"Thank you, Uncle-Master." Du Man'er was overjoyed. Then she couldn't help but ask, "Uncle-Master, how could you tell? And… can I still restore my former appearance?"

When she asked the latter question, Du Man'er couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

Fang Jinyu could consult a vast number of alchemy books because he was at the Foundation Establishment stage, with extensive borrowing privileges. Du Man'er, however, was different. The alchemy books she could borrow were few and far between.

"I happened to have read about it before, and my heart was filled with amazement at this wondrous pill. As for whether you can restore your appearance, that I don't know. But the Foundation Establishment stage confers a lifespan of two hundred years. I imagine that even if you can't, you'll be able to keep this appearance from aging for a long time."

"Thank you for your guidance, Uncle-Master. Also, Uncle-Master…" Du Man'er was a bit disappointed, but she quickly adjusted her mood. Then she took the initiative to come a little closer and spoke softly.

Du Man'er wasn't about to whisper secrets; she was telling Fang Jinyu that she had previously seen a ninth-layer Qi Refining disciple of the Tianling Sect trying out a pair of lightning-attribute low-grade spirit tools at the training ground, testing their power.

Fang Jinyu's expression couldn't help but change slightly.

Because earlier, the Tianling Sect Leader had indicated that he would give Fang Jinyu a pair of lightning-attribute low-grade spirit tools from the sect's treasury as a reward for uncovering the underground market scam.

Lightning-attribute spirit tools, even low-grade ones, were exceedingly rare throughout the entire cultivation world.

Moreover, because of their great power, a single lightning-attribute low-grade spirit tool was usually more expensive than a fine mid-grade spirit tool, with supply available but no market demand.

And the Tianling Sect only had one such lightning-attribute low-grade spirit tool within its gates.

It was a paired spirit tool consisting of a hammer and a nail.

When the Tianling Sect Leader had said this, Du Man'er had also been present, so she knew about it as well.

"I'll go see the Sect Leader."

Fang Jinyu recalled that at the time, the Sect Leader had said he would send someone to deliver the spirit tool. But after he emerged from closed-door cultivation, there had been no message talisman outside his door, nor had anyone come to notify him.

* * *

And this time, upon arriving at Tianling Peak, Fang Jinyu waited for half a day before he finally saw the Sect Leader.

A short while later, Fang Jinyu left Tianling Peak with a slightly grim expression.

‘I'll remember this debt.’

Fang Jinyu was somewhat angry, because the Sect Leader told him that the lightning-attribute low-grade spirit tool had already been taken three days earlier by the grandson of a Golden Core great cultivator. Thus, he was given two choices: one, wait until the sect collected another lightning-attribute low-grade spirit tool; two, accept two thousand spirit stones as compensation.

‘Can two thousand spirit stones buy a lightning-attribute low-grade spirit tool?’

Not even five thousand spirit stones could necessarily buy one!

But Fang Jinyu had no choice.

He could only settle for the two thousand spirit stones.

Because he had already realized that the underground market scam was very likely just the tip of the iceberg, and what he had done that day had offended the interests of many.

After all, if it had been nothing more than a simple scam of a capital-free business, how could those three ninth-layer Qi Refining disciples have possessed a mid-grade spirit tool, and a formation spirit tool at that!

Among the spirit tools of this world, if ranked by attribute, lightning-attribute spirit tools were naturally the most precious, usually with ample demand but no availability. Because once someone acquired a lightning-attribute spirit tool, or obtained the heavenly materials and earthly treasures needed to forge one, they would invariably keep it for their own use and never let it circulate!

And if ranked by category, then formation spirit tools were naturally the most precious!

Because not only were formation spirit tools incomparably difficult to refine, but they also required the refiner to be proficient in formations themselves.

‘At the time, first came a Golden Core cultivator from the same peak as those four, then two more Golden Core cultivators arrived. One of them, without a second word, had the first-arrived Golden Core cultivator recuse himself… This likely also involves strife among Golden Core great cultivators!’

Realizing this, Fang Jinyu immediately made a decision: until the Lingdu Secret Realm opened, he would not leave the Li-Character Spirit Medicine Peak!

Compared to Xiaohe Peak, although Li-Character Spirit Medicine Peak likewise had no Golden Core cultivator in residence, the density of spiritual energy was far beyond what Xiaohe Peak could match.

Otherwise, the Foundation Establishment cultivators who came from Xiaohe Peak wouldn't have, every single one of them, all run off to other peaks.

Like Fang Jinyu, this newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Previously, had it not been for switching cultivation techniques, he would absolutely never have returned to Xiaohe Peak.

[Today was a day of hard alchemy work, but with almost no progress in alchemy skill]

[Extraction obtained: Alchemy Skill +1]

In an instant, all the information in his mind related to alchemy seemed to come alive, allowing Fang Jinyu's alchemy skill to advance by leaps and bounds. By the next day, when he opened the furnace to refine pills again, he was already able to keep the success rate of Qi-Boosting Origin-Supplementing Pills at twenty percent!

This caused Fang Jinyu's passion for alchemy to blaze with renewed fervor.

‘I truly am an alchemy prodigy!’

A certain newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator continued to shamelessly praise himself like this.

* * *

A few days later, because his luck had been good lately, consistently yielding alchemy-related extraction gains, Fang Jinyu's success rate for refining Qi-Boosting Origin-Supplementing Pills skyrocketed all the way to ninety percent!

This was an incredibly terrifying success rate, and it also caused Fang Jinyu's wealth to grow day by day.

But Fang Jinyu didn't sell all the Qi-Boosting Origin-Supplementing Pills, because at a price of twenty spirit stones per pill, selling them to the Tianling Sect required registering his name.

So Fang Jinyu only sold thirty percent.

Yet even just that thirty percent was enough to spread Fang Jinyu's name directly out from Li-Character Spirit Medicine Peak.

After all, this meant Fang Jinyu had quite impressive alchemy talent.

On this day, however, Fang Jinyu left Li-Character Spirit Medicine Peak.

Because, quite unexpectedly, another future opportunity of Du Man'er had been extracted for him. Just like last time, it was again a small arrow, but the direction it pointed was beyond the Tianling Sect.

After hesitating again and again, Fang Jinyu decided to dip into the opportunity.

Mm, just dip!

To be on the safe side, he took the initiative to find Du Man'er and, with five Qi-Boosting Origin-Supplementing Pills, asked her to take him for a stroll around Yuan City outside the Tianling Sect.

Presumably, with the fate energy of this second female lead, even if there was danger, they ought to be able to turn misfortune into fortune, right?

Yuan City was a city where mortals and cultivators lived intermingled.

It belonged to no imperial court.

Like those Immortal Cities, it was considered a city beyond ordinary jurisdiction.

And the origin of this city lay in Tianling Sect disciples who came here to marry, have children, establish homes, and set up their careers. Over time, it gradually formed into this massive city beyond the jurisdiction of any imperial court!

As for Du Man'er, though she only later moved to settle in Yuan City, she had already lived there for many years before joining the Tianling Sect, so she could also be called a native of Yuan City.

Had it not been so, with her five-attribute spiritual roots, she would never have been exceptionally admitted to Spirit Medicine Peak back then.

Although Spirit Medicine Peak usually only cared about looks, there was still a minimum requirement for spiritual root attributes. After all, if they were going to accept you into the sect, they couldn't let you spend your entire life stuck in the early stage of Qi Refining, could they?

Five-attribute spiritual roots, even if cultivated to the death, and with minor opportunities along the way, would at most reach the third layer of Qi Refining.

Du Man'er was very happy about Fang Jinyu's invitation. After all, Fang Jinyu had saved her life, and even without the spirit pills, she was willing to take Fang Jinyu for a stroll around Yuan City—it was a perfect chance for her to visit her home.

Fang Jinyu didn't force her to accept the bottle of pills, and then he simply followed the arrow within his field of vision. And naturally, Du Man'er followed wherever Fang Jinyu went, since Fang Jinyu hadn't yet specified any particular place to go.

In the end, the two of them arrived at a stall set up by a low-level Qi Refining cultivator.

With just one glance, Fang Jinyu couldn't help but grumble inwardly: This trope is really old…

He had already guessed what plot would come next!