Gou Zai Xian Men Dang Void Workshop Master

Fire Mountain, a top-tier cave dwelling.

The earth fire had been extinguished, the alchemy furnace had cooled, and the fragrance of medicine and elixir gradually diffused within the alchemy chamber.

Chen He closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. He had been cultivating for an hour. His internal magical power was surging and slowly impacting his thirteenth meridian.

Unfortunately, he could only open one-fifth of the channel before he couldn't continue. He had consumed too much magic power, and his meridians couldn't take it anymore.

He slowly guided his magical power back to his dantian, and after a long while, he opened his eyes. After exhaling, his expression was calm, but there was a hint of anxiety in his eyes.

Because it was built on the fire of the earth, the spiritual energy of this cave was very abundant, and Chen He had specially set up a spirit-gathering formation.

Therefore, the concentration of spiritual energy in the alchemy room exceeded that in the bamboo house, but when he cultivated, he found that this amount of spiritual energy was not enough for his cultivation.

"I still need to earn spirit stones," Chen He murmured softly. "Ordinary cultivation methods are no longer suitable for me."

Cultivating in a cave is not as effective as cultivating in the marketplace. Without the assistance of authority in the marketplace, opening up his meridians would require too much mental effort.

Under the same conditions, cultivating in the marketplace, with the added authority, would be risk-free and his cultivation efficiency would be further enhanced.

Only through comparison can one gain a clear understanding. Chen He will no longer waste time outside and has made new plans.

A week is a cycle. Three days are spent refining pills, completing tasks, and earning merit points. The other three days are spent cultivating in the market.

As for the last day...

Chen He stood up, activated the cave's array, and a series of sound transmission talismans flew over, automatically emitting sounds before turning into dust.

"Outer disciple Liu He, Jade Tablet No. 1135, invites fellow Daoist Chen He to a gathering."

"Outer sect disciple..."

The dozen or so communication talismans represented invitations from a dozen or so outer disciples of Five Elements Mountain. Some wanted to attend a gathering, some wanted to meet up, some wanted to pay a visit, and some wanted to refine pills.

Although Chen He hasn't gone out for walks or activities these past few days, he has been refining pills every day and has completed a large number of pill refining tasks, which has attracted a lot of attention.

Chen He was already the envy of many because he occupied a top-tier cave dwelling, and later it was learned that he was a senior first-level alchemist who had mastered Qi refining and meridian opening.

It is naturally necessary to win over and befriend such talents; the number of communication talismans exceeded one hundred on the first day.

It wasn't until later, when they heard that Chen He had a pseudo-spiritual root of the Five Elements and had obtained the opportunity of the Penglai Token, that he was able to turn his life around and become the alchemist he is today. As a result, the number of communication talismans that came to him decreased, almost to the point of being cut in half.

Today is the third day, and we've only received a dozen or so transmission talismans. It will probably quiet down in a few days, but some people are still persisting.

Chen He waved his hand, and a gentle breeze blew by, causing the dust on the communication talisman on the ground to disappear. He then closed the cave's array and, with the addition of Liu He's jade tablet number, quickly established contact.

"Chen He?" Liu He quickly sent a message, "Three days have passed, and I've finally added you. Is it convenient for me to pay you a visit?"

"Come on over!" Chen He extended an invitation, but there was no response from the other end for a short while.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, fluctuations came from outside the cave. Chen He waved his hand to open it, and a figure walked in from outside.

"It really is you," Liu He clicked his tongue a few times after entering the cave and seeing Chen He. "I didn't expect you to join the Five Elements Mountain."

"I never expected that," Chen He chuckled softly. "I remember you have a water elemental root, so why didn't you choose to cultivate the 'Mysterious Origin Spirit Transformation True Scripture' and come to Five Elements Mountain?"

"What do you know?" Liu He sat down casually and said smugly, "My uncle is the deputy deacon of Fire Spirit Mountain, in charge of the weapon refining hall. He approves all weapon refining tasks."

"Oh? I've never heard of this before?" Chen He looked at him in surprise. "Your Liu family is just a small, insignificant family in Four Symbols City, yet you have such a connection? Shouldn't you be publicizing it?"

Indeed, Liu He, who is standing in front of us, is also a celestial seedling from Sixiang City. The Liu family has a small population in Sixiang City, not exceeding three thousand people.

Calling them a small, unassuming family is not meant to be derogatory, but rather to state the truth. If they truly had cultivators, they wouldn't be so low-key; they would have publicized it long ago.

"My uncle hasn't shown up for over forty years. He's been accumulating merit points all these years in preparation for breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm."

Liu He casually explained, "I only got in touch with my uncle after I joined the outer sect. Yu Gui has a connection with me."

"I see." Chen He said, understanding dawning on him.

The Jade Tablet has many magical uses, including tracking blood relatives within the Immortal Sect, but Chen He has no chance to experience it.

If a cultivator doesn't contact his family for a long time, it's easy to assume that something has happened to him, and if the Liu family were to publicize it, they would be ridiculed.

Clinging to cultivators without evidence is looked down upon by other families. Although there is no war in Four Symbols City, there is no shortage of exclusion, competition, comparison, and gossip.

Chen He was also happy for him.

The deputy steward of a certain mountain in the outer sect already holds a high position. Although he does not serve the Steward Peak and is not a steward at the Purple Mansion Realm, he is still qualified to challenge for the Purple Mansion Realm.

Having such family elders is a great opportunity for Liu He, at least he doesn't need to feel too much pressure in the Qi Refining Realm.

"My spiritual roots are also an important reason," Liu He said. "I have spiritual roots of water, fire, and metal. Fire is the strongest, metal is the second strongest, and water is the weakest. I focus on cultivating the way of metal and fire, which is more suitable for weapon crafting. I am currently cultivating with my uncle."

The strength of one's spiritual root affects one's cultivation path. Basically, all cultivators prefer stronger spiritual roots. With his uncle's protection, there is nothing wrong with Liu He choosing the path of metal and fire.

"Your cultivation path is stable, much better than mine," Chen He remarked.

"You're really asking for a beating," Liu He said, scoffing. "Even with my uncle's protection, I can't live in a top-tier cave dwelling, and I'm not an alchemist."

"It seems you already know," Chen He smiled. "It's nothing more than a matter of chance, whether it's a spiritual root or a pseudo-spiritual root of the Five Elements."

"It's precisely because my spiritual roots haven't changed that it's so shocking," Liu He shook his head. "I have three spiritual roots, and I've only just reached the Qi Refining and Meridian Opening stage. I'm still just a formal first-level weapon refiner."

Comparing yourself to others is truly infuriating.

He had been far superior to Chen He in every aspect, but unexpectedly, due to a chance encounter, Chen He surpassed him. It was hard not to feel emotional, and the impact on him was even greater.

"Let's not talk about that," Liu He said. "I'm here to talk to you about something important."

"What important matter?" Chen He asked.

"I've made contact with the other Immortal Seeds from the Four Symbols City in the same year, and we've formed a loose alliance where we watch out for each other and help one another."

Liu He held up the jade tablet and said, "I'm including you in this alliance, along with the small circle of Five Elements Mountain."

"Okay." Upon hearing this, Chen He took out the jade tablet without hesitation and added it.

There are only so many promising young talents from the Four Symbols City; most of them went to the outer sect to cultivate on different outer sect peaks.

These people are naturally aligned; their clans and families are all in Four Symbols City, making them closer to each other, somewhat like fellow villagers.

As for Liu He's circle, it mainly consists of weapon-refining workshops. With Uncle Liu's connections, the quality is naturally guaranteed.

Chen He had just arrived at Huoling Mountain and was lacking in interpersonal relationships. Joining the group would fill this gap and allow him to integrate well into the community.

After successfully establishing contact with the jade tablet, Chen He, introduced by Liu He, greeted everyone and quickly began chatting.

The Immortal Seedlings from Four Symbols City, in particular, were all surprised by Chen He's story and chatted about it enthusiastically.

The circle at Five Elements Mountain was much quieter. At this time, they were mostly engaged in refining weapons and pills and had no time to chat.

"Thanks," Chen He said.

"Why are you being so polite between us?" Liu He said with a smile. "I'd like to ask you about the Penglai Token."