Chapter 68: Always Following

plied without any courtesy."Good, good, very good. 31 million."“Thirty-five million!”Please note that "" are HTML tags, not part of the text to be translated. Let me know if you'd like me to translat...Lu Xia Tian pressed down on the reluctance in his heart, putting back the jade slips one by one. In the end, he only chose two kinds of pills for the Qi Refining period and the Foundation Establishment Pill. The rest, let's talk about it after successfully establishing the foundation. As long as he succeeds in establishing the foundation, he will have the power to protect himself.

Even though Qian Dali's cultivation level was higher than his, within the Lingxiao Palace, he couldn't do anything to him.

Here is the translation:

If foundation building fails, no matter how many formulas you have, they will be useless and only increase your worries.

When the elixir recipe was delivered to the hunchbacked old man, a hint of surprise flashed across his face, followed by a playful smile. "Foundation-Building Pill," he said with a chuckle. "Boy, you've got guts. Not bad, not bad at all."

As for these eccentric Foundation Establishment seniors, it’s best to speak less and err on the side of caution. Lu Xia Tian scratched his head, clueless as to how to properly respond, so he could only politely answer a few sentences.

After handing over the spirit stones, the hunched old man used a blank jade slip to make a copy and threw it to Lu XiaTian. Then he devoted himself to studying those strange scales.

With a lingering concern about the Spirit Root, Lu Xia Tian went back to the Library Pavilion and pored over countless ancient texts as Qian Dali had said. Information about the Spirit Root was scarce, merely mentioning that those born with it were destined to have no connection with the path of cultivation. Naturally, Lu Xia Tian felt a pang of disappointment.

"Forget him, he has nothing to do with the immortal path. Since his talent is so mediocre, hasn't he also cultivated to the middle stage of Qi Refining" Lu Xiaottian hardened his heart. He had gone through so many hardships to enter the Immortal Gate, how could he give up easily! Lu Xiaottian studied a lot of techniques, even those of the wind, thunder, and ice systems, but none were as smooth as his cultivation of the Hun Yuan Sutra. It seems he still has to rely on the Hun Yuan Sutra."

After leaving the Scripture Pavilion and seeing the vast variety of spirit herbs required for the Foundation Establishment Pill, Lu Xia Tian ran to Lingxiao Palace's market.

The Lingxiao Palace was located between the Taiqing Gate and the Wan Shou Pavilion. Many cultivators from both factions came to the Lingxiao Palace market to exchange for desired spiritual objects. Therefore, the Lingxiao Palace market was larger than the Moon Viewing City, and the variety of spiritual objects was much richer. However, Lu Xiaoteng spent several days in the market. Besides buying some seeds of spiritual herbs, he couldn't find other things like Zi Luo參 or three hundred-year-old Fengli grass. It was then that Lu Xiaoteng recalled the meaning of the hunchback old man's playful smile.

“Never mind, finding these things also requires fate. Trying too hard may not necessarily lead to results. It's been almost two months since I entered Lingxiao Palace, and my cultivation progress is rather slow. I should go to the Black Water Village mine first.”

"What, Lu Xia Tian went to the Black Water Village mine" Qian Dali was astonished after hearing Yu Bao's report.

"Not bad, junior has already investigated. These days, Lu Xiaitian has been seen in the library hall, and then he went to the market, buying a lot of spirit grass seeds, as well as an unknown number of talismans, and a high-grade spirit sword. There is nothing else suspicious." Yu Bao said cautiously.

“Lu Xiaotian’s performance over the past month was still within acceptable limits, but now he suddenly wants to go to the mine. This just proves that he must be guilty and has something hidden. You might as well run a trip to Heishui Village’s mine for me, how about it”

“Well then, Master Keqian, the mine is not only harsh and unforgiving but also home to many vicious criminals and evil spirits. There are often demonic beasts roaming about as well. I wouldn't hesitate to die, but I fear that if something were to happen to me, it would jeopardize your important mission, a responsibility I could never bear.”

Yu Bao said that on his lips, but in his heart he was crying bitterly. Before, he was still proud of getting the errand to get the big gift money, but unexpectedly, the situation changed drastically. Lu Xia Tian went to the Black Water Village mine, and he had been staying at Lingxiao Palace for six or seven years. He knew about the mining errands very well, and he had even worked in the spirit stone mine for a few days. It was during that time when the fourth-order demon scorpion appeared. There were countless casualties in the mine, and blood flowed like rivers. If it wasn't because he was at the back and ran fast, he would have probably died long ago.

"It's alright, old man will lend you a magic weapon. The Black Jiao Scissors. Also, here are some pills, so your cultivation won't be hindered even in the Heishui Village mine. For the monthly spirit stones, we'll go to the雜役殿 together after you come out of the mine."

With a flick of his hand, Qian Dali produced a black pair of scissors from his sleeve. The spiritual pressure was overwhelming.

"Well, but..." Yu Bao looked at the magic weapon, stammering.

“Hm Don't you wish to do what old man has instructed” Qian Dali's face suddenly turned cold.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

“No, I dare not. This junior has entered the Hei Shui Zhai mine.” Yu Bao’s back immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He knew very well that if he didn't agree at this time, it would be an insult. Either he shouldn't have taken this mission in the first place. Now that he was halfway through, he was afraid of gossip. He had told someone about a Foundation Establishment senior dealing with a Qi Refining disciple afterwards. Who knows how Qian Dali might deal with him then

However, even with all this pressure, when Yu Bao heard the word "artifact," his expression couldn't help but flicker with excitement. It was a pity that he could only borrow one. If he could possess an artifact, among the tens of thousands of disciples in Lingxiao Palace, he would definitely be among the top tier.

The power of a magical artifact is not comparable to that of a spirit tool. Only Foundation Establishment cultivators can refine them. Even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they wouldn't possess too many. After all, a magical artifact requires the mana of a Foundation Establishment cultivator to be nurtured for years and years. The longer it is nurtured, the greater its power becomes.

Because the process of nurturing a magic artifact also consumes a certain amount of the cultivator's own energy, not every disciple or even descendant of a Qi Refining cultivator can have a magic artifact.

This is a test.

With the Black Flood Scissors, there was no need to worry about safety in the mines. After all, encountering a fourth-order monster was extremely unlikely. Even among the numerous Qi refining disciples of Lingxiao Palace, it was almost a guarantee they could walk sideways, let alone in the mine.

"Well, this old man isn't unreasonable. I'll give you two years. If within those two years you find anything amiss with Lu Xiaitian, bring him to me and I will deal with him myself. At that time, there will be a hefty reward. After two years, if nothing is found, you may leave the mine and return the Black Jiao Scissors to me, and your freedom will be restored."

Qian Dali thought that he would still have to take a long journey in two years, and without the Black Jiao scissors, his combat power would be greatly affected. After pondering for a moment, he said,

“Yes, this junior will definitely get things done and closely monitor Lu Xiaitian.” Yu Bao said with utmost deference.

The spirit crane flapped its wings and soared through the air. Lu Xia Tian sat on top, enjoying the rare moment of leisure as he gazed down at the vast expanse of mountains below. From time to time, he could see disciples of Lingxiao Palace practicing their spells or honing their martial arts skills.

Some cultivators were performing the Spiritual Rain Technique, watering the spirit herbs in the garden. The Spiritual Rain Technique was a range spell that consumed a considerable amount of mana, and at least a cultivator at the later stage of Qi Refining could barely cast it. Even for Lu Xia Tian now, he wasn't qualified yet. Besides, occasionally, one could also see some young couples walking hand-in-hand. At some point, I'll be able to find a suitable other half too, Lu Xia Tian suddenly had such a thought, but he quickly dismissed it. Among the cultivators who entered Lingxiao Palace at the same time, his aptitude was the worst. Even Peng Dayu, who was similarly looked down upon, had a soil-based spirit root value of thirty-one points. He was much stronger than him. A slow bird must fly first. Only by putting all his energy into cultivation could there be a glimmer of hope for breakthrough. At this time, where would he have the energy to think about other things

Linghe rested several times along the way, flying continuously for a whole day and night before reaching Heishui Village, located thousands of miles away to the north.

In Heishui Village, there were over a hundred cultivators from the Lingxiao Palace in the late stage of Qi Refining and Grand Perfection. These cultivators could send signals to the Lingxiao Palace for help at any time in an emergency. It wouldn't take long for Foundation Establishment cultivators to arrive by sword. Lu Xiaoteng had the Treasure Gourd, a magic artifact that Qian Dali had given him, which was much faster than flying on a Level One Spirit Crane. As for the rumored Jindan experts, it would only take them a stick of incense to get there.mation's pattern, expanding it outwards, they are the only ones truly suitable for this task.Even if someone like the Master of Lin Hun Palace, with even greater strength than a Dan Ling, came, they m...