without the blood pact mark usually sell for 300 spirit stones each. Is it okay if I ask for 200 spirit stones each?"

"Yes." Just then, a voice came from outside the hall.

Then a middle-aged man wearing black goggles and completely shrouded in a large overcoat, with only his face visible, walked in. His cultivation level was late-stage Foundation Establishment.

“Junior Brother Guang?” Zhong Lingdao stood up.

"Senior Brother Zhong." The middle-aged man nodded, then looked at Han Li, who had also stood up: "Junior Brother Han from Hongying Mountain, right? We've finally met."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Guang." Han Li clasped his hands in greeting.

"Hmm." The middle-aged man sat down and readily took out a storage bag: "I heard from Senior Brother Zhong that you have a batch of spirit insect larvae that have been bound by blood pacts? Among them are fifty Thousand-Jointed Insects, fifty Crystal Jade Flying Beetles, seventy Black Blood Fierce Mosquito larvae, eighty Moon Shadow Moth larvae, and one hundred Ironclad Army Ants. Is that correct?"

Han Li nodded: "Just as my two senior brothers said, there are indeed that many."

Han Li pointed to the five bottles and jars on the table.

Originally, if he could gradually remove those blood pact marks over several years or even decades, he could sell them for a higher price. But time is running out; he needs to stockpile resources quickly and then resell them during wartime to make a quick buck. Spirit insects with potential but lacking the time to nurture should be left to those with the time. He won't delay their future.

“Junior brother, you’re so generous! Here, according to market prices, each Thousand-Jointed Insect costs 200 spirit stones, each Crystal Jade Flying Beetle costs 180 spirit stones, each Black Blood Fierce Mosquito costs 240 spirit stones, each Moon Shadow Moth costs 150 spirit stones, and each Ironclad Army Ant costs 120 spirit stones. That’s a total of 59,800 spirit stones. I’ll just round it up to 60,000 spirit stones. What do you think, junior brother?” Linghu Guang said magnanimously.

"Brother Guang is destined for great things."

Han Li gave a compliment.

He had no intention of refusing the spirit stones.

If he were a Foundation Establishment cultivator without any background, he wouldn't dare to touch those spirit stones; they would be too hot to handle.

But he was from the Red Tassel Mountain lineage, so these spirit stones were nothing to him.

He had seen even bigger scenes before.

When Linghu Guang saw Han Li's nonchalant attitude towards the 60,000 spirit stones, his eyelids twitched involuntarily: Sure enough, just as rumored, this junior brother is highly regarded by his senior sister Hong Fu, and his wealth is probably no less than that of the second and third generation members of the sect.

The seven Foundation Establishment Pills were given away without hesitation, and his cultivation level has advanced by leaps and bounds over the years, reaching the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment in just a few years. Legend has it that Senior Sister Hong Fu used most of the spiritual herbs she harvested in the forbidden area on this junior brother, forcing him to rely on pills to achieve his current cultivation level.

This junior brother is no ordinary person; he's not someone to be trifled with.

"By the way, senior brother, spirit insects alone are not enough. I will give you the spirit grains and monster meat that feed the spirit insects. Please don't refuse."

As Han Li spoke, he took out some bottles and jars from the storage bag of a Core Formation cultivator from the Yu Ling Sect.

They also took some of the monster meat from the monsters inside the forbidden area.

Eating the flesh of these demonic beasts would be harmful to human cultivators, as it is mixed with impure demonic energy. Even after some processing, consuming it would damage a cultivator's foundation. However, some of it would be beneficial to spirit insects and demonic beasts, even greatly benefiting the demonic beasts. If given to wild animals, it might even cause ordinary beasts to transform, increasing their spiritual power and evolving into demonic beasts.

It's worth some spirit stones, but not much.

Linghu Guang's eyes lit up when he saw Han Li's goodwill:
"Alright, alright, then I won't stand on ceremony, senior brother."

Each bottle and jar clearly indicated which type of monster it contained as food. Each item also came with a jade slip containing insights into raising insects and beasts.

This junior brother is really a good friend.

This jade slip alone is of great research value.

"Senior brother, I heard that you want to strengthen the sect's foundation by inheriting spirit beasts?" Just as Linghu Guang was happily collecting things, Han Li suddenly said this.

These words made Zhong Lingdao's heart skip a beat.

This caused Linghu Guang's smile to gradually fade.

He hates it when people bring this up in front of him.

"What do you think, Junior Brother?"

Suppressing his anxiety, Linghu Guang forced a smile.

“Junior brother believes that senior brother’s idea is feasible.” Han Li said seriously, and then presented a successful example: “Whether it is the Spirit Control Sect, one of the six major sects of the demonic path, or the Spirit Beast Mountain, one of the seven major sects of my Yue Kingdom, they all rely on the power of spirit beasts and spirit insects. This shows that senior brother’s proposal is feasible, and very feasible.”

Han Li's words made Linghu Guang frown slightly, feeling puzzled.

The truth is, he couldn't tell whether those words were sincere or feigned.

Han Li's smile widened upon seeing this:
“Senior brother, I do think your idea is very good and will bring benefits to the sect in the future. But in my opinion, you have gone astray. You shouldn’t have focused too much energy on those spirit insects that are ranked too low on the rare insect list or those demonic beasts with low bloodline quality. Instead, you should have targeted those demonic beasts with good bloodlines and potential. Rare insects ranked in the two or three hundred, such as the Thousand-Jointed Insect, the Crystal Jade Flying Beetle, the Black Blood Fierce Mosquito, the Moon Shadow Moth, and the Ironclad Army Ant, are still a bit lacking.”

Having said all that in one breath, Han Li said no more.

Across from him, Zhong Lingdao's tension turned into a strange expression.

Linghu Guang's displeasure from a moment ago turned into relief and helplessness:

"I didn't expect that there would be someone in the sect who shared my thoughts."

"Eh? Senior brother thinks so too? Then why does senior brother still go to great lengths to collect some spirit insects that don't have much potential?" Han Li feigned confusion.

“Junior brother, naturally I want to collect those spirit beasts and insects with strong bloodlines and great potential to cultivate, but Yue Kingdom is only so big, and the surrounding countries are not places I can reach. Spirit beasts and insects with some potential can't even be found on the market, so how can I collect them? The five kinds of strange insects you provided are the best quality spirit insects I have seen in recent years.”

The few rare species he had collected earlier would only rank outside the top seven or eight hundred on the list of rare insects.

Seeing a rare insect ranked two or three hundredths was far beyond his expectations, making him very happy and content.

"Brother Guang, if you are so easily satisfied, then your path will not work."

Han Li poured cold water on him.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Lingdao's heart skipped a beat again, and the anxiety he had just felt was raised once more: What's the situation with this Junior Brother Han?
Linghu Guang wasn't angry at this moment, because he understood that what his fellow traveler said was true. He then looked at Han Li with great anticipation:

"Junior brother specifically told me all this, is there anything you want to teach me?"

There's nothing to teach him; he certainly wouldn't spout so much nonsense.

"Senior brother, have you ever heard of the Golden-backed Demon Mantis?"

"Of course I've heard of it. The famous Golden-backed Demon Mantis is a powerful and rare insect that can grow to the level of a high-level demon beast. It is far superior to the five kinds of spirit insects, such as the Thousand-jointed Insect."

"Then, Senior Brother, are you interested in the Golden-backed Demon Mantis's eggs that haven't yet formed a blood pact?"

Han Li revealed his true intentions.

It was rare to encounter a fellow cultivator who loved collecting spirit beasts and spirit insects, so he naturally wanted to give his full support to the other's dreams and career, and incidentally earn some spirit stones as well.

They complemented each other in a way.

"Junior brother has golden-backed mantis eggs?"

Linghu Guang suddenly stood up, his face filled with shock and joy.

"Not many, just two, both alive. I obtained them from a level four Golden-backed Demon Mantis I captured earlier." Han Li casually toyed with his teacup. "I was just about to form a blood pact with the two larvae to make them recognize me as their master sooner, and then nurture them a little more later. If you need them, Senior Brother..."

"I need it! I need it! Three thousand spirit stones each, I'll offer six thousand spirit stones to buy it!" Linghu Guang grabbed Han Li's right hand, his excited eyes pleading and yearning.

Entrusting such precious insects to this junior brother who doesn't seem to care much to cultivate is simply a waste of resources.

Let's give it to Linghu Guang instead.

"Senior brother..."

"Junior brother, four thousand spirit stones per stone!"

four thousand?

"No, no, no, three thousand, three thousand it is. I'll earn some spirit stones to support your career and dreams, senior brother. We'll each get what we need."

If it really costs four thousand spirit stones for a single egg, some people from the Linghu family will probably come knocking on our door.

"Alright, alright, thank you, junior brother, thank you so much."

Others might think that buying an egg with an unknown chance of hatching and a unknown time for three or four thousand spirit stones is expensive, but in Linghu Guang's eyes, it is not expensive at all, and he is even making a huge profit.

Admittedly, under normal circumstances, even a Core Formation cultivator might not be able to obtain a fully hatched Golden-backed Demon Mantis.

But he is different.

His ancestor was Linghu Laozu.

It possesses a Spirit Eye Stone and a Spirit Eye Spring of considerable size.

The Spring of Spirit Eyes is the best incubation ground for spirit beast eggs and spirit insect eggs.

The two little ones will surely grow up well.

Reaching a higher level in the future will be no difficult task.

With the help of the Spirit Eye Spring and the guidance of the Ancestor, who might bestow upon him some pills and herbs suitable for the Golden-backed Demon Mantis, he might be able to see the two peak level four demon beasts he raised in his lifetime!
He even saw two level-five demonic beasts as his beloved daughter's spirit pets and resources!

He was satisfied with that.

"Senior Brother Guang, I need a docile and obedient double-eyed rat. Do you know if you have any connections?" Han Li hadn't forgotten about the double-eyed rat.

"Junior brother, you want to buy a Twin-Eyed Rat that hasn't been implanted with a blood pact or any restrictions, right?"

"Yes."

Although the Twin-Eyed Rats of the Qilin Pavilion are sold to the public, they are so valuable that every single one contains a blood pact. It would be too time-consuming for him to remove those blood pact restrictions one by one, so it would be best to have one that has never been contracted before.

"Um…"

Linghu Guang frowned, his knuckles tapping lightly on the table.

Upon seeing this, Han Li assumed that it must be purchased with expensive spirit stones.

But in the next moment, Linghu Guang smiled:
"If it were anyone else, I would definitely refuse to trade the Twin-Eyed Rat without hesitation. That little creature is incredibly useful, a master at finding spirit veins and probing meridians. The sect has cultivated only a handful over hundreds of years; they are extremely rare. But if it's Junior Brother Han..."

This is a kindred spirit.

A junior colleague who is rare to find someone who agrees with his own ideas.

We must win over at least one or two people, no matter what.

“Junior brother, I have a high-level double-eyed rat here. It is obedient and has never been contracted with anyone. It was originally a little gift I left for my grandchildren, but unfortunately, my eldest daughter and two sons are all disappointing and have not been able to add any descendants to my Linghu family. If you are interested, I will give this little guy to you.”

"A gift? Absolutely not, absolutely not." Han Li quickly waved his hand. "Senior brother, name your price in spirit stones..."

"Junior brother, don't worry about these things. Compared to the two golden-backed mantis eggs you sold me, what is a two-eyed rat that can't enhance the sect's foundation?" One more or one less won't make a difference.

As Linghu Guang spoke, he placed a spirit beast pouch in his palm.

"Senior brother, this..."

"Take it, don't be stingy."

"... "

"By the way, Junior Brother Han, are you going to sell that level four golden-backed demon mantis you captured?"

Han Li smiled but remained silent upon hearing this.

That giant mantis is a cash cow now, how could he possibly sell it? As long as there's enough Rainbow Grass, how many surviving monster eggs will there be? How many baby mantises he wants just depends on the amount of Rainbow Grass.
Instead of killing the Golden-backed Mantis, he captured it alive. The giant mantis, grateful for his mercy, thought, "What's wrong with having more offspring? Animals should act like animals."

The three then began to chat about everything under the sun, sharing various interesting anecdotes.

Just as they were about to part, Han Li looked at Linghu Guang and suddenly asked, "Senior Brother Guang, I've heard that you have a daughter who is already at the late Foundation Establishment stage?"

"Junior Brother Han, you..."

Is this guy trying to make a move on his daughter?

Those with dual spiritual roots or other special constitutions are acceptable.

But if it's just a pseudo-spiritual root, even if she manages to reach Foundation Establishment by chance, the Core Formation stage will be incredibly difficult. How could he possibly push his daughter into this fire pit?
No no no.

Certainly not.

"Senior brother, I have a Youth-Preserving Pill here to give to your daughter. It will help her form her core as soon as possible and become an elder-level member of our sect. I also wish her eternal youth," Han Li sincerely wished.

A single youth-preserving pill is a token of reciprocity.

It wasn't a complete waste to get that two-eyed mouse.

With ample spirit stone reserves, he no longer had any problems with the sustainability of his newly acquired Foundation Establishment stage puppets.

He had no intention of selling the two kinds of spirit insects that were not lacking in the Golden-backed Demon Mantis.

Those two kinds of strange insects can rank in the top 100 on the list of strange insects.

They are all immature eggs at present.

They haven't hatched yet.

It must have been just seized by the cultivators of the Yuling Sect.

Because there were only a few pieces, he was reluctant to sell them.

Let the future gold-eating insects devour it.

...

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Once the matter of selling spirit insects had subsided, and after thoroughly understanding and mastering the abilities and characteristics of over a dozen Foundation Establishment stage puppets, Han Li immediately left his cave through an underground secret passage and arrived in Xizhou, over a hundred miles away. He entered a vast Gobi Desert stretching for thousands of miles.

The direction pointed directly to the mine that Yu Xing had guarded during the foundation-building period of the Yu family in Tianque Fort.

This spirit stone vein is one of the dozen or so larger veins shared by the seven sects.

It was originally a medium-sized, low-grade mineral vein that stretched for over a hundred miles.

However, after thousands or even tens of thousands of years of sustainable mining, it has shrunk to a small to medium-sized low-grade mine with a range of only seventy or eighty miles. The annual output has also decreased to sixty or seventy thousand low-grade spirit stones per year, and only medium-grade spirit stones can be seen occasionally.

However, as the environment in Tiannan continues to deteriorate compared to thousands of years ago, and the nearby spiritual veins are gradually withering, the downward trend in production in this area is bound to continue.

It's likely that this mine will be completely abandoned in another two or three hundred years.

Spirit stone veins are actually all originally spirit veins. They are the accompanying original ore veins that gradually crystallize and form from the sedimentation of spirit veins over tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years. As long as cultivators do not destroy the main spirit vein and the accompanying original ore veins, spirit stones can be re-condensed at new nodes in the original ore veins over hundreds or thousands of years.

Spirit stones, due to the influence of the rules of heaven and earth, can only be condensed into four grades: low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, and top-grade.

Within each grade, the quality varies by a factor of a hundred.

Furthermore, there is no value between 2 and 99 between 1 and 100.

The seven factions of Yue Kingdom possess four large-scale mineral deposits, each spanning over a hundred miles, all of which are mid-grade rich mines with an annual output exceeding 300,000 spirit stones, each yielding over 2,000 mid-grade spirit stones. They also have eighteen larger veins, each producing between 50,000 and 300,000 spirit stones. These primarily produce low-grade spirit stones, with a small amount of mid-grade spirit stones as a secondary output. In addition, they have over three hundred small veins, some producing a few thousand spirit stones annually, while others produce twenty to thirty thousand.

The seven factions of Yue Kingdom maintained their economic development through these numerous mineral veins.

The vein that Han Li is currently trying to explore is, due to the passage of time, only the lowest of the eighteen larger veins. It is not particularly remarkable.

His arrival was uninvited.

The mine area is protected by the Four Fiends Formation set up by seven different formation masters, which is difficult for ordinary Foundation Establishment stage cultivators to break through. In addition, law enforcement teams come to check on it regularly, so he can't make too much noise to avoid complications. In other words, he can't force his way in; it's best to sneak in quietly.

"If this mine were entrusted to the disciples of my Yellow Maple Valley to guard, there wouldn't be so much trouble."

Without a proper identity, there was no reasonable excuse to go in and take a look. Therefore, after studying the routes of several abandoned mines in advance, he simply came and dug a tunnel himself.

They started from dozens of miles away.

In a canyon hundreds of feet deep, he used his silver-sharp sword, capable of cutting through iron like mud, to carve out a passage. He dug through the rocks while simultaneously transporting the debris using two large storage bags he had prepared beforehand. Under the cover of night, he disposed of all the excavated rock fragments in a desolate area hundreds of miles away to avoid alerting patrolling cultivators.

For more than half a month, he made more than ten trips back and forth, and finally dug a tunnel that was hundreds of feet deep.

This hidden passage connects to an abandoned underground mine and a stalactite cave, and the ancient teleportation array he is looking for is located in these underground abandoned mine tunnels that are as dense as a spider web.

To be precise, it was located at the edge of a long-abandoned original mineral vein, inside a huge stalactite cave.

　Top-tier magic artifacts: Azure Mirror x2, Silver Radiance Sword x1, Crescent Moon Flying Knife x2.

　　The top-tier rare items include: Azure Dragon Chain, Fine Steel Bracelet, and Cloud-Stepping Boots.

　　The finest and top-tier item is the Yellow Jade Robe.

　　Other flying magical artifacts include: the Flowing Cloud Boat and the Golden-Backed Cloud Armor.

　　The flying magic sword I had previously acquired is now stored away; I can sell it at Wanbaolou in a while.

　　-
　　Hey guys, votes, votes! I love votes!
　　

(End of this chapter)