After a few pleasantries, Shi Yu turned her head to look at Qingzhou. Qingzhou nodded, stepped forward, and brought out the congratulatory gift she had prepared.
The person responsible for recording the gift registry was a senior elder of the Alchemist Association. Smiling warmly, he accepted the gift with both hands, a trace of deference subtly showing in his posture.
In the Origin Realm, strength was paramount, and nobody cared for seniority based on age. Though Shi Yu was young, her cultivation had already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, hardly inferior to the association's elders. Moreover, when it came to her alchemy skills, no one in the association save for President Song could match her—how could anyone not treat her with respect? Attempting to put on airs as a senior would only make one a laughingstock.
The gift was housed inside a wooden box made of Yellow Absolute Wood, which prevented spiritual Qi from leaking out. Buying this single wooden box alone had cost Shi Yu over a thousand low-grade spirit stones. Furthermore, she had meticulously inscribed two restrictions upon it—a Spirit-Stabilizing Restriction and a Spirit-Nurturing Restriction—both designed to preserve the contents for a long time.
Knowing that the contents inside were likely of extraordinary value, the elder took a deep breath and slowly opened the wooden box.
“...”
Upon clearly seeing what lay inside, even though he had mentally prepared himself, he still felt dizzy and dry in the mouth.
Seeing the recording elder react this way, the surrounding onlookers grew curious, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of what was inside. But before anyone could see, with a sharp snap, the elder closed the box and clutched it tightly in his hands, as if terrified that any careless handling might lead to an accident.
“Whoa, what kind of good treasure did Miss Shi pull out?”
“For him to treat it with such gravity, it definitely isn't ordinary...”
All around, inquisitive and probing voices rose and fell.
Filtering out these voices, the elder looked at Shi Yu with an expression of even deeper reverence, then whispered a few words to the disciple responsible for announcing the gifts.
That disciple lacked even more composure; after hearing the words, his eyes went blank for a moment. Only after taking a good while to recover did he swallow hard and announce in an unsteady, ringing voice:
“Welcoming Shi Yu of the Alchemist Association! Miss Shi presents ten high-grade Foundation Establishment Pills and ten high-grade Ailment-Clearing Pills to show her respects!”
The moment the announcement concluded, the crowd erupted into a frenzy.
“Foundation Establishment Pills... High-grade Foundation Establishment Pills?! Th-this...”
“And ten of them at that! What a massive fortune!”
“And those Ailment-Clearing Pills—Miss Shi won first place at the Alchemy Exchange Competition with that very pill! I heard that consuming just one completely eliminates all lingering pill toxicity and chronic ailments!”
“Gasp...”
The eyes of many grew burning hot. If not for President Song's intimidating standing as a Golden Core powerhouse, they might have resorted to snatching it on the spot. Though they barely maintained their composure for now, their gazes were glued to that Yellow Absolute Wood box, unable to look away for even a second.
“With these ten Foundation Establishment Pills, the Alchemist Association will surely gain ten more Foundation Establishment Masters in the future.”
“It truly makes the rest of us green with envy.”
A Foundation Establishment Pill, when consumed by a cultivator at the Qi Refining Realm Great Perfection during a breakthrough, could stabilize the yellow sprout and provide a massive influx of spiritual Qi to help the cultivator successfully establish their foundation. It could be said that as long as one held a single Foundation Establishment Pill, even a low-grade one of the poorest quality could boost the chance of success by twenty percent.
Yet the ten pills Shi Yu presented were all high-grade! With those, a single pill would increase the chance of successful foundation establishment by at least forty percent!
Unless someone had truly abysmal talent and atrocious luck, holding a high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill made success practically a guaranteed deal. Once a cultivator established their foundation, they far surpassed mortal lifespans and truly embarked on the Great Dao of cultivation—how could anyone not be stirred by this?
As for the Ailment-Clearing Pills, rumors claimed that part of the reason President Song had achieved the Golden Core Realm so smoothly was due to them. Which cultivator present didn't suffer from built-up pill toxicity and chronic physical ailments inside their bodies? It was merely a matter of degree, but such impurities invariably affected their state of mind and cultivation. Naturally, those who had already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm coveted the Ailment-Clearing Pills even more.
The recording elder was so nervous and guarded the box so strictly precisely because he understood all too well how irresistibly tempting these two pills were to cultivators.
Under the burning gazes of everyone, Shi Yu said to Qingzhou and the Zhou family, “Let's go inside and take our seats.”
The members of the Zhou family were also dumbfounded. Stifling their shock as best they could, they muttered a few words in response and followed Shi Yu inside.
After entering, Shi Yu casually found an open table and sat down. The others took seats around her in order.
Picking up a piece of pastry from the dish-laden table, Shi Yu began to eat leisurely.
The supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pills she had concocted previously were mostly consumed by herself. These ten high-grade Foundation Establishment Pills were freshly refined. Because she had used the potent spiritual plants grown in the medicinal fields inside the Fate-Tapping Bell to refine pills for her own consumption, the remaining ones hadn't been nurtured long enough. Their medicinal potency was slightly inferior, resulting in only high-grade pills.
Nevertheless, to anyone else, a high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill was an exceptionally rare treasure that only appeared once or twice every few centuries.
As for the Ailment-Clearing Pills, she had previously instructed Mo Tong to search for the main ingredient, Ice Marrow. When Mo Tong commissioned the task to various auction houses and merchant guilds, the managers took it extremely seriously upon learning she was the buyer, delivering the goods the moment stock became available.
Shi Yu had refined all of it into Ailment-Clearing Pills. In addition to these ten, she had a dozen more. The other three associations had also received a few each, though those were private transactions unknown to ordinary people.
Although presenting these twenty pills in total served to bolster the Alchemist Association's prestige, her primary intent stemmed from considerations for the association's future growth.
Now that she had reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, she would soon be leaving Lingtai Prefecture. Naturally, she hoped the association would continue to thrive.
This place was practically a home to her, a place where she had gained much, so she felt compelled to give back. It was not just the Alchemist Association; she had also prepared parting gifts for the other three associations.
“The presidents of the other associations all allowed me to view the Legacy of Subtle Wonders in their respective associations. I can't just take so many benefits for free...”
Shi Yu shook her head slightly while conversing with Qingzhou and the Zhou family. When anyone stepped forward to strike up a conversation, she put on no airs and chatted pleasantries with them.
Seeing that almost all seats at the banquet were now filled, she no longer showed an inclination to chat, so those who had hoped to approach and curry favor tactfully refrained from bothering her.
Speaking no more, Shi Yu turned her gaze toward the high platform, quietly awaiting the formal commencement of the ceremony.
Finally, the auspicious hour arrived, and the melodious chiming of bells and gongs resonated through the air.
Accompanied by this divine, ethereal music, dense mist surged behind the mountain peak, and several immense pressure fields leaked out. Though it lasted only for an instant, all the cultivators present understood that the ancient ancestors of Lingtai Prefecture—who had reached the Golden Core Realm centuries ago and remained in secluded cultivation year-round—had likely arrived to observe the ceremony, even if they chose not to appear in person.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, President Song floated down from midair. With a wave of his sleeve, he ignited the ritual altar at the peak. Instantly, roaring flames burst forth, transforming into a fiery dragon that coiled in the sky.
President Song produced a jade flask from his robes and poured a cup of immortal nectar. Holding it high above his head, he tossed the cup upward. The fire dragon opened its mouth and swallowed it whole before releasing an earth-shaking roar, spraying countless sparks in all directions that illuminated the entire sky.
As the sparks vanished, President Song began to recite his proclamation to Heaven and Earth.
“...All things between Heaven and Earth possess spiritual Qi. Cultivators take spiritual Qi as their foundation, spells as their Dao, pills as their aid, artifacts as their support, arrays as their power, and talismans as their utility. Today, I hold this Golden Core Ceremony, respectfully inviting Heaven and Earth as witnesses, gods and ghosts as beholders, and all living beings as celebrants...”
Shi Yu watched as the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth gathered toward the altar, forming a mysterious rune pattern. As President Song's recitations rang out, a dazzling golden light erupted from the peak, illuminating the entire mountain top—a true resonance with the Heavenly Dao.
Everyone held their breath in rapt attention, their hearts filled with awe.
At last, President Song knelt on the altar and spoke solemnly in a ringing voice:
“To the Grandmasters above, I bow in reverence!”
“To all things of Heaven and Earth above, I bow in reverence!”
...
Each chanted bow was accompanied by a booming wave of spiritual power that shook the four directions. All the cultivators present knelt and bowed alongside President Song, creating a grand and magnificent scene.
When he finished, the chiming of bells and gongs slowly faded away, leaving a solemn and majestic atmosphere enveloping the mountain.
President Song rose to his feet, turned toward the thousands of guests, and smiled. “Having achieved the Golden Core Realm, I wish to share this joy with all of you and advance in the Dao together!”
This was a tradition of such grand ceremonies: after a breakthrough, the cultivator would hold a sermon to lecture on the Dao and share their experiences, serving to build goodwill with all.
With this, the ritual of the Golden Core Ceremony was complete. All that remained was for the gathered guests to clink glasses, feast, and converse joyfully.
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