60: Chapter 60: Foundation Establishment Elixir Formula

"Is delaying time useful?" Xiao Yuan smiled,

"As a Qi Condensation 4th Layer Cultivator, what kind of waves could I possibly make? I'm just curious, and want to die with a clear understanding."

Zhou Yuansheng stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled:

"Interesting. Fine, I'll let you die knowing why. Guess why I captured you?"

Xiao Yuan rubbed his chin:

"What you guys were talking about earlier, like 'main altar' and 'earth-grade foundation establishment pill'... If I guessed correctly, Deacon Zhou must have defected to some... cult? The kind that can help people achieve Foundation Establishment?"

A flash of surprise crossed Zhou Yuansheng's eyes:

"You've got some skills. Continue."

"Since you are in Jade Maiden Palace, logically your chances of getting a foundation establishment pill are much greater than a Loose Cultivator. Why must you defect to some cult and harm your fellow Disciples?"

Xiao Yuan looked puzzled,

"Aren't you afraid the Sect will discover this and doom you eternally?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yuansheng threw his head back and laughed loudly.

His laughter was filled with mockery.

"Doomed eternally?"

He stopped laughing, stared at Xiao Yuan, his gaze looking like he was staring at a naive child,

"Kid, you are too naive."

He took a step closer, his tone carrying thick resentment:

"You think in the Sect, foundation establishment pills are that easy to get?"

"How many Qi Condensation 9th Layer Disciples are there in the Sect? Thousands is an understatement! How many can be allocated a foundation establishment pill each year? Fewer than twenty! Would it ever fall to an external deacon with a Low Grade Spiritual Root like me?"

"I've stayed at this crappy outpost for twenty years, and the contribution points I've saved aren't even enough for a fraction of a foundation establishment pill! Even if I saved enough, a single foundation establishment pill has a Foundation Establishment success rate of less than thirty percent! What if I fail? Keep waiting? Wait until I die of old age?"

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, yet his eyes flashed with a fanatical light:

"But the Yinsha Cult is different!"

"As long as I provide enough High Grade Spiritual Root Cultivators, they will bestow upon me an earth-grade foundation establishment pill! Earth-grade! Even though I am a Low Grade Spiritual Root, with one Foundation Establishment attempt, the success rate is over eighty percent!"

"Kid, do you understand? Eighty percent!"

He stared at Xiao Yuan, his eyes full of greed:

"Your Spiritual Root definitely qualifies as Materials for an earth-grade foundation establishment pill. Handing you over, I can achieve Foundation Establishment! What Sect, what fellow Disciples, can all go to hell!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yuan fell silent.

After a long while, he sighed.

"I see..."

He raised his head and looked at Zhou Yuansheng, his gaze frighteningly calm.

"So, you faked your disappearance just to attract Disciples with superior Spiritual Root Aptitude from the Sect to become your so-called Materials!? That batch of people who came to execute the mission earlier—Luo Ziyan and the others—were they also betrayed by you?"

Zhou Yuansheng sneered:

"So what if they were? That girl has a Water-Wood Dual Spiritual Root, High Grade, originally the best material. It's a pity she ran away."

Xiao Yuan's gaze turned cold.

"Ran away?"

"That's right, she ran away."

Zhou Yuansheng didn't hide it either,

"However, she won't run far. She will definitely come back to find her fellow Disciples—once she comes back, she will be walking right into a trap."

He waved his hand, growing impatient:

"Alright, everything that needs to be said has been said. Now—"

He reached out to grab Xiao Yuan:

"Be a good boy and come with me!"

The next second.

His hand stopped in mid-air, unable to advance even an inch further.

Because a slender yet powerful hand firmly grasped his wrist.

Xiao Yuan raised his head, a smile on his face.

But that smile was as cold as the ice of the netherworld.

"Deacon Zhou, are you done talking?"

"Then now, it's my turn."

Zhou Yuansheng's wrist was gripped as if caught in iron pliers, unmoving.

His pupils shrank sharply, and the disdain on his face instantly froze.

"You—!"

Before his voice faded, Xiao Yuan casually waved his left hand.

A streak of cyan sword qi flashed past.

"Puff!"

The Qi Condensation 6th Layer Disciple nearby hadn't even reacted when an extra bloody hole appeared between his eyebrows.

His eyes widened, greed and excitement still lingering on his face, and he fell straight down.

"Noisy." Xiao Yuan said indifferently.

Zhou Yuansheng froze completely.

One strike? Qi Condensation 6th Layer, instant kill?

His throat felt dry, and he turned his head with difficulty to look at Xiao Yuan.

The "Qi Condensation 4th Layer" trash before his eyes was currently looking at him with a smile.

But that smile sent chills down Zhou Yuansheng's spine.

"You... you concealed your cultivation realm?!" His voice was trembling.

Xiao Yuan didn't answer, only releasing his hand.

Zhou Yuansheng staggered back two steps, instinctively wanting to run, only to find that a terrifying aura had already locked onto him.

That aura was far stronger than his own Half-step Foundation Establishment!

"Foundation Establishment?!" He blurted out.

Xiao Yuan still didn't answer, instead leisurely walking over to the table to sit down, crossing his legs.

"Deacon Zhou, don't be in such a hurry to run. Let's chat."

Zhou Yuansheng's face turned pale, his lips trembling.

Run? Could he run away?

He gritted his teeth and dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Senior, spare my life! Senior, spare my life! This junior was blind and offended Senior! I beg Senior to spare my life!"

Watching him look like this, a trace of disdain flashed in Xiao Yuan's eyes.

This was the spineless wretch who betrayed the Sect.

"Want to live?" he asked.

Zhou Yuansheng nodded frantically: "I want to! I want to! Whatever Senior commands, this junior will definitely carry it out!"

Xiao Yuan nodded: "Alright, I ask and you answer. Answer well, and I can consider it."

"Senior, please ask!"

"First question—what kind of cult is the Yinsha Cult?"

Zhou Yuansheng was slightly stunned, not expecting Xiao Yuan to ask this.

But he didn't dare to hide anything, and hurriedly said:

"The Yinsha Cult... is a secret cult around Jing Country. This junior doesn't know their specific origins, only that they specialize in recruiting Loose Cultivators and frustrated Sect Disciples, promising heavy profits to help people achieve Foundation Establishment..."

"Help people achieve Foundation Establishment?" Xiao Yuan raised an eyebrow, "Using the Spiritual Roots of Jade Maiden Palace Disciples?"

Zhou Yuansheng's face stiffened, and he said awkwardly:

"Y-Yes... They have a Pill Formula that can use Spiritual Roots to refine an earth-grade foundation establishment pill..."

"earth-grade foundation establishment pill?" Xiao Yuan interrupted him, "I've only heard of foundation establishment pills, what kind of thing is this earth-grade foundation establishment pill?"

Seeing that he was interested, Zhou Yuansheng hurriedly explained:

"Senior doesn't know! An ordinary foundation establishment pill taken by a Low Grade Spiritual Root has a success rate of less than thirty percent; a Medium Grade Spiritual Root has about fifty percent; a High Grade Spiritual Root has seventy percent."

"And once it fails, it also damages the Spiritual Root, making it even harder to achieve Foundation Establishment next time."

"But the earth-grade foundation establishment pill is different!"

Fanaticism flashed in his eyes, but immediately realizing he was now a prisoner, he reined it in and honestly said:

"The earth-grade foundation establishment pill is said to give even Low Grade Spiritual Roots an eighty percent certainty of successfully achieving Foundation Establishment!"

"Medium Grade Spiritual Roots ninety percent, and High Grade Spiritual Roots are practically foolproof!"

Xiao Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Eighty percent? Ninety percent?

This was far stronger than ordinary foundation establishment pills!

"Furthermore," Zhou Yuansheng added, "after successfully achieving Foundation Establishment with an earth-grade foundation establishment pill, the quality of the Spiritual Root will also be upgraded!"

"Low Grade can rise to Medium Grade or even High Grade, and Medium Grade can rise to High Grade or even Top Grade!"

Xiao Yuan's heart gave a fierce jolt.

Upgrading Spiritual Root quality?!

This was a Heaven-Defying effect!

Although his Five Elements mixed Spiritual Root resolved cultivation problems through simultaneous cultivation of the Five Elements, the essence of his Spiritual Root was still a mixed Spiritual Root; it had simply been forcibly split into five independent entities by him.

Because of this, his cultivation speed was very slow. If he could upgrade his quality... his cultivation speed might increase by several times or more.

Xiao Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

"Does your Yinsha Cult have this Pill Formula?"