Immortality begins with inheriting the myriad arts of cultivation.

Everyone congratulated Qi Hanmo on his breakthrough in musicianship.

This made Qi Hanmo a little embarrassed. He repeatedly expressed his humility, saying that he was still far from being a master of music and had a long way to go.

This made everyone laugh.

Then, taking advantage of the pleasant atmosphere at the banquet, Li Ping clapped his hands, attracting the attention of the others.

Once everyone quieted down and looked at Li Ping, he smiled and said, "You all know that I have reached the second level in talisman-making. Considering your safety, I have specially prepared a second-level low-grade spirit talisman for each of you at this gathering. It might save your lives in a critical moment."

After speaking, to everyone's delighted surprise, Li Ping took out six offensive spirit talismans from his storage bag and distributed them to the six people.

The six men thanked him profusely, saying, "Thank you, brother."

A second-tier low-grade spirit talisman is worth fifty spirit stones.

Of the six, Zhang Tie and Gu Musheng are at the late stage of Qi Refining, Cheng Yao, Qi Hanmo, and Teng Feng are at the middle stage of Qi Refining, and Bai Qing is only at the early stage of Qi Refining.

For the four people other than Zhang and Gu, a second-tier low-grade spirit talisman was undoubtedly a great fortune.

Equivalent to the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator's strike, in a truly dangerous moment, it might help them escape with their lives, or even turn the tables and kill the enemy!

……

After Li Ping distributed the spirit talismans, it was time for the seven people to contribute their respective "Foundation Building Funds," which was also Li Ping's first contribution after successfully establishing his foundation.

Prior to this, in order to purchase Foundation Establishment Pills and other spiritual items needed for Foundation Establishment, Li Ping not only emptied his pockets but also spent all his Foundation Establishment Funds.

According to the rules previously set by the Tongzhou Association, Li Ping, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, has seen a significant increase in income, so he should contribute at least 100 spirit stones to the Foundation Establishment Fund every year.

Before the gathering, Li Ping considered it for a moment. He was now a second-tier talisman maker, and his speed of earning spirit stones was far beyond that of ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

On the contrary, the oath made by the Fellowship was a constraint for him until it was lifted.

Others wanted to establish their foundation as soon as possible, and he also wanted to break his vow as soon as possible.

Without much hesitation, Li Ping announced his decision to everyone: "It was thanks to your support that I was able to successfully establish my foundation. As the eldest brother, I should contribute more to the Foundation Establishment Fund, so I've decided to donate 300 spirit stones to the fund every year. This will also help everyone establish their foundation as soon as possible!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tie immediately beamed with joy, because his age, cultivation level, and contributions to the Foundation Establishment Fund were second only to his elder brother in the meeting, and he would be the next one to receive the opportunity to establish his foundation!

If Li Ping is willing to increase his contribution amount, then he will undoubtedly be the first to benefit.

Gu Musheng and the others were somewhat surprised, but their surprise quickly turned into joy.

Li Ping's increased contribution is also a good thing for them.

After all, the younger you are when you begin foundation building, the higher your success rate.

If you wait until your fifties to begin Foundation Establishment, your body will start to age and your blood and energy will be lost. Even with Foundation Establishment Pills, the probability of success will be much lower.

Li Ping took out 300 spirit stones from his storage bag, and then, under the intense gazes of the six people, he put the 300 spirit stones directly into another empty storage bag.

After Li Ping, it was Zhang Tie's turn.

He chuckled and took out 30 spirit stones from his storage bag, placing them on the table: "Brother, these are the spirit stones I contributed."

"Hmm." Li Ping nodded, but did not rush to put away the spirit stones. Instead, he planned to wait until everyone else had taken out their spirit stones before putting them away together.

After Zhang Tie, it was Gu Musheng's turn.

According to the rules, he has already broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining and should contribute 30 spirit stones.

Facing the stares of everyone, Gu Musheng hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and poured out a small pile of spirit stones from his storage bag.

Facing the puzzled looks from the others, Gu Musheng forced a stiff smile and said, "After my breakthrough, business at the shop improved a lot, so I decided to contribute 100 spirit stones to the Foundation Establishment Fund."

Gu Musheng joined the Tongzhou Society because he was bullied by other independent cultivators while doing business, and he had to find a backer to protect him.

He didn't believe in the principles of the Tongzhou Society from the bottom of his heart, and he didn't believe that Li Ping would really turn around and help them to achieve foundation building after he reached it.

So even though his business grew bigger and bigger, and he secretly became the richest person in the association, he still only contributed the minimum amount of spirit stones every year, which he considered as paying protection money.

As for contributing more spirit stones, surpassing Li Ping in terms of contribution, and having a higher priority in the Foundation Establishment process?

He had never even considered it.

First, his cultivation level is far lower than Li Ping's. Even if he rushes, he won't be able to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining before the Foundation Establishment Fund can gather enough spirit stones for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Secondly, he believed that Li Ping was not a foolish person who was bound by rules. If he dared to go against this older brother and try to take food from him, it was hard to say what would happen to him.

Thirdly, the Foundation Building Fund has always been kept in Li Ping's hands. Even if he really reaches the ninth level of Qi Refining and his contributions exceed Li Ping's, he will have the right to use the Foundation Building Fund first.

Gu Musheng believed that Li Ping had a hundred ways to refuse to give him the spirit stones.

In short, Gu Musheng dared not compete with Li Ping.

But it was different when it came to Zhang Tie. Gu Musheng had never thought much of his second brother, believing that he was not very bright.

In addition, his cultivation level is now at the seventh level of Qi Refining, only one level lower than Zhang Tie's.

With this small gap, given his connection to Master Hu's disciple, he could easily catch up, or even surpass, by using drugs at any cost!

In this way, if he surpasses Zhang Tie in his contribution to the Foundation Fund.

When he reaches the ninth level of Qi Refining, he will be able to use the Foundation Establishment Fund ahead of Zhang Tie and will be eligible to use the Foundation Establishment Fund first!

Although he was three years younger than Zhang Tie, he didn't seem as eager as Zhang Tie to establish his foundation.

But if given a choice, who wouldn't want to build a foundation first?

……

After saying this, Gu Musheng didn't even look at Zhang Tie and the others' expressions, but secretly observed Li Ping out of the corner of his eye.

Although the Foundation Fund only stipulates the lower limit of each person's contribution according to the rules, there are no restrictions on the upper limit. If he is willing to contribute more, no one can say anything.

What he did was in accordance with the rules.

The problem is that, as the founder of the Tongzhou Society and a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Li Ping is the rule of the Tongzhou Society!

If he objected, Gu Musheng knew that no matter how eloquent he was or how unwilling he was, he would have no choice but to obey.

"My elder brother and Zhang Tie were the first to meet, and they are the closest. So, between me and Zhang Tie, he would definitely favor Zhang Tie," Gu Musheng thought to himself. "But my elder brother is a man of his word and a man of rules. He wouldn't rudely break the rules he set for himself."

"Besides, I was the one who brought Cheng Yao, Qi Hanmo, and Bai Qing into the group. My contributions are obvious to my brother!"

……

Just as Gu Musheng had thought, Li Ping was indeed troubled when he saw the spirit stones Gu Musheng had taken out.