Chapter 159: The Exchange Meeting Begins

On the day before the exchange meeting began, Sword Lai returned.

He also brought several letters, written by Ruan Tao and Hu San; besides maintaining their bond, they also reported some information regarding their situation.

Ruan Tao has already reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage; the Fairy said her Spirit Bone aptitude is very good, and back when she performed the empowerment, Ruan Tao did not fully digest the Fairy's Spiritual Power. Fortunately, with the Breaking Boundary Pill sent by Ruan Xing, she would likely reach the Golden Core stage in just a few more months.

To have reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage after only two years of cultivation... Ruan Xing felt moved by Ruan Tao's rapid cultivation speed, and her ill will toward the Six Suns Study grew by another notch in her heart.

If Ruan Tao had been born in the outside world, even as a commoner of a Mortal Dynasty, with her aptitude, she would certainly have been able to live well in any Sect. However, for the sake of their own selfish interests, the Six Suns Study kept over a hundred thousand mortals in the dynasty in captivity, and even cut off the path for women to cultivate, forcing someone with Spirit Bone aptitude like Ruan Tao to only serve as a slave or maid for mortal officials and merchants.

Hu San's cultivation, however, had not changed much; he said with great shame that because he had been busy with the affairs of the Fengling Yueying Sect, he had not used all his time for cultivation.

He is a person with a great sense of responsibility; he had said back then that he would look after the Red Head Gang for Ruan Xing, and now, even though Ruan Xing has reached her current level and no longer cares about the benefits that gang brings, he still keeps his promise.

Relying solely on the few words brought by Sword Lai, I am afraid Hu San cannot be persuaded; perhaps after the exchange meeting ends, she can go back for a trip.

She also has to help Ruan Tao guard the formation; she cannot undergo the heavenly tribulation inside the Mortal Dynasty, otherwise, if the heavenly tribulation falls, the barrier will be the first to bear it, and it will definitely be discovered.

But if she takes Ruan Tao out of the barrier, she won't be able to go back...

However, Ruan Xing is already at the Nascent Soul stage; although she does not know if the Master of the Six Suns Study is two minor realms higher than her, preparing a few more young boys should give her a few points of winning chance.

This time when she goes back, she will resolve the matters all at once.

There are already over eighty disciples in the Sect who have Qi Sensation, and the outstanding ones among them have already reached the Qi Refining stage. Demon Cultivators and Immortal Cultivators each account for almost half; it seems the Fairy is also competing with the Demon Lord—if you can't beat them, join them.

And the Demon Lord has not been idle either; while teaching his disciples, he is also stirring up trouble. He boldly went to the outskirts of the National Teacher Palace to study that unknown life form, and several times he was almost discovered by the National Preceptor inside. However, that National Preceptor has relatively weak vigilance; for thousands of years, the Mortal Dynasty has never had any problems, so he did not take it to heart.

To avoid spreading any news that would attract the attention of the National Teacher Palace, Hu San and all the new disciples kept a low profile. Oh right, because of Sword Lai's cultivation last time, he built free Righteousness Manors and cemeteries in all the nearby towns. Sword Lai was somewhat happy, but this time he was only delivering letters, so he only stayed for two days before leaving with reluctance.

If I had known, I would have let Sword Lai stay a little longer; anyway, I have to go back too.

Ruan Xing patted Sword Lai's head, "It's okay, after the exchange meeting ends, we will go back again, and you can stay in those places with heavy Yin energy for a longer time."

It is strange to say, but she has almost never encountered places with heavy Yin energy in the Cultivation world; could it be that after all Cultivators die, they return their souls to the heavens and earth just like in the Return to Ruins Stage?

Sword Lai nodded, then gestured in a bewildered way to express himself, and his voice immediately came into her mind, "Brother, saw me, cried..."

He seemed very uneasy, not understanding why Hu San cried.

Ruan Xing was startled, looking at Sword Lai's black hair and rosy complexion; although she knew it was fake, but...

"Perhaps he was crying with happiness because he saw Sword Lai becoming better and better."

Sword Lai lowered his head ignorantly, not knowing if he understood what she meant.

"Master, never, has cried."

Sword Lai's cold fingers covered Ruan Xing's cheek, "Why..."

"Because tears are a way of expressing emotions." Ruan Xing answered without hesitation, and seeing Sword Lai's expression like a primary school student in an astronomy class, she smiled, "But I don't like that way. Problems need to be solved; crying is useless. Everything I want, I will use every method to strive for, to try, and to hold it firmly in my palm."

That is why she has been able to persist through the boring and tedious repeated simulations again and again.

"It's okay if you don't understand; I will take Sword Lai to become an immortal together. After a hundred years, a thousand years, perhaps you will be the same as me."

Pinching the flesh on Sword Lai's cheek, Ruan Xing chuckled.

The next day was the first day of the exchange meeting.

Many Cultivators who had been holed up in their rooms for the past few days without coming out much were seen today, and they almost filled the small square in the middle of the corner building to the brim.

However, very few people were talking.

It is estimated that many here are socially anxious people who just bury their heads in pill refining.

Tables and Medicine Cauldrons had already been set up in the middle of the square, and several attendants from Wanbao Tower were standing at the very front.

Ruan Xing poked an old man beside her and asked, "What are we waiting for?"

The old man glanced at her, unable to sense the cultivation on her, and said in a low voice, "Waiting for the Third Floor Master of Wanbao Tower to come and preside over the exchange meeting."

She didn't expect him to actually know; Ruan Xing's eyes turned, and she continued to ask, "Fellow Daoist shouldn't be participating for the first time, right?"

The old man paused and said, "Exactly, this is already my third time coming to the exchange meeting."

"Tell me about it?"

Although the old man did not think that if he didn't speak, Ruan Xing would use force in Wanbao Tower, facing someone with higher cultivation than himself naturally made him nervous. This was also the experience the old man had summarized after so many years in the Cultivation world. Although Ruan Xing's behavior was slightly overbearing, at least she was still polite, so he had to swallow his pride and say, "Everyone participating in the exchange meeting is a first-tier to third-tier alchemist. Alchemists refining different grades of pills compete in separate time slots. First-tier pills are relatively simple and usually finish in the morning of the first day. The time for second-tier and third-tier is relatively longer, but the exchange meeting will not exceed three days in total, so those pill recipes with very long refining processes are not within the scope of the competition."

Ruan Xing had long planned to refine the Breaking Boundary Pill, so she nodded and continued to ask, "Fellow Daoist has participated three times, haven't you signed a long-term cooperation with Wanbao Tower yet?"

This old man's cultivation was not high, and Ruan Xing did not know how his pill refining level was, but she felt he was definitely not within the scope of the Second Floor Master's selection.

"I am an alchemist who supplies pills to Wanbao Tower to begin with," the old man said slowly. "Fellow Daoist also knows that the exchange meeting is for the Second Floor Master to select a successor, but for other ordinary alchemists, even if they are not favored by the Second Floor Master, this is also an opportunity for exchange and improvement. Being able to watch other alchemists refine pills is very rare; even if one has to be thick-skinned, one must ask the tower for an invitation."

That's true; when she first started simulating and wanted to learn the art of pill refining, it took a lot of effort.

Ruan Xing nodded in understanding.

So there were not that many real competitors for her here.

Before long, a man hurried through the corridor and walked to the very front.

Ruan Xing was a bit surprised to find that the other party was actually the person who had spoken to her at the auction that day.

So he was the Third Floor Master. It was hard for him to condescend to preside over this venue where the highest level was only the Golden Core stage.

After he cleared his throat and gave a speech of pleasantries, he began to explain the rules of the competition. The several attendants who were standing on the side also stood in front of the tables, setting up brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, allowing those who intended to participate in the competition to write down the names of the pills they wanted to refine and the required materials.

Preparing the goods on the spot—Wanbao Tower is worthy of being the number one commercial chamber in the Cultivation world. Although they were only some third-tier materials, with so many alchemists, it must be a considerable expense.

Ruan Xing also stepped forward and wrote down the Breaking Boundary Pill she wanted to refine.

When the attendant saw it, he was slightly startled, but then maintained a smiling expression.

Among third-tier pills, the Breaking Boundary Pill is not the most difficult, but its raw materials are relatively expensive, and the pill recipe is very difficult to obtain. Without a powerful force, it is almost impossible for a Cultivator to obtain it.

Perhaps she was being regarded as a discarded disciple of some Sect or a retainer of a noble family.

But it was not a big problem; since cooperation could be achieved in the simulation, presumably Wanbao Tower did not care about these small matters.

The power of Wanbao Tower itself should also be quite vast; at least for this Third Floor Master, Ruan Xing could not see his cultivation, and the other two Floor Masters should not be simple either.

Soon, the attendants organized the lists written by the various alchemists in an orderly manner. A moment later, several finely carved carts carrying various Spirit Herbs, medicinal materials, and processed Monster Beast parts, placed in jade boxes and wooden chests with compatible medicinal properties, lined up and entered the square.

Clearing the place where the tables and Medicine Cauldrons were placed in the middle, the Third Floor Master announced that the first-tier pill refining competition was now beginning.

Small barriers rose one by one, and semi-circular eggshells wrapped around every alchemist in the field, most of whom looked very young, with expressions of irrepressible excitement on their faces.

Some Cultivators were still observing what Pill recipes others had chosen, while some impatient Cultivators had already begun to light fires and heat their Medicine Cauldrons.

The old man was still standing beside Ruan Xing; she poked him again and asked, "Do you think any of them can catch the eye of the Second Floor Master?"

"How would I know?" The old man's face was full of surprise. "I don't know what the Second Floor Master's criteria for selecting people are."

"Based on the experience of the previous exchange meetings, what do those selected people have in common?"

The old man was silent for a moment. "From the time the exchange meeting began until now, not a single person has been selected."

"Ah?" Ruan Xing was shocked.

She couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Then how did she manage to enter Wanbao Tower by relying on a furnace of Breaking Boundary Pill? The Text Simulation wouldn't show her that many details.

While the two were talking, someone in the arena had already finished their work.

It had only been the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.

The Cultivators watching from the side exclaimed, "This youth has remarkable mental fortitude; even outside of a Pill Room, they can still calm their heart to refine pills. They succeeded on the very first furnace!"

"You don't even look at what kind of Pill that is. It's a first-rank Gathering Qi Pill. Ninety percent of the Alchemists present should be skilled enough to do it in their sleep."

"It's a pity. Why did they choose a Gathering Qi Pill? This furnace won't sell for many Spirit Stones. They wasted an opportunity."

"Could they be hoping to catch the eye of the Third Floor Master with a Gathering Qi Pill? How is that possible?"

"Look!" The old man's eyes widened suddenly. "How many Pills did they succeed in making?"

The Cultivator in the arena who had finished refining first was already picking up a medicine bottle to store the Pill; they filled one bottle, two bottles, three bottles... four bottles! The fourth bottle was not full.

Regardless of the rank, auxiliary cultivation Pills are usually six to a bottle; they had refined nineteen.

"It's actually nineteen, and they succeeded in one furnace," the old man muttered.

Ruan Xing's expression was confused and blank.

What's wrong with nineteen...

When she had first arrived in Yunyang City to settle down and was relying on selling Pills to make money, a single furnace was often around twenty! She could even refine twenty-two or twenty-three! The old man explained to Ruan Xing: "The more you succeed in one furnace, the less medicinal essence you waste. They have an extremely proficient grasp of the heat for the Medicine Cauldron. I have also refined many Gathering Qi Pills, but even now, I can only stabilize at sixteen or seventeen; I have never produced nineteen. Their alchemy talent far exceeds mine!"

Ruan Xing was somewhat puzzled and quickly said, "Wait a moment, tell me first, what is the average number you get per furnace?"

The old man didn't understand why, but he still replied: "Most First-rank Alchemists cannot control the heat well; being able to successfully refine a pill is already a stroke of luck, and wasting medicinal essence is unavoidable. It is normal to only have eleven or twelve in a furnace at the beginning. After becoming skilled, one can have about fifteen. Of course, Second-rank and Third-rank Cultivators have a higher success rate when refining low-rank Pills. A Third-rank Alchemist should also be able to reach nineteen. In other words... this kid's level of heat control is already comparable to a Third-rank Alchemist."

"What about twenty-something?"

"Never heard of it." The old man's expression became indescribable, as if he were doubting whether Ruan Xing was an Alchemist at all and whether she had any common sense. "Wouldn't twenty-something mean not a single bit of medicinal essence was wasted? It's simply a fantasy. Perhaps a Fifth-Tier Alchemist could do it, but why would a Fifth-Tier Alchemist go and refine Gathering Qi Pills worth only a few Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

Ruan Xing rubbed her nose and silently said nothing more.

No wonder her profit from refining pills every time in Yunyang City was over fifty or sixty percent. She knew her success rate and yield were higher than ordinary Alchemists, but she didn't expect them to be this much higher!

The First-rank Alchemist competition ended after more than an hour. The one with the worst mental state inside had refined four times, only succeeding on the fourth furnace, which made people shake their heads and wonder how they had even gotten an invitation.

That Cultivator was so ashamed that cold sweat poured down; without waiting for the results to be announced, they slunk back to their room.

Unsurprisingly, the Cultivator who refined nineteen pills took first place. They lifted their head with some pride.

The rewards would not be given out until the third day. After the eggshell-shaped barrier faded, dozens of attendants came up to clean the tables and Medicine Cauldrons.

Several people had had their furnaces explode when they failed earlier; not only were they left covered in soot, but the area was also a mess. It was fortunate that the eggshell barrier had separated the inside from the outside, so only the refining Cultivator suffered, sustaining some minor flesh wounds.

Next, it was the turn of the Second-rank Alchemist competition.

The Cultivators watching around them looked much more serious.

When watching the first-rank competition just now, it was of almost no help to them; watching it was just for the spectacle or done with a critical mindset.

Now, the second-rank was different. Those First-rank Alchemists who hadn't placed in the competition were all standing to the side, watching them refine pills with focus.

(End of this chapter)