A Slap in the Face, a Foundation Establishment Banquet?

"Deacon Wang, I just broke through, and stabilizing my cultivation delayed me a little. I hope you'll forgive me."

As soon as he appeared, Li Yunjing smiled and cupped his hands at Wang Qianxue.

Wang Qianxue smiled faintly. "It's fine, it's fine."

"You've broken through to Foundation Establishment. Congratulations."

Wang Qianxue congratulated Li Yunjing.

The other three Foundation Establishment cultivators also stepped forward.

All of them wore broad smiles as they cupped their hands and congratulated Li Yunjing on entering Foundation Establishment.

Li Yunjing responded to each of them.

Afterward, Wang Qianxue announced her decision.

Since Li Yunjing had become a Foundation Establishment cultivator,

The Luozhen Sect could retain its Immortal Alliance membership.

With Wang Qianxue's confirmation, the stone weighing on Li Yunjing's heart finally fell away.

Mo Xuan and the other Luozhen Sect members all breathed a sigh of relief as well.

At that moment, a flash of light passed over the storage ring on Wang Qianxue's right index finger.

The next moment, a jade token appeared in her hand.

"Sect Leader Li, please keep this Immortal Alliance Member Token safe. From now on, the Immortal Alliance will contact you through it."

Wang Qianxue handed the token to Li Yunjing.

Li Yunjing took it. "Thank you, Deacon Wang."

Wang Qianxue nodded slightly.

The assessment she had come to the Luozhen Sect to conduct was complete,

And she had other matters to attend to,

So she did not intend to stay at the Luozhen Sect for long.

The other two Immortal Alliance deacons were much the same.

Before leaving, Huo Junrui made a point of pulling Li Yunjing aside.

"Sect Leader Li, I really didn't expect you to reach Foundation Establishment just in time. I was impulsive earlier. Please forgive me."

Huo Junrui did not know the specifics of Li Yunjing's talent.

But Li Yunjing had reached Foundation Establishment at such a young age, so his future achievements would certainly not be low.

Huo Junrui was no fool.

Why make an enemy for himself for no reason?

It was better to apologize early and turn weapons of war into gifts of friendship.

Li Yunjing smiled faintly. "It's all right."

Li Yunjing understood Huo Junrui's behavior as well.

And given Huo Junrui's status as an Immortal Alliance deacon,

Li Yunjing would not hold it against him too much.

Huo Junrui felt that an apology alone was not enough.

Before leaving, he took out several Spirit Stone notes and pressed them into Li Yunjing's hands.

Before Li Yunjing could say anything, Huo Junrui left with Wang Qianxue.

After the three Immortal Alliance deacons departed,

Aside from the Luozhen Sect's own members,

Only Li Qiuchen and the Li Household Patriarch remained at the sect.

The two of them felt very awkward.

They had originally come to scheme for Serene Valley.

Who would have thought their plan would fall through?

"Sect Leader Li, congratulations! You've become a Foundation Establishment cultivator at such a young age. Your future is limitless."

The Li Household Patriarch smiled, cupped his hands at Li Yunjing, and offered him a compliment.

One did not strike a smiling face.

Seeing this, Li Yunjing could only respond politely.

He had intended to invite the two into Luozhen Hall for a chat.

But the two knew their place.

They understood that if they stayed at the Luozhen Sect any longer,

They would only draw greater hostility from the sect.

So after offering his compliment, the Li Household Patriarch found an excuse,

And took Li Qiuchen directly out of the Luozhen Sect.

Before leaving, the Li Household Patriarch said that nothing the Li Household had done today had been intended to offend the Luozhen Sect.

The Li Household also knew that what it had done was wrong, so the Li Household Patriarch would personally come to apologize later.

Li Yunjing exchanged a few polite words with them and let them leave.

Once the two had left Serene Valley,

Mo Xuan immediately came to Li Yunjing's side.

"Senior Brother, are we just letting those two leave like that?"

Mo Xuan was somewhat indignant.

The Li Household had previously paid the Luozhen Sect no regard at all.

Now that they had seen Li Yunjing successfully reach Foundation Establishment, they had immediately backed down.

They had escaped without any punishment. How could things be so easy for them?

The others felt the same way.

They were furious that the two had simply left.

Li Yunjing asked exactly what the Li Household had done.

After learning of its actions, Li Yunjing shook his head slightly.

"Forget it. Now isn't the time to make an enemy of the Li Household," Li Yunjing said.

Although the Li Household had indeed gone a bit too far,

It had not actually done anything.

It had not harmed Mo Xuan and the others, nor had it damaged the Luozhen Sect.

That much was not enough to warrant making an enemy of the Li Household.

After all, the Li Household was also a century-old Lineage in Xunxian Town.

It had a foundation of its own, and in the Luozhen Sect's current state, valuing peace was the safest course.

Besides, the Li Household Patriarch had said he would personally come to apologize later.

Li Yunjing had even less reason to make the two stay.

Moreover, the Luozhen Sect now had a Foundation Establishment cultivator in Li Yunjing.

It could be said to have gained a little say in Xunxian Town.

In the future, it would inevitably have dealings with the Li Household and other powers backed by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

If they rashly fell out with the Li Household now,

It would not be a wise move for the Luozhen Sect.

Seeing that Li Yunjing was firm in his decision,

Mo Xuan and the others had nothing more to say.

After all, Li Yunjing was the sect leader.

"Senior Brother, congratulations on reaching Foundation Establishment."

Having adjusted his mood, Mo Xuan smiled and congratulated Li Yunjing.

The others also gathered around and congratulated Li Yunjing one after another.

Li Yunjing laughed a few times, very pleased.

Reaching Foundation Establishment was indeed something to be happy about.

Li Yunjing immediately announced a reward of fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones for each of the two elders.

Each of the five disciples would receive thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The seven people present beamed with delight.

After dismissing everyone, Li Yunjing went to Luozhen Hall with Mo Xuan and Shui Yao.

"Junior Brother, how has the Luozhen Sect been these past two months?" Li Yunjing asked as they walked.

Mo Xuan said, "It's been developing quite well. At least it looks like a sect now.

The tasks you assigned me have also borne fruit, Senior Brother.

Over the past two months, the five disciples and I built two structures: a martial arts platform and a residence for the disciples."

Li Yunjing was pleasantly surprised.

He planned to take a look at the two new structures later.

After they entered Luozhen Hall, Mo Xuan and Shui Yao told Li Yunjing about the other happenings in the Luozhen Sect over the past two months.

For example, over those two months, the Poultry Coop

Had produced 576 ordinary spirit chicken eggs.

After some had been eaten, over 400 remained.

It had also produced 27 premium spirit chicken eggs.

But not one of those had been eaten; Mo Xuan had saved them all.

The rest concerned the current situation of the five disciples.

After telling Li Yunjing about these matters,

Shui Yao suddenly said, "Senior Brother, now that you've reached Foundation Establishment, surely you should hold a Foundation Establishment banquet like Master did and invite fellow cultivators from the surrounding area to congratulate you."

A Foundation Establishment banquet was a feast cultivators held after reaching Foundation Establishment.

Its main purpose was celebration.

Especially for low-level cultivators,

Reaching Foundation Establishment was indeed a happy occasion worth celebrating.

What was more, Li Yunjing was the leader of a sect.

After hearing this, Li Yunjing fell into thought.

He would naturally hold a Foundation Establishment banquet.

It was not just for the sake of celebrating.

More importantly, it was to establish relationships with fellow cultivators.

The Luozhen Sect had once been on good terms with a number of other sects.

But as the Luozhen Sect declined, those relationships had grown distant.

Now it was time to restore them.

That would help the Luozhen Sect develop more smoothly in Xunxian Town in the future.

Of course, there was an even greater purpose to holding a Foundation Establishment banquet.

It would announce to the surrounding area that he had reached Foundation Establishment.

But Li Yunjing was thinking further ahead.

"Junior Brother Mo, Junior Sister Shui, you've both already reached Qi Refining Completion. In my opinion, we might as well wait until you've also reached Foundation Establishment, then the three of us can hold a Foundation Establishment banquet together."

Li Yunjing smiled as he spoke.

Mo Xuan and Shui Yao's eyes widened when they heard this.

"Senior Brother, even though we're both at Qi Refining Completion, there's no telling how long we'll have to wait before we reach Foundation Establishment," Mo Xuan said.

Li Yunjing smiled. "You two can rest easy with your senior brother here."

Li Yunjing thought of the cultivation room.

First, he would upgrade it.

Then he would have Mo Xuan and Shui Yao cultivate inside.

With the help of its multiple buffs and Foundation Establishment Pills,

Mo Xuan and Shui Yao would presumably reach Foundation Establishment very soon.

Mo Xuan and Shui Yao still lacked confidence, but Li Yunjing told them to do as he said.

He told them not to busy themselves with other matters and to go cultivate first.

After the two left, Li Yunjing opened the cultivation room's information panel.

[Cultivation room (lv1)]

[lv2 spiritual effects: Spiritual Qi concentration +30%; cultivation speed +25% while cultivating here; risk of Qi Deviation -15%.]

[Upgrade requirements: Calming Mind Meditation Cushion ×1, Low-Grade Spirit Stones ×20]

"That won't be too difficult. It'll reach lv2 soon."

Li Yunjing murmured softly to himself...