Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

And so, time flew by.

Li Xiuyuan has been back in the sect for nearly two and a half years.

Inside the training room.

Li Xiuyuan slowly finished his practice.

[Realm Level: Qi Refining Level 8, 10/100]

In the past two and a half years, many major events have occurred within the sect.

Not long after Li Xiuyuan went into seclusion to cultivate, the Ascension Conference, held once every ten years by the five major sects, came around.

To replenish the many disciples lost at the lower levels, the Blazing Fire Sect opened its gates wide.

They recruited over a thousand young men and women with excellent aptitude and talent from various cultivation families, large and small, and had them join their sect.

Among them were two cultivators with different spiritual roots: one with an ice spiritual root that combines offense and defense, and the other with a lightning spiritual root known for its destructive power.

The appearance of these two disciples completely attracted the attention of the sect's higher-ups.

Even the Core Formation Ancestor, who had been in seclusion for a long time, made an exception and came out to examine the two men's aptitudes. He then declared loudly, "If these two can establish their foundations before the age of forty, I will take them as my true disciples and personally teach them."

This bold declaration was the envy of all the other disciples in the sect.

In addition, many disciples with good aptitude emerged from this group.

Their natural talent and aptitude are far superior to those of ordinary disciples, making this a great success compared to previous recruitment efforts.

This news made the sect leader so happy that his beard blew straight up.

They once believed that the Fierce Fire Sect was favored by Heaven and attempted to elevate it to the highest position in the Chu Kingdom, surpassing the other four sects.

But not long after, bad news came from outside the sect.

The Azure Water Sect, one of the Five Sects, has surprisingly discovered a young girl with a Heavenly Spiritual Root among its newly recruited disciples.

This dampened the spirits of the Fiery Blaze Sect leader, who was ambitious enough to unify the cultivation world of Chu.

Regardless of the circumstances, this group of newly recruited disciples completely drew the attention of everyone in the Blazing Fire Sect.

Even the lower-level disciples who had been practicing for a long time talked about how that genius junior brother had made further progress in his training, and how so-and-so had learned a new spell in half a month.

Or some other amazing feat.

Among so many outstanding newcomers, Li Xiuyuan, who once killed a core disciple of the Demon Flame Sect and escaped death from Zhong Shenxiu's clutches, stands out.

They have completely disappeared.

In addition, Li Xiuyuan spent all his time in the alchemy room in order to improve his alchemy skills.

He rarely goes out to meet people, and has even largely withdrawn from social interactions within the sect.

Only the disciples on duty in the Mission Hall and the Library could see Li Xiuyuan once a month when they received their monthly salary and consulted cultivation manuals, except when summoned by Du Wuxin.

……

Li Xiuyuan was recommended by Du Wuxin and was able to attend Elder Danfeng's lectures every month as an "auditor".

This greatly strengthened his foundation in alchemy.

With his persistent alchemy training, his alchemy skills improved by leaps and bounds, and he had a chance to break through to become a high-grade alchemist.

Regardless of others' opinions, Li Xiuyuan is very satisfied with his current secluded life.

No longer do I have to live a precarious life as a rogue cultivator, filled with anxiety.

Furthermore, with the help of numerous books, Li Xiuyuan's low-level spells became increasingly proficient.

If he were to encounter Zhong Wuhu again, he was confident that he could behead him in no more than three moves.

Dan Ding Pavilion.

This place is where the sect provides recipes for making elixirs and magical artifacts, books, and related secret techniques.

In addition, it also provides various auxiliary tools and common raw materials for alchemy and weapon crafting.

It can be said to be the most important place in the sect.

Therefore, this place is filled with various formations and restrictions, and is riddled with traps. There are also more than a hundred disciples patrolling day and night to prevent foreign invasion.

According to sect rumors, there was once a notorious rogue cultivator in the State of Chu who lacked the opportunity to break through to the next level.

He then set his sights on the Pill Cauldron Pavilion, sneaking into the sect with the intention of stealing its treasures, but was ultimately killed on the spot by a Golden Core cultivator.

Li Xiuyuan carefully reviewed the information he had gathered from the sect in his mind, then swaggered forward.

As he descended on his magic sword, he felt several sharp gazes lock onto him.

Perhaps realizing that his cultivation level was average and his magical power was mediocre, he quickly withdrew, which greatly surprised Li Xiuyuan.

These people could make Li Xiuyuan, who was at the late stage of Qi Refining and whose divine sense was comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, feel threatened; they were at least Foundation Establishment cultivators.

He stepped forward and handed over his disciple's token.

The formation was checked and confirmed to be correct.

A spatial fluctuation occurred ahead, and a bright and spacious hall suddenly appeared.

A layer of red light barrier blocked the way in front of the main hall.

It is clearly an array or restriction.

Immediately afterwards, two disciples dressed in red uniforms appeared behind the light barrier.

"Is Senior Brother Du your guarantor?"

Li Xiuyuan nodded calmly, "Senior Brother Du knows that I love alchemy. Because he was delayed by something, he specially introduced me to this place to look up knowledge about alchemy."

He was secretly surprised. "His magical power is so strong that even through a layer of restrictions, his powerful spiritual pressure still makes me feel dangerous. He really is a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

"I see. Since it was Senior Brother Du who introduced us, then there's nothing to worry about."

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a smile and then cheerfully handed over Li Xiuyuan's disciple token.

"Alright, come in."

The two simultaneously cast a spell on the light barrier, which quickly opened a passage about ten feet wide, just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Without hesitation, Li Xiuyuan flashed into the main hall.

The scene behind the light barrier greatly surprised him.

Originally, outside, Li Xiuyuan's view was blocked by the light barrier, so he couldn't see the real scene inside.

But when he entered, what appeared before him was a huge mountain peak, along with a small-scale formation.

There was nothing else besides that, which surprised Li Xiuyuan.

"Keep the token safe. It will be checked every time you come here. That's the rule here."

The two said in unison.

"Thank you very much, my two senior uncles!"

Li Xiuyuan withdrew his gaze from looking around and bowed respectfully to the two of them.

After all, he will come often in the future, so it's good to leave them with a good impression.

"Okay, come with me."

Li Xiuyuan's politeness clearly had an effect, as the two men's expressions softened considerably.

In the past, most of those who came here were disciples of the same generation, and none of them were as courteous to Li Xiuyuan as he was.

This made the two of them feel much more favorably toward Li Xiuyuan.

"However, Junior Nephew Li, why do you always come to the Pill Cauldron Pavilion?"

"You should know that whether you're setting up a furnace to refine pills or to forge weapons, you need to be at the Foundation Establishment level to come here. You've come too early; you should focus on Foundation Establishment."

A disciple in red casually asked, as they led Li Xiuyuan toward the formation.

"This junior has only learned a lot about alchemy from Senior Brother Du, and has also accumulated a considerable amount of alchemy materials in his spare time. That's why I decided to try my luck here. I'm hoping to find a suitable pill to enhance my cultivation, since my aptitude isn't particularly good, and I can only rely on external help."

Li Xiuyuan's reply was half true and half false, and he deliberately stayed half a step behind the two of them.

"I see. But nephew, you shouldn't have too high hopes, or you'll only add to your worries."

The other shook his head, seemingly not optimistic about Li Xiuyuan.

Before long, the three of them arrived in front of the formation. A disciple in red gestured for Li Xiuyuan to stand in the center of the formation, while the other two stood on either side.

"According to the rules, using a teleportation array costs one spirit stone, but since this is Junior Nephew Li's first time here, we'll waive the fee this time. Don't forget next time!"

One of them joked with a grin.

After speaking, the two skillfully cast a complex spell towards the formation, and then the spirit stones embedded in the formation flashed rapidly.

Before Li Xiuyuan could thank the two men, he suddenly felt dizzy and his vision blurred.

The next moment, a burst of light appeared before his eyes, and Li Xiuyuan found himself in an unfamiliar hall.

The magic circle beneath my feet is exactly the same as the one before.

This is the legendary teleportation array.

Li Xiuyuan was filled with emotion.

He quickly overcame the discomfort caused by the teleportation and began to look around the unfamiliar hall.