Mortal: I have a gathering technique

Leaving aside the topic of spiritual roots, Fang Qing went on to explain other basic knowledge to Han Li, such as the various arts of cultivation.

Han Li listened attentively while his brain worked at lightning speed.

"My little green bottle can accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs. Based on this advantage, the most suitable skill for me to learn should be alchemy."

According to Fang Qing, when alchemists refine pills for others, they not only receive a payment, but also, provided they maintain a certain success rate, they can secretly deduct a portion of the finished pills' value.

"This is an incredibly profitable business!"

"More importantly, having the identity of an alchemist as a cover can explain why I have poor aptitude but cultivate quickly."

"Furthermore, when resources are scarce, one can obtain spirit stones by selling pills, which is much safer than directly selling spirit herbs."

……

Fang Qing had no idea that her words had made Han Li more cautious ahead of time.

Of course, even if Fang Qing knew, she didn't think it was a big deal.

After all, in the original story, Han Li cultivated so quickly with four spiritual roots that no one even noticed.

If you randomly find a shop to sell the thousand-year-old spiritual herb, no one will follow you and rob you afterwards.

Such an utterly unreasonable thing has happened, what else is there to say?

The protagonist's halo is terrifying!

……

Time slipped away little by little as Fang Qing explained.

As dusk fell, Fang Qing clicked his tongue, feeling he had said everything he needed to say. He pondered for a moment, then suddenly posed a question:

"Junior brother, do you know what is most important to us Qi Refining cultivators?"

Han Li thought for a moment, then looked up: "Cultivation technique?"

"Wrong, it's the Foundation Establishment Pill!"

Fang Qing waved his hand, his tone resolute, and then casually explained the importance of Foundation Establishment Pills.

Finally, he sighed and lamented:

"In the entire cultivation world of Yue Kingdom, all Foundation Establishment Pills are controlled by the Seven Great Sects. For independent cultivators like you and me, there is only one way to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills: join one of the Seven Great Sects."

When Han Li heard that it was a pill, he was somewhat skeptical.

He felt confident that with the little green bottle in hand, as long as he got the pill formula, any pill would be within his grasp.

Thinking of the pill formula, a thought struck him, and he tentatively asked, "Is it because only the seven major sects possess the method to refine Foundation Establishment Pills?"

Fang Qing shook his head, "No, the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe can be found in any decent market..."

Upon hearing that Foundation Establishment Pill recipes were so readily available, Han Li immediately had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Fang Qing's next explanation made him frown.

"What is truly monopolized is the spiritual herbs used to refine Foundation Establishment Pills."

"Among these spiritual herbs, three are extremely rare and are not sold in any of the markets of Yue Kingdom. They only grow in a secret realm, which is controlled by the seven sects."

"That's why I said the only way to achieve Foundation Establishment is to join one of the seven factions of Yue."

Fang Qing stroked the white jade cup, her voice soft and melancholic.

In fact, Fang Qing guessed that not only in Yue Kingdom, but probably throughout the entire Tiannan cultivation world, the Foundation Establishment Pills were controlled by the major sects.

If Yue Kingdom is just an isolated case, then the Foundation Establishment Pill is extremely profitable here, and it's impossible that no one would think of smuggling it over.

Han Li remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What are the standards for the seven sects to accept disciples?"

As expected of Old Demon Han, his question hit the nail on the head.

Unfortunately, the seven sects of Yue Kingdom do not accept independent cultivators. Each time they open their gates, they only accept disciples from cultivation families that are related to them.

Upon hearing this, Han Li's expression finally turned ugly. Seeing this, Fang Qing chuckled and teased:

"Even if the seven sects don't care about background, with your four spiritual roots, junior brother, you wouldn't be chosen."

Han Li's face darkened, and he was speechless.

"Yes, my spiritual root aptitude isn't great, but you don't have to be so discouraging."

"May I ask what your qualifications are, senior brother?"

Han Li asked, with a mixture of curiosity and resentment.

Fang Qing chuckled at him, "Well, I'm a tiny bit stronger than you, I have dual spiritual roots!"

Han Li was speechless once again.

Is this what you call slightly better?

This is clearly much stronger!

"With the Seven Sects so forcefully controlling the Foundation Establishment Pills, aren't they afraid of resistance from the rogue cultivators?" Han Li asked, frowning.

As expected of the old devil, he grasped the key point immediately.

Fang Qing secretly praised him while explaining:

"You've hit the nail on the head. To dispel the resentment of rogue cultivators, the seven major sects hold an Ascension Ceremony every ten years..."

"This Ascension Ceremony is complicated to explain, but to put it simply, it's like a martial arts tournament in the secular world, where the methods of participating cultivators are not limited..."

"Then, each of the seven sects set aside ten slots, selected the top ten to join their sects, and distributed Foundation Establishment Pills to them."

Fang Qing spoke eloquently, and at the end, he looked at Han Li, clapped his hands, and laughed:

"Coincidentally, the next Ascension Ceremony is in three months, and the venue happens to be Lanzhou."

"With our current cultivation levels, participating in the Ascension Ceremony is a bit beyond our capabilities, but it would be nice to go and experience it."

"So, junior brother, would you be willing to come with me to take a look?"

Han Li was listening with great excitement when he suddenly received Fang Qing's invitation, and instinctively became wary.

But after thinking about it for a while, he finally nodded in agreement.

Fang Qing was very satisfied upon seeing this.

To be honest, he was a novice, and there were quite a few cultivators in the cultivation world who had undergone tribulations. It would be safer to travel with more people.

Because they wanted to go see the Ascension Ceremony together, Fang Qing stayed in Han Li's courtyard.

In the days that followed, the two either meditated and cultivated their skills individually or gathered together to discuss magic.

As time went by, the two of them actually seemed to have a slight connection as fellow disciples.

The reason I say it's just a facade is because Fang Qing could see that Han Li's wariness had never been eliminated.

Fang Qing didn't care about this.

As the saying goes, time will tell.

Fang Qing truly considered Han Li a friend.

Firstly, both of them possess superpowers, making them outliers in this world.

Secondly, although Han Li is known as the Old Demon, he has a bottom line and has never intentionally harmed anyone.

Thirdly, the path of cultivation is not very interesting to walk alone; it's much more fun to chase and compete with a few close friends.

Of course, there is also the most important point: if we don't build a good relationship first, how will we get the old demon's spiritual herbs for free in the future!

……

Time flies like an arrow, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

That morning, Han Li suddenly received a notice to depart, leaving him completely bewildered:

"Isn't the Ascension Ceremony still over a month away? Why set off so early?"

He looked at Fang Qing and asked.

Fang Qing awkwardly patted his forehead, "I forgot to tell you, there's a market town called 'Tainan Valley' near the venue of the Ascension Conference."

"This market has a 'Tainan Small Gathering,' which is held every five years and is a grand trading event specifically for Qi Refining cultivators from Lanzhou."

"This Tainan Small Gathering happens to coincide with the Ascension to Immortality Conference, so there should be quite a few cultivators who have come because of its reputation. Perhaps we can find some good things."

Upon hearing this, Han Li immediately became interested.

He had longed to attend those auctions and exchange meetings ever since Fang Qing introduced them, and now that he had the opportunity to participate, he naturally didn't want to miss it.

He was especially eager when he heard that there would be many independent cultivators setting up stalls.

After all, who hasn't dreamed of finding a bargain on Taobao?