Chapter 152 – Committed

  Luo Feng’s legs felt like they belonged to someone else by the time he reached his home. He had spent the day in the mines, working in the lower veins that were normally restricted, but he had bypassed the wards using his status as the Sect Master’s Disciple.

  Dirt crusted his hair, and his grey robes were black with dust, making it clear to everyone who saw him where he had been.

  He shoved the heavy doors open with both hands and stumbled inside, closing them with his heel as he passed through. Luo Feng lacked the Qi to do anything else, as his Dantian had been emptied from his efforts mining.

  With the door sealed behind him and the wards active, he collapsed to the floor and breathed in deeply to absorb the ambient Spiritual Energy to replenish some of his reserves. He would have taken a pill to help, but he had given all of his possessions to the Onyx Exchange Slate over the past few days, leaving him destitute.

  After an hour of meditation, he managed to gather enough Qi to open the storage ring on his finger. With a flick of his hand, he released the contents of the ring onto the floor beside him. There were fist-sized nodules of Star Iron, a few brightly glowing Mid-Grade Spirit Stones worth thousands of regular Spirit Stones, and a single piece of odd bone that was filled with spiritual energy.

  Unlike the scraps he had collected before, the value of which only mattered to the Onyx Exchange Slate and not the Sect, these materials were proper treasures that would normally be carefully guarded.

  When Luo Feng saw them all piled together, a cold thread of fear ran through him. The Elder overseeing the mines today had been very cautious and alert, inspecting everything that came out with a critical eye. There were even more patrols through the mine to ensure that Disciples didn’t try to hide things away to pick up later.

  He had to use his status, along with a few promises of special privileges being granted in the Sect Master’s name, to make them look the other way. It had worked, but he knew that it would only be a matter of time before things escalated and he was caught stealing.

  The thought made him swallow hard. If the Elders discovered that he had been stealing from the mines, the consequences would be immediate and public. Even his status wouldn’t be enough to protect him.

  Luo Feng forced these worries and doubts away.

  ‘Once the arrow is on the bowstring, it must be shot.” He muttered. Luo Feng had no choice now but to proceed. He was already committed.

  The time left before Bai Xuelian’s departure was dwindling, and he had still made no progress. Worse, he had watched her walking toward the Hot Springs with Jun De just before he returned home, their arms linked and smiling at each other.

  “It’s no time for half-measures. If I feed the Slate enough rare materials at once, it will have to give me something worthy of her!” Luo Feng stated, trying to instill confidence in himself.

  Luo Feng retrieved the Onyx Exchange Slate from his storage ring and placed it on the ground in front of him. He reached over, grabbed the first chunk of ore, placed it on its black surface, and waited until it disappeared, then repeated the process.

  As he worked, the doubts he had pushed aside resurfaced. He couldn’t risk the mines again, and he was out of other options. This was likely to be his last chance before Bai Xuelian left, but the Onyx Exchange Slate provided things at random.

  What would he do if he received something inappropriate or useless?

  Luo Feng ruthlessly shoved the thought aside and scooped up the final handful of ores and placed them on the Slate with shaking hands. He was nervously sweating as he watched the Slate absorb the last material.

  It took a long moment before it reacted.

  A low hum filled the room, deep enough that it vibrated in his bones, and a bright light erupted from the Slate. The Spiritual Energy in the room rose dramatically, spilling from the Slate as a small pill rose from its black surface.

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  The pill hovered above the Onyx Exchange Slate, shimmering with a rainbow light.

  Luo Feng reached a trembling hand out and carefully grasped the pill. The moment his fingers brushed against it, warmth rushed up his arm.

  “Impossible!” Luo Feng’s breath caught in his throat. He recognized this pill from several of the scrolls Senior Brother Qiu Wei had in his alchemy room, although even Qiu Wei had only seen it once.

  “A Foundation Establishment Pill.”

  Luo Feng turned the pill over in his hand, inspecting it with the disbelief of a starving man who had lucked upon a life-saving piece of food. The medicinal fragrance was overwhelmingly strong, with a sharpness to it that stung his nostrils.

  His hands shook so hard that he nearly dropped it.

  Even the biggest and richest Sects would covet such an item. A pill like this was extremely valuable, with ingredients that were rare and a skill required in its refinement that only a Master Pill Refiner could achieve.

  If someone could manage to find a Foundation Establishment Pill for sale, possibly at a high-end Auction or a specialty shop, it would cost tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. That was assuming it didn’t trigger a bidding war between Sects, Clans and rogue cultivators who would be all desperate to obtain it.

  Senior Brother Qiu Wei managed to get one when he reached the 10th Level of Qi Condensation, but had failed to establish his foundation. The Ironvein Quarry Sect was wealthy enough, with skilled Pill Refiners, that they could afford to hand talented Disciples a single Foundation Establishment Pill, but any more than that would be a waste.

  And here one was, sitting in his palm, glowing with a bright inner spiritual energy.

  For a long time, Luo Feng could only stare at it. He didn’t know whether to laugh with joy or covetously hide it away.

  This Foundation Establishment Pill wasn’t just a treasure; it was an opportunity. Luo Feng had no doubt that his Master would grant him another when he reached the 10th Level of Qi Condensation, but that was years away.

  Bai Xuelian would be long gone by then.

  Luo Feng knew that he couldn’t take it himself. He was only at the 6th Level of Qi Condensation, and he had only achieved that level through the use of pills. His foundation was shaky, and he wasn’t confident that he could ever achieve Establishment Foundation in the future.

  But this pill was a power that could be used in more than one way.

  Luo Feng laid the pill carefully into a jade box and closed the lid before placing it in his storage ring. Only when it was safely stored did he remember to breathe once again.

  “If I can’t use this pill myself, then I can use it to shape Jun De’s fate.” Luo Feng said to himself as he thought of a plan for its use.

  “A Foundation Establishment Pill is a spectacle, something that every Sect and Clan in the region would crave to have. If the pill found its way into Jun De’s hands, and I accused him of theft…” Luo Feng’s voice trailed off.

  He could picture Jun De’s face, the look of shock when it was discovered that he had stolen Luo Feng’s Foundation Establishment Pill!

  Luo Feng stood up and began to pace. Ignoring his exhaustion from a brutal day in the mines, he began to formulate a plan.

  “What if I secretly offer the pill to Jun De in exchange for him breaking Bai Xuelian’s heart? Someone like Jun De wouldn’t hesitate to receive a Foundation Establishment Pill. Even if the Tranquil Mountain Sect will give him one, a second will increase his chances to establish his Foundation.”

  “Then, I will go to the Sect Master and say that I confided in Jun De for advice, revealing the Pill, and he assaulted me and took it for himself! It could work…but there is a strong chance that it will result in unforeseen complications.”

  Luo Feng muttered, and he ignored everything around him as his mind whirled through the possibilities.

  “A Foundation Establishment Pill…I could use it as a bribe. Many Seniors would be willing to attack Jun De in exchange for it.” Luo Feng said, listing another use of the Pill.

  If he offered it as a ‘gift’ to the right person and hinted at his hatred of Jun De, the implication would be enough for them to act and still allow him to deny his involvement.

  Luo Feng grinned as his list of options grew.

  Meanwhile, Jun De and Bai Xuelian were just leaving the hot spring. They walked side by side down the stone path back to their residences in slightly awkward silence.

  While he couldn’t be sure what she was thinking, Jun De’s thoughts were filled with images of Bai Xuelian rising from the water of the hot spring, droplets sliding down her pale skin before she wrapped herself in her robe.

  When they reached Jun De’s residence, Bai Xuelian finally turned to speak to him. Her face had regained its cold serenity that was so familiar to him, but had been absent for the past few days.

  “I will be spending my remaining time in the Ironvein Quarry Sect cultivating. Rest well, Junior Brother Jun De.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his cheek before turning and walking away.

  Jun De stood there for a long moment, staring after her. His cheek still tingled where she had kissed him, and the coolness of her body in the spring still lingered in his memory. Yet her words and her frosty demeanour left him feeling slightly adrift.

  Bai Xuelian said she didn’t want a Dao Companion minutes before she joined him in the hot spring. Then, after they had been intimate, she acted as though nothing had happened!

  “And I’m back to being ‘Junior Brother Jun De.’” He muttered softly to himself.

  He let out a slow breath and rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Women are harder to understand than any cultivation technique.”