Shengye Sect.

Amidst towering mountains and splashed ink-like scenery, countless medicinal fields thrived, enriched with dense spiritual energy. The fields were planted with various vibrant plants, brimming with life and vitality.

Near the summit, a majestic hall nestled against a bamboo forest, perched atop a cliff. Exiting the main door led to a long, steep staircase. Standing at the top of the stairs and looking down, one could take in the panoramic view of the surrounding mountains.

This place was the Shengye Sect’s council hall, where on ordinary days only the sect leader and the heads of various halls could enter. However, today was an exception, as an outsider was welcomed in.

It was said that the Shengye Sect had over ten thousand disciples, with over ninety percent at the Qi refining stage, about a hundred at the Foundation Establishment stage—mainly the sect leader, the heads of various halls, and some direct disciples. As for the few Nascent Soul stage elders, they were mostly in seclusion year-round, uninvolved in sect affairs.

The rumored Ancestral Master at the Elemental Infant stage was a pillar of strength for the sect, only showing himself in public for significant matters.

The heavy tolling of the bell lingered in the valley. Inside the hall, the heads of the halls were lined up on both sides, all with grim expressions. In front of the statue of the ancestral master, the sect leader of Shengye Sect also wore a face of sorrow.

“…That’s the situation. I failed to capture Pu Zhengqing and avenge Lu Daoyou and Bai Daoyou. I am truly ashamed.”

Under their watchful eyes, Yuan Ming recounted the events that had transpired in the Yunluo mountain range, ending with a face full of guilt.

“This Pu Zhengqing is cunning and elusive. Ha Gong Daoyou managed to drive him away and save our sect’s disciples, which was no easy feat. Please, do not blame yourself,” said Wang Xinghe, the sect leader of Shengye Sect, shaking his head.

He continued, “Ha Gong Daoyou has made great contributions to our Shengye Sect this time. We will surely reward you handsomely. If there’s anything you need, just say the word, and I will arrange for someone to prepare it immediately.”

Yuan Ming did not decline, “In that case, I wonder if your esteemed sect possesses any elixirs that can aid in breaking through the initial bottleneck of Foundation Establishment.”

Seeing that Yuan Ming did not make any outrageous demands, Wang Xinghe looked at him with newfound respect and immediately nodded.

“Please wait outside for a moment, Ha Gong Daoyou. Once our council concludes, Hall Master Yu will personally refine a batch for you.”

A beautiful woman in palace attire immediately stood up and bowed to Wang Xinghe, “Rest assured, Sect Leader Brother, I will select the finest spiritual herbs. The elixirs I refine will be at least thirty percent better than those available on the market.”

“Additionally, if Ha Gong Daoyou has no pressing matters, you are welcome to stay in our sect for a few days longer, allowing us to extend our hospitality,” Wang Xinghe added.

Yuan Ming nodded, then followed a disciple of Wang Xinghe out of the council hall to another elegant pavilion to rest, where servants presented him with spiritual tea and fragrant brews.

The council of Shengye Sect’s heads did not last long, and soon, Hall Master Yu hurried over to take Yuan Ming to the Elixir Hall for alchemy.

On the way, Hall Master Yu appraised Yuan Ming with undisguised admiration.

“Ha Gong Daoyou is truly a young talent.”

“You flatter me,” Yuan Ming nodded, then suddenly noticed someone approaching on a flying artifact, stopping in front of them.

It was Yuan Ming’s grandmother. Yuan Ming smiled, knowing that with outsiders present, she would not acknowledge their relationship.

“Hehe, Wang Shimei, what brings you here in such a hurry?”

“Of course, I’ve come to thank Ha Gong Daoyou,” Yuan Ming’s grandmother said with a smile.

“Sect Leader Brother has asked me to personally refine a batch of elixirs for Ha Gong Daoyou. Wang Shimei, you manage the medicinal fields, and it’s perfect timing. The sect wants to thank Ha Gong Daoyou with a Huayuan Pill, and I’m about to start the process. Does the medicine storehouse have the appropriate aged materials?” Hall Master Yu asked.

Although Yuan Ming’s grandmother was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she was not a head of any hall, so she did not attend the council in the hall.

The palace-dressed beauty had thought Yuan Ming’s grandmother would, as usual, make some excuse, but she saw her nod.

“It’s necessary. I have a four-hundred-year-old Huanyue Flower here; you can take it and use it directly.”

Hall Master Yu looked at Yuan Ming’s grandmother in surprise, not expecting such generosity.

“My two disciples were also in the trial this time. Thankfully, Ha Gong Daoyou took action. Otherwise, the loss of so many disciples would have been too much for the sect to bear,” Yuan Ming’s grandmother said.

“Yes, this time I also had several disciples who nearly perished. Mo Shixiong’s nephew was also harmed. The sect leader wants to unite all the sects in Leizhou to hunt down this Pu Zhengqing,” Hall Master Yu said.

“No wonder Mo Shixiong looked so upset today,” the grandmother commented.

“Ha Gong Daoyou, is Pu Zhengqing’s illusion technique really so unfathomable?” Hall Master Yu asked.

Yuan Ming recounted Sha Hao’s illusion techniques.

“Soul cultivators have indeed not appeared for many years. Their methods are unpredictable and hard to defend against. Cultivators of the same level, whether they are spell cultivators or body cultivators, have no absolute countermeasures against soul cultivators. Whenever they appear, it leads to bloodshed and turmoil. The sect also has records of soul cultivators causing chaos a hundred years ago. Battles often require several times the number of cultivators of the same level to suppress,” the grandmother said.

“Can I borrow these records to read?” Yuan Ming asked.

After receiving a negative response, Yuan Ming was not surprised, and then the three of them discussed how to break the illusion techniques.

Hall Master Yu watched his junior sister leave and said, “It’s lucky you saved her disciples, otherwise she wouldn’t have been willing to part with the four-hundred-year-old Huanyue Flower.”

Several days later.

Yuan Ming received several bottles of Huayuan Pills, which were more effective than He Ye Dan, along with other elixirs gifted by the Shengye Sect.

The Huayuan Pills refined by Hall Master Yu, using four-hundred-year-old spiritual materials, were even more potent than expected.

Yuan Ming was not in a hurry to consume them. He stayed in the Shengye Sect for a few more days, met with his grandmother in private, and got to know many Foundation Establishment cultivators within the sect before returning to Xiaohu City.

Passing by the Yuixu Marsh, he placed the flower branch into the marsh, instructing it to hunt demonic beasts on its own, absorb their qi and blood, and recover from its injuries.

Upon entering his own shop, a faint fragrance greeted him, refreshing the heart and mind. Hu Tu and Muyang were chatting with customers, but upon seeing Yuan Ming arrive, both showed a hint of joy.

Yuan Ming walked straight into the back room of the shop, and soon after, Hu Tu followed him in.

“Has anything important happened in the shop during my absence?” Yuan Ming asked.

Before leaving Xiaohu City, Yuan Ming had given Hu Tu and Muyang a communication talisman, telling them to contact him only if they encountered something they truly couldn’t handle.

However, just a few days ago, he suddenly received a message from Hu Tu, saying there was an urgent matter that required his return to make a decision.

“It turns out to be good news. A few days ago, a big customer came to the shop and wanted to buy out all our incense. Muyang and I didn’t dare to decide on our own, so we immediately sent a message to you.”

“Didn’t I set a rule before? There’s a purchase limit for the incense in the shop. If someone wants to buy it all, you can just refuse them. Why do you need me to make a decision?” Yuan Ming frowned, displeased.

“Of course, I told the customer according to the boss’s wishes, but the customer claimed to be from the City Lord’s Mansion. After hearing our refusal, they still insisted. I didn’t dare to offend them, and after much persuasion, I managed to reduce their requested quantity by half and slightly raised the price. Even so, we didn’t dare to sell it privately, so we told them that we didn’t have enough stock and asked them to return later, waiting for you to make a decision,” Hu Tu said somewhat aggrieved.

The City Lord’s Mansion of Xiaohu City deserved respect. In the years he had been in the city, Yuan Ming had never heard of the City Lord engaging in bullying or unfair practices. The City Lord was upright and widely recognized by independent cultivators. The fact that the City Lord’s Mansion wanted to purchase a large quantity of incense indicated that his incense had been recognized by the City Lord’s Mansion.

Yuan Ming pondered for a moment and said, “It’s not your fault, but we can’t just change the rules arbitrarily. Do this: set aside the incense requested by the City Lord’s Mansion and tell them we will supply it on the first day of each month. Reduce the purchase limits for Qingxuan Incense and Zixuan Incense a little, but keep the prices the same.”

“Yes, I will reply to the City Lord’s Mansion right away,” Hu Tu quickly said.

“Make a list of the estimated sales for the next half year. I might not be able to take care of the business for a while. If something similar happens again, we’ll discuss it. We can supply extra to powerful sects. Which incenses does the City Lord’s Mansion want?” Yuan Ming instructed further.

The list for the City Lord’s Mansion was divided into two parts: one for cultivation purposes, needed by the City Lord’s Mansion, and the other mainly for calming and focusing the mind, supplied to a shop called “Four Symbols Tea House.”

“What’s the situation with this shop?” Yuan Ming pointed at Four Symbols Tea House and asked.

“Replying to the boss, this is also one of the City Lord’s properties. It has a good reputation in the city and is said to be a place frequented by high-level cultivators,” Hu Tu explained.

Yuan Ming nodded, no longer inquiring, silently calculated the amount of spiritual materials needed, and then left the shop.

A few days later, after purchasing the necessary spiritual materials for incense making from several shops he frequented in the city, he was about to return when he happened to pass by Chilian Hall. After a moment of thought, he walked in.

“Do you have any top-grade magical artifacts for sale?” As soon as he entered, he asked the approaching shop assistant.

In the battle at Yunluo Mountain Range, Sha Hao had destroyed most of his magical artifacts with a top-grade silver orb, rendering his ordinary artifacts fragile in the face of top-grade ones. The spirit stones he had earned from selling incense had been used to buy elixirs to improve his cultivation, and now he needed to find a suitable top-grade magical artifact.

Upon hearing Yuan Ming’s question, the assistant immediately respectfully invited him upstairs. Soon after, the manager of Chilian Hall hurried over.

“Elder, our shop currently has only two top-grade magical artifacts for sale. If you are truly interested, I will fetch them right away. However, both of these artifacts are priced above five thousand spirit stones,” the manager said with a bow.

“May I know how these top-grade magical artifacts differ from high-grade ones, aside from the runes? What makes their power different?” Yuan Ming asked.

“Respectfully, Elder, the number of runes on top-grade magical artifacts is secondary. What makes them special is that almost every top-grade magical artifact is made from rare materials, each unique. There is only one of each top-grade magical artifact, and each has the potential to ascend to a treasure. Naturally, the price is several times higher than that of high-grade artifacts,” the manager explained while gauging Yuan Ming’s financial capacity.

Yuan Ming nodded, and seeing that the manager was still standing there without moving, he understood the manager’s implication and took out a Qingmu Order, showing it off.

Seeing this, the manager immediately understood, turned around, and left the room. He quickly returned with two jade boxes.