Chương 83: The Poison Pill

Back during the spirit beast tide, a Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beast had once led over a thousand Qi Refining Realm beasts to attack Green Bamboo Mountain. But after testing the mountain's defensive formation for a few days, the beast simply turned around and left. The Zhang Clan of Green Bamboo Mountain had suffered almost no losses throughout the entire beast tide. On the contrary, thanks to Zhang Huaijin, they had gained a massive amount of resources.

As a result, aside from the cultivators assigned to guard various posts, the rest of the clan members all cultivated at Green Bamboo Mountain. The entire Qingtai Prefecture, indeed, the whole Bing Province, lay quiet. Everyone remained in seclusion, training hard to recover from their injuries and refine their cultivation. Three years passed. Zhang Huaijin's cultivation had slowly crept toward the peak of the second level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. After all, he lacked nothing in resources.

Refining an entire vial of True Yang Pills over three years had brought him within a single step of that peak. Zhang Lixian was in the same situation. As for Zhang Hong and Zhang Linyi, after fully recovering from their injuries, they were also approaching the perfection stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Between training sessions, Zhang Huaijin had advanced his alchemy and talisman crafting skills to Tier 2.

The black and white energy within his Realm-Breaking Pearl had fully accumulated once more, constantly tempering his physical body. Huaijin had now awakened the bloodline abilities of ten different spirit beasts. This was a talent unique to the Earth Fiend Spirit Body, especially when combined with the Blood Demon Bone Tempering Art. Other cultivators, even if they obtained enough spirit beast blood essence, could never learn their skills or transform them into bloodline abilities.

The clan's spirit fields had now expanded to nearly five hundred acres. The annual harvest of spirit rice was more than sufficient. The shops in Langya County Town were doing steady business, providing a continuous stream of resources for the clan. Unfortunately, the Mystic Iron Mine they had discovered earlier had finally been exhausted. The Zhang Clan paid a certain amount of spirit stones, kept the spirit vein they had cultivated, and began converting the area into new spirit fields.

The clan's spirit beast hunting team was also growing, with more and more members joining its ranks. At this point, the Zhang Clan had firmly established itself among Foundation Establishment Realm powers. Given time, they could steadily close the gap with other families. Zhang Huaijin had just emerged from seclusion. He had consumed ten True Yang Pills, and although he had constantly refined his foundation through alchemy and talisman crafting, his energy still felt somewhat scattered.

He needed some time to consolidate. Once he stepped into the peak of the second level, he could then smoothly advance to the third level. This year, Zhang Huaijin was thirty three years old. Zhang Liliang, meanwhile, was now fifty eight. Unfortunately, he was still six months away from reaching the peak of the Qi Refining Realm after his own consolidation. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

And there was still no news about the Fang Clan's Foundation Establishment Pill. Zhang Chongwen felt a deep sense of grief. Other than taking that cursed, baleful energy tainted pill, Zhang Liliang had no other choice. The Clear Light Liquid Zhang Huaijin had obtained earlier had washed away some of the Tribulation energy, but to completely eliminate it would require a solution with energy concentration at Tier 2, upper grade.

And a treasure like that was almost as valuable as a Foundation Establishment Pill itself. Zhang Liwei's cultivation had slowly risen to the peak of the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm and was now pushing toward the ninth level. Zhang Hanren had remained in Langya County Town. Ever since the Zhang Clan became a Foundation Establishment Realm family, his spirit wine business had been booming. His salary and merit points had also increased.

He didn't lack resources for his own cultivation, and over these three years, he had stepped into the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm. This year, Zhang Hanren was forty eight years old. Their child was now six, the age for the spirit root test. Would the child have a spirit root? If so, it would be a cause for celebration. If not, they would face the painful decision of sending the child away to Green Bamboo Town. The path of cultivation was brutally cruel. Spirit roots determined everything.

Time flowed like a river, indifferent to the world of cultivators. It had now been twenty three years since Zhang Huaijin had first drawn spiritual energy into his body and become a Qi Refining Realm cultivator. The clan had been established for over ninety years; in a few more, it would surpass a century. In the blink of an eye, another six months passed. Zhang Huaijin's cultivation had settled into the peak of second level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. He stood ready to break through whenever he chose.

Zhang Liliang, Zhang Hong, and Zhang Linyi had all reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm. Zhang Liliang felt he was ready. The clan's senior cultivators all emerged from seclusion and gathered in the main hall. It was only then that Zhang Liliang learned the clan had acquired another Foundation Establishment Pill. But the Fang Clan had yet to send word, and Zhang Liliang could not wait any longer. For any cultivator who had set foot on the path of immortality, going further was the only desire.

If he passed sixty, his chances of successfully establishing his foundation would be nearly impossible, nine chances of death for one chance of life. He had only a little over a year left. A tainted Foundation Establishment Pill was incredibly tempting. He knew it was poison, but he felt he had no choice but to swallow it.

"Father, eldest brother, Huaijin." Zhang Liliang took a deep breath, then spoke slowly.

"I have my merit points ready. I've decided to take that pill." He had been saving points for years, but his balance was still far too low. He had scraped together from every possible source, taking on a mountain of debt. If he failed, that debt would fall entirely on his descendants. But if he succeeded, he would become a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, his status and identity forever changed. He could pay off that debt in less than ten years. One path led to heaven, the other to hell.

Zhang Liliang knew the risks well. If he failed and managed to survive with serious injuries, he could still repay his debts by crafting talismans for the clan, and his descendants wouldn't be affected. But if the failure left him mortally wounded, leading to his death, then his children and grandchildren would suffer. Yet the chance to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm was right in front of him. Despite the myriad dangers, Zhang Liliang couldn't bear to let it slip away.

"Second Uncle, are you sure?" Zhang Huaijin asked, his expression serious. Liliang nodded.

"I've decided. Succeed or die trying. I don't want to spend the rest of my life regretting this." He had a chance to break through now. If he passed sixty, his vitality would enter a period of decline, and all hope would be lost. He didn't want to miss this opportunity. He didn't want to live the second half of his life in regret.

"Alright," Zhang Huaijin said with a nod. This was Liliang's own choice. Even Zhang Chongwen couldn't stop him. Even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, there was a risk of failure. Even more so for this one, contaminated with Tribulation baleful energy. Zhang Linyi and Zhang Hong looked at him with worry in their eyes. They were both over eighty now. Even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, their chances of success were less than one in ten. The path of cultivation was truly cruel.

Zhang Liliang himself had a humble Four Spirit Root talent. He hadn't been at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm for long. If he consolidated his foundation for more time, his base would be stronger, and his chances of breaking through would be better. But Zhang Liliang was simply running out of time.