Chapter 629: Joining the Heavenly Elixir Alliance, Black-Scaled Beast (Combined Chapter)

Facing Huang Siyuan's inquiry, a trace of being moved slowly appeared on Song Qingming's face, and he nodded slightly, admitting his thoughts.

In order to get Huang Siyuan to agree to join the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance," Ye Qiuyuan had already spent quite a bit of effort. Not only did he agree to let them exchange for a Core Formation spiritual item, but in the end, he even claimed he was willing to lend the spiritual energy spring eye on the mountain to Huang Siyuan for her secluded Core Formation cultivation, which showed he had indeed brought out quite a bit of sincerity.

However, the reason the other party would do this was not just because Huang Siyuan had discovered the problem with that elixir earlier and had some unique talent for alchemy; it was mainly because he had seen the huge potential in Huang Siyuan.

Huang Siyuan's cultivation had now reached the edge of Core Formation. Having impacted the Jin Dan realm once before, her cultivation foundation was much more solid than that of an average ninth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Coupled with the full support of two Jin Dan cultivators, Song Qingming and Song Qingyu, by her side, barring any accidents, Huang Siyuan would sooner or later be able to succeed in Core Formation.

Relying on Huang Siyuan's talent in alchemy, as long as she could successfully form her Core, it should not take long for her to successfully become a third-grade alchemist. As an old-school Jin Dan cultivator who had cultivated for hundreds of years, it was naturally not difficult for Ye Qiuyuan to think of these things that might happen in the near future.

If she were only a second-grade alchemist at the Foundation Establishment stage, even if you had some talent in alchemy, the people of the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance" might not necessarily think much of you. After all, they were the holy land of alchemy in the East Sea cultivation world and certainly would not lack low-tier talent in alchemy.

But if it were a cultivator with great hope of advancing to a third-grade alchemist, then the situation would be very different; it was absolutely worth the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance" spending these spiritual items to win her over.

In the cultivation world, cultivators who can raise their alchemy to the third grade are few and far between. Even a major Nascent Soul sect like the Xiaoyao Sect, which possesses tens of thousands of cultivators, has seventy or eighty alchemists above the second grade, but there are only a mere three third-grade alchemists, including Jin Dan Elder Chu Fengping.

Each of them is almost the most precious talent of the sect, and the Xiaoyao Sect's care for them is also very thorough. In their daily lives, besides major events concerning the fate of the sect, they are rarely asked to take risks for the sect.

The conditions Ye Qiuyuan offered to Song Qingming and the others in the "Heavenly Elixir Pavilion" might seem slightly strange if the target were an ordinary second-grade mid-quality alchemist, but it was not that outrageous when placed on Huang Siyuan.

The "Heavenly Elixir Alliance" only needs to spend a few spiritual items to pull her in now, but if they wait until Huang Siyuan succeeds in Core Formation and her alchemy skills have improved to the third grade, it might not be something a single five-element Core Formation spiritual item could accomplish if they wanted to move Huang Siyuan to join the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance."

Now, for Song Qingming, the most important thing at the moment was the problem of Huang Siyuan's Core Formation.

Huang Siyuan, who had already impacted the Jin Dan realm once, had a cultivation foundation far exceeding that of an average ninth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator. Coupled with the "Hidden Origin Art" taught to her by Song Qingming, as long as she could successfully find a five-element Core Formation spiritual item, the probability of her Core Formation this time would not be low.

If she could obtain the spiritual energy spring eye provided by the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance" as a cave abode for Huang Siyuan's secluded Core Formation, the probability of her success would increase slightly more. This was also the point that moved Song Qingming the most.

When Song Qingming himself succeeded in Core Formation years ago, it was in a cave abode with a spiritual energy spring eye deep in the Floating Yunshan Range for secluded cultivation. He naturally knew that a spiritual energy spring eye would have some auxiliary effect on a cultivator's Core Formation.

However, in the entire State of Wei, besides the cave abode deep in the Floating Yunshan Range where he succeeded in his secluded cultivation, there were only two other spiritual energy spring eyes on Guyang Mountain.

One of these two spring eyes was in the cave abode where Supreme Elder Li Mufeng cultivated, specifically supplied for his year-round cultivation as a Nascent Soul cultivator. Within the Xiaoyao Sect, besides Sect Master Yao Ganshu and a few others, no one else had a chance to get near there.

The other one was only for the many Jin Dan Elders of the Xiaoyao Sect to use in turns when they were undergoing secluded cultivation to break through realms. It happened to be used by Bai Yuxian for her secluded cultivation to impact the Nascent Soul realm.

Even for Foundation Establishment disciples within the sect undergoing secluded cultivation for Core Formation, very few had the chance to use a spiritual energy spring eye cave abode, let alone Huang Siyuan, a cultivator from a vassal family under the sect.

Now that the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance" was willing to directly exchange a five-element Core Formation spiritual item for them and also agreed to lend a spiritual energy spring eye cave abode to Huang Siyuan for her secluded Core Formation, it truly moved Song Qingming, who was determined to support Huang Siyuan's Core Formation.

Although joining the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance" to become a peripheral alchemist meant that Huang Siyuan would need to divert some energy to help them refine elixirs in the future, which might reduce some help to the family, Song Qingming did not seem to mind this too much in his heart.

After all, there are not many opportunities in the cultivation world that come for no reason. If they want to successfully obtain a five-element Core Formation spiritual item here, they will have to pay some corresponding price no matter what.

Fortunately, over these years, the Song family has also cultivated many low-tier alchemists like Song Yuanqian, and they are basically able to meet the family's needs in refining first-grade elixirs, so there is no need for Huang Siyuan to be too distracted.

As for elixirs above the second grade, because the Song family currently lacks a sufficient foundation and still lacks elixir recipes and spiritual herbs, Huang Siyuan only occasionally has the opportunity to gather the necessary spiritual herbs to start a furnace and refine elixirs.

Most of the Song family's elixirs above the second grade still need to be purchased from the Xiaoyao Sect or other places. Even if Huang Siyuan does not have much time to refine elixirs, it will not have too much impact on the family at present.

Moreover, as long as Huang Siyuan succeeds in Core Formation, she will certainly be able to break through her alchemy skills and become a third-grade alchemist in the future. By then, as long as the family is willing to spend some effort, it will not be a difficult matter to cultivate another second-grade alchemist.

Seeing the two women staring intently at him without speaking directly, Song Qingming, who had already been prepared in his heart, replied with a smile:

"I do indeed have this idea. However, Siyuan, you do not need to take it too much to heart; the key to this matter is whether you yourself are willing."

"Rest assured! Even if we do not get this Core Formation spiritual item from the Heavenly Elixir Alliance, we will find a way to search for other Core Formation spiritual items for you. On this point, you must believe in me and Qingyu and not have too much pressure."

"Hmm! I naturally believe in you both. However, I am indeed very interested in alchemy. If the Heavenly Elixir Alliance really has the ability to help me improve my alchemy skills quickly, it is indeed something I can consider." Huang Siyuan said, a trace of relief appearing on her face.

Song Qingming nodded slightly and responded: "The Heavenly Elixir Alliance is, after all, the largest alchemy alliance in the East Sea cultivation world. The inheritance of alchemy within it should be the top-tier in the surrounding area. Joining the Heavenly Elixir Alliance will certainly help you improve your alchemy level; this point is beyond doubt."

"Sister-in-law! If you are truly fond of the art of alchemy, then you can indeed consider joining the Heavenly Elixir Alliance first. After all, their requirements for peripheral cultivators are not very high right now and will not have too much impact on us."

"Moreover, the Heavenly Elixir Alliance has very abundant elixir resources. Being able to establish this connection with them will also be of great benefit to us in the future. At the very least, the family will not always have to worry about the lack of elixirs and spiritual items."

What Song Qingyu said was indeed reasonable. The Song family has only been a Jin Dan immortal family for a few decades, and the family foundation is still shallow. Wanting to be self-sufficient in elixirs and spiritual items is not something that can be accomplished overnight; it still requires quite a bit of time to accumulate family foundation.

If Huang Siyuan is willing to join the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance," with her as a connection, the Song family will be equivalent to having an additional important channel to stably exchange for the spiritual items the family needs. This is certainly a beneficial thing for the future development of the Song family.

Seeing that Song Qingyu also strongly approved of her joining the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance," Huang Siyuan smiled beautifully and said: "Since you both do not object, then I will agree to them. However, we cannot let them have it so cheaply."

After the three of them discussed this matter, they calmed down and waited in "Heavenly Dancheng" for two days. On the third day, Song Qingming took Huang Siyuan and the other to the "Heavenly Elixir Pavilion" again.

Just as they entered the door, the clerk at the entrance recognized Song Qingming and the others and hurriedly led them to the second floor, then quickly went to notify Ye Qiuyuan, who was still studying an elixir recipe upstairs.

Hearing the news of Song Qingming and the others' arrival, Ye Qiuyuan was also very happy. He dropped the elixir recipe in his hand and immediately rushed over.

"Fellow Daoist Song, coming here today, is there good news you want to tell me?" As soon as he entered the door, Ye Qiuyuan bowed slightly and asked with a smile of anticipation.

Song Qingming nodded slightly and said: "Hehe! Fellow Daoist Ye guessed correctly. In the past few days, I have already discussed it with my wife, and she is also willing to join your alliance. However, there are some things we are not very clear about and need to confirm with you before we can agree to this matter."

"If there is anything you do not understand, please speak freely, fellow Daoists. I have joined the Heavenly Elixir Alliance for nearly four hundred years and am very clear about most of the things in the alliance. You can rest assured about this."

Next, Huang Siyuan directly asked in person about some of the rules that peripheral alchemists of the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance" need to abide by, as well as the specific quantity of alchemy tasks she would need to complete each year after joining, and other questions.

Regarding this, Ye Qiuyuan also patiently answered them one by one for Huang Siyuan and promised that as long as she joined the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance" now, he would not assign too many alchemy tasks to her before Huang Siyuan formed her Core, allowing her to prepare for Core Formation with peace of mind.

When she heard Huang Siyuan take the initiative to ask if they could sell them two more Foundation Establishment Pills this time, Ye Qiuyuan did not hesitate too much and agreed very generously on the spot, which made Song Qingming and the others very happy.

A few days later, under the guidance of Elder Ye Qiuyuan, Huang Siyuan went to the location of the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance" headquarters in the city again, successfully received a jade plaque representing her identity, and officially joined the "Heavenly Elixir Alliance," becoming a peripheral member of this alchemy organization.

Afterward, Song Qingming also got his wish. Using a top-grade spirit stone in his hand, plus a few second-grade spiritual herbs, he successfully exchanged for a five-element Core Formation spiritual item, the "Heavenly Fire Profound Pearl," from the "Heavenly Elixir Pavilion."

Although Huang Siyuan's injuries had long since healed, less than five years had passed since her last failed Core Formation. The "Hidden Origin Art" she practiced in her body still needed a few more years to be cultivated to the perfection realm again.

Therefore, Song Qingming and the others agreed with Ye Qiuyuan to send Huang Siyuan to "Heavenly Dancheng" for secluded Core Formation in three years. The "Heavenly Elixir Alliance" did not raise any objections to this.

On this trip to "Heavenly Dancheng," Song Qingming and the others had already obtained the main goal of this trip, the "Heavenly Fire Profound Pearl," and had also successfully bought four Foundation Establishment Pills, as well as many other elixirs and spiritual items the family lacked, which could be considered a successful completion of the purpose of coming to the East Sea this time.

Seeing that the matters on their hands were basically all handled, after discussing it, the three of them left "Heavenly Dancheng," intending to accompany Song Qingyu to the nearby "Hundred Flowers Palace" and visit her good friend He Mengxin, whom she had been thinking about all along the way.

The Hundred Flowers Palace is located on Wanhu Island, and the straight-line distance from "Heavenly Dancheng" is not very far. If the three of them travel with all their might on the "Phantom Boat," they can reach there in two or three days.

Wanhu Island is a relatively large island in the East Sea cultivation world, and its area is much larger than that of "Heavenly Dancheng." Because there are lakes all over the island, it is named the Island of Ten Thousand Lakes.

Although there are also many mortals and cultivation families on Wanhu Island, there is only one large cultivation sect on the island, which is the "Hundred Flowers Palace," a famous Nascent Soul sect in the East Sea cultivation world.

Although the "Hundred Flowers Palace" is a sect that mainly recruits female disciples, there are many high-tier cultivators in the sect, and there are even two Nascent Soul Supreme Elders. Its overall sect strength can also be ranked in the top ten in the entire East Sea cultivation world year-round.

On this day, on a nameless small island thousands of miles east of Wanhu Island, several female disciples wearing the clothing of the "Hundred Flowers Palace" were hiding behind a giant rock on the east side of the island, carefully watching a beach full of reefs a few hundred feet in front of them.

Not long after, not far in front of the beach, a piece of spray suddenly rose from the originally calm sea surface, and immediately after, a huge black head with two short horns quickly emerged from the water.

This black head that emerged from the water scanned the surroundings, then slowly sank into the seawater. After a long while, it emerged again on the water surface closer to the beach, looking around the vicinity again, appearing very cautious.

Seeing this black head appear from afar, a white-clothed woman who had just reached the Foundation Establishment stage not long ago and only had a cultivation of the second layer of Foundation Establishment, said softly with excitement:

"Senior Sister Yu, it's here! This mature Ice-Spirit Grass is really effective; it really lured that Black-Scaled Beast over."

"Hmm! Everyone, do not act rashly. Let's wait until it comes over. This demonic beast is very cunning. Do not be careless, otherwise, we will have worked in vain again!"

Hearing the words of the white-clothed woman beside her, a slightly older woman in palace attire in front of them immediately spoke to stabilize her companions, all of whom were somewhat excited.

These few Hundred Flowers Palace disciples were all cultivators who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage. The woman in palace attire who spoke just now had the highest cultivation, already a ninth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator like Huang Siyuan.

Although their cultivation levels were about the same, the ninth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator like her, who had just broken through not long ago and had not yet impacted the Jin Dan realm, still had a weaker magic power in her body compared to Huang Siyuan.

If the two were to fight, this woman in palace attire would mostly likely not be able to win against Huang Siyuan, who had been at the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment for many years.

Because it is close to the sea and there are countless demonic beasts and spiritual items in the sea, "Hundred Flowers Palace" disciples, like most cultivators in the East Sea cultivation world, often organize outings to hunt demonic beasts to obtain cultivation resources.

Just as these few "Hundred Flowers Palace" disciples were nervous, that black head had already reached the beach and slowly revealed its huge figure.

This demonic beast, called the "Black-Scaled Beast," is about a zhang long and is covered in black scales. Although it has a fish body, it has four thick feet and can walk quickly on land.

Although it does not look very good, this "Black-Scaled Beast" is a genuine second-grade top-quality demonic beast, and its cultivation has faintly reached the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, which is not much different from a ninth-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator among human cultivators.

The "Black-Scaled Beast" that had reached the beach scanned the surroundings, then suddenly accelerated and quickly rushed toward a blue spiritual herb standing in a corner of the beach, soon arriving beside that spiritual herb.

Just as the "Black-Scaled Beast" happily swallowed this second-grade low-quality Ice-Spirit Grass, a white mist suddenly appeared out of thin air all around, soon blurring its vision.

Feeling that something was wrong, the "Black-Scaled Beast" immediately turned around and leaped into the air, wanting to escape back to the seawater not far away. Unexpectedly, a blue figure suddenly attacked from one side, and the flying sword shot out, aiming directly at the fragile abdomen of the "Black-Scaled Beast," intercepting it in mid-air.

Seeing someone blocking it, the "Black-Scaled Beast" also appeared very annoyed. It shook its big black head and spat out four or five sharp water arrows, directly attacking the blue-clothed woman in palace attire not far away.

Seeing this, the blue-clothed woman waved her hand and immediately set up two purple light shields in front of her, easily blocking the other party's attack, and then shouted loudly to the distance:

"Quick, activate the great formation to trap it!"

Following the order of the blue-clothed woman who was fighting the "Black-Scaled Beast" in mid-air, a white transparent shield slowly rose in the white mist around the beach, directly covering them as they fought in mid-air.

Seeing that the great formation had been activated and successfully trapped the demonic beast in front of her, the blue-clothed woman was overjoyed and felt relieved. With a wave of her hand, she took out a round bead magic tool and killed the "Black-Scaled Beast" not far away again.

Not long after the fight started here, two other "Hundred Flowers Palace" disciples not far away, after activating the great formation, put down the formation flags in their hands, took out their respective magic tools, and rushed into the formation.

The cultivation of this "Black-Scaled Beast" is not much different from that of the blue-clothed woman, and its divine ability in fighting on land is weakened by a small half. Just facing the blue-clothed woman alone, it was already somewhat unable to defeat her. Facing the siege of three Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Hundred Flowers Palace, it soon collapsed in the formation, dying.

"Haha! We've been guarding this guy for more than half a month, and we've finally succeeded!" After successfully killing this "Black-Scaled Beast," these four Hundred Flowers Palace disciples also revealed expressions of joy one after another.

Although there are many demonic beasts in the sea, the vast sea is boundless, and it is not that you can encounter demonic beasts every time you go out. Especially in this near-shore area close to the continent, the number of demonic beasts is clearly much less than in the dangerous outer sea.

The four of them have been out hunting demonic beasts for nearly a month this time. Their luck had been poor before, and they had only harvested some first-grade demonic beasts. After crouching here for more than half a month, their luck finally turned, and they hunted a second-grade top-quality demonic beast.

The leading blue-clothed woman in palace attire stepped forward to confirm that this "Black-Scaled Beast" had no breath left, then turned to the other three beside her and ordered with a smile: "We have been out for so long, we should hurry back. Let's quickly clean up this demonic beast and leave here!"

After the blue-clothed woman finished speaking, she took the lead in taking out her flying sword and began to dismember the "Black-Scaled Beast" in front of her. The others also surrounded it with excitement and began to collect the more valuable demonic beast materials such as fur, sharp claws, beast horns, and blood from the demonic beast.

The materials on this second-grade top-quality "Black-Scaled Beast" in front of them can be exchanged for about three thousand spirit stones in the market.

After deducting the spirit stones lost for luring the demonic beast and setting up the formation, the few of them split it, and each person can get about six or seven hundred spirit stones on average, which can be considered a good income for these Foundation Establishment cultivators.

About a quarter of an hour later, just as the four of them on the beach had finished processing and collecting the corpse of the "Black-Scaled Beast" and were preparing to leave this small island...

A loud noise suddenly came from the sea not far from the beach. After a burst of spray danced, immediately after, the figure of another "Black-Scaled Beast" suddenly appeared on the sea surface.

This "Black-Scaled Beast" was about twice as large as the one the few of them had just killed. After roaring angrily at the front from a distance of several hundred feet, a very terrifying pressure immediately spread toward the four people standing on the beach here.

"This is bad! It seems to be a Jin Dan demonic beast. Junior Sister Lin, quickly activate the great formation!"

After seeing the figure of this "Black-Scaled Beast," the leading blue-clothed woman was shocked. After shouting to the white-clothed woman beside her who was a bit stunned by the fright, she immediately took out a golden sound-transmission talisman from her body and cast it out.

After hearing the reminder from the blue-clothed woman, the four "Hundred Flowers Palace" disciples hurriedly activated the great formation they had just used to hunt the demonic beast and hid directly in the formation.

The reason they did not choose to disperse and escape directly was mainly because the "Black-Scaled Beast's" divine ability in the sea is much stronger than on land.

Hiding on the island relying on the formation, the four "Hundred Flowers Palace" disciples could still support for a while and might be able to wait for the sect's rescue. If they rashly escaped to the sea surface, facing such a powerful Jin Dan demonic beast, I fear they would die even faster.

After seeing the great formation in front light up, this "Black-Scaled Beast" roared angrily again, then its figure quickly flew toward the island. However, in a moment, it had already crossed the distance of several hundred feet of sea surface and arrived on this island.

Immediately after, the "Black-Scaled Beast" spat out a black ball the size of half a foot, which quickly hit the great formation in front of it, and immediately a heaven-shaking sound rang out. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 630 =====