Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Over two years had passed, and the signs of the invasion in Yunqing Marketplace had long since disappeared, and the incident had gradually been forgotten.

However, Yuanming Sect had learned its lesson, not only stationing three Foundation Establishment cultivators, but also requiring the subordinate forces to each send three Foundation Establishment cultivators, and as for the arrangements, that was up to each family to discuss.

Although the Li family always had Foundation Establishment cultivators sitting in, they did not monopolize a spot completely.

As the strength of the Li family increased, it already had a certain deterrent power within Yunping State, and with the rules set by Yuanming Sect, the security of Yunqing Marketplace greatly improved, reducing the necessity for the Li family to deploy Foundation Establishment cultivators considerably.

Li Zhirui walked on the bustling streets of the marketplace, gazing at the cultivators coming and going, when suddenly an idea emerged in his mind: Could the Li family create its own marketplace?

But he soon shook his head to dismiss the thought; the Li family's strength was insufficient, and being too close to Yunping State, even if they established a marketplace, it would not attract many cultivators.

Most importantly, the Li family did not have the place to build a marketplace!

Da Rong Island was the Li family's clan territory, and the three Spirit Veins on the island each had their uses, making it impossible to utilize them to build a marketplace.

Indeed, there were some deserted islands with a radius of hundreds of miles around Da Rong Island, but none of the small islands possessed Spirit Veins.

If one wanted to cultivate a Spirit Vein from scratch, let alone the precious Spiritual Objects, just the one hundred thousand Spirit Stones required were beyond what the Li family could afford.

Although he dismissed the idea due to reality, it remained planted in the depths of Li Zhirui's heart.

Soon enough, Li Zhirui arrived at his destination for this trip—the Xuanfa Pavilion.

He left Da Rong Island this time intending to buy a few second-tier pill recipes and then try to refine second-tier Spirit Pills.

"Esteemed senior graces our store, may I know what you wish to purchase?" As soon as Li Zhirui stepped into the shop, a shop assistant greeted him, speaking both respectfully and enthusiastically.@@novelbin@@

"Do you have second-tier Water Refinement Pill Recipes?" Although Li Zhirui was just at the Foundation Establishment level and counted as nothing in the vast Cultivation World, he had enough self-protection in Yunping State, no longer needing to be as cautious as before.

Of course, necessary vigilance should never be lacking.

"We do, senior, please follow me." Hearing that, the shop assistant immediately guessed Li Zhirui's identity, his eyes showing even more envy.

After Li Zhirui's Foundation Establishment breakthrough, news about him spread throughout the entire marketplace, and as for the reason, well, it was because Li Zhirui was young—a Foundation Establishment cultivator under the age of thirty was rare in Yunping State.

Li Zhirui followed the shop assistant to a beautifully decorated private room, and then he took out a Jade Slip from his storage bag, saying, "This contains all the second-tier Water Refinement Pill Recipes available in Xuanfa Pavilion, you may take your time, senior."

Consolidating Yuan Pill, Ginseng Sun Pill, Warming Spirit Pill...

After all, the Water Refinement Method was not mainstream in alchemy, so the number of pill recipes was limited—only eight were recorded in the Jade Slip.

However, fortunately, these eight pill recipes covered all categories of Spirit Pills, including those that increased mana, healed and nourished the spirit, and restored mana.

Li Zhirui was quite satisfied, wishing to take all the pill recipes, but when he saw the price of the pills, he immediately gave up his previous idea.

The eight pill recipes, the least expensive cost one thousand four hundred Spirit Stones, and the highest-priced Warming Spirit Pill was priced at two thousand two hundred Spirit Stones, more than tenfold the price of first-tier pill recipes!

And in Li Zhirui's storage bag, there were fewer than three thousand Spirit Stones, enough for buying at most two pill recipes.

But in reality, the Consolidating Yuan Pill, aimed at increasing mana, was Li Zhirui's first choice, and its price was one thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones, so Li Zhirui could not afford the other pill recipes at all.

"I'll take this Consolidating Yuan Pill recipe."

The shop assistant reminded, "Senior, Xuanfa Pavilion has a rule that anyone who purchases a Second Order Method must use a Divine Sense Jade Slip, or have Xuanfa Pavilion apply a Sealing Skill."

Laws are not to be imparted to the uninitiated! The Divine Sense Jade Slips, passed down since ancient times, were tailor-made for this very purpose. They could ensure that the methods would not be leaked effectively.

Just like its name, once a Divine Sense Jade Slip is activated, it will enter the Sea of Consciousness, rendering the person unable to speak out the recorded method. If someone else tries to pry into it forcefully, the Divine Sense Jade Slip would shatter directly.

As for the Sealing Skill, there's no need for further explanation.

Of the two methods, Li Zhirui would definitely not choose the Sealing Skill. Even if it didn't cost an extra penny of Spirit Stones, he wouldn't let outsiders fiddle with his Sea of Consciousness.

"Use the Divine Sense Jade Slip," he said.

The shop assistant respectfully said, "A total of two thousand Spirit Stones."

A twitch formed at the corner of Li Zhirui's mouth. He honestly hadn't expected the Divine Sense Jade Slip to be so expensive! Two hundred Spirit Stones—that was two hundred times the cost of an ordinary Jade Slip!

But no matter how expensive, Li Zhirui had to cough up the Spirit Stones.

Half a quarter hour later, the shop assistant walked into the private room with a Jade Slip. Li Zhirui took out the Spirit Stones, and once the transaction was complete, the moment his Divine Sense touched the Jade Slip, it turned into a streak of Spirit Light and entered his glabella, journeying into his Sea of Consciousness.

Li Zhirui was not in a hurry to look at the Pill Recipe because he believed that Xuanfa Pavilion, with its reputation, would not deceive a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator like him.

After all, Xuanfa Pavilion was a huge business association with several Nascent Soul Cultivators, with stores spread throughout the Eastern Continent.

After leaving Xuanfa Pavilion, Li Zhirui visited a specialty store that sold Spiritual Medicine. He spent all his remaining Spirit Stones and only managed to purchase materials sufficient for five Consolidating Yuan Pills.

The Spiritual Medicine required for the Consolidating Yuan Pill wasn't all Second Order; to be more precise, only two types of the main medicines were Second Order Spiritual Medicine, the rest were First Order.

If they had all been Second Order Spiritual Medicines, Li Zhirui's few hundred Spirit Stones might not have been enough to buy even one set of materials.

"It looks like I'll have to refine more Jade Spirit Pills and Nourishing Spirit Pills to earn more Spirit Stones. Otherwise, I simply won't be able to practice making Consolidating Yuan Pills," Li Zhirui lamented with a worried face on his way back.

No wonder high-level Alchemists are so rare. This kind of Spirit Stone expenditure is not something ordinary Alchemists can sustain.

If Li Zhirui didn't have space at hand, which he could use to ripen Spiritual Medicines at a lower cost than market price, he wouldn't dare to continue.

This was a recent discovery by Li Zhirui. Originally, using space to ripen Spiritual Medicines consumed about ten percent more Spirit Stones than buying directly, but now that had changed. The consumption of Spirit Stones had turned out to be ten percent less.

The reason seemed obvious: the Spiritual Energy in the space had become denser, allowing the absorption of Spiritual Energy from the space when ripening Spiritual Medicines, rather than only from Spirit Stones.

Li Zhirui speculated that as the Spiritual Energy in the space grew more concentrated, the Spirit Stones needed to ripen Spiritual Medicines might decrease even further.

Unfortunately, Li Zhirui was currently unable to verify this speculation because he only knew of two ways to increase the Spiritual Energy in the space. One was a breakthrough in his cultivation realm, and the other was absorbing a Spirit Vein.

Both methods were not something Li Zhirui could achieve in a short period.

Li Zhirui's purpose in purchasing Spiritual Medicines with Spirit Stones was to conceal the existence of the space. Whether one called him timid as a mouse or prudently cautious was irrelevant.

In any case, he would not allow the slightest negligence regarding anything related to the space!

When Li Zhirui left Da Rong Island, he did not alert anyone, and his return was just as quiet.

After all, for years, his family members had long since known how little Li Zhirui liked to step outside. As soon as he closed the gate, unless someone sought him out, they wouldn't even know if he was home or not.