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

Sitting to the left of Tan Kai was Zhang Li.

He took out some fasting pills and qi-restoring pills from his storage bag and said:

"Junior brother, my cultivation level is the lowest, and I don't have much to prepare. I'll just sell some pills: ten bottles of Bigu Pills and ten bottles of Qi-restoring Pills. I'll still sell them at the market price, but each bottle will have 20% more in quantity."

This trading conference was a rare opportunity for him to publicly reveal that he was an alchemist. Considering the cultivation levels of the cultivators attending the conference, he temporarily refined some fasting pills and qi-restoring pills. Although qi-nourishing pills were good, cultivators in the mid-to-late stages of qi cultivation generally did not need them.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the pavilion felt a surge of emotion, and many of them simultaneously had the same thought: the Dao of Alchemy?

Are there already so many cultivators who have mastered the four arts these days? And this cultivator, who has just entered the mid-stage of Qi Refining and whose cultivation level is only the fourth level of Qi Refining, is already able to refine a first-grade low-level Qi-restoring pill?

When Lu Ran demonstrated his talisman technique, everyone was amazed, but they could still understand it.

Lu Ran is in the late stage of Qi Refining and has been cultivating for quite some time. It is reasonable that he has ample time to study the Dao of Talismans with spirit stones.

Zhang Li was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and had only been practicing for a few years, yet he had already achieved results in alchemy, which shocked everyone far more than Lu Ran.

The disciples sighed inwardly, lamenting that these two were making it impossible for the other cultivators to survive.

Tan Kai couldn't help but speak first, his tone full of disbelief: "Junior Brother Zhang, these pills... you refined them all yourself?"

"That's right. I've been studying alchemy for many years, and at present I can only refine the Bigu Pill and the Qi-Returning Pill. The success rate is acceptable, and it's barely enough to make a living. Please don't look down on me, fellow senior brothers and sisters." Zhang Li nodded and said.

"Junior Brother's words are truly embarrassing for us." Tan Kai shook his head with a wry smile, casually picked up a bottle of Qi-restoring pills, poured out one, and examined it briefly.

Sensing the medicinal power contained within, Tan Kai couldn't help but be slightly surprised.

"good!"

This wasn't just polite talk; it was a genuine affirmation that the pills Zhang Li had refined were even better than he had anticipated.

Seeing that even Tan Kai, who had the highest cultivation level, nodded, the others followed suit and made their moves.

"I'm running low on fasting pills, so I'll buy two bottles to save myself the trouble of going to the store to buy more."

"Give me a bottle of fasting pills too."

Because of their status as alchemists, everyone bought some, more or less.

In an instant, all the pills Zhang Li had taken out were sold out.

Next, Liu Changjun took out a mid-grade magic artifact, the Azure Light Mirror. The azure light emitted by the mirror could see through the cultivator's concealed form and illusions, and it was very effective against concealment-type talismans. Qin Linwu bought it for 380 spirit stones.

Liu Hui took out several high-quality bone-forging herbs, and Su Qinghe and Tan Kai each took out half of them.

Zhang Li recalled that Su Qinghe had previously intercepted the black rice, and she had kept a lot for herself. This time, she exchanged it for bone-forging grass. Could it be that she was planning to refine her body?

Body tempering is an extremely resource-intensive process. Humans are not known for their physical strength, and their physical foundation is far inferior to that of naturally strong beasts.

To hone one's physical body to the point where it can rival that of a Qi Refining cultivator, a vast amount of nourishing spiritual herbs and body-tempering medicines are indispensable, and the process is extremely painful.

"It's none of my business," Zhang Li thought for a moment and quickly turned his attention back to the trading meeting.

After Liu Hui, the remaining two also brought out their items for trade, and they were all sold out by the crowd.

This concludes the trading session.

Seeing that no one had anything else to trade, Su Qinghe announced the end of the trading session.

Just as everyone was getting up to leave, Su Qinghe suddenly called out to Zhang Li.

"Senior Sister Su, is there anything else you need me to do?"

After the others left, Zhang Li asked with some confusion.

Ordinary matters can be discussed directly at a trading meeting.

Being left alone suggests that it must be a private matter that is inconvenient to discuss in public.

Just as Zhang Li was muttering to himself, Su Qinghe smiled slightly and said, "Junior Brother Zhang, don't worry. I asked you to stay behind alone because I want to invite you to become an external alchemist of Dan Ding Lou."

"Me? An external alchemist?"

Zhang Li was taken aback. The Dan Ding Tower was backed by the Su family, which had a long history and deep roots. They had their own family traditions, and there were quite a few people in the family who were proficient in alchemy.

No matter how scarce alchemists are, it's not up to an outer disciple who's only at the fourth level of Qi Refining and can only refine Bigu Pills and Qi-Returning Pills to hire an external alchemist.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind, making his back tense slightly: Could it be that the Su family has already discovered my true background?

Zhang Li remained expressionless, softening his tone as he probed, "Senior Sister is joking. The Su family is full of talented individuals, and its members are especially skilled in alchemy. I, Zhang, am merely an outer disciple of mediocre talent and low cultivation, only capable of refining two of the lowest-grade pills. How could I possibly be worthy of being an external alchemist for the Pill Cauldron Pavilion?"

Su Qinghe sat upright on the stone bench, looking at him calmly and said, "Junior Brother, there's no need to belittle yourself. Back when you came to me seeking alchemy inheritance, your cultivation was only at the second level of Qi Refining. With just a fragmented scroll of alchemy manual and a book of alchemy explanations, you were able to refine high-quality Bigu Pills in just over a month. This speed is much faster than that of a normal alchemy apprentice. Furthermore..."

At this point, Su Qinghe paused for a moment before continuing, "Junior Brother has cultivated to the fourth level of Qi Refining in just seven years. Such progress would be impossible without a continuous supply of spirit stones and pills. However, relying solely on selling Bigu Pills and Qi-restoring Pills cannot support such a large consumption of cultivation resources."

"So Junior Brother must know more than just Qi-restoring pills as a first-tier elixir."

After speaking, Su Qinghe looked quietly at Zhang Li, as if trying to discern something from his calm and composed expression.

"As expected, I couldn't hide it from my senior sister."

Zhang Li shook his head with a wry smile. He had long known that he couldn't hide it from everyone, but no matter how they guessed, they could only attribute it all to his exceptional talent in alchemy. They could never have imagined that Zhang Li would have such a heaven-defying opportunity as the Cave Heaven.

"Besides these two kinds of pills, Zhang has also achieved some success in refining Qi-Nourishing Pills, with a success rate of about 30%. Apart from using them himself, he uses the rest to exchange for spirit stones and buy spirit herbs, barely balancing his expenses."

A 30% success rate in producing Qi-Nourishing Pills is already extremely outstanding among cultivators of the same level, which can reasonably explain his resource reserves that far exceed those of ordinary outer disciples, without being too excessive.

After all, a vague and ethereal talent cannot cover up everything.

Hearing Zhang Li tell the truth, Su Qinghe's eyes lit up, and her desire to recruit Zhang Li intensified.

"Since you are already capable of refining Qi-Nourishing Pills, you are fully worthy of the position of an external alchemist. As an external alchemist, our Dan Ding Tower will provide you with a complete first-tier alchemy inheritance. As for the spiritual herbs needed for alchemy, you only need to submit a fixed amount of pills each month according to a certain ratio. Our Dan Ding Tower will buy up any excess pills at a high price. What do you think, junior brother?"

After hearing the conditions offered by Su Qinghe, Zhang Li pretended to ponder for a while before speaking: "Thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister. I am used to being free and undisciplined and do not like to be restrained. I am afraid I cannot accept the position of an external alchemist."

He then added sincerely, leaving room for maneuver for both sides: "But Senior Sister, please rest assured, in the future, I will definitely send any surplus pills I refine to Dan Ding Lou for sale first."

"In that case, I will not force you any further, junior brother. But the doors of the Pill Cauldron Pavilion will always be open to you. If you change your mind, you may come to me again."

Seeing that Zhang Li's attitude was firm and he showed no sign of backing down, Su Qinghe stopped trying to persuade him.

"must."

……