[Beast taming was also one of the hundred arts of immortal cultivation.]
[Beast tamers commanded spirit pets and demonic beasts to gain even greater combat strength.]
[After all, if a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator could command a second-tier spirit pet, human and beast could join forces, fighting two against one. Other Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators of the same level would naturally struggle to contend with them.]
[Tens of thousands of miles from Black Mountain Market stood a faction called Beast Taming Mountain, the overlord of the surrounding hundred thousand miles.]
[Beast Taming Mountain was renowned for its beast taming.]
["That auction twenty-eight years ago..."]
[You fell into thought, planning to snatch up that egg containing a Dark Demon Eagle in your next simulation.]
[Spirit beasts with earth-grade bloodlines were exceedingly rare and could enter the Foundation Establishment Realm with ease. Even you were sorely tempted.]
[Even if you had no use for it yourself, selling it would easily net you tens of thousands, or even a hundred thousand spirit stones.]
[There would even be plenty of factions willing to trade a Foundation Establishment Pill for it.]
["What is it? Are you interested in this Black Wind Eagle egg too, Pill Master Wang?"]
[You Rou asked with a bright smile.]
["Raising a spirit pet takes too much time and effort. I was only asking."]
[You shook your head as you spoke.]
[You were indeed interested in a Black Wind Eagle egg.]
[But not the Black Wind Eagle egg currently up for auction.]
[Rather, it was the Black Wind Eagle egg from twenty-eight years ago that contained a Dark Demon Eagle bloodline.]
[But that was a matter for the next simulation.]
["All right, the starting price is three hundred spirit stones. Each bid must increase by at least ten spirit stones."]
[After speaking, Ouyang De looked toward the assembled cultivators.]
["Three hundred and ten spirit stones."]
["Three hundred and twenty spirit stones!"]
["Three hundred and fifty spirit stones!"]
[In the end, the price of the Black Wind Eagle egg stopped at five hundred spirit stones. No cultivator was willing to bid any higher.]
[Although a Black Wind Eagle possessed a mid-grade bloodline and had a chance of reaching the late first tier, that depended on successfully raising it to that level.]
[The considerable resources and time consumed in raising it would have been enough to nurture a late Qi Refining Period cultivator.]
[The Black Wind Eagle's sole advantage was its unwavering loyalty once it acknowledged a master.]
[Five hundred spirit stones was the limit for this Black Wind Eagle egg, and even that accounted for the slim possibility that the eagle hatched from it might possess an earth-grade bloodline.]
[Without that possibility, an ordinary spirit pet egg with a first-tier mid-grade bloodline would cost no more than four hundred and fifty spirit stones.]
[With the sale of the Black Wind Eagle egg, the atmosphere at the auction immediately rose to another level.]
[Treasure after treasure was brought out for auction, prompting repeated bids from the cultivators present.]
[You also took the opportunity to bid several times, purchasing some spirit herbs and special resources.]
[You purchased those special resources to cultivate the Mountain-Sea Body Refinement Art.]
["I didn't expect you to practice body refinement as well, Pill Master Wang."]
[Seated beside you, You Rou glanced at you, her tilted posture exuding allure.]
["I only dabble in it."]
[Your tone was calm. The early cultivation of the Mountain-Sea Body Refinement Art was no different from ordinary body refinement.]
[As for body refinement... most cultivators would try it when they encountered a bottleneck. After all, it could improve their combat strength to some degree. There was nothing unusual about it, and no need to conceal it.]
["Alliance Leader You, do you know what the final item at this auction will be?"]
[You asked in a low voice.]
["It should be a second-tier pill," You Rou replied with a radiant smile.]
["A second-tier pill?" Your interest stirred. "Could it be a Foundation Establishment Pill?"]
["How could it possibly be a Foundation Establishment Pill?" You Rou rolled her eyes at you. "Even if Shopkeeper Ouyang had one, he wouldn't bear to put it up for auction. My guess is a Second-Tier Mid-Grade Realm-Breaking Pill."]
[A Realm-Breaking Pill was a pill used to break through one's cultivation bottleneck, generally for advancing from the early stage to the middle stage, or from the middle stage to the late stage.]
[A Second-Tier Mid-Grade Realm-Breaking Pill was used to advance from the Foundation Establishment Early Stage to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.]
[Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, the auction reached its final stretch.]
[The final item was indeed a Second-Tier Middle Grade Realm-Breaking Pill.]
[Compared with cultivation in the Qi Refining Stage, cultivation in the Foundation Establishment Realm was much more difficult.]
[Those with high-grade spiritual roots were heaven's favored children in the Qi Refining Stage, capable of advancing by leaps and bounds until they reached Qi Refining Perfection.]
[But once they entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, even those with high-grade spiritual roots would progress slowly, or even stall completely.]
[Most Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators possessed spiritual roots of at least high grade.]
[Thus, Realm-Breaking Pills became crucial at this stage, as they could improve a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator's chances of overcoming a bottleneck.]
[In the end, the Realm-Breaking Pill was won by a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator wearing a black bamboo hat.]
[This Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator radiated a terrifying aura, enough to send a chill through Qi Refining Stage cultivators.]
[After the auction ended, you parted ways with You Rou and returned to your cave abode.]
[You began preparing to refine high-grade pills and strive to become a High-Grade Pill Master.]
[In the thirty-second year, at forty-seven years old, you finally refined a batch of high-grade pills, joining the ranks of High-Grade Pill Masters.]
"High-Grade Pill Master!"
Outside the simulation, a smile appeared on Zhou Qing's face.
After two simulations spanning nearly a hundred years, you had finally become a High-Grade Pill Master.
Compared with your status as a late Qi Refining expert, the title of High-Grade Pill Master carried more weight.
After all, late Qi Refining experts needed high-grade pills to cultivate, and only High-Grade Pill Masters and those of even higher ranks could refine them.
Cultivating on your own? Absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth? Unless you had earth-grade spiritual roots, your progress would be slow.
The basic goals of the second simulation have been achieved.
Zhou Qing thought to himself.
Before the simulation, he had set numerous milestones for this run.
The basic goals were naturally to enter the late Qi Refining stage and become a High-Grade Pill Master.
As for the subsequent goals... they were to attempt Foundation Establishment, and even become a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator and a second-tier pill master.
[After becoming a High-Grade Pill Master, you began accepting assignments to refine high-grade pills issued by the Pill Alliance.]
[Assignments at this level offered higher rewards and also demonstrated your status as a High-Grade Pill Master.]
[You had already spent many years as a Mid-Grade Pill Master, so your advancement to High-Grade Pill Master was entirely natural.]
[That very evening, Deputy Alliance Leader You Rou came to visit your cave abode.]
[Inside the cave abode, you and Deputy Alliance Leader You Rou sat facing each other.]
"I told you that you weren't far from becoming a High-Grade Pill Master, Pill King Wang..."
Vice Alliance Leader You Rou's eyes were clear as water as she spoke with a pursed-lip smile.
["Oh, right. Since you've become a High-Grade Pill Master, Fellow Daoist Wang, your cave abode naturally needs an upgrade. I've already selected a high-grade cave abode for you..."]
Vice Alliance Leader You Rou brushed back the hair at her temple and spoke with a smile.
[This was also the standard treatment for High-Grade Pill Masters within the Pill Alliance.]
[Once someone became a High-Grade Pill Master, at least in Black Mountain Market, they could strike out on their own at any time, without having to live at the Pill Alliance's mercy.]
This was also why Vice Alliance Leader You Rou had been frequently showing you goodwill lately.
["Thank you."]
[You replied.]
["What is there to thank me for... If you need anything, Pill Master Wang, just let me know..."]
Vice Alliance Leader You Rou let out a soft laugh.
["Since you put it that way, there actually is something I'd like to ask of you, Alliance Leader You..."]
[An idea stirred in your mind, and you suddenly spoke.]
["I'd like to ask you to help me look into information about that Mountain-Sea Secret Realm, Alliance Leader You..."]
[You looked at You Rou as you spoke.]
[More than ten years had now passed since the Mountain-Sea Secret Realm appeared. Gathering information about it at this point should not be too difficult.]
[Your reason for seeking information about the Mountain-Sea Secret Realm was naturally to prepare for later simulations.]
[In this simulation, limited by your middle-stage Qi Refining strength, you could only set your sights on Maple Leaf. But in later simulations, your strength would continue to rise-to perfected Qi Refining, or even the Foundation Establishment Realm?]
[When that time came, your target would naturally be not merely Maple Leaf, but the entire Mountain-Sea Secret Realm.]
[In the three or four years after the Mountain-Sea Secret Realm appeared, you had earned tens of thousands of spirit stones simply by selling low- and mid-grade pills. The value of the entire secret realm was easy to imagine.]