I proved immortality with thunder magic.

Chapter 78 Hu Qianqian's Request

Yuanfu Peak, a small courtyard in the valley.

After returning to Yuanfu Peak, Zhou Tai didn't greet anyone. He first released his two spirit pets to roam freely, and then lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep.

He hadn't had a good night's sleep in the past month, and now that he was finally back in his familiar and safe home, he was determined to catch up on his sleep.

Not only him, but also Thunder Pattern Frog Yuanbao was the same.

Once released, it crawled into its little nest and went to sleep.

Zhou Tai slept for a full eight or nine hours before naturally waking up.

After waking up, he took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and then went into his study to sit down and begin to take stock of the gains and losses of this trial.

Although this trial was fraught with twists and turns and extremely dangerous, the gains were also enormous.

Leaving aside the complete set of Foundation Establishment spiritual items and the life-enhancing pills, just considering other gains, there are now as many as seven storage bags in front of Zhou Tai!

Although some of these storage bags were empty, they were still valuable treasures in themselves.

Besides, they weren't empty originally; it's just that the contents were moved.

Zhou Tai took out his large-capacity storage bag again, and together they began to take stock of various items.

More than half an hour later, the preliminary inventory was finally completed.

According to Zhou Tai's preliminary inventory, he obtained a total of five complete Tier 1 superior-grade magic artifacts, four Tier 1 superior-grade magic artifacts with some flaws, five complete Tier 1 mid-grade magic artifacts, and four complete Tier 1 superior-grade demonic magic artifacts during this trial.

Regarding magic runes, since many were consumed in the battle and few remain, no statistics are available.

As for pills, he obtained eight of those fasting pills alone, and dozens of other pills for healing, detoxifying, and restoring mana. In any case, he could never finish them all.

They also obtained quite a few spirit stones, totaling more than 1,500 low-grade spirit stones.

Other miscellaneous items, such as cultivation manuals, medicinal herbs, minerals, spiritual wood, and animal bones, have also been accumulated. Their value is hard to determine, and we can only find professionals like Aaron Kwok to buy them when the time comes.

However, in Zhou Tai's view, the biggest gain from this trial might be that mysterious metal piece.

Given its mysterious and rare uses, its value certainly exceeds the sum of all these magical artifacts and elixirs.

However, it's not convenient for others to know about this item; he can only discover its uses later on.

However, while the trip yielded great gains, the losses were not insignificant either.

The thunder talismans prepared before departure have been almost completely used up. Now, there are only two thunder spear talismans left in hand, and only seven thunder strike talismans left, all of which were hastily made in the trial grounds.

Other attribute attack and defense runes were also consumed by about 70-80%.

If calculated in terms of spirit stones, the total value of the talismans he consumed would be around six or seven thousand low-grade spirit stones.

Moreover, his Azure Cloud Shield magic weapon was damaged, and his protective magic weapon was also damaged because the shield was forcibly broken multiple times during the final battle. The stone tablet magic weapon he received from the sect was also slightly damaged.

"Out with the old, in with the new. These magical artifacts aren't anything to worry about. Once I successfully establish my foundation, I'll upgrade them, and I'll definitely replace them with artifacts that are more suitable for me!"

Zhou Tai glanced at the damaged magical artifacts, but quickly stopped caring.

He also gained a lot from this trial: a wealth of combat experience!

Because every battle was a life-or-death struggle, and the opponents were disciples of major sects of both the immortal and demonic paths, Zhou Tai was amazed by their magical artifacts, spells, and fighting styles, and learned a great deal from them.

He was certain of one thing many times: his previous preparations regarding the magical artifacts were extremely poor.

The Illusionary Smoke Gourd and the Fire Cloud Pouch, which he had placed high hopes on, were actually of little use when fighting against formidable opponents.

Anyone with experience can react correctly to the poisonous smoke from the former immediately, and even a cultivator at the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage can withstand it for a while and find a solution.

The latter is only suitable for dealing with those who are unprepared or unprotected, and often it will only end up being useless.

And then there's the Silver Star Sword, a magical artifact. Although it seems to have been effective several times, in reality, its role in battle is not as good as a few Thunder Spear Talismans!

It's not that these magical artifacts are really bad, but rather that they don't suit Zhou Tai's fighting style.

Zhou Tai mainly relies on magic talismans for saturated output in battle, but these magical artifacts cannot provide this kind of output.

After this experience, when Zhou Tai reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he knew how to reselect his own magical artifacts.

After summarizing the gains and losses of this trip, Zhou Tai sorted and put away all his belongings. Then he began to walk around Yuanfu Peak, announcing his return and contacting his friends.

Zhou Tai personally visited Lei Hefeng and Bishuitan to meet with Zhang Yuanjing and Sun Jianghai, and resumed the frog feeding work.

He will have to continue this job until the foundation is successfully laid.

At the same time, no matter who he was facing, he never revealed that he had obtained a complete set of Foundation Establishment spiritual items, only saying that he had made some gains.

On the third day after Zhou Tai's return, Hu Qianqian suddenly came to visit him at his residence.

"It's been a long time. How have you been, Junior Sister Hu?"

In the living room, Zhou Tai welcomed Hu Qianqian in and, with a smile, gently inquired about her recent situation.

Now that he had acquired his foundation-building spiritual item and the life-enhancing elixir, Zhou Tai no longer avoided Hu Qianqian, who possessed a special physique, as he had before.

After all, all he has to do now is wait to reach the Foundation Establishment stage. Even if he offends a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the other party can't do anything to him.

The fact that Hu Qianqian was able to visit him today indicates that her special physique has not yet attracted the attention of a powerful cultivator in the Purple Mansion stage.

Faced with Zhou Tai's question, Hu Qianqian looked at him and sighed softly, "Senior Brother Zhou, why ask such a question when you already know the answer? How could Qianqian possibly recover right now!"

These words clearly carried a hint of resentment, making Zhou Tai feel somewhat embarrassed.

He had previously avoided trouble and had indeed intended to stay away from Hu Qianqian, so there was no point in denying it now.

After an awkward moment, he sighed and said, "I understand Junior Sister Hu's difficulties, but I also have my own difficulties!"

However, he didn't mention his difficulties. Instead, he suddenly changed the subject and said, "I've gained some things from this trial, but I won't need some of them anymore. If Junior Sister Hu is interested, you can sell them for me at a discounted price!"

With Hu Qianqian's intelligence, how could she not hear the compensatory meaning in his words? A look of gratitude flashed in her eyes, and then she shook her head and said, "I appreciate Senior Brother Zhou's kindness, but I am currently constrained in many ways, and I am afraid I can only fail to live up to your good intentions."

"Constrained at every turn?"

Zhou Tai looked at her with a puzzled expression, and after a moment of hesitation, he finally asked, "Junior Sister Hu, could you explain in more detail?"

Hu Qianqian seemed to have been waiting for him to say those words.

Upon hearing this, she immediately poured out her grievances, saying, "I don't need to explain the reasons, but in short, after I refused that senior uncle's conditions, everything started going wrong. Not only were the silks I painstakingly woven difficult to sell, but the connections I had built up were almost completely wiped out overnight. I was even assigned a silk-weaving task that was nearly impossible to complete!"

Upon hearing her words, Zhou Tai's eyes immediately showed sympathy.

He could certainly understand the difficult situation Hu Qianqian described. The thought of being suppressed and harassed from all sides was terrifying.

It is truly remarkable that Hu Qianqian has managed to endure this suppression without compromising.

A thought flashed through his mind, and after thinking about it, he decided to lend a hand to this fellow villager.

He immediately asked softly, "So, Junior Sister Hu, what are your plans now?"

Hu Qianqian came to visit him today because she heard he had returned and wanted to ask for his help.

Both of them were aware of this.

Therefore, as soon as Zhou Tai spoke, she immediately replied, "Senior brother, you are wise. Qianqian's most important task right now is to complete the silk weaving task. Otherwise, if she fails, the punishment she will face will be very severe. Therefore, Qianqian would like to ask senior brother to help her purchase a batch of ready-made silk from outside to complete the task!"

Hearing that he was only being asked for this kind of favor, Zhou Tai felt a sense of relief.

It seems that Hu Qianqian is indeed a sensible person, knowing where his bottom line is.

So he readily nodded and replied, "If that's all there is to it, then it's really not a difficult thing. I agree."

After a moment's thought, he looked at Hu Qianqian and said, "Furthermore, I can lend you a thousand low-grade spirit stones. You can pay me back when you have more money later!"

Hu Qianqian is currently only at the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage. A thousand low-grade spirit stones are a considerable sum for her. If used properly, they could support her cultivation to the late stage of Qi Refining.

Therefore, she was stunned when she heard Zhou Tai's words.

This is nothing like the Zhou Tai she knows!

There's always something fishy going on when things seem unusual!

She stared blankly at Zhou Tai, her mind racing, and she dared not easily accept his kindness.

Seeing her constantly changing expression, Zhou Tai knew she was overthinking things.

To prevent her from saying anything that would embarrass both of them, he quickly smiled and said, "Junior Sister Hu, why aren't you saying anything? Do you think there aren't enough spirit stones?"

Then he spread his hands and said, "If you think it's too little, there's nothing I can do. I have many other things to do with spirit stones, so this is all I can do for you!"

Hearing him say that, Hu Qianqian felt a little more at ease. Perhaps she had been overthinking it!

She sighed inwardly, then her face lit up with delight as she waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "It's not too much, not at all! I'm already incredibly grateful for Senior Brother Zhou's generosity; how could it be too little!"

"That's good. Let's leave it at that for now. I'll let you know when to pick up the goods after everything is settled!"

Zhou Tai nodded slightly, then took out a thousand low-grade spirit stones and handed them to Hu Qianqian before declining the guest.