Chapter 125: Reward: Foundation Establishment Elixir

"Squeak!"

He Pingsheng opened his door.

Outside, three people stood at the threshold.

Xu Kunlun!

Zhao Linger!

Tian Xiaoqing.

Three little cuties!

But upon closer inspection, their cultivation bases shocked He Pingsheng.

Tian Xiaoqing was at Qi Refining tenth level, exactly like He Pingsheng.

Yet Xu Kunlun and Zhao Linger had both reached Qi Refining twelfth level.

"Come in!" He Pingsheng opened the door wider and invited his three senior siblings inside.

The four sat cross-legged on the floor.

"You're twelfth level too, Eighth Brother?!" He Pingsheng exclaimed.

Zhao Linger had been at ninth level before; she broke through two levels after six years of seclusion, and with the Water Elemental Spirit Apricot, twelfth level made sense.

But Xu Kunlun…

Six years ago, when he emerged from the secret realm, he was exactly like He Pingsheng—Qi Refining seventh level.

From seventh to twelfth level.

That's… five levels.

Five levels in six years.

Even if his final level came from the Water Elemental Spirit Apricot, he still broke through four.

Hiss… hiss… hiss…

Terrifying.

"Hahaha…" Xu Kunlun scratched his head. "I didn't even know—I was just cultivating, and suddenly I was at eleventh level!"

"At eleventh level, I hit a bottleneck, swallowed the Water Elemental Spirit Apricot you gave me, and broke through to twelfth!"

"Now I'm preparing to break into Foundation Establishment!"

Zhao Linger nodded. "Me too!"

He Pingsheng nodded, then asked: "Senior siblings, have you both claimed your Foundation Establishment Elixirs?"

When inner sect disciples reach Qi Refining twelfth level, the sect grants them one Foundation Establishment Elixir.

It's a benefit every inner sect disciple receives.

But once received, the quality varies—no one can say for sure.

Foundation Establishment Elixirs are precious; even Foundation Establishment masters may not have many.

So for many, the chance to break into Foundation Establishment is rare.

"We've got them!" Zhao Linger said. "We've all claimed ours!"

"By the way… this is yours!" As she spoke, Zhao Linger handed over a white porcelain bottle.

He Pingsheng took it, puzzled. "What's this?"

Zhao Linger looked envious. "Open it and you'll see!"

He Pingsheng opened the bottle.

An instant burst of medicinal fragrance filled the air.

"This is…" He upended the bottle, and two emerald-green elixirs fell into his palm.

The elixirs were small, the size of soybeans, emerald in color, yet marked with golden veins.

Three elixir lines in total.

He Pingsheng stared again, stunned. "Foundation Establishment Elixir… and it's top-grade?"

"Mm…" The three little cuties nodded in unison.

He Pingsheng asked: "Mine?"

"Mm!" They nodded again in perfect sync.

"Where did this come from?" He Pingsheng asked.

Zhao Linger said: "You earned merit at the Ice Pole Sect, right? The Ancestral Master… no, no—Grand Elder, our Grand Void Gate's Nascent Soul ancestor—he was delighted. He said you brought honor to the sect!"

"This is his personal reward!"

"Hiss… hiss… hiss…" He Pingsheng drew a deep breath. "Grand Elder… I wish I could meet such a Nascent Soul cultivator!"

Nascent Soul cultivators are said to have touched the very edge of the true Dao.

They command the laws of heaven and earth, altering the skies with a single thought—terrifyingly powerful.

He Pingsheng had never seen such a being in all his cultivation.

The highest he'd ever seen were Golden Core masters like Qiao Daoist, Chongyang Ancestor, Xuan Yang Ancestor, and the Ice Pole Sect's Bing Xuan Daoist.

"Don't even dream of it," Zhao Linger said. "Ancestors like him spend every day contemplating the Dao—when would they have time for you?"

"We're just Qi Refining little bugs!"

"Not even us—our Master herself has probably met Grand Elder only a few times. Even if she stood right before him, he might not recognize her!"

He Pingsheng nodded: That made sense.

"What quality elixirs do you two have?" He Pingsheng asked Zhao Linger and Xu Kunlun.

Zhao Linger said: "Mine's mid-grade."

Xu Kunlun's face darkened: "Mine's only low-grade."

"Give them to me!" He Pingsheng said. "Hand me your mid-grade and low-grade. I'll give you my two top-grade ones."

"Huh?"

Both froze.

What kind of move was this?

"This… this…" Xu Kunlun couldn't believe his ears. "Ninth Brother, you're not serious, are you?"

What joke is this?

A low-grade Foundation Establishment Elixir gives only a thirty percent chance of success; mid-grade, fifty percent.

Top-grade? Eighty percent.

In other words, with two top-grade elixirs, He Pingsheng might not be guaranteed, but he'd be nearly certain.

But with one mid-grade and one low-grade? That's a whole different story.

"I've hit a bottleneck!" He Pingsheng said. "At tenth level. Even if I swallow the Water Elemental Spirit Apricot, I'll still hit a wall at eleventh!"

"I don't even know if I'll ever reach twelfth level—or when I'll be able to break into Foundation Establishment!"

"So these two top-grade elixirs? I might not even use them!"

"Take them. Use them first. We'll deal with the rest later."

From He Pingsheng's perspective, he'd strengthen these elixirs anyway.

Whether mid-grade, low-grade, or top-grade, after strengthening, they would all become supreme-grade.

So why use a top-grade one for strengthening?

Isn't it better to make a favor?

Seeing their stunned expressions, He Pingsheng said: "Are you swapping or not? If not, I'm putting them away!"

"Swap! Swap! Swap!" Xu Kunlun grinned, snatching the porcelain bottle. "Ninth Brother, you're so generous!"

"In all my life, I've only met hypocritical, selfish people. In the cultivation world, someone like you is incredibly rare!"

"Yeah," Zhao Linger shook her head. "Ninth Brother, I don't know whether to call you generous or foolish."

"Exactly!" Tian Xiaoqing added. "If it were me, I wouldn't give the supreme-grade storage bag to our Master—I'd keep it for myself!"

He Pingsheng's brow twitched, nearly stumbling backward. "Wait—wait—wait—"

He stared sternly at the three before him. "You… you all know?"

"Mm…" The three little cuties nodded in perfect unison.

He Pingsheng's face turned as dark as a soot pot. "Hey… didn't I tell Master not to tell anyone?!"

"Hehehe…" Zhao Linger chuckled. "Why hide it? It's a good thing!"

"Besides, only we four know—and we're not outsiders!"

"Exactly!" Tian Xiaoqing added. "We're not outsiders!"

Fine…

He Pingsheng took a deep breath: I hope Qiao Shijie keeps her promise and doesn't go bragging.

If these two stories collide, how am I supposed to explain it?

My head's about to explode.