"The Nine Orifices Sect is too far away. Besides, my cultivation depends on the clan's arrangents."
In truth, Yulou had already decided that he would enter Dripdrop Cave to cultivate in the future.
True Person Danri had tested his spiritual roots and judged them to be six parts fire and four parts water.
To harmonize his elental qi and achieve a swift breakthrough to Foundation Establishnt, he needed to supplent his water-attribute thods.
The Source Vein Gui Water Qi from Dripdrop Cave, which True Person Danri recomnded, would not only help Yulou balance his water thods but was also first-rate for magical combat.
Therefore, Yulou was bound to join Dripdrop Cave for his future cultivation.
For the Wang Clan of Anbei Kingdom, arranging for a disciple with dual spiritual roots to enter a Purple Palace realm sect was as simple as eating or drinking.
However, Yulou saw no need to explain all of this to Hongi, so he rely stated that he would follow the clan's arrangents.
"The clan's arrangents... Yulou, my good disciple, your family—no, our Wang family..."
"How our Wang family plans to handle is sothing the Patriarch has never given a definitive word on."
"The fact that you were able to refine a mid-grade artifact with thirteen restrictions today while only at the seventh layer of Qi Induction ans you are actually ready to complete your apprenticeship," Hongi probed hesitantly.
The condition Wang Xianmao had given him was to thoroughly instruct the two brothers in the artificing path before they would discuss his own Foundation Establishnt.
Years ago, in order to attempt Foundation Establishnt, Hongi had taken extre risks and endured imnse humiliation.
Yet seven years had passed, and the required resources for Foundation Establishnt had skyrocketed from forty thousand spiritual stones to eighty thousand spiritual stones, while Wang Xianmao had never once brought up the matter of his breakthrough.
How could Hongi not worry?
"Master, I only managed to craft the Purple Copper Dharma Sword with thirteen restrictions today because I fell into an epiphany during the refining process."
"As your disciple, I still have much to learn from you. I am far from ready to complete my apprenticeship," Yulou replied humbly.
With the enhancent of a full strand of Ruyi Golden Radiance, his attainnt in the artificing path had been temporarily boosted by a massive margin, raising his limit directly from ten restrictions to thirteen restrictions.
This was not a re thirty percent improvent; it was at least a fifty percent leap, as the difficulty escalated exponentially with each additional restriction.
Hongi did not truly care about Yulou's precise level of attainnt. He nodded and said, "An epiphany can indeed temporarily elevate one's artificing level, but Yulou, the fact that you could achieve an epiphany proves you have accumulated more than enough foundational knowledge."
"I want to find an opportunity to visit the clan estate and pay my respects to the Patriarch. I wonder if you or Fellow Daoist Rongsheng could request an audience on my behalf?"
Child, say no more, your level is already sufficient.
I have taught you every restriction I know, and you have mastered all the corresponding techniques.
The only limitation is your low cultivation base. If you were at the Qi Refining stage, crafting high-grade artifacts would be child's play for you.
"Master, you are aware of our Wang family's current situation. Uncle Rongjiang is currently in his second secluded ditation to break through to Foundation Establishnt."
"Though Ancestor Tie Qinhuo achieved Foundation Establishnt long ago, Uncles Rongyuan and Rongwen likely still need a few more years."
"Assuming Uncle Rongjiang's advancent goes smoothly this ti, the Wang Clan will possess four Foundation Establishnt cultivators."
"Ancestor Jingyi and Ancestor Tie are both from outside lineages, while the Patriarch and Uncle Rongjiang belong to the direct lineage—a perfect two-to-two balance."
"If you wish to attempt Foundation Establishnt, I am afraid you will have to wait until either Uncle Rongyuan or Uncle Rongwen succeeds before an opportunity arises."
Even though Yulou delivered discouraging news, Hongi felt vastly reassured instead.
With a mix of anticipation and trepidation, he spoke up, "So, the clan will still grant an opportunity for Foundation Establishnt, won't they?"
In his view, he had only committed a minor mistake in the past, and he had hidden his intentions well while enduring humiliation for all these years.
Therefore, now that he was redeeming himself through service, it was entirely possible for the Wang Clan to offer him a chance at a breakthrough.
"What I just shared was rely my personal analysis. As for the Patriarch's actual intent, you will have to ask him yourself. I will convey your request to him."
"Furthermore, whether the progress Yu'an and I have made on the artificing path is sufficient will also need to be evaluated by the Patriarch or other elders."
Yulou's words instantly poured cold water over Hongi's newly ignited fervor.
He stood frozen for a long ti before speaking in a calm, flat tone.
"I do not require financial support from the clan. The resources and spiritual stones from back then can be treated entirely as an apology gift."
"Yulou, you know very well that over these years, I have dedicated myself fully and held nothing back while teaching you and Yu'an."
He had laid his cards on the table, resorting to emotional leverage.
Hongi accepted his past wrongs; he wanted to negotiate for his future.
'Yulou, I made mistakes, but I haven't treated you poorly since!'
The artifact refining room within Huafeng Residence fell dead silent. The cooling water from the refining furnace dripped down steadily, each splash echoing heavily like a mallet against their hearts.
Anxiously staring at Yulou, Hongi felt a chaotic ss in his mind.
'Yulou, do you think I still have a chance?'
"Master, how old are you this year?"
Yulou's question was fascinating, deeply so. Hongi understood the underlying aning—at least a part of it.
His yearning for Foundation Establishnt began to race once more. The expectations that had cooled down ti and again soared anew, filling Hongi's eyes.
He put on a dejected front, attempting to elicit Yulou's sympathy.
"Eighty-nine. It sounds young, but Foundation Establishnt isn't guaranteed to succeed on the first try."
"If I fail, I'll need at least three to five years to recuperate. The delay would be devastating; I cannot afford to wait."
Yulou and Hongi were transitioning from mutual probing to a conversation aligned toward a shared purpose.
When it ca to Foundation Establishnt Seeds like Wang Rongwen and Wang Rongyuan, the Wang Clan possessed three within the Rong generation. Wang Rongjiang had taken the lead, and according to the Patriarch's arrangents, Rongyuan and Rongwen were right behind him.
These three possessed ample talent and accumulation; provided there were enough resources, at least two would succeed.
As for senior direct lineage Qi Refining cultivators like Wang Rongsheng, whose breakthroughs would be difficult but who still held a slim chance, the Wang Clan had seven or eight more.
If even one among them succeeded, the direct lineage would boast four Foundation Establishnt cultivators.
Yet Hongi was eighty-nine years old—an awkward age where he could afford to wait, but not for very long.
"Master, you must have noticed."
"In recent years, the Red Lantern Illumination Sect has sold a vast number of cultivation thods to rogue cultivators, and the conflict between Wondrous Peak Mountain and the Valley Spirit Sect has grown fierce."
"Those powerful rogue cultivators have been jumping between both sides to earn hefty rcenary fees, driving up the cost of Foundation Establishnt resources higher and higher."
"I recall that during the Qingxi Grand Assembly, a single set of Foundation Establishnt resources could be secured for forty thousand spiritual stones."
"Now, that exact sa set requires eighty thousand spiritual stones."
"I cannot give you a definitive tiline on when the clan will permit your breakthrough."
"However, I suggest that you might want to start accumulating Foundation Establishnt resources on your own first."
It would have been better if Yulou hadn't brought this up, because ntioning it only made Hongi feel more bitter inside.
Back then, why on earth had he been possessed by a sudden madness, attempting to murder these two disciples?
If he had simply joined the Wang Clan as a guest elder, the resources he had painstakingly gathered over his lifeti would never have been stripped clean by Wang Xianmao.
He might have achieved a successful breakthrough long ago.
As it stood now, one wrong step had led to a cascade of failures.
"Furthermore, Master, it is not entirely impossible to attempt a breakthrough without a complete set of Foundation Establishnt resources; the risk is simply higher and the success rate lower."
"You could adopt the sa strategy as Ancestor Tie: purchase only half a portion of the pills ant to protect your life and preserve your Dao foundation, and then make the attempt."
"That way, even if you fail, you won't completely waste your ti. As long as you escape severe backlash and injuries, the more attempts you make, the higher your eventual success rate will be."
Hongi stared at Yulou with slight disbelief, uncertain if this was a newly dug trap.
'Does the Wang Clan want to keep working like a donkey to amass precious pills and spiritual herbs for a breakthrough, only so they can plunder them again?'
'Is he just playing ?'
'Yes, that must be it.'
"It is true that ti waits for no one. Over these years, everything related to Foundation Establishnt has more than doubled in price, and so items are becoming unavailable at any cost."
"I have no idea when prices will ever drop in the future. Sigh."
Hongi did not buy into Yulou's empty talk and chose to divert the topic.
"They won't drop. Five years ago, many people were still transporting goods from various regions to sell here near the Red Lantern Illumination Sect."
"Later, it evolved to the point where cultivators nearing a breakthrough would travel abroad themselves to purchase the necessary resources along the way."
"Now, prices everywhere within the Wunan Basin have beco ridiculously inflated."
"The closed distribution networks of the great sects do not open up to small clans and rogue cultivators, resulting in less and less circulation of breakthrough resources. That is why prices are rising so rapidly."
"Once this trend begins, it is virtually impossible to halt. After all, everyone wants to maximize their profits."
After speaking, Yulou prepared to depart.
He still needed to visit the Hundred Treasures Pavilion to adjust the pricing for their complex inventory.
As the fighting along the Hidden Dragon River front grew increasingly intense, critical warti provisions experienced price fluctuations by the day, sotis even changing between morning and afternoon.
"Yulou, are you truly willing to let break through to Foundation Establishnt?"
In the end, Hongi called out to stop Yulou, voicing the deepest doubt in his heart.
Because just now, Yulou's words had implicitly carried that exact sentint.
"Our Wang Clan has always treated others with kindness."
"However, when facing enemies, we believe in acting decisively or not at all; once we strike, we eradicate the problem at its roots."
"Master, I believe you are an intelligent man who would not give us a pretext to weed out any threats."
"Besides, Yu'an has feelings for Senior Martial Sister. He is my younger brother, after all."
Yulou's stance was not surprising. In his view, Hongi could be allowed to achieve Foundation Establishnt, but only under several prerequisites.
Among those prerequisites lay the Patriarch's bottom line and Yulou's own objectives; it remained to be seen whether Hongi was willing to accept them.
The timing had to be after the Wang Clan's direct lineage possessed a sufficient number of Foundation Establishnt cultivators. This was the Patriarch's bottom line, as it would otherwise be difficult to maintain control.
Yu'an and Ningyao had to beco cultivation partners. This was one of Yulou's objectives; Yu'an was, after all, his blood brother whom he had watched grow up, and he could not leave him unguided.
Once Yu'an and Ningyao beca partners, Hongi would naturally be drawn closer to the Wang Clan. In the future, this discount master could, in a sense, beco an auxiliary force for Yulou—an unspoken objective Yulou kept to himself.
Cultivators capable of reaching Foundation Establishnt generally understood clearly enough whether they had any chance of witnessing the Purple Palace realm.
Under the suppression of the Wang Clan, it was impossible for Hongi to reach the Purple Palace. Even if he wished to stir up trouble, he would rely be gambling with his life.
Under such circumstances, drawing closer to the Wang Clan beca the only viable path for Hongi in the short term.
Yulou's display of proactive approachability was, in fact, an effort to build his own montum.
By leveraging the advantages of rules and raw strength, powerful cultivators could effortlessly seize the yields of low-level cultivators or clans like the Wang family.
If Yulou wished to walk farther along his path, he had to learn to band together with others for mutual warmth.
Just as he had told Yu'an, no matter how cruel reality might be, one must always begin by accepting it—or at least a portion of it—before searching for a way to break the deadlock.
As for whether Hongi might cause trouble in the future, Yulou did not harbor the slightest fear.
Because the Foundation Establishnt cultivators of the Wang Clan would soon erge one after another like bamboo shoots after rain.
This clan was marching toward a brand-new era.
"Those matters are easily settled, but the Black Vine Soul-Locking Art within my body..."
As for his daughter, Hongi did not particularly care; he had previously entertained the thought of using her to bind Yu'an, Wang Rongwen, and others to his side.
However, the Black Vine Soul-Locking Art inside him was a different story. If this technique was not dispelled, he would be barred from Foundation Establishnt for the rest of his days.
"Master, my stance carries no weight. You will have to convince the Patriarch."
Yulou smiled, signaling that he was rely playing the gentle role. Now that his part was finished, the remaining terms required Wang Xianmao to na his price.
With that, he walked out of Huafeng Residence, and this ti Hongi did not try to stop him.
Yulou had painted a beautiful illusion and left lightheartedly.
Yet this pie—resembling a flower in a mirror or the moon reflected in water—had thoroughly captivated Hongi.
He understood. Having feared and fretted for so many years, how could he fail to understand?
Hongi understood everything perfectly.
The three-hundred-jin Householder Redbrow stared at the vacant refining chamber, pulled over a chair, and slumped into it powerlessly.
How had he managed to cut off his own options step by step until the path was completely blocked?
Master, master... was Hongi a qualified master?
He had taught Yulou and Yu'an everything about the artificing path, yet it was also true that he had harbored murderous intent toward the two brothers on several occasions.
It was truly hard to say.
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