Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 312 - 195: Lesser Foundation Establishment Pill

Chapter 312: Chapter 195: Lesser Foundation Establishment Pill

Because the item is none other than the Barrier-Breaking Pill!

In Lu Chang’sheng’s mind, if he couldn’t win the bidding for the Barrier-Breaking Pill Formula, getting the pill itself would be acceptable too.

So he discussed with Fang Yuan, and in the end, they settled on a price they could accept.

"Superior Grade Barrier-Breaking Pill, First Rank. I’m sure everyone knows what this does, but as a junior, I still feel obliged to go over it again."

"As the name suggests, the Barrier-Breaking Pill is meant to shatter cultivation bottlenecks. It’s extremely rare—you might not even see it a few times in an entire year in any Immortal City. Because it’s specifically used to break through from mid-stage Qi Cultivation to late-stage, it’s also known as the Mini Foundation Establishment Pill."

"Wow, just as expected of the Mini Foundation Establishment Pill! The starting bid is right at one thousand Contribution Points, way above the five hundred Point base price. This time, it’s definitely a battle of dragons and tigers."

As the female cultivator’s voice fluctuated, the Contribution Points kept climbing, quickly reaching a price of five thousand.

This price had already surpassed the bottom line that Lu Chang’sheng and Fang Yuan had set, so Fang Yuan dropped out without hesitation.

During demon hunts, the Fang Family would go all out; even Fang Yuan, hailed as the top late-stage Qi Cultivator below Foundation Establishment, would be kept busy, so their Contribution gains were naturally substantial.

The Foundation Establishment Pill might be out of reach, but winning this superior Barrier-Breaking Pill clearly wasn’t a big problem.

However, if they kept bidding after this price, they’d risk not having enough left when it came time to bid for the Barrier-Breaking Pill Formula.

Yet, not long after, a strange look flashed across Lu Chang’sheng’s face.

"The Qu Family has entered the fray."

Now, the female cultivator’s auction calls were much less frequent.

She then introduced the remaining few bidders in detail.

One side remained unidentified.

After all, Qingfeng Building is only somewhat famous in Platinum Immortal City, so not knowing some of the participants is pretty normal.

The other two sides, however, were all people Lu Chang’sheng was familiar with.

One side was naturally the Qu Family.

The other was the Zhu Family.

Soon, these three parties entered a fierce standoff, with the unknown bidder being the first eliminated.

Only the Qu Family and the Zhu Family were left competing.

"Why are these two so dead set on getting this Barrier-Breaking Pill?" Lu Ziyou couldn’t help but ask.

From what everyone below could tell, getting six thousand Contribution Points for this superior Barrier-Breaking Pill was already quite a stretch—any more, and it wouldn’t be worth it.

That was judged based on how past items had been auctioned.

But the two families were clearly locked in, unwilling to let go.

"The Qu Family probably wants to support a young late-stage Qi Cultivator. You know, Qu Sheng is basically confirmed to have fallen, and Qu Guang’s age means he’s no longer young among late-stage cultivators. If they can’t bring up someone new at late-stage, the Qu Family is facing collapse."

"Doesn’t Elder Qu Guang want Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Lu Ziyou asked.

"They know they don’t have a chance at winning a Foundation Establishment Pill. The Qu Family’s Contribution haul probably isn’t as good as Fang Family’s."

"Even Fang Yuan knew it was pointless to compete with those Foundation Families. No way Qu Family doesn’t realize that."

Lu Chang’sheng couldn’t help but sigh inside.

Fang Yuan once suggested using Supreme Profound Sect Contribution Points for a partnership, but after careful consideration, the other four families hadn’t followed suit.

Back then, he thought they had their eyes on the Foundation Establishment Pill.

A single family couldn’t win one, but four together could have a shot—and maybe even better chances if they joined up with another.

Now, it seems that wasn’t their intention at all.

"In that case, it’d be better to work with Father; we’ll win the Barrier-Breaking Pill Formula together, then we’ll have as many pills as we need." Lu Ziyou’s confidence in Lu Chang’sheng was absolute. It was only in front of Chang’sheng that his Gou Dao energy ever faded a bit.

Lu Chang’sheng shook his head. "If I do the refining, there’s too much uncertainty. The Qu Family might not be able to wait."

That’s just how it is. The Superior Grade Barrier-Breaking Pill Formula is much harder and more complex to make compared to Qi Storage Pill or Rejuvenation Pill.

Lu Chang’sheng estimated that producing one Barrier-Breaking Pill would take him several times—maybe over a dozen times—longer than other pills.

And that’s only if the materials are fully stocked.

If there aren’t enough materials, it’ll take even longer.

The main reason this pill is so rarely seen on the market is both artificial scarcity and the extreme rarity of the ingredients.

Lu Chang’sheng already had a hunch that even if he got the formula, the time needed for refining would far exceed that of any other recipe.

No wonder the Qu Family didn’t dare gamble on it.

"Ten thousand Contribution Points!"

Just as Lu Chang’sheng was deep in thought, the female auctioneer announced a price that stunned everyone.

"The Qu Family is really going all out. Won’t be long before they’ve got another late-stage Qi Cultivator."

"Don’t count your chickens yet—a Barrier-Breaking Pill doesn’t guarantee success. It still depends on the cultivator’s foundation." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"The Qu Family hiked the price by a thousand points in a single move. Looks like they’re hell-bent on getting this pill."

"Wonder if the Zhu Family will keep up?"

"If they do, Zhu Family will really get screwed over."

"I can just imagine what Zhu Family Ancestor’s face looks like right now."

······

The tea guests below were gossiping like crazy. After paying so many Spirit Stones to be spectators, how could they not?

Just as some people guessed, Zhu Zhen’s expression was indeed horrible at this moment.

He stared hard at Qu Guang nearby, a glint of malice flickering deep in his eyes.

"Looks like the Qu Family is determined to go up against me and the Zhu Family."

He quickly masked his emotions and, shielded by the Sound Insulation Spirit Array, quietly spoke to Elder Zhu Ren beside him.

Last time, Red Cloud Daoist’s appearance threw their ambush plan into chaos—they thought Lu Chang’sheng hadn’t noticed a thing.

But now, seeing the Qu Family so aggressive, Zhu Zhen felt a bit uncertain.

The thing is, the Qu Family has gotten pretty close with Lu Chang’sheng recently. According to intel from below, they even used some of their Contribution Points to help him trade for the Longevity Pill Formula.

"If we clash with Qu Family, then Lu Chang’sheng will definitely become Zhu Family’s arch nemesis," Zhu Ren’s gaze was icy.

"I wanted to let things cool down, but looks like they’re onto us. We need to act fast and get ahead of this, or the longer it drags out, the worse for us."

Zhu Ren shot Zhu Zhen a look, inwardly dissatisfied.

If only Zhu Zhen had acted decisively back when Lu Chang’sheng wasn’t yet an alchemist at White Cloud Pharmacy—they wouldn’t have these problems now.

But, what’s done is done, and Zhu Zhen was still a late-stage Qi Cultivator. He’d be left to manage the clan after Zhu Ren ascended, so he couldn’t be too harsh.

So Zhu Ren just let it go.

"If we’d kept someone back to block him, we wouldn’t have come away empty-handed." Zhu Zhen had no idea what the old clan leader was thinking; he was still hung up on the failed ambush.

Unfortunately, back then, they were totally distracted by Golden Core treasures—no way would they leave behind a late-stage cultivator just to kill Lu Chang’sheng.

Even if they had, there was no telling if Fang Family or Qu Family would have left someone too.

······

On the other side, as the bidding for the Barrier-Breaking Pill wrapped up, Qu Guang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Their Qu Family had barely scraped together just over thirty thousand Contribution Points; last time they spent some to get the Longevity Pill Formula. If they kept bidding, even winning the superior Barrier-Breaking Pill would hardly be worth it.

"Next, we’ll try to get a bottle of Protective Essence Pill, then our job is done." Qu Guang showed a faint smile.

Beside him stood a middle-aged cultivator, one of Qu Guang’s promising protégés, who looked visibly tense at those words.

"No need to stress. With your talent and foundation, plus the Barrier-Breaking Pill and Protective Essence Pill, you should be able to enter late-stage Qi Cultivation."

Qu Guang reminded him.

This clan member was gifted, but his temperament left much to be desired. At crucial moments, he tended to choke.

Normally, just the Barrier-Breaking Pill would be enough to break the Qi Cultivation barrier. But to prevent loss of Essence in case of failure, they were bidding for the Protective Essence Pill as well.

"Don’t worry, Ancestor." The middle-aged man took a deep breath and replied.

Qu Guang nodded, feeling a bit torn inside.

Right now, only two in the Qu Family were fit to attempt breakthrough: the man before him, Qu Le, and the acting Patriarch, Qu Feng.

But Qu Feng was older, and his talent wasn’t quite as good as Qu Le’s, so Qu Guang finally picked Qu Le as the key candidate.

"Hope it works out!"

He thought to himself.

The bowstring’s drawn; there’s no turning back. Now, he hardly had room for regret.