I only reached the Foundation Establishment stage at eighty years old, and then the system appeared.

Yang Hongbo sat under the Spirit Tree for several days and nights, constantly connecting with the tree using his divine consciousness. Finally, on this day, a thin, water-like barrier suddenly expanded on the tree, extending all the way to a mile outside the foot of the mountain.

At this moment, the system voice sounded: "Congratulations, host, you have successfully obtained the protective shield function of the Spirit Baby Tree. You are rewarded with 5,000 family development points."

Yang Hongbo hurriedly asked the system what the function of this shield was.

"Dear host, this shield can block the full force of an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, five attacks from a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, and only one attack from a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator."

"So that means anyone above the mid-Nascent Soul stage who comes here is basically doomed? Right?"

This time the system remained silent, and Yang Hongbo had nothing to say. He could only go and make a bunch of tokens for entering and exiting Lianbo Mountain, and also modified the restrictions for future entry and exit.

Actually, it's all very simple. Once the token is bound to the user by blood, only that user can use it. If there are outsiders, they must obtain permission before entering the barrier.

This protective shield is even double-layered, but Yang Hongbo has never told anyone that there is an invisible shield above the spiritual field halfway up the mountain.

This protective shield is incredibly powerful; anyone holding a token to enter the mountaintop can enter without feeling anything.

However, if an outside attacker kidnaps a farmer from the foot of the mountain and forces him into the first protective shield, he's doomed. The second protective shield will expand outwards until it merges with the outer shield, and with a "piaji," everyone except those who originally lived in Lianbo Mountain will be turned into a pile of mangled flesh.

"Hehe, hopefully a bunch of stinky rats will come and test the power of this protective shield!"

After indulging in his narcissism for a while, Yang Hongbo went back to be with his wife.

In the days that followed, life went on as usual, and Yang Hongbo continued to wander around every day, searching for any treasures that could help the family's development.

Ten thousand miles south-northeast of Qingmang Town, there is a "giant city" with a population of over two million. When Yang Hongbo first arrived, he really thought it was a big city. However, after hearing some people discussing it, he realized that a city with a population of one or two million was already extremely small in the cultivation world.

More than 100,000 miles south of this city, there is a large city with a population of 20 million. It is said that the largest city in the cultivation world has a population of hundreds of millions.

"Tsk tsk, don't believe rumors, don't spread rumors, rumors stop with the wise!"

Yang Hongbo walked down the wide street, looking for a shop where he could sell his treasures for a higher price. He noticed that the names of the shops were all quite similar.

There are countless plaque names, such as Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Many Treasures Pavilion, Precious Treasures Workshop, Exotic Treasures Workshop, and so on. There are no plaque names you can't imagine.

After asking some people who looked like locals, Yang Hongbo realized that Wanbaoge had the best reputation in everyone's eyes, so he decided to go and check it out.

As soon as I stepped inside, a very attractive female shop assistant approached me: "Excuse me, is there anything I can do for you?"

Throughout the journey, Yang Hongbo suppressed his cultivation level to the first level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. This way, he would not attract the attention of the big shots, but he could also exert a suppressive force on the small fry in the Qi Refining stage.

"Oh, I wanted to ask, do you sell Golden Core Pills here?"

"Hehe, sir, our little shop wouldn't possibly have such a treasure. If you want it, you'll have to go to an auction!"

Yang Hongbo looked at her and asked, "May I meet the manager here?"

The female shop assistant suddenly felt her heart start pounding, and she realized that a good opportunity might be about to fall into her lap.

She quickly said, "Please wait a moment, let me ask the shopkeeper if he's available."

Yang Hongbo smiled and nodded at her, then looked around, while the female shop assistant ran upstairs.

In a private room on the fifth floor, a beautiful woman with a lovely face and graceful figure was sitting at a desk, studying a book of classical literature.

The female shop assistant rushed in, shouting, "Miss, miss, I might have landed a big sale!"

"Xiaoyu, I've told you so many times, don't panic in a crisis, why are you still like this?"

"Miss, please listen to me. A guest just came downstairs. He's a Foundation Establishment Stage 1 cultivator. He first asked if we had any Golden Condensation Pills. After I said no, he asked if he could see you."

"Doesn't that mean he might have the Golden Core Pill? Miss, do you think my analysis is correct?"

"Then take him to the living room, I'll be there in a bit!"

"Yes, miss!"

The female shop assistant named Xiaoyu came downstairs and said to Yang Hongbo, "Sir, our manager would like to invite you up!"

After saying that, he walked ahead, and Yang Hongbo followed.

Upon arriving at the living room on the fifth floor, Yang Hongbo saw a beautiful woman sitting there. He gracefully walked over, sat down in front of her, and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Excuse me, are you the owner of this shop?"

"Yes, may I ask your name, sir?"

"Oh, my surname is Mu, and my given name is Yi!"

"Oh, is that Mu Yi from the poem 'A gentle breeze caresses the willow branches, the Yi River flows on, reflecting the painted pavilion'?"

"You're truly wise, fairy. I won't say any more. I have a Golden Condensation Pill on hand; it's up to you whether you can afford the price!"

After saying that, he took out a jade box and placed it on the table.

The female shopkeeper picked up the jade box and opened it, only to find that it contained a top-grade Condensing Gold Pill. Although she was very surprised, her years of business experience prevented her from showing her surprise.

"Master Mu, this is a top-grade Condensing Gold Pill. Last year, a low-grade Condensing Gold Pill I had auctioned sold for 400,000 low-grade spirit stones. Yours is too high-grade to be appraised. Why don't you wait until the auction starts?"

In fact, the female shopkeeper was already excitedly shouting in her heart, "Buy it, I must buy it!" Currently, the success rate of low-grade Condensing Gold Pills on the market is only 30%, mid-grade is 50%, high-grade is 70%, and top-grade is 100% successful.

"In the decades I've been stationed here, I've learned from the feedback on the auctioned Golden Core Pills that only a quarter of those who bought low-grade Golden Core Pills succeeded."

"My younger sister has been at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment for over thirty years. Because she hasn't had a high-grade Golden Core Pill and is afraid of dying, she's been stuck at this level for decades. Now, with this top-grade pill, she can definitely advance to the Golden Core stage."

Because she was too excited, she accidentally revealed a bit of her cultivation level, which turned out to be that of a True Monarch.

"Oh, I didn't expect the fairy to be a Golden Core True Monarch?!"

"Hehe, please excuse my poor performance, Young Master Mu. My cultivation level has nothing to do with being a shopkeeper!"

"Alright, is Young Master Mu prepared to sell this Golden Condensation Pill?"

"What price will the True Lord Fairy offer?"

The female shopkeeper thought for a moment and replied, "I can offer 1.5 million low-grade spirit stones, but I can't offer more than that."

Yang Hongbo rubbed his chin with two fingers, thought for a moment, and then offered a price: "Three million low-grade spirit stones. If possible, we can settle the payment now."

In my past life, I always tried to lower prices, but I never imagined that raising prices would be so satisfying!

The female deity was about to explode in anger, but she held back and said to Yang Hongbo, "I am a Golden Core True Lord, aren't you afraid I'll kill and rob you?"

"If the True Lord Fairy is willing to smash her own shop, then come on!" After saying that, she spread her hands, closed her eyes, raised her head, and prepared to die.

"Sigh, I'm really scared of you. Fine, I'll add another 50,000!"

"Two million nine hundred thousand!"

"One million six hundred thousand!"

"Two million eight hundred thousand!"

Thus, after fierce competition between the two sides, the price finally settled down to a point where everyone was at peace: two million low-grade spirit stones.

"Fairy, may I ask your name?"

"It's nothing, it's just a name! My surname is Wan, and my given name is Yongdie!"

Fairy Wan smiled and accepted the jade box containing the top-grade Golden Condensation Pill, then opened it again for a closer look.

Yang Hongbo stood up and bowed to Wan Xianzi, saying, "Wan Xianzi, I'll be going now!"

"Let's go, let's go! We'll come back next time if there's anything good!"

As soon as Yang Hongbo stepped out of the Wanbaoge gate, a voice echoed in his mind: "Congratulations, host, for obtaining two million low-grade spirit stones and a reward of 20,000 family development points."

"Wow, that's so satisfying! Just one bite and I've earned a whole steak! Looks like I can proudly say from now on, 'When I eat steak, I eat one piece and then throw the rest away,' haha!"