Gu Chulin chuckled, "Jianqi, you really surprised us. We thought you had failed!"
Gu Jian Yuan also came up and punched Gu Jianqi's arm, "That’s right. Fortunately, you were lucky and successfully achieved Foundation Establishment!"
Gu Jianqi was beaming with pride, "Haha, thank you Twelfth Uncle-Ancestor and brother for worrying. This breakthrough was fraught with danger but ultimately successful. I haven't disgraced the family."
Successfully achieving Foundation Establishment at fifty-nine years old, he had seized the last chance of his life! Gu Jianqi felt an indescribable joy. The mist had cleared, and the path ahead was bright!
"Good lad, I knew you could do it!" Gu Xian Yun laughed heartily.
"Haha, thank you, Second Uncle, for your praise."
Now that the Gu family had four Foundation Establishment cultivators, let alone the Yushui Sect and the Sun family, they could rank third among the Five Great Families in the Xiayun Mountain Range. Apart from the Zifu Lin Family and the Song family, the other two families only had three Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Gu Chulin's pressure instantly lessened. With Jianqi's successful Foundation Establishment, he could reach the middle Foundation Establishment stage in about twenty years of cultivation. By then, Gu Xian Yun would be at the late stage and Gu Jian Yuan at the middle stage.
Even if he died, the family would remain strong.
Lin Xuan and Gu Qing Xuan walked out from the crowd and gave Gu Jianqi a big hug.
This scene deeply moved all the clan members present.
"Xuan'er, Qing Xuan, thank you for worrying."
Lin Xuan wiped away tears and said nothing, just hugged him. After the embrace, she took Qing Xuan to the side. There were so many clan members here; any matters could be discussed at home.
At this moment, everyone was waiting for Gu Chulin to speak. Gu Chulin scanned the surroundings and said calmly.
"The scoundrels of the Yushui Sect attempted to seize our clan's spirit mine vein and colluded with the Zhushan Sun Family to ambush me. Now that Jianqi has successfully achieved Foundation Establishment, it is time to demand an explanation!"
"Destroy the Yushui Sect! Destroy the Sun Family!" The crowd was incensed, and their shouts shook the heavens.
"Tomorrow, I will join the Patriarch and the Great Elder to hold the two families accountable!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
For the past six months, the Yushui Sect and the Sun Family had repeatedly encroached upon the Gu family's borders. Several skirmishes had broken out, resulting in the death of one Qi Condensation cultivator and injuries to three others.
The clan members' anger towards these two families was beyond words.
After the crowd gradually dispersed, Gu Chulin patted Gu Jianqi's shoulder, "Jianqi, you should focus on consolidating your true essence at home. You don't need to participate in this action."
"As for your Foundation Establishment celebration, how do you plan to handle it?"
Gu Jianqi bowed slightly, "Everything can be handled by the family. Your nephew-grandson has no particular ideas."
Gu Chulin nodded, "Alright, then we'll set it for three months later. I will send invitations to the many families that are on good terms with our Gu family."
Afterward, Gu Chulin returned to his cave dwelling to prepare.
"Congratulations, Father, on your successful Foundation Establishment! May you enjoy two hundred years of lifespan!"
Gu Jianqi rubbed his son's head, "Thank you, my good son. Once my true essence is consolidated, I'll refine a top-grade magic artifact for you!"
Gu Qing Xuan was naturally delighted. Top-grade magic artifacts were priced at over two hundred spirit stones, equivalent to four or five months of his resources.
Then, Gu Jianqi looked at his wife, "Xuan'er, now that I have achieved Foundation Establishment, I will soon break through to become a second-rank low-grade artifact refiner. I must earn a Foundation Establishment Pill for you so that we can be together forever."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xuan was deeply moved and burst into tears in Gu Jianqi's arms.
She had endured agonizing days for the past fourteen days, worrying that her husband might meet with an accident. Although she knew that even if he failed, the Foundation Establishment Pill would prevent any fatal harm, she couldn't stop worrying. But now, everything was fine.
Seeing his parents being so affectionate, Gu Qing Xuan felt he shouldn't be there.
So, he quietly slipped away and went to the General Affairs Hall.
"Little Qing Xuan, your father just achieved Foundation Establishment. Why aren't you congratulating him? Why are you here at the General Affairs Hall?"
Gu Qing Xuan chuckled, "My father and mother are being lovey-dovey, and it's inappropriate for me to stay."
Then, he took out six bottles of Qi Gathering Pills, "Ninth Grandfather, these are the Qi Gathering Pills I refined. Will the family accept them?"
Ninth Grandfather looked at Gu Qing Xuan with astonishment, "This! You refined these? Using those ten sets of materials?"
Gu Qing Xuan nodded, "That's right, Ninth Grandfather. I refined them myself."
"Incredible, truly incredible! You are a genius!"
Ninth Grandfather had been in the General Affairs Hall for at least forty years. Many pill refining disciples had taken materials from here, but for their first attempt, achieving even one success out of ten sets of materials was considered good!
Yet, Gu Qing Xuan had managed to produce six successful pills in one go! There were no other words to describe him but a genius.
"Qing Xuan, are you planning to exchange these six bottles of Qi Gathering Pills for spirit stones or contribution points?"
In the Gu family, contribution points could be exchanged for spirit stones at a one-to-one ratio, but spirit stones could not be exchanged for contribution points.
"Hmm... Please exchange them for materials for six batches of first-rank mid-grade Qi Gathering Pills."
Ninth Grandfather was taken aback, then asked, "Qing Xuan, are you planning to attempt refining mid-grade pills?"
Gu Qing Xuan nodded, "Yes, I've got a good feel for it now and plan to try, just for practice."
There was no reason for Ninth Grandfather to refuse. A genius prodigy couldn't be measured by ordinary standards.
"Alright, wait here. Grandfather will get them for you."
Soon, he returned with six sets of mid-grade Qi Gathering Pill materials and handed them to Gu Qing Xuan.
Watching Gu Qing Xuan's retreating figure, Ninth Grandfather remarked, "Qing Xuan's talent in pill refining is far superior to Jian Yuan's. He is truly worthy of being the Kirin child of our Gu family!"
Back in his courtyard, Gu Qing Xuan immediately attempted to refine the first-rank mid-grade Qi Gathering Pills.
With one grade difference, the difficulty also increased significantly.
The first furnace of pills had a slight error during liquefaction, turning directly into ash.
Gu Qing Xuan learned from his mistake. The second furnace was smoother, but the force applied during pill formation was insufficient, causing the pill to not solidify completely. It also failed.
Gu Qing Xuan did not become nervous or anxious. Pill refining couldn't be rushed; the more anxious one became, the more mistakes would occur.
Besides, he was only attempting to refine first-rank mid-grade pills after learning pill refining for just seven days. Gu Qing Xuan had originally intended to just practice. Success would be great, but failure was acceptable.
The fourth furnace failed, the fifth furnace failed.
Gu Qing Xuan's control over the heat and medicinal properties was impeccable. The problems always occurred during the final pill formation.
Either the timing of dividing the pill embryo was mistimed, or the force during pill formation was insufficient.
Ultimately, it was due to a lack of experience. Pill refining is not something that can be achieved overnight. Even with a seventh-rank manual, some experience accumulation is necessary.
Fortunately, the sixth furnace successfully formed the pill. However, only seven pill embryos were divided, resulting in two finished pills. Nevertheless, this already met the threshold for a first-rank mid-grade pill refiner.
A twelve-year-old first-rank mid-grade pill refiner, and it only took seven days. If this were to get out, it would surely cause a stir.
He put the pills into a jade bottle. He could take the first-rank mid-grade pills himself.
As for the nearly ten batches of first-rank low-grade pills he had left, he decided to keep them and sell them when he had the chance later.
"Phew, first-rank mid-grade pill refiner, I've achieved it. From now on, I'll refine more pills and won't consider high-grade pills until my cultivation improves."
Seeing that it was getting late, Gu Qing Xuan chose to return to his quiet room to meditate and recover. Refining pills consumed a lot of divine sense and pháp lực (mana/spiritual power).
He had things to do tomorrow and needed to recover to his best state.