The scenic beauty of Shaohua Mountain remained unchanged.

Qin Sang maneuvered the Sky Shuttle, passing through Sword Pass as he flew towards Dao Peak. Suddenly, someone appeared in front of him—it was none other than Senior Brother Zhuang Yan. Zhuang Yan had originally planned to enter seclusion to break through to the Foundation Building Realm, but for some unknown reason, he had abandoned the idea.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhuang."

Qin Sang halted his light, respectfully saluting from a distance.

Zhuang Yan controlled his sword and landed beside Qin Sang. Noticing the expression on Qin Sang's face, he asked with concern, "Junior Brother Qin, you don't look well. Have you encountered something troubling?"

Qin Sang shook his head, forcing a smile as he replied, "Not at all. I just noticed that the colorful clouds over Jingyue Peak have suddenly disappeared, and it puzzled me. Has something happened in the sect recently?"

Jingyue Peak was not only full of spiritual energy but was also adorned with clouds that lingered above, never dissipating—a very prominent feature. Zhuang Yan had mentioned before that this was an array set by the sect to prevent anyone from disturbing Fairy Chenyan during her seclusion.

The last time Qin Sang had returned, he had seen the clouds. However, upon entering Sword Pass this time, he noticed that the clouds over Jingyue Peak had completely vanished.

Zhuang Yan let out an "Oh," glancing at the distant Jingyue Peak, and said, "Junior Brother Qin, you've been in the Sunken Cave all this time, so you might not know. Fairy Chenyan recently came out of seclusion."

"Fairy Chenyan is out of seclusion?"

Qin Sang quickly followed up, "Did she manage to break through to the Spiritual Infant Realm?"

If Fairy Chenyan had successfully broken through to the Spiritual Infant Realm, Shaohua Mountain would have two Spiritual Infant experts, elevating it to the ranks of the top forces in the Small Cold Domain. As disciples of the sect, they would also reap countless benefits from such a development.

Zhuang Yan's expression darkened slightly as he shook his head without saying a word.

Qin Sang sighed softly. Each step on the path of immortal cultivation was extremely difficult. It was said that Fairy Chenyan, born with a Heavenly Spiritual Root, was a true prodigy. Yet even after so many years of seclusion, she had failed to make a breakthrough. Thinking of this, Qin Sang couldn't help but reflect on his own situation, and his mood grew even gloomier.

"Senior Brother Zhuang, is Senior Uncle Wen currently at Dao Peak?"

"Why is Junior Brother looking for Senior Uncle Wen?"

Zhuang Yan's tone faltered as he looked at Qin Sang, suddenly realizing something. His face lit up with understanding, and he quickly congratulated, "Congratulations, Junior Brother Qin, on breaking through to the tenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm! Are you here to collect your Foundation Building Pill? Senior Uncle Wen is indeed at Dao Peak."

After parting ways with Zhuang Yan, the smile on Qin Sang's face quickly faded, replaced by a trace of concern.

After erasing all traces of Sun De, Qin Sang hadn't hurried back to Shaohua Mountain to collect the Foundation Building Pill. Instead, he decided to stay quietly in his cave dwelling for a while to observe how the sect would handle Sun De's disappearance.

In the end, the sect did not suspect him. Only a senior brother had come to the Sunken Cave after the incident, briefly questioning him before leaving in a hurry. The matter seemed to have been left unresolved.

Relieved to have cleared himself of suspicion, and with three Foundation Building Pills soon within reach, this should have been a time of joy, even elation.

But then, a piece of devastating news struck Qin Sang, plunging him into despair, and to this day, he remained shrouded in gloom.

Before this, he had been consolidating his cultivation and hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the Yan Luo Banner. It wasn’t until he resumed his cultivation that he discovered something was amiss. Although King Yan had not yet transformed into primary soul of the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions and could still produce Soul Pills, these Soul Pills had become useless to Qin Sang!

He had tried everything, even replacing the Yan Luo Banner, but the results were the same.

This sudden change was like a bolt from the blue for Qin Sang.

His natural talent was so poor that his cultivation speed could only compare with many cultivators born with true spiritual roots, or even those with dual spiritual roots, solely due to the support of the Yan Luo Banner and Soul Pills. Without the assistance of Soul Pills, Qin Sang’s cultivation speed was utterly disheartening. ŘαŊỖβƐs̩

Even though he possessed three Foundation Building Pills, if he couldn’t break through to the thirteenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm and elevate his cultivation to its peak before the age of fifty, the hope of achieving Foundation Building would be exceedingly slim.

Qin Sang pondered deeply. Unless he could gather enough pills that could strengthen his foundation and nourish his vitality, or find another artifact or cultivation method similar to the Yan Luo Banner—something that would rapidly enhance his cultivation, though it would pose significant risks to his primordial spirit… However, these were not easily obtainable.

As a myriad of thoughts raced through his mind, Qin Sang unknowingly found himself standing before the wooden hall on Dao Peak. He quickly composed himself, donned a respectful expression, and knocked on the door.

Senior Uncle Wen happened to be inside the wooden hall dealing with some mundane affairs. Upon hearing that Qin Sang had come to collect his Foundation Building Pill, Senior Uncle Wen looked a little surprised but smiled and said, "You’ve broken through to the tenth stage in such a short time since joining the sect? It seems that the spiritual fruit you consumed was quite extraordinary. Follow me."

Qin Sang followed behind Senior Uncle Wen as they left Dao Peak and flew deep into Shaohua Mountain, arriving at Treasure Tower Peak.

"Wait here for a moment."

Senior Uncle Wen led Qin Sang to the door of the second stage of Treasure Tower Peak, took Qin Sang’s waist token, and instructed him to wait outside before entering alone.

Not long after, Qin Sang heard Senior Uncle Wen call him inside. Adjusting his robe, Qin Sang lowered his head and entered respectfully, noticing that only Senior Uncle Wen and another elder, who appeared to be quite aged, were in the hall.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"This is Senior Brother Ye," Senior Uncle Wen introduced, pointing to the elder.

Qin Sang didn’t dare show any disrespect and immediately bowed. "Greetings, Senior Uncle Ye."

Senior Uncle Ye, dressed in a bluish white Daoist robe, narrowed his small eyes with a slight smile as he sized up Qin Sang. If it weren’t for the occasional flash of light in his eyes, Qin Sang might have thought he was merely a kind old man.

"So, this is Junior Nephew Qin! Indeed, an impressive young man!"

Senior Uncle Ye's attitude was exceedingly kind as he smiled and said, "You’ve indeed broken through to the tenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, meeting the sect’s requirements. Please wait a moment while I fetch a Foundation Building Pill."

Hearing the footsteps fade as Senior Uncle Ye left the hall, Qin Sang secretly let out a sigh of relief, glad that there had been no complications.

However, before his heart could settle completely, Senior Uncle Wen suddenly waved his hand, setting up a soundproof barrier. After clearing his throat, an awkward expression appeared on his face as he spoke, "Junior Nephew Qin, Senior Brother Ye has asked me to inquire—would you be willing to sell your Foundation Building Pill?"

Qin Sang was instantly stunned upon hearing these words, his expression changing slightly. The Foundation Building Pill was crucial to one's path of cultivation. Unless one had completely given up on Foundation Building, who would ever sell their Foundation Building Pill?

"Junior Nephew Qin, no need to be nervous."

Senior Uncle Wen reassured him softly, clearly also in a difficult position. Senior Brother Ye had taken an interest in Qin Sang as soon as he learned that Qin Sang possessed five-elemental spiritual roots and had earnestly asked Senior Uncle Wen to mediate.

Had it not been for the fact that Senior Brother Ye had helped him with a minor favor in the past, Senior Uncle Wen would never have agreed to such a thing.

"If you’re unwilling to sell, that’s perfectly fine. Senior Brother Ye is merely asking out of curiosity and will not pressure you. Should you wish to sell, we can negotiate terms regarding spirit stones, spiritual talismans, artifacts, or pills—whatever you need. Senior Brother Ye is quite wealthy and won’t let you suffer a loss."

Qin Sang lowered his head in thought. What he desired most now were pills that could stabilize and strengthen his foundation. Though rare, they were still available for purchase. In contrast, the Foundation Building Pill was truly priceless, and even disciples of an immortal sect were lucky to receive one. For rogue cultivators, such a thing was entirely out of reach.

Opportunities like this were fleeting. There was no need to deliberate—he wouldn’t trade it.

However, since the other party was a Foundation Building Realm cultivator, he couldn’t refuse too bluntly.

After some thought, Qin Sang put on a troubled expression and said, "Senior Uncle Wen, I have always aspired to the path of immortality and have never wavered. If I don’t at least try, I will never be content…"