I proved immortality with thunder magic.

The appearance of Hu Qianqian, a fellow villager, did not disrupt Zhou Tai's cultivation plan.

Out of consideration for their shared hometown, he wouldn't mind helping this fellow villager out as long as it didn't affect his own interests.

But that's all we can do.

His current abilities are only enough to make a living for himself; he's not yet at the point where he can help others, especially strangers.

As the days passed, with more than three months to go before Zhou Tai's fifty-fourth birthday, he finally broke through to the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage.

A 54-year-old cultivator at the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage would naturally be at the bottom among the outer disciples.

However, among the menial disciples, he was already considered tall.

Those disciples with four or five spiritual roots who are doing odd jobs are generally unlikely to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining before the age of sixty, which is why they are considered to have no hope of Foundation Establishment.

Of course, the principle of quantitative change leading to qualitative change also applies to the cultivation world. There will always be some menial disciples who, although lacking in spiritual root aptitude, have outstanding abilities in other aspects and can obtain elixirs and medicines to improve their cultivation.

Such a person still has a chance to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining before the age of sixty, or even cultivate to the ninth level of Qi Refining!

However, such people often get promoted to inner disciples through the outer sect competition.

Coincidentally, the latest outer sect competition of Spirit Beast Mountain was scheduled for the third day after Zhou Tai's fifty-fourth birthday.

"This breakthrough has increased the range of my divine sense to 25 feet, which should be related to the fact that I consumed two bottles of the Three Treasures Jade Dew Pills!"

Inside the cultivation room, after carefully sensing his own Qi Refining Stage 6 spiritual power, Zhou Tai's eyes immediately revealed a look of surprise.

He is now truly experiencing the benefits of having a strong spiritual sense.

He was able to draw thunder talismans with his mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation because his spiritual sense was comparable to that of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Now that his cultivation has broken through and his spiritual sense has made gratifying progress, he is naturally very happy.

Overjoyed, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Judging from this, if I can break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, I might actually be able to draw a first-grade high-ranking thunder talisman!"

Compared to the "Lightning Strike Talisman," a mid-grade first-tier lightning talisman, the high-grade first-tier lightning talisman is the real killer weapon.

Especially that "Chain Lightning Strike Talisman".

If one possesses several of these lightning talismans and unleashes them together, even ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators would have to temporarily avoid their attacks and dare not confront them head-on.

If Zhou Tai could draw such a thunder talisman, I'm afraid some Foundation Establishment cultivators would come knocking on his door to buy it!

However, drawing a first-grade high-level thunder talisman is too difficult, and Zhou Tai has no chance of drawing it now.

Only after he breaks through to the late stage of Qi Refining and his divine sense surges again can he try it out.

When Zhou Tai came out of the cultivation room, the joy on his face had disappeared.

Breakthroughs in cultivation are indeed a joyous occasion, and many cultivators will even hold a grand banquet to celebrate with their fellow disciples and friends.

But Zhou Tai had no such intention whatsoever.

At his age, a cultivator at the sixth level of the Qi Refining stage is, to put it bluntly, a disgrace to outer disciples. How could he possibly invite so many guests to celebrate?

When he is truly going to do this, it will surely be after he has successfully established his foundation.

Although he wouldn't celebrate wildly, he still treated himself and Thunder Frog Yuanbao to extra meals at noon, celebrating a small celebration with the frog and himself.

"Yuanbao, you need to work harder too! Once you break through to a mid-grade first-tier demon beast, I'll cook you a big meal!"

Zhou Tai picked up some spirit rice from his own bowl and threw it on the ground. While sharing his joy with his spirit pet, he also gave it a heartfelt word of encouragement.

Thunder-patterned Frog Yuanbao has good talent, but he was delayed for two years, which is why his cultivation level is still only a first-tier low-grade demon beast.

Spirit Beast Mountain also sells pills that can enhance the cultivation of demon beasts, but Zhou Tai heard that those pills are much more toxic than human pills, and feeding them too much is not good for the growth of demon beasts later.

Therefore, he didn't rush to buy the beast-grade pills for the Thunder-Patterned Frog Yuanbao, hoping that it would break through by relying on its own talent.

Anyway, Thunder Frog Yuanbao is still young, unlike him who needs to catch up with time.

Not long after, Hu Qianqian, who had returned home to visit her family, brought Zhou Tai another piece of good news.

"I have conveyed Senior Brother Zhou's message. Uncle Wang was very happy to hear that Senior Brother Zhou is doing well in the sect. He specifically asked me to tell Senior Brother Zhou that all his old brothers are doing well, and that Senior Brother Zhou need not worry about them. He also wishes Senior Brother Zhou a smooth and long journey in the immortal path!"

In the living room, after relaying Zhou Tai's sworn brother Wang Xiaoshan's words verbatim, Hu Qianqian smiled and cupped her hands in congratulations to Zhou Tai, saying, "Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhou, on breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Refining! I came in a hurry this time and didn't have time to prepare a gift to congratulate you, but I will definitely make it up to you next time!"

"Junior Sister Hu, you're too kind. My cultivation has only improved slightly; there's no need for such formalities."

Zhou Tai waved his hand, declining her offer.

Some cultivators do indeed hold grand banquets to celebrate breakthroughs in their cultivation and receive congratulatory gifts, but this does not include him.

Having dealt with him many times, Hu Qianqian had a general understanding of his personality and character. Seeing that he had said that, she didn't insist any further.

However, she quickly added, "When I returned home this time, my father learned that Qianqian was being taken care of by Senior Brother Zhou in the sect. He specifically asked Qianqian to express his gratitude to you, and said that as long as the Hu family is still in Yannan City, they will definitely stand with the Taishan Chamber of Commerce!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai couldn't help but laugh and say, "That old Hu, he's still as cunning as ever!"

Of course, they understood what the Hu family father and daughter meant.

However, since the other party is willing to make a goodwill gesture, he doesn't need to refuse.

He smiled faintly and said, "After my cultivation broke through, my talisman-drawing skills have improved slightly. From now on, Junior Sister Hu, you can take one more thunder talisman every month."

Hu Qianqian was overjoyed, knowing that her previous gestures of goodwill had been rewarded.

She quickly stood up, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your care, Senior Brother Zhou."

Zhou Tai, of course, wasn't looking after her for nothing. He quickly looked at her and asked, "By the way, Junior Sister Hu, you have a wide circle of friends in the sect. Do you know where the best place is if I want to buy magic weapons?"

Hearing this, Hu Qianqian's eyes lit up slightly, and then she looked at him seriously and said, "If I may be so bold as to ask, Senior Brother Zhou, what grade of magic weapon are you looking to buy? What is your approximate budget?"

"I only need a top-grade Tier 1 magic weapon. As for the budget, as long as it's genuine and of good quality, there's no upper limit!"

After a moment's thought, Zhou Tai gave a serious reply.

Hearing his arrogant words, Hu Qianqian's eyes showed shock, followed by a surge of joy.

She knew very well that this was another opportunity for her to gain a lot of goodwill.

The fact that Zhou Tai declared "no upper limit" is enough to show how much importance he attaches to this matter.

If she can handle this matter well and satisfy Zhou Tai, and let Zhou Tai see her abilities, she will definitely be able to increase Lei Fu's share in the future, and even a monopoly is not impossible!

Her mind raced, and soon she had an idea.

"If that's the case, Qianqian suggests that Senior Brother Zhou directly contact some renowned masters in the Weapon Refining Hall to commission a magic weapon. If a Foundation Establishment stage senior uncle is willing to take the order, they can definitely refine a first-grade high-quality magic weapon that meets your requirements to the best of their ability!"

Before Zhou Tai could respond, she immediately added, "If Senior Brother Zhou trusts Qianqian, you can write down your requirements and have Qianqian inquire with the Weapon Forging Hall. If you can get some quotes, you can make a decision after reviewing them!"

Zhou Tai thought her words were quite good and immediately nodded, saying, "This is a good idea. Let's do it your way."

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "However, there's no rush. I'll give you a list after the outer sect competition."

"That's even better. This way, I'll have more time to understand the situation."

Hu Qianqian nodded repeatedly, her smile growing even brighter.

Zhou Tai then took out six thunder talismans and gave them to her, thus completing this month's deal.

After Hu Qianqian left, Zhou Tai looked at the 144 low-grade spirit stones he had just received and, recalling her earlier words, immediately took stock of his wealth.

Over the past year, he has drawn many talismans, not only completing the Fire Serpent Talisman task of the Talisman Hall, but also drawing no less than a hundred Thunder Talismans, and obtaining a great many spirit stones.

In addition, he also has part-time income from feeding the Thunder Frogs, as well as the annual welfare subsidies for outer disciples.

All these miscellaneous incomes added up to a staggering 1,760 low-grade spirit stones that he could now use!

"So I'm actually that good at making money now?"

Zhou Tai looked at the piles of spirit stones in the two storage bags and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Although he already knew that as long as he could draw the thunder talisman, he would be able to earn spirit stones very quickly in the future.

But he never expected that he would earn so many spirit stones in just over a year.

It should be noted that he also spent some spirit stones to buy pills and other items during this period; otherwise, there would be even more spirit stones in his storage bag now!

He stared at the piles of spirit stones, his eyes gleaming with excitement, muttering to himself, "If this continues, wouldn't it only take me five or six years to accumulate enough spirit stones to buy a complete set of Foundation Establishment resources?"

Five or six years later, he will still be under sixty years old. Doesn't that mean he still has a chance to establish his foundation before he turns sixty?

But then he thought, even if he didn't lack spirit stones, given his current rate of cultivation growth, he definitely wouldn't be able to reach the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage before he turned sixty.

Moreover, he will need to spend spirit stones in many places later, and the thunder talisman market may not always be so popular. The ideal situation may not come to pass.

"Even so, at least when it comes to customizing ritual implements, we don't have to be stingy anymore; we can go all out on the budget!"

Thinking of this, Zhou Tai smiled even more.

He always had a good idea of ​​how to spend money.

So when he wasn't short of money, he was always very generous to himself.