Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

As the auction progressed into its second half, the quality of the items that appeared became increasingly higher.

The auction amounts often reach hundreds or thousands.

Even many Foundation Establishment cultivators joined the bidding.

"The supreme-grade magic weapon, 'Frosty Moon Flying Needle,' is a rare needle-shaped magic weapon wielded by Foundation Establishment cultivators. It can unleash nine streams of frosty moonlight at once; anyone touched by it will die. Under the enhancement of moonlight, the flying needle's power can increase by 30%!"

"Starting bid: 1,000 spirit stones, with each bid increment no less than 50 spirit stones."

"One thousand one hundred!"

"One thousand two hundred."

"One thousand three hundred."

……

The Cold Moon Flying Needles set is a powerful magical artifact, and all the bidders were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Even the Zhou family, specializing in spiritual plants, and the Wang family, specializing in beast taming, sent cultivators to bid.

"Two thousand spirit stones!"

In the end, this magical artifact was acquired by a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Zhou family, who specializes in spiritual plants.

After the top-grade magical artifacts were sold, the atmosphere at the auction gradually cooled down.

During the auction, the "Spiritual Essence Pill," a pill that can break through to the next level in the late stage of Qi Refining, and the "Azure Cloud Pill," which can increase the cultivation level of the Foundation Establishment stage, were auctioned off and purchased by the cultivators of the Beast Taming King family.

The atmosphere in the entire venue reached another climax!

As the auction drew to a close, representatives from all sides strained, eager not to miss the highlight of the event.

"Distinguished guests and fellow Daoists, I know what treasures you are most eagerly anticipating. Without further ado, here is the grand finale of this auction—the Foundation Establishment Pill!"

The old man in the yellow robe spoke with great passion.

The atmosphere in the entire venue was extremely tense.

The two Foundation Establishment cultivators escorted the Foundation Establishment Pill to the stands.

Even from a distance, Li Xiuyuan could sense the chilling aura emanating from the two men, a testament to their battle experience, simply by observing them with his naked eyes.

"The effects of the Foundation Establishment Pill are self-evident. The quality of the Foundation Establishment Pills auctioned this time is slightly insufficient, but they can increase the probability of Foundation Establishment by a full 40%."

"Forty percent?"

Upon hearing this, all the factions on the field became restless and eager to make their move.

Normal-quality Foundation Establishment Pills have a 30% to 35% success rate, but this one can directly increase the success rate by 40%.

This is something we absolutely cannot miss.

"The starting bid for this Foundation Establishment Pill is 1,000 spirit stones, with each bid increment no less than 100 spirit stones."

The old man in the yellow robe spoke in a loud voice.

"One thousand and one."

"One thousand and two!"

"One thousand and three!"

……

Soon, the price of Foundation Establishment Pills continued to rise until it reached eight thousand spirit stones, at which point the bidding gradually subsided.

Most of the independent cultivators gave up their plans to compete for the Foundation Establishment Pill, leaving only the well-known major forces around Shanyang Market.

Such as the Zhou family of Spirit Plants, the Wang family of Beast Taming, the Dan Ding Sect, the Hundred Weapons Hall, and the Thousand Talisman Pavilion, all of which are Foundation Establishment level forces.

"Eight thousand spirit stones. Is there a higher price?"

The bidder was a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator from the Hundred Weapons Hall, which was the strongest among the Foundation Establishment forces.

The disciples under this sect mainly cultivate the art of metal and fire killing, and are also skilled in forging tools. They are not to be trifled with in the market due to their strength and the availability of spirit stones.

However, they were quite upright and had strict rules, forbidding their disciples from bullying men and women outside. Therefore, they had an excellent reputation and popularity within a hundred miles of Shanyang Market.

Seeing that the cultivators from the Hundred Weapons Hall had made a bid, the other factions gave them face and stopped bidding.

After all, there was more than one Foundation Establishment Pill offered at the auction.

The old man in the yellow robe seemed to want to raise the price of this Foundation Establishment Pill, but found that no one responded.

Li Xiuyuan was about to make a move when he saw that no one responded.

He thought to himself, "Increasing my Foundation Establishment probability by 40%, combined with the Refining Spirit Grass and Crimson Sun Grass, plus a Fire Lotus Spirit Fish, is enough for me to establish my Foundation. I don't necessarily want to bid on that high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill."

"It only increases the probability by half a percent, so there's no need to spend more spirit stones, or even attract others to covet it."

He glanced at the audience and, sensing the opportune moment, began to call out his bid.

"Eight thousand five hundred!"

These words drew everyone's attention, and they all wondered about the person's background.

First, they snatched the top-grade spirit fish, and now they've intercepted the Foundation Establishment Pill from the Hundred Weapons Hall on the spot.

Just as the cultivator from the Hundred Weapons Hall was about to lash out, he was reminded by the cultivator beside him and stopped himself.

The old man in the yellow robe on the auction stage lit up, took a few steps forward, and shouted, "Eight thousand five hundred once, eight thousand five hundred twice, eight thousand five hundred three times!"

"Congratulations, fellow Daoist. The Foundation Establishment Pill is of great importance. Please come to the back to complete the transaction."

Li Xiuyuan donned a robe that isolated his aura and used the ancient aura-concealing technique to hide his own aura very well.

As soon as he stepped out of the private room, countless sharp, blade-like divine senses were projected onto him.

He snorted coldly, and a powerful spiritual pressure comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator spread out from him.

"puff!"

Many Qi Refining cultivators with strange intentions let out a muffled groan, a trace of bright red appearing at the corner of their mouths.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators from various factions present all wore expressions that suggested it was only natural.

Naturally, in their world, only Foundation Establishment cultivators would have such wealth and courage to spend vast sums of money to buy treasures.

Li Xiuyuan walked towards the backstage area right in front of everyone.

"Senior, this is your Foundation Establishment Pill, worth 8,500 spirit stones."

"Um!"

Without saying a word, Li Xiuyuan handed a bag full of spirit stones to the warehouse manager of Wanbao Chamber of Commerce who was in charge of receiving guests.

Then he turned and left without looking back.

……

Inside the cave dwelling at the headquarters of the Blazing Fire Sect.

Looking at the Foundation Establishment Pill in his hand, which was as light as a feather but worth a fortune, Li Xiuyuan felt an involuntary surge of excitement.

"My mission to guard the market is coming to an end. In the remaining time, I will hone my magic power. Once I have perfected it, I will rent a second-tier spiritual vein cave to cultivate my foundation in seclusion."

Li Xiuyuan has no intention of returning to his sect to establish his foundation.

Firstly, the second-tier spiritual veins in Shanyang Market are sufficient for his needs to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage; secondly, traveling back and forth between sects, he doesn't know if he will encounter an ambush.

Even if he hides it well, there are countless talented people in the world.

Just like last time when he was followed by the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect, there will always be extraordinary people who can track him down.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, Li Xiuyuan chose to establish his foundation within the market area.

Even if someone had their eye on him, they wouldn't dare to defy public opinion and rob the disciples of the Blazing Fire Sect in the market.

Once the matter is exposed, it will be met with a thunderous strike from the ruler of Chu!

Six months later.

Inside Li Xiuyuan's cave.

"Brother Xiao intends to leave the State of Chu..."

The octagonal table was laden with dishes made from precious spirit beast rice.

Li Xiuyuan raised a cup of spirit wine and urged the handsome young man beside him to drink it.

This person was none other than Li Xiuyuan. Who else could be sitting opposite him but Xiao Huo?

"That's right... I was waiting for you to return from Blackwind City, otherwise I would have left some time ago."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyuan did not try to persuade him to stay, for all good things must come to an end.

The two of them each have their own paths to immortality to walk, and this cannot be forcibly kept apart.

Xiao Huo looked at Li Xiuyuan and said with a smile, "Brother Li, a thousand cups of wine are not enough when drinking with a bosom friend, and life is full of unexpected encounters. I believe we will meet again someday."

"Do you still remember the promise you owe?"

Li Xiuyuan smiled and said, "Brother Xiao, please feel free to ask. As long as it is within my power, I will definitely do it."

Seeing Li Xiuyuan agree so readily, Xiao Huo revealed a playful smile.

He took out an antique animal hide from his storage bag and handed it to Li Xiuyuan.

"Brother Li, you refine this pill for me. I will only take half of it, and the rest is yours. I believe this will not be difficult for you."

Li Xiuyuan took the animal hide, examined it carefully in his palm, and after a moment's thought, suddenly said, "This is a second-tier pill formula, for use with spiritual plants!"

I never imagined that Xiao Huo would even get his hands on a second-tier pill formula.

"Indeed, Brother Li truly deserves to be called a highly talented alchemist. He was able to determine the purpose of the pill with only a rough understanding of the information. This is the Holy Spirit Pill, which is specially used to enhance the intelligence of spiritual plants."

Xiao Huo nodded seriously.

Li Xiuyuan, filled with doubt, asked, "Brother Xiao, since you're leaving this place soon, how should I give you the pills once I've refined them?"

"You can entrust the pills to the Spirit Treasure Pavilion for escort, or if you have the opportunity, come to the Ancient Xiao Family to find me."

After saying this, Xiao Huo handed Li Xiuyuan a map and a jade slip for transferring power, and then said, "I know that Brother Li asked to learn the method of spiritual plants last time. I will give this secret method to Brother Li as an early congratulation on your foundation establishment."

Li Xiuyuan was overjoyed and accepted the map and jade slip.

He randomly took out a bottle of high-grade Qi-awakening Pills from his storage bag and handed it to Xiao Huo.

"Brother Xiao, this is a small token of my appreciation; please accept it."

When Xiao Huo opened the jade bottle, a pure and rich fragrance of elixir immediately wafted out.

"A superior-grade Spirit Awakening Pill!"

Xiao Huo pinched a Spirit Awakening Pill, sniffed it lightly, and said with delight, "A Spirit Awakening Pill that is close to the top grade. Brother Li, I will accept this generous gift."

Li Xiuyuan smiled, thinking that with the spiritual plant inheritance the other party had imparted, these pills were nothing.

"It's getting late, so I won't be coy. Brother Li, I hope we'll meet again someday. I hope that next time we meet, we'll both be Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"Brother Xiao, may your path to immortality be everlasting!"

After saying this, Xiao Huo cupped his hands in farewell to Li Xiuyuan and took his leave...

Li Xiuyuan watched Xiao Huo leave until the other party completely disappeared from his sight.

We bid farewell to this fellow traveler who was truly a dear friend...