Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 313 - 196: The Hardship of Foundation Establishment

Chapter 313: Chapter 196: The Hardship of Foundation Establishment

The Qu Family secured the superior Barrier-Breaking Pill for ten thousand Contribution Points.

Fang Yuan watched the scene unfold, shaking his head to himself, thinking that in the end, Qu Guang was still lacking in resolve.

If it were him, there’s no way he would spend that many points just for a Barrier-Breaking Pill.

They’d seen the auction list ahead of time, even before the Supreme Profound Sect’s auction began, so it was entirely possible to plan ahead.

He’d even discussed it with Qu Guang before, hoping he would join in, each family contributing points to share the risks.

Unfortunately, Qu Guang turned him down.

"Qu Guang’s betting on the present, but I’m betting on the future."

Fang Yuan shook his head and laughed, turning his attention away from the other party.

Instead, he focused on bidding; since he hadn’t spent any Contribution Points yet, he had some confidence in the auctions to come.

Sure enough, before long, the bidding for the Barrier-Breaking Pill Formula began, and the competition was even fiercer than before.

Lu Chang’sheng heard from the woman of Ruoqingfeng Building that Alchemist Lei had also entered the bidding fray.

Many of the alchemists from White Cloud Cave Mansion had solid backers, and as far as Lu Chang’sheng knew, Alchemist Lei was supported by the Ming Family.

A lot of alchemists tended to have a bit of an ego problem, especially those of Alchemist Lei’s standing.

The groups they built were different from Lu Chang’sheng; they banded together with other alchemists.

Some alchemists had family influence behind them—several alchemists together formed a formidable force.

For them, they could earn on their own; why waste money cooperating with other factions?

So, they didn’t mix deeply with other forces. For other matters, they might ally for convenience, but for a once-in-a-century auction like this, who wouldn’t want to have enough points to grab what they truly desire?

"This shouldn’t be an issue."

After listening for a bit, Lu Chang’sheng felt pretty confident about the outcome.

Sure enough, after a short while, when the price hit fifteen thousand Contribution Points, only four bidders remained, and by twenty thousand, only Fang Yuan and Alchemist Lei were left standing.

In the end, Fang Yuan—who controlled all the family cultivators’ Contribution Points—took the Pill Formula for twenty-eight thousand.

He almost dumped all his points into it.

Supreme Profound Immortal City.

Auction Hall.

Alchemist Lei watched as the silver-haired elder made the final call, looking a bit helpless.

"That Fang Yuan must be almost out of Contribution Points—if you lent me a bit more, I could have won that formula."

Seated beside him were several Grade-B Alchemists from White Cloud Cave Mansion.

Hearing this, one shook his head and said, "We don’t really need Barrier-Breaking Pills anymore; spending this much just for that isn’t worth it. If we fail to secure the Foundation Establishment Pills later, we won’t have anything to say to Fellow Daoist Zhou Lin."

At the mention of Zhou Lin, most of the irritation fell from Alchemist Lei’s face.

Lately, ever since Master Baiyun had returned and taken Zhou Lin as his direct disciple, the latter’s status had become completely different.

The direct disciple of Master Baiyun—likely the future head of White Cloud Cave Mansion.

This bid for the Foundation Establishment Pill wasn’t just Zhou Lin’s idea—it had been instructed by Master Baiyun himself.

"One Foundation Establishment Pill isn’t enough insurance. This time we need to get at least three."

"Alright then."

"Fellow Daoist Lei, why the long face? We’re laying the foundation for Alchemist Zhou. Once he reaches Foundation Establishment, we’ll have followed the right dragon—our rewards won’t be any less than what we could gain now."

"Huo Zun’s group, for instance—quite a few of them are regretting it now, trying to get in on our side."

Someone chuckled.

Even if there were no clear factions in White Cloud Cave Mansion, people always group with those like themselves.

With enough people, you naturally look for allies with similar aims to band together and stick it out.

Huo Zun and his crew used to stick close to alchemists like Lin Yan, barely glancing at the rest of them.

But now, with Zhou Lin’s status shooting up, Huo Zun’s crew had softened considerably.

Then again, karma’s a bitch—and payback’s inevitable.

Why would Alchemist Lei’s group accept them at this critical juncture?

This so-called "dragon merit" was nothing explicit—just some backroom deals Zhou Lin had promised them.

With success in sight, why let old rivals swoop in and take a slice of the pie?

That was never going to happen.

White Cloud Cave Mansion was like a slab of cake with rich icing—the higher you climb, the sweeter your share.

There were already enough people splitting it as is.

Alchemist Lei’s mood lifted, and as they chatted, they waited for the Foundation Establishment Pill auction to begin.

"No wonder they call it an Immortal Sect—so many Foundation Establishment Pills on offer at once."

Soon enough, the Foundation Establishment Pill bidding began.

Both in Supreme Profound Immortal City and Platinum Immortal City, people gasped in amazement.

Countless cultivators’ eyes burned with longing and hope.

Stepping into Foundation Establishment is like having a second life.

So it’s said—’Two Mortal Lives in Foundation Establishment.’

As a support elixir for crossing a major cultivation threshold, Foundation Establishment Pills are even more valuable than some Golden Core-level treasures.

Not only are they incredibly hard to refine, but the materials are rare to the extreme. For cultivators of Lu Chang’sheng’s rank, that’s just how it is.

As soon as the Foundation Establishment Pills appeared, the crowd went wild.

Bidding calls rang out, the price shooting to thirty thousand Contribution Points in an instant.

"Good thing I didn’t plan to bid for one."

Though he’d expected a surge, Fang Yuan was still startled by the numbers.

It had only been a short time, and already it’d soared to thirty thousand. If past auctions were any clue, the price would hit at least one hundred thousand Contribution Points, probably much more.