Yunmeng Immortal Clan

After the Yunmeng Immortal Gathering ended, Song Daoxuan took advantage of the opportunity to rent an inn in Yunmeng Market for one low-grade spirit stone.

These inns are rich in spiritual energy, with a spirit-gathering array to collect the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. They also have the strange effect of isolating cultivators' divine sense from probing. However, one spirit stone can only be used to rent one inn for a month at most.

A month may seem like a long time, but for cultivators with long lifespans, a month is not enough to accomplish anything; they may not even be able to complete a single meditation session.

This amount of spirit stones is nothing to Song Daoxuan now, but for a rogue cultivator with no background in the martial world, it is a significant expense.

Unlike Song Daoxuan, who had a family background and spiritual veins that aided in cultivation, they lacked access to such inns. Without renting such inns, their cultivation efficiency would be extremely low, and even with three spiritual roots, their cultivation level might remain stagnant.

Song Daoxuan took out a yellowish Huangya Dan formula he had obtained from the Yunmeng Immortal Gathering.

The main ingredient is Rehmannia glutinosa, the auxiliary herbs are Qingling grass, and some medicinal guides that are not particularly precious.

The Yellow Sprout Pill is quite special. Its medicinal properties are not strong, but rather moderate and mild. It is not as potent as the Gathering Breath Pill, but it is more than enough for low-level Qi Refining cultivators to break through their cultivation levels.

However, for cultivators like Song Daoxuan who were preparing to break through from the eighth to the ninth level of Qi Refining, it did have some effect, but it was minimal.

Fortunately, although the effect was slight and not as strong as the Gathering Breath Pill, it still had some effect.

Because he had developed an aversion to medicine from taking too much of the Gathering Essence Pill over the years, he had no choice but to prepare to refine the Yellow Sprout Pill and then break through the bottleneck by producing a large quantity, regardless of the cost.

The Song family of Qinglian Island owns a standard-issue elixir shop throughout the Yunmeng market.

Spirit medicine shops only sell spiritual plants and herbs, but there aren't many alchemists in the entire Yunmeng Prefecture, so spirit medicine shops usually don't earn spirit stones as quickly as direct pill shops.

Song Daoxuan put away the pill formula and went to a spiritual medicine shop called Song's Pharmacy.

Even the vast Song family of Qinglian Island could only afford to open this one pharmacy in the central part of Yunmeng Market, because land in Yunmeng Market was extremely valuable.

Ordinary street vendors on the outskirts charge exorbitant fees for setting up their stalls, while the standardized shops in the central area charge outrageously high prices.

Upon entering Song's Pharmacy, Song Daoxuan saw an old man dressed in blue robes. This old man was named Song Zhiqing and had reached the tenth level of the Qi Refining stage.

Song Zhiqing was ranked eleventh among the Zhi generation. He was familiar with various spiritual plants and herbs from a young age, but he only stayed at this level throughout his life and did not explore the path of alchemy.

"Little Dao Xuan! You've come to buy spiritual plants and herbs again. You've accomplished quite a bit these past years. Not only have you cultivated to the eighth level of Qi Refining, but you've also been taught the art of alchemy by the Supreme Elder. I sought alchemy knowledge from him in my younger days, but he said I only had knowledge of herbs and no talent for alchemy. I was truly envious!"

"News has come from within the clan that you, at such a young age, have already become the clan's only first-tier alchemist. Honghu has truly given birth to a prodigy; the Honghu lineage is likely to prosper!"

Over the years, Song Daoxuan had frequently dealt with Song Zhiqing in the auxiliary herbs and even medicinal guides he purchased for refining pills. However, every time he visited the Song family's pharmacy, the old man would lavish praise on him, which made Song Daoxuan blush and feel somewhat embarrassed.

"Here are some spiritual plants and herbs that you needed, Dao Xuan. Keep them safe! But you're almost thirty, right? Do you have any suitable ones? I have a fellow Daoist..."

"Grandpa Daoxuan is taking his leave!" Upon hearing this, Song Daoxuan left without looking back.

"He is clearly a handsome man, and the only first-level alchemist from Qinglian Island, yet he doesn't know how to help his family to have more descendants and give birth to children with spiritual roots. What a waste of such a good body!" The old man stroked his beard and sighed as he watched Song Daoxuan's departing figure.

After Song Daoxuan refined the auxiliary herbs for Huangya Dan and the seeds for the main ingredient, he went around to the outer city of Yunmeng Market.

He took out the Cloud-Stepping Steed from his spirit beast pouch and initially fled for a distance.

Then suddenly the sounds of fighting rang out. Song Daoxuan frowned. What powerful aura! It was actually a battle between Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

Two auras appeared in the distance, one belonging to the early stage of Foundation Establishment and the other to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

The aura of someone in the early stages of Foundation Establishment is gentle, clearly indicating that they are a righteous cultivator who has practiced orthodox Taoist methods.

An eerie yet domineering aura quickly overwhelmed the gentle one.

"Fellow Daoist, I am at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. You are no match for me. Please leave quickly, or I fear I may injure you!" the demonic cultivator said coldly. In his heart, he thought that since the young master only wanted to attack that Qi Refining stage kid, he could kill this early Foundation Establishment cultivator, but he would probably have to pay a price.

If this person can withdraw, I won't have to suffer too much loss.

"I would rather die than let you harm the young master!" The righteous cultivator, at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, suddenly surged with power and charged towards the demonic cultivator at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

"What a joke! The lives of my clansmen are in the hands of the Xilin Du clan. If we really let this person go and harm the young master, not only will we ourselves be at risk of being hunted down by the Du clan, but all the members of our clan will have to die with the young master!"

"What bad luck! I just got home and ran into a Foundation Establishment cultivator fighting. This is no joke. If I get caught in the power fluctuations of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even with my Qi Refining level eight cultivation, I'll probably suffer considerable damage. I'd better stay far away!"

Song Daoxuan immediately pulled on the reins, maneuvering the Cloud-Stepping Immortal Steed to avoid the battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators.

However, just as Song Daoxuan fled in another direction, a gust of wind struck the Cloud-Stepping Immortal Steed.

In his haste, Song Daoxuan quickly conjured a small emerald green shield, forming a wind shield around his body. However, the Cloud-Stepping Immortal Steed suffered the consequences, being struck by the gust of wind and falling to the ground.

Song Daoxuan and his cloud-riding steed tumbled over, but fortunately, the horse was enveloped in a blue wind shield, and he easily regained his balance after landing.

Then a stench of blood filled his nostrils. His eyes widened. What had struck the horse was not some kind of attack, but a figure that was all too familiar.

"Fellow Daoist Du, how is it you!" The bloodied and mangled figure before him was none other than Du Ziruo, a member of the Xilin Du Clan, who had met Song Daoxuan once before at the Yunmeng Immortal Gathering.

"Fellow Daoist Song, run! I've been murdered and robbed! The attackers are probably cultivators from the Corpse Demon Sect—one in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and the other at the peak of the tenth level of Qi Refining. This is my storage bag; take it and run! Go to the Du Clan in Xilin and find my father, and ask him to avenge me!"