The Price of a Pill

“I have never seen a Foundation Establishment Pill with my own eyes, but I know its value and importance all too well,” Han Li thought with a cold sneer. “Think about it. At the Heavenly Mist Terrace Ascension Assembly, nearly a thousand cultivators fight to the death on the dueling platform. For what? Isn’t it mostly for the temptation of a Foundation Establishment Pill? And this ‘Elder Ye’ plans to trade it away with just some spirit stones and magical tools? Does he really take me for some greenhorn who just left his village?”

Despite his thoughts, the expression on Han Li’s face had recovered its respectful composure, as if he were earnestly absorbing the elder’s words.

Elder Ye was quite pleased with Han Li’s performance. After all, this future fellow disciple had not flatly refused the moment he heard about exchanging the Foundation Establishment Pill. It seemed there was still plenty of room to negotiate.

He had never truly expected to secure the Foundation Establishment Pill with the offer he had just made. Unless one was an utter fool, no one would trade away something so precious for such a paltry sum. His opening words had only been a feeler, a stone cast to test the waters.

But seeing the other party’s attitude now, it seemed he was not entirely against the idea of a trade. This made his heart soar with joy!

As long as the other party was willing to trade, the old man was absolutely confident that he could meet whatever terms were demanded to secure this pill. Thinking this, the smile on Elder Ye’s face grew even warmer, and he found Han Li’s appearance much more agreeable than before.

“Disciple Han, I presume you are already aware of your own spiritual root attributes. To be frank, given your aptitude, even if you were to take this Foundation Establishment Pill, the hope of successfully establishing your foundation would be exceedingly slim. At most, the pill would serve to enhance your magical power, allowing you to advance your foundational cultivation technique by two or three layers. That would be an outright waste of this pill! For you, it would be far more prudent to exchange it for something of more practical use. If you were to...” The elder began his unending stream of persuasion.

On the surface, Han Li appeared to be listening attentively to Elder Ye’s long-winded lecture, but in his mind, he was already analyzing and weighing the matter, constantly calculating the pros and cons.

To be honest, he was well aware that what the other party said was true. The odds of successfully breaking through to Foundation Establishment by consuming just a single pill were, indeed, infinitesimal. Yet, the thought of simply handing over the Foundation Establishment Pill so easily was utterly unacceptable to him. After all, even if the odds were low, wasn’t there still that slight, faint possibility of success?

However, if he did not concede the pill to Elder Ye, his days in Yellow Maple Valley would certainly become difficult. There was a high chance he would make an enemy of this man for no good reason. And judging by appearances, Elder Ye seemed to hold considerable real power within the sect. If that were the case, the situation would be even worse.

“Elder Ye, may I ask for whom this Foundation Establishment Pill is being sought? This disciple assumes that you, elder, no longer have any personal use for it,” Han Li asked after a long moment of thought, deciding to probe the other’s intentions first.

Though Han Li had interrupted his speech, the old man did not look displeased. After a moment’s hesitation upon hearing this question, he decided to answer.

“Since you have asked, Disciple Han, this elder sees no reason to hide it. This Foundation Establishment Pill is being sought for my grand-nephew. I hope you would grant this humble request.”

Hearing this, Han Li could only smile bitterly inwardly.

‘A grand-nephew,’ he thought. ‘That is a fairly close relationship. For him to go to such lengths, lowering himself to bargain with a junior like me, that grand-nephew must be his favorite. If I truly refuse, it would absolutely infuriate him. Then I could kiss my peaceful days in Yellow Maple Valley goodbye. I can only grit my teeth and agree. As for my own Foundation Establishment, I will just have to find another way later. I still have that mysterious little vial. As long as I have a recipe and enough time, what pill could I possibly fail to concoct?’

Having weighed the pros and cons, Han Li made up his mind. However, he was still determined to make the old man bleed a little. So he put on a troubled expression, his face lined with difficulty.

“Elder, please understand that this disciple does not intend to be disrespectful. This Foundation Establishment Pill is of the utmost importance to me as well. Even if my aptitude is somewhat lacking, is there not still a glimmer of hope? If I were to abandon this chance at Foundation Establishment now, I would truly be cutting myself off from the Great Path for the rest of my life!”

Elder Ye sneered inwardly at this. ‘With an aptitude like yours, daring to think of the Great Path. How utterly foolish.’

But on the surface, he continued his patient persuasion from all angles, making many hollow promises. He steadily increased the pressure to shake Han Li’s resolve, pushing him to agree to the exchange.

After hearing these empty words, Han Li sneered to himself. However, his own words grew weaker and more hesitant, which only emboldened the old man to raise his offers higher and higher.

“Disciple Han! If you are willing to cede the Foundation Establishment Pill, this elder can let you pick whatever sect duties you please!” Seeing that Han Li seemed to be on the verge of agreement, Old Ye finally played his trump card.

“Sect duties?” This time, Han Li was truly taken aback.

“Indeed. You see, all low-level disciples of Yellow Maple Valley must complete a certain amount of assigned work each month. For instance, supervising the miners at a few ore sites, serving as a steward at the sect’s market, tending to the spiritual birds and beasts in the valley, or cultivating spirit herbs and rare medicines. There are all sorts of duties. Based on the completion of these tasks, the sect distributes some low-level spirit stones as a reward at the end of the month. And this elder is the valley’s supervisor in charge of distributing these tasks. So Disciple Han, if there is any type of work you fancy, this elder only needs to speak a single word to make it happen.” Elder Ye puffed out his chest a little as he said this, looking for all the world like a man of great authority.

Han Li was speechless. It seemed that wherever one went, there were always those who used their power for personal gain. Even a major cultivating sect like Yellow Maple Valley was not exempt.

However, when the other party had mentioned the work of cultivating rare medicines, it had caught Han Li’s interest. He felt that this task was practically tailor-made for him. Besides, the other party had already promised quite a few benefits. If he continued to drag things out, he might come across as too greedy. It was better to settle while the getting was good.

With this in mind, Han Li put on an expression of having finally been convinced. With a tone of slight grievance, he addressed the elder.

“Since Elder Ye has been so forthright, it would be too disrespectful if this disciple continued to refuse. As long as you, elder, truly keep to the terms you have just stated, then this disciple will let this Foundation Establishment Pill pass on to your grand-nephew. I hope he will succeed in establishing his foundation!”

The old man was overjoyed by these words. He immediately began to give his solemn guarantee.

“Rest assured, Disciple Han. This elder’s words carry weight. However, when we see the Sect Leader later, you can mention the transactions made in plain sight. But it would be best not to mention those private conditions I have promised.”

Han Li smiled knowingly. He was more than happy to agree.

“Please be at ease, elder. This disciple understands the situation well. I would not be so foolish as to do something like that.”

Upon hearing this, the old man beamed with joy, immensely satisfied with Han Li’s compliance.