8: Chapter 8: Primordial Purple Qi Merges with the Golden Elixir! Stealing the Source Elixir to Replenish the Foundation of Dao!

Another day passed.

Zhang Hongling arrived at Duan Gujin's courtyard as promised.

"Senior Brother, I'm here," her voice was crisp and clear.

Duan Gujin still looked weak, leaning on a rattan chair and smiling at her. "Thank you for your trouble, Junior Sister. Let's begin."

Zhang Hongling carefully guided her spiritual power, probing into Duan Gujin's body.

She was even more focused and gentle than yesterday, afraid of causing him any pain.

An hour later, it was over.

Duan Gujin timely displayed a slightly relieved yet weary smile. "Thank you, Junior Sister. I feel much better."

Seeing his improvement, Zhang Hongling felt considerably reassured. "Senior Brother, don't be polite! This is what I should do! I'm just relieved you're feeling better."

Filled with enthusiasm, she said, "Senior Brother, I'll go to the market district again this afternoon to inquire. I heard there's an old alchemist..."

Duan Gujin interrupted her, smiling as he handed her another jade vial.

"You're very thoughtful, Junior Sister."

"Cultivation is hard work. Here are ten supreme-grade Consolidation Pills. Take them."

"Consolidating your Foundation before Foundation Establishment is crucial. They can purify your spiritual power and make your Foundation more solid."

"Su... supreme-grade Consolidation Pills? Ten of them?!" Zhang Hongling's eyes widened, and she even stopped breathing.

A warm current and an even heavier sense of guilt surged in her heart.

Senior Brother is in such a state himself, yet he still thinks so thoroughly for her!

This kindness is too great!

"Senior Brother! These are too precious! I can't..." Her voice choked up.

"Take them!" Duan Gujin's tone grew heavier, carrying an air of authority that brooked no refusal.

"Only when you are well can you better help your Senior Brother find the antidote, right?"

"This is your Senior Brother's intention. If you refuse again, I will be upset."

Looking at Duan Gujin's pale yet resolute face, Zhang Hongling's nose tingled with emotion.

She no longer refused. With both hands, she accepted the jade vial and bowed deeply.

"Hongling thanks Senior Brother for his great kindness! I will never forget it!"

"Senior Brother, rest assured. Hongling will definitely reach Foundation Establishment as soon as possible and find the antidote for you!"

She clutched the jade vial to her chest as if holding a treasure, her eyes filled with drive and determination.

[Ding! System detects that target Zhang Hongling has developed 10 points of submission towards the host!]

[Host triggers ten-thousand-fold return, rewarded with a wisp of Primordial Grandmist Purple Qi.]

(Primordial Grandmist Purple Qi: A legendary Innate Qi, containing a trace of the world's Origin. It can be integrated into a Golden Core or Nascent Soul, laying an unparalleled Dao Foundation with infinite potential. Its value far exceeds that of ordinary Medicinal Pills.)

Looking at Zhang Hongling's gratitude, which seemed ready to overflow, Duan Gujin felt very satisfied inwardly.

The fish was biting the hook even tighter.

He smiled as he watched Zhang Hongling dash out of the courtyard like a gust of wind.

"Once my cultivation breaks through to the Golden Core Realm, I can fuse the Primordial Grandmist Purple Qi into my Golden Core! Truly, heaven is helping me!"

He was ecstatic in his heart.

In the afternoon.

Jiang Yuxue arrived.

Clad in white, she was as cool and pure as snow, her eyes holding a trace of barely perceptible concern that wasn't usually there.

"Duan Gujin, I'm here."

Duan Gujin opened his eyes and immediately put on a weak smile. "I trouble you, Elder."

Jiang Yuxue nodded without further words, sat down, and placed three jade-like fingers on Duan Gujin's wrist.

A stream of pure, icy spiritual power probed inward.

The moment her spiritual power entered, Jiang Yuxue abruptly looked up, her cool face showing obvious shock for the first time!

"This!" she exclaimed softly in surprise, her fingers unconsciously tightening.

She clearly felt that Duan Gujin's Meridians, which should have been ruined and depleted, were actually radiating astonishing vitality!

Although there were still large areas of dullness and blockage (feigned by Duan Gujin), their overall resilience and patency were much stronger than yesterday!

What shocked her even more was that his Dantian, which should have been dead and silent, now exuded a surge of immense vitality. The purity of its spiritual power already rivaled that of some elite Disciples!

How could this be?

"Duan Gujin, your Meridians, your Dantian... they have recovered significantly! How is this possible? What have you taken?" She stared intently at Duan Gujin.

Duan Gujin replied calmly, "To be honest with you, Elder, I consumed a Medicinal Pill passed down from my ancestors. That's what repaired my Meridians and Dantian!"

Jiang Yuxue's brows furrowed slightly, but she quickly suppressed her doubts.

"This is incredibly fortunate!"

"It means your Foundation isn't completely severed. There's hope for recovery!"

"Duan Gujin, that pill... are there any more? Do you know its name or Origin?"

Duan Gujin shook his head with a bitter smile. "There was only that one; it's been consumed. My Family has no more! And I don't remember what that kind of pill was called either!"

A flash of disappointment passed through Jiang Yuxue's eyes.

Looking at Duan Gujin, she revealed an extremely faint but genuine smile, a rare occurrence.

"It's a turning point, nonetheless. Duan Gujin, during today's cultivation assistance, I'll be more meticulous to see if I can help you accelerate the recovery of this hard-won vitality."

Duan Gujin sighed in relief, saying gratefully, "Thank you, Elder."

The cultivation assistance began.

Jiang Yuxue's pure Yin spiritual power was far more refined and stable than Zhang Hongling's, like the most precise engraving tool.

An hour later, it ended.

Jiang Yuxue withdrew her power. Fine beads of sweat were visible at her temples, clearly indicating mental exertion.

She probed his condition once more and showed a satisfied expression.

"The effect is better than expected. Duan Gujin, this newly born foundational force within you is very pure. If it can be sustained, there truly is hope for recovery."

"It's all thanks to your skillful aid, Elder."

Duan Gujin thanked her weakly, this time with a hint of sincerity.

Jiang Yuxue shook her head. "It's due to your own Opportunity and the strength of your Foundation."

She paused, looking at Duan Gujin and asked, "Duan Gujin. Aside from that pill, have you received any other assistance? For example, have you sought help from other fellow Disciples?"

Duan Gujin said, "I sought cultivation assistance from a female outer sect Disciple at noon today! Elder, I am working very hard to improve my cultivation!"

With a look of weak gratitude, he pulled out an even more exquisite jade vial from his sleeve, one that emitted a warm, spiritual glow, and presented it with both hands.

"Elder, you've expended so much effort for me today. Gujin is endlessly grateful but has nothing worthy to repay you with."

"These are twenty nine-revolution spirit gathering pills. They might be of some slight use to you, Elder, in your attempt to break through to the Golden Core Realm. Please, you must accept them. It's just a small token of my gratitude."

"nine-revolution spirit gathering pills?" Jiang Yuxue's cool eyebrows lifted slightly.

Spirit gathering pills are auxiliary Medicinal Pills used by Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators during the final push to form their Golden Core.

Given her status, she originally had no intention of accepting such a trivial thing from a junior.

What truly shocked her were those two prefix words!

"Wait! Did you say nine-revolution?!" Jiang Yuxue's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Yes!" Duan Gujin nodded emphatically.

Jiang Yuxue stepped forward, almost snatching the jade vial from Duan Gujin's hand, and urgently pulled out the stopper.

An incredibly pure pill fragrance, so potent it could make one's Soul tremble, instantly filled the small courtyard!

Jiang Yuxue only inhaled a wisp and felt the Yuan Power within her body shudder slightly, its circulation becoming somewhat smoother!

She carefully poured out one pill onto her palm.

The pill was perfectly round and full, with a warm, lustrous purple-gold hue. Its surface was clearly imprinted with nine profound, mysterious, and natural pill patterns that seemed to contain the ultimate principles of heaven and earth!

The nine patterns were integrated as one, glowing with a precious light. The rich spiritual essence seemed ready to burst forth!

"Ni... nine Innate pill patterns! It truly is a nine-revolution pill! And it's so perfect!"

Jiang Yuxue's voice trembled as she stared fixedly at the pill in her palm as if beholding a peerless treasure.

Shock, ecstasy, and disbelief exploded in her eyes.

Even her perpetually ice-cold face flushed with excitement.

This was no ordinary Medicinal Pill!

This was the legendary pinnacle of alchemy!

It required Heaven And Earth Treasures and a Great Grandmaster of alchemy to invoke the Dao rhythms of heaven and earth to refine!

It could greatly increase the success rate of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's final attempt to break through to the Golden Core Realm!

"Duan Gujin!" Jiang Yuxue abruptly looked up.

Her gaze was like lightning, locking onto Duan Gujin's pale, weak face. Her tone was unprecedentedly agitated and stern.

"This thing... where did you get it?!"

"In the entire Southern Region, the number of alchemists who can refine this kind of pill can be counted on one hand!"

"It absolutely cannot be easily circulated! Speak! The Origin of this pill!"

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant: Was the Duan Family hiding extraordinary depths? Did he have a powerful figure backing him? Or was it related to that ancestral pill from before?

Just how many secrets was this seemingly dying Disciple hiding?

Facing Jiang Yuxue's pressure, Duan Gujin sneered inwardly.

But on his face, he appropriately displayed confusion and fear, as if frightened:

"E... Elder, please calm your anger. This pill, this pill was also... also part of that ancestral inheritance!"

He gasped with difficulty, his eyes evasive, looking like someone who had carelessly revealed wealth and was now full of regret.

"My Family... my Family only had these last few treasures kept at the very bottom. I've always... always been reluctant to use them."

"Seeing you go to such trouble for me today, Gujin truly felt bad."

"Thinking that you, Elder, are a Foundation Establishment Elder, this pill might be useful to you, I... I dared to offer it."

"Gujin is now a cripple. Keeping such a treasure would only be a waste, adding to my sorrow."

"It's better... better to present it to you, Elder. Consider it making the best use of it, repaying even a ten-thousandth of your kindness."

"Ancestral inheritance? Part of it?" Jiang Yuxue stared into Duan Gujin's eyes, trying to find any flaw.

But Duan Gujin's gaze was sincere, carrying the weariness of illness and the anxiety after presenting a treasure.

Could this explanation barely hold up?

A Family that might have once been glorious, leaving behind some life-saving medicine and auxiliary pills as a last resort?

Although the appearance of a nine-revolution spirit gathering pill in a small Disciple's Family was utterly absurd,

the world of cultivation was full of strange encounters. It wasn't entirely impossible.

Especially when considering his previous mysterious restorative pill, it seemed to further prove this Family had some hidden depth.

Looking at Duan Gujin's frail, wind-swept appearance, and feeling the vast, pure spiritual essence of the pill in her palm,

most of Jiang Yuxue's doubts were suppressed, replaced by an irresistible, burning heat.

The temptation of this pill was too great for her!

So great that it made her temporarily set aside all questions!

She had been stuck at the Bottleneck of the eighth level of Foundation Establishment for many years. With the aid of this pill, her hopes of breaking through to the Late Stage, or even laying the Foundation for a future attempt at the Golden Core Realm, increased tremendously!

"You... do you know the value of this pill?" Jiang Yuxue took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing her emotions. Her voice regained some of its coolness but carried an unprecedented gravity.

"Gujin has some idea," Duan Gujin nodded honestly.

"That's precisely why I feel only you, Elder, are worthy of this item. Keeping it with me would be nothing but a waste."

He emphasized once again that he was a cripple.

Jiang Yuxue fell silent.

She looked down at the pill in her palm, then at the remaining nineteen nine-revolution spirit gathering pills in the jade vial.

The purple-gold glow seemed to have a magical pull.

In the end, her desire for the pursuit of the Great Dao overwhelmed everything else.

She slowly closed her hand, tightly clutching the pill as if afraid it would fly away.

When she looked at Duan Gujin again, her gaze was extremely complex.

But it held more of the gravity that came with accepting an immense gift.

"Duan Gujin," her voice was low and serious, carrying the weight of a promise, "this gift is too heavy. So heavy that I, Jiang Yuxue, owe you an enormous favor today!"

She carefully put away the jade vial, placing it close to her body with utmost care.

Then, looking at Duan Gujin, she said word by word, "Regarding the recovery of your Meridians and Dantian, I will spare no effort."

"Starting tomorrow, I will personally prepare auxiliary Spirit Medicine for you and come daily to help guide your spiritual power!"

"As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will surely help you rebuild your Foundation! Rest well now."

"Thank you, Elder!" Duan Gujin, appearing moved, tried to bow, but Jiang Yuxue stopped him with a look.

"No need." Jiang Yuxue gave him a deep look. "I will remember this favor."

With that, she didn't linger any longer. Transforming into a streak of icy light, she instantly vanished above the courtyard, her speed several times faster than when she arrived.

Clearly, she was in a hurry to return and process the shock of the day and plan how to use that Heaven-Defying pill.

[Ding! System detects that target Jiang Yuxue has developed 50 points of submission towards the host!]

[Host triggers ten-thousand-fold return, obtains one Great Dao Stealing Origin Pill.]

(Great Dao Stealing Origin Pill: Can steal a wisp of the world's Origin (such as the Five Elements, Yin and Yang, time-space, etc.) and integrate it into oneself, either to mend one's own Dao Foundation or to comprehend the corresponding rules.)

Watching the direction where Jiang Yuxue disappeared, the weak gratitude on Duan Gujin's face vanished instantly, leaving only an aloofness that controlled everything and a trace of mockery.

"Heh. Faced with absolute benefit, even she obediently bites the hook."