Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

As Wu Fan left the shop, he was completely unaware that someone was secretly eyeing him and planning to follow him. He simply thought, "Better safe than sorry."

Although he didn't get many spirit stones from the goods he sold this time, most of the things sold in these shops were of dubious origin, so after leaving the shop, he didn't walk on the main street at all.

As soon as he stepped out of the shop, Wu Fan turned directly into an alley, changed his clothes in a corner at the alley entrance, and took off his straw hat.

He first walked in the opposite direction from his return route to confuse the crowd, and only after confirming that no one was watching him did he return to the original route to meet up with Niu Dazhuang.

After meeting up with Niu Dazhuang, the two did not linger in Luoxing Valley. Leaving the market town, they immediately mounted their horses and galloped along the official road leading to Yunxi Market Town.

More than ten days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Having experienced the ambush at Falling Star Valley, Wu Fan and Niu Dazhuang were extra cautious on their journey. Whenever they encountered a fork in the main road that was prone to ambushes, they would take a detour to avoid it. As a result, their trip was delayed by several days.

Now, it is less than a day's journey from Yunxi Fangshi, with only one narrow passage between two mountains remaining.

Wu Fan suggested continuing the detour, so the two took another roundabout route, finally arriving at Yunxi Market on the morning of the third day.

As soon as they entered the market, they heard some news.

In the narrow passage that they had deliberately avoided, a caravan belonging to the Bai family encountered unidentified bandits who ambushed and killed them.

If it weren't for the timely arrival of the Bai family's support, this caravan would likely have been completely wiped out and its valuables stolen.

Upon hearing this, Niu Dazhuang broke out in a cold sweat.

At that time, because he was near Yunxi Market and was thinking about Bai Tao, he was already somewhat relaxed and felt that nothing would go wrong.

Fortunately, Wu Fan insisted on taking a detour; otherwise, the two would most likely have run into this fierce fight and been caught in the crossfire, with no one to reason with.

Regarding the identities of these bandits, most people in the market speculated that they were members of the Deng family in disguise.

In the Yunxi Mountain area, the only family that dares to mess with the Bai family, has both the strength and the courage to actually do it, is the Deng family.

Clearly, the struggle between the Bai and Deng families is about to escalate once again.

Niu Dazhuang only hoped that this dispute would not affect Bai Tao; Wu Fan, on the other hand, had other concerns. He worried that if the conflict between the two families escalated, it would affect the future sales of his Qi-Inducing Pills.

This is a major issue that directly affects his vital interests.

......

Upon returning, Wu Fan began refining Qi-Inducing Pills.

He already had a high success rate in refining Qi-Inducing Pills, and with the assistance of the Five Elements Beads, his success rate was astonishingly high.

Even more surprisingly, during the week of refining the Qi-Inducing Pill, Wu Fan actually comprehended a new ability with the help of the Five Elements Beads—Pill Control.

In other words, he can freely control the content of impurities in the elixir or elixir.

If you want a high-quality Qi-Inducing Pill, you can refine a high-quality one; if you want a regular Qi-Inducing Pill, you can easily achieve that as well.

In this way, after submitting the required pills to Bai Dan Tang, Wu Fan still had a large number of high-quality Qi-inducing pills left for himself to consume for meditation and cultivation.

With the aid of this high-quality Qi-inducing pill, which has very little toxicity, three months passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, Wu Fan sat cross-legged in the room, finished his practice, and exhaled a long breath.

After three months of testing, he discovered that the premium Qi-Inducing Pills he refined were nearly 30% more potent than ordinary Qi-Inducing Pills.

In addition, the Five Elements Beads improved the efficiency of absorbing the five elements of spiritual energy in the world, which greatly accelerated the cultivation speed of his mid-grade spiritual root.

However, the spiritual energy in the Hundred Pill Hall courtyard is thin, which somewhat limits the progress of cultivation.

Even so, his cultivation speed still increased by nearly 50%. At this rate, it should only take him a few years to reach the fourth level of Qi Refining.

After a moment's thought, Wu Fan straightened his clothes and decided to take a walk in the courtyard to relax before starting to refine this month's Qi-Inducing Pill.

He had only been out of the house for a short while when he saw Niu Dazhuang walking towards him from not far away.

"Angkor Wat, long time no see!"

Niu Dazhuang still had a simple, honest smile on his face.

Half a month after Wu Fan and his companion returned, Niu Dazhuang married Bai Tao.

The weddings of cultivators are far less elaborate than those of mortals; everything is kept simple.

The wedding banquet was attended by Bai Tao's clansmen, while Niu Dazhuang's side only had his mortal parents and Wu Fan as his only friend who cultivated immortality.

As Niu Dazhuang's only fellow cultivator, Wu Fan took out several spirit stones from his possession as a gift to express his gratitude, hoping that Niu Dazhuang would have more confidence in front of Bai Tao in the future.

After the wedding banquet, Niu Dazhuang stayed in the Yunxi Mountain clan territory where the Bai family lived. Outsiders were not allowed to enter Yunxi Mountain, and if they were to meet again in the future, Niu Dazhuang would have to take the initiative to come over.

Wu Fan had previously heard that it was not easy for cultivators who had just married into the Bai family to go out.

After all, they had just received benefits from the Bai family and hadn't yet established trust, which was understandable.

The fact that Niu Dazhuang has taken the initiative to come to us must mean he has something to say.

Seeing Niu Dazhuang still scratching his head and grinning sheepishly, Wu Fan asked, "What's up? Did you specifically seek me out today?"

"My wife is pregnant," Niu Dazhuang said, a slight blush rising on his dark face, his tone a little embarrassed. "I used the excuse of buying some tonics for Tao'er to come and see Brother Wu first."

"You're something else, kid. You've already got good news after just over two months."

Wu Fan smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

The two chatted for a long time before Wu Fan learned that Niu Dazhuang was the first among the Bai family's recruited male disciples to get a woman in the clan pregnant, and therefore the Bai family rewarded him with a lot of cultivation resources.

He came here this time to invite Wu Fan to Lingxiang Pavilion for a nice meal.

However, Wu Fan refused.

A meal at Lingxiang Pavilion costs several spirit stones, equivalent to a month's income for an ordinary cultivator.

Although Niu Dazhuang now has nearly a hundred spirit stones, which is not a small amount, these resources should be used for cultivation, rather than for a meal, which is too extravagant.

So the two bought some simple food and a pot of good wine, and spent a few hours together in Wu Fan's house.

Niu Dazhuang reluctantly left as the sun set.

After Niu Dazhuang left, Wu Fan was preparing to go to the medicine-making room to refine pills when someone delivered a letter from Li Buhui.

He immediately went back inside and opened the envelope, only to find the following written in the letter:

Li Buhui now runs a shop in Luoxing Valley Market, selling various cultivation resources. He hopes that if Wu Fan has any surplus pills, he can send them to him for consignment, and the price is negotiable. If Wu Fan knows any other interested friends, he can also introduce them to his shop, and Wu Fan will receive a referral fee.

After reading the letter, Wu Fan fell into thought.

He has a contract with Bai Dan Tang, which prevents him from trading with other shops. Furthermore, he cannot reveal his high success rate in refining Qi-Inducing Pills in the short term. Therefore, he cannot accept Li Bu Hui's invitation.

Immediately, Wu Fan picked up a pen and ink and wrote a reply.

The letter explained that due to a contract with Baidantang, the individual could only consider cooperation after regaining their freedom. Other acquaintances could help inquire...

Closing message: Wishing you longevity in your pursuit of immortality.