Li Qingyun reached the Foundation Establishment stage on the second day. Besides Chu Yang, he was the first person in this world to achieve Foundation Establishment.
This was partly related to when he started cultivating, but more importantly, his talent was quite formidable. He had only used a mortal-grade cultivation technique before. Now that he had switched to an immortal-grade technique, his talent could finally be unleashed to its fullest.
He didn't need a Foundation Establishment Pill at all; he reached Foundation Establishment naturally.
As for the Foundation Establishment Pill he obtained for Xue Qianwei, he gave it to Gan Cuicui as salary.
Gan Cuicui dared not accept it, but Li Qingyun insisted she take it, and only then did she reluctantly accept.
However, after receiving this Foundation Establishment Pill, Gan Cuicui's gaze towards Li Qingyun changed subtly.
Since yesterday's talent appraisal, he had become too popular, a sought-after figure.
Many large enterprise owners offered to sponsor Li Qingyun for free, helping him acquire resources for cultivation.
Li Qingyun refused them all. He was now a laid-back streamer, casually broadcasting. The daily revenue he generated was almost on par with Chu Yang's.
As for Luo Xiaowei, his status in the immortal cultivation section of Xiong Miao Live had truly diminished.
The green belts of this park had basically been tidied up by him. The top government officials had arranged a special plane to pick him up.
Li Qingyun did not refuse this. He didn't want to lose his freedom by joining the military, but that didn't mean he wanted to reject all of the country's goodwill.
Xue Qianwei had already reached the middle stage of Qi Refining, while Luo Xiaowei was still only in the early stage of Qi Refining.
Both of them were cultivating techniques of the same level, but the gap was already subtly widening.
The further one progressed, the greater the impact of talent.
Now, Luo Xiaowei had become Chu Yang's financial manager, responsible for managing the geniuses identified by the [Talent Appraisal Stone].
He himself had many fans, of course.
When a fan came to get a cultivation technique, they chatted with Luo Xiaowei: "Hey, Brother Wei, what's your talent level?"
Luo Xiaowei would not admit that he was only of average talent. He spoke mysteriously, "It cannot be spoken of, it cannot be spoken of! In short, it's incredibly powerful!"
"What? You don't mean to say you have low-tier talent?"
Luo Xiaowei was instantly agitated: "What nonsense are you spouting? What's my status? I am the patriarch of sword cultivation! If you slander me again, I'll revoke your fan status!"
Although he had joined the group, he knew he had gotten in through sheer luck.
Xue Qianwei was Chu Yang's boss, so her presence in the pioneers' group for the immortal cultivation era was reasonable.
However, he was only of average talent. To cling to Chu Yang's coattails, he would naturally be dedicated, even willing to do anything Chu Yang asked!
Chu Yang specifically gathered these geniuses in one group. He wouldn't believe it if he didn't give them some opportunities!
Furthermore, this job now paid one spirit stone per day. Those people had to reach upper-tier talent to get a mid-grade spirit stone. He got one every day. What kind of salary was this?
After a day, someone listed spirit stones for sale online. As a result, one mid-grade spirit stone had already been hyped to one hundred thousand, and this number continued to rise.
Earning one hundred thousand a day, wasn't that more satisfying than being a streamer?
Of course, he had just signed a new contract with Xiong Miao a while ago, and he still had to meet the required streaming hours. So, he was currently streaming while distributing spirit stones to those with upper-tier talent or above.
He held a loudspeaker and shouted, "The next batch of people to have their talents appraised can come down!"
At this moment, the entire venue erupted in a commotion.
An old man in a Taoist robe walked down from the audience seats.
His name was Bai Nianchen. He hailed from the Bai Shi Cave-Heaven, one of the thirty-six Grotto-Heavens of Taoism, and was eighty years old this year.
In fact, for someone like him, coming to obtain cultivation techniques was a bit awkward.
One was his age, and the other was his status.
For a Taoist like him to learn cultivation techniques from Chu Yang would be an implicit admission that what they had been cultivating before was wrong.
But Bai Nianchen didn't care about such talk. He had cultivated on the mountain since he was young. Even in this era of declining dharma, he still diligently practiced breathing exercises and cultivated his character daily.
He firmly believed that the cultivation methods left by his ancestors were correct. Now, both his state of mind and his physical fitness were powerful.
An eighty-year-old man could still carry water himself and persist with morning exercises.
He was not bothered by insects at night when he slept. Although he couldn't fly through the heavens or burrow through the earth, he felt that his cultivated Taoist methods were effective.
Yesterday, someone who went to offer incense told him that his Taoist temple might not be able to continue operating because many true immortals were about to emerge from the outside.
Thus, with a heart full of doubt, Bai Nianchen traveled thousands of miles to this place.
He would not conceal his identity because he remembered his master's dying instruction to guard the Taoist temple well and to promote the Bai Shi Cave-Heaven.
Now, an old man in a Taoist robe appearing caused him to immediately become the focus of everyone's attention.
"Haha! It's an old man!"
"How dare he wear a Taoist robe to get cultivation techniques? This is hilarious!"
"Heh heh! This wave of immortal cultivation craze by Brother Immortal has dealt a significant blow to those charlatans and fake immortals!"
"I heard before that the Heavenly Master from Longhu Mountain had publicly declared Brother Immortal's cultivation methods to be heretical. Now they dare not say a word!"
"......"
It was clear that people had a lot of opinions about these old Taoists. When the true era of immortal cultivation arrived, their previous fraudulent ways seemed ridiculous.
After all, if you cast a spell without any special effects, how could you dare call yourself an immortal?
Luo Xiaowei also didn't give the old man a good look. He said, "Grandpa, you're so old and still coming to do this stuff. If something goes wrong here, don't try to sue me!"
Bai Nianchen glanced at Luo Xiaowei, his eyes exceptionally calm.
This was the state of mind he had cultivated over decades on the mountain; the words of outsiders could hardly cause him significant psychological turmoil.
Thus, with many people watching with amusement, Bai Nianchen extended his wrinkled hand and touched the [Talent Appraisal Stone] before him.
"Huh?"
Bai Nianchen's eyes narrowed slightly. He felt as if some power within him had been activated.
Suddenly, a strange purple light flashed on his body.
Everyone was startled and looked up at the sky.
A ray of purple light came from the east, illuminating the entire plaza.
The swirling purple energy resonated with the aura within Bai Nianchen.
An auspicious sign, purple energy coming from the east!
"Holy crap!"
Luo Xiaowei stood up, grasping his head with both hands: "An auspicious sign has been triggered again. This is at least upper-tier talent!"
But this was not just a simple triggering of an auspicious sign.
Bai Nianchen's Taoist robe billowed as if in a wind, and his aura rose incessantly in that instant. A subtle, indescribable Taoist charm emanated from him.
He sighed and murmured to himself, "So it turns out that in this era of declining dharma, spiritual energy needs to be stimulated to manifest..."