Chapter 1: Guyang is Leisurely, Lingxiang is Spiritual

"Hey? Have you heard? There is a strange woman in Guyang City who, with a mere Foundation Establishment cultivation, can actually refine high-grade pills!"

"Who says it isn't true? They say she looks like a celestial being; so many people want to go there just to catch a glimpse of her beauty!"

"How come I heard she is an old hag?"

"What kind of person she is doesn't matter; what matters is that they say her pills can even improve one's cultivation!"

"Stop bragging. If she were really that amazing, why would she still be at Foundation Establishment? It's clear that hearsay is not to be trusted."

"Hmph! A person like that, instead of focusing on proper cultivation, has actually taken up the art of gold and silver; no wonder she can't make a breakthrough! Could it be that she is just the face, while the pills she sells are actually someone else's?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! If that were true, the person capable of refining such pills must have an extremely advanced cultivation. Aren't you afraid that the person behind her might hear you and cut out your tongue!"

……

This rumor is actually not false. There is a Youran Abode in Guyang City where a young woman lives. When she was apprenticed to others in the past, she was already at the Foundation Establishment stage at a young age, and everyone thought she was a prodigy.

But strangely enough, many years have passed, and she is still stuck at Foundation Establishment, unable to break through.

She is also an impatient person. Having accidentally discovered her talent for alchemy, she simply left the mountain and started a pill business. As time went by, she actually made a name for herself.

You really have to admit, she truly has no talent for cultivation, but her alchemy is gifted. Every furnace of pills always yields a few high-grade ones, and sometimes even supreme grade ones appear.

Alchemy always requires some rare and exotic materials. And so, for her next furnace of pills, she specifically came to Qizhou City to hunt for treasure.

Qizhou City is located at the intersection of four cities, bordering Manzhou to the north, Shaoguan to the south, and Cangzhou and Tanyuan to the east and west respectively. Many merchants like to come here to trade goods.

In addition, Qizhou City has a major sect—the Taishang Sect.

The Taishang Sect is a sect that has risen in recent years. In less than a hundred years, it has risen rapidly with the force of splitting bamboo. Many cultivators have come here out of admiration, whether to seek answers to their doubts, to spar and exchange pointers, or to apprentice and learn skills. In general, it has attracted quite a lot of people.

Lingxiang is one of them.

That's right, she is the alchemist in the rumors who neglects her proper cultivation to run a pill business.

Actually, she has tried hard, but when it comes to cultivation, talent is the most important thing. If the heavens do not grant you favor and keep you from progressing, you can't just hang yourself on it until you die, right?

To live, one must be flexible.

Besides, although the heavens didn't favor her and blocked her path to the Great Dao of cultivation, they still gave her a way to make a living, didn't they?

Seizing the opportunity to cut her losses in time, she is quite satisfied.

Returning to the main topic, although Lingxiang is also aiming for the Taishang Sect, she is actually here for a medicinal herb on Changyun Peak of the Taishang Sect.

This herb is called Chonglou.

Ordinary Chonglou can clear heat and detoxify, reduce swelling and relieve pain, and cool the liver to calm fright. But the one on Changyun Peak is different.

There is a spirit vein on Changyun Peak. Originally, Chonglou could not survive in such a place, but the founder, True Person Lieyang, stubbornly planted it by the spirit vein. As time passed, it actually became lush and green, and even spread quite a bit.

Moreover, the Chonglou there is nourished by the essence of the sun and moon and bolstered by the spirit vein; it has nine leaves and one flower, and the fruit it produces is blood-red—truly a fine product for alchemy.

However, it is said that the Manager of the Taishang Sect, Xunfeng Zhenren, is a stingy and petty person who will not easily part with such precious medicinal materials. Lingxiang has already prepared herself mentally for extraordinary measures.

If it really doesn't work, she'll just steal it!

Back then, Lingshe Niangniang even stole immortal herbs to save her husband. If these pills are refined, who knows how many people they could benefit? She would never feel ashamed of this.

Outside the Taishang Sect, after submitting her visiting card, a young acolyte led her into the Deliberation Hall. Before long, she saw a Daoist walking over in a hurry.

This Daoist had white hair and a white beard, but his face was ruddy, his gaze sharp, his figure upright, and his strides were steady and powerful. At a glance, one could tell he was a person of profound cultivation.

"This is the sect's Manager, our Martial Uncle," the accompanying acolyte introduced immediately.

It turned out this Daoist was Xunfeng Zhenren.

Lingxiang did not stand on ceremony; after rising to salute and introducing herself, she stated her purpose directly and very sincerely took out two high-grade Marrow Cleansing Pills.

The so-called marrow cleansing is to wash and refine the cultivator's own meridians and bone marrow from beginning to end, making the practitioner's subsequent cultivation smoother, and perhaps even allowing them to break through.

Once the Golden Core was revealed, even the well-informed Xunfeng Zhenren was somewhat moved.

But this Xunfeng Zhenren truly lived up to the rumors, talking about how precious the Chonglou on Changyun Mountain was, and how the Sect Leader was in seclusion and he dared not make a decision on his own.

"I have heard that your pill-refining technique is remarkable, and your request for Chonglou is surely for that purpose. I have also heard that the Body Tempering Pill is even more divine under your skillful hands. If..."

All these reasons were nothing more than wanting to scrape a bit of oil and water off her, a mere mosquito leg.

"Before coming, I heard rumors in the market about you, True Person. Seeing you now, it really opens my eyes. I suppose managing such a large sect is truly not easy..."

"Heh~ this little girl is beating around the bush to say that I am stingy," Xunfeng stroked his beard and laughed. "Although we are practitioners who should be transcendent, since we are in the mundane world and deal with mundane affairs, we still have to haggle a bit. When Master Xuanzang sought scriptures at Spirit Mountain, he was extremely sincere, yet he still had to use a purple-gold alms bowl as an offering."

"In that case, my two Marrow Cleansing Pills are not enough for the exchange. Then, according to your wishes, True Person, how many Body Tempering Pills are needed?"

"Hahahaha! For a girl to be so direct makes me look mercenary. Then I won't say more—how about ten?"

"Ten!?" Lingxiang jumped up from her seat in shock.

Not to mention that the refining of these Body Tempering Pills requires careful control of the heat and complex methods, the success rate alone depends entirely on the will of heaven. Not to mention that refining one furnace takes forty-nine days of careful nursing; otherwise, a moment of carelessness could ruin the whole furnace.

Furthermore, one Body Tempering Pill dissolved in water is enough to temper the bones and muscles of twenty or thirty people.

This old man is afraid he has never taken pills, thinking this thing can cure illness if you have it and strengthen you if you don't, as if it were a snack that can ward off disasters and avoid calamities.

It seems that extraordinary matters require extraordinary means.

Lingxiang had an idea in a flash. She sat down gently with a smile, paused for a moment, and said: "It seems that the next furnace of pills I am developing is not destined to see the light of day. Although I don't know if it will succeed, I had intended to share the results with your sect. But the price is too high; if so, let's just forget it."

This sudden change caught Xunfeng Zhenren off guard, and he choked on his tea.

This little girl is really direct; she doesn't even know how to haggle. How does she manage to do business?

As Xunfeng Zhenren was pondering and about to speak, Lingxiang had already stood up to salute: "In that case, I will not bother you any further, True Person. Farewell."

She put away the medicine box, turned around, and walked toward the mountain gate, leaving Xunfeng Zhenren alone to beat his chest and stamp his feet: Why bother making things difficult for a young girl? Even if not for the new medicine, those were two high-grade Marrow Cleansing Pills!!

This old man Xunfeng is truly stingy. Two Marrow Cleansing Pills were already such a great bargain for him, yet he was still so greedy; it is truly detestable.

But the medicine she is refining really needs Nine-leaf Chonglou. How can she get it?

As Lingxiang was pondering, a Daoist acolyte called out to her.

"Young lady, please stay!"

Lingxiang turned back and saw a Daoist acolyte walking over quickly. After they exchanged Daoist salutes, the acolyte said:

"The Manager, our Martial Uncle, has given instructions. Since you have come all the way from Guyang, letting you return like this is not the way the Taishang Sect treats guests. He specifically ordered me to invite you to stay in the sect for a few days, whether to meditate and seek the Dao, or to debate and spar, just like any other guest."

Lingxiang was not gifted at cultivation, let alone debating and comparing notes; she had intended to politely decline, but then it occurred to her that this was an excellent opportunity to inquire about Chonglou.

"Since Senior Xunfeng is so kind, this junior will impose upon you."

She then followed the young Daoist attendant toward the guest chambers.