Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

Li Xiuyuan was in high spirits after receiving sixty spirit stones.

He planned to go to Pang Dehai's place to sell some pills and, incidentally, gather information about the market and surrounding areas.

Now that he can refine high-grade Qingxin Pills, he can naturally sell low-grade and mid-grade Qingxin Pills at high prices.

Exchange for some spirit stones, and incidentally purchase magical artifacts and talismans.

After all, no matter how good the spirit stones are, they won't produce offspring; converting them into combat power is the most desirable thing.

Li Xiuyuan walked through the familiar streets and alleys and arrived at Lingbao Pavilion.

"Come, come, Fellow Daoist Li has arrived! Serve tea—no, no, Xiao Wang, serve fragrant tea!"

When Pang Dehai of Lingbao Pavilion saw Li Xiuyuan, he couldn't stop smiling.

Li Xiuyuan smiled and nodded.

Without further ado, he took out dozens of small porcelain bottles from his storage bag and placed them on the table, which made Pang Dehai even more excited.

"There must be more than forty or fifty pills, right?"

"It seems that Fellow Daoist Li's alchemy skills are becoming increasingly superb. He will probably be able to advance to the intermediate-grade alchemist level in a few years."

With a smile on his face, Pang Dehai inspected the batch of pills one by one.

"Fifty low-grade Clear Mind Pills and ten mid-grade Clear Mind Pills."

"As usual, Fellow Daoist Li, the price is one hundred and twenty spirit stones, how about it?"

Pang Dehai asked with a smile.

Li Xiuyuan was taken aback and asked, "Is the price of this pill still the same? It won't go up?"

"That's right, Fellow Daoist Li, the prices of pills and other supplies will not rise for some time to come."

Pang Dehai peered around and whispered, "Even the prices of talismans and magical artifacts will plummet."

"If Fellow Daoist Li has such a need, perhaps we could wait a few more days and save a lot of spirit stones."

"Oh, why did it come to this?"

Li Xiuyuan looked puzzled and asked.

"With the emergence of Foundation Establishment Caves, prices have risen further, making life increasingly difficult for independent cultivators. Many independent cultivators have fled en masse from various markets, only to be killed by demonic cultivators and robbers along the way."

"This action thoroughly angered the upper sect, which then dispatched dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators and even Core Formation cultivators. With overwhelming divine might, they completely wiped out the demon's lair and cleared the heavens."

"The upper sect has flooded the market with a large amount of low-grade goods and controlled prices, strictly prohibiting speculation. Therefore, prices in the market will gradually fall."

When Pang Dehai spoke of how the Blazing Fire Sect mobilized dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators and even Core Formation cultivators to quell the evil forces.

His tone was passionate and impassioned, conveying a sense of shared destiny.

Li Xiuyuan sighed inwardly. The Upper Sect had intervened to stabilize the situation, indicating that this land reclamation was extremely crucial for the Upper Sect.

During this period, no force or cultivator is allowed to challenge the rule of the upper sect.

After all, independent cultivators are like capillaries in the human body, though they are tiny.

However, they are an indispensable part of the entire immortal cultivation force. Their act of robbing and killing rogue cultivators is clearly intended to shake the foundation of the upper sect's rule.

It is only natural that they would be destroyed instantly by swift and decisive action!

He took the spirit stones from Pang Dehai and asked, "Do you have any low-grade or mid-grade attack or escape talismans?"

"Yes, there are very few things that Lingbao Pavilion doesn't have."

Pang Dehai smiled and listed more than ten kinds of talismans from his storage bag.

Pang Dehai then introduced them one by one, emphasizing some and giving appropriate detail to others according to Li Xiuyuan's specific needs.

"Give me a low-grade Cold Blade Talisman, a mid-grade Swiftness Talisman, and a mid-grade Golden Escape Talisman... just these three."

Both the mid-grade Divine Speed ​​Talisman and the Golden Escape Talisman are used for escaping.

The former allows for brief periods of wind-riding travel, while the latter transforms into golden light and moves swiftly, far surpassing the capabilities of a low-grade Gale Talisman.

The low-grade Frost Talisman, when triggered, summons ten ice blades several feet long, making it extremely useful for killing and blocking enemies.

Upon hearing this, Pang Dehai's face lit up with joy, and he smiled and said, "We're old friends, so I'll sell it to you at the same price as before, for a total of fifteen spirit stones."

Pang Dehai quickly handed the three talismans to Li Xiuyuan.

Li Xiuyuan handed over the spirit stone.

The transaction is complete.

Pang Dehai warmly saw Li Xiuyuan off from Lingbao Pavilion.

Shanyangfang City.

As the land reclamation approached, the upper sect intervened to maintain order, and the market town ushered in a rare period of prosperity.

Everywhere you look on the streets, you can see independent monks setting up stalls and hawking their wares.

"My Spirit Awakening Pills were refined by a master alchemist. They have low toxicity and are highly effective at enhancing magical power. Would you like some, fellow Daoist?"

"A mid-grade, first-tier golden sword talisman, want to trade or not?"

"Well... how about you add some more? Hey, hey, don't go! I'll change it, I'll change it, okay?"

After a simple disguise, Li Xiuyuan mingled among the crowd, looking at the body-refining herbs he had obtained and nodding to himself.

The sect leader's decisive intervention stabilized prices, making the market more prosperous. With the increase in independent cultivators, he also seized many opportunities.

The Body Tempering Grass I have is already one-third cheaper than before.

The number of Qingxin Pills he refined seemed large, but when placed in the vast market of independent cultivators, they couldn't make a ripple at all.

"I need to quickly sell off my inventory while the market is booming, so that future price drops won't affect me."

For several days in a row, Li Xiuyuan wandered around the market, occasionally picking up any rare herbs to refine elixirs.

He usually stays at home practicing alchemy and rarely goes out or socializes.

Inside the training room.

Li Xiuyuan leisurely opened his eyes, feeling the increasing condensed magical power within his body, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Those arduous days of meditation were truly unbearable. If I had spirit stones and pills to aid my cultivation every day, I would have broken through long ago!"

Without comparison, there is no difference. He now consumes more spirit stones in a month of cultivation than he did in the past six months.

Open the familiar panel to check your cultivation progress.

[Immortal Lord: Li Xiuyuan]

Lifespan: 30/107

[Spiritual Root: Mid-grade Fire Spiritual Root (Twelve Strands of Fire Spiritual Aura)]

[Realm: Qi Refining Level 3: 30/100]

[Cultivation Technique: Lesser Yuan Refining Fire Technique, Advanced Level: 94/100]

[Spells: Fireball (Minor Mastery) 235/300, Fire Control (Minor Mastery) 285/300...]

Looking at the realm, Li Xiuyuan smiled with satisfaction.

"Spirit stones and elixirs aid cultivation, visibly accelerating the speed of realm advancement."

Thanks to his collaboration with Du Wuxin and Yan Xinyou in summarizing the "Crimson Fire Pill Technique," his understanding of the Lesser Forging Yuan Refining Fire Technique progressed rapidly.

Both texts explain the use of fire, but each has its own emphasis. Li Xiuyuan used this to draw inferences and comprehend the techniques.

This Fire Control Pill Technique is the comprehension and insight of two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

"At this pace, we'll soon reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining. With the land reclamation imminent and the Upper Sect's presence in the market, no trouble is expected in the short term."

"I also need to hurry up and cultivate. Right now, I can only refine the Mind-Clearing Pill, which is a low-grade first-level pill. I need to quickly learn how to refine the Qi-Nourishing Pill and the Rejuvenating Pill. Both of these are in high demand. Only by working on all three at the same time can I quickly accumulate cultivation resources."

Having experienced the benefits of spirit stones accelerating cultivation, Li Xiuyuan no longer wanted to return to the past when he had to painfully meditate and refine his qi.

Especially at his in-between age, he can't afford to waste any more time.

If one can establish a foundation before the age of sixty, why gamble on the probability of using the Yi Jin Jing to lock in Qi and blood and delay the aging of Qi and blood?

Thinking of this, Li Xiuyuan took out all the spirit stones he had exchanged with the rogue cultivators in the market during this period.

Splash!

Between his legs, which were crossed, was a large pile of bright, colorful spirit stones.

"I've earned nearly a hundred spirit stones in just a few months, not even counting the value of the pills I used for cultivation. Alchemy is incredibly profitable!"

Even Li Xiuyuan's eyes lit up when he saw so many spirit stones that belonged to him.

An ordinary first-tier low-grade alchemist can only open a maximum of ten batches of pills per month, with a success rate of no more than 40%.

After deducting costs, he wouldn't earn much spirit stone at most, unlike him whose energy and spirit are unrestricted.

The entire alchemy process is performed at full capacity, making it comparable to a human alchemy furnace!

"Every time a new area is opened up, it is a golden age for the cultivation world. Rare and hard-to-find magical artifacts, spirit pets, elixirs, and even the inheritance of various cultivation arts, and even foundation-building spiritual objects will appear."

This is an opportunity for many independent cultivators, and it is also his opportunity.

He didn't want the Foundation Establishment Pill; he believed he could refine it himself as long as he had the formula.

Therefore, his goal is to accelerate his cultivation or improve his aptitude and techniques!

These are what he urgently needs most, wanting to go far on the path of immortality.

Improving one's cultivation aptitude and transforming one's cultivation techniques are all crucial steps.

His spiritual root aptitude was poor, and his cultivation techniques were mediocre, so he had to work even harder to refine pills to earn spirit stones and improve his cultivation.

"I need to speed up my study of the [Detailed Explanation of Alchemy], learn how to make Qi-Nourishing Pills, Rejuvenating Pills, and Healing Pills, and then advance to the intermediate-grade alchemist level. This way, I can double the speed at which I earn spirit stones!"

"With a large amount of spirit stones as a foundation, my cultivation level can increase rapidly. Only in this way can I gain a foothold in the cultivation world!"

He needs to accumulate strength for the upcoming golden age, and the future Qi Refining and Foundation Building will not be just empty talk!