Half-step foundation

Gao Qingming looked bewildered and confused, the puzzled expression in his eyes not seeming fake.

"Senior, there are only the two of us here, so how could a Yao Beast overhear us?"

Li Tan released his oppressive aura, his eleventh-level Qi Condensation cultivation instantly pressing down on Gao Qingming!

"Don't play dumb. Who is the Yao Beast... shouldn't you be asking yourself?!"

"Not attacking higher-cultivation Cultivators means not caring about increasing cultivation, and with no residents or children harmed, it specifically targets beautiful women."

"Are you going to tell me that this Yao Beast covets human beauty? Why aren't the clean-looking stray dogs on the side of the road being abducted?!"

Gao Qingming took a sip of tea and sighed heavily.

"Senior is astute. It was indeed my overestimation. There are no Yao Beasts here."

"It was just a small trick I played for my own selfish desires, thinking I could fool everyone."

Li Tan saw that Gao Qingming, in front of him, showed no sense of crisis at being exposed, and instantly understood.

"You capture those beautiful women for Alchemy? Do you need their Bloodline?"

Gao Qingming did not hide it:

"No, Senior guessed wrong."

"I just saw how beautiful they were and harbored ill intentions, wanting to destroy them, that's all."

"They are like beautiful flowers, exuding a captivating fragrance, their pristine bodies, smooth and tender skin, filling me with fantasies...."

Li Tan murmured to himself, "A Cultivator devotes himself to the Dao; how can he covet mortal flesh? In a hundred years, even the most beautiful maiden will turn to dust. Stripped of their skin, they are all just white bones."

....

"Gao Qingming, do you covet their physical bodies?"

"No, no, no! What immerses me is the pleasure of destruction, throwing beautiful flowers to the ground and trampling them, witnessing their blooming forms, witnessing their wilting and fading."

Li Tan could not appreciate this distorted beauty; he only cared about his own interests.

"Stop daydreaming there. Now that it's come to this, do you have anything else to say?"

"This Dao represents the Heaven Sword Immortal Sect and naturally acts righteously. If there's nothing suspicious about this case, the demonic evil must be slain!"

Though Li Tan said this, he remained firmly seated in the wooden chair, showing no desire to act.

Gao Qingming's thought moved, and a white Medicinal Pill bottle quietly landed on the table. He had long prepared a countermeasure for the current situation.

"To be honest, Senior, it was only a matter of time before this incident was discovered, so I made preparations privately long ago."

"This Medicinal Pill bottle contains three first-grade top-grade Clear Spirit Pills. Their value isn't too high, only around two hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Li Tan nodded lightly, then shook his head.

The meaning was clear: though there was sincerity, it wasn't enough; more needed to be offered.

Reluctant to part with his 'child' (a Chinese idiom meaning 'unable to achieve a goal without making necessary sacrifices'), Gao Qingming gritted his teeth, his heart aching, and took out another top-grade Clear Spirit Pill.

Li Tan was also incredibly shocked by this. He had never expected Gao Qingming's Family to be so wealthy and generous.

It was truly enviable that a Qi Condensation Family could possess such wealth.

"Clan Chief Gao is truly courteous. In my opinion, there are still tricks in this case, it's just that the Yao Beast hasn't been found yet...."

........................

Both of them harbored their own ulterior motives, but the transaction was considered complete, and this case was considered closed. Gao Qingming only needed to provide the head of a Yao Beast to return to the Heaven Sword Immortal Sect.

Li Tan was considering his next move. The most important thing now was undoubtedly Foundation Establishment, but in this small place, first-grade top-grade Medicinal Pills were incredibly hard to find.

Although he still had a good amount of Spirit Stones, talking about Foundation Establishment... was undoubtedly a fool's dream.

"Opportunity, ethereal and elusive, where exactly are you?"

A fierce glint flashed in Li Tan's eyes.

"If I can't find Opportunity, then I will create Opportunity. Though ants are small, they always accumulate."

.........

Using a message stone, he quickly notified Mu Xinling and Wang Longzhi.

In a moment, familiar figures came into view.

Wang Longzhi was in a hurry: "Brother Tan, is there any trace of that Yao Beast? Has it been caught?"

Mu Xinling also blinked her big eyes, full of curiosity.

"Brother Long, rest assured. Gao Qingming and I have set up a net, and within two days, that Yao Beast will surely perish."

"The reason I called you two here is for an important matter. Brother Long, I need you to investigate if there are any auctions or larger shops nearby. If there are any top-grade Medicinal Pills, you must acquire them by any means necessary."

"Besides that, I'll accept any spiritual materials. If Spirit Stones are not enough, you can inform me."

Wang Longzhi patted his chest vigorously, pledging confidently: "Brother Tan, please rest assured."

Li Tan then looked at Mu Xinling beside him.

"Miss Mu, please come with me. Handling trivial matters will be more efficient."

Mu Xinling's Soul fire was controlled by Li Tan, so she naturally had no right to refuse.

"Brother Long, take care."

All that remained for the two of them was a broad back.

Mu Xinling pouted: "My Soul fire is already in your hands, yet you still don't trust me."

Li Tan chuckled and rushed forward. Mu Xinling could only follow behind.

Wang Longzhi was righteous and simple-minded; he would probably be easily fooled by Mu Xinling with just a few words and end up in trouble, leaving Li Tan to clean up the mess.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two had already arrived at the city's boundary.

"Ahead is Ku Rong City. Once we arrive, do not flirt or provoke hatred for no reason."

Li Tan cast a somewhat warning glance at Mu Xinling.

Mu Xinling's mouth twitched:

"I'm not that fool Wang Longzhi, who acts and thinks without using his brain."

Li Tan did not respond, continuing to move forward.

Mu Xinling stomped her foot in exasperation and reluctantly followed again.

....

Before they had walked a few steps, a resentful voice came from the sky.

"The two young friends, dressed in the Dao robes of the Heaven Sword Immortal Sect, yet engaging in the ways of Yao Beasts, their intentions must be insidious and punishable!"

An old man in a brownish-yellow robe slowly descended from the sky, his killing intent undisguised.

""Eye of Truth"!"

The next moment, Li Tan's pupils sharply contracted!

A Foundation Establishment Cultivator! No, his spiritual power was unstable yet liquefied. He must have forcibly achieved Foundation Establishment through evil methods.

He could only be called a half-step Foundation Establishment, but even so, he was not someone Li Tan could contend with.

Li Tan saluted with one hand:

"Senior, this junior did not kill innocent people indiscriminately; how can I be compared to a Demonic Path scoundrel?"

The old man's angry shout immediately resounded through the field:

"Engaging in corrupt bribery, you are unworthy of the words 'righteousness.' Aiding evil, your heart has already turned demonic."

"It is because of the existence of despicable people like you that the cultivation world is so turbulent, so cold and cruel."

"Gao Qingming, as a city lord, I cannot move against him according to the rules, but today, this old man will surely kill you!"

Li Tan's lips curled into a smile:

"Using the guise of the Righteous Path to kill people and seize treasures."

"Old man, I call you Senior, don't be ungrateful!"

Two coffins fell straight to the ground, and Yin Qi and Evil Qi mixed and spread in all directions.

Even the half-step Foundation Establishment old man could feel the eerie killing intent, and his body's instinctive intuition warned him to escape immediately!