Chapter 8: Late Stage of Qi Refining

Before the words had even faded, Li Ji'an remained composed on the surface while his inner defenses were raised to the maximum. A protective talisman was ready to be triggered at the slightest provocation, and he summoned "Gua Gua" to stand by at a moment's notice.

Because of its specific properties, the Marrow-Cleansing Pill had very little utility in the cultivation world. Li Ji'an only needed to prepare one each lifetime because his body had not been nourished by spiritual energy before the age of eight. The fact that others in this realm were refining these pills—and were seemingly "skilled" at it—gave him pause and led to suspicion. The very first Marrow-Cleansing Pill in the Immortal Bestowal Dynasty had been bestowed by an "Immortal Master." Now, linking this to the fact that Granny You hailed from the Liu Clan of the Array—one of the five great families of the region—his suspicions only deepened. He even began to wonder if she was deliberately testing him.

"I merely chose a low-grade prescription to practice with when I first began studying the art of alchemy," Li Ji'an replied with a smile.

Granny You nodded. "Indeed. That kind of pill has no market; most are just practice pieces. I shall not disturb Alchemist Li any longer. Farewell. Xiao Qiao, say goodbye to Uncle Li."

Xiao Qiao shrank back, remaining silent.

As he watched the grandmother and granddaughter depart, Li Ji'an regained his composure. He realized he might have been overthinking it; having already "reincarnated" once, this was unlikely to be a test. Still, he kept a mental note regarding the Liu Clan of the Array.

After deep contemplation, he decided to inform the other three. Zhao Shuyao was now eighty-four, Zhang Tiezhu seventy-four, and Dong Jiangling seventy. They were all well past the age of seventy, and each had almost no hope for further progress. Having a tangible goal in their lives could boost their vitality, and besides, this was their shared long-held wish.

Shortly after sending the message, Dong Jiangling was the first to reply. His settlement was not far from the Liu Clan of the Array. Unlike the other four major families, they were closer to the Southern Wasteland, and his daughter had married into a family that was a vassal to the Lius. He promised to keep a close watch but advised Li Ji'an not to be distracted and to prioritize his own cultivation and strength.

Zhang Tiezhu, residing within the Yan family, was cut off from information and had no knowledge of the matter; he merely warned Li Ji'an to be extremely careful and wait until he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage before taking any action.

Zhao Shuyao did not reply at all until later in the evening, when she arrived accompanied by Manager Wu. Manager Wu lavished him with praise throughout the visit, and Zhao Shuyao also expressed great surprise at his alchemical skills. Only after Manager Wu had been sent away did Zhao Shuyao turn serious.

"Xiao Fan, listen to Auntie Yao. You are still young and have little experience; I fear you may not be able to handle certain situations. Do not pursue this matter any further. Focus on your cultivation. Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, everything will be easier. Leave the rest to us old folks."

Li Ji'an was slightly taken aback. When Dong Jiangling and Zhang Tiezhu had advised him earlier, he hadn't thought much of it. But now that Zhao Shuyao was doing the same, he realized they saw him as their only hope. Yet, he was not as young as they thought.

"Xiao Fan, tell Auntie Yao the truth. Your father... is he secretly investigating this?" Before Li Ji'an could answer, Zhao Shuyao condensed her vital energy and spoke through a sound-transmission technique.

Li Ji'an raised an eyebrow, never expecting her to think of that. "I have heard nothing from him!"

Zhao Shuyao frowned slightly but ultimately did not press further. "Very well. If your father knew of your achievements today, he would be very happy. You are doing great!"

After sending Zhao Shuyao off, Li Ji'an stopped dwelling on it. They were right; without even the strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, there was no need to consider those matters.

He had now established a foothold in the Immortal City. Here, as long as one had spirit stones, many resources that were reserved only for core family members in the Wasteland could be purchased freely. And he possessed a skill that could generate wealth.

Over the following year, aided by sufficient premium pills, abundant spirit rice, flour, and beast meat, as well as the stable spiritual energy provided by his Grade-1 High-tier spiritual vein dojo, he finally broke through to the sixth level of Qi Refining a month ago—without the use of high-tier breakthrough pills—becoming a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. A late-stage Qi Refining cultivator could serve as a reserve elder in any family in the Wasteland and was a top-tier combatant.

With his mid-grade spiritual roots, breaking through this bottleneck in only a year and a half was largely due to his early understanding of how to condense gaseous mana into liquid form, as well as the significant allocation of resources.

"It has stabilized!" That day, as his seventh-level Qi Refining realm solidified, Li Ji'an condensed his alchemical flame in his hand. The previously dark red flame had turned deep red and showed signs of shifting toward orange. The color of an alchemical flame represented its power; when Yan Qingwan was in the late stage of Qi Refining, her flame was only deep red, and she only achieved an orange flame after reaching Foundation Establishment.

"This should be enough to refine late-stage premium pills!" Late-stage pills were more profitable than mid-stage ones, as the difficulty was higher and the market supply-and-demand ratio was smaller.

"At this level of spiritual sense, I must be nearing the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, right?" A month ago, when he broke through the mid-stage of Qi Refining, his spiritual sense had improved again. Originally able to extend ten zhang, it could now reach fifteen, and his perception was much more nuanced. For ordinary cultivators, spiritual soul growth was a passive process tied to refining spiritual energy, corresponding to their mana level. Li Ji'an’s spiritual soul was already much stronger due to his "reincarnation."

"With my current spiritual sense, if I could have an alchemical flame comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, refining second-tier pills would be no problem."

He now needed to plan for Foundation Establishment, the most critical part of which was the Foundation Establishment Pill. However, these pills were not ordinary; they were strategic assets capable of changing the political landscape of a region. The main ingredient, the "Nine-Star Poria," was extremely scarce and mostly monopolized by the sects. Every time one appeared on the market, it was snatched up instantly.

It is said that over three thousand years ago, before the main ingredients were monopolized by the sects, the price of a Foundation Establishment Pill was only about a thousand spirit stones. Now, however, it was frequently driven up to over five thousand, sometimes even six thousand. Most importantly, the quality of those that appeared on the market was rarely high; a "standard grade" (low-grade) pill was already the limit. A standard Foundation Establishment Pill only increased the success rate by twenty percent, which for Li Ji'an, was far too low.

Besides buying finished pills, there was another way: if one could gather the ingredients themselves, some renowned senior second-tier alchemists would be willing to refine them for a fee. However, they would not guarantee the success rate or the quality, as most used this as an opportunity to improve their own skills. After all, the ingredients were expensive and hard to find, and many second-tier alchemists did not often get the chance to practice.

Li Ji'an was unwilling to choose this path; the risk was too high. As an alchemist himself, he preferred to trust his own abilities.

Aside from that, there were the sects. But that depended on the sect's foundation. Through his contact with Xiao Changfeng, he learned that the Biyun Sect's supply of Foundation Establishment Pills was not exactly plentiful either. Xiao had reached the late stage of Qi Refining three years before Li Ji'an, and for the past few years, besides cultivating, he had been constantly taking on sect missions just to accumulate enough contribution points to exchange for a pill. Because of this, he had significantly reduced his daily cultivation resources. He also frequently complained that he had no time to return to the sect, or he would have certainly sought out Li Ji'an in the Immortal City.

In their communication a while back, it seemed that the goal was still out of reach, and he had even begun to consider attempting a breakthrough without the aid of a Foundation Establishment Pill. High-grade spiritual roots did indeed provide that confidence; after all, they inherently granted a twenty percent success rate. If one polished their mana until it was pure, filled their body with blood and energy, remained free of hidden injuries, and possessed a strong soul, each of these three barriers contributed a twenty percent success rate. Even without being fully maxed out, one could achieve a seventy or eighty percent success rate.

Ultimately, Li Ji'an still had no good options and seemed to have no choice but to wait for one to appear on the market and compete for it. This would require spirit stones—a lot of them. Given his current income and expenditure, although he could refine late-stage pills and increase his earnings after reaching the late stage of Qi Refining, the resources required for his own cultivation would also increase. He had to find a way to increase his revenue.

It was on this very day that Li Ji'an received a message from Zhang Tiezhu: war had broken out within the clan again. This time, the scale was unprecedented, and all eight families were involved.