Raise a sword!

Seven days later, the second batch of Foundation Establishment Pills was completed.

Three pills were formed as before, but unfortunately this time they were only three Foundation Establishment Pills with one pattern.

Qin Yuan was clearly not satisfied with this result.

"It seems that my alchemy skills are still not sophisticated enough."

After putting away the Foundation Establishment Pill, Qin Yuan said to Zhao Shan'ao beside him, "Your master has come out of seclusion and is waiting for you in the back hall of the Pill Hall."

Zhao Shan'ao's eyes lit up, and he even forgot to bow to Qin Yuan before hurriedly leaving the alchemy room.

Seeing this, Jiang Peng frowned slightly, and was about to say something when Qin Yuan stopped her.

"This kid has always been like this, there's no need to bother with him." Qin Yuan shook his head slightly.

Jiang Peng calmly said, "During the process of refining the Foundation Establishment Pill these past few days, my master has given me meticulous guidance, and many of the key points he mentioned are his century-long experience in alchemy."

"He shared his knowledge so generously and without reservation, yet he couldn't even get a word of thanks from Zhao Shan'ao... I consider myself someone who doesn't like to stand out, but even I can't stand his behavior."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yuan showed a look of relief, but said, "I have my own plans. It's not your place to stand up for me. Your most urgent task now is to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining as soon as possible."

Jiang Peng said with some surprise, "Master, I only recently broke through to the sixth level of Qi Refining."

Qin Yuan was naturally aware of this matter, but he ignored it and continued, "Once you reach the late stage of Qi Refining, your alchemy skills will reach the first-grade high level, so that you can take my place in the Pill Hall."

"Although you are barely qualified now, there are still a few first-grade high-quality alchemists in the Pill Hall. It would be inappropriate to force you into this position. You understand the principle that you have to be strong yourself to succeed."

After hearing these words, Jiang Peng became even more confused.

In his past interactions with Qin Yuan, he and Qin Yuan had discussed cultivation matters.

Throughout the entire process, Qin Yuan never mentioned that Jiang Peng's cultivation level was insufficient, because both Qin Yuan and Jiang Peng knew that rapid progress in cultivation during the Qi Refining stage was not necessarily true progress.

Qin Yuan had twice attempted to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, both of which ended in failure. Therefore, he should have been even more aware of the importance of a solid foundation.

"Master, is there anything I can do for you?" Jiang Peng asked tentatively.

Qin Yuan nodded.

"There's no definitive answer yet, but there will be an opportunity in about three to five years from now, on the southern slope."

The reason why the timeframe is uncertain is because the wager between Qin Yuan and Liu Zhi was based on the premise that Liu Zhi's lifespan would end.

Qin Yuan had no idea how many more years his senior brother Liu could live.

However, Qin Yuan did not elaborate on this matter, but his gaze towards Jiang Peng held a hint of encouragement.

"Boy, have you ever heard of the Southern Ming Sect?"

Jiang Peng shook his head slightly. As for the power in the Southern Mountain Region, he only knew about the situation in the Northern Foothills area, plus the Beast King Sect.

Qin Yuan was not surprised and explained, "The southern foot of the Earth-Ringing Mountains leads directly to the outer sea, and there is also a cultivation world in the outer sea, among which the Southern Bright Sect is the leading sect."

"To be more specific, the Southern Ming Sect has Nascent Soul True Monarchs, third- or even fourth-level miscellaneous arts inheritances, and cultivation methods and spells that can directly lead to the Nascent Soul realm."

"Of course, having it is one thing, but how to acquire it is another."

"But now, if there is an opportunity for you to go to the Nanming Sect to cultivate for a year or two... it is still unknown what you will gain, but it is still an opportunity."

Qin Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Kid, are you willing to go?"

Jiang Peng suddenly realized.

"So, seizing this opportunity means focusing on the affairs of the Pill Hall?"

"good."

Jiang Peng nodded. It seemed that the time spent absorbing Qi each day would need to be increased from now on.

"This disciple will do his utmost."

...

Two months later.

On Azure Mist Peak, in the alchemy room, Jiang Peng slowly calmed the restless spiritual energy within her body.

He opened his eyes, a hint of surprise still lingering in them.

"The Five Elements of the cultivation technique are indeed quite profound. I never imagined that a cultivator with a fire elemental root could actually use earth fire to cultivate."

After Jiang Peng agreed to improve her cultivation level as soon as possible, Qin Yuan gave her a lot of guidance on Qi absorption.

Qin Yuan mentioned that cultivators with fire spirit roots can receive significant benefits when cultivating around fire-type earth veins.

From then on, the alchemy room on Biwu Peak became Jiang Peng's exclusive cultivation room.

"In two months, my spiritual power has increased by about 10%... With ample resources and the help of the earth fire, I should be able to attempt to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining in about two years," Jiang Peng thought to himself.

Although his cultivation progressed rapidly, he did not feel much joy.

Jiang Peng had clearly noticed that the consequence of focusing all her efforts on improving her cultivation was that her spiritual power had become somewhat unstable and not as solid as before.

Of course, this is just Jiang Peng comparing herself to herself.

If we look at cultivators of the same level, there are probably very few people like Jiang Peng who can cultivate body refinement, spirit refinement, and qi absorption simultaneously.

After leaving the alchemy room, we arrived at the residence on the mountaintop.

The wasteland outside Qin Yuan's former residence, which originally consisted of several tiled houses, has now been reclaimed by Jiang Peng.

However, they only planted ordinary vegetables, plus a few fruit trees that Hua Lingshi had transplanted.

Cultivation is hard enough, so Jiang Peng has to find something to reward herself.

Qin Yuan initially said that Jiang Peng was neglecting his duties, but after tasting Jiang Peng's cooking, he never said anything like that again.

On the contrary, Qin Yuan, who used to rarely return to Biwu Peak while presiding over the Pill Hall, is now coming back every few days to stay for a night.

Apart from that, there were no other changes on Biwu Peak.

However, two disciples of the Pill Hall who had been instructed by Jiang Peng recently obtained the status of inner disciples because their alchemy skills had reached the middle grade of the first rank.

This incident also attracted more disciples of the Pill Hall to do odd jobs on Biwu Peak, hoping to receive guidance from Jiang Peng.

Jiang Peng did not object to this, but simply set a time to avoid delaying his own cultivation by instructing others.

In these uneventful days, through the words of the disciples of the Pill Hall, Jiang Peng finally gained some reputation within the Cangshan Sect.

But that's all.

The situation of the Cangshan Sect has not been very good recently, so much so that many people have turned their attention to things outside the sect.

"A few days ago, one of the sect's mines was seized by the Jade Pavilion Sword Pavilion, resulting in the deaths and injuries of some disciples."

On Biwu Peak, Liu Quan, who had come to visit, recounted his recent experiences.

He came to buy elixirs.

Jiang Peng has a batch of pills.

Hao Xue provided the spiritual materials, and the disciples of the Pill Hall were responsible for refining them. As a result, he unexpectedly obtained a batch of pills of good quality, but which he didn't need.

And it's available every month.

Therefore, Jiang Peng informed Liu Quan that he could buy pills from him at a fair price using spirit stones.

"How does the sect plan to respond?" Jiang Peng asked casually.

But Liu Quan's answer startled Jiang Peng.

"The sect has decided to retaliate and pay for the blood debt."