[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-ascending-to-the-jade-palace":3,"chapter-ascending-to-the-jade-palace-ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-68":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Ascending to the Jade Palace",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2320530,4538,"Chapter 68: Yulou, Do You Think I Still Have a Chance?","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-68",68,"\u003Cp>The Nine Apertures Sect is too far away, and my cultivation depends on the clan’s arrangements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Yulou has already been assigned to cultivate in the Dropping Water Cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True Person Danri tested his spiritual roots and judged them to be six parts fire, four parts water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To harmonize his root energy and achieve Foundation Establishment sooner, he needs to supplement his water methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dropping Water Cave’s Inverted Vein Gui Water Qi, recommended by True Person Danri, can both supplement Yulou’s water methods and excel in combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, Yulou will definitely join the Dropping Water Cave for cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the Wang clan of Anbei State, placing a dual-spirit-root disciple into a Purple Mansion sect is as simple as eating and drinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Yulou had no need to explain all this to Hongmei, so he merely said he would follow the clan’s arrangements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clan arrangements, Yulou... good disciple, you, no—our Wang family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our Wang family hasn’t given me any clear word on how they plan to handle me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Today, with your Qi Refining seventh-layer cultivation base, you forged a mid-grade magic treasure with thirteen sealing layers—you’re already ready to graduate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei probed hesitantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Xianmao’s condition was that Yulou must first teach both of them the art of forging before discussing his own Foundation Establishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, Hongmei had taken desperate risks and endured humiliation to achieve Foundation Establishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But seven years have passed; the cost of Foundation Establishment materials has risen from forty thousand spirit stones to eighty thousand, yet Wang Xianmao has never once spoken to him about his Foundation Establishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could Hongmei not be anxious?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, today I entered a state of sudden enlightenment during the forging process, which allowed me to forge the thirteen-layer sealing on the purple copper magic sword.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As your disciple, I still have much to learn from you—I’m far from ready to graduate,” Yulou replied humbly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the full power of the Ruyi Golden Light, his forging skill temporarily surged—jumping directly from the thirteenth-layer seal to the thirteenth-layer seal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t a thirty-percent increase, but at least fifty percent, since difficulty rises exponentially with each additional layer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he deliberately forged one extra layer, triggering the explosion of the purple copper sword, allowing him now to claim he had merely entered a state of sudden enlightenment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei didn’t care about Yulou’s forging mastery; he nodded and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sudden enlightenment can temporarily boost forging skill, but Yulou, your ability to enter such a state proves you’ve accumulated enough groundwork.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’d like to find an opportunity to visit the clan chief—could you or Rongsheng help me request an audience?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Son, don’t say more—your forging skill is truly sufficient.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve taught you every sealing technique I know, and you’ve mastered all corresponding methods.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re only low in cultivation—once you reach Qi Refining, forging a high-grade magic treasure won’t be difficult.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, you know our Wang clan’s situation—Uncle Rongjiang is currently in his second closed-door attempt to reach Foundation Establishment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iron Qinhao, the Iron Ancestor, achieved Foundation Establishment long ago, but Uncles Rongyuan and Rongwen may still need more years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Uncle Rongjiang succeeds this time, the Wang clan will have four Foundation Establishment cultivators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grandmother Jingyi and the Iron Ancestor are outsiders; the clan chief and Uncle Rongjiang are direct-line heirs—two to two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you wish to achieve Foundation Establishment, you’ll likely have to wait until Uncle Rongyuan or Uncle Rongwen succeed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou’s words were not good news, yet Hongmei felt suddenly reassured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With hopeful trepidation, he spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So the clan still intends to give me a chance at Foundation Establishment, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his view, he had merely committed a small mistake, yet endured years of humiliation and played his part well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, under the circumstances of his redemption through service, it was still possible the Wang clan would grant him a Foundation Establishment opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That was merely my analysis—ask the clan chief yourself what he intends. I’ll request an audience on your behalf.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, whether my and Yu’an’s forging training is sufficient must be judged by the clan chief or other elders.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou’s words doused Hongmei’s rising hopes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood frozen for a long while, then spoke calmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t need the clan’s support. All the resources and spirit stones I received back then, I’ll consider repayment for my sins.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yulou, you know well—I’ve given you and Yu’an everything I had, without reservation, these past years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He laid his cards on the table—playing the emotional blackmail card.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He accepted his past mistakes; now he wanted to speak of his future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou, I was wrong—but I’ve treated you well since then!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The forging chamber of Huafeng House fell utterly silent; the cooling water dripped from the furnace, each drop striking heavy on both their hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei watched Yulou anxiously, his mind in turmoil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou, do you think I still have a chance?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, how old are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou’s question was clever—very clever. Hongmei understood his meaning, at least partially.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His longing for Foundation Establishment stirred again; the cold, extinguished hopes flared back to life, filling Hongmei’s eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He feigned disappointment, trying to win Yulou’s sympathy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eighty-nine. Sounds young, but Foundation Establishment isn’t guaranteed on the first try.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I fail, I’ll need three to five years to recover—time I can’t afford to waste.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou and Hongmei were shifting from mutual probing toward a shared understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the Wang clan’s Rong generation, there were three Foundation Establishment seeds: Wang Rongjiang led the pack, followed by Rongyuan and Rongwen as planned by the clan chief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All three have strong talent and sufficient accumulation; with adequate resources, at least two will succeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for senior direct-line Qi Refining cultivators like Wang Rongsheng, who struggle but still have some chance, the Wang clan has seven or eight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If even one of them succeeds, the direct line will have four Foundation Establishment cultivators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Hongmei is eighty-nine—this is an awkward age. He can wait, but he can’t afford to wait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, you must have noticed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These past years, Hongdengzhao has sold many techniques to free cultivators, and Miaofeng Mountain and Gushen Sect have clashed fiercely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Powerful free cultivators have been hopping between both sides, earning bounty fees, driving up the price of Foundation Establishment materials.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remember, during the Qingxi Fair, forty thousand spirit stones were enough to secure a full set of Foundation Establishment materials.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, the same set costs eighty thousand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I can’t give you a definite timeline for when the clan will approve your Foundation Establishment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I suggest you start accumulating the materials now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou hadn’t mentioned this before, but now that he had, Hongmei’s heart grew even heavier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How had he ever been so foolish as to want to kill these two disciples?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he had simply joined the Wang clan as a guest master, his hard-earned materials would never have been seized by Wang Xianmao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He might have achieved Foundation Establishment long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, one misstep led to another, and another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moreover, Master, you can still attempt Foundation Establishment without full materials—it’s just riskier and less likely to succeed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You could follow the Iron Ancestor’s strategy: buy only half the pills needed to preserve your life and foundation, then attempt it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if you fail, you won’t waste time—without backlash or injury, each attempt increases your chance of success.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei stared at Yulou, uncertain if this was another trap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Does the Wang clan want me to keep grinding, hoard pills and spirit herbs, then steal them from me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is he just pretending?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, that’s exactly it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Time doesn’t wait—it’s true. Over these years, everything related to Foundation Establishment has doubled in price, some have become unobtainable even at any cost.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knows when prices will drop again? Sigh.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei didn’t believe Yulou’s nonsense—he changed the subject.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They won’t drop. Five years ago, many still transported goods from afar to sell at Hongdengzhao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, cultivators nearing Foundation Establishment began traveling outside the region to buy their materials.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, prices are sky-high throughout Wunan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Major sects keep their systems closed to small clans and free cultivators, so the circulation of Foundation Establishment materials keeps shrinking—and prices keep soaring.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once this trend starts, it’s nearly impossible to stop—everyone wants to make more profit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou finished speaking and prepared to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still had to visit the Baibao Pavilion to reprice the complex inventory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the fighting along Wolong River intensifying, war supplies were rising in price daily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yulou, do you want me to achieve Foundation Establishment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei finally called out to stop Yulou, voicing his deepest doubt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Yulou’s words had clearly implied it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our Wang clan has always been kind to others.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But when facing enemies, we believe: if we don’t act, we don’t act at all; if we act, we eradicate completely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, I believe you’re intelligent—you won’t give us cause to eradicate you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides, Yu’an likes his sister—he is, after all, my younger brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou’s stance wasn’t strange—he believed Hongmei could achieve Foundation Establishment, but only under many preconditions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those preconditions include the clan chief’s limits and Yulou’s own demands—now it was up to Hongmei whether he would accept them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The timing must wait until enough Wang clan direct-line members have achieved Foundation Establishment—that is the clan chief’s bottom line; otherwise, control would be difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu’an and Ningyao must become dao companions; this is one of Yulou’s demands, for Yu’an is his own blood brother whom he raised—he cannot allow this to fail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that Yu’an and Ningyao have become dao companions, Hongmei will naturally draw closer to the Wang clan; in the future, this convenient master could, in a sense, become Yulou’s ally—that is Yulou’s unspoken demand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi-refining cultivators generally know full well whether they have any chance of attaining the Purple Mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the Wang clan’s suppression, Hongmei has no chance of attaining the Purple Mansion—even if he tries to stir trouble, it would only be a gamble with his life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under these circumstances, drawing close to the Wang clan becomes Hongmei’s only option in the short term.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou’s display of initiative and closeness is actually about gathering momentum for himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the advantage of rules and power, high-level cultivators can easily seize the output of low-level cultivators and even families like the Wangs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Yulou wishes to go far, he must learn to band together with others for mutual support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he told Yu’an, even if reality is cruel, one must begin by accepting it—accepting at least part of it—before seeking a way to break the deadlock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for whether Hongmei will cause trouble in the future, Yulou is not the least bit afraid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the Wang clan’s Foundation Establishment cultivators will emerge like bamboo shoots after spring rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This family is entering a new era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These matters are all manageable, but my Black Vine Spirit-Binding Technique...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His daughter, Hongmei truly does not care about—he once even intended to use her to win over Yu’an and Wang Rongwen and others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Black Vine Spirit-Binding Technique on his body is different; unless it is removed, he will never have a chance at Foundation Establishment in this lifetime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, my stance doesn’t matter—you must convince the clan chief.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou smiled, saying he was merely playing the good cop—he had done his part; now it was Wang Xianmao’s turn to name his price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he left Huafeng Residence; Hongmei did not stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yulou painted a beautiful pie and walked away lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet this illusory pie, like a flower in the mirror or the moon in the water, had genuinely captivated Hongmei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He understood—he had feared for so many years, worried for so many years—how could he not understand?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hongmei understood everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three-hundred-jin Hongmei Master sat in the empty alchemy chamber, summoned a chair, and slumped wearily against it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How had he, step by step, sealed off every path before him?\u003C\u002Fp>",1972,"2026-06-20T15:48:26.995Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","9d98371b6b5aaccabc67362d83a333681e39e51c581a0c3b5e0e7ba183738f6a","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-69","ascending-to-the-jade-palace-chapter-67",243,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fascending-to-the-jade-palace-cover.jpg"]