Chapter 142: The Struggle for the Foundation Establishment Pill

Jianzhou Prefecture, located in the northern part of the Yue Kingdom, ranks second in area among the thirteen prefectures. Its territory is largely composed of mountains and hills, making it sparsely populated, and it shares a border with the neighboring Yuanwu Kingdom.

The Taiyue Mountain Range, situated in western Jianzhou, stretches for thousands of miles. It is a remote primeval forest teeming with wild beasts and fierce birds. Occasionally, woodcutters and hunters claim to have seen immortal spirits and demons, further cloaking the area in an aura of mystery.

Mortals, of course, would never suspect that the central part of this mountain range has been occupied for thousands of years by the Yellow Maple Valley, one of the seven great immortal cultivation sects.

From above, this area appears no different from other mountain ranges, with steep ridges and lush trees. In reality, it is covered by a massive arcane formation, creating only illusions. Beneath this veil, countless towers and grand halls have been built in a densely packed manner. Immortal cultivators, riding on leaf-shaped spiritual artifacts, are constantly flying back and forth at low altitudes, busy with their duties.

The current sect master of Yellow Maple Valley, Zhong Lingdao, is over a hundred years old, yet he retains the appearance of a middle-aged man with a long, three-stranded beard. He is a cultivator at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Known for his calm demeanor and organizational skills, he commands great respect within the sect, and both the elders and his fellow disciples trust him implicitly.

However, Master Zhong, who was usually calm and confident, now sat in the main seat of the grand hall, frowning deeply. He looked on with a sense of helplessness as a middle-aged man and an elder fiercely debated before him. On either side of the hall sat over a dozen other cultivators, all with various expressions, who served as Yellow Maple Valley's administrative staff.

"Senior Brother Murong! The Foundation Establishment Pills were clearly allocated months ago, yet now you've decided to cancel my great-nephew's portion and give it to a rogue cultivator instead! This is completely unacceptable!" the elder shouted, his face filled with indignation, at the pale-faced, beardless middle-aged scholar.

It was truly surprising that this elder, who was visibly much older than the middle-aged man, insisted on calling him Senior Brother.

"Junior Brother Ye, an unexpected situation has arisen! This is a matter that happens only once every few centuries – someone arriving with an Immortal Ascension Token to join the sect. How can we ignore it? We must allocate a Foundation Establishment Pill to this newcomer!" the middle-aged scholar said unhurriedly, his expression unchanged.

"But this person isn't from an immortal cultivation family at all; he's just a rogue cultivator. And you want to give him a Foundation Establishment Pill too? I think simply allowing him to join the sect is enough; that would already be a profound blessing for him!" the elder argued, his face flushed.

"Junior Brother Ye, you can't say that! How do you know their ancestors weren't from an immortal cultivation family? Perhaps their family simply declined, leading them to become a rogue cultivator! Besides, who can guarantee their family will last forever? What if your own Ye family declines one day, Junior Brother Ye? Should we, Yellow Maple Valley, then refuse to give Foundation Establishment Pills to your descendants if they arrive with an Immortal Ascension Token, and only allow them to join the sect? If you dare to make such a vile oath in front of everyone, then I, Murong Shan, will turn and leave, never mentioning the Foundation Establishment Pill matter again."

The middle-aged man spoke eloquently, leaving the elder's face alternating between pale and green, utterly speechless.

How could the elder dare to make such an oath with endless repercussions? Moreover, even if he did, it would only mean that the man he constantly clashed with would wash his hands of the matter. Who knew if others would then emerge to cause more trouble?

"But why does it have to be my great-nephew's pill that gets given up? Can't it be someone else's?" the elder asked loudly, unwilling to concede.

"That's because your great-nephew, Junior Brother, was too disappointing! He ranked so low in the test," the middle-aged man said, shaking his head with a regretful expression.

Seeing the man opposite him put on such a show, the elder's teeth itched with frustration! However, since his great-nephew's interests were at stake, he set aside all other concerns and pressed on: "My great-nephew's ranking was indeed a bit low, but he wasn't the lowest among those receiving the Foundation Establishment Pill! Weren't there two others ranked below him?"

"You are correct, Junior Brother; there were indeed two others who ranked lower than your great-nephew in the test. However, their situations are truly special! We can only inconvenience your great-nephew, Junior Brother Ye," the middle-aged man said with a regretful tone.

"What's so special about them? If you don't give me a reason I can wholeheartedly accept, I absolutely won't swallow this!" The elder, exasperated, uttered harsh words.

"Nonsense! What is there that you can't accept? Those two are indeed special, and it was with my full approval that we skipped them and directly chose your great-nephew, Junior Brother. As for the reasons! Even if you hadn't asked, I would have explained it to you."

Seeing the elder speak so unreasonably, Zhong Lingdao's face sank, and he rebuked him.

When the elder heard Zhong Lingdao say this as well, his heart trembled! He only knew that two people had ranked lower than his great-nephew in the test, but he truly didn't know who they were – and this was precisely the source of his indignation! Could there really be an exception that would cause even the usually fair and strict sect master to show favoritism?

Zhong Lingdao waved his hand, motioning for the middle-aged scholar to return to his seat, then sighed and said:

"Junior Brother Ye, I'm afraid your great-nephew truly has to make a sacrifice this time! As for the other two, one is Martial Aunt Hongfu's only descendant in the mortal world. So, even though the young girl originally failed the test, I still selected her and placed her on the list of Foundation Establishment Pill recipients. I presume, Junior Brother Ye, you wouldn't want to cancel her pill, would you?"

The elder was startled to hear Hongfu's name; his expression immediately changed drastically, and he became utterly apprehensive.

"Since she is Martial Aunt Hongfu's descendant, of course, she should be looked after. How could I, your junior, be so disrespectful to an elder? I am wholeheartedly convinced by this arrangement," the elder said, his face a bit pale.

Master Zhong was not surprised by the elder's expression. After all, as the only female Core Formation cultivator in Yellow Maple Valley, who among those present didn't know Martial Aunt Hongfu's fiercely protective nature? If the young girl's Foundation Establishment qualification were truly revoked, not only would the elder suffer, but even Master Zhong himself might not have an easy time afterwards!

"And the other person?" the elder asked, still not giving up. Although he knew there must be a compelling reason for the remaining individual, he still harbored a glimmer of hope.

"The remaining person possesses a rare spiritual root with a wind attribute. Do you think that reason is sufficient?" Zhong Lingdao said slowly, stroking his long beard.

Upon hearing this, the elder fell silent. Yellow Maple Valley's sect rules explicitly stated: those with Heavenly Roots or rare spiritual roots are given priority for Foundation Establishment. There was truly nothing more to complain about!

Yet, his great-nephew, though not his biological grandson, was someone he had watched grow day by day since joining the sect. He felt closer to him than to a grandson. How could he bear to tell him the news that his Foundation Establishment qualification had been revoked?

"Then is there truly no hope for my great-nephew? You must understand, if he has to wait another ten years, he will miss the optimal period for Foundation Establishment and will have no hope of ever reaching that stage in this lifetime!" The elder's words carried a hint of desolation, prompting murmurs among many of those seated nearby.

"Junior Brother Ye, there isn't necessarily no way!" An elder with a somewhat gloomy expression and a hooked nose stepped forward and comforted the elder surnamed Ye.

"What? Senior Brother Wu has a solution?" The elder surnamed Ye's spirits lifted. Senior Brother Wu was famously resourceful and cunning within the sect; perhaps he really did have a way!

The elder surnamed Wu smiled slightly. Instead of immediately answering, he turned to Zhong Lingdao, bowed, and asked in a clear voice, "Sect Master, has the spiritual root attribute of the person who arrived with the Immortal Ascension Token been tested? And what is their aptitude?"

"It doesn't seem very good! Junior Brother Wang, you personally brought this person and conducted the test, so please tell us," Zhong Lingdao said to someone in the row on his left.

"Yes, Sect Master!" A middle-aged man with a pale complexion stood up and said calmly:

"This person is not old, around eighteen or nineteen. They are at the early ninth level of basic wood-attribute cultivation. Their spiritual root is a four-attribute pseudo-root, lacking the metal element. Overall, their aptitude is low, but they must have had some fortuitous encounter and trained diligently to reach their current realm. Without further opportunities, they will at most cultivate to the eleventh or twelfth level of basic techniques in this lifetime, unable to enter the Foundation Establishment stage. Even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, their chance of success is only one percent..."

"Good!" the elder surnamed Wu loudly interrupted before Junior Brother Wang could finish.

"Good for what?" the elder surnamed Ye asked, unable to restrain himself.

The others also looked at the elder surnamed Wu with puzzled expressions. Only Zhong Lingdao slightly furrowed his brow, having a hunch about what he meant.

"Sect Master, if the newcomer voluntarily gives up the Foundation Establishment Pill, would that count as us breaking our promise?" the elder surnamed Wu asked.

"Of course. However, no one is permitted to use threats or coercion to achieve this, otherwise, the reputation of our Yellow Maple Valley would be ruined!" Sect Master Zhong gently reminded.

"Heh heh! Please rest assured, Sect Master, that goes without saying!" The elder surnamed Wu smiled slightly, then turned to the elder surnamed Ye and said:

"Junior Brother Ye, would you mind spending some resources to acquire his Foundation Establishment Pill? You see, given his extremely low aptitude and pitifully small chance of successful Foundation Establishment, there's a very high probability he'd be willing to give up the pill in exchange for more practical items!" The elder surnamed Wu appeared utterly confident.

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