Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

"What exactly are the rewards?" Gou An asked curiously.

"Specifics..." Master Wenxu smiled awkwardly, "The specific rewards haven't been decided yet, but don't worry, based on what we discussed with the Demon King, they definitely won't be bad."

"The top ten alchemists in the alchemy competition will receive rewards, but naturally the higher the ranking, the richer the reward."

Master Wenxu, seemingly fearing Gou An might not believe him, continued, "Many major cities or forces in the human cultivation realm hold such alchemy competitions and magic duels from time to time, and the rewards are very generous."

"In order to attract more cultivators to settle in the future, our Ten Thousand Demon City will definitely spare no expense in this conference."

"As long as you participate and don't make any major mistakes, getting a ranking shouldn't be a problem."

Seeing that Gou An did not answer, Master Xu continued, "Even if you don't get a ranking, I will find a way to give you more benefits, and I will definitely not let your previous good deeds be wasted."

After thinking for a moment, Gou An finally nodded in agreement: "In that case, I'll attend this conference. I just don't know when it starts?"

"The time has been set, it's today, a month from now!" Master Wenxu replied. "The news has already spread, and in the coming days, the City of Ten Thousand Demons will definitely become more and more lively."

"What are the specific rules of the conference?" Gou An continued to ask.

If you're going to participate, you should aim for the rewards; otherwise, it's just a waste of time.

"A total of three rounds of pill refining are required!" Master Wenxu suddenly lowered his voice and said, "In the first round, everyone will refine pills together. The materials and effects of the pills are not limited. In the end, we examiners will evaluate whether they are qualified."

"No matter how many alchemists participate in the conference, only one hundred alchemists will advance after the first round."

Master Wenxu took a sip of tea and continued his explanation.

"Then the second round is divided into ten groups, with ten alchemists in each group. They draw lots to determine a main ingredient, and then use that main ingredient to refine pills."

Only one person can win from each group. After the second round, there will be ten people left!

"In other words, as long as you can survive the second round, you will definitely receive the reward."

Master Wenxu smiled and said, "The third round is the final round of the tournament!"

"However, the specific rules for the final competition have not yet been determined and will only be announced on the day of the competition."

After saying this, Master Wenxu refilled Gou An's teacup and said with a smile, "I can guarantee that you will pass the first round smoothly. As for the second round, you will need to make the best of your ability."

"Alright!" Gou An nodded slightly after hearing this. "However, if I don't get a ranking and receive a reward, I would appreciate it if the hall master could give me more compensation, plus the monthly allowance I received for the past six months while I was away on business."

"A business trip?" Master Xu was bewildered again.

"I followed Lord Chiyan Mountain back then, which was under the hall master's assignment. In other words, I was there on official business," Gou An said with a serious expression. "Since it's official business, shouldn't I be paid my normal monthly wage?"

"Uh-huh!" Master Wenxu nodded with a smile after hearing this, "You're right, this money should be given. I'll give it to you after the conference, and I'll make sure you're satisfied."

"That's good!" Gou An thought for a moment and then asked, "I wonder what Master Jiu Lu went back to do? Will he be able to come back?"

"Whether they can come back or not, I can't say for sure!" Master Wenxu shook his head and sighed, "It seems that quite a few evil cultivators escaped from the Locking Heaven Tower, and one of them happens to have a grudge against Master Jiulu."

Master Wenxu picked up his teacup, swirled the tea leaves, and slowly said, "At first, when Jiulu heard about this, he only sent his disciple out to check the situation."

"Later, Jiu Lu suddenly received news that his relatives had been captured by this person, who threatened to kill them if Jiu Lu did not show up."

"Jiu Lu was anxious to save people, so he left in a hurry. However, several months have passed, and he doesn't know how things are now."

Upon hearing this, Gou An became even more curious: "I wonder why Master Jiu Lu would hide in the City of Ten Thousand Demons?"

"You don't know this!" Master Wenxu chuckled twice as he spoke, "When Jiulu was young, he was quite the playboy."

"When he was young, this guy was quite handsome. He was a womanizer and stole many female disciples from various sects."

"As far as I know, this old man has made more than 400 Daoist partners in the past 300 years, and even quite a few mortal women."

Gou An was greatly shocked when he heard this.

"That's precisely why!" asked Master Wenxu. "This fellow has left behind quite a few offspring outside!"

"Although most of them are of mediocre talent and have long been lost in the mortal world, there are still a few with good talent who have joined various sects and forces."

"So outside, there are quite a few people looking for this heartless man. He gets tired of sleeping with people and then runs away. Many times, he just disappears suddenly."

"When all else failed, the old man hid here."

"That's strange!" Gou An was even more puzzled after hearing this: "Since Master Jiu Lu has so many children and Daoist partners outside, could it be that his enemies have captured all of them?"

"Of course not!" Master Wenxu shook his head. "It's said that only one person was captured."

"Since we only caught one person, what's there to be afraid of?" Gou An asked, puzzled. "It doesn't matter if one dies, or two dies."

"If it were anyone else, Jiu Lu wouldn't be in such a hurry!" Master Wenxu replied, "However, the person his enemy captured was the most important person to him outside."

"Who is it?" Gou An asked, even more curious.

"He didn't say, and I don't know either!" Master Xu shook his head helplessly.

"Alright!" Gou An nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

After all, if Master Jiulu could return, we could ask him personally.

If he doesn't come back, it doesn't matter whether he knows these things or not.

After bidding farewell to Master Wenxu, Gou An returned to his alchemy room, where Master Wenxu specially arranged for two new medicine servants to attend to him.

Looking at the empty room, Gou An couldn't help but think of Niu Cuihua.

Although this little bull demon's cultivation level was mediocre, he was very diligent and sensible.

Often, Niu Cuihua would know what Gou An wanted to do as soon as he raised his hand, without having to say anything more.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was Gou An's confidant.

Unfortunately, my departure resulted in her being sold.

Gou An had originally planned to put Niu Cuihua into the Palm Heaven Diagram to help after he returned.

In this City of Ten Thousand Demons, the only place that can be sold is the Nurturing Slave Hall.

Once sold into this place, it's hard to imagine a good ending for them.

Most of them are sold back to the mines to work, and they don't know when they will die because they can't hold on any longer.

Gou An wanted to inquire about it, but then gave up on the idea.

She's just a drug slave; it doesn't seem worth it for me to go looking for her.

Even if you don't have Niu Cuihua, you can still raise a Zhu Cuihua, Ma Cuihua, or something like that.

In the days that followed, Gou An began to prepare for the alchemy competition with all his might.

Counting the days, Gou An hadn't refined any pills for more than half a year, and his skills had become a bit rusty.

If we include the time spent trapped in the Soul River, it would be even longer.

While refining pills, he also absorbed spirit stones to increase his demonic power.

Life is simple yet fulfilling.

After returning to the City of Ten Thousand Demons, the anxiety and fear I felt while outside disappeared, and I felt much more relaxed, both physically and mentally.

As expected, monsters still live in monster-dominated areas. Even if Gou An yearns for the life of a human cultivator, it is not something he can easily attain right now.

After all, if a powerful demon with the cultivation level of Nascent Soul could be imprisoned in the Locking Heaven Tower, then the human cultivators outside must be quite terrifying.

In addition, Gou An took the opportunity to accelerate the flow of time in the Palm Heaven Diagram, increasing the growth rate of the spiritual plants within it.

The medicinal fields inside are now planted with various types of spiritual plants, and Gou An wants to see the specific yield.

We might need it at the alchemy competition.

During this time, Liu Dayong and the others discussed it among themselves and finally decided to address Gou An as the Dao Master.

After all, everyone was brought out of the harsh, snowy region by Gou An, and the leisurely life shown in the picture is all thanks to Gou An.

On this day, Gou An had just finished absorbing a round of spirit stones, and his demon power had increased considerably.

Suddenly, he felt someone calling him from the Palm Heaven Diagram. He opened it and found that it was Liu Dayong who had something to report to him.

After Liu Dayong was released, the guy looked like he had discovered some treasure, with a grin on his face.

"What's wrong?" Gou An asked.

"Master, we've discovered a spiritual herb we've never seen before in the map!" Liu Dayong replied, "This thing is very interesting, but we don't know whether we should plant it or not, so we wanted to ask you about it."

"Let me see it!" Gou An stretched out his hand.

Liu Dayong took out a strange herb from his pocket.

On the thick grass stems grow several large, dark green leaves, covered with a layer of fine down, and at the top of each leaf is a cluster of pale pink flowers.

As soon as it was taken out, a strange aroma spread out, and after smelling it, one felt a sense of relaxation.

Gou An gasped when he saw it; the more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

"Does the Daoist Master recognize this item?" Liu Dayong asked curiously.

Gou An took the strange herb, examined it closely, and smelled it repeatedly, which confirmed him even more clearly what it was.

This is actually a tobacco!

Unlike the tobacco that Gou An had seen in his previous life, this tobacco contained a faint spiritual energy.

It can be described as a kind of tobacco.

With this, we'll never lack spirit stones again.

Plant this spirit tobacco in large quantities, then process it into cigarettes in batches and sell them to those cultivators.

Smoke one to refresh your mind.

Over time, it can lead to dependence, causing mental agitation and difficulty in meditation if one doesn't have a bowel movement.

This stuff isn't a deadly poison that destroys one's cultivation; it's a mental addiction. Once a cultivator gets used to it, they'll keep buying it, creating a stable and continuous customer base.

Moreover, this spirit tobacco contains spiritual energy, which can also aid in cultivation.

Thinking of this, Gou An was overjoyed.

A broad and promising road lies before you.