Mortal Alchemy

Left Hall Master's mind jolted, and her beautiful eyes couldn't help but wander, lost in thought:

"...Thirty-two, so young."

"It's wonderful that you could join one of the Four Great Sects, Fellow Daoist."

Her tone seemed to express a hint of envy towards Chen Ping.

This made Chen Ping pause, and he couldn't help but ask, "Did Fellow Daoist Left achieve Foundation Establishment after the age of thirty-five?"

"Indeed," Left Hall Master nodded slightly.

"I achieved Foundation Establishment at the age of thirty-eight, and thus had no hope of joining the Four Great Sects."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have become a guest elder of the Mu family."

Chen Ping was surprised, "It seems Fellow Daoist Left has had quite the extraordinary opportunity."

The limit for Foundation Establishment was thirty-five, and she achieved it at thirty-eight, but cultivators all had different opportunities.

Her appearance was average, but after years of Foundation Establishment, her bearing was excellent, possessing a sense of aloofness and arrogance.

Left Hall Master smiled gently, "Though the opportunity was good, it was ultimately useless. Without joining the Four Great Sects, acquiring second-tier resources is incredibly difficult."

"The Mu family's various layouts and structures are modeled after the Eastern Xuan Sect. Fellow Daoist Chen should know better than I how difficult it is to acquire resources."

Chen Ping nodded solemnly, "Indeed."

Left Hall Master also spoke the same words:

"The Four Great Sects have monopolized the resources of the Eastern Region's cultivation world for thousands of years. Without joining a sect, to prove and achieve Golden Core, one must venture into the Eastern Wasteland. Only there is there a glimmer of hope..."

Her tone seemed to deliberately curry favor with Chen Ping, "If Fellow Daoist Chen joins the Eastern Xuan Sect, we must interact more often..."

Chen Ping immediately understood that this woman found it difficult to obtain second-tier resources and wanted to expand her resource channels through him.

Chen Ping smiled and cupped his fist, "Of course, you have taken care of me quite a bit during my years in the Pill Hall."

This brought a smile to Left Hall Master's face, and it opened up more topics for their conversation. Only then did she bring up the main topic:

"Now that Fellow Daoist Chen has achieved Foundation Establishment, but still bears the Mu family's sixty-year agreement, did Fellow Daoist come to me for this matter?"

Chen Ping nodded, his expression serious, "Indeed."

It was true that he had achieved Foundation Establishment, but he didn't dare to unilaterally break the Mu family's sixty-year agreement, after all, the Mu family had a Golden Core True Person.

Left Hall Master said with a smile, "There are three ways to resolve the sixty-year agreement for a Mu family Immortal Seed who has achieved Foundation Establishment."

"First, marry a direct descendant of the Mu family and then regain your freedom."

"Second, pay six thousand spirit stones to redeem your freedom."

"Third, become a guest elder of the Mu family and receive five hundred spirit stones from the Mu family each year for ten years."

Chen Ping frowned slightly. Six thousand spirit stones was no small amount for a newly established Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The Mu family was truly eating people dry, scraping the bone and sucking the marrow, wanting to squeeze out the last bit of value from a cultivator.

To achieve Foundation Establishment, he only had a few dozen spirit stones left, with the remaining being various resources that had not yet been converted.

He currently had Ji Changsheng's spatial ring, Zhou Ying and Madam Guo's storage bags, the Lu surname Foundation Establishment's spatial ring, and Old Ghost Cao's spatial ring.

If he sold all these things, it wouldn't be difficult to gather six thousand spirit stones.

As for the Foundation Establishment spiritual objects that he hadn't used up yet, Chen Ping wouldn't dare to sell them, as it would easily attract trouble.

Becoming a guest elder of the Mu family would be a waste of his time.

And marrying a direct descendant of the Mu family, forget it...

Seeing Chen Ping frown, Left Hall Master said with a smile, "If Fellow Daoist Chen can't come up with that many spirit stones temporarily, I can lend them to you..."

Chen Ping pondered for a moment and said:

"Thank you for your kindness, Fellow Daoist Left. After I sell some of my belongings, if I can't gather six thousand spirit stones, how about I come to Fellow Daoist Left to borrow spirit stones then?"

Left Hall Master nodded, "Very well."

Chen Ping asked, "Where do I go to redeem my freedom once I've gathered six thousand spirit stones?"

Left Hall Master said, "If Fellow Daoist Chen is ready, I can take you to see the Mu family patriarch."

Chen Ping nodded:

"Okay."

Seeing that Chen Ping intended to leave, Left Hall Master wasn't anxious:

"When will Fellow Daoist hold the Foundation Establishment banquet?"

She had taken care of Chen Ping for many years during his cultivation, so she would definitely be at the Foundation Establishment banquet.

Chen Ping said with a smile, "After I've dealt with these miscellaneous matters and joined the Eastern Xuan Sect, I'll hold the Foundation Establishment banquet. I'll definitely invite Fellow Daoist Left then."

Left Hall Master smiled gently:

"Very well, then I'll await the good news."

Chen Ping finished his spiritual tea and stood up to bid farewell.

After leaving Left Hall Master's Daoist temple, Chen Ping no longer chose to walk, but gently took off into the air, no longer needing to rely on flying artifacts.

His ethereal figure swept through the Pill Hall, causing the many disciples of the Pill Hall below to reveal expressions of envy, longing, and awe!

Just like how Chen Ping looked at Li Erniu many years ago.

Chen Ping first returned to his own Daoist temple to prepare to deal with his spoils of war and sell them for spirit stones.

Outside Chen Ping's Daoist temple, a voluptuous and alluring figure was waiting quietly.

Chen Ping revealed a smile when he saw this figure, "Senior Sister Meng, I've kept you waiting."

The person waiting outside his Daoist temple was Meng Huang'er.

Meng Huang'er immediately turned around when she heard Chen Ping's voice, preparing to salute.

A look of doubt appeared in her beautiful eyes, as she didn't see Chen Ping's figure.

Then she seemed to have thought of something, her delicate body trembled slightly, and she raised her beautiful eyes to the sky, where she saw Chen Ping's figure floating in the air, slowly flying towards her and then landing.

Meng Huang'er's delicate body trembled violently, and an abnormal flush appeared on her face. She hurriedly gave a graceful bow:

"Congratulations, Martial Uncle Chen, on achieving Foundation Establishment!"

"Hey," Chen Ping said with a smile, extending a hand and using his magic power to lift her up:

"Senior Sister Meng, as the one who led me into the Immortal Sect, there's no need for such a salute. If you call me Martial Uncle, then it will create distance."

"Senior Sister Meng should still call me Martial Brother Chen as always."

Immediately, Meng Huang'er's vanity was greatly satisfied, and her excited delicate body trembled even more. Her pretty face was flushed to the extreme, even her earlobes were blood-red and hot, and she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips, sweetly saying:

"Then I'll accept your kind offer, Martial Brother Chen."

Chen Ping laughed heartily and said, "Senior Sister Meng, I've been in closed-door cultivation for several months, breaking through to Foundation Establishment, and I've kept you waiting."

Meng Huang'er shook her head like a rattle:

"Not long, not long. I only received the things from Martial Uncle Mu not long ago."

As she spoke, Meng Huang'er took out three second-tier Restriction Breaking Talismans and a jade slip:

"Martial Brother, Martial Uncle Mu asked me to pass these on to you."

Chen Ping accepted them with a smile, "I've troubled Senior Sister Meng to make a trip. Thank you for your hard work, Senior Sister Meng. Please come into my Daoist temple to have a cup of spiritual tea and rest."

Meng Huang'er gave a graceful bow, "Okay."

Apart from Mu Luofei, Meng Huang'er had the most natural and intimate relationship with him.

When Meng Huang'er walked into Chen Ping's Daoist temple, her mind was hot and muddled.

The little guy who lived in the cowshed back then had now achieved Foundation Establishment.

It truly felt like a dream.