Chapter 24: Foundation-Building Pill

Inside the space, a bluish glow illuminated everything, with spirit stones everywhere.
Qu Yi turned over and, at a glance, was overjoyed. He quickly picked up the Green Python Sword, expanded the cave entrance, and rushed in, arriving at the spirit stone mine.
At that moment, the Tiny Realm Ball appeared in Qu Yi’s soul. The Spirit God’s consciousness immediately scanned the entire mine, searching thoroughly.
“Qu Yi, this spirit stone vein isn’t very large—only five li in size. But for your current level of cultivation, it’s still a huge fortune. Alright, I’ll collect the spirit stones later. For now, stay here and practice the Five Elements cultivation method to raise your cultivation to the peak stage of the Early Qi Guidance phase,” the Spirit God’s voice echoed in his soul.
At this moment, the mine was filled with abundant spiritual energy. Just one breath in would yield more energy than an hour of absorption outside, making it ideal for cultivation.
Qu Yi followed orders, immediately sitting in seiza position and calming his mind and body.
Inside his body, the five cultivation methods—“Glorious Gold and Splendor,” “Revival of All Plants,” “Unity of Water and Sky,” “Spreading Starfire,” and “Vast Imperial Land”—operated simultaneously, rapidly absorbing the spiritual energy in the cave.
In his meridians, highly condensed streams of true energy continuously absorbed the refined true energy and re-condensed it.
Inside the mine, the spiritual energy absorbed by Qu Yi gradually formed a vortex, with him at its center. As the spiritual energy fell into the vortex, it automatically aggregated, allowing it to be instantly refined into true energy upon entering his body, merging with the existing true energy.
Qu Yi’s true energy level rose at an astonishing rate.
An hour later, Qu Yi opened his eyes, filled with ecstasy.
His true energy cultivation had reached the peak stage of the Early Qi Guidance phase.
Now, with just one opportunity, he could enter the Early Foundation Building phase at any time. By then, facing Liu Qingfeng again, he wouldn’t only be able to handle him but might even kill him.
Suddenly, the Spirit God’s voice rang out, “Qu Yi, not bad. This abundant spiritual energy has helped you progress quickly. Alright, wait here while I collect all these spirit stones.”
Qu Yi responded with a nod, then watched in astonishment as the Tiny Realm Ball appeared suddenly, bounced a few times in the mine, and all the spirit stones disappeared, leaving the entire cave in darkness.
After a while, the Tiny Realm Ball returned and floated in front of Qu Yi.
“Well? The ability of this Tiny Realm Ball to collect items is the best in the world, right?” the Spirit God said proudly.

Qu Yi took out the night pearl and looked around. It was still a world filled with a greenish glow. Now, not a single spirit stone remained, and the mine cave immediately became dark. He couldn’t help but agree with the Wordsmith’s words.
“I agree on that. The space inside the Mini-Realm Ball is indeed vast,” Qu Yi said sincerely.
Hearing Qu Yi agree, the Wordsmith laughed heartily. “You’re lucky, kid. You actually managed to get the Mini-Realm Ball. I’ve already collected all the spirit stones here, and I’ve taken about half of the Red Flame Ferroalloy as well. I think that’s enough at this point.”
Qu Yi rolled his eyes. The Wordsmith’s greed was truly immense. But it was good news anyway—since whatever the Wordsmith took would be used by him, it was a huge advantage for Qu Yi.
“Wordsmith, then why not take the other half of the Red Flame Ferroalloy? Is the space in the Mini-Realm Ball not enough?” Qu Yi asked.
Suddenly, the Mini-Realm Ball jumped and bounced directly on Qu Yi’s forehead.
Qu Yi cried out in pain, lying back on the ground, constantly touching his forehead and shouting in agony.
“Idiot! You’re only at the later stage of Qi cultivation. What’s the use of so much Red Flame Ferroalloy? It’s better to use it to exchange for something else,” the Wordsmith shouted.
Qu Yi kept channeling his Water Qi to his forehead until the pain subsided. Then he stood up and asked curiously, “Wordsmith, if we use Red Flame Ferroalloy to exchange for something, who should we exchange with? And what?”
Only then did the Wordsmith speak calmly, “My spiritual awareness has heard the conversations of some of the elders from your Xianyun Sect. After those Golden Core-stage elders led you here, they went to look for the Gold-Eating Rats. They said that whoever finds this Red Flame Ferroalloy mine will have the right to mine it on their cultivation mountain. I think you could tell your senior brother Kang Feng about this mine and ask him for something in exchange.”
Qu Yi was shocked and immediately asked, “Exchange with my senior brother? What for?”
The Mini-Realm Ball bounced rapidly again, hitting Qu Yi’s forehead with a loud noise, before floating back into the air.
Qu Yi was knocked to the ground once more, the pain in his forehead becoming even worse. Tears welled up in his eyes as he angrily shouted, “Wordsmith, you bastard! Why did you hit me again?”
Previously, when Qu Yi said something wrong, his master Huai Qing would kick his bottom—something he could tolerate, as it was after all his master’s reprimand. But the Wordsmith’s way of disciplining him was by making the Mini-Realm Ball bounce on his forehead, making him feel like his skull was about to shatter each time. It was truly humiliating and painful.

“You idiot! Don’t you know you’ve already reached the later stage of Qi Guidance? Can’t you use this Red Flame Ferro ore to exchange for some Foundation Building Pills with Kang Feng?” The Artifact God spoke loudly, his voice like a roar.
Qu Yi once again used Water Flowing True Qi to soothe his forehead, which relieved the pain. Reflecting on the Artifact God’s words, he agreed wholeheartedly. His own strength was the most important thing.
“Alright, you’re right. But please don’t keep hitting my forehead every time. Can you leave me some dignity?” Qu Yi cried out plaintively, more out of pleading.
The Artifact God chuckled, then fell silent. Soon, the dimension sphere disappeared, returning to Qu Yi’s soul.
Qu Yi pouted, feeling extremely frustrated but helpless. After all, the Artifact God’s strength was absurdly great—Qu Yi couldn’t match him, so he had no choice but to go along with his whims.
…
A while later, Qu Yi emerged from the mine cave and returned to the surface.
Bai Man was sitting on the back of the Golden Crown Heron, circling in the air. Upon seeing Qu Yi, she immediately urged the heron to land.
“Qu Yi, have you found the Red Flame Ferro?” Bai Man asked anxiously before even touching down.
“Sister, I have,” Qu Yi replied happily, looking up with a piece of Red Flame Ferro in his hand.
Bai Man landed, took the ore, and couldn’t stop marveling at it, especially its red-flamed glow, which she adored.
“By the way, Sister, let’s go find Senior Brother Kang Feng right now. I want to tell him about this Red Flame Ferro,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
Bai Man was taken aback and asked doubtfully, “Why tell him? After all, only the two of us know this secret. I won’t reveal it. When your strength reaches the Golden Pill stage, you can come back and mine this Red Flame Ferro ore—it will be very beneficial for you.”
Having grown up in the Immortal Cloud Sect, Bai Man understood certain things clearly. Only by reaching the Golden Pill stage could one have their own cultivation mountain, granting access to some of the sect’s mineral resources. If Qu Yi had his own mountain and minerals by then, he would accumulate great wealth and be able to recruit many disciples.
Seeing Bai Man thinking so much of him, Qu Yi was moved. He hugged her and whispered, “Sister, don’t worry. I won’t suffer any loss. I plan to use this Red Flame Ferro ore to exchange for some Foundation Building Pills.”
Hearing this, Bai Man grew excited and said urgently, “Qu Yi, have you already reached the later stage of Qi Guidance?”
Qu Yi nodded.

Bai Man was relieved; she finally understood Qu Yi’s plans and greatly agreed with his decision.
…
On the summit of a snow-capped peak in the Misty Demon Mountains.
The Golden Crown Heron landed, and Qu Yi and Bai Man stepped onto the snow to face Kang Feng up close.
Kang Feng had brought his lower-ranked disciples to the Misty Demon Mountains. Aside from trying their luck in searching for the Gold-Eating Rats, they spent most of their time practicing on these snow peaks.
“Sister-in-law, Fifth Junior Brother, how did you come here?” Kang Feng asked with a smile.
Bai Man looked at Qu Yi, who calmly said, “Elder Senior Brother, I accidentally discovered some Red Flame Pure Iron Ore and came here to tell you.”
“What!” Kang Feng was shocked. This Red Flame Pure Iron Ore was exactly the purpose of his journey, and now he had news of it.
Qu Yi nodded affirmatively.
“Good, that’s great news. Fifth Junior Brother, since you’ve brought me this news, just tell me what you want.”
Although Kang Feng had lost his composure earlier, he quickly regained his calmness and, realizing the key point, asked with a smile.
Seeing how quickly this Elder Senior Brother could think, Qu Yi wasn’t vague either and said directly, “Elder Senior Brother, I want to exchange this Red Flame Pure Iron Ore for ten Foundation Building Pills.”
Hearing this, Kang Feng frowned and studied Qu Yi, his eyes gleaming. Then he said, “Fifth Junior Brother, Foundation Building Pills are only useful for those in the later stages of Qi Guidance. You’re only in the middle stage right now, so I don’t think you’ll benefit much from them for now. How about this? I’ll give you five Foundation Building Pills, with one condition: if you want to take them, I’ll protect you and help you safely advance to the early stage of Foundation Building.”
By then, Qu Yi had already used the “Silent Art” to adjust the fluctuations of his internal Qi to the middle stage of Qi Guidance.
Qu Yi blinked, as if thinking, before saying with a smile after a while, “Okay, I agree.”
The Artifact God had already told Qu Yi that just five Foundation Building Pills would surely allow him to reach the early stage of Foundation Building. To counter Kang Feng’s bargaining, Qu Yi had unilaterally asked for ten. Now that his goal was achieved, he saw no need to argue further.
Soon, Qu Yi took Kang Feng to the barren rock area and told him where the Red Flame Pure Iron Ore was located.
Kang Feng entered the mine cave and checked it out, confirming that it indeed contained Red Flame Pure Iron Ore. After returning to the surface, he immediately gave Qu Yi five Foundation Building Pills.
Of course, Kang Feng didn’t realize that half of the Red Flame Pure Iron Ore had already been taken by the Artifact God.
After receiving the five Foundation Building Pills, Qu Yi admired the green, fragrant pills with joy before putting them into his storage bag.