Chapter 263: Qiao Huizhu

The elixirs were naturally all crafted by He Pingsheng, but to make it seem plausible, he publicly claimed that the Grade-Three elixirs were forged by his Master.

As for the Master?

He was an ancient immortal who loved wandering the world, appearing only in glimpses, never fully seen.

Thus, no one doubted it.

"Good good good… hehehe…"

Lin Zifang chuckled loudly, then whispered: "Brother Xu, the real mystery lies in the technique you gave me!"

"After our last trade, I took this technique back to my family and just casually cultivated it!"

"Later, I had several women in my household cultivate it together—can you guess what happened?"

"Hehehe… I actually broke through a bottleneck?"

"What?" He Pingsheng was utterly stunned: "This… the Hehuan Jiji Jing… can really help someone break through a bottleneck?"

This truly opened He Pingsheng's eyes.

"Of course!" Lin Zifang said. "The Hehuan Jiji Jing has two cultivation methods—I use the method of absorbing essence!"

"If Brother Xu also hits a bottleneck, you might as well try it!"

He Pingsheng nodded.

The Hehuan Jiji Jing has two directions when cultivated.

The first is the method of absorbing essence.

The second is the method of mutual complementation.

What is absorbing essence?

It means drawing yin to replenish yang, or drawing yang to replenish yin—when a man and woman cultivate together, one gains benefit while the other loses their root essence.

This method is too brutal; He Pingsheng would never use it.

At least not on Qiao Huizhu.

The second is mutual complementation.

In mutual complementation, man and woman mutually replenish each other, balancing yin and yang.

This benefits both parties.

But clearly, its effect is far weaker than absorbing essence.

Whether mutual complementation can break a bottleneck is unknown.

But it's worth trying.

Hmm… He Pingsheng made up his mind—he'd secretly cultivate with Sister Qiao once she returned; if they broke through, both would advance.

He saw Lin Zifang off.

He Pingsheng picked up the five sets of materials Lin Zifang left for refining 【Chaoyuan Elixir】.

First, he tossed them into the Treasure Basin for enhancement.

After enhancement, the five sets became ten.

And all materials were upgraded to supreme quality.

With ten sets of materials, he proceeded to refine elixirs.

As a result, he produced ten batches of failed elixirs.

Yes, He Pingsheng could never refine beyond his level—he could only guarantee he wouldn't blow up the furnace, not that he'd produce anything but failures.

So he used the Treasure Basin to enhance these ten batches of failed elixirs again.

They became twenty batches.

Of these twenty batches of 【Chaoyuan Elixir】, one batch was upgraded to supreme quality.

The remaining nineteen batches were merely high quality.

The supreme-quality ones he kept for himself, for Qiao Huizhu, or for Xiaohe and others in the future—in short, for his own people.

The high-quality 【Chaoyuan Elixir】 could be sold.

This item was extremely valuable.

The Chaoyuan Elixir is the essential elixir for Foundation Establishment cultivators seeking to reach Golden Core—it functions similarly to the 【Foundation Establishment Elixir】.

Thus, buyers never purchase a whole vial at once—they buy one pill at a time.

What if one pill alone triggers breakthrough?

Hence, its price is high.

A single low-quality Chaoyuan Elixir normally costs around thirty to forty thousand spirit stones, but it's rarely available.

A single mid-quality Chaoyuan Elixir has roughly a fifty percent chance of triggering Core Formation, and its price rises to about sixty to seventy thousand.

A high-quality one has an eighty percent chance, and its price climbs to one hundred thousand.

One hundred thousand low-quality spirit stones for a single pill.

As for supreme quality?

That's something with price but no market.

Under normal circumstances, you simply cannot buy it.

He Pingsheng would never casually sell a supreme-quality Chaoyuan Elixir.

Several days later, he summoned Lin Zifang and gave him a vial containing twelve high-quality 【Chaoyuan Elixir】 pills.

"Excellent!" Lin Zifang said. "Brother Xu, your Master's alchemical skill is extraordinary!"

"Once I break through to Golden Core, I'll come back to thank you!"

"I'm off!"

Lin Zifang waved and left.

Some people, though not deeply acquainted, are instantly recognizable as trustworthy.

Like Lin Zifang.

At the last Jiaoyi Society, he voluntarily returned the 【Sacred Wood Shield】 to He Pingsheng, saying he felt ashamed to take advantage—He Pingsheng knew then this man wasn't greedy.

May he succeed in Core Formation.

After seeing Lin Zifang off, He Pingsheng placed several high-quality Chaoyuan Elixirs on display for sale.

The shop was entrusted to Cheng Xiaohe and Old Cheng, who took turns guarding it.

Now Old Cheng was on duty; Cheng Xiaohe was in seclusion cultivating.

Because Old Cheng had hit a bottleneck—cultivation was useless for him.

After three or five days, Qiao Huizhu finally returned, weary from travel.

…

"Could such a wonder truly exist?"

After hearing Xiaohe and Old Cheng's story, Qiao Huizhu gasped, mouth agape: "This… this… this divine fortune is truly astonishing!"

Who could have imagined that an ordinary old man hidden in the wilds, at sixty years of age, could still ascend the Immortal Path?

If he breaks through to Foundation Establishment, might he even reverse aging?

"Aunt Qiao!" Xiaohe said, looking at Qiao Huizhu. "My progress has been swift too!"

Qiao Huizhu chuckled: "Fast fast fast…"

He Pingsheng waved his hand: "Xiaohe, you may go—we have matters to discuss with Aunt Qiao."

Xiaohe withdrew.

In He Pingsheng's chamber, only the husband and wife remained.

Qiao Huizhu's face flushed crimson, her gaze soft as spring breeze.

She thought He Pingsheng had sent Xiaohe away impatiently, eager for the bliss of the Xiangwang and Shenü!

But He Pingsheng solemnly pulled out a jade slip: "I was careless—I killed Bai Shangli and forgot to thoroughly examine his jade slip, Sister. Take a look at this."

He handed her the jade slip.

Qiao Huizhu's expression turned serious; she pressed the slip to her forehead.

In the next instant, its contents flooded her mind.

She frowned: "It's just a list—these are all disciples who joined the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect that year?"

Before she finished speaking, she shrieked: "This… Xiao Qiao?"

"Heavens, Xiao Qiao is on this list?"

Qiao Huizhu's body trembled involuntarily.

Her face filled with dread.

"No good!" She set down the jade slip. "Husband… this… this… could that old monster… have… have…"

She could not finish.

He Pingsheng knew what she feared.

Though slightly less beautiful than Qiao Huizhu, Xiao Qiao was still a beauty capable of toppling cities.

If such a woman caught the eye of that old monster Bai Shangli, she'd surely be doomed.

Qiao Huizhu feared her younger sister had already been violated by that old monster.

"Don't worry!" He Pingsheng patted Qiao Huizhu's shoulder. "Since she's a new disciple, he likely hasn't had time to act yet."

"Now that you're back, we should go to the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect together and find out."