After Fang Hao emerged from the Illusionary Realm Trial, he didn’t immerse himself in the joy of his gains like the other Disciples; instead, he felt a sense of urgency.

The spiritual energy required for a Seven Spiritual Roots Foundation Establishment far exceeded that of an ordinary person. The foundation establishment pill awarded for the Sect competition might be enough for an ordinary Disciple, but for him, it wouldn’t even be enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.

"I must prepare in advance," Fang Hao thought to himself. "I need at least five, no, seven foundation establishment pills to be safe."

The problem was that foundation establishment pills were extremely precious, and finished products were basically never for sale in the market. Even if one occasionally appeared, it was immediately snatched up at a high price by major powers, leaving no chance for an Outer Sect Disciple like him.

The only way was to refine it himself.

But this presented another difficulty: the Pill Formula for the foundation establishment pill was monopolized by major powers and was never shared externally. Fang Hao had searched for a long time in the Scripture Pavilion and the market, but hadn’t seen even a shadow of the Pill Formula.

Just as he was at his wit’s end, he happened to hear some news: in one month, the Qingyun Market would host a large-scale auction, and one of the items was a foundation establishment pill Formula!

"An opportunity!" Fang Hao’s eyes lit up. But he immediately frowned—the Pill Formula would certainly be expensive, and with all his current assets combined, he probably couldn’t afford it.

"I have to earn enough Spirit Stones within a month!" Fang Hao resolved.

He immediately took action. First, he took stock of his assets: several treasures rewarded from the Illusionary Realm Trial could not be sold; what he could liquidate were mainly the Spirit Stones and Materials he usually accumulated, totaling about three thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

"Far from enough." Fang Hao shook his head. A foundation establishment pill Formula was worth at least ten thousand Spirit Stones, perhaps even more.

He had to increase the production of Alchemy and Talismans!

Fang Hao immediately went to the Spiritual Plant Hall and the Talisman Material Shop, using all his Spirit Stones to purchase a large amount of Materials. He then rented an Advanced Pill Refining Room and a Talisman crafting room—better environments meant higher success rates.

For the next month, Fang Hao entered a frantic money-making mode.

Refining pills by day and crafting Talismans by night, he worked tirelessly. With the time-slowing function of the qiankun ring, he effectively had ten months to prepare!

In terms of Alchemy, he focused on the two best-selling Medicinal Pills: the qi gathering pill and the Qi Recovery Pill. These two pills were in high demand with stable profits.

Fang Hao improved the Alchemy process. Using the Myriad Manifestations Heaven Swallowing Art to control the heat and his seven-element Spiritual Roots to sense changes in the medicinal properties, both his success rate and quality significantly improved. A single batch could produce over twenty High Grade pills, double that of an ordinary alchemist!

In terms of Talismans, he focused on two types: the vajra talisman and the divine movement talisman. These two Talismans were highly useful in combat and were in short supply.

Fang Hao also innovatively integrated different attributes of spiritual energy into the Talismans. For example, adding earth-attribute spiritual energy to the vajra talisman made its defense stronger, and adding wind-attribute spiritual energy to the divine movement talisman made it faster. These improved Talismans were an instant hit upon release.

To expand his sales, Fang Hao also found a few familiar Disciples to act as agents, giving them a share of the profits. Soon, his Medicinal Pills and Talismans were sold throughout the Outer Sect, and even some Inner Sect Disciples came to buy them.

Twenty days later, Fang Hao tallied his earnings: nine thousand Spirit Stones from selling Medicinal Pills, three thousand from selling Talismans, plus his original three thousand, making a total of fifteen thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

"It should be enough." Fang Hao breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But he didn’t stop, continuing to work overtime. It never hurt to have more Spirit Stones; there might be other things he needed at the auction.

In the final ten days, Fang Hao earned another three thousand Spirit Stones. His total capital reached eighteen thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, which was considered immense wealth for a Qi Refinement Stage Disciple.

The day before the auction, Fang Hao specifically went to gather information. As expected, the foundation establishment pill Formula was one of the grand finale items, with a starting price of eight thousand Spirit Stones!

"Good thing I’m well-prepared," Fang Hao felt fortunate. If he had relied on his original assets, he wouldn’t even have met the starting price.

On the day of the auction, the Qingyun Market was packed with people. Fang Hao arrived early, took an ordinary number plate, and sat in a back corner—it was better to keep a low profile and not flaunt his wealth.

The auction began, and items were presented one by one: Magical Artifacts, Cultivation Techniques, Spiritual Plants, Demon Beast Materials... Fang Hao remained unmoved, quietly waiting for his target to appear.

Finally, the auctioneer called out loudly, "Next item: the foundation establishment pill Formula!"

The whole venue fell silent instantly. Everyone knew this was the main event of the day.

"foundation establishment pill Formula, starting price eight thousand Spirit Stones, with each bid increase no less than five hundred!"

"Eight thousand five hundred!" someone immediately bid.

"Nine thousand!"

"Ten thousand!"

The price rose rapidly, soon breaking twelve thousand Spirit Stones.

Fang Hao observed calmly, noticing that the bidders were mainly representatives from several cultivation Families and a few Inner Sect Disciples. Outer Sect Disciples basically lacked the strength to participate.

When the price reached thirteen thousand Spirit Stones, the bidding slowed down.

"Thirteen thousand five hundred!" shouted a young man in fine silk. It was the Inner Sect Disciple Ye Qing!

"Fourteen thousand!" a middle-aged Cultivator followed up; it was the representative of the local Lin Family.

Fang Hao took a deep breath and raised his plate: "Fifteen thousand!"

The whole venue was in an uproar. Increasing the bid by a thousand Spirit Stones at once was quite a bold move! Everyone’s eyes focused on Fang Hao.

An Outer Sect Disciple, Gong Ming, saw it was Fang Hao, and a sharp look flashed in his eyes: "Fifteen thousand five hundred!"

The Lin Family representative shook his head and withdrew; this price had already exceeded the value of the Pill Formula itself.

Fang Hao didn’t hesitate: "Sixteen thousand!"

Gong Ming’s Face darkened: "Sixteen thousand five hundred! Junior Brother, how about giving me some Face?"

These words carried a clear tone of threat.

Fang Hao said calmly, "In an auction, the highest bidder wins. Seventeen thousand!"

Gong Ming stood up abruptly but was pulled back by his companion. He eventually sat down, gritting his teeth, and stopped bidding.

"Seventeen thousand once! Seventeen thousand twice! Seventeen thousand thrice! Sold!" The auctioneer dropped the gavel. "Congratulations to this Fellow Daoist for obtaining the foundation establishment pill Formula!"

Fang Hao let out a long sigh of relief, his palms drenched in sweat. He had finally secured it!

During the exchange, Fang Hao paid seventeen thousand Spirit Stones for an ancient Jade Slip. Checking it with his Divine Sense, it was indeed the complete foundation establishment pill Formula, and it even included some Alchemy insights.

"It was worth it!" Fang Hao was excited. With this Pill Formula, there was hope for Foundation Establishment!

After the auction ended, Fang Hao quickly left the market to avoid any complications.

Returning to his residence, he immediately studied the Pill Formula. Refining a foundation establishment pill was indeed complex, requiring over thirty types of Spiritual Plants, several of which were very rare.

"It seems I’ll have to find a way to collect the medicinal ingredients," Fang Hao frowned. This would be another major expense.

However, with the Pill Formula, the rest would be easier. He could collect the ingredients slowly, or if all else failed, take on missions to find them in Secret Realms.

Fang Hao carefully put away the Pill Formula and began planning his next steps:

First, he needed to reach Qi Refining Great Perfection as soon as possible to prepare for Foundation Establishment;

Second, collect the medicinal ingredients needed for the foundation establishment pill;

Finally, find a safe location for Alchemy—the foundation establishment pill was too precious to be refined in the Sect’s ordinary Pill Refining Rooms.

"The road is still long..." Fang Hao sighed, but his eyes were full of hope.

With a direction, he had motivation. Fang Hao continued to work hard to earn Spirit Stones while searching for news about the medicinal ingredients.

The path of cultivation was like this, one step at a time. And Fang Hao’s steps became increasingly firm and steady.

Foundation Establishment was no longer an unreachable dream.