After carefully storing the Foundation Establishment Pill and restoring his Mana, Xu Ping summoned Zhang Qingfeng to his cave dwelling.

"Clan Leader, what might you need from this old man?" Zhang Qingfeng inquired respectfully.

"I have little lifespan left. In a few months, I fear I might pass away." Xu Ping, disguised as Zhang Yu, said calmly.

"Ah! How could this be? Has your injury not healed completely, Clan Leader?" Zhang Qingfeng raised his head in shock.

"My lifespan was already limited; how could the injury heal so easily?" Xu Ping shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Then what should we do next?"

Looking at the deathly aura on Xu Ping, Zhang Qingfeng couldn't help but become extremely anxious.

If the Clan Leader truly passes away and the Zhang family has yet to produce a new Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Cangyuan Mountain would be lost.

After a moment of silence, Xu Ping slowly said, "I have a Pill Master friend who is preparing to refine a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills. I plan to visit him and try my luck."

"Gather all the Spirit Stones in the clan and give them to me; I will then sell off my Magical Artifacts and other items to scrape together enough Spirit Stones to purchase the Foundation Establishment Pill."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qingfeng was overjoyed: "Rest assured, Clan Leader, I will certainly gather all the Spirit Stones in the clan as quickly as possible."

Although the Foundation Establishment Pill cannot guarantee the birth of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator 100%, it is worth the Zhang family's vigorous effort to try.

...

Several days later.

Zhang Qingfeng handed Xu Ping a storage bag filled with Spirit Stones:

"Clan Leader, these are all the Spirit Stones we have. I don't know if it's enough. If it's not, we still have several shops in the market outside Ten Thousand Mountains, and if they're mortgaged, we could possibly raise another one or two thousand Spirit Stones."

Xu Ping took the storage bag and scanned it with his Divine Sense, discovering that it contained no less than eleven thousand Spirit Stones.

"Enough!" Xu Ping nodded.

He simply wanted to fleece a bit before leaving and had no intention of bankrupting the entire Zhang family.

"I will be swift in my return; you go ahead and select a clan member suitable for consuming the Foundation Establishment Pill." Having stored the bag safely, Xu Ping instructed.

"This old man understands." Zhang Qingfeng bowed respectfully.

"Hmm!"

Xu Ping nodded, and after a few more instructions, he departed Cangyuan Mountain in his Escape Light.

Watching Xu Ping's gradually retreating figure, Zhang Qingfeng couldn't help but sigh: "I hope the Clan Leader goes smoothly."

Xu Ping did not actually leave, but merely feigned as such, sneaking back to Cangyuan Mountain afterward.

...

More than a month later, seeing that the time was about right and the Zhang family had chosen a candidate, Xu Ping pretended to return to Cangyuan Mountain, dust-laden and weary.

In a side hall, Zhang Qingfeng and a middle-aged man around forty respectfully stood before Xu Ping.

"How did your journey go, Clan Leader?" Zhang Qingfeng asked expectantly.

"Though there were ups and downs, the Foundation Establishment Pill is in hand!"

Xu Ping, 'weary' faced, revealed a smile as he turned his right hand, a quaint jade box appearing in his hand, inside which lay a lustrous pill.

"Foundation Establishment Pill!" Zhang Qingfeng and the middle-aged man exclaimed simultaneously, eyes bursting with intense joy.

Though they hadn't consumed pig meat, they had seen pigs run before, naturally recognizing this genuine Foundation Establishment Pill.

"Zhang Gaoyuan, this Foundation Establishment Pill is for you. I hope you won't disappoint me and the whole Zhang family!" Xu Ping used Mana to levitate the jade box to the middle-aged man, his tone filled with expectation.

Taking the jade box, Zhang Gaoyuan showed a resolute expression: "Rest assured, Clan Leader, I will certainly not disappoint you and the family."

"Good!" Xu Ping nodded in satisfaction; he was pleased with the Zhang family's choice for the pill consumption candidate.

At forty years old, at the peak of Qi Cultivation level nine, possessing Upper Grade Spirit Root, and having undergone hardships, not a fragile flower—success won't be low post-pill intake.

"Zhang Qingfeng, you may leave. I will instruct Zhang Gaoyuan on matters to watch for during Foundation Establishment." Xu Ping commanded.

"Yes." Zhang Qingfeng respectfully saluted and then left the cave dwelling.

"Listen carefully; what I am about to explain is crucial to your Foundation Establishment; you must remember it." Xu Ping stressed.

"I understand!" Zhang Gaoyuan nodded respectfully, assuming an attentive stance.

Then, Xu Ping began to meticulously explain the key points and cautions during Foundation Establishment.

After spending half an hour, he finally stopped.

"Go to my cultivation room to meditate and nurture your vitality. Once your energy is at its peak, then begin your retreat."

"Yes." Zhang Gaoyuan respectfully bowed and headed to the cultivation room.

Within the cultivation room.

Zhang Gaoyuan sat cross-legged, his expression supremely solemn.

Steadily using his cultivation technique, he felt his energy reach its peak after three days and, wasting no time, swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Next door, Xu Ping's Divine Sense observed Zhang Gaoyuan's every movement silently.

With his Divine Sense stronger than even late-stage Foundation Establishment, Zhang Gaoyuan remained unaware regardless of whether he established his foundation or not.

"It has begun..."

Xu Ping manipulated the Array to channel all the Spiritual Qi in the cave into the cultivation room, a palpable mist of Spiritual Qi promptly enveloping the entire space.

Having executed this, he silently watched Zhang Gaoyuan attempt Foundation Establishment, beginning with the convergence and cleansing of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi through his body!

'At forty, Zhang Gaoyuan is at full spring vigor and has no residual hidden injuries; it shouldn't be much of a problem...'

Indeed, under the cleansing of Primordial Qi, Zhang Gaoyuan's face twisted in pain as large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead.

Yet, under the Foundation Establishment Pill's potency, his meridians endured the Spiritual Qi cleansing, starting to gather towards his Dantian and Sea of Qi.

"The Mana stage? His foundation is manageable, and with Upper Grade Spirit Root, alongside the family's prized cultivation technique, it's quite favorable..."

"As for the final Divine Sense barrier? Though a rare genius in the Zhang family, he has faced numerous deadly contests and ordeals; with an unwavering resolve..."

"In summary, his foundation is quite promising." Xu Ping thought to himself.

Time slipped away slowly, passing a month and a half quietly.

Feeling his Mana within his Dantian and Sea of Qi condensed to the extreme, Zhang Gaoyuan invoked the last power of the Foundation Establishment Pill, surging into his Mud Ball Palace!

Bang!

Dazed, his forehead seemed to open a third 'eye'!

Divine Sense!

With the emergence of Divine Sense, it pressured the Dantian and Sea of Qi, rendering his Mana into liquid!

Outside the sealed chamber, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi converged, forming a vortex, endlessly drilling inside.

"Foundation Establishment is successful!" In the next room, the corner of Xu Ping's mouth unconsciously turned upward.

He was relieved to depart the place in peace.

At this moment, all Zhang family cultivators on Cangyuan Mountain, witnessing the gathering Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi above the Clan Leader's cave, froze for a moment before bursting into ecstatic cheers, some even overcome with joy:

"Foundation... Foundation Establishment successful!!"

Foundation Establishment Cultivators are extremely vital to their family.

...

Ten days later.

At a grave site, a youth dressed in blue silently stood, upon closer inspection revealing Xu Ping.

"I've fulfilled what I promised you, and now I must leave!" With a calm visage, he produced a box of Spirit Wine and poured it before the grave.

Staring at the 'Zhang Yan' carved into the stone wall, Xu Ping couldn't help but sigh internally: "Time surely flies."

In just a few brief years, everything had changed dramatically.

"Why am I suddenly so nostalgic lately!" Shaking his head, he chuckled wryly.

"Off I go!" Without any lingering attachment, Xu Ping departed the place.

...

Several days after Xu Ping left.

Zhang Gaoyuan emerged from seclusion, his realm fully stabilized, becoming a genuine Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

"Clan Leader, I succeeded in Foundation Establishment!" He expressed ecstatic joy, his first action being to seek Xu Ping disguised as Zhang Yu.

Yet arriving at the room, he found no trace of the Clan Leader, only a set of the Clan Leader's clothes and a Storage Ring remained.

Zhang Gaoyuan paused briefly, then his face changed drastically: "The Clan Leader has passed away?"

Qi Cultivators upon passing leave behind a corpse, but Foundation Establishment Cultivators may not.

Some Foundation Establishment Cultivators, to prevent their corpse from being exploited by others, choose to render their physical form into ashes, dissipated within the void.

Refusing to give up, Zhang Gaoyuan searched throughout the entire cave dwelling, yet still found no trace of the Clan Leader; only then did he truly accept the Clan Leader's passing.

"The Clan Leader has truly passed!" Zhang Gaoyuan murmured, his face showing a hint of sorrow.

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