When it came to the five foundation colors of blue, red, white, gold, and purple, not only did it indicate how solid their basis was and their future potential, but it also created a large disparity in battle prowess. Although Fang Xing was in the first tier of Foundation Stage, he was still able to completely overpower the tier two Servant Qiao and the tier one Servant An. This was effectively due to the difference in power between a purple foundation compared to a blue or red foundation—the difference was simply too great.

　　Of course, the difference in battle prowess was not without cost. Fang Xing required many times more Spirit Stones to increase his cultivation level than others, and it would only get worse in later Foundation Stage tiers. To go from tier two to three would typically require three times more than from one to two; while someone with a blue foundation would only need three hundred supreme-quality Spirit Stones, Fang Xing would require around one thousand, five hundred. From three to four would have yet another threefold increase.

　　Even putting aside future expenditures, just the current requirement of five hundred supreme-quality Spirit Stones was not a small amount. If these were exchanged for high-quality Spirit Stones, it’d be fifty thousand; for mid-quality, five million. Of the wealthy elites of Snowy Mountain, only around thirty percent would be able to afford such a tremendous sum.

　　Counting all of the resources he’d plundered from the Qing-Yun Sect and stolen from others, Fang Xing had only managed to get a hundred or so supreme-quality Spirit Stones, which was far from enough. Today, however, he’d managed to get himself a huge boost courtesy of the royal clan’s Yin Servants, and he finally had enough.

　　” Aiii , if I look at it carefully, I’m nothing more than a penniless peasant….” Fang Xing dejectedly sighed while sitting in his cave estate. The path of cultivation truly became more and more difficult the further one progressed. Even putting aside all kinds of disasters and tribulations, just getting enough resources alone was a huge issue.

　　Fang Xing tossed a supreme-quality Spirit Stone into the air before dispersing his Qi to envelop it. An extremely pure Qi began to enter his meridians after he activated it, but he opened his eyes after a few moments and returned the Spirit Stone back to his sack while muttering to himself, “Too slow. Based on my current speed at using Spirit Stones, absorbing a supreme-quality Spirit Stone would take a full day….”

　　After some calculations, Fang Xing understood that if he were to cultivate using this method to reach Foundation Stage tier two, even going into seclusion to focus entirely on increasing his tier without anything else would still take a full year and a half….

　　“Seems like I need to think of something…. That Court of Enlightenment the old bastard Wanluo spoke of, is it really that miraculous?” Fang Xing couldn’t help but to wonder.

　　—

　　At the top of the tallest peak at the deepest point of Snowy Mountain, a countless number of caves of all sorts and sizes gave the area a solemn impression—simple, yet impressive and imposing. Halfway up the snow-covered mountain, Prince Chu Huang sat with crossed legs in front of a half-opened cave door. When his sister—Princess Chu Ci—arrived with a few of her maids, all of them stepped off their flying vessel before bowing towards the prince.

　　Prince Chu Huang’s eyes opened, and even though he was looking at the younger sister he so thoroughly adored, his gaze remained calm and unchanging. “You’ve arrived a bit early!”

　　“Big Brother, Royal Servant Qiao asked me to come earlier so as to not have you wait too long,” Princess Chu Ci answered in a well-behaved manner. She was rather used to Prince Chu Huang’s cold demeanor.

　　Prince Chu Huang nodded and swept his gaze across the maids behind her before creasing his brows. “Why are those two flunkies not by your side serving you? What use are they if they don’t follow the rules?”

　　“They said they needed to go craft a cauldron of Slumber Pellets for me so that when my cultivation level is forcibly increased, it would help calm my Qi and balance my blood. They are doing good things, Big Brother; please don’t punish them!” Princess Chu Ci begged on their behalf.

　　“Those two ignorant flunkies, do they really think the Caves of Enlightenment are some ordinary caves? This mountain is situated atop the great Yin veins, where the Yin power works to protect one’s heart and mind and fend off demons. It can be said to be one of the most unique existence within this world, as well as the lifeline of the Snowy Mountain!

　　“Going into seclusion here can effectively prevent Qi deviation and eliminate most potential problems, even if one’s cultivation is increased forcibly! For the five grand elders to invite us young elites here is to help us grow by borrowing the unique properties of this location for the tribulation not far ahead. Your Qi and blood wouldn’t be destabilized even if I helped forcibly increase your cultivation level, and so there wouldn’t be any setbacks to your foundation.”

　　Princess Chu Ci’s eyes lit up. “It’s truly that miraculous? Even the Dragon’s Blood Dungeon within our royal court is not as miraculous as this place!”

　　Prince Chu Huang let out a derisive snort. “What do you know? The Dragon’s Blood Dungeon is the source of all Chufung’s royal bloodline; cultivating inside not only increases your cultivation speed, it also increases the chance for you to form a golden foundation. Besides, it has been passed down from generation to generation; as long as our royal bloodline never ends, the dungeon shall exist as well. The Snowy Mountain simply settled itself over a small jade mine, and although it might be somewhat miraculous now, there won’t be any use for it once all the jades have been used up. Once all of the elites here are finished with their baptism, all of the powers of the Eminent Yin Jade here will probably be gone with nothing left….”

　　Princess Chu Ci playfully stuck out her tongue. “I know I’ve wronged. When do we start?”

　　“The Yin power of this Yin vein is most effective during the midnight hours. Since you’re already here, all you can do is wait until then!”

　　Princess Chu Ci sat down next to him, but she suddenly recalled the youth who’d bullied her earlier and an uncontrollable hatred surged up from within her once more. Still, after a moment of hesitation, she decided against complaining to her big brother and simply asked, “Big Brother, after my cultivation level has been increased to the peak of Spirit Stage, that Ancient tool you spoke of… are you going to give it to me like you promised? Is it really powerful?”

　　Prince Chu Huang gazed at her expressionlessly. “Like I already said, that Ancient tool will only be given to you once it’s confirmed you’ve obtained the Dragon-String Zither. The Dragon-String Zither used to be paired with the Phoenix-Fear Zither, and although the Dragon-String is the more powerful of the two, it was damaged in the past and only those with dragon’s blood are able to successfully use it. You’re the most qualified person within all of Chufung to inherit it, but the old man Hu Qin just decided he wasn’t willing to give it to us and chose that barbarian girl from Bohai instead of letting you inherit it. What an extremely vile act!” With that outburst, he suddenly paused a moment before continuing, “Fortunately, though, our grand elder paid him ten Dragon Blood Pellets to allow you a chance to compete fairly with that barbaric girl. You must make the most out of that chance!”

　　Princess Chu Ci playfully stuck out her tongue once again. “I heard that little sister is also very strong. I may not be able to really win against her!”

　　Prince Chu Huang’s gaze became more severe than ever before. He looked towards her without saying a word.

　　“I will definitely take this chance for myself!” she quickly added.

　　Only then did Prince Chu Huang finally reduce the power of his gaze and draw his attention back to simple meditation.

　　After a short time had passed, a cloud with a red-dressed Yin Servant abruptly flew close. The Yin Servant’s face was stricken with panic, and he immediately dropped from the cloud to kneel in front of Prince Chu Huang once he arrived. “Your Highness, something troublesome has happened…”

　　Prince Chu Huang drew up his gaze to glare at the Yin Servant before coldly responding, “Where are the rules? Who said you were allowed to seek me out at the Court of Enlightenment?”

　　The red-dressed Yin Servant quickly lowered his head. “I’ve wronged, Your Highness. Except… there truly is something worrisome….”

　　“Speak!” Prince Chu Huang commanded.

　　The red-dressed Yin Servant quickly answered. “Someone just reported that the soul lanterns belonging to Servant Qiao, Servant An, and eight imperial guards were suddenly extinguished. Something must have happened. I do not have the authority to check the soul lanterns, so I immediately came to notify Your Highness!”

　　“Nn?” Prince Chu Huang’s gaze hardened. “There is someone within this Snowy Mountain who dares to touch the people belonging to the royal court?” he coldly asked before abruptly flying off towards the Royal Sanctuary Court. When she saw this, Chu Ci hastily asked the red-dressed Yin Servant to take her along as well.

　　A burn of an incense later, Prince Chu Huang used the remaining soul of the soul lantern as a guide to arrive in front of the snowy valley where Fang Xing had buried all of the corpses. He opened his palm, creating a golden shine that whirled around him before falling right into the valley like a falling star. The thick snow began to melt at a speed that could be seen by the naked eye, and the melted water flowed outside the valley like a river until the black soil at the bottom of the valley could be seen. By now, Prince Chu Huang could see the corpses buried in the snow. His expression chilled and his hand clawed out from above, sending a strong gust of wind that swept up all of the corpses.

　　There was nothing left but skeletons, but the clothing they wore showed it was indeed Yin Servants Qiao and An and the eight imperial guards.

　　Prince Chu Huang’s gaze became even more frigid when he saw this, and power soon began to roll off of him in his anger. “Who is it? Who within this Snowy Mountain has the courage to dare kill people belonging to our royal court?” His brows locked together as he muttered to himself, “The eight guards alone would have been fine, but these two flunkies were in Foundation Stage. Who within the Snowy Mountain would have the ability to kill them so quietly they weren’t even able to seek help?”

　　The red-dressed Yin Servant walked up to closely observe this before returning to report, “Your Highness, all of them died from having their blood and flesh sucked clean—it seems to be the work of someone who has studied the dark arts. Within the Snowy Mountain, Miss Xiao Xue would of course have enough power to kill them, but she only uses swords and I’ve never heard that she knew such dark powers. Aside from her, there seem to be only… only… those few….”

　　The Yin Servant had wanted to mention the five Golden Core grand elders, but he didn’t dare say it aloud.

　　“It’s not Xiao Xue. Xiao Xue wouldn’t even notice these two flunkies!” Prince Chu Huang immediately ruled out that possibility before thinking to himself,‘Maybe Ye Gu’yin or Hou Guimen did this after successfully forming their foundation?’

　　At this moment, Princess Chu Ci hesitantly walked up and spoke in a soft voice, “Big Brother, maybe… just maybe… I might know who it is….”

　　Prince Chu Huang looked at her, his gaze cold and severe.

　　Princess Chu Ci had originally wanted to avenge herself, but she didn’t dare to hide anything anymore after something like this had happened. “I think, Royal Servants Qiao and An wanted to get revenge on my behalf, but instead….”

　　Prince Chu Huang’s gaze became even more frigid, and he immediately recalled the gaze he’d received from the boy at the end of the trials. The boy had been so calm as though nothing had happened; even after the boy had sneak attacked him and was about to be attacked, he hadn’t shown even a trace of fear. He’d seen hints of provocation in the boy’s gaze back then, and he suddenly understood.

　　“There should be no mistake, then. It must be him!”

　　Rumble rumble rumble ….

　　After hopping onto a golden cloud so bright it lit up half the sky, Prince Chu Huang took off towards the Wanluo Court like a bolt of lightning.