Breakthrough Materials

A set of 36 small plates and 9 large formation plates were out on display. Each small plate had a different constellation and the big ones had 9 different parts of a star map.

This is a Star Sky Gathering Formation, a top tier Formation used that gathers star power which strengthens the Foundation.

Despite being the best Formation one can use for Foundation Establishments, no one bought it for 2 reasons.

One, the cost itself is enough to turn away 70% of people who are attempting to break through, Two, star power is an odd substance that no one quite understands. While it does strengthen the Foundation greatly, it makes the Core Formation bottleneck much stronger.

This wouldn't be enough to turn away Heavenly Geniuses though, as they are more than capable of shattering their strengthened Foundation Pillars and form the core but for common people, a Foundation too strong will prevent them from breaking through.

Bai Hu stood a few meters away and pondered. 5000 spirit stones is a hefty sum that amounts to a quarter of his current spirit stones. But if he used this Formation, his 4 Foundation Pillars will be strong beyond compare, making his qi reserves and strength boundless.

He walked up to the stall to get a closer look at the Formation and was surprised to see that the person selling it was a young man dressed in a tattered robe. The hood covered half his face and a simple spell distorted the rest of it. Of course, Bai Hu could still tell that it was a young man even with all these layers.

"Excuse me"

The young man flinched and looked at Bai Hu warily, "5000 spirit stones or something of equal value. Take it or leave it"

Bai Hu looked at the Formation. The plates look new and unused and the energy fluctuations match the description of it in the jade slip.

"I can guarantee that the items I put out are all authentic and there shouldn't be anything wrong with it"

The man then took out a blank piece of paper, "Though I must warn you, this Formation was obtained by me through some... underhanded means, though the person deserved it! I swear! We can sign a contract just in case"

Bai Hu pondered over this in his head. The Formation was likely to be real and untampered with, but its origins were unknown. If he happens to offend a powerful figure by buying and using this Formation, then he might be screwed.

"Fine"

Bai Hu took out a spatial pouch, "In here are 3500 spirit stones and 2 low grade magic treasures. I hope that's enough?"

The young man perked up, "Yes! Yes of course! Now the contract..."

"Is unnecessary"

Bai Hu handed over the spatial pouch, letting the man confirm that everything was in order before letting him take the Formation Plates.

After they've made their transaction, Bai Hu bid farewell. He then spent the rest of the day buying large amounts of elemental spirit stones for his own use and inquiring about a few items that he did not find.

The next day, he went to the Alchemist's Pavilion to find a skilled alchemist. He looked at the list of available alchemists and finally chose a rather experienced Gold Core realm alchemist.

"Senior Hui"

Bai Hu stood up and bowed respectfully to an elderly man with graying hair. The man waved his hand and sat down in a chair.

"No need for the formalities. The rules are dead, and people are alive"

Bai Hu took the hint and sat down before taking out a spatial pouch, "I hoped that Senior would help me refine a few Foundation Establishment pills and a large quantity of Foundation Building pills"

Senior Hui took the pouch and looked inside. Inside were dozens of sets of medical herbs used in the refinement of these 2 pills.

"5 Foundation Establishment pills and 100 Foundation Building pills. Senior can keep the remaining sets of herbs and count that as payment"

"Hm... Alright. Is there anything else?"

Bai Hu seemed to expect this question and immediately answered, "I wonder if Senior has any Star Stones or have information regarding them"

"Star Stones?"

Senior Hui stroked his beard as he tried to remember what these Star Stones were. Bai Hu realized that not many people knew what they were and decided that it would have been better to ask his Master instead.

Senior Hui's eyes finally lit up after a few moments, much to Bai Hu's surprise, "Oh! I remember now, I happen to have a few in my possession actually"

He took out a handful of sparkling stones from his spatial pouch, much to Bai Hu's delight.

The smallest ones were like grains of sand while the largest were the size of a pebble. This wasn't nearly enough for what Bai Hu was trying to do but it was a start.

He bowed and respectfully asked if he could buy it off Senior Hui.

"If you have a few more sets of herbs I could give you all these stones. To be honest, they've been rotting away in my spatial pouch for god knows how long. Just 2 sets will do"

Bai Hu immediately agreed and took out 2 extra sets of medical herbs. He knew that spirit stones wouldn't move an alchemist as much as herbs that can be used to hone their skills and so he saved a few sets just in case. According to his Master, the best jobs require burning money to become an expert.

Senior Hui handed the stones over and told Bai Hu that the Hall of Treasures might have some more, though that is just his speculation.

Bai Hu thanked the man and left the Alchemist's Pavilion. He then flew to the Hall of Treasures as Senior Hui had recommended.

However, after an entire afternoon of searching he only managed to obtain another pebble sized piece of Star Stone. Dejected, he flew home while studying a piece of Star Stone.

According to legend, Star Stones were formed by the power of a constellation and a meteorite. When a meteorite passes by a set of stars, it might be bestowed with the unique energy of those stars. The now blessed meteorites will carry that energy and potentially land on their realm.

This is one of the reasons that Star Stones are rare. The chances of a meteorite landing in one piece is miniscule, and the chances of it containing constellation energy is even slimmer.

The pebble sized piece in Bai Hu's hands looked like an ordinary dull rock. But if one looked closely, they would find that it contained a very faint blue light and occasionally sparkled. If his eyes didn't deceive him, then Bai Hu was sure that the sparkles formed a specific constellation.

He took out a different rock that was of similar size and found that this one was slightly red in color and had a different constellation pattern.

Bai Hu put both stones away and looked up. He had arrived at Arching Waters Peak where his Master usually resides.

He entered and was met with the familiar scent of alcohol. There weren't as many people today compared with the last time he was here, but Zhong Xian surprisingly wasn't here.

Bai Hu walked towards an elder that was still sober and asked him where his Master was.

"Elder Xian? I think he was sent on a reconnaissance mission not too long ago. I heard that it might take a week or 2"

"I see, thank you"

Bai Hu gloomily went back to Thunderwind Peak. His Master most likely knew where he could get some Star Stones and might even have a few in his possession.

After a while, Bai Hu decided to go to the Mission Hall and do a few missions to kill time.

He hadn't done any missions yet because the Outer Court missions are all mostly worthless. They are mostly meant for poorer and less talented disciples to get a few spirit stones or contributions that they can use to buy cultivation materials.

Bai Hu certainly didn't need to do any missions until he reached the Inner Court, but now he had nothing better to do.

Flying west, he arrived on a relatively short mountain holding a single building. There were quite a few Outer Court Disciples hanging around a long building devoid of any decorations. In fact, a few of the walls seem so weak that they might just crumble soon.

He walked inside the dilapidated building and looked at the missions written down on paper and plastered onto boards, reminding Bai Hu of secular world mercenary boards.

The missions on the outside were all boring and required a long time to complete, so Bai Hu went deeper in where there were fewer people.

The deeper one walks into a mission hall, the more difficult the missions are, and so most ordinary Outer Court Disciples would wait on the outside until the missions get reset every week to grab the good ones.

The missions on the inner areas of the hall were much more difficult and sometimes even life threatening.

Obtain 10 Qi Gathering Demonic Tree Fruits

Reward: 10 Contribution Points

Obtain 3 beast cores of an Earth Burrowing Ant

Reward: 10 Contribution Points

Extract the Silken Water Pearl of an Illusive Water Eel

Reward: 15 Contribution Points

Unbeknownst to Bai Hu, a figure shrouded in darkness was watching him take all the hunting missions. After a few moments, it melted away into the nearest wall and disappeared.