Immortality begins with equipping a worn-out talisman pen.

Chapter 99 Identity Transformation

Inside the cave, Li Mufeng sorted out his future plans one by one before slowly leaving the cultivation room.

Outside the cultivation room, Sniff was curled up by the door, hugging the array plate. Her little head was nodding, her eyelids were so heavy that she could barely keep them open, but she still stubbornly refused to fall asleep.

Upon seeing Li Mufeng emerge, it immediately perked up, leaping onto his shoulder with a whoosh. It affectionately nuzzled his neck, its little nose constantly sniffing the magical aura emanating from Li Mufeng's newly transformed body, its eyes filled with longing.

Li Mufeng couldn't help but chuckle and gently rubbed its little head.

"Thank you for guarding the gate for me these past few years."

Sniff seemed to understand, nodded smugly, then burrowed into his robe, found a familiar spot, and almost instantly began to snore softly.

Clearly, it has never truly rested in the past three years.

Li Mufeng waved his hand to remove the great formation outside the cave and stepped out.

Many cultivators had already gathered outside the island.

Some carried spirit wine, some held spirit fruit, and others prepared small but thoughtful gifts. Everyone was all smiles and took the initiative to offer their congratulations.

The cultivation world has always valued good karma.

Being able to step into the Foundation Establishment Realm before the age of sixty is an extremely rare thing.

Moreover, the person who broke through was a talisman master.

Everyone present was well aware of what a newly promoted Foundation Establishment Talisman Master meant.

If you can take this opportunity to become acquainted with them and establish a connection, you might be able to obtain a second-tier talisman in the future, or even save your life in a critical moment.

Of course, some people come simply because they've heard so much about him, wanting to see for themselves what this rogue cultivator, who defied fate at the age of sixty, looks like, and perhaps even share in his good fortune.

Faced with everyone's congratulations, Li Mufeng did not put on airs as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He returned each greeting with a cupped hand and thanked them for their kindness.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he did not linger and returned directly to Fu Yuan Residence.

Not long after returning to Fuyuan Residence, Xu Zhiyuan paid a visit.

Unlike before.

The usually shrewd and worldly-wise fat monk, at this moment, restrained all his casualness and stood outside the door, knocking respectfully.

After Li Mufeng opened the door, he immediately bowed and greeted him.

"Junior Xu Zhiyuan pays respects to Senior Li and congratulates you on your successful Foundation Establishment."

"The senior has achieved the foundation of enlightenment at the age of sixty, defying the heavens and changing his fate. This is truly admirable."

"With that, he presented an exquisite gift box with both hands."

Upon opening it, one finds several bottles of second-tier pills neatly arranged inside, all used by Foundation Establishment cultivators to advance their cultivation, with a total value of at least two thousand low-grade spirit stones.

Li Mufeng's eyes flickered slightly.

Given Xu Zhiyuan's wealth, he certainly couldn't afford such a congratulatory gift.

As expected, Xu Zhiyuan said with a forced smile, "This was specially sent by my master."

"My master was overjoyed when he heard that you had successfully established your foundation, and he specifically instructed me to personally deliver the congratulatory gift."

At this point, a hint of shame appeared on his face.

"In addition, my master asked me to apologize on his behalf."

"There was a mishap when he was refining the Foundation Establishment Pill back then, and he has felt guilty all these years. Now that he sees that the senior has successfully established his foundation, he can finally put his mind at ease and breathe a sigh of relief."

Upon hearing this, Li Mufeng still wore a faint smile on his face.

"Master Sun is very kind."

Li Mufeng sneered inwardly, letting out a sigh of relief. He must be having trouble sleeping and eating.

Back then, in the eyes of Master Sun Dan and Yang Tianzhen, he was nothing more than a rogue cultivator whose lifespan was about to end and who had no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage in this lifetime.

Even if someone with no background and no future is secretly plotted against, they can't cause any trouble.

As for how many times they had done this, Li Mufeng had no idea.

But he believed he would never be the first.

However, all of them fell before the Foundation Establishment Gate.

He alone survived and successfully established his foundation.

That's why Master Sun was so eager to use this congratulatory gift to mend the relationship.

Li Mufeng slowly put away the gift box, his expression remaining calm.

Sun Danshi and Yang Tianzhen, just you wait. To put it bluntly, this underhanded operation is an act of obstruction. Li Mufeng only hopes that Sun Danshi can live a long time, and that he will have his chance to take revenge in the future.

What Li Mufeng didn't know was that his breakthrough affected Master Sun's mentality, indirectly causing Master Sun to ruin a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills.

This led to his biggest setback in twenty years. The senior second-level alchemist produced two inferior Foundation Establishment Pills and one useless pill in one batch, which ruined Master Sun's reputation over the years.

Unfortunately, this batch of pills was being refined for a highly experienced Foundation Establishment elder of the Myriad Beasts Sect.

Before refining the pill, Master Sun had confidently guaranteed that he could at least refine one genuine Foundation Establishment Pill, and if he was lucky enough, he might even be able to produce a fine one.

The elder of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect was known for his fiery temper and had heard of Master Sun's reputation, so he entrusted the entire batch of precious spiritual materials to him.

After the furnace was opened, not only were the genuine pieces lost, but even the two inferior pieces were almost lost.

The elder flew into a rage on the spot, smashing the alchemy furnace to pieces with a single palm strike. He then ordered a second-tier spirit beast to attack, breaking Alchemist Sun's arm and causing him to vomit blood on the spot. He is still lying in bed.

Even so, Master Sun could only swallow his anger.

He couldn't afford to offend the Myriad Beasts Sect.

Afterwards, he not only apologized but also paid out of his own pocket to make up for the spiritual materials used in that batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, almost losing all his savings of many years.

This incident has completely ruined the reputation that Master Sun Dan had painstakingly built up over decades.

At least for the time being, no one will dare to hand over the Foundation Establishment Pill to him again.

Li Mufeng accepted the gift box from Xu Zhiyuan, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

"Speaking of which, I really have to thank Master Sun for the inferior Foundation Establishment Pill he refined back then, which allowed me to achieve Foundation Establishment by sheer luck."

"If the opportunity arises in the future, I, Li, will certainly pay a personal visit to express my sincere gratitude."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhiyuan's smile froze for a moment.

These words sounded polite, but for some reason, they sent a chill down his spine.

He could only nod repeatedly with a forced smile, not daring to say another word.

Fortunately, he and Li Mufeng had developed some friendship over the years, so he shouldn't be held responsible.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly for his master.

Master, this time your disciple truly cannot help you.

After seeing Xu Zhiyuan off, Li Mufeng thought he could finally have some peace and quiet.

To his surprise, the second person to visit him gave him a slight pause.

Bai Lingxi.

Before she went into seclusion, this woman had declared that she never wanted to see him again.

Unexpectedly, after she achieved Foundation Establishment, she became the first person to come and offer her congratulations.

In fact, apart from Alchemist Sun, the person most shocked by Li Mufeng's successful Foundation Establishment in the entire Heavenly City was probably Bai Lingxi.

She never imagined that someone could actually stand on the threshold of sixty years old and forcefully overcome the hurdle of Foundation Establishment.

Now, however, she has finished her mission of guarding Tianque Immortal City and is about to return to Qingyun Sect.

However, the Bai family's businesses in Tianque Immortal City cannot be left unattended.

The Bai family naturally wouldn't want to miss out on a newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator who also possesses the status of a second-tier talisman master.

Thus, at the behest of the family's pseudo-elixir ancestor, Bai Lingxi, who had a certain acquaintance with Li Mufeng, became the candidate to be recruited this time.

Inside the cave.

Bai Lingxi sat upright in the guest seat, her expression still aloof.

However, she always felt somewhat uncomfortable facing Li Mufeng's calm and composed gaze.

There was a time when this person in front of me would respectfully address me as "Senior Bai".

Now, only a few years later, their roles have quietly reversed.

On the contrary, he took the initiative to visit the other party with the mission of his family and to show goodwill.

This sudden reversal of identity left her feeling indescribably awkward.

She pursed her lips slightly, still feeling somewhat unable to accept it.

Surprisingly, he actually succeeded in establishing his foundation.