Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

Having nearly died from a qi deviation, Zhang Li finally calmed down and enjoyed a rare period of leisure and peace, working from sunrise to sunset with an extremely regular schedule.

Unfortunately, the leisurely time lasted for less than a month. After the residual injuries in his meridians were completely healed, Zhang Li returned to his arduous cultivation.

Unlike other outer disciples who scrimped and saved every day, even splitting a spirit stone in half, Zhang Li had no shortage of cultivation resources thanks to the continuous supply of spiritual herbs and medicines produced by the Black Field of his cave.

With ample resources, the speed of cultivation increased dramatically. This feeling of daily improvement in strength gave Zhang Li a sense of great peace of mind.

Perhaps because he had experienced a qi deviation, Zhang Li's state of mind was more stable than before.

Thanks to this more stable mindset and the continuous contact he has maintained during this period, he has made some breakthroughs in his alchemy skills.

His success rate in refining fasting pills is now approaching 50%.

Earning spirit stones through alchemy has also become easier.

Time always flies when you're busy and fulfilled, and before you know it, it's the end of the year.

As the north wind gradually rises in the mountains, the temperature grows colder day by day, and the once lush and verdant forests begin to give off a desolate and bleak atmosphere.

However, the mood of both inner and outer disciples in the sect was not affected by the season; on the contrary, it was filled with anticipation and excitement.

The reason is simple: once a year, as the year draws to a close, the sect will distribute an extra batch of cultivation resources, which the disciples call "New Year's Gifts." These resources are separate from the monthly salary and are much more generous than the monthly salary.

That day, after the daily breathing exercises at Chenshi (7-9 AM), the disciples did not leave the Dharma Performance Platform as usual, but waited expectantly.

The deacons in charge of distributing the resources, unusually, did not keep everyone in suspense. As soon as the breathing exercises ended, they appeared on the Dharma performance platform.

Upon seeing the deacons appear, the disciples tacitly formed a long queue according to their cultivation level.

Zhang Li stood in the middle of the line and soon received her New Year's gift.

Outer disciples in the early stages of Qi Refining can receive ten spirit stones, one bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills, and twenty catties of Green Spirit Rice.

Outer disciples in the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining can receive twenty spirit stones, one bottle of Qi Condensation Pill, and forty catties of Purple Bamboo Spirit Rice.

Every disciple who received the New Year's gift had an undisguised look of joy on their face. For outer disciples struggling at the bottom of cultivation, this New Year's gift was a considerable fortune.

On ordinary days, the monthly salary is meager. After deducting daily expenses and cultivation consumption, there is not much resource left. Cultivators need spirit stones for too many things, such as magic power, talismans, and materials.

This year-end gift is enough for them to cultivate peacefully for one or two months, and may even give them the opportunity to break through the bottleneck of their cultivation realm.

What would be a precious New Year's gift to others is merely icing on the cake for him, who owns the Kuroda Cave and is self-sufficient in resources.

He no longer needed to carefully calculate the cost of a few spirit stones or a few bottles of pills. The spirit stones he accumulated from refining the Bigu Pills on a daily basis, along with the continuous production of spirit herbs, had already freed him from the resource predicament of an outer disciple.

However, Zhang Li still had to show the same joy as all the outer disciples, with a perfectly timed smile on his lips.

He knew very well that the tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind.

In a resource-scarce place like the outer gate, where everyone is watching each other's progress, being too different from others will only invite suspicion and resentment from others, needlessly causing trouble for yourself.

After receiving the New Year's gifts, Zhang Li returned directly to his courtyard and continued his dedicated cultivation.

With the New Year's gifts distributed by the sect, many outer disciples ushered in a rare period of rapid cultivation, and even the number of disciples accepting tasks at the Incense Hall decreased significantly.

Unfortunately, this wonderful experience didn't last long. Before long, the outer sect returned to its original state, with groups of outer sect disciples once again scrambling for resources.

……

As winter deepened, a night of north wind swept through, and the entire Qingxuan Sect was covered in snow.

As dawn broke, fine snowflakes continued to fall gently, blanketing the world in white. Mountains, palaces, and stone steps were all buried under the snow, and the once desolate forests fell into complete silence. The cold wind swept snowflakes across the rooftops, and the biting chill permeated the surrounding area.

In this kind of weather, almost no one would choose to go out.

However, in the world of cultivation, mere wind, snow, cold, and temperature cannot stop cultivators with cultivation levels.

A cultivator's physical body is nourished by spiritual energy year-round, making it impervious to heat and cold. With just a wisp of magical power to protect the body, even blizzards cannot get close, and biting cold cannot penetrate the skin.

Over the past two months, he has been refining his alchemy skills day and night with plenty of spiritual herbs, and the success rate of his Bigu Pills has increased slightly again, now firmly standing at 55%.

Over time, the number of fasting pills he had accumulated filled half of his storage bag. He had more than enough for his own needs, and the remaining pills were useless to him.

Therefore, Zhang Li decided to go to the market to sell his wares.

The only regret is that he still hasn't mastered the Azure Flame Technique. Zhang Li's comprehension of magic is even inferior to his cultivation aptitude.

Since conventional methods weren't working, he was prepared to try other methods as well.

Zhang Li tidied himself up briefly, then walked through the snow holding a bamboo umbrella.

He chose to go to Hanxi Market again this time, firstly because it was closer, and secondly because he was familiar with the area.

In less than half an hour, Zhang Li crossed a pale blue spiritual light barrier at the entrance of the valley. The chilling air suddenly dissipated, replaced by a warm breeze. On both sides, the flowers and grasses were lush and green, and the streams murmured. It was a world apart from the icy and snowy landscape outside the valley.

The shops on both sides of the market were all open, and disciples came and went in an endless stream, showing no signs of the desolation of winter.

Zhang Li walked familiarly to the entrance of Dan Ding Lou and went straight in. The woman on duty at the shop today was the same one he had met when he bought the Dan Dao inheritance.

The woman was still dressed in an elegant light blue Taoist dress, with a light blue spiritual herb hair ornament still pinned to her temple. She was looking down at the account books when she heard footsteps and looked up. Upon seeing the person, she immediately felt that he looked familiar.

Upon closer inspection, he immediately remembered and a gentle smile appeared on his face: "It's Junior Brother Zhang Li, isn't it?"

"Greetings, Senior Sister. I am Zhang Li." Zhang Li clasped her hands in greeting.

Upon hearing Zhang Li's reply, the woman realized that she had never introduced herself to this junior brother before. She chuckled slightly, a little embarrassed, and raised her hand to adjust the spirit grass hair ornament at her temple.

"Look at my memory. When you bought 'The Detailed Explanation of Qinghe Dandao', you were in such a hurry that you forgot to introduce yourself. My name is Su Qinghe. I work at Danding Tower in my spare time, so I'm practically a manager."

"Greetings, Senior Sister Su."

Zhang Li became even more respectful, because the Foundation Establishment cultivator behind the Pill Cauldron Tower was also surnamed Su, and it seemed that this Senior Sister Su in front of him was probably quite connected with that elder.