Chapter 4075 — Breakthrough! Peak of the Late Foundation-Building Stage!

As for the others, Wei Zhao had initially intended to have Ning Xuefei inquire about them all at once, but on second thought, asking after so many people together seemed unwise—and besides, Ning Xuefei would surely send someone else to make the inquiries, and if that drew the attention of interested parties, it would only make matters worse.

"Why are you calling me Miss Ning again? Didn't I tell you that, just like little Lan'er, you're supposed to call me Junior Sister Feifei!" Ning Xuefei fumed.

"Ugh, fine—Junior Sister Feifei." Wei Zhao surrendered at once.

"That's more like it, hee hee!" Ning Xuefei stuck out her tongue in triumph.

Getting down to business, Wei Zhao immediately set about refining the Foundation-Building Golden Pill. To be safe, he did not put all ten portions of ingredients in at once, but split them five and five into two batches—the Divine Farmer's Cauldron, after all, had its maximum capacity.

With several prior pill-refining sessions behind him, Wei Zhao was already thoroughly practiced at this; no mishaps arose during the process this time. Apart from the fact that it took a little longer than usual, the only thing that genuinely surprised Wei Zhao was the final tally when the cauldron was opened.

There had been only ten portions of ingredients, yet across the two batches, the Foundation-Building Golden Pills that finally emerged numbered a full fourteen—and every single one of them was top-grade!

The result left even Wei Zhao himself stunned, let alone Ning Xuefei and Shangguan Lan'er, who were now looking at him as though he were some kind of monster, their dewy eyes sparkling with stars—nothing but adoration.

Under such gazes, Wei Zhao felt a little embarrassed. He shrugged and said, "It's mainly the ingredients—the quality was top-notch, the kind you rarely see. A few extra pills is only to be expected."

Shangguan Lan'er had no real grasp of such matters, but Ning Xuefei, having grown up surrounded by it, understood a fair bit about pill refining. At his words she exclaimed in astonishment, "To be expected? Two batches yielding a full fourteen top-grade Foundation-Building Golden Pills—and that's just to be expected? You're far too modest, Wei Zhao. Even Pill God Zhang Lifeng himself would be hard-pressed to do better!"

"Junior Sister Feifei flatters me far too much. I'm merely a newcomer—how could I be mentioned in the same breath as Master Zhang?" Wei Zhao waved a hand with a faint smile. Whatever skill in pill refining he had now, he owed entirely to that cheap master of his whom he had never once met.

As agreed beforehand, the Foundation-Building Golden Pills were divided among the three of them: Ning Xuefei took six, three of which were for her "good friend." Shangguan Lan'er took three, and the remaining five were all left to Wei Zhao.

"Three is enough for me—you two can have the extra two," Wei Zhao declined.

He knew neither girl cared for cultivation, and that their only real means of raising their strength was through pills. One more Foundation-Building Golden Pill meant one more measure of power—never a bad thing for either of them. Deep backgrounds or not, there would always come a time when they had to rely on themselves in an emergency, just as when Shangguan Lan'er had been abducted last time.

But Shangguan Lan'er shook her head again and again. "I don't need that many. I don't need to be all that strong, either—if I improve too quickly, Grandfather will get suspicious instead. I don't want him finding out about our secret."

Ning Xuefei, meanwhile, said as though it were the most natural thing in the world, "You refined them, and it's thanks to you that so many top-grade Foundation-Building Golden Pills came out at all. The extra two should go to you in the first place!"

Even so, Wei Zhao still felt undeserving, and said, "In that case, why not give those two to your friend as well? If I'm not mistaken, all these spirit-herb ingredients were prepared by that friend of yours, weren't they?"

It was not hard to deduce. Ning Xuefei was a tool refiner, not a pill refiner; ordinarily, even knowing of the Foundation-Building Golden Pill's existence, she would never have gone out of her way to gather so many top-grade spirit-herb ingredients—such things could not simply be bought at will.

"Hee hee, she definitely won't want them either. I'll decide on her behalf and give them to you—and no more of this endless shoving back and forth, you hear me!" Ning Xuefei declared, settling the matter.

Wei Zhao could not help but wonder privately: top-grade Foundation-Building Golden Pills were rare treasures that came only by chance—just how close must Ning Xuefei and this friend of hers be, for her to make decisions on the other's behalf? Most likely they were the closest of bosom friends, as dear as sisters!

With matters having come to this point, Wei Zhao had no good reason to refuse further. He could only accept them, counting it as a favor owed—one he would have to find a way to repay later.

Just then, Shangguan Lan'er suddenly proposed with great enthusiasm, "Now that everything's divided up, why don't we take them together right now?"

"Mm-hm, good idea—we refine pills together, we break through together!" Ning Xuefei raised both hands in agreement.

The Foundation-Building Golden Pill had no side effects, so it made no difference where one took it. There was no reason for Wei Zhao to dampen their spirits over such a thing, so he nodded and said, "Sure, I'm fine with that."

The three of them immediately began adjusting their conditions, then one after another swallowed the freshly refined top-grade Foundation-Building Golden Pills and focused their minds on assailing a higher realm.

Every peak of the Foundation-Building Stage was a threshold exceedingly hard to cross.

Last time, on the Far North Island, Wei Zhao had broken straight through to the mid Foundation-Building Stage without any pill assistance—but now, to cross the peak of the mid Foundation-Building Stage, the difficulty did not merely double or triple; it increased tenfold, twentyfold, even thirtyfold!

Yet for this breakthrough attempt, Wei Zhao remained utterly confident—because in his hands he now clutched a full five top-grade Foundation-Building Golden Pills!

Across the whole of Cloud Terrace Island, not even the most deeply connected of young masters could boast such an outrageous reserve.

In one sustained push, he took four top-grade Foundation-Building Golden Pills in succession, keeping only the last one in reserve—Wei Zhao's breakthrough attempt this time was, in truth, a grand gesture indeed.

Time flowed slowly by. When Wei Zhao finally opened his eyes again, a full day and night had passed.

In his eyes, a frightening gleam flashed and vanished; the majestic, overwhelming aura about him slowly withdrew. In the space of a single day, Wei Zhao now gave off the impression of having been reborn entirely.

Before, at the peak of the mid Foundation-Building Stage, Wei Zhao's aura had been fierce and sharp, bearing the menace of a drawn sword. Now it had grown more majestic and commanding still, yet no longer so aggressively overbearing—instead it had turned inward and profound, like a sharp blade returned to its scabbard: even with only the faintest trace of edge remaining, it was still enough to overawe the heart.

"The peak of the late Foundation-Building Stage—not bad at all." Wei Zhao exhaled a breath of turbid air in satisfaction.

Indeed—aided by four top-grade Foundation-Building Golden Pills, Wei Zhao had not only successfully broken through the peak of the mid Foundation-Building Stage, but advanced two levels at once, becoming a master at the peak of the late Foundation-Building Stage, just one step away from Foundation-Building Perfection! (To be continued R752