Chapter 268

Chapter 268: Foundation Establishment Dan

Wang Lang’s words left Zhou Luo quite surprised.

He looked at the other’s solemn expression and said doubtfully, "Isn’t there a Golden Core master commanding the Immortal City?"

For such a strong person, a sweep of mental strength could nearly cover the entire Immortal City, and that didn’t even include the often-seen patrol teams decked in Qinyuan Sect uniforms.

Given such a situation, would anyone dare act so boldly?

Wang Lang shook his head with a laugh: "Did you think they don’t need cultivation? Those big shots have no time for issues outside the core zone."

Covering things with mental strength also costs spiritual energy; nobody keeps constant watch over the entire city, let alone avoids Closed-Door Training and cultivation.

In the core zone, it’s much better; basically, even a slight spiritual energy fluctuation would catch that Golden Core master’s notice.

But the inner city and outer city were different.

Especially the outer city; they probably didn’t give it any notice at all, at most sending some cultivators to patrol and guard it.

So actually, some people die each year in the outer city; some from feuds, others killed by bandits or evil cultivators sneaking into the Immortal City, and so on.

Wang Lang, who specialized in black market deliveries, naturally knew some secrets.

And it wasn’t just the outer city; even in the inner city, cultivators died mysteriously every year.

So any cultivator with the means usually set up a formation at their home.

This might not stop invasions, but it at least served as a warning.

If large-scale fighting broke out, the city enforcement team still arrived in person.

Open killings naturally didn’t happen, but with covert ambushes, investigations became truly hard.

After hearing Wang Lang’s explanation, Zhou Luo fell into thought.

In the years since coming to the Immortal City, he’d kept a low profile and avoided issues like this.

He had thought the Immortal City was very safe.

Now it seemed that where there were interests, conflict couldn’t be avoided.

Even in a city governed by a Golden Core master, stopping evil cultivators and bandits from striking was impossible.

Seemed he needed caution in the future.

He decided to put on a mask and change his appearance when going out to buy Foundation Establishment materials.

As for his home, no worries there.

For one thing, he’d laid out a top-quality formation, which could fend off most Qi Refinement cultivator attacks.

For another, with Little White, a Second Level mid-stage Spirit Beast guarding them, even a Foundation Establishment strong person assaulting them would need to weigh their strength.

"I know. Here’s a communication talisman for you. If danger strikes, I’ll consider saving you." Zhou Luo shoved a talisman his way.

Though he made the other his shield, he wasn’t paying nothing.

If Wang Lang was truly targeted, he’d help if he could; if not, he’d forget it.

Anyway, he hadn’t forced Wang Lang into it.

Wang Lang took the talisman: "You still have to consider it?"

"That goes without saying, but rest assured, after your demise, I shall care for your wife," Zhou Luo declared solemnly.

"I thank you," Wang Lang retorted with a grimace.

Complaining aside, for the sake of the Clarity Bell, he didn’t mind taking a risk.

After all, he had a defensive formation at home, coupled with the talismans he’d crafted himself. As long as a Foundation Establishment strong person didn’t attack, he could hold out until the Immortal City guard arrived.

The key was simply not to leave the Immortal City.

Soon, the two arrived at the entrance of the large-scale auction.

A steady stream of people surged towards it, everyone vying to get inside and secure a favorable position.

Wang Lang, however, led Zhou Luo to the side and produced his Wang Family token.

Due to the Wang Yu Wei incident, the Wang Family was presently overwhelmed with its own troubles and had sent no one to participate in this large-scale auction.

Although Wang Lang had distanced himself from the family, being a direct descendant, he naturally represented the Wang Family and proceeded to the VIP area on the second-floor terrace.

For this large-scale auction, four of the Five Great Long-Life Families were absent; only the Li Family attended.

The Li Family, ever the observer who never sided with either faction, maintained its neutral stance. While this approach didn’t yield great profits, it guaranteed stability and avoided major upheavals.

Of course, this was largely due to the Li Family’s overall powerful strength.

During their last conversation, Li Zehou had hinted that the Li Family would soon gain another Foundation Establishment strong person, and judging by his confident demeanor, it was likely true.

Currently, after prolonged accumulation of resources, the major long-life families all had cultivators stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refinement. The only reason more hadn’t broken through to Foundation Establishment was the lack of Foundation Establishment Dan.

This scarcity was precisely why the infighting among the long-life families had intensified so drastically over the last decade or so.

Because you had to rapidly expand and elevate your family’s overall strength before your rivals produced their second Foundation Establishment strong person.

The consequence of this race was that materials for breakthrough to Foundation Establishment were becoming increasingly scarce.

Zhou Luo had also been unlucky enough to encounter this period where numerous ninth-level Qi Refinement powerhouses from the long-life families were simultaneously pushing for breakthroughs.

Otherwise, he probably could have gathered the thirty-one auxiliary herbs.

Besides the Five Great Long-Life Families, other forces had also sent representatives, but overall, attendance was significantly lower than the previous auction.

Most of these absentees had been impacted by The Great Battle between the Lin and Lu Families.

While auctions occurred every five years, large-scale battles directly determined a family’s survival. Any discerning person knew which was more important.

It seemed this large-scale battle would likely continue for a considerable time.

The elderly man responsible for hosting the auction appeared once more.

With his arrival, the auction officially commenced.

Zhou Luo had little interest in the other items, so he sat with his eyes closed for the most part, feigning sleep.

As for Wang Lang, he was genuinely strapped for funds. He had been saving diligently to accumulate enough spiritual stones for the Clarity Bell.

Don’t mistake his normally dissolute demeanor; when it came to the path of cultivation, he was quite dedicated.

Without this drive for cultivation, he wouldn’t have bothered living in the Immortal City at all. Finding a place in the secular world to live comfortably as a rich man would have been much easier.

Every auction was unusually lively. This year, with fewer family factions participating, bid prices were indeed lower than usual.

Truth be told, Zhou Luo’s last auction had set a record for bid prices.

After all, when it came to sheer wealth, hardly anyone could match him.

The morning session passed in the blink of an eye. As the afternoon session began, the elderly man produced a Foundation Establishment Dan, instantly igniting the atmosphere.

Moreover, it was a high-grade Foundation Establishment Dan, with a starting bid of five thousand spiritual stones.

Five thousand wasn’t a staggering amount, but it sparked a bidding frenzy.

Within a mere quarter of an hour, that starting price of five thousand spiritual stones had rapidly spiked to eight thousand.

Even Zhou Luo couldn’t help but twitch his eyes.

Foundation Establishment Dan were outrageously sought-after.

The entirety of his scrimped and saved wealth over these years amounted to barely fifteen thousand spiritual stones.

This single Foundation Establishment Dan demanded half of that nest egg, and the price was still climbing relentlessly.

The Li Family, in particular, seemed determined to secure this pill at any cost.

Unlike other factions, powerful long-life families like the Li family possessed the deep resources to establish a cave residence in the Immortal City’s core district for Closed-Door Training to attempt their breakthrough.

Earlier factions that suffered attacks had done so because they exhausted vast sums purchasing Foundation Establishment Dan, leaving no surplus spiritual stones to stay safely within the Immortal City. Consequently, forced to leave, they became vulnerable to ambushes.

This time, it wasn’t just Li Zehou attending; he was accompanied by many Li Family members. Likely, one of them was the candidate poised for breakthrough.

Zhou Luo even noticed, blending into the crowd, an elderly man with unremarkable aura, quietly meditating with closed eyes.

Instinct told him this person was most likely the Li Family Ancestor.

Prepared with every contingency, even mobilizing their Ancestor as a guardian for the breakthrough attempt – the Li Family was evidently dead set on acquiring this Foundation Establishment Dan.

After today, it seemed the Li Family would welcome a new Foundation Establishment strong person very soon.