Immortality begins with inheriting the myriad arts of cultivation.

When I first arrived in the Immortal City eighteen years ago.

Li Ping deeply felt the insignificance of individual strength. With his income, he probably wouldn't be able to raise enough spirit stones to buy the Foundation Establishment Pill by the time his lifespan was over.

There's no such thing as a mortgage in the cultivation world, so he can make a down payment first and then pay off the loan gradually.

As a rogue monk, he certainly didn't have six wallets to selflessly dedicate to him.

After much thought, he finally came up with a solution.

That is, he would form a group, and the members of this group would work together to help one of them achieve the Foundation Establishment stage. Once that person successfully achieved the Foundation Establishment stage, their status and income would greatly increase, and they could then help the other members of the group achieve the Foundation Establishment stage as well.

Li Ping named this small group "Tongzhouhui" (同舟会), meaning "to cross the river in the same boat."

According to the rules designed by Li Ping, once a cultivator joins the Fellowship, each cultivator must contribute a certain number of spirit stones as a "Foundation Building Fund" every year. The specific number of spirit stones contributed depends on the cultivator's cultivation level.

Early-stage Qi Refining cultivators must contribute 10 spirit stones annually, mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators must contribute 20 spirit stones, and late-stage Qi Refining cultivators must contribute 30 spirit stones.

It can be more, but it cannot be less than this number.

Once there are enough spirit stones in the Foundation Establishment Fund, they can be prioritized according to each person's contribution to the Foundation Establishment Fund and their age, allowing the highest priority member to withdraw spirit stones to attempt Foundation Establishment.

If a member successfully establishes their foundation, they must do their utmost to help other members establish their foundations.

Cultivators at the early, middle, and late stages of Foundation Establishment must contribute 100, 200, and 300 spirit stones respectively to the Foundation Establishment Fund annually until all other members have received a share of Foundation Establishment resources.

Members of the association, regardless of their cultivation level, address each other as brother and sister according to their age.

As the founder, Li Ping was undoubtedly the eldest brother, and the honest-looking young man in front of him, Zhang Tie, was the first cultivator to trust Li Ping and choose to join the Tongzhou Society.

……

As many memories flashed through his mind, Li Ping looked at the tall, white-bearded old man next to Zhang Tie and said in a teasing tone, "Old man Lin, I'm younger than you and I'm just a conman who cheats people out of spirit stones. I can't accept being called 'senior' by you."

The second brother, Zhang Tie, is a leather craftsman, and this old man Lin is Zhang Tie's master and boss.

Eighteen years ago, Zhang Tie was persuaded by Li Ping to join the "Tongzhou Society".

Because of his lack of experience, Li Ping did not include a confidentiality clause in his oath of membership. In addition, Zhang Tie was honest by nature, so Old Man Lin quickly noticed something was amiss and learned about the "Tongzhou Society".

He was so angry that he went to Li Ping to demand the return of the spirit stones Zhang Tie had contributed, and the two sides dissolved their oath, with Zhang Tie leaving the guild.

Li Ping, of course, ignored him, and Zhang Tie firmly believed that his elder brother would not lie to him, so he refused to leave the association.

Old Man Lin was helpless with his apprentice's stubbornness, so he gave up on the matter of leaving the association. However, because of this, he didn't give Li Ping a good look for a long time.

Fortunately, a few years later, Li Ping recruited a third cultivator to join the association.

Old Man Lin only stopped when he saw that the "Tongzhou Society" seemed to be able to continue operating, and that his apprentices would not only not be the last ones left to take over, but might even be able to benefit from it if they were lucky.

Li Ping guessed that his mentality was probably similar to that of people on Earth who participate in various Ponzi schemes.

So what if it's a Ponzi scheme?

If you get involved early and withdraw in time, you won't lose money; in fact, you can make a fortune.

Old Man Lin has quieted down, but it's inevitable that he'll still make a few sarcastic remarks about Li Ping behind his back.

However, to his surprise, Li Ping overheard him talking behind his back, and Li Ping had even successfully established his foundation, becoming a master cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Hearing Li Ping's words, Old Man Lin felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

If Li Ping were to insist on arguing with him, he could really make him regret it.

Thinking of this, Old Man Lin bent over and said with a wry smile, "Senior is joking. On the path of cultivation, those who reach the highest level are the first to succeed. How could I dare to be presumptuous in front of you? I was confused and spoke nonsense before. Please forgive me, Senior."

Seeing his master's appearance, Zhang Tie quickly called out, "Big brother, Master, he..."

Before Zhang Tie could finish speaking, Li Ping stopped him with a look. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Old Lin, you're too boring. I was just joking with you."

Old Man Lin was Zhang Tie's master, so how could he really get angry just because the other party said a few words?

Hearing Li Ping's words, Old Man Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief, while Zhang Tie quickly walked to Li Ping's side, his voice full of excitement: "Big brother, you will be a Foundation Establishment cultivator from now on."

A significant portion of Li Ping's Foundation Establishment cultivation was contributed by him.

"Hehe..." Li Ping nodded with a smile: "My becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator is just the beginning. In the future, all the brothers and sisters in the guild, including you, will be able to successfully establish their foundations."

……

Leatherworking is also one of the many skills in the cultivation world.

The monster hides obtained by cultivators from hunting monsters need to be processed by leather craftsmen beforehand if they want to make them into robes, magical artifacts, or talismans. This involves scraping off any remaining monster flesh and blood and smoothing out the violent demonic energy in the hide. If the leather craftsman's skills are not up to par, the monster hide can easily be destroyed and turned into waste.

Li Ping sat in the leather shop, his gaze fixed on Old Man Lin and his apprentice Zhang Tie, who were busy processing a low-level demon beast hide. In his hand, however, he was toying with a knife-shaped magical weapon, about a foot long, with most of its blade worn down, but its surface still as smooth as new.

This peeler was Old Man Lin's favorite peeler, which had been with him for many years. Even though it was broken, he didn't throw it away but carefully preserved it.

Just now, Li Ping suggested studying it and got it from Old Man Lin.

"This peeler should be able to serve as nourishment for the 'Tree of Heritage'."

Li Ping ran his fingers along the rough texture of the peeler's sides, his gaze falling on the peeler. A line of text, visible only to him, slowly appeared above the peeler.

[A high-grade tier one leatherworker's used skinning knife, 100 low-grade spirit stones, three tier one demon beast hides, and one tier one demon beast essence. These can be used as nourishment to master the high-grade tier one leatherworking technique.]

"Zhang Tie has been learning leatherworking from Old Man Lin for over twenty years, but he is still only a mid-level first-tier leatherworker, only able to process mid-level first-tier monster hides. As for me, as long as I provide these nutrients to the 'Tree of Inheritance,' I can instantly reach the same level of leatherworking as Old Man Lin."

Li Ping pondered silently, "First-tier demon beast hides and first-tier demon beast essences are not difficult to find. Therefore, I choose... to give up becoming a first-tier high-grade leatherworker."

The Foundation Establishment stage had consumed most of Li Ping's wealth, leaving him extremely poor. He couldn't afford a hundred spirit stones.