"Nephew Bai, are you still worrying about the Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Peng Chong finished settling the disciples and also walked onto the deck. The Wind Shuttle was being operated by the Stewards.

"The Sect Leader promised your Bai Family a Foundation Establishment Pill back then, so why worry? If you’re short on Spirit Stones, I can lend you a few thousand."

"What belongs to the Clan, stays with the Clan. I want to try and earn one for myself."

Borrowing before Foundation Establishment was a common practice for True Disciples from poor backgrounds.

The lenders saw it as an investment, confident that a True Disciple would be able to repay the Spirit Stones in the future.

Bai Zichen confirmed through Peng Chong that the Alchemy Hall was indeed preparing to refine a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, and he also learned that Su Li had already reserved a spot.

"Even if you don’t make it into this batch, the next one will only be in three to five years... The main issue is that Thousand-Year-Old Golden Crown Lingzhi is rare. The Sect doesn’t have a Medicine Garden Secret Realm to ensure a stable supply of this thousand-year-old Spirit Medicine."

The Thousand-Year-Old Golden Crown Lingzhi Peng Chong mentioned was a Tier Three Low-Grade Spirit Medicine, the most crucial primary ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill.

The other supplementary ingredients were valuable, but they could all be found on the market.

As for the Thousand-Year-Old Golden Crown Lingzhi, only a few Nascent Soul Major Sects with Medicine Garden Secret Realms could accelerate the maturation of spirit medicines and harvest them in stable batches.

Other powers could only rely on sporadic discoveries of Thousand-Year-Old Golden Crown Lingzhi to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.

Alternatively, they could take a different alchemical path, replacing the primary ingredient with the even more extravagant Demon Beast Core.

The Qingfeng Sect’s supply of Thousand-Year-Old Golden Crown Lingzhi came from occasional discoveries deep within Black Mountain, but more often, they relied on the auctions in Zengguang Immortal City.

’The next time they refine them... But I don’t want to wait anymore.’

Bai Zichen thought to himself as he stood on the deck of the Wind Shuttle, looking down at the mountains and rivers below.

Less than ten years had passed, and aside from the lusher surroundings, the Five Mountains Temple looked exactly the same.

When the Wind Shuttle landed, the Sect Disciples and the many members of the Cultivation Families waiting in the courtyard showed expressions of pride, shock, and longing, which varied from person to person.

Only a Sect would ever purchase such a massive Flying Magical Artifact; a Cultivation Family would never even consider it.

Cultivators from various clans came up to greet him, but Bai Zichen couldn’t be bothered with pleasantries and walked straight toward the Bai Family’s contingent.

"Uncle!"

The Elder leading the Bai Family this time was none other than his uncle, Bai Jiu’an.

"Brother Chenn, you’ve gotten taller..."

Bai Jiu’an looked at his dashing nephew, who was now taller than him, and his eyes reddened slightly.

"These two juniors are the ones the Clan selected this time. We hope they can gain something from the Inheritance Stele."

Bai Zichen noticed that his uncle was still at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. A pang of sadness hit him; it was incredibly difficult for a Pseudo-Spiritual Root Cultivator to achieve a breakthrough without a heaven-sent opportunity.

And the two reserved, youthful-looking boys who greeted him were only at the Third-Layer Qi Refining Cultivation.

However, when it came to the Inheritance Stele, one’s Cultivation level wasn’t that important. He himself, with only his Spirit Body receiving a high evaluation while everything else was rated mediocre, had managed to trigger a phenomenal inheritance.

「The next day.」

Seeing the Inheritance Stele again, Bai Zichen was still struck by its ancient and profound aura. Only by standing beneath the Stele could one truly feel their own insignificance.

Peng Chong stood on a high platform, giving the same old speech about working together to build up Black Mountain.

The five families with the lowest inheritance scores would also be removed from the list for the trip to Five Mountains Temple ten years from now.

This time, Bai Zichen’s mindset was completely different from when he had participated. He was much calmer. Aside from paying closer attention when disciples from the Bai Family and Qingfeng Sect took their turn, he was merely a casual observer.

’It seems the percentage of people receiving an inheritance has dropped significantly compared to last time...’

After watching for a while, Bai Zichen noticed that out of the first twenty or so people, nearly half failed to receive an inheritance from the Stele and walked off the stage, dejected.

Soon, the two youths from the Bai Family went on stage and completed the process. One sat silently before the Stele for a long time, his mind remaining empty. The other received a Tier Two Artifact Refining inheritance.

The results for the Sect Disciples were also reported back to Peng Chong and Bai Zichen. Of the twelve disciples who had gone up so far, only seven had received an inheritance.

As for the content of the inheritances, forget comparing them to last time’s Tier Four Talisman Master inheritance; they were only good enough to be used as filler on the second level of the Transmission Hall.

"How could this be? The Sect Leader and the others were hoping this trip to the Inheritance Stele would yield several top-level inheritances to bolster the Sect’s foundation..."

Peng Chong’s expression was grim, as black as ink.

He didn’t know if it was because the participants were less talented than the previous batch, or if the Inheritance Stele itself was weakening with each activation.

Suddenly, Bai Zichen spotted a graceful and familiar-looking young woman wearing the Daoist Robe of a Qingfeng Sect Outer Sect Disciple walking toward the Inheritance Stele.

Checking the list, he realized it was someone he knew.

’So it’s her... She’s already at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining. In my memory, she’s still just a little girl.’

This graceful young woman was none other than Huo Feiyan, the girl with Dual Spiritual Roots discovered during the Spirit-Guiding Ceremony Bai Zichen had attended. She was later sent to the Qingfeng Sect.

Looking closely, he could still see traces of the adorable, doll-like features she had back then.

"Junior Martial Uncle Peng, Senior Brother Bai, I obtained a scroll called the Soaring Dragon Thought Method. It seems to be a Cultivation Technique for using Divine Sense."

After stepping down from the stage, Huo Feiyan spoke in a soft, sweet voice. As she bowed, she gave Bai Zichen an extra glance, clearly remembering him.

"Good. Hand it over to the Transmission Hall after we return to the Sect. It will be evaluated and you’ll be awarded the appropriate amount of Sect Contribution."

Peng Chong’s expression eased slightly. Cultivation Techniques involving Divine Sense were extremely rare. He estimated that from this entire trip to the Inheritance Stele, only the Soaring Dragon Thought Method had a chance of being placed on the third level of the Transmission Hall.

Although this result wasn’t directly his fault, it was certain he wouldn’t be leading the trip to the Five Mountains Temple in another ten years.

When all fifty people had finished the inheritance process, not a single phenomenon had occurred, leaving many of the Cultivators who had come with high hopes greatly disappointed.

This was especially true for the five Cultivation Families that had recently moved to Black Mountain. They had heard that top-level Cultivation Techniques could be found in the Inheritance Stele, and every spot had been meticulously chosen from among their most suitable clan members.

The inheritances they received weren’t bad, per se, but they were a far cry from what they had anticipated.

...

At the evening banquet, the cultivators’ glasses clinked as they socialized, though there were also sarcastic exchanges between the new and old Cultivation Families.

Bai Zichen sat for a while before getting up and leaving, finding the banquet too noisy.

Without realizing it, he slowly walked back to the third level of the Five Mountains Temple.

He had his True Disciple’s Jade Pendant, so all the Array Restrictions in the courtyard were open to him. There was no place he couldn’t go.

’In a few more months, the first layer of my Five Crystal Glaze Body should reach Perfection. I’m also not far from the Peak of Ninth-Layer Qi Refining... Once I advance to Qi Refining Great Perfection, I’ll be qualified to attempt Foundation Establishment at any time. The so-called polishing one’s realm and purifying one’s magical power are just excuses, nothing more than a lack of confidence in one’s ability to reach Foundation Establishment.’

Qi Refining Great Perfection, as the name implied, was the absolute peak of the Qi Refining Stage. No matter how much one cultivated, their Magical Power could not increase any further.

Cultivators who reached this step could only temper their physical bodies, use their Magical Power to refine the Erysipelas within them, and accumulate resources to purchase a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object or a Foundation Establishment Pill.

’Ten years ago, standing before the Inheritance Stele, I never would have imagined that in just a decade, I’d be standing at the gateway to Foundation Establishment, ready to take that step...’

Bai Zichen murmured with emotion, reaching out to trace the characters on the Inheritance Stele.

This Flower Bird Talisman possessed immense power in Ancient Times. Back then, the concept of Talismans didn’t yet exist; Cultivators could combine Flower Bird Talismans to form powerful Magic capable of moving mountains, parting seas, and shattering the void.

But as time passed, the Flower Bird Talisman seemed to have lost the powerful Divine Techniques it once held, becoming nothing more than ordinary characters.