Chapter 30

"Congratulations, Senior Sister! Not only are you about to lay the foundation, but you will also become a disciple of the Golden Core Elder, truly a boundless future!" Lin Haoming looked at Xie Ruolan, who was still as beautiful as ever, but his words were devoid of any emotion.

He knew that speaking to Xie Ruolan like this was a clear sign of his dissatisfaction, but he couldn't help it.

Xie Ruolan looked at Lin Haoming with a smile, even propping her round chin with both hands, and after staring at him for a while, she said in a teasing tone, "Oh! You're angry! It was clearly you who discovered the spirit stone mine, and you could have laid the foundation and been taken in as a disciple by the Golden Core Elder, but now you have nothing. If it were me, I'd be angry too!"

Seeing Xie Ruolan's unbothered expression, Lin Haoming couldn't suppress his anger and said, "What are you here for today? To give me a benefit and make me keep quiet?"

"Do I need to make you keep quiet? Would you dare to spread the news?" Xie Ruolan retorted.

Lin Haoming knew that Xie Ruolan was right. He could only swallow his anger and keep quiet. If he really spread the news, he might not even know how he would die.

Seeing Lin Haoming's frustrated look, Xie Ruolan felt an unusual excitement. It seemed that seeing him suffer and being bullied made her feel particularly good, even better than when she heard she would be taken in as a disciple by the Golden Core Elder.

Unable to speak out about his suffering, Lin Haoming had even thought about leaving the sect again. The token given to him by Ling Shengjie allowed him to leave the sect directly, but if he really left, especially right after discovering the spirit stone mine, he probably wouldn't get far. Lin Haoming could only suppress this thought and continue to stay and suffer.

"Here, for you!" At this moment, Xie Ruolan flipped her hand, and a small bottle appeared, which she threw directly to Lin Haoming.

Lin Haoming caught it, opened it, and was surprised. He then took out the single pill inside and, looking at the clear and lustrous pill, exclaimed in disbelief, "A Foundation Establishment Pill!"

"Good to know!" Xie Ruolan, seeing Lin Haoming's surprised look, proudly crossed her legs.

Lin Haoming put the pill back into the bottle and asked, somewhat puzzled, "This is for me?"

"If you don't want it, I can give it to someone else, no problem," Xie Ruolan said indifferently.

Lin Haoming immediately put the Foundation Establishment Pill away and his discontented expression softened. He asked, "Is this a reward for you?"

"Yes, Senior An of the Sect Head gave each of us three Foundation Establishment Pills. If we still can't lay the foundation, we can ask for more!" Xie Ruolan said.

"You're giving me one before you've even tried to lay the foundation? Aren't you afraid you won't have enough later?" Lin Haoming asked, somewhat surprised.

Xie Ruolan replied confidently, "I've already kept one as a backup. If I still can't lay the foundation with this, I might as well give up!"

Lin Haoming hadn't expected Xie Ruolan to be so strict with herself. Thinking about it, she only needed two Foundation Establishment Pills to ensure her success, while he, even with two more, had no confidence at all.

"Alright, stop making that sour face. Don't be resentful. Back then, if only you and I reported the matter, we might have only gotten one or two Foundation Establishment Pills each. By involving those two, the elders of both sides naturally put in more effort. Otherwise, do you think the reward would be so heavy? Although it's a spirit stone mine worth thirty million spirit stones, it's not in our Blood Refinement Sect's territory but at the intersection of three sects. Now, the three sects are fighting over this spirit stone mine," Xie Ruolan explained, though her tone still seemed dismissive.

Lin Haoming wasn't stupid. Thinking about Xie Ruolan's words, he realized she was right. Even back then, Xie Ruolan was willing to bring him along to share the benefits, but Kong Yuanliang and Ling Shengjie didn't think much of him and didn't want to share the benefits with an extra person.

Now that Lin Haoming understood, he wasn't as angry with Xie Ruolan. Even looking at her pouting face, he found her particularly cute and charming, almost a bit heartwarming.

Realizing this, Lin Haoming felt a mix of amusement and frustration. He had always found her annoying, but now, after letting go of his resentment, he found her cute again. He was indeed quite shameless, but he also realized that this woman was indeed very capable, always showing her most attractive side and making it hard to resent her.

"I remember that inner sect disciples, after reaching the peak of the Qi Condensation stage and feeling capable, can exchange spirit stones for Foundation Establishment Pills, right? One pill for ten thousand spirit stones!" Lin Haoming asked.

"You're well-informed. Yes, you can exchange, but besides enough spirit stones, you also need sect contributions. To exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill, you need one hundred sect contributions. Do you have them?" Xie Ruolan asked.

"Sect contributions, I've heard of them! How do you earn them?" Lin Haoming asked with a bitter smile.

"By completing sect tasks or providing items the sect needs. For example, each Red Leaf Mountain trip yields a Red Sun Ginseng. A full cycle (sixty years) earns you one sect contribution, and a three-hundred-year-old one earns you ten. The most direct way is to pay spirit stones, one hundred spirit stones for one contribution. So, in a sense, you could pay twenty thousand spirit stones to get one," Xie Ruolan explained.

"Twenty thousand spirit stones!" Lin Haoming had the Spirit Gathering Pearl, but even with that, he would need to save for four and a half years to gather twenty thousand spirit stones, and that's if he didn't use any.

Moreover, if he really managed to save that much, as an outer sect disciple, suddenly taking out twenty thousand spirit stones to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill would surely draw unwanted attention.

"I had accumulated enough contributions and spirit stones for the Foundation Establishment, but now that I've received the sect's reward, if I go to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill, it would be misunderstood, and I have no reason to exchange all my savings for you," Xie Ruolan said.

"Then why did you say that?" Lin Haoming pouted.

Seeing Lin Haoming's frustrated look, Xie Ruolan was delighted and said with a smile, "As your senior sister, or future aunt, I'm naturally here to show you a clear path!"

"What path?" Lin Haoming asked curiously.

Xie Ruolan then said mysteriously, "Because of the location of the spirit stone mine, after some discussion, the three sects decided to each take thirty percent, and the remaining ten percent will be contested by their Qi Condensation disciples!"

"What does that mean?" Lin Haoming asked.

"I heard that each sect will send three hundred Qi Condensation disciples into the spirit stone mine for three days. The sect whose disciples mine the most spirit stones will get the last ten percent!" Xie Ruolan explained.

"Ah! Won't this lead to a massive battle among the three sects' disciples? Three hundred people going in, and only thirty might come out!" Lin Haoming exclaimed.

"Yes, but the sect has also prepared generous rewards. The top three contributors will each receive three Foundation Establishment Pills, the next three will get two, and the next three will get one. As long as you survive, you will receive additional rewards," Xie Ruolan said.

Hearing about three Foundation Establishment Pills, Lin Haoming's eyes lit up. If he could really get three Foundation Establishment Pills, along with some other methods, he might have a chance to succeed in laying the foundation!

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