The remnants of the setting sun at dusk spread evenly across the sky, casting a yellow tint over the entire market.

Besides the main road, most of the paths at Taihang Market are paved with stone slabs, which emit a thumping sound when walked upon.

If you step on a hollow spot, the sound becomes much more muffled.

Ye Jingcheng saw the Spirit Beast Shop not far ahead, and suddenly felt that the thumping of the stone path grew quicker.

At this moment, the thoughts about his family and the marketplace had somewhat dissipated, and a silhouette appeared in his mind.

It was about the promise made two years ago.

Ye Haicheng couldn't help but glance back at Ye Jingcheng but didn't say anything.

The group soon reached the entrance of the Spirit Beast Shop, where Ye Xinghong was still attending to a customer, observing the spirit beasts.

Today's customer was a young cultivator wearing a brocade robe, evidently a scion of a small family.

His demands for spirit beasts were high, and many spirit beasts couldn't satisfy him.

"Ye Daoist, I just want a Golden Scale Beast!"

"There are no Golden Scale Beasts for now; such exotic beasts can only be found in Earth Dragon Valley," Ye Xinghong explained.

This was the truth. After the conflict at Chixia Ridge, Earth Dragon Valley, Lion King Ridge, and Chixia Ridge had all reduced in size, making it exceedingly difficult to capture Golden Scale Beasts and Armor-Piercing Beasts lately.

As for capturing them in Earth Dragon Valley, it was nothing short of a joke. After all, it was a domain of a Demon King, and even a common Golden Core True Master wouldn't dare venture alone to capture Golden Scale Beasts.

The customer was visibly disappointed and after browsing the courtyard several times, left without making a decision.

"Patriarch, Uncle!" Ye Xinghong greeted Ye Jingcheng and Ye Haicheng hurriedly, wearing a slightly embarrassed expression.

After all, a customer had not purchased a spirit beast.

Every spirit beast of the Ye Family costs hundreds of Spirit Stones, which is quite a price considering that most of the cultivators in Taihang Market are Qi Cultivation cultivators.

If sold, it would spare the cost of feeding with Spiritual Food significantly.

Though the Ye Family grows a considerable amount of common Spirit Rice, the shop ultimately exists for profit, and if left unsold, it not only consumes more Spiritual Food but also cannot raise prices. Often, the smaller a spirit beast, the more valuable it is.

Young spirit beasts are most moldable.

The returned Ye Xinghe also came out from inside, welcoming Ye Jingcheng and others in.

Ye Haicheng and the other cultivators entered the courtyard, but Ye Jingcheng stayed at the door, looking at Ye Xinghong.

"Thirteenth Aunt, may I ask you about something?"

"Has a Foundation Establishment female cultivator been here?" Ye Jingcheng inquired.

He had an agreement with Xu Xiuqing two years ago, and now over two years had passed. Xu Xiuqing's age was nearing sixty, and if she didn't use a Foundation Establishment Pill to break through, she would exceed her limit.

Logically, she should have come by now.

She had promised to celebrate his appointment as Patriarch once.

However, Ye Xinghong shook her head, as she hadn't seen any Foundation Establishment female cultivator. There were few Foundation Establishment cultivators in Taihang Market, and if there were one, she would surely remember.

But she soon thought of something and added:

"Patriarch, the female cultivator who used to place Golden Scale Beasts here did come by earlier, but she left after buying a Jade Ring Rat."

The female cultivator who placed the Golden Scale Beasts was indeed Xu Xiuqing, which left Ye Jingcheng stunned.

His expression soon turned bitter.

He suddenly recalled that even with a Foundation Establishment Pill, not all cultivators could successfully break through.

The probability for Loose Cultivators is even smaller.

Xu Xiuqing had ordinary Three Spirit Roots; the quality of her Spirit Roots wasn't particularly good. Her reaching the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer was due to obtaining a legacy from a Purple Mansion Ascendant. The chance of failure at breaking through was quite high.

The Ye Family rarely failed because they have the Beast Communication Pattern, almost serving as a double safeguard.

In addition, the Ye Family has numerous Foundation Establishment experiences available for reference and excellent spirit veins.

Compared to loose cultivators, the situation is much better.

However, even so, it is rare for Ye Family members to succeed in Foundation Establishment without a Foundation Establishment Pill, as Ye Jingcheng had seldom heard of it.

"Did she say anything?" Ye Jingcheng continued to ask.

Ye Xinghong shook her head; perhaps the Jade Ring Rat was Xu Xiuqing's best response.

Moreover, even Ye Xinghong did not know where Xu Xiuqing had gone.

She hadn't broken her promise but had already failed in her breakthrough.

Accepting her own breakthrough failure requires immense courage, let alone accepting the potential to never have another opportunity at sixty when facing the Qi Blood Grand Barrier.

"Please, Thirteenth Aunt, help me inquire." Ye Jingcheng added.

His eyes dimmed a little, perhaps this is the norm in the Cultivation Realm—regret, parting, missing opportunities.

The scenery in the Cultivation Realm is indeed beautiful, but any beauty will eventually fade, sooner or later.

Ye Jingcheng sighed, initially thinking that after Ye Haiyun's passing, his heart would become as calm and unaffected as still water.

After all, he was no longer in his twenties; in the Mortal Realm, he would already be considered half old.

But now, he realized that his heart was still forlorn and inexplicably empty.

"Alright," Ye Xinghong replied.

The Ye Family still holds some repute in Taihang Market, unlike in Taichang Commandery, where even finding someone would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

But in Taihang Commandery, it's different, as most loose cultivators would offer some respect to the Ye Family.

Of course, Tribulation Cultivators are an exception.

Ye Jingcheng entered the courtyard, and Ye Xinghe and Ye Haicheng, who were secretly observing, also sighed.

For a cultivation clan, there are indeed many benefits and privileges.

But at the same time, many things are also lost.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.