Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
It was quite the coincidence that Ming Yihua chose an excellent time for his Foundation Establishment.
It coincided with the end of the semester when senior brothers and sisters from the Refining Department, who had been cultivating arduously in the Immortal Gate's Wanbao Cave for a year, would open their Yunqi Spheres.
Unfortunately, Ming Yihua wasn't so lucky.
With the Taoist master of Shaoyang still in seclusion, no one could take him deep into Wanbao Cave to obtain the highest authority token piece from Endymion Longrong, designated for new Foundation Establishment cultivators.
However, as a refiner, Ming Yihua became utterly fascinated by the Yunqi Sphere after hearing about it from Chen Mobai.
Though it was a pity not to have the token piece, just being able to come and take a look was already considered extremely fortunate for him.
***
"You're too slow."
Chen Mobai, who had been waiting at the entrance of the tunnel, couldn't help but complain when he saw Ming Yihua leisurely descending from the sky.
Ming Yihua could have easily ridden down on Chen Mobai's Red Mist Cloud, but having just established his foundation and not yet having his fill of flying, he insisted on doing it himself, wasting a lot of time.
Ming Yihua, who had underestimated the height of Wanbao Cave, arrived with a somewhat pale face.
"How was I supposed to know that flying consumes so much spiritual power?"
After landing in the tunnel, Ming Yihua sat down to catch his breath and immediately began to refine the dense fire spiritual qi around him.
Chen Mobai could only wait helplessly, but it was also a good opportunity to observe the phenomena of Ming Yihua's Pure Yang Scroll Foundation Establishment.
Although it wasn't advisable to use the Hollow Spirit Eyes directly, by observing the spiritual qi rushing into Ming Yihua's orifices, Chen Mobai still learned quite a bit.
In fact, Chen Mobai had already accumulated enough Pure Yang spiritual power and was almost certain he could succeed if he chose to establish his foundation directly.
But to wait for the opportunity to hear about Foundation Establishment, he suppressed his own urge.
Observing the operation of Ming Yihua's Pure Yang Scroll Foundation Establishment, and comparing it with his usual insights, Chen Mobai vaguely formed a new idea.
***
"Let's go."
Half an hour later, a reinvigorated Ming Yihua, having recovered most of his spiritual power, got up energetically.
Chen Mobai led him through the tunnel, past the underground currents, and soon they arrived at the underground cavern plaza where the student council was located.
Compared to the usual sparse crowd, today there were about sixty or seventy people.
All of them were true cultivators at the Foundation Establishment level.
Many had set up stalls with sealed Yunqi Spheres on display.
Chen Mobai spotted an acquaintance, Qu Hongyu, the senior sister who had welcomed him when he first enrolled. If he remembered correctly, she should have already graduated.
"Senior sister, what a coincidence."
Upon meeting, it was natural to greet her, and Qu Hongyu recognized Chen Mobai and responded heartily.
"It's you! I never expected that among your batch, you would be the first to establish your foundation."
"Senior sister is mistaken, it was Zhong Li Tianyu who was the first."
Chen Mobai remained modest. Compared to Zhong Li Tianyu, who had been breaking through realms as if drinking water since enrollment, he was just average.
"You're still so humble. By the way, since both of you are new Foundation Establishment cultivators, you must have token pieces, right? I know of two active Yunqi Spheres, are you interested?"
Qu Hongyu had boarded the last train in her sophomore year and successfully established her foundation. She then applied for a delayed graduation and was now an assistant instructor for the Lingzhi Department's Linghua cultivation course.
For Foundation Establishment cultivators, there was plenty of time outside of teaching, and with the dense spiritual qi in Wanbao Cave, most of their cultivation time was spent here.
Having found two active Yunqi Spheres but lacking enough credits, Qu Hongyu came to see if anyone was interested.
She wasn't trading the Yunqi Spheres.
After all, the token piece was the most important, so in Wanbao Cave, if one accepted the other party's information and found something good, they would have to transfer a sum of Good Deed as an information fee afterward.
If the item found was ordinary, the lowest second-tier inferior product, or a defective one, then it was just bad luck.
Generally, for a second-tier middle-grade artifact, a symbolic 10,000 Good Deed was required.
For a second-tier superior artifact in good condition, the information fee was 100,000 Good Deed.
And if a third-tier artifact was found, the information fee would be over a million.
However, it had been nearly twenty years since a third-tier artifact was found in Wanbao Cave.
Active Yunqi Spheres couldn't be moved, so the information provider had to accompany the seeker. Chen Mobai and Ming Yihua were both interested, but they hadn't finished browsing the stalls in the plaza, so the three agreed to check it out when they were free in a few days.
"The student council seems to be opening a sealed Yunqi Sphere at noon. Don't miss it."
After adding the contact information of the two new Foundation Establishment juniors, Qu Hongyu shared the news.
Chen Mobai and Ming Yihua continued to browse the sealed Yunqi Spheres at the stalls. These were much simpler than the active ones.
If they liked one, as long as they could agree on a deal, they could directly transfer ownership, and afterward, no matter what was found, there was no need to transfer an information fee.
Although the Yunqi Spheres were owned by the Refining Department before being opened, the students had dug them out from various places in Wanbao Cave with great effort, so it was tacitly accepted that they could charge a labor fee.
Chen Mobai stopped at another familiar stall.
"Oh, is this a new junior brother?"
Mi Yudao looked at Ming Yihua curiously.
"That's right, my good brother here is the top student of our Refining Department this year."
Chen Mobai nodded, introducing Ming Yihua, who was modest in front of strangers.
"Interested? I have four sealed Yunqi Spheres."
Mi Yudao pointed to the white jade spheres on his stall, indicating that Ming Yihua could pick one up and play with it.
As for Chen Mobai, he had already examined them all, but as Ming Yihua curiously picked up a Yunqi Sphere to appreciate it, Mi Yudao mentioned that he had found another active sphere in the past six months, located under the root system of a Fire Spirit Tree.
"Oh, there are still spirit plants in Wanbao Cave?"
Chen Mobai was curious upon hearing this.
His main cultivation technique, the Immortality Scripture, was a wood-based method, and finding a third-tier wood attribute artifact would be very beneficial.
"Wanbao Cave is the premier fire spirit vein of the Immortal Gate. Besides the Zhu Fruit Tree, only this Fire Spirit Tree can survive. However, the tree cannot bear fruit and is only used to regulate fire poison. The artifact stored under its roots, I speculate, may not be of wood attribute but of fire attribute."
Mi Yudao relied on his experience to make a guess that diverged from Chen Mobai's.
"That makes sense."
Ming Yihua, on the side, agreed, believing Mi Yudao was correct.
He was a second-tier refiner and appraiser, and if not for being busy with Foundation Establishment this year, he would have been ready to take the third-tier exam.
Chen Mobai trusted his good brother's professional competence.
If it was a fire attribute, Chen Mobai's interest was even greater.
"Have you had someone look at it?"
"Why would I need someone else when I have you?"
Mi Yudao shook his head, as Chen Mobai didn't charge for using his Spirit Eyes, saving even a single credit point was worthwhile.
"Let's check it out after today's sealed Yunqi Sphere is opened."
After making the arrangement, Chen Mobai and Ming Yihua continued to browse other sealed Yunqi Spheres at the stalls.
They noticed the prices were chaotic, ranging from low to high.
After all, they were students, and the student council seemed too lazy to manage these matters, so some were asking for a high price of 800,000 Good Deed, while the lowest was only 10,000 Good Deed.
Chen Mobai put on the black-framed glasses that shielded the light from his Hollow Spirit Eyes and picked up the Yunqi Sphere that was priced at 800,000.
This Yunqi Sphere was quite odd compared to the others; it seemed that due to the large size of the artifact sealed inside, the outline could be faintly seen through the white jade shell.
"It looks like a cauldron."
After a glance, Ming Yihua hesitantly commented.
Chen Mobai nodded. Through his Hollow Spirit Eyes, he easily saw through the sealed Yunqi Sphere and identified a tripod-shaped artifact within.
The "cauldron" has always been one of the most popular shapes among artifacts.
It could be used for alchemy, refining, defense, and occasionally for attack. It could also serve as the focal point in formations, making it a versatile artifact shape.
Ming Yihua himself owned a second-tier inferior cauldron-shaped artifact, which was his work for passing the second-tier refiner exam.
"This sealed Yunqi Sphere of mine has a certain chance of containing a third-tier Flame Dragon Cauldron, hence the price of 800,000 Good Deed is not at all low."
The slightly yellow-skinned young man was very confident in his Yunqi Sphere.
"Too expensive. There are no less than a hundred cauldron-shaped artifacts sealed in Wanbao Cave. Perhaps the nourishing spirit liquid inside this sealed sphere is starting to fail, allowing the artifact's power to seep through."
Chen Mobai began to bargain directly, having spent enough time in the markets to handle such negotiations with ease, to Ming Yihua's astonishment.
"Hmph, the price is fixed at 800,000. If you don't open it, there are others who will. At least my sealed sphere can produce a cauldron."
The slightly yellow-skinned young man was impatient and hot-tempered, and as two other Foundation Establishment cultivators approached, curious about the highest-priced sealed Yunqi Sphere on the plaza, he grew increasingly impatient with the conversation.
"Why don't you say it's a fourth-tier True Dragon Cauldron."
Chen Mobai shook his head. The moment he touched the sphere, he felt a different kind of warmth, and he could faintly sense the warmth as if the artifact's power couldn't be contained even by the seal.
"Senior brother, I'm a new Foundation Establishment cultivator this year. I'd like to open a Yunqi Sphere, and yours looks good. Why not give it to me?"
Ming Yihua cheekily made a remark that almost turned the slightly yellow-skinned young man's face red.
Compared to others who exchanged 100 credits for a token piece, new Foundation Establishment cultivators received the highest authority token piece from Endymion Longrong, which could open any Yunqi Sphere in Wanbao Cave.
Therefore, unless the slightly yellow-skinned young man also produced a token piece and decided to open this special sealed Yunqi Sphere himself, the new Foundation Establishment cultivator could directly claim this Yunqi Sphere.
After all, all the Yunqi Spheres in Wanbao Cave belonged to the Refining Department.
It was technically against the rules to sell sealed Yunqi Spheres here, but the department simply didn't bother to enforce it.
Having learned this from his conversation with Mi Yudao, Ming Yihua deliberately made the remark upon seeing the high price and poor attitude of the slightly yellow-skinned young man.
"Please be kind, young brothers. It's not easy for me to earn Good Deed."
The slightly yellow-skinned young man realized at this moment that Chen Mobai and Ming Yihua were unfamiliar and likely new Foundation Establishment cultivators, and he immediately began to plead with a wry smile.
"The asking price of 800,000 Good Deed is too high. I think you might have to keep it for yourself."
Although Chen Mobai and Ming Yihua could use the rules of the Refining Department to forcibly open the sphere, doing so might lead to resistance from many senior Foundation Establishment cultivators, so they were just making a point and wouldn't actually do it.
After putting down the sealed Yunqi Sphere with the cauldron-shaped artifact, the two continued to browse other stalls.
"I think that cauldron is a good item."
After walking away, Ming Yihua whispered to Chen Mobai, who was slightly surprised, thinking his professional brother had seen something he hadn't.
"The moment I touched it, my arm felt warm, and the Pure Yang spiritual power became slightly more active. It might be a fire attribute artifact that's very suitable for our lineage."
"Do you want to open it?"
"I'm considering it, but with the Taoist master of Shaoyang in seclusion, I haven't received my token piece yet."
After Ming Yihua finished speaking, Chen Mobai fell silent for a moment, then led him straight to the student council's three-story building.
The person on duty this time was not the familiar Lu Tian Suan, but another fair-skinned, squint-eyed smiling young man.
Chen Mobai and Ming Yihua came to use the Wanbao Chart.
"I can see the shape of the cauldron with my Hollow Spirit Eyes. If you want to open it, it's best to search the Wanbao Chart first for a comparison. You might find something."
Since Ming Yihua was so inclined, Chen Mobai was naturally supportive.
The search fee of 2 credits was affordable for Ming Yihua, and the two watched as the Wanbao Chart searched for all cauldron-shaped artifacts, comparing them one by one until Chen Mobai confirmed a second-tier superior artifact, the Xuan Yang Cauldron.
"The First Cause of All Realms"
The search revealed that the previous owner of this artifact was also a cultivator of the Pure Yang Scroll and a high-level practitioner who had reached the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment.
Unfortunately, he was ultimately trapped by the Pure Yang physical body and exhausted his lifespan without being able to form a Golden Core.
No wonder Ming Yihua felt a response in his Pure Yang spiritual power upon touching it.
Understanding this, the two felt more confident.
A second-tier superior artifact was very good, and given that no third-tier artifact had been found in nearly twenty years, Ming Yihua was definitely willing to use his token piece to open it.
But spending an additional 800,000 Good Deed was somewhat reluctant.
Although they could use the rules of the Refining Department to forcibly open it, it was better to negotiate if possible.
Just as they were about to leave, the squint-eyed young man from the student council called out to them.
"Are you two new Foundation Establishment cultivators this year?"
"Yes."
"I really like the Xuan Yang Cauldron. How about letting me have it?"
Hearing his words, both Chen Mobai and Ming Yihua frowned.