Immortality begins with equipping a worn-out talisman pen.

Chapter 69 Seeking Foundation Establishment

Li Mufeng looked in the direction of the sound.

On the street corner stood an old man with one arm, his body hunched over, his head completely gray, his face deeply lined, and his exposed skin withered and loose, as if he would fall over at the slightest breeze.

Those cloudy eyes, however, held a hint of hesitation as they tentatively looked at me.

Li Mufeng was slightly taken aback.

"—Fellow Daoist Shen?"

The person before him was none other than Shen Yuan, the monster hunter who had lived next door to him back then.

In just over a decade, the once muscular, spirited man who dared to venture alone into the mountains to hunt monsters has aged considerably.

Not only did he lose an arm, but his cultivation level also dropped to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Shen Yuan looked at Li Mufeng, his expression complex for a moment.

He looked down at his patched gray robe, then at Li Mufeng's exquisitely crafted robe and the unfathomable spiritual energy fluctuations. His lips trembled slightly, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Li Mufeng remained silent for a moment, then, seeing that the latter's aura was weak and his blood and energy were depleted, clearly indicating that he had not been properly nourished, he reached out and patted his shoulder.

"Fellow Daoist, please follow me."

He took Shen Yuan back to Miaoxian Residence.

He added another table of spiritual food before slowly saying, "Fellow Daoist Shen, please don't stand on ceremony. I'm new to Tianque Immortal City and unfamiliar with the place. I have many things I'd like to ask you. Consider this meal as a token of my gratitude for your guidance."

Upon hearing this, the restraint in Shen Yuan's eyes finally dissipated somewhat.

He had been trying to resist touching his chopsticks, but now he could no longer resist the hunger in his stomach.

He picked up the spiritual food and began to wolf it down. After gulping down two large bowls of spiritual tea, his complexion finally regained some color.

After a long while, he let out a long breath and said with a wry smile, "It's fate, really."

,

"After my arm was bitten off by a monster, my monster-hunting skills were halved. I couldn't earn spirit stones, so I couldn't afford the rent for my cave dwelling in the market and had to work as a miner in the Wang family's mine."

""

"At that time, I thought that although being a miner was tough, the spirit stones they gave me were plentiful. If I could save them up for a few years and heal my injuries, I might be able to start over."

At this point, a hint of fear suddenly surfaced in Shen Yuan's eyes.

The hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.

"But who would have thought that the Foundation Establishment royal family had long been colluding with the Xuan Yin Sect."

"We miners are nothing more than livestock they keep in captivity. Once the ore veins are nearly exhausted and our bodies are worn out, we will be sent to the deeper mining areas."

,

"And there—"

Shen Yuan's throat bobbed, and his voice became somewhat hoarse.

"The demonic cultivators of the Xuan Yin Sect have been waiting for this. They actually used the lives of us rogue cultivators to sacrifice for their magical treasures."

Li Mufeng's gaze instantly darkened, while Shen Yuan still spoke with resentment.

"Those of us whose cultivation level is neither high nor low are their primary targets. None of us have managed to come out alive. If it weren't for the fact that I still had a high-quality Divine Speed ​​Talisman back then, and that I had also cultivated a Blood Burning Escape Technique, which allowed me to escape at the cost of my lifespan, I'm afraid I would have become a skeleton in the mine by now."

""

After escaping, he dared not return to Blackstone City.

After years of hiding and fleeing through various cities and towns, he finally settled down in the Heavenly Immortal City, a place teeming with independent cultivators.

However, after years of running around, old wounds have not healed and new wounds keep appearing. In addition, burning his essence and blood has depleted his lifespan, causing his cultivation level to plummet. Now he can only make a living by processing the corpses of demon beasts and doing hard labor such as skinning, dismembering, and decomposing them, barely earning enough for his daily cultivation.

After hearing all this, Li Mufeng remained silent for a long time.

He vaguely remembered that Shen Yuan, who lived in the Bingzi Cave back then, would always carry several demon beasts on his shoulders when he returned from hunting demons, and would greet the people in the market with a smile.

Shen Yuan was so full of vigor back then; everyone thought he would break through to the late stage of Qi Refining sooner or later.

Who could have imagined that in just over a decade, everything would have changed so drastically?

The world of cultivation has never been a paradise of immortality.

Most people spend their entire lives struggling between life and death.

The fact that the Wang family colluded with the Xuan Yin Sect also completely resolved the last trace of doubt in Li Mufeng's mind.

It seems that the ancient ruins in Jinquan Bay fell into the hands of the Xuan Yin Sect ahead of time, most likely because the Wang family had already betrayed them. No wonder the gaze from the Wang family disappeared first.

Li Mufeng remained calm and said nothing more, but silently added another layer of grievance to his mind.

At the same time, he also thought of the Liu family, who were far away in Heishifang City.

The turmoil is escalating, and it remains to be seen whether the newly emerging Foundation Establishment family will be able to weather the storm safely.

The table of spiritual food was not finished; Shen Yuan's appetite was much smaller now than when he was a monster hunter.

Shen Yuan took out the food box somewhat embarrassedly and carefully put away the remaining spiritual food, not wasting a single bit.

After everything was in order, he stood up and solemnly clasped his hands in greeting to Li Mufeng.

"Fellow Daoist Li, didn't you just say you wanted to find a brokerage firm and rent a cave dwelling?"

"Leave this matter to me. I have lived in Tianque Immortal City for many years. Apart from the few immortal mountains in the center that I have never been able to set foot on, I am quite familiar with most of the inner and outer city areas."

"I will definitely be able to find a suitable place for you to stay."

""

Along the way, Shen Yuan led Li Mufeng on a tour of almost the entire inner city.

Some courtyards are close to second-grade high-quality spiritual veins, with abundant spiritual energy, but they are also adjacent to the residences of major families, and the cultivators who come and go are either rich or noble.

Some are located in remote areas with low rents, which is a good thing because they are quiet, but they are far from the market and it is very inconvenient to travel. Others are in excellent locations with a lot of people, which is suitable for all kinds of businesses, but it also means that there is a mixed bag of people and it is hard to find peace.

Li Mufeng looked around and didn't rush to make a decision. Instead, he silently memorized the advantages and disadvantages of each courtyard.

Ultimately, he chose a courtyard called Fu Yuan Ju.

Fu Yuan Residence is backed by a second-tier mid-grade spiritual vein. While its spiritual energy isn't the best in the entire inner city, it far surpasses that of the outer city. Located in the middle of the inner city, it's perfectly situated, making it convenient to travel to the market and various merchant guilds.

Most importantly, it is moderate enough.

It won't attract too much attention because of its prime location, nor will it be isolated from information because of its remoteness.

This is exactly in line with Li Mufeng's consistent style of doing things.

He came to the Heavenly Immortal City to seek the Foundation Establishment Pill, and the Foundation Establishment Pill was naturally an unavoidable hurdle.

Whether it's trying to get to know a second-tier alchemist and ask them to refine pills for you, or later using the equipment slots to deduce the Dao of Alchemy and learn the art of alchemy yourself, you need to pave the way for yourself in advance.

Near Fu Yuanju, there happened to be a cultivator who had reached the peak of Qi Refining.

That man's residence was several times more spacious and luxurious than Fu Yuanju's. It was surrounded by a top-grade first-level protective array, and was frequently visited by cultivators at the late Qi Refining stage and even Foundation Establishment stage.

Shen Yuan was clearly very familiar with this, and introduced him in a low voice: "This person is named Xu Zhiyuan. He comes from the Danxia Sect and runs a pill shop called Dan Ding Xuan in the Immortal City. Although he himself is only a first-tier high-grade spiritual plant master, his master is a renowned second-tier alchemist with extensive connections in Tianque Immortal City."

Upon hearing this, Li Mufeng nodded calmly.

A second-tier alchemist was exactly what he wanted.