Cultivation begins with alchemy and collecting runes.

A year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the training room.

Li Xiuyuan took out a handkerchief and wiped the golden sword he had just acquired.

"brush!"

The Golden Light Sword was reforged using the fire of the earth's veins and many rare spiritual materials.

Its cold light was fierce, and its killing intent was extremely strong, emanating a strong, sharp, metallic aura from top to bottom.

Even Li Xiuyuan, who had reached the peak of the first level of body refinement, did not dare to casually handle the magic sword in his hand as usual.

There's no other reason than that he suffered a lot of losses.

When he first got his hands on the Golden Light Sword a few days ago, he was very excited and planned to let his physical body test its power against the top-grade magic sword.

As one can imagine, his hands touched the blade upon receiving it.

His once impenetrable flesh was instantly ripped open with a sharp gash, and blood gushed out, causing him considerable injury.

It took him several days to refine the sharp, malevolent energy that had entered his body.

This also made him clearly aware of the power of this top-grade magic weapon.

If he possessed this top-grade magic sword when he wiped out the Demon Flame Sect disciples that day, he wouldn't need the Xiao and Ye family patriarchs to intervene.

He alone is enough to deal with those four people; Li Xiuyuan is confident of that!

He looked at the magical artifact in his hand, which he had spent years crafting.

Overwhelmed with emotion, he had only mentioned it casually that day, but he never expected that Gu Tianle would actually succeed in reforging the Golden Light Sword and even upgrade its grade to the level of a top-grade magic weapon.

This greatly exceeded his expectations and gave him a clearer understanding of the origins of Gu Tianle.

Determined to befriend this person, he persuaded him repeatedly before finally handing over the money for the sword-training materials.

A full three thousand spirit stones! Luckily, he had made quite a bit of money selling pills recently, otherwise his wallet would have been empty.

……

Another month has passed.

On this day, the once-every-five-years grand competition for disciples of White Tiger Mountain began.

"Ye Haosheng!"

On the battle platform designated as Class B, the head steward on duty loudly announced the start of the duel.

Ye Hao sheathed his red longsword and bowed to his opponent who was lying on the ground.

"Junior brother, you flatter me!"

After saying that, Ye Hao walked off the stage with an air of triumph, his heart filled with excitement.

"With my Qi Refining Level 6 Perfection cultivation, I directly fought my way through the rounds and entered the top eight. My inner sect qualification is secured!"

According to the tradition of White Tiger Mountain, as long as one enters the top ten in the competition, one can become an inner disciple, and may even become a core disciple.

This step is comparable to a carp leaping over the dragon gate; it means that one is no longer just an ordinary outer disciple, but has the hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage!

Congratulations to Senior Brother Ye on advancing to the quarterfinals!

As he received congratulations along the way, Ye Hao's smile never stopped.

When he returned to his residence, he found that someone had been waiting at the door for a long time.

But then a quirky woman walked out from the side and blocked Ye Hao's way.

This woman is a direct descendant of the Zhou family, specializing in spiritual plants, and her name is Zhou Yao.

The Ye family and the Zhou family are both local powers in Shanyangfang City, and the two men are outstanding disciples of their respective families in this generation, so they naturally know each other.

There are even rumors that this fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl in front of them has already reached the fifth level of Qi Refining.

They were still close friends, like handkerchiefs, to the fake Danzhen disciple of Baihu Mountain.

Ye Hao's mind raced, but he bowed sincerely and asked, "May I ask what business Fairy Zhou has with me?"

"Do you wish to enter the inner sect and become a true disciple? I can lend you a hand."

"However, I have a question for you, and I hope you can answer it truthfully."

"Senior brother will certainly speak frankly and without reservation."

The young woman smiled leisurely and said, "Ye Hao, I won't beat around the bush with you. By the way, where did you buy those elixirs that enhance your cultivation?"

"I'm quite curious that you were able to advance from the fifth level of Qi Refining to the sixth level of Qi Refining perfection within a year."

……

On this day, the Zhou family cultivator arrived at Chunsheng Hall with a wry smile on his face.

"Master Li, do you still have any of your top-grade Spirit Gathering Pills for sale? My young lady needs them urgently."

Ever since Zhou Yao learned about the Spirit Gathering Pill from Ye Hao that day, she has arranged for him to come and purchase the pill almost every day.

Li Xiuyuan was both amused and exasperated, then shook his head and said, "The Spirit Gathering Pill is already troublesome to refine, and high-quality ones are even rarer."

He had already broken through to the first-tier superior alchemy skill, so of course he could refine stable superior spirit gathering pills.

But he didn't want to attract attention. The market seemed calm on the surface, but undercurrents were surging. He just wanted to focus on refining pills and accumulating spirit stones.

I don't want to cause any trouble.

……

Just when Li Xiuyuan thought the matter was over.

Unexpectedly, the Zhou family cultivator returned that afternoon, bringing back a pretty and charming young girl with bright, lively eyes.

"Zhou Yao! The pride of the Zhou family, it's said that once her cultivation reaches the late stage of Qi Refining, she can become a disciple of the False Core Master of White Tiger Mountain!"

The shopkeeper of the robe shop next to him couldn't help but widen his eyes, revealing an expression of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"Miss Zhou's presence at our store is truly an honor."

Li Xiuyuan took the initiative to come downstairs and greeted her with a generous bow.

Looking at the handsome and extraordinary young man before her, Zhou Yao was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but ask.

"How many Spirit Gathering Pills can you refine at once? I want the top-grade ones!"

After pondering for a moment, Li Xiuyuan said, "I can refine ten batches a month, with a success rate of about 30%, which would yield about one hundred high-grade pills."

Zhou Yao nodded, smiling brightly, and said, "Then you will provide me with 150 high-grade Spirit Gathering Pills every month until I reach the late stage of Qi Refining."

"The price is negotiable; we won't let Master Li lose out. Six spirit stones per stone, how about it!"

"Miss Zhou, may I have a word with you in private?"

Li Xiuyuan did not agree immediately, but led Zhou Yao into a private room on the second floor and instructed Chunsheng to bring in the booklet for purchasing pills and herbs.

He flipped through the booklet, saying as he read, "Miss Zhou, I've heard that your Zhou family's skills in cultivating spiritual plants and herbs are unparalleled in the world. Is that true?"

Zhou Yao was taken aback. She really hadn't expected Li Xiuyuan to inquire about this. Then she remembered that Li Xiuyuan was an alchemist.

He thought to himself, "Could this person want to make a deal with my Zhou family? Exchanging spiritual herbs for pills is not a bad deal. If this deal goes through, my grandfather will definitely praise me."

Zhou Yao's bright eyes darted around, and she smiled broadly, "Of course! Looking across the entire Blazing Fire Sect, let's not even talk about anything else. My Zhou family's spiritual plant cultivation skills are second to none! My Zhou family even had a third-tier spiritual plant master in our lineage!"

"A third-tier spirit plant master is comparable to a Golden Core cultivator."

A smug look shone on Zhou Yao's pretty face, as if she had witnessed this glorious history firsthand.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyuan was slightly shocked. He hadn't expected the unassuming Zhou family to have such a background, and he immediately began to value these local powerful families more.

He then coaxed, "Miss Zhou, refining 150 high-grade Spirit Gathering Pills a month is indeed a bit of a challenge for me."

"You know that it has become increasingly difficult to go into the mountains to collect medicinal herbs in recent years, and the quality of the herbs is unstable, so the quality of the pills produced is naturally unstable. Please forgive me for this."

"If we can get a more stable supply and a more favorable price, maybe we can grit our teeth and give it a try."

Li Xiuyuan looked at Zhou Yao with feigned difficulty, his tone full of bitterness.

"Superior spiritual herbs? Very well, I'll provide them to you! If you can refine one hundred and fifty high-grade Spirit Gathering Pills in a month, these herbs will be yours for the taking."

With a smile in her eyes, Zhou Yao took out the spiritual medicine she had prepared beforehand and handed it to Li Xiuyuan.

Li Xiuyuan was stunned for a moment before taking the storage bag containing the spiritual herbs.

He didn't expect that the woman would actually accept his proposal. Wasn't this a losing proposition?

Well, might as well take advantage of the free resources.

"I will do my best!"

"I'm waiting for your good news, Master Li!"

After saying this, Zhou Yao got up and left.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Yao arrived at Chunsheng Hall as promised and sat in the reception room on the first floor.

"Miss Zhou, these are the high-grade Spirit Gathering Pills you requested. I apologize that my skills are not good enough; I could only manage to refine one hundred and ten. Please take these medicinal herbs back, Miss Zhou."

Li Xiuyuan looked ashamed.

He's not stupid; he wouldn't be greedy for small gains and actually refine the required amount of pills just for a little bit of spiritual medicine.

It was slightly more than the monthly sales of Spirit Gathering Pills, just enough to keep her within her acceptable range.

If 150 pills are successfully refined, the number required for the next batch of pills will likely increase.

This exposed his true colors, which was a net loss for him.

"Fine, you can keep these medicinal herbs."

Zhou Yao showed no sadness or joy on her face. She tossed down a bag of spirit stones, picked up the pills, and left.

Li Xiuyuan put away the elixir, a slight smile playing on his lips. Given their respective statuses, the other party would neither dare nor would they make things difficult for him.

As soon as Zhou Yao left, the shopkeeper next door came out to offer his congratulations, seemingly unsure and testing the waters.

"It was just luck."

Li Xiuyuan was very modest and had no intention of hiding anything.

He gained favor from the Zhou family's proud daughter and also earned a considerable amount of spirit stones and elixirs.

That's truly enviable.

You can use other people's elixirs to refine the pills they need and even make money off them.

Li Xiuyuan was in an exceptionally good mood.