Thanks to Katy for the kofis, enjoy the bonus chapters!

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Sixth-tier Soul-Stabilizing Pills were no easy feat to refine.

Qin Zhou sat in the alchemy chamber all night. By dawn, his eyes were bloodshot.

After all, he was merely a Qi Cultivation stage cultivator.

He yawned, only to see Shisi sleeping soundly on the wooden bench outside the chamber where he was supposed to be keeping watch.

Qin Zhou: …

Those with higher cultivation didn’t guard the furnace; instead, they slept soundly.

Fortunately, the pill was successfully refined.

Qin Zhou’s bloodshot eyes fixed intently on the alchemy furnace.

The next moment, a deafening boom erupted.

The tremor jolted Shisi awake. He snapped his eyes open, confusion clouding his gaze. Glancing left and right, he realized Qin Zhou was the source of the commotion.

“Village Chief, did it work?”

Shisi hurried into the inner chamber just as a golden light shot skyward from the furnace. The overwhelming spiritual energy shattered the alchemy room’s eaves. The golden light, like a dragon, pierced the clouds. The moment it broke through the cloud layer, it collided with the barrier. The obstructed light instantly scattered, exploding like fireworks mid-air.

This was the golden light of a successfully refined sixth-tier pill.

“It’s done.” Qin Zhou nodded. Yet, upon closer inspection of the golden light, his brows furrowed. “My cultivation is still too low. My spiritual power remains insufficient to better control the furnace and the heat. The quality will likely be somewhat lacking.”

Shisi swallowed hard, unsure how to respond.

If Fifth Brother heard this, he’d cry out loud.

Qin Zhou personally opened the furnace.

Blue spiritual energy gradually dispersed, revealing three Soul-Stabilizing Pills scattered at the bottom. Their quality was rare—not excellent, but not too bad either. Soul-Stabilizing Pills were notoriously difficult to refine. Getting three from one furnace already satisfied Qin Zhou.

The quality would have to suffice.

After retrieving the pills, Qin Zhou placed them all into a bottle and handed it to Shisi.

“Village Chief, all three for me? Two would be enough…” Shisi felt awkward accepting them. His meager Soul-Restoring Grass could only yield two pills at best. Producing three was an unexpected windfall for any pill master—it shouldn’t be his to keep.

Besides, the village chief hadn’t charged him. Finding an alchemist to refine pills was incredibly expensive these days.

“You brought me a whole box of things,” Qin Zhou simply stated. “I accepted the White Crane Tears, too. Besides, these are your lifesaving pills.”

Shisi held the small porcelain bottle, his eyes brimming with tears.

“Stop abusing the Thousand Mechanism Stone. To truly mend your soul’s fracture, you need a Soul-Restoring Pill made from seventh-tier Soul-Birth Grass. Keep your eyes open in the upper realm. If you find any Soul-Birth Grass, bring it to me.”

“Yes, Village Chief!”

“Repair the roof of the pill room. Once done, come help in the warehouse.” With those parting words, Qin Zhou departed.

He still needed to peel the second-tier Spirit Heart Fruit kernels.

These were leftovers from when he’d previously refined pills for the Medicine Moon Sect.

Now that second-tier Spirit Heart Fruit could be cultivated in the fields, second-tier cultivation was essential.

However, the current supply of second-tier Spirit Heart Fruit kernels was far from sufficient to plant an entire spirit field. If they ran out and still weren’t enough, he’d have no choice but to inquire at the Snowflake Pavilion.

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In the end, the sorted second-tier Spirit Heart Fruit seeds weren’t plentiful—only about twenty. Even planting all of them wouldn’t be enough. Nearly two-thirds were still lacking.

However, Qin Zhou didn’t immediately head to the provincial capital to buy alchemy materials from the Snowflake Pavilion.

He planned to refine all the Spirit Heart Fruit harvested from the fields into pills and sell them in the provincial capital.

And then there were the White Crane Tears in his backpack…

He should refine them into pills, too.

Qin Zhou was always highly proactive. That very day, he retreated back into his alchemy chamber.

When Qin Zhou emerged again, he was covered in the scent of wood smoke and the delicate fragrance of Spirit Heart Fruit. Inside his Cosmos Bag, nearly two hundred additional pills had appeared.

Not only were all these pills of precious quality, but some even reached supreme quality.

Out of two hundred pills, only two were supreme grade.

It must be noted that Qin Zhou had refined countless low-grade spirit pills before, yet supreme grade had never appeared.

Supreme-grade pills radiated crimson spiritual energy, distinctly different from the golden aura of precious-grade pills. Supreme-grade pills were exceptionally potent. If one rare-grade pill equaled five common pills, then a supreme-grade pill could likely equal five precious-grade pills.

Was it luck?

Probably not.

Qin Zhou suddenly thought of something and opened his interface panel.

Sure enough, that familiar achievement title appeared after he activated his spirit field with Spirit Marrow.

【Self-Sufficient God】: Accumulated use of pills crafted from ingredients harvested from one’s own spirit field reached 10,000 times. (Exalted Honor) Pills crafted from ingredients cultivated in one’s own spirit field gain a +20% rarity bonus.

This supreme grade likely originated from this very source.

Even with such a significant rarity boost, the yield of supreme-grade pills remained pitifully low.

Moreover, supreme-grade pills were far too conspicuous to be sold.

After a moment’s thought, Qin Zhou set those two pills aside, placing them in a separate vial with an extra label affixed.

These two… I’ll give them to Chen San.

He never shortchanged his own people.

After two full days of nonstop work, Qin Zhou finally finished refining all the Spirit Heart Fruits he’d gathered.

Incidentally, he also processed the White Crane Tears.

The sixth-tier Core Stabilizing Pill emitted a faint fragrance. Its quality matched that of the sixth-tier Solidifying Soul Pill—both were precious-grade.

This pill was, after all, a sixth-tier elixir. After some thought, Qin Zhou placed it in a beautiful little box.

This one is for Wen Jue.

Emerging from the pill room, the sky was still bright and the sunlight perfect. Chen San, having just finished his fieldwork, was already fast asleep, sprawled across the small table in the courtyard.

The door to the other room in the courtyard remained tightly shut. Shisi, having taken the Soul-Stabilizing Pill, was likely sitting cross-legged, meditating to refine it.

Qin Zhou placed the vial containing the supreme-grade pill on the table with quiet care, left a brief note, and stepped outside.

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Just as he prepared to summon Tunfeng, a letter arrived from the provincial capital.

The messenger belonged to Snowflake Pavilion.

He had likely visited the Qin residence first, then received word before coming to this remote village.

Upon seeing Qin Zhou, the messenger breathed a sigh of relief. “Finally, I’ve found Young Master Qin.”

The messenger presented the Snowflake Pavilion’s letter with both hands.

Qin Zhou opened it and learned that the Snowflake Pavilion had secured his first order for him. The buyer was none other than Yaoshan Sect, with whom he’d had a brief encounter before.

His connection with Yaoshan Sect was indeed profound. Back then, when Yaoshan Sect had aided the Zhang family in suppressing the Qins, after losing the elixir contest, several of their disciples had come to the village. Wen Jue had stumbled upon them, bound them, and then fed them amnesia pills before casting them off the mountain.

Later, he had secretly visited the Qin family shop several times to purchase pills.

He never expected them to come knocking again.

This time, however, they didn’t seem to be looking for trouble.

Qin Zhou examined the extra ‘order contract’ inside the envelope. It was clear: one hundred precious-grade first-tier spirit pills and one hundred precious-grade second-tier spirit pills, totaling two hundred.

It further specified that all ingredients would be supplied by Yaoshan Sect, leaving Qin Zhou solely responsible for the alchemy. The payment terms were laid out plainly: a fixed price per pill, with percentages allocated to Snowflake Pavilion and himself.

Remarkably, it didn’t even specify a delivery deadline.

Qin Zhou understood the implication of this omission. It meant no constraints—he could deliver the pills whenever he saw fit.

Even if he dragged his feet for half a year or a year, the other party couldn’t use this order against him.

To put it bluntly, they were practically delivering money to him.

Qin Zhou understood their intent—they sought to befriend him with these two hundred sets of ingredients. But he wasn’t about to take advantage of such generosity. He ran his business by one principle: credibility.

Especially after seeing the hundred second-tier spirit pills and learning the other party would provide the ingredients—his gaze grew notably serious.

The ingredients for a hundred second-tier spirit pills meant a hundred second-tier spirit heart fruits.

And the pits left after stripping the flesh from spirit heart fruits? He could use them for farming. A hundred portions would be just enough to plant an entire mountain.

Qin Zhou inquired, “Where are the ingredients?”

The messenger paused, then replied, “The buyer said they’d arrive shortly. The ingredients will be stored in Snowflake Pavilion’s warehouse. The Pavilion Master stated that whenever Young Master Qin requests them, they’ll immediately dispatch a mount to deliver them.”

Qin Zhou stacked the order papers. “No need. I’m heading to the provincial capital now.”

It was the height of the farming season, and he urgently needed the seeds for cultivation.

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Meanwhile, a heavyweight figure had also arrived at Yaoshan Sect.

“Valley Master of Yaoshan Sect pays respects to Senior Yuan Qingshan!”

“All disciples of Yaoshan Sect pay respects to Senior Yuan Qingshan!”

The disciples of Yaoshan Sect, uniformly clad in blue robes, bowed in perfect unison. The Valley Master stood at the forefront, welcoming the disciples from the upper realm of Yuanqingshan.

Three disciples had come from Yuanqingshan this time.

Though also dressed in blue, the robes of Yuanqingshan were of a more intricate design. The fact that these three were disciples from the upper realm meant their cultivation was at least at the Golden Core stage.

Golden Core was merely the threshold for entering the upper realm. In venerable sects like Yuan Qingshan’s, Golden Core practitioners were often only considered outer disciples.

The elder of Yaoshan Sect had invited none other than his own great-uncle. This figure was now an outer disciple of Yuan Qingshan, a formidable Golden Core cultivator.

The elder’s gaze fixed intently upon his great-uncle.

He had merely hoped his great-uncle could resolve the mystery of several Yaoshan Sect disciples losing their memories without cause. He never imagined his great-uncle would personally descend to investigate in the lower realm. Moreover, he had brought two fellow disciples from the upper realm.

He was deeply moved.

The senior master, under the Elder’s intense scrutiny, offered no response to his emotion. Instead, he cautiously glanced at the two figures beside him.

Neither spoke. Even as his senior master, he dared not utter a word.

Finally, the youth beside him spoke: “You all honor us with your presence.”

The senior master exhaled in relief.

After the young man spoke, the long-haired youth beside him also moved.

The senior master felt a nudge in his lower back. His heart skipped a beat as he cautiously turned his head.

The Immortal Lord, whose hair reached his waist, looked at him and handed him a small vial. His voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, “Take this. Distribute it among your junior disciples.”

The senior master grasped the vial and took several deep breaths.

Ah! He actually spoke with that person! He actually spoke with that person! An outer disciple like him had actually gotten to speak with that person!

“Stop spacing out. The Master is speaking to you,” the young man said.

The senior disciple quickly composed himself, nodding repeatedly with utmost reverence toward the youth. “Yes!”

Master! That was way too harsh!

But, never mind! He dared not hold a grudge!

So, the senior disciple turned to face the respectful gazes of the lower realm disciples. He thought to himself: You little ones, you’re in luck! This is medicine given by that esteemed one!

“Baixing, I told you—don’t call me ‘Master’.” The Long-Haired Immortal Lord sighed.

Baixing immediately bowed his head. “This disciple was wrong.”

Long-Haired Immortal Lord: “…”

“Baixing, let’s go check on those disciples who encountered problems.”

“Understood.” Baixing turned to ask the Yaoshan Sec’s senior disciple, “Where are the troubled disciples?”

The Yaoshan Sect’s senior disciple hadn’t yet sorted out the relationships between these three. Suddenly called upon, he could only hurriedly respond, “They’re still recuperating in the valley. I’ll summon them immediately.”

Out front, the outer-door disciple from Yuanqing Mountain was still distributing pills to the younger generation. Baixing stood in place, sensing the sparse spiritual energy in the air. After hesitating for a moment, he couldn’t help but send a telepathic question to his master—

“Master, I have a question. I’m unsure if I should ask.”

The Long-Haired Immortal Lord responded gently, “Ask.”

“What happened that day at the Thousand Machinery Divine Sect?”

The Long-Haired Immortal Lord paused. “Nothing.”

“That alchemist who can refine sixth-tier Soul-Stabilizing Pills—is he in the lower realm? Master, did you come here to find him?”

“…” Lu Wu couldn’t help but glance back at his disciple. Baixing—was he perhaps a little too clever?

Baixing replied calmly, “Because that day, after you went to see Uncle Shisi, you mentioned coming to the lower realm to look around.”

Healers possess compassion, yet they can also be heartless. His master, however, was detached from all worldly concerns. The only things that truly held his interest were his fellow disciples and the art of alchemy.

This Sixth-Tier Soul-Stabilizing Pill could save Uncle Shisi, but it could also ignite his master’s competitive spirit.

Even he was eager to discover who this person truly was.

Lu Wu’s expression flickered momentarily. “Yes, and no,” he replied.

“I dare not seek him out,” Lu Wu said with a gentle smile. “But I believe that among the countless encounters within the lower realm’s teeming masses, one chance meeting between him and me is bound to occur.”

That was why he had come to the lower realm.

Baixing’s expression shifted slightly. He lowered his gaze, his eyes flickering. “Is that person… an old acquaintance of the master’s?”

Lu Wu didn’t notice Baixing’s change, only sighing. “You could say he was like a master.”

Both a teacher and a father.

Baixing: “…It seems I was right to follow the master down this time.”

Lu Wu: “What?”

Baixing smiled: “I, too, wish to see the Grandmaster.”

To see what form he takes.