Father Injured (Bonus Chapter)

By the usual custom.

After buying a Foundation Establishment Pill, cultivators would often kill and rob for treasure halfway home.

When faced with a rock too hard to chew, many cultivators would choose to give up.

With Lu Jinwen and Lu Jinxiu joining forces, it was enough to make some cultivators calm down and abandon thoughts they should not have had.

"Yes, Seventh Uncle," Lu Tianyi said. "But to guard against certain people making a move, take this Artifact Talisman."

As he spoke, he handed over a jade talisman.

Lightning flickered across the jade talisman, intertwined together as a Terrifying Aura flashed from it.

It seemed that with a single thought, once unleashed, it could become the strike of a Purple Mansion cultivator.

"This is an Artifact Talisman forged by the ancestor. It contains one strike from a Purple Mansion cultivator. If a Foundation Establishment Cultivator is hit by this strike, death is certain." Lu Tianyi said domineeringly, "The Lu Clan has declined, but we are not to be bullied by just any cultivator. If they want to wipe out an entire household, then kill their whole family."

There was killing intent in his words, along with a trace of madness.

The Lu Clan was very weak, but precisely because it was weak, it had to be ruthless enough to frighten off those with ill intent.

The more inferior a person felt, the more they cared about dignity; the weaker they were, the more they had to pretend to be strong.

"This nephew understands."

Lu Jinwen nodded, a trace of ruthlessness flashing through his eyes.

The Great Elder gave a few more instructions, then took out some Spirit Stones and handed them to the two.

Three days later, the two descended the mountain with more than twenty thousand Spirit Stones and headed to Ye Family Market to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill.

In the Lu Clan, even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's annual stipend was only three hundred to five hundred Spirit Stones. More than twenty thousand Spirit Stones amounted to forty to sixty years of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's income. Such an enormous sum was enough to draw some Foundation Establishment Cultivators into killing and robbing for treasure.

The Great Elder had intended to make the purchase personally, but ultimately gave up.

The Lu Clan had only just been established, and its foundations were unstable. He could not leave.

If he left and the enemy succeeded in stealing their home, the loss would be far too great.

There were some losses the Lu Clan could not bear.

"If they are a little more cautious, let this count as my test for them." The Great Elder's expression was calm, though within that calmness was a trace of cold cruelty.

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator should be able to stand on their own and deal with certain dangerous situations.

Rather than relying on this old man for everything.

The two elders, Lu Jinwen and Lu Jinxiu, descended the mountain and headed for Ye Family Market in search of a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Foundation Establishment Pills had a shelf life.

In the past, the Lu Clan would fire up the cauldron to refine pills every twenty years. The Foundation Establishment Pills they refined would first be distributed to the clan's cultivators, while the excess would be sold externally.

If stored in specially made pill bottles, they could be preserved for twenty years.

If stored improperly, five years was the most they would last.

Within Chu Kingdom, among the several commanderies around Qingshui Commandery, only the Ye Family, the Wu Family, the Danyang Sect, and the like sold Foundation Establishment Pills, and the quality of their pills was guaranteed. Foundation Establishment Pills from other sources could not even guarantee their quality. If something went wrong with the pill, people would die.

Lu Jinwen arrived at the Ye Family and visited the Ye Family Head, stating his intention to purchase a Foundation Establishment Pill and directly offering to buy at a premium.

"Twenty thousand Spirit Stones is a very generous price. But during our last batch, the Ye Family refined twelve Foundation Establishment Pills. Nine were used internally, and three were sold. Now the Ye Family has no stock left. It will be another twelve years before we refine Foundation Establishment Pills again. Twelve years from now, once the Ye Family's alchemists refine them, we will certainly give the Lu Clan one."

The Ye Family Head spoke apologetically.

"What a pity."

Lu Jinwen took his leave and departed.

Watching Lu Jinwen's retreating figure, the Ye Family Head wore a complicated expression.

The Ye Family still had stock—two Foundation Establishment Pills kept for emergencies—but they simply would not sell them to the Lu Clan.

In the past, the Ye Family and the Lu Clan had been joined by marriage. On one hand, they competed, fighting over nearby mines, Spirit Fields, population, and so on; on the other, they cooperated, joining forces against the Danyang Sect's encroachment.

But when the Lu Clan fell down, the Ye Family had been the first to move, swallowing a great deal of the Lu Clan's property.

It had also changed its policies to suppress the Lu Clan.

And that suppression was very covert.

Not long afterward, they arrived at the Wu Family. The Wu Family said they had Foundation Establishment Pills, but they had already promised them to two Foundation Establishment Cultivators who had recently joined the Wu Family, and they had no stock left either.

To obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill, they would have to wait another ten years.

"Third Brother, they have gone too far."

Lu Jinxiu said angrily.

Lu Jinwen said nothing, but fire blazed in his eyes as well.

The purchase of the Foundation Establishment Pill had failed.

They were far too heartless.

Whether it was the Wu Family or the Ye Family, they spoke of ten years later, thirteen years later. By then, too many changes could happen.

Yet even knowing these were excuses, Lu Jinwen could only accept them.

Time flowed on. In the Blink of an Eye, another eight years passed.

Crack.

Crack.

The aura around his body changed, and the bottleneck broke open. Lu Xuanji entered Qi Refining Layer 9.

Within his dantian, nine Spiritual Energy vortexes revolved, representing Qi Refining Layer 9.

As the vortices turned, streams of spiritual energy from the outside world were absorbed into his body and refined into threads of true qi, nourishing his flesh and soul as his cultivation gradually improved.

His life was slowly transforming.

He had finally attained Qi Refining Layer 9!

Lu Xuanji was only forty-eight years old.

By the recognized standards of the Cultivation World, anyone who entered Qi Refining Layer 9 before sixty could be called a heavenly prodigy.

When the Lu Clan had been prosperous, it had stipulated that anyone who entered Qi Refining Layer 9 before sixty would be granted a Foundation Establishment Pill. Those without money could buy one on credit.

Entering Qi Refining Layer 9 before sixty was extremely difficult.

Those with Five Spirit Roots had no hope. Those with Quadruple Spirit Roots had little hope. Only those with Triple Spirit Roots could achieve it.

More specifically, out of every hundred cultivators, only two or three could reach Qi Refining Layer 9 before sixty.

The grade of one's spirit root had an enormous impact on cultivators.

When he walked out of the Cave Mansion, Ye Feixue was waiting outside. She had already reached Qi Refining Layer 9.

She had entered Qi Refining Layer 9 a year ago, more than a year earlier than Lu Xuanji.

"Brother, you have emerged from seclusion."

Ye Feixue said with a gloomy expression, "The Great Elder has something to discuss with you."

"What happened?"

Lu Xuanji asked uneasily.

"I don't know either."

As Ye Feixue spoke, she looked somewhat apprehensive. She vaguely guessed part of the truth, but she could not say it.

A moment later, he met the Great Elder.

Lu Tianyi said, "Xuanji, I originally did not intend to disturb you, but at this point, I have no choice but to tell you something. Three years ago, your father Lu Jinwen, along with your Sixth Aunt Lu Jinxiu and the others, were injured by a powerful enemy on the road while purchasing pills for you!"