Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 818 Lotus Heart Valley

To the north of the Yunxiao Mountains lies the Qingli Dynasty, which comprises twelve prefectures. Among them, Yun Prefecture is located at the southernmost tip of the dynasty, on the edge of the Yunxiao Mountains.

Yun County is mountainous, but the peaks are not towering and craggy; instead, they are rounded hills resembling steamed buns.

Lotus Heart Valley is located among these hills. It is named Lotus Heart Valley because twelve hills surround the valley like flower petals.

The Qingli Dynasty is not a mortal kingdom, but a kingdom of immortal cultivators. Its royal family is an immortal cultivation family, and there are five other immortal cultivation families within the dynasty. These six families are collectively known as the Qingli Six Families.

The Lotus Heart Valley, a market town for immortal cultivators, was jointly established by the six families of Qingli, and it is said to have a history of over a thousand years.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi walked slowly for more than half a year before finally arriving at the legendary Immortal Cultivation Market.

In fact, the existence of Lotus Heart Valley is not a secret. In the Qingli Dynasty, many ordinary people know about the existence of Lotus Heart Valley and also know about the existence of immortal cultivators.

On the contrary, in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, because it is dominated by martial arts forces, the existence of immortal cultivators has become a secret that no one knows.

"Greetings, Immortal Master! This is my first time visiting Lotus Heart Valley!"

At the entrance to the valley, a group of mortals were sitting at a tea stall. When they saw Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi arrive, they immediately surrounded them. "I am a hanger-on here. I know everything in the valley very well. If you need anything, Immortal Master, you can come to me!"

Yang Zhengshan glanced at the group and casually picked a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. "You'll do!"

"Yes, this is Luo San. Please, Immortal Master!"

Luo San immediately beamed and led the way for Yang Zhengshan, saying, "Entering Lotus Heart Valley requires no certificate or spirit stones. However, if you plan to stay for a few days, you will need to rent a small courtyard at an inn. Otherwise, the cultivators patrolling at night will arrest anyone loitering on the streets!"

"The Immortal Master only needs to hire me for thirty spirit crystals a day!"

When the topic of spirit crystal coins came up, Luo San bowed and scraped as he looked at Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan casually tossed him a spirit stone, "Then I'll hire you for three days!"

"Alright, please, Immortal Master!" Luo San accepted the spirit stone with a radiant smile.

"Let's go to the inn first!"

"Does the Immortal Master want a better cave for cultivation, or does he just want to stay for a few days?" Luo San asked.

"What's the difference?"

“If you’re just staying for a few days, you can go to Yunlai Inn. They have guest rooms, but the spiritual energy concentration is a bit low. If you plan to stay for a longer period of cultivation, I suggest you rent a cave dwelling. The cave dwelling is located on a spiritual vein and is sufficient for a Qi Refining stage cultivator to cultivate!” Luo San explained.

Qi Refining stage! That's equivalent to a first-tier spiritual vein!

Yang Zhengshan's gaze swept over the street in front of him and the shops on both sides of the street.

Architecturally, this place is not much different from Shanggu County, but judging from the pedestrians we encountered, there are indeed many cultivators here.

In just a short while, Yang Zhengshan noticed more than a dozen immortal cultivators, all of whom were in the Qi Refining stage.

Of course, there are also martial artists here, such as Luo San in front of us, who is a martial artist who has acquired his skills through practice.

"Then let's rent a cave dwelling first!" Yang Zhengshan planned to stay here for a while and learn more about the world of immortal cultivation.

Luo San responded and then led the two to rent a cave dwelling.

Although it's called a cave dwelling, it's actually just a small courtyard protected by a magic array. The courtyard is fully equipped with all the necessary living supplies and is kept very clean and tidy.

The price isn't too expensive either, only ten spirit stones a month.

Yang Zhengshan assessed the situation in the courtyard and concluded that it was roughly at the level of a mid-grade first-order spiritual vein. He noted that the concentration of spiritual energy was much higher in any random place in the Spirit Source Land.

After renting the cave dwelling, Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi, guided by Luo San, strolled around Lotus Heart Valley.

Lotus Heart Valley is not actually a simple market town; it is more like a city, with residential areas, commercial areas, cultivators, and martial artists.

Yang Zhengshan asked Luo San and learned that almost all the people living in Lotus Heart Valley were immortal cultivators or their relatives. For example, Luo San's grandfather was an immortal cultivator; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to live here.

“We’re new here, so please take us to visit the shops first!” Yang Zhengshan said.

Luo San thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go to Danxuan Pavilion first. Immortal Master, Danxuan Pavilion is owned by the Lin family. The Lin family is the royal family of our Qingli Dynasty and the most powerful alchemy family in our Qingli Dynasty!"

He must have realized that Yang Zhengshan was not from the Qingli Dynasty, so he gave a very detailed introduction.

Yang Zhengshan became interested and continued to ask, "Does the Lin family have many alchemists?"

"Of course, it is said that the Lin family has two second-tier alchemists who can refine more than ten kinds of second-tier pills!" Luo San said.

"Can Foundation Establishment Pills be refined?" Yang Zhengshan asked, stroking his beard.

He is now considered a second-tier alchemist, but he can only refine two types of second-tier pills: the Youth Preservation Pill and the Foundation Establishment Pill.

The Lin family can refine more than ten kinds of second-tier pills, which sounds quite impressive.

Luo San was taken aback. "Yes, but Foundation Establishment Pills are extremely precious. If a Celestial Master wants to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill, they can only do so at an auction!"

"How many spirit stones does a Foundation Establishment Pill usually cost?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"It's said to cost tens of thousands of spirit stones!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly. It seemed that the Foundation Establishment Pill was a rare elixir even in Lotus Heart Valley.

That's normal. Don't be fooled by how easily he seemed to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill; he actually had many advantages.

First, he occupied the ancient remnant array and gathered the medicinal materials needed for the Foundation Establishment Pill from it.

Secondly, he also obtained an alchemy inheritance from the ancient ruins, an alchemy inheritance from the ancient Sun True Sect. Although it was only a second-tier alchemy inheritance, it was enough for Yang Zhengshan to become a second-tier alchemist.

Finally, there is the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace. Without the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace, Yang Zhengshan would never have been able to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill. He would have had to burn through at least dozens of furnaces before he could finally refine the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Therefore, Yang Zhengshan was not surprised that a Foundation Establishment Pill was worth tens of thousands of low-grade spirit stones.

What Yang Zhengshan doesn't know is that the Foundation Establishment Pill is not only precious, but for independent cultivators, it is something they can only dream of.

Yang Zhengshan only considered the difficulty of refining the Foundation Establishment Pill, but did not take into account the significance that the Foundation Establishment Pill represents.

Once the foundation is established, one embarks on the path to immortality, no longer an ordinary person.

Foundation Establishment is the first hurdle in immortal cultivation; only by passing this hurdle can one truly become an immortal cultivator.

Countless Qi Refining cultivators are willing to give up everything for a Foundation Establishment Pill, hoping to embark on the path to immortality.

Danxuan Pavilion.

"Fellow Daoist!"

As soon as Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi entered Danxuan Pavilion, a young man in the mid-stage of Qi Refining came to greet them.

The man wore a dark blue robe adorned with the dragon-headed serpent motif. The dragon-headed serpent, resembling a four-legged snake with its tail cut off, was typically used on palace corners, ridges, and roofs. However, in the Qingli Dynasty, it was the symbol of the royal Lin family. "My name is Lin Wanli. May I ask what your needs are, my friend?"

Lin Wanli greeted them with a smile while sizing up Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi.

Yang Zhengshan and Yu Qingyi were both dressed in black, simple and plain attire, looking more like martial artists than immortal cultivators.

However, Lin Wanli could still discern some details. For example, the fabric used for both of their clothes was the finest snow silk satin, and the workmanship was extremely meticulous, with fine and even stitches, without the slightest mistake.

Just by looking at their clothes, one could tell that the two of them came from extraordinary backgrounds. Since snow silkworm silk is a specialty of the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, Lin Wanli naturally guessed that the two of them were from the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty.

It's not unusual for martial artists and cultivators from the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty to come to Lotus Heart Valley; the Three Sects of Spiritual Beauty are considered a major force here.

"Do you have any pills that can improve cultivation?" Yang Zhengshan looked at the shelves behind the counter, which were filled with porcelain bottles, each with a label.

"I wonder what level of pills you need, my friend!"

"Uh, late stage of Qi Refining, I guess!" Yang Zhengshan didn't reveal his cultivation level.

Upon hearing this, Lin Wanli immediately retrieved a porcelain bottle. "This is a mid-grade first-tier Jade Marrow Pill, most suitable for those in the late stage of Qi Refining!"

Yang Zhengshan opened the porcelain bottle and smelled it. It was indeed a Jade Marrow Pill, but only a mid-grade one!

"what price?"

"Forty-eight spirit stones each!"

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly; the price was about what he had estimated.

"What about the top-grade ones?"

“A top-grade one costs 120 spirit stones! However, we don’t have any in stock right now. If you need one, you may have to wait for half a month!” Lin Wanli said.

Yang Zhengshan didn't actually want to buy the Jade Marrow Pill; he just wanted to find out the market price of pills for immortal cultivators.

The price of Jade Marrow Pills here is not much different from the price appraised in the Clan Hall.

Because Yang Zhengshan included Jade Marrow Pills in the list of merit points for exchange, the clan hall had already appraised the value of Jade Marrow Pills five years ago.

A little merit is equivalent to a spiritual stone.

According to the clan hall's assessment, a low-grade Jade Marrow Pill is worth twelve merit points, a mid-grade Jade Marrow Pill is worth thirty-six merit points, and a high-grade Jade Marrow Pill is worth ninety-two merit points.

The ancestral hall's assessment was based on two, six, or twelve times the cost of medicinal materials, with the extra profit being Yang Zhengshan's alchemy expenses.

Yang Zhengshan doesn't need these alchemy expenses, but this assessment is for future reference.

Currently, there is only one immortal alchemist, Yang Zhengshan, in the Spirit Source Land, but there will definitely be other immortal alchemists in the Spirit Source Land in the future.

Alchemists who refine pills for the Spirit Source Land certainly shouldn't work for free. They should be given as much merit as possible to encourage them to refine more pills.

The price offered by Danxuan Pavilion is 20-30% higher than the appraised price by the clan hall, but their profits are definitely not as high as Yang Zhengshan's, because Yang Zhengshan's success rate in making pills is far higher than that of their alchemists.

An 80% success rate in producing pills and a 40% success rate in producing high-quality pills represent a significant difference.

Yang Zhengshan then inquired about the prices of other pills, bought several kinds of pills he had never seen before, and left Danxuan Pavilion.

Yang Zhengshan asked Luo San, "You mentioned there's an auction here. How can I join it?"

Luo San said, "The auction is organized by the Baiyun Chamber of Commerce and is held every three years. There will be an auction next spring. If you want to participate in the auction, you can apply at Lingyu Tower. Lingyu Tower is a property of the Baiyun Chamber of Commerce."

"Baiyun Chamber of Commerce? Is this the chamber of commerce of your Qingli Dynasty?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"No, the Baiyun Chamber of Commerce is a chamber of commerce in Baiyun Immortal City. It is said that Baiyun Immortal City is the number one immortal city in the Wanhua Domain. Unfortunately, I am not an immortal cultivator, so I have never been to Baiyun Immortal City," Luo San said.

Yang Zhengshan seemed to be deep in thought.

Baiyun Chamber of Commerce, Baiyun Immortal City, Wanhua Domain—he had never heard of these before.

Is there a place around here that sells maps?

"Yes, Wanshanlou sells maps of all parts of Wanhua Domain."

"Let's go buy a map." Yang Zhengshan felt that he should first learn about the world of immortal cultivation from the map.

They soon arrived at Wanshan Tower. Yang Zhengshan, entertained by the shopkeeper, bought a complete set of maps of the Wanhua Domain, not on paper, but on a jade slip.

Just as he guessed, the region they were in was called Wanhua Domain, but what he didn't expect was that Wanhua Domain was so vast.

Wanhua Domain, also known as Wanhua Mountain Domain, is a vast landmass, more than 200,000 li wide from east to west and more than 400,000 li long from north to south. The Wanhua Mountain Range runs through the entire continent from north to south, while the Yunxiao Mountain Range is just a branch of the Wanhua Mountain Range.

Yang Zhengshan also found the storm area on the map, as well as the vast sea area to the west of the storm area.

The entire sea area west of the storm was marked as the Spirit Wasteland, and there was no detailed map. Obviously, in the eyes of the immortal cultivators, that sea area was a barren land and not worth paying attention to at all.

As for Baiyun Immortal City, Yang Zhengshan also found it, located ten thousand miles northeast of the Qingli Dynasty.

"Is this world really that big?"

Looking at the map in the jade slip, Yang Zhengshan felt like a country bumpkin.

He came to the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty from the vast ocean, thinking he had escaped from the well, but in the end, the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty was nothing more than a poor and remote place in the entire Wanhua Domain.

However, this didn't seem to mean much to him. He hadn't even figured out the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty yet, let alone the entire Myriad Flower Domain.

This map, however, was very useful to him. It was specially prepared for immortal cultivators, and it marked the immortal cultivator forces or their settlements, as well as many dangerous areas for them.

For example, Cangyu Mountain, deep in the Yunxiao Mountains, has detailed markings and descriptions.

Cangyu Mountain is the home of the Skylark clan, and the entire Cloud Mountain Range is their territory.

Larks are small in size, adept at riding the wind and flying, and can soar above the clouds.

The Yunque clan has over a hundred powerful demons and three demon kings, making them the overlords of the Yunxiao Mountain Range.

The Great Demon corresponds to the Foundation Establishment stage of immortal cultivation, while the Demon King corresponds to the Golden Core stage of immortal cultivation.

After reading the description that there were actually three demon kings in the Yunxiao Mountains, Yang Zhengshan felt a chill run down his spine.

He had previously thought of finding a place deep in the Yunxiao Mountains to serve as a resource base for the Spirit Source Land, but now it seems that his idea was a bit presumptuous.

Fortunately, he came to Lotus Heart Valley and bought a map, which unveiled the mystery of the Cloud Soaring Mountains and allowed him to truly understand them.

Not only the Cloud Mountain Range, but also the Netherworld Prison and Hidden Sword Mountain, the locations and situations of these forces are marked and described on the map.

This kind of information, which is hidden in the Sea of ​​Spiritual Beauty, can be easily obtained in Lotus Heart Valley.

(End of this chapter)