Chapter 94: Orthodox Foundation Building
“Qi Rui, when I was out hunting demonic beasts with Qi Hou, I saw him use a Crimson Flame Sword Talisman. It was extremely powerful,” said Chen Mobai after hearing Qi Rui’s introduction, which immediately sparked his interest in the subject.
Qi Hou? He is a candidate for being a true disciple of our Divine Wood Sect. There’s a chance he may receive a Foundation Building Pill from the next batch if there are extras,” Qi Rui explained, admiration evident on his face as he mentioned Qi Hou.
“Oh, aren’t the Foundation Building Pills of the Divine Wood Sect simply exchanged for enough contribution points?” said Chen Mobai, noticing Qi Rui seemed open for conversation and attempting to learn more about the Divine Wood Sect.
“It’s not that simple. To concoct an orthodox Foundation Building Pill, a millennial Golden Jade Ganoderma is needed. Our Divine Wood Sect inherited the largest medicinal garden, Giant Tree Ridge, from the Five Elements Sect. Thanks to the foresight of our forefathers, we have a significant number of ganoderma planted, but we can only harvest about ten mature millennium Golden Jade Ganoderma every decade,” explained Qi Rui.
In theory, you can produce ten pills from one concoction of the orthodox Foundation Building Pill. If we get eight or nine, then we are already very fortunate. During the time when the Divine Wood Sect and Golden Cliff split from the Five Elements Sect, it had been agreed that every time the Golden Jade Ganoderma matures, Golden Cliff would receive three,” he added. “After the split, the Divine Wood Sect and Golden Cliff fought with the remaining three branches of the Five Elements Sect for twenty years. Eventually, everyone got tired of fighting. We agreed to cease battles. One of the conditions for the Five Elements Sect to recognize the independence of our Divine Wood Sect was that whenever the Golden Jade Ganoderma in Giant Tree Ridge matures, they also get three,” he explained.
“The Foundation Building Pills of all three sects are concocted by the Back to Sky Valley. After each batch, regardless of the quantity produced, the Valley takes one pill. In a decade, our Divine Wood Sect would be able to stock about 30 Foundation Building Pills in the warehouse,” Qi Rui added.
“There are at least a hundred disciples in the Divine Wood Sect of the ninth layer of Qi Cultivation. To be as fair as possible, these 30 Foundation Building Pills should be distributed through contribution points. One can exchange their contribution points for one, but the more contribution points you have, the higher the probability you can get one,” he informed.
These basic sect-knowledge were simple to disciples from the Divine Wood Sect but were precious knowledge to Chen Mobai and Shi Pengyi, who listened with great interest.
“Golden Jade Ganoderma” must be Tianhe Realm’s term. Over at Di Yuan star, it’s called Jade Marrow Golden Mushroom. Quite similar, thought Chen Mobai as Qi Rui started explaining the ranking of the true disciples in the Divine Wood Sect, which was actually the order of obtaining the Foundation Building Pills. 5
Though Qi Hou wasn’t in the list of top twenty-four true disciples, he had a rather profound cultivation level and he was also a disciple of a Foundation Establishment elder with the surname Xi in the Divine Wood Sect. If there are extras from the next batch of Foundation Building Pills, he could possibly be prioritized.
The elder named Xi.
Chen Mobai remembered a quite delicate youth named Xi, who was likely the blood descendant of that elder.
No wonder Qi Hou was willing to take him into Yun Meng Ze for training. They were fellow disciples.
“Qi Dao friend, I heard that besides using millennial Golden Jade Ganoderma as the main ingredient, there’s another method to concoct Foundation Building Pill,” Luo Lm suddenly asked a question which Chen Mobai had great interest in.
‘Right, using the Golden Jade Ganoderma as the main ingredient is the orthodox way to concoct the Foundation Building Pill. There’s another way which is using a demonic beast’s inner core. But this method has a low success rate and the beasts capable of forming the inner core are usually at least Rank-2 at their peak, making them extremely difficult to hunt,” replied Qi Rui, nodding.
Chen Mobai was hearing this for the first time and asked with great interest. It was usual for him as a loose cultivator to be unaware of such details, and the other three in their group had no reason to suspect otherwise. Both Shi Pengyi and Luo Lin also heard this from their masters.
Their small sect’s Grandmaster had successfully reached the Foundation Establishment level by taking a Foundation Building Pill made from the inner core of a demonic beast. He then recorded this experience in the sect’s secret chronicles, and his story has been passed down to this day.
“The two demonic beasts that were killed on Green Light Island this time, I feel they were both at the peak of Rank-2, and perhaps they have already formed their inner cores. If that is true, then there might be a few extra Foundation Building Pills in this batch.”
As Qi Rui said this, he was somewhat envious. However, his Cultivation Level was merely at the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation. Even if he does accumulate enough contribution points, he might not necessarily qualify when the time comes.
“Is there a difference between a Foundation Building Pill made from a demonic beast s inner core and a traditional Foundation Building Pill?”
“There is a difference, but the effects are similar. However, one such batch can only produce two or three pills at the most, and the auxiliary ingredients cannot be short of any. It is a bit uneconomical.” As he said this, Qi Rui couldn’t help but shake his head, “Back to Sky Valley is reluctant to refine this type of Foundation Building Pill, as refining it will delay an alchemist’s Cultivation Level for a year. Given the same amount of time, they would rather refine traditional Foundation Building Pills.”
However, it is precisely because of this that the other alchemists of the Eastern Wilderness have a value proposition.
Back to Sky Valley may be unwilling to refine Foundation Building Pills with the demonic beast’s inner core as the main ingredient, but other alchemists are eager for it.
The main goal of the East Wilderness Major Sect and even the Immortal Cultivation clans in training their own alchemists is ultimately in order to refine such Foundation Building Pills.
However, after listening to their conversation, Chen Mobai felt that the decision-makers of Back to Sky Valley were far-sighted.
After all, if they really monopolized the refinement of Foundation Building Pills, it’s likely that Back to Sky Valley’s status wouldn’t be so transcendental as it is now. They would definitely be targeted by the other six major sects, and might even face destruction.
“Qi Daoist friend, do you know when the next batch of Golden Jade Ganoderma in the Divine Wood Sect will mature?”
Chen Mobai asked a question, drawing the curious gazes of the rest of the team.
Ahem, Daoist friend, you may not be able to wait for it. The Golden Jade Ganoderma matured this year and has already been sent to Back to Sky Valley. The new disciples will join next year, which is when this batch of Foundation Building Pills will enter the sect’s storehouse, ready for exchange.” Qi Rui understood Chen Mobai’s implications and somberly spoke.
The Divine Wood Sect recruits disciples once every ten years, which coincides with the time it takes to refine Foundation Building Pills. They do this to ensure that each generation’s succession is orderly.
Even though Chen Mobai is an exceptional talent, he would have to wait for the next ten years to compete for those Foundation Building Pills.
“What about the Foundation Building Pills made from the inner core of the demonic beast?”
Chen Mobai thought about this, and continued to ask.
The three seniors who came to the rescue, judging by the Sword Light, two of them are likely teachers from Golden Cliff. The inner cores of the two peak Rank-2 demonic beasts that were killed today will probably be evenly distributed, with one going to them. The remains of this batch should produce two Foundation Building Pills, but among all the disciples in the sect who have enough contribution points, there are at least twenty to thirty senior brothers and sisters waiting after the twenty-four true Disciples.”
As Qi Rui spoke these words, he too sighed slightly.
He was also aiming for the batch of traditional Foundation Building Pills ten years from now. However, even if he attains Qi Cultivation Perfection by then, he might not be able to compete with these experienced senior brothers and sisters.
“Has there been any exceptions? Like someone who upon joining the sect immediately assured a Foundation Building Pill?”
Chen Mobai asked with reluctance.
It’s not unheard of. Ten years ago, when we were recruiting disciples, we took in a genius with a Heavenly Spiritual Root from a small sect. Our respected elder came out of seclusion personally and awarded this disciple a Foundation Building Pill..”