I proved immortality with thunder magic.

Chapter 80 Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoots, Nine Levels of Qi Refining

Pei Honggang had only recently successfully established his foundation and still had many things to attend to, so he spent a couple of hours chatting with Zhou Tai at the Spirit Beast Manor before hurriedly leaving again.

Zhou Tai, having obtained the Blood-Nourishing and Marrow-Strengthening Pill and witnessed the living example of an elderly man in his sixties successfully establishing his foundation, was greatly encouraged and returned to his residence in a very good mood.

Whether it was because he was in a better mood or because he had been drawing more talismans, his skills had become more proficient.

Soon after, Zhou Tai's success rate with the Thunder Spear Talisman improved again, basically stabilizing at 10%.

This made his speed of earning spirit stones even more astonishing.

However, his good fortune didn't last long. Soon, Zhou Tai received a new task from the Talisman Hall, which required him to hand over three hundred Thunder Spear Talismans!

It is said that this task was personally assigned by the sect leader Zhao Dongyang, and even Zeng Qiming could not help Zhou Tai with anything.

Upon learning of this, Zhou Tai didn't dare to say anything and could only obediently accept the mission.

Fortunately, the task was given a relatively generous timeframe, with a deadline of three years to complete. This wouldn't completely disrupt his and Aaron Kwok's business, but it would certainly reduce their quotas.

Both Aaron Kwok and Li Hongzhi expressed their understanding, and neither of them complained.

Days passed quickly. Zhou Tai focused on drawing talismans and cultivating himself, and in his spare time he fed frogs and walked birds.

Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, the agreed-upon time for the transaction arrived. After receiving a message from Li Hongzhi, Zhou Tai rode off on his Sharp Claw Wind Owl, Lai Fu.

Yes, the Clawed Owl Laifu has grown up enough to be ridden and has become a qualified mount.

Now, when it stands up, it is as tall as Zhou Tai, with a wingspan of over ten feet. It carries Zhou Tai on its back and flies with ease, and its speed is faster than that of the Black Feathered Vulture.

Furthermore, it has awakened a talent spell called Wind Blade, which allows it to unleash powerful wind blade attacks.

Given its current size and strength, even though it is still a low-grade first-order demon beast, it can suppress many mid-grade first-order demon beasts by virtue of its advantage as a flying demon beast.

This made Zhou Tai feel that the eight hundred low-grade spirit stones he spent back then were not wasted.

Of course, the reason why Lizhao Fengxiao Laifu was able to grow so quickly is also related to the food and drink he has been eating and drinking these past two years.

Zhou Tai made a fortune in the Trial Grounds, and his two spirit pets played a crucial role in it. Of course, he had no reason to mistreat his meritorious servants.

So in the past two years, he has bought a lot of high-end spirit beast food to feed his two spirit pets.

Those high-grade spirit beast rations are made from spirit herbs, spirit rice, and the flesh and blood of demon beasts using a secret recipe, containing rich nutrition and spiritual power.

When immature monsters like the Clawed Wind Owl eat this kind of food, their growth rate will increase significantly.

Even if the Thunder-Patterned Frog Yuanbao eats this kind of food, it can still accelerate the accumulation of its own demonic power.

Low-level demonic beasts cannot cultivate techniques like cultivators. They can only instinctively absorb and exhale the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to grow. If they do not rely on eating food containing spiritual energy to accelerate the accumulation of demonic power, many demonic beasts will not become first-level high-grade demonic beasts even when their lifespan is exhausted!

The Clawed Owl, Lai Fu, flew all the way and soon arrived at the Spirit Beast Manor.

After landing, Zhou Tai put it into his spirit beast bag and then went straight to the quiet room where Li Hongzhi was.

Because Li Hongzhi came here almost every month, he became acquainted with the Foundation Establishment cultivator stationed at the Spirit Beast Manor, and they even made a few transactions together.

Therefore, the other party simply designated a quiet room as his private room, which he could stay in whenever he came.

"There will be an underground trade fair in Bailong Market in half a month. Would you like to attend, Fellow Daoist Zhou?"

Inside the quiet room, after Li Hongzhi and Zhou Tai completed the transaction of the thunder talisman, they suddenly brought up this matter.

It seems he has never forgotten Zhou Tai's request.

However, Zhou Tai now possesses a complete set of Foundation Establishment spiritual items, so he is no longer as eager to participate in the underground trade fair as he once was.

After hearing this, he thought for a moment and then shook his head slightly, saying, "Let's forget about it this time. My cultivation is about to break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, and I don't want to leave the sect for the time being."

After saying that, he quickly added, "However, if Senior Li is going to participate, could you please keep an eye out for anything I might need? As long as it can be traded for with spirit stones or thunder talismans, I'll give you a higher price after you buy it!"

Li Hongzhi would certainly not refuse such a small request, and immediately nodded and said, "Alright, then give me a list, and I'll keep an eye out for you."

After thinking about it carefully for a while, Zhou Tai wrote a list and handed it to him.

Li Hongzhi glanced at the list, then casually put it away. The two of them didn't waste any more time and went home separately.

To Zhou Tai's surprise, Li Hongzhi's participation in that underground trade fair brought him a pleasant surprise.

The following month, when the two met again to make a transaction, Li Hongzhi, after completing the transaction of the thunder talisman, casually took out a white jade box and handed it to him.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, take a look at this item inside and see if it suits your taste."

Li Hongzhi held the jade box in his hand and said, somewhat deliberately keeping everyone in suspense.

A look of curiosity flashed in Zhou Tai's eyes. He immediately took the jade box and gently opened the lid.

Inside the jade box was a small, blood-red bamboo shoot, about three fingers thick and less than five inches long.

"What is this?"

Zhou Tai examined it carefully again and again, but still couldn't recognize the origin of the blood-red bamboo shoot. He could only turn to Li Hongzhi for guidance, saying, "This junior's knowledge is shallow; I humbly request Senior Li's instruction!"

Li Hongzhi knew all along that he couldn't see through it, and he was just waiting for him to say that.

He immediately replied with a smile, "This is called Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoot. It is a spiritual substance produced by a type of spiritual bamboo called Blood Spirit Bamboo in the Blood Spirit Sect of the Demonic Path. It contains extremely pure blood essence and can greatly enhance one's vitality!"

"Don't underestimate these Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoots. In fact, for them to grow, they need to be watered with blood imbued with spiritual energy over a long period of time. Moreover, to ensure that they are more suitable for human cultivators, the blood of demonic beasts cannot be used!"

Upon hearing this answer, Zhou Tai was first taken aback, then frowned and said, "Since it's something from the Blood Spirit Sect, Senior Li, are you sure we cultivators can use it?"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Hongzhi confidently replied, "Don't worry, the Blood Spirit Bamboo just has some peculiar habits; it's not some kind of demonic plant. Besides, I've already examined the Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoots, and they certainly don't contain any demonic energy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have traded them with anyone!"

Even so, Zhou Tai still had some worries in his heart.

However, Zhou Tai also knew that Li Hongzhi had helped him buy this item out of kindness, so he did not intend to renege on his debt.

He immediately nodded and said, "I see. May I ask what price Senior Li paid to acquire this item?"

"Not many, fourteen Thunder Spear Talismans."

Li Hongzhi waved his hand dismissively and casually stated the price of the exchange.

This price was indeed not a large one for Zhou Tai.

So he immediately said, "Then I thank you in advance, senior. Next time I will definitely give you every single thunder talisman."

""

Li Hongzhi was not afraid that he would renege on his debt, but he still reminded him: "Although there is nothing wrong with this Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoot, the effect of eating such spiritual items directly will indeed be much less. The alchemists of your Spirit Beast Mountain must know how to use this item. You may want to try to see if you can refine it into a pill for consumption."

"I understand, thank you for the reminder, Senior Li."

Zhou Tai thanked him again, then carefully put away the jade box and bid farewell to Li Hongzhi.

After returning to his residence, Zhou Tai took out the Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoot again and examined it. After a moment's thought, he came up with an idea for how to use it.

He no longer lacks spiritual items that can greatly boost his vitality, and besides, the Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoot is a spiritual item from the Demon Sect, so he certainly wouldn't dare to eat it himself.

However, this Blood Spirit Bamboo Shoot is indeed a rare and precious spiritual object, which can be quite useful even for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Zhou Tai decided that after he successfully established his foundation, he would present this item to his future master as a gift when he became an apprentice.

Spring turned to winter, and on a rather cold winter day, Zhou Tai, aided by the power of the elixir, finally broke through to the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage.

Inside the cultivation room, Zhou Tai, who had just broken through, was so overwhelmed by the surge in his magical power that he couldn't control it in time. His long hair was moving wildly without wind, and lightning flickered in his eyes.

This strange phenomenon lasted for quite some time before everything finally quieted down.

When Zhou Tai stabilized his cultivation and reopened his eyes, the slight upturn of his lips indicated that he was in a very good mood.

His cultivation level has broken through to the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage, although this does not mean that he will be able to establish his foundation immediately.

After all, he had just broken through, and his magical power was not yet perfect, so it could continue to grow.

However, it won't be long before his magical powers are fully realized.

With the help of elixirs, he will be able to achieve perfect magical power in at most another year, and then officially attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

He is only 63 years old now, so a year is plenty of time for him!

Soon Zhou Tai left the cultivation room and went to the courtyard to share his joy with his two spirit pets.

He took out the high-end spirit beast food he had bought and shared it with the two spirit pets, and also took out his treasured spirit wine to share with them.

He first poured himself a full cup of amber-colored spirit wine, then took out a porcelain bowl, poured a shallow layer of it, and placed it in front of the Thunder-Patterned Frog Yuanbao.

Then, raising his cup to his first spirit pet, he said, "Come on, Yuanbao, let's have a toast first. After I successfully establish my foundation and have my own cave dwelling, I'll find you a few female frogs as concubines, and you'll have a whole bunch of frog sons, making you the true Frog King!"

Quack quack quack!

The rapid croaking of frogs rang out in succession, as if to say, "Master, you must keep your word."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I promise, I promise! Drink up!"

Zhou Tai laughed heartily and drank the spiritual wine in his cup in one gulp, feeling completely satisfied.

Seeing this, Thunder-Patterned Frog Yuanbao happily stuck out his long tongue and licked the spirit wine in the bowl.

After finishing his cup, Zhou Tai casually ate a few roasted spirit beans, poured himself another cup, filled another porcelain bowl with spirit wine, and raised his cup to Lai Fu, the Clawed Wind Owl, saying, "Lai Fu, come and have a drink with me. Although you're still a child, once I've established my foundation, if you want a female owl as a mate, I'll definitely grant your wish!"

Goooo!

The Clawed Owl, Laifu, let out two low cries, indicating that it could forget about its mate and ask its master to help it build a decent nest first.

After calling out, he grabbed the porcelain bowl and gulped it down in one go.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Tai immediately downed his drink in one gulp, then waved his hand and laughed, "No problem, no problem. When we move to a new cave, I'll definitely build you a big, fine eagle's nest using spirit wood branches!"

He didn't have many friends in the sect, and he didn't want to make a big fuss about this small breakthrough in cultivation, so he could only celebrate with his spirit pet that had always been with him.

If we're really going to have a big celebration, we'll definitely have to wait until he successfully completes his foundation building.

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