Longevity through Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 842 - 345: A Pill Success Worth Celebrating!

Ji Yuan, in a good mood, began to promise big things to Tu Yue, but when it came to actually helping her with Core Formation... recalling the difficulty of assisting her with Foundation Establishment, he knew how tough it was.

Tu Yue, not understanding, obediently handed over all her storage bags.

Ten years in retreat, plus the previous three years in Fallen Immortal Gully.

The output from the Spirit Vein was all managed by Tu Yue.

Over the course of thirteen years, this Level 3 Spirit Vein produced 480,000 mid-grade Spirit Stones for Ji Yuan.

This was why Ji Yuan dared to boast about buying Void Nether Stones.

He thought of the inevitable expenses once he formed his core, so he took half of the Spirit Stones from Tu Yue, having already taken some previously.

Even so, he took nearly 200,000 mid-grade Spirit Stones this time.

When he emerged from the Mountain of Mind and Heart and arrived at the outside Secluded Cave Mansion, everything was as usual.

He examined everything in the stone chamber, pondering how this was not the state a person in retreat should be in, so he raised his hand and gathered the three volumes of sandalwood incense from the corner, along with the calming elixirs on the stone table, into his storage bag.

Finally, he noticed the brand-new meditation cushion, sensing it had a calming effect!

Good stuff.

Collected.

After all, he had paid for it.

Finally, he used mana to arrange things slightly, creating the appearance of a failed breakthrough, then collected the Mountain of Mind and Heart from the ground, and stepped out, with his aura plummeting rapidly, transforming in the blink of an eye from a genuine early-stage Core Formation cultivator to a Fake Pill cultivator.

Once he confirmed nothing was amiss, he restrained his excitement, pretended to be a dejected Fake Pill cultivator, and piloted his Flying Boat out of the cave, heading straight for the grand hall at the mountain top.

Every cultivator leaving retreat had to submit their Cave Mansion Token at this grand hall and settle the Spirit Stones spent during their retreat.

When Ji Yuan arrived, he found that the cultivator on duty, like him, was a Fake Pill cultivator!

These high-ranking Fake Pill cultivators out there, in the Black and White Divine Hall, could only handle tasks such as balancing Spirit Stone accounts?

Is this the depth of the Black and White Divine Hall?

Of course, the reception here primarily involved Fake Pill and Core Formation cultivators; placing a cultivator of too low a cultivation here might lead to neglectful treatment.

One could understand.

When Ji Yuan handed over his token to the beautiful female cultivator in a pink dress, she took it and glanced at Ji Yuan with surprise, then took out a storage bag.

”These are the remaining Spirit Stones from before, please keep them safe.”

This Fake Pill female cultivator not only looked attractive but her voice was pleasant too.

Ji Yuan intended to leave immediately without lingering, but upon scanning the storage bag with his Divine Sense, he found... something amiss.

The Spirit Stones inside were not short by a single piece.

Ji Yuan remembered he previously handed over 30,000 Spirit Stones when he entered seclusion. Now, upon emerging... at least 8,000 should have been deducted.

Why not a single piece missing?

”Fellow Daoist, is there some misunderstanding?”

Finding things amiss, Ji Yuan wasn’t one to take advantage of the situation, fearing potential troubles later, so he didn’t store it, instead, he pointed at his storage bag directly.

”No, a senior has already covered the rental cost for you.”

The pink dress lady still smiled as she answered.

”Senior? Which senior...”

Ji Yuan initially assumed it might be Liu Yuan or Mu Xueyao, but before he could ask, he saw a golden escape light suddenly shoot out from the depths of the hall, landing behind the female cultivator, transforming into a middle-aged man in black and white robes.

Ji Yuan looked at him, paused, but quickly reacted.

”I’ve met the senior.”

This person was the Core Formation cultivator who welcomed him to retreat earlier, so... did he pay for Ji Yuan’s Spirit Stones?

This unrelated person, Ji Yuan quickly guessed that it must be due to his Core Formation anomaly being noticed and his identity exposed.

Luckily, it’s a minor issue.

Ji Yuan was surprised, but the middle-aged cultivator, Warm Wine, was even more astonished.

He knew that the Core Formation anomaly that alarmed the city was brought about by this unremarkable man in blue. Such an arrangement and the final collection of the Core Formation phenomenon.

It seemed clearly like an instance of successful Core Formation.

But why... is he still at Fake Core cultivation?!

This doesn’t make sense!

Ji Yuan noticed his astonishment and immediately showed great regret in his eyes, slumping his shoulders, sighing deeply, regretfully saying:

”A misstep, failed the final stage of Condensing Pill, will have to wait for another chance to attempt a breakthrough.”

”Apologies for the senior’s kindness, I will pay for the Spirit Stones myself.”

A few thousand mid-grade Spirit Stones, even for a Core Formation cultivator, wasn’t a small amount, especially not for an early-stage Core Formation cultivator.

Early-stage Core Formation, crafting Lifebound Magical Treasure, precisely the time needing Spirit Stones the most.

Ji Yuan didn’t want to owe such a huge favor for nothing.

After some insistence, he eventually paid for the Spirit Stones himself, but with the help of the senior Warm Wine, the final price was quite a bit cheaper, only 6,000 mid-grade Spirit Stones.

It counted as a 40% discount.

When Ji Yuan was about to leave, the pink dress lady seemed to have received some news, paused slightly, but still smiled and said: ”Fellow Daoist, it seems you took our West Border Cave Mansion’s meditation cushion, that item... has a fee.”