On the path to immortality, I can see destiny.

Another half year passed.

Zhao Fan sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, the golden vortex in his dantian slowly rotating, and it had grown larger than it had been six months ago.

The spiritual energy flowed smoothly and steadily through the meridians, carrying the sharp quality unique to metal-based cultivation techniques.

After rebuilding his cultivation, he no longer faced any bottlenecks in the Qi Refining stage below the seventh level. Once he had enough spiritual energy, he would naturally break through.

He opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

I've reached the fifth level of Qi Refining. It's been a full year since I dispersed my Qi. I've progressed from the first level of Qi Refining to the fifth level.

His speed wasn't fast, but it was solid. His spiritual power was much more condensed than that of other cultivators of the same level, and his divine sense was steadily increasing under the tempering of the Divine Condensation Technique.

The cracks on the surface of the seed of consciousness were increasing and deepening, as if something inside was struggling to break out of its shell.

He could sense that the seed would sprout soon, and his consciousness would undergo a qualitative leap.

But new problems have arisen.

After reaching the fifth level of Qi Refining, the demand for spiritual energy increases significantly.

Previously, a single Qingling Pill could significantly improve his cultivation level, but now it only increases it slightly.

The Spirit-Nourishing Pill had very little effect; taking it was like pouring a bowl of water into the ocean—it produced almost no sensation.

His meridian strength is actually sufficient to take a high-grade first-tier Spirit Gathering Pill, which is a pill suitable for late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. It has strong medicinal power and can greatly increase cultivation speed.

However, he doesn't know how to refine it; he doesn't have the recipe for the Spirit Gathering Pill, nor can he buy it.

If you want elixirs, you can only buy them from Danfeng.

Taking advantage of a chance to exchange pills, Zhao Fan specifically asked the middle-aged cultivator behind the counter.

"Senior brother, how much does a Spirit Gathering Pill cost?"

The middle-aged cultivator glanced at him and said indifferently.

"Medium quality, twenty spirit stones each."

Upon hearing the price, Zhao Fan was taken aback.

He already felt that the Qingling Pill cost five spirit stones, so the Juling Pill was four times more expensive.

His monthly income from alchemy and his monthly stipend is only about twenty spirit stones.

It's only enough to buy one Spirit Gathering Pill.

As for the Spirit-Nourishing Pills he had hidden away, he would need to sell them himself if he wanted to exchange them for spirit stones, but that would take time.

"Then... what about a high-grade first-tier pill formula?"

Zhao Fan asked tentatively.

"For example, how many contribution points are needed to exchange for the recipe for the Spirit Gathering Pill?"

The middle-aged cultivator shook his head.

"The recipes for Gathering Spirit Pills and Returning Spirit Pills are not available to outer disciples. If you want to exchange for them, you must first become an inner disciple and then use your contribution points."

"As for first-grade high-quality healing pills and detoxification pills, there are quite a few. There are no special requirements; you can exchange them once you have enough contribution points."

Zhao Fan fell silent; he understood what the middle-aged cultivator meant.

Danfeng's core resources are only open to inner disciples; outer disciples don't even have the right to buy them.

He clasped his hands in thanks, then turned and left.

After leaving the alchemy room, Zhao Fan stood on the stone steps, looking at the distant, misty mountain peaks, silently making plans in his mind.

We can't afford the Spirit Gathering Pill right now, and we can't get the recipe either, so this path is blocked.

But he had another way: he had saved up more than a hundred Spirit-Nourishing Pills in the past six months.

Aside from the forty he handed over each month, he kept the rest.

One Spirit-Nourishing Pill is worth two spirit stones on the market, so one hundred pills would cost two hundred spirit stones.

He couldn't sell them all at once, but by processing them in batches, he could always exchange them for spirit stones.

Having made up his mind, Zhao Fan went down the mountain the next day.

He first went to the Internal Affairs Hall to collect his monthly allowance, and then walked along the stone steps toward the Refining Peak.

In the past six months, he and Su Ziyan have met several times, each time in a cave at the foot of the Refining Peak.

Su Ziyan's weapon-refining skills are getting better and better. He can now consistently refine excellent low-grade magic weapons, and occasionally even produce one or two mid-grade ones.

His reputation grew, and disciples flocked to him to repair and create magical artifacts. Although he didn't earn much, it was enough for his cultivation.

At the foot of Refining Peak, the wooden sign hanging at the entrance of Su Ziyan's cave has been replaced with a new one, which reads "We undertake the repair and customization of mid-grade magic artifacts".

Zhao Fan smiled and pushed the door open to go inside.

Inside the cave, Su Ziyan was standing in front of the furnace, holding an iron hammer in his hand, hammering a red-hot iron blank again and again.

He didn't even look up when he heard footsteps.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment, have a seat, it will be ready shortly."

"it's me."

Zhao Fan said.

Su Ziyan raised his head and grinned.

"Brother Zhao! Wait a moment, it'll be ready soon."

He hammered it a few more times, then picked up the iron billet and put it into the water. With a hiss, white smoke rose up.

He wiped his sweat, threw the hammer on the table, and strode over.

"Brother Zhao, you've come at the right time. I've just finished refining a mid-grade magic weapon. Could you take a look at it for me?"

He picked up a short sword from the table and handed it to him.

Zhao Fan took the short sword. It felt slightly heavy in his hand. The blade was pale blue with a faint spiritual light flowing around it. He infused it with a trace of spiritual power, and the tip of the sword immediately lit up with a sharp light.

"good."

Zhao Fan nodded and returned the short sword to him.

Your cooking skills are getting better and better.

Su Ziyan chuckled, carefully put away the short sword, then pulled Zhao Fan to sit down and poured him a bowl of water.

"Brother Zhao, you flatter me. My learning speed is already considered slow. When I can forge mid-grade magic weapons with a success rate of over 60%, I will participate in the inner sect assessment and become an inner sect disciple."

Zhao Fan nodded, feeling somewhat envious of Su Ziyan. He had encountered problems in his cultivation and had to start over, resulting in his cultivation level regressing instead of improving after two years of practice.

At this moment, Su Ziyan had already entered the sixth level, while he himself was only at the fifth level.

"Brother Zhao, is there something you need from me this time?"

Su Ziyan drank a bowl of water, put the bowl down, and asked Zhao Fan.

Zhao Fan nodded, took out a jade bottle from his storage bag, and placed it on the table.

"I have a batch of Spirit Gathering Pills here, and I would like to ask you to help me deal with them."

Su Ziyan took the jade bottle, opened the stopper, and poured out a few pills.

The pills are light blue, round and smooth, with clear patterns, indicating good quality.

"So many?"

He glanced at the amount in the bottle and looked up.

"How long have you been saving up?"

"Six months."

Zhao Fan said.

"I hand over forty each month, and I keep the rest. That's how many I've saved in total."

Su Ziyan remained silent for a moment, then put the pill back into the bottle and placed it on the table.

"Brother Zhao, how do you plan to handle this? All at once, or in stages?"

"In batches."

Zhao Fan said.

"Selling it all at once is too conspicuous and can easily cause trouble. You can subtly mention it to familiar clients, and sell it to anyone who is willing to buy."

"No matter how many are sold, you will take 20% of the spirit stones as a reward for your hard work."

Su Ziyan nodded.

"Okay. Leave it to me. I have a lot of regular customers now, mostly new disciples and handymen, so it should sell well."

He paused, then continued.

"However, Brother Zhao, your pills are of good quality, so the price can't be too low. The market price for a Spirit Nourishing Pill is two spirit stones, and a good quality one can sell for two and a half or even three spirit stones. Your batch is of average quality, so two and a half spirit stones a pill will definitely attract buyers."

Zhao Fan thought for a moment.

"Two spirit stones each is fine. I'm not greedy. As long as I can sell them, that's good enough."

Su Ziyan patted his chest.

"Don't worry, leave it to me."

Su Ziyan nodded and carefully put the pill away.

"Brother Zhao, you've reached the fifth level of Qi Refining?"

"Um."

Zhao Fan nodded.

"It was a recent breakthrough."

Su Ziyan looked him up and down, clicking her tongue in amazement.

"You've already broken your cultivation and started over. You've reached the fifth level of Qi Refining in just one year. Brother Zhao, your speed is quite impressive. At this rate, you'll be back at the seventh level of Qi Refining in another year."

Zhao Fan gave a wry smile.

"It's not that easy. After reaching the fifth level of Qi Refining, the required spiritual energy increases, and the speed will only decrease."

"Moreover, the Cleansing Spirit Pill can no longer keep up with my cultivation speed, and I can't afford the Gathering Spirit Pill, so I can only slowly grind it up."

Su Ziyan thought for a moment, then suddenly said.

"Brother Zhao, have you ever considered buying medicinal herbs at the market and refining your own Spirit Gathering Pill?"

Zhao Fan shook his head.

"The recipe for the Spirit Gathering Pill cannot be obtained by outer disciples. I have inquired and found that only inner disciples are qualified to obtain it."

Su Ziyan remained silent for a long while before speaking.

"Then you should hurry up and become an inner disciple."

Zhao Fan was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.

"You're right, hurry up and become an inner disciple."

After chatting for a while longer, Zhao Fan got up to say goodbye.

Su Ziyan saw him to the door and watched him walk away before turning back.

Zhao Fan walked along the stone steps toward Danfeng Peak, silently making plans in his mind.

To become an inner disciple, one needs to meet certain standards in cultivation level and spiritual sense, and pass the Danfeng assessment.

None of this is easy, so we can only take a long-term approach. Right now, the most important thing is to sell the pills and buy a few Spirit Gathering Pills to speed up the cultivation process.