A mortal cultivating immortality can nurture spirit beasts.

"This is... a Foundation Establishment Pill!"

Senior Sister Chen stared at the blue pill, her heart filled with excitement. Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she quickly asked, "So, you also successfully established your foundation with just one Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Lin He sighed inwardly, but nodded outwardly, otherwise he couldn't explain how he got the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Senior Sister Chen took the pill from Lin He and found it very pleasing to the eye. She couldn't help but say, "Although my elder brother's aptitude is not as good as mine, the chances of him successfully establishing his foundation are very high after taking this third Foundation Establishment Pill. He really needs this pill."

"Since you need it, then accept it and take it back to your older brother. Consider it a gift from me to my brother-in-law."

Senior Sister Chen shook her head and refused, saying solemnly, "No! You risked your life to participate in the forbidden area trial to obtain this Foundation Establishment Pill. How can you just give it away like that? My elder brother isn't short of spirit stones. He should spend money to buy this Foundation Establishment Pill, and at a high price, since this thing is priceless."

Hearing this, Lin He felt a warmth in his heart. If Senior Sister Chen were a so-called gold digger, she would definitely say the same thing right now.

"I've slept with you for so long, isn't it only right that you get my older brother a Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Then she snatched the Foundation Establishment Pill without a word of thanks. But Senior Sister Chen was clearly not a gold digger; despite her love-struck nature, she still thought of Lin He when it mattered.

Thinking of this, Lin He's gaze towards Senior Sister Chen grew even more affectionate. She naturally noticed this, but misunderstood, and quickly shook her head, saying...

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you want it? But not now. I need to give this pill to my older brother first. If I'm too late, he might really be gone. Can you just bear with it a little longer? I'll spend more time with you when I get back."

Seeing Senior Sister Chen's pleading expression, as if he were truly furious, Lin He found it both amusing and exasperating. Too lazy to explain further, he simply said...

"In that case, you should hurry back to the Chen family."

"Well, since you're going to Sect Leader Zhong's place anyway, I can keep you company for a while."

"Alright, come on up. I'll give you a ride, but I need to go to the Qilin Pavilion first."

Lin He casually tossed out the flying spirit boat. Now that he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he naturally didn't need to hide his high-grade magic weapon.

Senior Sister Chen walked up obediently, nestled close to Lin He's chest like a little bird seeking shelter. The flying spirit boat was filled with peace and tranquility. This beautiful moment made Lin He, who had experienced the cruel competition of the forbidden area trial, feel a surge of emotion and couldn't help but hug the beauty in his arms tighter.

Sensing Lin He's affection, Senior Sister Chen suddenly had a bold idea, "Junior Brother, are you finding it hard to hold back? If you really can't, why don't we...?"

Lin He was startled, and the flying spirit boat almost capsized. He quickly said, "Senior sister, you can't joke like that. Controlling a flying magic artifact is very distracting. If you really do that, there will probably be a plane crash. The two of us will become the laughing stock of the entire Yellow Maple Valley for hundreds of years."

Senior Sister Chen couldn't help but laugh when she heard this, and then her face turned bright red. "Really, I was just joking, and it scared you like this."

Lin He felt embarrassed. If he were to fall from the sky and die because of this, he would probably be ridiculed by the little ghosts in the underworld.

Just as they were about to reach their destination, Senior Sister Chen suddenly pointed to a slender figure ahead and quickly said,

"Hey, isn't that Senior Sister Chang? What's she doing at the Qilin Pavilion?"

……

……

"You can't even take care of a few low-level spirit beasts properly, what use are you? You're utterly useless!"

Among the lower-ranking disciples of Huangfeng Valley, the lowest rank is the steward disciple. They have never taken the Foundation Establishment Pill, have low cultivation levels, and are not strong in actual combat, so they cannot stand out in the sect assembly.

Above them are the consul disciples. Although they performed well at the sect conference and obtained Foundation Establishment Pills, they failed to establish their foundation. However, their cultivation and combat ability are much stronger than those of the deacon disciples. Moreover, because they cannot establish their foundation, some of them have become irritable, such as Senior Brother Tan in front of us.

Senior Brother Tan's cultivation level was at the peak of the thirteenth level of Qi Refining. After failing to establish his foundation, he became irritable and liked to take his anger out on his subordinate disciples.

Today, Senior Sister Chang was really unlucky. She had just been assigned to work at Qilin Pavilion when Senior Brother Tan nitpicked her and found something wrong to scold her.

However, Senior Sister Chang had no background within the sect and was no match for Senior Brother Tan in a fight, so she had no choice but to swallow her anger and silently listen to his reprimands.

Seeing that she dared not resist, Senior Brother Tan became even more smug and cursed her with even greater fervor.

"Have you finished yelling?"

A sharp shout rang out, and a beautiful woman appeared, interrupting Senior Brother Tan's words. The latter was furious.

"Who goes there? How dare you meddle in my business? Ah... it's Uncle Chen, esteemed presence! I, Tan Ying, am so sorry for not welcoming you properly! Please forgive me, Uncle Chen!"

"My senior sister Chang is usually very conscientious and responsible. What did she do wrong that made you curse her like this? You should tell me properly."

Senior Sister Chen, now at the early Foundation Establishment stage, heard the entire conversation clearly and knew that Senior Brother Tan was just looking for trouble to vent his resentment. Therefore, she didn't give him a friendly look at all.

Upon hearing this, Tan Ying knew she had bitten off more than she could chew. She immediately slapped herself and said with great shame,

"Uncle Chen, I've been a bit irritable these past few days, which is why my tone wasn't very good. It was my fault for being foul-mouthed. Uncle Chen, please forgive me."

"Senior Sister Chang, what do you think we should do with him?"

Senior Sister Chen didn't ask him at all. Instead, she looked at Senior Sister Chang, who shook her head and said, "Junior Sister Chen... no, Senior Aunt Chen, Senior Brother Tan was just acting rashly and didn't mean any harm. Please be magnanimous and let him off this time."

"Let him go?"

Senior Sister Chen looked at Senior Sister Chang in disbelief, but Lin He, who was standing to the side, immediately understood and stopped Senior Sister Chen, turning to Senior Brother Tan, "Junior Nephew Tan, do you still recognize me?"

Lin He had visited Qilin Pavilion many times before and had met this Senior Brother Tan, so he knew his temperament very well.

Senior Brother Tan then looked at Lin He, and suddenly remembered something, blurting out, "You...you're Junior Brother Lin? No, your cultivation...you've already reached the Foundation Establishment stage?"

Lin He, too lazy to argue with him any longer, said bluntly, "This Senior Sister Chang is a friend of Senior Sister Chen and me. Before we both reached the Foundation Establishment stage, we received a great favor from Senior Sister Chang. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lin He was talking nonsense with a straight face. Senior Sister Chen was a little confused and wondered when she had ever received such a great favor from Senior Sister Chang.

Meanwhile, Senior Sister Chang looked at Lin He with an expression of admiration, having already understood his intentions.

Upon hearing this, Senior Brother Tan's face turned ashen, and he frantically slapped himself, then kowtowed in fear, begging for forgiveness.

"Please spare me, my two senior uncles! Tan Ying really didn't mean it!"

"This Senior Sister Chang is a kind person. She didn't want to hurt you and asked the two of us to release you. We couldn't disobey her, but if there's a next time..."

Tan Ying quickly replied, "There will never be a next time. Anyone who dares to bully Junior Sister Chang in the future will be my enemy, Tan Ying."

"You're quite clever. Alright, you can go now."

Tan Ying immediately felt relieved and scrambled away, looking quite disheveled.

Senior Sister Chen looked displeased and said resentfully, "Junior Brother, why don't you let me teach him a lesson so that Senior Sister Chang can vent her anger?"

Lin He shook his head and said, "You might feel good after beating him up, but Senior Sister Chang will be even more unlucky afterwards."

"You mean... he'll take revenge on Senior Sister Chang? He wouldn't dare!"

"We certainly wouldn't dare to do it openly, but what about secretly? We've already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and a single period of secluded cultivation can easily last for several years. Can you protect Senior Sister Chang the whole time?"

"I……"

Senior Sister Chen was speechless for a moment, and with a guilty look on her face, she took Senior Sister Chang's hand and said, "I'm sorry, Senior Sister Chang, I almost hurt you because of my impulsiveness."

Senior Sister Chang shook her head, glancing at Lin He with considerable admiration. Looking at the perfect couple before her, she couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself. She sighed and said...

"My two senior uncles don't need to worry about me. After this incident, Tan Ying will not only not make things difficult for me, but will also take good care of me."

Lin He nodded, then said, "I came here mainly to rent a Twin-Eyed Rat to help me find a sacred site. Here are three low-grade spirit stones; I need to borrow it for three days."

Senior Sister Chang was not surprised to hear this. She put away the spirit stones and immediately found a two-eyed rat and a bag of fruit to feed it.

After exchanging a few casual words, Senior Sister Chang left.

Watching Senior Sister Chang's departing figure, Senior Sister Chen suddenly said with a touch of melancholy, "I thought Foundation Establishment was a very happy thing, but now... I find that Senior Sister Chang and I have become very distant."

"Because Senior Sister Chang will probably only be able to stay in the Qi Refining stage for the rest of her life, while you and I have already reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Not only has our lifespan increased significantly, but we probably won't have much contact with her anymore."

Suddenly, Senior Sister Chen realized something and said with lingering fear, "If it had been someone else who saved me that night instead of you, and they had taken my Foundation Establishment Pill, would I be in the same situation as Senior Sister Chang now?"

Lin He hugged the beauty beside him and smiled, "No, because I'm the one who saved you. You're so adorable, how could I bear to take away your Foundation Establishment Pill?"

"Junior brother, I'm so happy to have met you!"

Senior Sister Chen's body coiled around him like a water snake, and it looked like a live broadcast was about to begin. Lin He quickly coughed and said...

"There are too many people coming and going here, it's not a good place, let's leave quickly."

Senior Sister Chen smiled and followed Lin He onto the flying spirit boat again.

……

……

Before long, the two arrived at the sect's main hall. Senior Sister Chen disembarked from the spirit boat and was just about to say goodbye when an old man suddenly walked out of the sect's main hall.

Upon seeing the elderly man, Senior Sister Chen immediately stepped forward to greet him, "Uncle Ma!"

This person turned out to be Master Ma, who was skilled in cultivating spiritual herbs. Han Li was currently guarding the herb garden for Master Ma.

When Master Ma saw Senior Sister Chen, he quickly shook his head and said, "So you are Miss Chen. Now that you have established your foundation, you don't need to call me Master Ma anymore. Just call me Senior Brother Ma."

"Yes, Senior Brother Ma." Senior Sister Chen had only recently established her foundation and was clearly still getting used to it, but Senior Brother Ma seemed to know her well and didn't seem to mind. Instead, he looked at Lin He beside him and tentatively asked,

"And this is...?"

"This is Junior Brother Lin He, who recently established his foundation. He's here to collect the sect's reward from Sect Leader Zhong."

"Junior Brother Lin, it's you. I've heard of you before," Senior Brother Ma looked Lin He over carefully and nodded. "That's right. More than half a year ago, two disciples who safely walked out of the forbidden area trial with the cultivation of the eleventh level of Qi Refining were Han Li, who guarded the medicine garden for me, and you—Junior Brother Lin He. I didn't expect you to have reached the Foundation Establishment stage so quickly. Your aptitude is indeed quite good."

"Brother Ma, you flatter me."

Senior Sister Chen interjected, "Senior Brother Ma, my father is preparing to start refining pills this month and is short of some medicinal herbs. He asked me to come to you a few days ago, but unfortunately you have always been elusive. It's quite a coincidence that we've met today. Take a look at this list."

Senior Brother Ma smiled and said, "I was away on business for a while, no wonder you couldn't find me. If you need anything in the future, just go to the herb garden to find Han Li and have him send me a message. As for these herbs... except for a few types, my herb garden has all the others. I'll have Han Li send them to you in a few days."

Senior Sister Chen was overjoyed to hear this, not expecting the deal to be settled so quickly. She quickly thanked him, "That's great, thank you very much, Senior Brother Ma. As for those medicinal herbs, please deliver them to Junior Brother Lin's cave. I need to go back to the Chen family to inform my father about this matter. As for the price... I will definitely not let Senior Brother Ma suffer any loss."

Senior Brother Ma chuckled and said, "I'm acquainted with your father, would he let me suffer a loss? By the way, what about Junior Brother Lin's cave dwelling..."

"I still need to make my selection. I will inform Senior Brother Ma once I have made my selection. If Senior Brother Ma is not in the valley, I will send someone to inform Junior Nephew Han Li."

Senior Brother Ma nodded in satisfaction, then shook his head and left.

"Then I'll go back to the Chen family." Senior Sister Chen glanced at her with reluctance.

"Go ahead, I still need to find my senior brother, the sect leader."

After bidding farewell to Senior Sister Chen, Lin He entered the sect's main hall. At that moment, Sect Leader Zhong stood up and subconsciously greeted him.

"Junior Nephew Lin, what brings you here?"

Lin He signed up for the forbidden area trial more than half a year ago, and then safely walked out of the forbidden area with the cultivation of the eleventh level of Qi Refining. This Sect Leader Zhong was naturally impressed by this and had always been curious about it.

Upon seeing Lin He, he subconsciously glanced at him and suddenly let out a soft exclamation, seemingly somewhat incredulous. Sect Leader Zhong scanned Lin He several more times with his divine sense, finally confirming Lin He's cultivation level, and was quite surprised.

"Junior Nephew Lin... no, Junior Brother Lin, you've reached the Foundation Establishment stage!"

"Junior brother was just lucky."

Lin He simply smiled, but Sect Leader Zhong couldn't help but praise, "Even with dual spiritual roots, you actually succeeded in establishing your foundation with just one Foundation Establishment Pill. Junior Brother Lin is truly blessed."

Sect Leader Zhong had already guessed the other party's intentions, and quickly took the initiative to have someone fetch the sect's rewards.

"Each disciple who successfully establishes their foundation will receive a one-time sect reward—three mid-grade spirit stones. They will receive one mid-grade spirit stone annually thereafter, and will not need to do any miscellaneous tasks. This is a maze array; although it's a very basic array, it can still keep out some wild beasts. If you want some better arrays, you can go to the Tianxing Sect market. As for choosing a cave dwelling location, Junior Brother Lin, you can rent a Twin-Eyed Rat from the Qilin Pavilion. It can help you find a suitable spiritual site. Once you've chosen one, just let me know."

This Sect Leader Zhong was clearly trying to curry favor; without Lin He even asking, he blurted everything out.

Upon seeing this, Lin He quickly expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Senior Brother Sect Leader. I will go and choose a place to live as my cave dwelling right away."

Leaving the sect's main hall, Lin He, relying on his precognitive understanding of the plot, finally found the Spirit Eye Spring and began to open up his cave dwelling.

Three days later, a young man of ordinary appearance and dark skin arrived, still muttering to himself.

"Uncle-Master Lin? Could it really be him?"