My dreams can simulate the future.

Chapter 90 Master of Drawing a Pie in the Sky

Jiang Chen didn't know what to say about Yuan Fu Zhenren's praise, but simply maintained a half-bowed posture.

Master Yuanfu smiled and waved his hand: "No need for formalities here."

"I remember Changzhou saying that you have a second-grade upper dantian spiritual aperture. It is truly not easy to cultivate to the eighth level of Qi Refining in your early thirties."

However, your magical power seems somewhat weak; could it be that you've consumed too many elixirs?

Jiang Chen immediately replied, "In response to your question, Master, I have indeed consumed quite a few Spirit Gathering Pills."

I heard before that the sect plans to develop the ancient ruins of the Poison Dragon Swamp, which will probably require quite a few Qi Refining cultivators.

"Since the sect can't exchange Foundation Establishment Pills right now, I'd like to venture into the ruins."

If we can achieve some merit, obtaining Foundation Establishment Pills will likely be much easier.

"It's just that my cultivation level is too low, so I want to improve it before heading to the ruins."

Master Yuanfu stroked his long beard: "You do have ambition, but those ancient ruins are extremely dangerous."

Even seasoned Qi Refining Peak experts would likely perish if they entered.

"Although you are a rogue cultivator, you grew up in the Black Stone Mountain Market and have never made a living in the forest. You have little experience in combat."

Entering those ancient ruins would likely mean a near-certain death.

Having grown up in Blackstone Mountain Town, cultivators who have never been in battle generally do not have much experience in combat.

But Jiang Chen was different; he honed his combat experience little by little by using the black wolf as a whetstone.

Black Wolf is a ruthless individual who can escape from the hands of Foundation Establishment cultivators. He has killed him more than three hundred times, so his skill level is beyond doubt.

With all the magical artifacts and talismans he possessed, he truly feared no one below the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, now that Master Yuanfu has said this, he can't directly refute it.

"Although I haven't experienced much fighting, I am a rogue cultivator and know how difficult it is to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."

With this disciple's talent, the chances of reaching Foundation Establishment through methodical cultivation are too slim; we can only take a gamble.

Master Yuanfu nodded repeatedly: "Not bad, you have ambition. In the path of cultivation, talent is certainly important, but the importance of character should not be underestimated."

If you can make great contributions in the ancient ruins, I will accept you as my personal disciple.

Whether it's Foundation Establishment or Core Formation later, I will do my best to help you.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen immediately bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Hall Master."

Master Yuanfu nodded: "Go, cultivate diligently, and strive to shine brightly among the ancient cultivation ruins."

Jiang Chen bowed and said, "This disciple takes his leave."

After saying that, he left directly.

At this moment, he was very disappointed, and his evaluation of Master Yuanfu dropped several levels.

"Seeing that my magical power is weak and that I have no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, they don't want to accept me as a nominal disciple. This matter can be stated directly."

After all, the previous rule was that only those who could draw a second-grade, low-level talisman during the Qi Refining stage and had a chance of Foundation Establishment could become a disciple of the hall master.

They dared not say it outright, yet they tricked me into risking my life at ancient sites.

If I truly achieve great merit in the ancient ruins and return alive, obtaining the Foundation Establishment Pill will be a piece of cake.

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator, as long as they have even the slightest strength, has a considerable chance of becoming a direct disciple of a Core Formation cultivator, regardless of which hall they belong to. Do you really need to reward them?"

These empty promises reminded Jiang Chen of his past life as a beast of burden.

How can you run a proper talisman hall while dealing with such insects?

On the other side, after seeing Jiang Chen leave, Guo Lang immediately asked, "Master, Jiang Chen has an exceptional talent in the art of talismans."

Moreover, his talent for alchemy is even stronger than his talent for talismans. A year ago, he came to me for advice on alchemy, and now he's already selling Spirit Gathering Pills every day.

"It's very difficult to buy Spirit Gathering Pills within the sect now. The fact that his cultivation level can still improve so quickly means that he has consumed quite a few of the pills he refined."

However, there was no trace of accumulated poison on his body, which meant that he could at least consistently refine high-quality pills.

"If such talent is properly nurtured, its potential after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage will be limitless."

Alchemists at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage also have the opportunity to refine third-grade pills.

Both the Talisman Hall and the Guardian Hall have some alchemists, but none of them can refine grade three pills now.

Master Yuanfu shook his head: "Although this boy has good talent in all arts, his talent in cultivation is really too poor."

Even three to five Foundation Establishment Pills might not be enough for him to successfully establish his foundation. With his talent, even if he succeeds, it will be difficult for him to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

This person has little potential for development; it would be better to use these Foundation Establishment Pills to cultivate a few skilled Foundation Establishment cultivators.

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Jiang Chen ended the dream simulation and returned to the real world.

He thought to himself, "I originally thought that Master Yuanfu, as the second-in-command of the outsider faction, should be a man of great stature, just like Master Tiejian."

Unexpectedly, this person turned out to be nothing more than a profit-driven, smooth-talking scoundrel.

Such a person lacks willpower. Once the outsiders encounter setbacks, he will most likely switch sides to the loyalists in exchange for some benefits.

As for the disciples of the Talisman Hall, he probably won't care.

"My joining the talisman hall may not be a wise choice."

But I was recommended by Steward Zhao. If I were to abandon the Talisman Hall and join the Guardian Hall, it would be too ungrateful.

"Debts of gratitude are hard to repay!"

"Fine, I'll find a way to repay Manager Zhao's favor later, then I'll look for a chance to slip away."

"Since even creating a second-grade talisman won't get me the status of a nominal disciple, I can completely keep this a secret."

"The direct descendants will definitely participate in this exploration of the ancient ruins."

At that time, they will not only face various dangers within the ruins, but also betrayal from both the direct line and neutral factions.

Having a second-grade talisman hidden away now can be very useful in crucial moments.

"I can't just draw these second-grade talismans myself; having only first-grade second-grade talismans isn't enough."

Those guys from the direct lineage are all related to the Core Formation cultivators in the sect. Which family didn't have a few Core Formation cultivators in their ancestors?

They all possessed, to varying degrees, life-saving items left behind by Core Formation cultivators, and some might even have talismanic treasures.

"Although I have a talisman, I only have one. Since I can't buy the array diagram, I'll use talismans to make up for it. I still need to buy some mid-grade and high-grade second-rank talismans."

Over the years, I've accumulated over 100,000 spirit stones. But I'm all alone; without Foundation Establishment Pills or other Foundation Establishment items, no amount of spirit stones will be of any use.

Thinking of this, Jiang Chen immediately left his small courtyard and headed to the Trade Department of the Talisman Hall.

Foreign trade by foreigners was under the jurisdiction of the Fu Lu Tang.

Normally, the talismans and other resources produced by outsiders are either sold to the direct line of the sect or received by the Commerce Department and sold to various markets.

Although the Trade and Commerce Department is not as large as the Trade and Commerce Hall of the Golden Cauldron Sect, it still has quite a few shops, and some of them have even opened outside the territory of the Golden Cauldron Sect.

When Jiang Chen arrived at the Commerce Department, a junior manager in the late Qi Refining stage immediately came to greet him.

"Senior Brother Jiang, you're a rare guest! Do you have more pills or talismans for sale?"

Jiang Chen refines Spirit Gathering Pills every day. He keeps the high-quality pills for himself and sells the ordinary and defective ones to the Trading Company.

Over the past year, the Commerce and Trade Bureau has made a considerable amount of spirit stones from him.

Jiang Chen waved his hand: "In addition to my usual business dealings in pills and talismans, I also want to purchase some mid-to-high-grade second-rank talismans and rechargeable magic artifacts this time."