Zhao Di sent Jian Xiner back to Tie Chuanfeng and immediately returned to the Alchemy Room.

  He eagerly put the Yijin Pill into the small cauldron to cultivate it, then took out a high-grade Water Spirit Stone and sat down in meditation.

  Half a month later, relying on the powerful medicinal properties of the Easy Tendon Pill and the assistance of the High-Grade Water Spirit Stone, Zhao Di successfully broke through the bottleneck of the 11th layer of the Qi Refining stage, becoming a cultivator with a basic cultivation method that reached the 12th layer.

  Even among the outer disciples of Tai Xuan Men, a 12th-level cultivator can still rank in the middle to upper level. Adding that he has several top-grade artifacts on him, he believes that during the foundation-building trial, as long as his luck isn't too bad and he doesn't run into one of the few peak Qi-refining stage seniors, he still has a great chance of getting a Foundation Establishment Pill.

  Especially when he discovered that his spiritual consciousness was extremely powerful. He could even operate three top-grade artifacts at the same time without any confusion, and he didn't know if it was because he had complete memories and thinking abilities from his past life of over 20 years since childhood, or because he had taken a considerable amount of nourishing spirit pills. Or maybe it was both reasons, Zhao Di didn't investigate further.

  There are only three months left before the foundation is built, and it's unrealistic to think about preparing any secret tricks or improving cultivation. However, Zhao Di was not the kind of person who put all his eggs in one basket, having a few more tricks up his sleeve would always be better than none.

  In such a short period of time, what can be prepared well and is very helpful for comparison is undoubtedly the production of talismans. Moreover, Zhao Di didn't plan to produce high-level talismans in the Qi Refining stage, but instead continued to produce a batch of mid-level talismans. Zhao Di felt more and more that using talismans during battles was really too convenient, being both quick and not consuming too much spiritual power. If multiple or even dozens of talismans were used simultaneously, their power would be very strong. More importantly, talismans are a very common item, so even if dozens were used at once, people would only think Zhao Di was being extravagant and wasteful, and wouldn't associate it with other more complex factors.

  It can be said that the only drawback of talismans is that they are consumable items. Using a little less, it's not very meaningful, and using too much is simply burning money! For ordinary cultivators, having a few talismans on hand to play some role in critical moments is already quite good. As for Zhao Di, who often takes out dozens of talismans to attack people, he is probably the first person in history to do so.

  In order to be as low-key as possible, Zhao Di's plan was to try to resolve the battle with his magic tools and occasionally use some talismans. Unless it was a critical moment, he wouldn't reveal a large number of talismans to intimidate people; even when using magic tools, he would only use one or two at most. In short, if he could pretend to be weak, he would do so, and only when there was no other way to win the trial would he resort to his ultimate move - simultaneously operating three top-grade magic tools or throwing out a large number of talismans.

  Two months before the foundation establishment trial, another trading conference was held in Kui Ling Street. The scale of the shops and the number of participants in this conference were several times that of the previous ones. It is clear that many outer door disciples who have not yet had a satisfactory magic weapon want to seize this last opportunity to exchange for a handy magic weapon, enhance their strength, and increase their chances of winning in the foundation establishment trial by a few points.

  So at this time, the businessmen on Kui Ridge Street would also go all out to get a batch of high-quality French wares, causing a scramble among the outer door disciples, and often selling them for several points higher than usual, making a fortune.

  Apart from the law enforcement equipment, other items that are helpful for the law enforcement are also selling well, such as talismans. The mid-grade talismans of the Refining Qi period, which were originally sold for six or seven spirit stones each, are now being sold for eight or nine spirit stones each. As for the high-grade talismans of the Refining Qi period, their prices have risen to forty to fifty spirit stones each, and once they appear on the market, they are immediately snapped up.

  Even mid-grade spirit stones have risen in price! Normally, one mid-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for 105 low-grade spirit stones. But now, even on Collapsing Ridge Street, it's hard to exchange 110 low-grade spirit stones for a single mid-grade spirit stone.

  This is because when the cultivators of the same level are competing, and their magic tools are also comparable, it's easy to fall into a stalemate where both sides are vying for spiritual energy. If at this time, one can hold a mid-grade spirit stone instead of a low-grade one to replenish spiritual energy in a timely manner, the chances of winning will increase greatly. Many cultivators who usually don't use mid-grade spirit stones also prepare two or three pieces at this time. This creates a situation where mid-grade spirit stones are particularly scarce for a while.

  There are also some items that have not risen in price, but instead fallen. The Wash Marrow Dan and the Easy Tendon Pill, which are types of solid foundation-building pills that improve one's innate talent, are among them. After all, there are only two months left, and it is unrealistic to rely on a limited number of pills to raise one's cultivation by another level. It would be better to use the limited amount of spiritual stones to exchange for artifacts or talismans with more direct effects.

  As a result, the normally invisible Yijin Pills have somehow appeared on the market for sale. On the other hand, some medicinal pellets that are usually hard to sell and can replenish spiritual energy and physical strength in a short period of time have become extremely popular.

  This kind of elixir is usually not used at all, and it's also not cheap, so nobody buys it. But during the trial period, sales become very good. Because during the trial, you won't have a chance to rest and recover your physical and spiritual energy through meditation.

  Zhao Di just roughly turned around in Kualing Street and had already analyzed the reasons for these price changes.

  He didn't idle either, first purchasing a large batch of talismans and cinnabar for making mid-grade talismans during the Refining Qi period, then also buying a considerable amount of various elixirs.

  Especially Yijin Wan, he bought seven or eight more. This unexpected huge harvest also surprised Zhao Di.

  After this trading conference, the Tai Xu Men was unusually calm for two months. Not only were there few monks flying with their magical instruments between the mountain peaks, but even the entrance and exit of the entire Tai Xu Men were rarely seen by anyone entering or leaving.

  Most of the usually busy outer sect disciples took time off during this period, quietly preparing for the competition, either meditating and cultivating their minds or practicing with their magical instruments. The Taixu Sect was much quieter than usual during this time.

  Zhao Di continued his "crazy" symbol creation in the artifact refinement room. He had already mastered intermediate-level talismans, and within a short month, he had created nearly two hundred intermediate-level talismans under his almost non-stop drawing, which was enough to meet the requirements of the trial.

  This pre-war calm atmosphere was completely shattered after Taixu Men and Xiong Zhang Men announced the start of the foundation-building trial registration lottery.

  Soon, news came out that this time's foundation-building trial had more than 1,800 outer sect disciples who met the requirements and signed up to participate, roughly the same as in previous years.

  However, this time in the foundation-building trial, only more than 50 foundation-building pills were distributed, which is more than 10 fewer than last time.

  The high-level explanation of the Tai Xu Gate is that this time, the number of foundation-building pills produced is relatively small, and the number of foundation-building pills given to the inner disciples has not decreased. Therefore, it can only reduce the number of places for the foundation-building competition. The Xiong Zhang Gate also instructed that in the "Descending Dragon Valley" task one year after the foundation-building competition, the reward of foundation-building pills will not be reduced, and the disciples in the gate can participate enthusiastically.

  The outer disciples were extremely dissatisfied with this, but they could do nothing about it. As for the "Dragon Subduing Valley", it was an extremely dangerous forbidden area. Not to mention obtaining some treasures to exchange for foundation building pills in the sect, from past experiences, less than a third of the cultivators who entered the valley managed to come out alive.

  After the number of applicants and the amount of Zhujidan issued were confirmed, a plan for the trial was also released.

  The rules are very simple, drawing lots to form groups, with two people in each group competing against each other. Those who are left out will wait for the next round. On the premise of not harming the opponent's life, forcing the opponent to surrender or being knocked down from the competition arena, or knocking the opponent unconscious and unable to resist, all count as winning a round. Then the next round continues with drawing lots to form groups and competing again.

  After passing through the five rounds, you can take the Foundation Establishment trial and obtain a Foundation Establishment Dan as a sect reward.

  If someone is killed during the trial, the person who caused the death will also be disqualified. If this happens in the final round, the foundation-establishing pill that was originally supposed to be awarded to the winner will be taken back by the sect and added to the rewards of "Dragon Subduing Valley".