Chapter 157

"That's right!" Lu Jinglong straightened his back, and a powerful aura radiated from him: "The outside world thinks my lifespan is nearing its end and that I have suffered such heavy injuries, not only making it hard to recover but also shortening my lifespan. Actually, I know very clearly that many people in the north are waiting for me to pass away so they can pounce and carve up the Lu Clan.

They actually guessed correctly; my injuries are hard to recover from, and my lifespan will indeed be shortened. But in the dark, Heaven favors the Lu Clan. Not only did you, Benefactor, appear out of nowhere at the moment the Lu Clan was about to be exterminated, but just as my Lu Clan was about to head toward total decline and my lifespan was about to end, we unearthed a piece of Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow."

"Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow!" Xia Daoming's face revealed a look of confusion.

"Benefactor, this is the Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow!" Lu Jinglong flipped his palm, and a piece of Dark Nether Ice Stone that looked incredibly dark and translucent, with what seemed like liquid flowing inside, appeared: "This is the essence of the Dark Nether Ice Stone; it is said that when refining water-attribute magic treasures, adding some can greatly improve the quality and power of the magic treasure."

"Magic treasure!" Upon hearing this, Xia Daoming could not help but reveal a look of shock, and his gaze toward the Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow in Lu Jinglong's palm changed abruptly.

In the Cultivation World, above magic tools are magic treasures.

Generally, Qi Refinement cultivators and Foundation Establishment cultivators use magic tools; it is just that Qi Refinement cultivators mainly use low and mid-tier magic tools, while Foundation Establishment cultivators generally use high-tier and top-tier magic tools.

But very few Foundation Establishment cultivators possess magic treasures!

Under normal circumstances, only Core Formation cultivators can possess magic treasures.

Now that Lu Jinglong was telling Xia Daoming that this piece of Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow could improve the quality and power of a magic treasure, how could he not be shocked?

"That's right, so the Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow is extremely valuable; it is said that one can be dug up from a Dark Nether Ice Stone vein that has a companion Dark Nether Ice Stone mine, which is a matter of great luck.

It is funny to say, but this piece of Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow was dug up from under that altar. Yan Xianqing and his nephew spent all their efforts for the sake of Foundation Establishment, even going so far as to harm their own clansmen, only to end up harming others and themselves, losing both their clansmen's lives and their own.

As it turns out, the Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow that could have easily been exchanged for a Foundation Establishment Pill was right under their noses, yet they didn't know it." Speaking to the end, there was mockery in Lu Jinglong's eyes, as well as an indescribable sadness.

Xia Daoming was stunned for a good while after hearing this answer.

After a long time, Xia Daoming suddenly came to his senses and said: "You mean this piece of Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow can be exchanged for a Foundation Establishment Pill?"

"Yes, Benefactor," Lu Jinglong nodded and said: "Foundation Establishment Pills are generally held by the three major sects and a few forces with Core Formation ancestors, and they are rarely sold on the market.

Occasionally, a few are put up for sale, but they are quickly bought at high prices, so even if I possessed many spirit stones, it doesn't mean I could buy a Foundation Establishment Pill just because I wanted to.

But with this piece of Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow, it is different; this is something that even Core Formation ancestors would be tempted by. If we take it to a market or firm opened by the three major sects, as long as we propose to exchange it for Foundation Establishment Pills, they would certainly be willing, and we should be able to exchange for two at once."

"However, even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, is the Patriarch so confident in succeeding in Foundation Establishment?" Xia Daoming finally understood where Lu Jinglong's confidence came from, but he still had doubts in his heart.

After all, a Foundation Establishment Pill is one thing, and Foundation Establishment is another.

It is not to say that having a Foundation Establishment Pill guarantees success in Foundation Establishment; on the contrary, Xia Daoming had been mixing in the Cultivation World these days and had long heard that even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, the success rate of Foundation Establishment is not high.

Especially for people like Lu Jinglong whose lifespan is nearing its end, the success rate is even lower.

Lu Jinglong laughed upon hearing this and said: "Originally, with my age and talent, even if I took a Foundation Establishment Pill, having a ten percent chance of success would already be considered quite good.

But who would have thought that misfortune is where fortune lies; this time my Lu Clan was not only nearly exterminated, but I myself was also severely injured. If not for the life-and-death moment when you, Benefactor, killed your way out, I would have already been a corpse in that cave.

So, for me, at that moment, my body was still there, but my heart had already fallen into an endless land of despair and death, and as a result, you, Benefactor, pulled me out of that land of despair and death alive.

These days, I have been severely injured, lying in bed recuperating, and the events of my life have constantly surfaced in my heart; gradually, I have had a realization of rebirth after death and breaking through to establish something new, and my state of mind has reached an unprecedented level of calm, clarity, and openness.

So, don't look at me now as if my lifespan is nearing its end and my injuries are not yet healed; if my injuries heal by more than half, and then I take the Foundation Establishment Pill, I have a seventy or eighty percent chance of succeeding in Foundation Establishment. Even if it doesn't work the first time, taking a second Foundation Establishment Pill will surely lead to success."

"So that's how it is; then it really is a blessing in disguise!" Xia Daoming finally understood completely, feeling both moved and happy in his heart.

If Lu Jinglong succeeds in Foundation Establishment, not only will he have made a fortune on this trip to the Ten Thousand Snail Xianshan, but he will also have won over a Foundation Establishment force, which will definitely be a great help for his future official entry into the Cultivation World.

"This is all thanks to you, Benefactor; if it weren't for you, let alone Foundation Establishment, even the Lu Clan..." Lu Jinglong said.

Xia Daoming waved his hand to interrupt Lu Jinglong and said with a serious face: "In that case, the Patriarch wants me to help you secretly sit in and guard the Lu Clan while you are away buying the Foundation Establishment Pill?"

"No, I want to ask you, Benefactor, to make a trip for me!" Lu Jinglong stood up and bowed solemnly with his hands cupped.

"Me? Aren't you afraid I'll run off with the Foundation Establishment Pill and not come back?" Xia Daoming was slightly stunned and blurted out.

"Benefactor, you are joking; if you were truly that kind of person, with the strength of the few of us here, what difference would it make whether this Dark Nether Ice Stone Marrow is in my hands or yours?" Lu Jinglong said.

"There are many eyes on you now, and you are injured, so me going is indeed more appropriate than you going. It's just that I'm afraid the Ten Thousand Snail Xianshan doesn't have a place to exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills, so I'll need to go to a more distant place. In that kind of place, with my strength, if I'm targeted by rogue cultivators, it might be tough," Xia Daoming stroked his chin and frowned slightly.

"With your strength, Benefactor, as long as you aren't targeted by several Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivators at the same time, in a one-on-one situation, even if you can't win, running away shouldn't be a problem," Lu Jinglong said.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ziying's chair began to "creak" again, and her two copper-bell-like eyes widened until they were perfectly round.

She now knew that her Martial Uncle was much more powerful than she had imagined, but she never dreamed that he could already be compared to Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Tell me about the strength of Foundation Establishment cultivators," Xia Daoming said calmly, not letting Lu Jinglong's words go to his head.

"Foundation Establishment cultivators..." Lu Jinglong's eyes revealed a trace of reminiscence and longing as he recounted everything he knew about Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After listening, Xia Daoming fell into deep thought.

The overall strength of Foundation Establishment cultivators described by Lu Jinglong could be said to be within his expectations, without much discrepancy.

But once at the Foundation Establishment realm, the individual gap becomes very large because the volume of horizontal comparison is already very large.

Just like one million and nine million are both called millionaires, their gap is only eight million.

But if it were changed to multi-millionaires, although everyone is said to be at the multi-millionaire level, the gap becomes eighty million.

What Lu Jinglong spoke of were ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

But when it concerned his own life, Xia Daoming had to consider more, especially the consideration of individual gaps.

"After reaching the Martial Arts Grandmaster realm, the strength improvement brought by meridian strengthening is clearly weakening; after all, the total amount is already there, and the impact of strengthening one meridian becomes limited, even if it still has a driving effect on the whole, it is far inferior to before.

If I break through to the eleventh rank before setting off, I should be able to contend with Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivators, but even if the meridians of the eleventh-rank realm are strengthened, I estimate it will still be limited to the Foundation Establishment early-stage level, and I can only be considered a relatively powerful Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivator.

Only by becoming a twelfth-rank Grandmaster, and with my spiritual sense undergoing another change, will there be a relatively large leap in strength, and only then will I truly be able to cross the threshold of the Foundation Establishment early stage. But stepping into the twelfth-rank realm in a short time is still somewhat difficult.

Should I run this errand or not? There are definitely risks in running it, but the benefits are also obvious; of course, it's not just for the benefits, that would be too vulgar, and I still have some feelings and origins with the Lu Clan now."

Xia Daoming weighed the pros and cons in his heart and pondered for a long time before finally deciding to make the trip.

After all, even if not for the Lu Clan, he had to go to a bigger place to see if he could find the Enlightenment Pills and cultivation secret scrolls he needed; even if there weren't any, he had to prepare potent medicine for the meridian strengthening of a twelfth-rank Grandmaster.

His twelfth-rank Grandmaster level had too large a gap compared to ordinary twelfth-rank ones, and the potent medicine required was very limited even if the markets in the Ten Thousand Snail Xianshan area had them; he still had to go to a big place to find them.

"Fine, for the Lu Clan, I'll make the trip!" Xia Daoming gritted his teeth and said in a tone of duty.

"Thank you, Benefactor; please accept my bow!" Seeing Xia Daoming agree, Lu Jinglong was moved to tears and actually bent his knees to bow and thank Xia Daoming.

Lu Sanxia and Lu Ziying were so frightened that they hurriedly followed suit to kneel and bow.

"Old Patriarch, you must not!" Xia Daoming hurriedly stepped forward to support Lu Jinglong.

Lu Jinglong was at least one hundred and twenty or thirty years old, while he was only twenty-six; Lu Jinglong dared to bow, but he didn't dare to accept it!

He was worried about shortening his life!

"Benefactor, you have saved my entire Lu Clan once again! If you won't let me bow and thank you, that's fine, but you must accept this token of our sincerity." As he spoke, Lu Jinglong insisted on stuffing the contract into Xia Daoming's hands.

Xia Daoming held the contract and looked at the terms on it; he ultimately felt that this protection money was too high, which was not conducive to the Lu Clan's development, and in the long run, it might also affect his relationship with the Lu Clan.

Collecting protection money also requires a long-term approach and satisfied customers!

"You should need to pay tribute to the Spirit Blade Sect every year now, right?" Xia Daoming thought for a moment and asked.

(End of chapter)