Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

Li Xiuyuan rode the golden sword through the towering mountains of the Blazing Fire Sect, flying towards the Battle Peak.

Thinking about Shui Lian's kindness and ruthlessness, and the methods she used, he thought, "It seems I completed this mission quite well, otherwise why would she have rewarded me with this second-tier spiritual material?"

It is said that the Earth Fire Lotus Heart is the lotus seed of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, which ranks thirty-sixth on the Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire Ranking, and is a second-tier fire-type spiritual material.

If it can be revived, it may be cultivated into a true spiritual fire of heaven and earth—the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire.

He never expected that Shui Lian would bestow such a rare gift upon him, truly leaving him unable to fathom the woman's thoughts.

Li Xiuyuan was calculating in his mind that he would soon arrive at the cave dwelling on Douzhan Peak.

a few days later.

Upon receiving the sect's message talisman, Li Xiuyuan mounted his escape light and headed towards Du Wuxin's cave.

Before leaving, he planned to say goodbye to his senior brother Du, who had always taken care of him.

But the weather was rather unlucky, as Du Wuxin happened to be in seclusion.

Li Xiuyuan met with the steward, left a letter of thanks, and headed towards the sect's mission hall.

Li Xiuyuan received the mission jade slip from the disciple in charge and put away this year's salary—three Spirit Awakening Pills and fifty spirit stones.

Then, riding the beam of light, they headed towards Shanyang Market.

……

On the way, Li Xiuyuan pondered the requirements of this mission: after five years in charge of the Dan Hall, the mission would end, and he would be free to make his own arrangements.

This task was very favorable to Li Xiuyuan, who was an alchemist. His job was the same as Du Wuxin's in the past: to check the quality and quantity of the pills submitted each month.

Compared to the cruelty of other disciples rushing to the front lines to fight demons, his situation was considered top-notch.

half a month later.

Shanyangfang City.

Li Xiuyuan first handed over the duties to the disciples of the Mission Hall in Shanyang Market, and then moved into the first-tier spiritual vein cave in the inner city.

The spiritual energy within this cave is far inferior to that of the cave on Battle Peak, but it is still far superior to the cave he previously had in the outer city of the market.

Upon revisiting the place, Li Xiuyuan did not rush to catch up with old friends.

The most urgent task is to cultivate the Dao and refine Qi to perfection, and then prepare for the Foundation Establishment process.

But he still managed to take the time to send voice transmission talismans to a few close friends.

People like Xiao Huo and Gu Tianle, whose cultivation has become increasingly profound, see things much more clearly than before.

Those people he once considered to be merely individuals of extraordinary origin now appear to him as people with hidden talents.

At least for the sake of other things, Xiao Huo's methods of cultivating Blood Spirit Rice and Gu Tianle's secret technique of capturing earth fire for his own use are not techniques that ordinary sect or family cultivators can perform.

He hadn't seen it in the Blazing Fire Sect's library, perhaps because he lacked the necessary authority.

Fortunately, the two were still in Shanyang Market and had not left. The group arranged a time to get together.

……

The practice does not keep track of years; two and a half years later.

Shanyang Market, the residence of the Blazing Fire Sect, inside the cave.

[Immortal Lord: Li Xiuyuan]

Lifespan: 39/107

[Realm Level: Qi Refining Level 9, 25/100]

[Technique: Golden Flame Heaven-Burning Technique, Advanced Level, 50/100]

Li Xiuyuan slowly finished his practice, his eyes flashing with fire: "Ninth level of Qi Refining? Not bad..."

With the help of Qi-enhancing pills and other medicinal pills, Li Xiuyuan quickly repaired his previously damaged meridians and raised his cultivation level to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

He wasn't the kind of person who acted blindly and recklessly; otherwise, he would have already used all his spirit stones to buy pills to improve his cultivation and break through to the Qi Refining Perfection stage.

The reason he suppressed his cultivation was actually to make his magical power more profound and pure.

This reduces the difficulty of transforming spiritual energy into liquid during foundation building and increases the probability of foundation building.

"With enough spirit stones to cultivate the [Crimson Flame Mystic Light], breaking through to the Qi Refining Perfection stage will be a piece of cake."

"As long as this profound light is polished to perfection and the foundation is solidified, breaking through to the Qi Refining Perfection stage will be a trivial matter."

Li Xiuyuan estimated that he was just around the corner when he broke through to the Qi Refining Perfection stage.

With the help of the Divine Refining Grass, the Crimson Sun Grass, and the Earth Fire Lotus Heart, the three stages of Foundation Establishment will be easily overcome!

Li Xiuyuan left the cave and arrived at the mission hall.

The mission hall remains as bustling as it once was.

After completing his routine inspection and review, Li Xiuyuan headed towards Lingbao Pavilion.

……

"Brother Xiao, it's truly been a long time! I apologize for leaving without saying goodbye back then; I hope you'll forgive me. I'll punish myself with three cups!"

As Li Xiuyuan spoke, he raised a full cup of spiritual wine and drank three large bowls in one go.

"This Lingzhi wine is a specialty of the Blazing Fire Sect. We'll give you enough today as an apology to Brother Xiao."

Li Xiuyuan stood up again with a sincere tone, took a big gulp of spiritual wine, and said.

Xiao Huo remained carefree as he picked up a jar of spirit wine from the table and broke the seal.

Instantly, a rich and fragrant aroma of spirit wine wafted over.

"Good wine, Brother Li, we're brothers, I'll gladly accept this fine wine."

He had three great loves in his life: beautiful women, fine wine, and self-cultivation.

Li Xiuyuan had his reasons, and he left a letter explaining the situation beforehand, plus his apology was sincere.

He didn't harbor much resentment to begin with, and besides, he naturally wouldn't hold a grudge for the sake of the fine wine.

As the saying goes, "A thousand cups of wine are not enough when drinking with a bosom friend." The two had not seen each other for many years, and were even more excited to meet again today.

Li Xiuyuan and his companion only stopped when the moon rose above the willow branches.

"Brother Li, I never imagined you would have such a situation. You were an unknown rogue cultivator who was promoted by the sect's prodigy, overcoming numerous obstacles to become an inner disciple. Now you're managing the market, enjoying quite the prestige!"

Xiao Huo, drunk, put his arm around Li Xiuyuan and said in a tone full of admiration.

Li Xiuyuan said very modestly, "It's all just a matter of fate. If it weren't for Uncle Du's recommendation, how would I have had this opportunity to stand out? Although being a rogue alchemist is carefree, joining a sect would open up a whole new world for me."

"By the way, Brother Xiao, do you know the method for cultivating first-tier spiritual materials with vitality?"

"A first-tier spiritual material, and one with very little vitality?"

"belch!"

Xiao Huo responded briefly, then suddenly snapped out of his daze and stared blankly at Li Xiuyuan, saying, "Brother Li, do you perhaps wish to learn the art of cultivating spiritual plants?"

"If you ask me, Brother Li, your talent for alchemy is quite good, why waste your energy on spiritual plants?"

"We Qi Refining cultivators don't have much lifespan left. Only Foundation Establishment is the right path. I don't want my close friend to run out of energy and die without any hope of Foundation Establishment."

Xiao Huo waved his hand, decisively refusing Li Xiuyuan's chance to speak.

Xiao Huo stood up, straightened his clothes, and cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you for your hospitality, Brother Li. It's late, so I'll take my leave."

Goodbye, Brother Xiao!

Seeing this, Li Xiuyuan didn't want to stop him, so he got up to see him off.

……

Inside the training room.

Li Xiuyuan showed no signs of his previous drunkenness; instead, he sat cross-legged, looking refreshed and energetic.

He carefully considered Xiao Huo's words just now. "He said he was refusing, but his tone was full of concern for me. Xiao Huo is truly a remarkable person. Well then, I'll focus on building my foundation first before thinking about the spiritual plant techniques."

A few days ago, Li Xiuyuan unexpectedly discovered that the Earth Fire Lotus Heart in his hand still had a glimmer of life, though it was extremely weak, like a flickering candle in the wind.

That's when he came up with the idea of ​​cultivating lotus seeds. He planned to try his luck and see if he could save them.

If you succeed, you will receive a Green Lotus Earth Core Flame, ranked thirty-sixth on the Heaven and Earth Spirit Flame Ranking!

Even if he fails, he won't lose out, since the Earth Fire Lotus Heart is still a second-tier spiritual material, and he'll be able to use it in the future.

"However, Xiao Huo's talent for cultivating immortality is also excellent. After a brief examination, I found that he has already reached the level of perfecting the mana and blood circulation stages. He is only missing the spiritual consciousness stage. I estimate that he will be able to establish his foundation in less than five years."

He was truly a young hero. Li Xiuyuan realized that compared to these prodigies, he was indeed not a talented person.

"I'll be forty in a year, so I'll try to establish my foundation before I turn forty-five."

……

The next day, Li Xiuyuan used the same trick again, summoning Gu Tianle to the cave for a reunion.

Both being sentimental people, their heartfelt conversation late into the night, unknowingly brought their relationship back to what it was before.

Upon learning that Gu Tianle could refine top-grade magical artifacts, Li Xiuyuan showered Gu Tianle with compliments, making him feel incredibly elated and in an extremely good mood.

Li Xiuyuan then suggested that Gu Tianle repair the Golden Light Sword, and whether the materials of the Blood Slaughter Blade could be reforged, and the Golden Light Sword could be processed and refined into a top-grade magic weapon.

He knew his request was impolite, since forging something from scratch was much simpler than reforging it.

This requirement would be considered nitpicking by other weapon refiners.

But Li Xiuyuan knew Gu Tianle's personality; he was eccentric!

He insisted on trying things that other weapon refiners couldn't do, and he not only did them, but he did them to the best of his ability.

Just like when Li Xiuyuan had the audacious idea of ​​having him refine the "Gold-Swallowing Spirit Bowl," this kind of useless magical artifact.

Other weapon refiners wouldn't bother with specially made molds, as it's time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Gu Tianle, however, has the demeanor of a scholar. He enjoys studying new types of ritual implements and has an even greater fondness for unrestrained imagination.

The two were birds of a feather, which is why they got together.

After hearing Li Xiuyuan's request, Gu Tianle immediately decided to take on the task without charging any processing fees.

All Li Xiuyuan needs to do is provide the materials and refine a special pill for him. It's a high-grade first-level pill, seemingly designed specifically for weapon refiners to detoxify, and is quite uncommon.

Li Xiuyuan had no objection; he planned to take advantage of the tedious and boring opportunity to hone his magical power and improve his alchemy skills as well.

His alchemy skills were no longer sufficient to meet the needs of his cultivation.

That's not it. You see, he sees alchemy as a means to earn spirit stones; it's his livelihood.

Although it is said that robbing and stealing, and impersonating a robber, can bring in money quickly.

If you walk by the river often, how can you avoid getting your shoes wet?

He'd rather spend his days working around the alchemy furnace than go out and scheme against others, fighting to the death—it's too dangerous.

Isn't it better to refine pills and earn spirit stones?

……

Time flies, and the seasons change.

one year later.

Li Xiuyuan stood beside the alchemy furnace, concentrating his mind and focusing his energy on controlling the fire.

His hands moved rapidly, forming incantations that controlled the fire to scorch the alchemy furnace.

His aura grew increasingly profound, and the spiritual energy emanating from his fingertips was powerful and intense.

A full half hour later.

The alchemy furnace trembled slightly, a flash of spiritual light appeared, and the fragrance of elixirs wafted out.

call!

Li Xiuyuan let out a long breath, and the Golden Flame Burning Heaven magic power within his body quickly receded.

[Water Essence Pill [White Rune]: Mixed Mana x5]

[Shui Yuan Dan (Dacheng): 333/500]

Although his spiritual sense was powerful, he still found it difficult to refine high-grade pills for a long time due to the limitations of his cultivation.

Over the past year, he has been constantly trying to refine elixirs, and finally his alchemy skills have made great strides.

Just one month ago, he successfully broke through to the first-tier superior level.

Today, this batch of pills is the reward for Gu Tianle's work in refining the weapon—the Water Essence Pill.

This Water Essence Pill was given to him by Gu Tianle, and it is said to have come from the cave dwelling of an ancient cultivator.

This item is very beneficial for cultivators who have been in contact with earth fire for a long time to resolve the accumulation of fire toxins in their bodies.

Li Xiuyuan also learned about this after refining the Water Essence Pill.

Prolonged alchemy and weapon crafting can lead to the accumulation of fire toxins in the body, even for cultivators who practice fire magic.

If not cleared in time, the fire poison will either slow down the progress of cultivation or damage the foundation of cultivation, making it impossible to break through the bottleneck of cultivation.

Fortunately, this pill is not difficult to refine and is considered one of the easier types of high-grade pills to obtain.

The formula for the pills comes from ancient times. Due to changes in time or drastic changes in the world, the main ingredients have become difficult to cultivate and collect, resulting in high prices.

Fortunately, Li Xiuyuan still had connections with the demon hunters, so he could still find them by spending some spirit stones.

After all, this item is only a first-tier pill, and its rarity is relative.

"I've stabilized my pill-forming success rate at 50%, which is better than many top-grade alchemists. I'll gladly accept these extra medicinal herbs!"

Li Xiuyuan smiled and put the refined pills into his storage bag.

These spiritual materials were all acquired with money and connections provided by Gu Tianle.

The extra pills were naturally taken from Master Gu.

"My golden sword will be reforged in another two weeks."

……

"Master, we've sold out of Dragon Tiger Pills today. That cultivator from the Zhou family has come to buy more."

As usual, Li Xiuyuan came to Chunsheng's shop, returning to Shanyang Market as a steward of the Dantang Hall.

He then put the pills he refined into his shop for sale, which naturally made it impossible for Chunsheng to refuse.

The two split the profits 90/10, with Li Xiuyuan taking nine parts and Chunsheng taking one part as a reward for running errands.

Don't underestimate this one; the pills Li Xiuyuan sells are of extremely high quality, always surpassing the quality of pills on the market.

With the added endorsement of being an inner disciple of the Blazing Fire Sect, the pills sold extremely well.

They often sell out immediately, relying solely on the sale of two types of pills—Gathering Spirit Pills and Refining Spirit Powder—to supply mid-stage cultivators.

In just a few months, Li Xiuyuan made a fortune, with a net profit of five thousand spirit stones.

Chunsheng also took advantage of this favorable wind to fully utilize his business acumen.

They expanded and strengthened their business, even taking over a shop in the inner city last month.

He also secretly gathered a lot of information for Li Xiuyuan and made many connections for him.

In the past six months, Li Xiuyuan saw that he had worked very hard, so he naturally helped him a lot and helped him get a Breakthrough Pill, which enabled him to successfully break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

This made Chunsheng even more devoted to Li Xiuyuan, practically regarding himself as Li Xiuyuan's servant.

"Dragon and Tiger Pill?"

Li Xiuyuan was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected the Dragon Tiger Pill to be so popular.

He found this elixir along with the recipe for the Bigu Pill many years ago, but he just casually made it to make a show for his shop when he had nothing else to do.

Anyway, it's not some kind of elixir that enhances cultivation, but it does have some effect on matters between men and women, commonly known as "aphrodisiac".

It sat on the counter for over half a year before and didn't sell much. How did it become so popular?

"Okay, I'll send it to you in a few days."

Unexpectedly, during my store visit today, I ran into a customer urging me to order.

This person is a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator from the Zhou family of Spirit Plants, so naturally he cannot be neglected.

Chun Sheng's cultivation level is insufficient, so it seems he will have to take matters into his own hands.

"I'll go take a look."

Li Xiuyuan walked to the lobby on the first floor and saw a middle-aged man wearing a Zhou family Taoist robe. His eyes were listless and he looked like he was lacking energy.

"Are you Master Longhu?"