Chapter 116: Hatred

Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Hatred

Li Ping couldn’t help but smile at his reaction.

’How did that saying go again?’

’Zhang Tie’s progress has been so fast that his temperament hasn’t caught up yet.’

’Give it a few more years, and he’ll be able to face anything with the same composure as other Foundation Establishment Cultivators.’

...

After they all congratulated Zhang Tie on reaching Foundation Establishment, it was time to collect this year’s contributions to the Foundation Establishment Fund.

Li Ping contributed three hundred Spirit Stones, Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng one hundred each, Cheng Yao thirty, and Qi Hanmo and Bai Qing twenty each.

The total came to five hundred and seventy Spirit Stones, bringing the Foundation Establishment Fund’s grand total to nine hundred and ninety.

After placing all the Spirit Stones into a dedicated Storage Bag, the members began to discuss their gains and losses over the past year, asking the others for advice and to point out any oversights.

Zhang Tie was the first to speak. Through Li Ping’s matchmaking, he had fallen in love with a Qi Refining Stage woman from the Meng family, and they planned to marry after the new year.

He invited his five brothers and sisters from the Friends Association to his wedding, and all of them naturally agreed to attend.

Gumu Sheng was particularly enthusiastic, warmly calling him "Second Brother" over and over.

Before this, he had never really thought much of the simple and honest Zhang Tie. Not only had he wanted to reach Foundation Establishment before him, but he had also rarely called him "Second Brother."

But now that Zhang Tie had successfully reached Foundation Establishment, his status had risen significantly, and Gumu Sheng’s attitude toward him had changed accordingly.

After Zhang Tie finished, it was Gumu Sheng’s turn.

Gumu Sheng was in charge of using the Spirit Stones of their late sixth brother, Teng Feng, to purchase supplies annually and deliver them to Teng Feng’s home village.

He mainly spoke about this task. After finishing his report on the supplies, Gumu Sheng added that while delivering the supplies this time, he had chanced upon a child in Teng Feng’s village who possessed a Spiritual Root.

Considering Teng Feng’s last wishes, he guided the child onto the path of the Immortal Dao, brought him back to the Immortal City, and used his connections to find him a job as an attendant at a tavern.

Finally, Gumu Sheng proposed that they should just give all of Teng Feng’s remaining Spirit Stones to the child.

This way, once the child grew stronger, he would be in a better position to protect and give back to the village.

Li Ping, Zhang Tie, and the others all agreed with his proposal, and so the matter was decided.

When it was Cheng Yao’s turn to speak, Li Ping specifically asked if she was facing any difficulties.

Faced with Li Ping’s question, Cheng Yao hesitated for a moment before finally shaking her head.

This past year, Wang Xingwei still had not woken up. To maintain his vital signs while he was in a coma, he needed, at a minimum, a bottle of twelve Fasting Pills.

Although Fasting Pills were only Tier One Lower Grade Pills, a bottle still cost around thirteen or fourteen Spirit Stones.

In truth, Qi Refining Stage Cultivators usually ate food like Spirit Rice and Demon Beast Flesh; they could hardly bear to spend money on Fasting Pills.

Cheng Yao was already living on a tight budget, and with this extra expense of more than ten Spirit Stones, her cash flow had completely dried up.

In order to pay her share of this year’s Foundation Establishment Fund, she had no choice but to sell her Magic Robe for Spirit Stones.

She knew that if she spoke up, her big brother would surely help her. But she had her own pride and didn’t want him or the others to know about her predicament.

’I shouldn’t have scammed that fool out of his Spirit Stones. What kind of karma is this?!’ Cheng Yao thought sorrowfully.

Seeing that Cheng Yao was unwilling to talk, Li Ping didn’t press the matter and turned his gaze to Qi Hanmo instead.

But the moment Qi Hanmo opened his mouth, the other five people present were simultaneously stunned.

Under everyone’s gaze, Qi Hanmo took a deep breath and revealed that Mr. Yan wanted to take him as a disciple.

After breaking the news, Qi Hanmo explained, "Big Brother, Second Brother... Master originally wanted me to follow him to Jixia immediately, but I decided to remain in the Immortal City for now, as I still need to treat Miss Lin Yue and wanted to ask for your approval."

"But I expect Miss Lin Yue should recover by the middle of next year, and I will have to leave for Jixia then."

After a moment of shock, Li Ping quickly recovered and said with a smile, "This is wonderful news. Hanmo, don’t feel burdened. To be taken as a disciple by a Core Formation Master is a great fortune. As your big brother, I couldn’t be happier for you!"

Hearing Li Ping speak, the others also chimed in with their congratulations.

Especially after Li Ping explained the status of the Jixia Immortal City in the Western Wilderness Cultivation Realm, the others, though envious, were sincerely happy for Qi Hanmo.

Becoming the disciple of a Master from the Jixia Immortal City was one of the greatest opportunities in the Western Wilderness Cultivation Realm.

Qi Hanmo gave a wry smile. "Big Brother, once I go to Jixia, the journey will be long and difficult. I’m afraid it will be hard for me to return. This means I can no longer fulfill our oath to ’reach Foundation Establishment together.’ I hope you won’t blame me."

Li Ping smiled and reached out a hand to comfort him. "You’re pursuing your immortal destiny; of course we won’t blame you. But going to a bustling place like Jixia, you’ll be in an unfamiliar land and will surely be short on Spirit Stones. How about this... just as we did for Teng Feng, we will return all the Spirit Stones you’ve contributed, and your oath to the association will be dissolved."

Hearing Li Ping’s words, the others nodded in agreement.

They had all been together for so long and had formed a deep bond; naturally, they couldn’t bear to see Qi Hanmo miss out on such a great opportunity.

Besides, with Li Ping and Zhang Tie having already reached Foundation Establishment one after another, Qi Hanmo’s withdrawal was actually more beneficial for Bai Qing, who was next in line.

As for Gumu Sheng and Cheng Yao, they believed that the bulk of the Foundation Establishment Fund was now contributed by Li Ping, Zhang Tie, and Gumu Sheng. The loss of Qi Hanmo’s twenty Spirit Stones would not have a major impact.

Moreover, Qi Hanmo becoming the disciple of a Master from Jixia Immortal City wasn’t just his own opportunity; it was also a connection for them, one that they might be able to use in the future.

Hearing everyone’s words, Qi Hanmo stood up and bowed deeply to the group. "Thank you, Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Sister, and Seventh Brother, for your understanding. Hanmo is eternally grateful!"

"As for my contributions, I have already stated my wishes," Qi Hanmo said firmly. "If I should meet with a mishap, my contributions are to be divided equally among all my brothers and sisters in the association. I cannot accept Big Brother’s offer to return them to me."

After the others tried to persuade him, Qi Hanmo still refused to take back his contributed Spirit Stones, so Li Ping had no choice but to let the matter drop.

Finally, it was Bai Qing’s turn. He didn’t have much to report, simply recounting his daily routine.

At this point, the formal part of the meeting concluded.

Normally, it would have been time for Li Ping to give a lecture and answer everyone’s questions.

This year, however, since Zhang Tie had also broken through to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Li Ping had him share his insights on the breakthrough process with the others.

Zhang Tie was a bit clumsy at first, and his explanation was somewhat disorganized. But as time went on, he got into the flow of it and became more and more excited, speaking until the end of the next day and still feeling like he had more to say.

At the end, Li Ping took out Pills as usual and distributed them to the four of them.

He did not, however, give any Pills to Zhang Tie, even though he had recently refined several batches of Tier Two Lower Grade Peiyuan Pills.

Firstly, Tier Two Pills were quite precious and rare, and it would be difficult to explain their origin.

Secondly, Zhang Tie was now a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, and Li Ping felt that his assistance should come to an end; he couldn’t keep looking after him forever.

...

Just as the Friends Association’s annual gathering came to a close...

「Great Zhou, Luojing!」

A sturdy young man dressed in animal hides blended into the bustling crowd, following the directions of a voice in his mind as he headed toward a certain location in the city.

This sturdy young man was, of course, Teng Feng. He had arrived in Great Zhou via a Teleportation Array.

While learning the local language and cultivating, his cultivation had already reached the Qi Refining Seventh Level, putting him a step above Qi Hanmo and on par with Cheng Yao.

"Senior, this city of Luojing is huge. Who knows how long it’ll take to walk there," Teng Feng lamented in his mind as he wove through the crowd.

The next moment, Nether Bone’s voice echoed in his mind, "Heh heh... Well, whose fault is it that your cultivation is so low? If you were a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, you’d naturally be qualified to use Flying Escape through the air. Almost thirty and only at the Qi Refining Seventh Level. At your age, I was already close to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment."

Hearing this, Teng Feng couldn’t help but roll his eyes. ’How can you even compare yourself to me?’ he thought.

From what he had seen and heard during his years traveling in Great Zhou, he had finally come to understand what a true holy land of cultivation was. The abundance of resources and Spirit Stones was simply outrageous.

He knew his big brother had reached Foundation Establishment at forty, but in Great Zhou, cultivators from prominent families with even slightly better aptitude could succeed in their early twenties.

A cultivator like Nether Bone, who clearly had an impressive background, had no reason to be proud of cultivating quickly.

"Are you muttering about me again, you brat?" Nether Bone’s voice rang out in his head. "Hurry up, hurry up. Once you go to the Immortal Salary Firm and withdraw the Spirit Stones and resources I stored there back in the day, I’m confident I can get you to Foundation Establishment within two years."

Teng Feng quickly agreed. "Yes, Senior."

Suddenly, as the two were conversing in secret—

The sound of a zither, as beautiful as celestial music, suddenly echoed across the sky above Luojing.

The music shook the very clouds. At that moment, everyone in Luojing, whether cultivator or mortal, unconsciously stopped what they were doing and listened quietly.

Along with the music, a magnificent and noble five-colored Spirit Bird flew out from the imperial palace in the center of Luojing. On its back sat a woman wearing a veil and a long, crimson robe. She was seated cross-legged, gently stroking a long zither before her.

It turned out that the celestial music came from her fingertips.

After a long while, the Spirit Bird circled the city once before returning to the imperial palace. The music faded, but the people on the streets remained motionless, savoring the melody in their hearts.

...

As Teng Feng walked on, he listened to the discussions of the surrounding cultivators and learned that the woman who had just been playing the zither was the Saint Empress of Great Zhou, and the Spirit Bird she rode was a rare celestial spirit bird known as a ’Five-Colored Sparrow’.

It possessed a trace of bloodline from the legendary True Spirit, the ’Peacock’.

What surprised Teng Feng the most was that the Saint Empress of Great Zhou was a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, and the Five-Colored Sparrow she rode was a Tier Three Late Stage Spirit Bird.

’The Saint Empress is so powerful!’ Teng Feng thought, his curiosity piqued. He asked, "Senior, do you know who the strongest cultivator in Great Zhou is?"

But to his surprise, he received no response for a long time after asking the question.

’Oh no, could the Saint Empress have mistaken him for a ghost and exorcised him?!’ Teng Feng grew anxious at the thought.

After all, Nether Bone had been alone in the depths of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range for who knows how long. Since possessing him, he had always been quite the chatterbox.

Fortunately, Nether Bone finally responded. "Heh heh... A Saint Empress, you say? Where there’s a Saint Empress, there’s naturally a Saint Emperor. But in Great Zhou, even they must obediently listen to the commands of the Immortal Alliance."

Teng Feng could hear a trace of deep-seated hatred in his voice.