Inside the steward's hall.
Li Ping sat beside the table, holding a cup of spirit tea and sipping it slowly.
Steward He, meanwhile, stood cautiously behind him, answering his questions respectfully without daring to sit down.
Li Ping thought nothing of it. In the twenty-seven years since transmigrating to the cultivation world, he had long since grown accustomed to its rules.
For a junior Qi Refining cultivator facing a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator, being spared the need to kneel was already fortunate. Having no seat was only natural.
Before long, a clear hum rang out beyond the hall, accompanied by a spreading spiritual pressure stronger than Li Ping's.
"Oh? A Foundation Establishment cultivator. Has Meng Qingyi from Azure Dragon Mountain arrived?"
Li Ping's expression shifted. He rose and looked toward the entrance, where a figure walked in wearing a green ruqun, a pair of moon-white cloud shoes showing beneath the skirt.
The newcomer actually looked like a sweet, lovely young maiden.
The maiden wore a simple spirit-snake bun, piled high atop his head, making his graceful, jade-like neck appear long and elegant.
A green jade hairpin had been casually tucked at an angle into one side of the spirit-snake bun, lending him an added touch of liveliness.
The maiden looked sweet and lovely, and seemingly quite young, but Li Ping dared not treat him lightly.
A brief sweep of his Divine Sense told him that this maiden was actually stronger than he was, having already reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
"Martial Uncle Meng."
Steward He had already hurried over to the maiden and greeted him respectfully.
Only then did Li Ping realize that the person who had invited him here was this lovely maiden. He had originally assumed someone surnamed Meng would be a burly fellow.
The maiden waved for Steward He to rise, then turned his gaze toward Li Ping, a smile appearing in his eyes. A voice like the music of a flowing spring reached Li Ping's ears. "Qingyi greets you, fellow Daoist. Congratulations on successfully establishing your foundation."
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Meng. My success in establishing my foundation was a stroke of luck."
"Luck has nothing to do with establishing one's foundation, haha..."
Steward He served spirit tea, then respectfully withdrew, leaving only Li Ping and Meng Qingyi in the hall to exchange pleasantries.
During their conversation, Li Ping occasionally lifted his cup for a shallow sip, while the lovely Meng Qingyi seemed thoroughly disdainful of the spirit tea Steward He had served, showing no interest in even glancing at it.
After a few exchanges, Li Ping learned that Meng Qingyi was Windmist True Person's twenty-sixth disciple.
As they continued chatting, Li Ping discovered something that came as a delightful surprise.
Not only had Meng Qingyi reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, she was also a Second-Tier Mid-Grade talisman maker, capable of producing talismans of that grade.
Had they not been barely acquainted, making the request potentially too presumptuous, Li Ping would have asked right then whether he sold "personally used talisman brushes."
Asking to buy a "personally used talisman brush" was awkward, but seeking advice on talisman crafting was perfectly acceptable.
With a Second-Tier Mid-Grade talisman maker before him, Li Ping promptly asked her about several difficulties he had encountered while crafting talismans.
Meng Qingyi was surprised to learn that Li Ping was also a first-tier, middle-grade talisman maker. Hearing his humble request for guidance, he smiled and answered several of his questions.
Her pointers benefited Li Ping immensely. Perhaps he would be able to advance to a First-Tier Upper-Grade talisman maker before long.
"By the way, Fellow Daoist Li, I have a question. Would you be willing to answer it?" As Meng Qingyi spoke, he turned his lovely, expectant eyes toward Li Ping, leaving him momentarily dazed.
Li Ping could hardly be blamed. To improve his chances of successfully establishing his foundation in this life, he had preserved his primordial yang and remained an aging virgin to this day.
Facing this sweet, lovely maiden and breathing in the feminine fragrance drifting from him, Li Ping could hardly avoid feeling his heart ripple.
Still, he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator now, with control over his body far beyond that of a mortal. Li Ping quickly collected himself and smiled. "Please ask, Fairy. If I know the answer, I certainly won't withhold it."
Meng Qingyi broke into a smile at his reply and asked with some curiosity, "Then I won't stand on ceremony. As far as I know, the immortal city hasn't held any auctions recently, nor have any Foundation Establishment Pills been sold. Could you have attempted to establish your foundation unaided?"
According to common knowledge in the cultivation world, apart from the exceedingly rare cultivators with heavenly spiritual roots, even those with variant spiritual roots had no more than a fifty-percent chance of successfully establishing their foundation. Moreover, failure would severely damage their vital energy or even kill them outright.
Thus, cultivators without heavenly spiritual roots needed Foundation Establishment Pills to improve their chances of success. With the pills' medicinal power protecting them, even a failed attempt would not damage their vital energy.
Precisely because Foundation Establishment Pills possessed such miraculous effects, they were considered strategic resources among cultivators. They were watched like hawks from the moment they were refined, and the destination of every single pill was clearly known.
According to the immortal city's intelligence, Li Ping had never obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill, which was why Meng Qingyi had asked.
He had taken Li Ping for one of those ruthless souls who pursued the Great Dao even without a Foundation Establishment Pill, attempting the breakthrough alone to gamble on those slim odds.
Li Ping shook his head. He was not someone who disregarded life and death; he treasured his life dearly. "You jest, Fairy. How would I dare attempt Foundation Establishment without a Foundation Establishment Pill? But I didn't buy mine at an auction. I obtained it on the black market."
The immortal city's black market mainly dealt in transactions that could not bear the light of day, but its actual masters were also the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage. Even if Li Ping said nothing, Meng Qingyi could learn the truth with a little investigation.
Thus, Li Ping had no intention of hiding it.
In any case, he had bought the Foundation Establishment Pill with his own spirit stones. Besides, he had already used it and successfully established his foundation. No one could take it from him now.
"A Foundation Establishment Pill from the black market? You truly are blessed with good fortune, Fellow Daoist Li." Meng Qingyi nodded thoughtfully without asking further, then continued, "Now that you've established your foundation in the immortal city, what are your plans? As far as I understand, you're a rogue cultivator and haven't joined any faction?"
Here it comes. Li Ping's heart stirred.
Any faction would be tempted to recruit a Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator with a clean background like his. The Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage was naturally no exception.
He had suspected from the beginning that Meng Qingyi wanted to recruit him, and now it seemed he had been right.
In truth, Li Ping was quite willing to join the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage.
After all, the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage had a Core Formation True Person backing it and ruled the immortal city. Though joining would cost him some freedom, whether it was access to Spirit Lands for cultivation or the backing of a Core Formation True Person, he would certainly not lose out.
Moreover, to master advanced crafts through the Inheritance Tree, he needed to collect inheritances or implements that had been used by grandmaster-level artisans.
Joining the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage would clearly make collecting inheritances easier.
At the very least, he would have a very good chance of getting his hands on Fairy Meng's "personally used talisman brush."
For someone making his way in the Windmist Immortal City area, joining the Azure Dragon Mountain Lineage was his best option.
His thoughts raced, and Li Ping said with a wry smile, "You're right, Fairy. I am indeed a rogue cultivator, and I'm still practicing the basic Golden Sword Art. I haven't even found a Foundation Establishment cultivation method yet."