Cultivation begins with earning spirit stones

Chapter 88 Daily Life

"Senior Brother Zhang, here are the ingredients for five portions of the Qi-Nourishing Pill. Do you think that's enough?"

A disciple in the early stages of Qi Refining squeezed to the front of the stall, holding a cloth bag in both hands with utmost respect.

Zhang Lin took it, opened it, and examined it closely.

Five orchid plants, of medium quality, varying in age, some twenty years old and some thirty years old.

Five Qi-gathering Grass plants, five Dew-condensing Flowers plants, and five Three-leaf Green plants are all common items.

"That's enough. Come back in an hour to pick it up."

The disciple thanked him repeatedly and stepped aside, but was reluctant to leave, standing there watching Zhang Lin refine pills.

Zhang Lin placed the medicinal herbs next to the hundred-refined bronze furnace, and flames rose.

The furnace slowly rotated, and one medicinal herb after another was put into the furnace, turning into medicinal liquid, fusing, solidifying, and splitting in one go.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, twelve Qi-Nourishing Pills were completed.

First-class quality.

The disciples watching were dumbfounded and whispered among themselves.

"That's way too fast!"

"I've seen outer sect alchemists refine pills; it takes at least half an hour to refine a single batch of Qi-Nourishing Pills. How come this Senior Brother Zhang finished in just one incense stick's time?"

"Didn't you see that alchemy furnace? That's a top-grade magic artifact. With such a treasure, alchemy will naturally be twice as effective."

"What's so great about top-grade magic weapons? The key is the control of the fire. Didn't you see his flames? They're so steady, like they're frozen in place. They don't even tremble for a moment. Even if you gave someone else a top-grade alchemy furnace, they couldn't refine something of this quality."

Amidst the murmurs and whispers, Zhang Lin ignored them and continued refining the elixir.

Another hour passed, and all the pills on the stall were sold out, and all the orders were completed.

Zhang Lin packed up his stall and planned to look around the market to see if he could find any good bargains.

Just as I was pondering this, a familiar voice sounded from behind me.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, how have you been?"

Zhang Lin turned his head and saw Chen Boyuan squeezing through the crowd with a beaming smile, holding a scroll of bamboo slips in his hands.

Behind him were two young disciples, one tall and thin, the other short and stout, both familiar faces whom he had seen several times at the Dharma assembly.

"Fellow Daoist Chen." Zhang Lin stood up and cupped his hands in greeting.

Chen Boyuan walked over, placed the bamboo slips on the stall, sat down cross-legged, and said in a low voice, "The list of candidates for the minor competition is out. Have you seen it?"

Not yet.

"Then let me tell you." Chen Boyuan unfolded the bamboo scroll and pointed to the lines of names with his finger. "Sixty-two people from Cuiping Peak have signed up. They will compete in three rounds."

"A promotion system will be adopted. The first round is alchemy, from sixty to thirty; the second round is magic, from thirty to fifteen; and the third round is combat, from fifteen to ten."

"The top ten are the top ten disciples of Cuiping Peak, and they can represent Cuiping Peak in the outer sect general ranking competition in September."

He pushed the bamboo slips over and pointed to several names circled in cinnabar.

"These are all formidable rivals."

Zhang Lin looked down.

"Luo Yuan has reached the perfect level of Qi Refining. He came in second in the Cuiping Peak competition last year. He has been at Cuiping Peak for three years, where he has made solid progress in alchemy and is particularly skilled in fire control."

"He got a perfect score in alchemy last year."

"Fang Yunxiu, with perfected Qi Refining, is a veteran disciple of Cuiping Peak. His skills are superb, and his third-tier Water Dragon Technique is incredibly powerful. He ranked third in the practical combat competition last year."

"There's another one you need to pay special attention to." Chen Boyuan pointed to a name, his expression slightly grim.

Zhang Lin's gaze narrowed slightly.

Zhou Mingyuan.

"We're old acquaintances," Chen Boyuan said. "He himself is nothing special, only at the late stage of Qi Refining, but he has an older brother named Zhou Mingxuan, who is an inner disciple and at the early stage of Foundation Establishment."

"With this connection, no one dared to mess with Zhou Mingyuan on Cuiping Peak. Many of his fellow disciples who had no backing were bullied by him."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "Moreover, there are rumors that Zhou Mingyuan was taken into the inner sect by his elder brother a few days ago and stayed there for a few days. After he came out, his aura was greatly enhanced, and he may have already reached the perfection of Qi cultivation."

Zhang Lin's expression remained unchanged, but he had already made up his mind.

Zhou Mingxuan should be the master of the gray-robed Taoist boy Afu.

It seems the Zhou family's revenge has begun, only in a more covert way than he expected.

Instead of taking direct action, they would snipe him during a smaller engagement.

With Zhou Mingxuan's connections, helping Zhou Mingyuan improve his cultivation to the peak of Qi Refining wouldn't be difficult.

Zhang Lin nodded.

"By the way, how many spells have you learned?" Chen Boyuan asked.

"not much."

"Then you'd better be prepared." Chen Boyuan thought that Zhang Lin was probably embarrassed to say it, so he didn't press the matter further.

Instead, he said seriously, "The first round of alchemy is your forte; you should be able to easily advance to the top thirty."

"But in the second round of spells and the third round of combat, the opponent will not show any mercy."

"Especially in the magic competition, only magic is used, not magic tools. This is the rule of Danxia Sect, to prevent aristocratic families from using external tools to secure places."

"Although you are a newcomer, you have a reputation, and the Zhou family is eyeing you covetously. I'm afraid many people will use you as a target."

Zhang Lin said calmly, "Whether you're a target or a stepping stone, the real test will be on the stage."

Chen Boyuan laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

"Good, with that in mind, I'm relieved." He stood up and handed the rolled-up bamboo slip to Zhang Lin.

"These are the test questions and grading standards for Cuiping Peak. Take them back and take a good look."

Zhang Lin accepted the bamboo slips and bowed in thanks.

Chen Boyuan waved his hand, turned and left with his two junior brothers, but after taking a few steps he turned back and said in a low voice, "Be careful with Zhou Mingyuan."

Zhang Lin watched him leave before putting the bamboo slips into his storage bag.

"Zhou Mingyuan?" Yu Youwei's voice rang out from beside her. "Is that the second-place winner from Qingxuan City?"

"Hmm." Zhang Lin didn't say anything more.

Yu Youwei was silent for a moment, then said, "You took first place from him, and he hates you deeply. He will definitely seek revenge in the next competition."

"I know." Zhang Lin put away the blue cloth and gathered the empty jade bottle together. "But the minor competition is a rule of the sect. He wouldn't be stupid enough to openly kill someone on the arena."

"They just want to outdo me in alchemy or magic, so I can't make it into the top ten."

He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked into the distance.

Below the cliff, the sea of ​​clouds surged, and the morning light shone on the clouds, turning them golden.

The main peak of Danxia is partially obscured by clouds and mist, while the golden palace at its summit radiates a magnificent glow.

"If he wants to suppress me, he'd better have the ability."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable certainty.

Looking at his profile, Yu Youwei suddenly felt that he possessed an indescribable composure.

It wasn't the arrogance of someone who had achieved early success, but rather the composure that comes with weathering storms, as if one had a clear plan in mind, or as if one had already seen through something.

She withdrew her gaze, tied the spirit stone pouch, and handed it over.

"What are you going to do for the next five days?"

Zhang Lin took the cloth bag and weighed it in his hand.

"Refining pills, cultivating, preparing for the minor competition."

"Anything else?"

"And..." He turned his head, a faint smile playing on his lips, "wait for them to make their move."

The two packed up their stall and returned along the mountain road.

After walking several dozen steps, Zhang Lin suddenly stopped and turned to look at the pine trees on the edge of the cliff.

There was no one there.

But he had just clearly sensed a spiritual sense sweeping over there; it wasn't the Qi Refining disciple's Qi Observation Technique, but rather the Foundation Establishment cultivator's spiritual sense probing.

That spiritual sense was extremely faint and subtle. If he hadn't just opened his spiritual sea and begun cultivating the Supreme Sense Scripture, which made his perception several times more acute, he wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

He made no sound, withdrew his gaze, and continued walking.

Behind him, behind the ancient pine trees on the cliff edge.

On a blue stone, an old man in a gray robe sat cross-legged.

With white hair and beard and a thin face, he was the nameless old man who had spoken to him at Thousand-Foot Cliff that day.

The old man held a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand, a smile on his lips, his gaze fixed on Zhang Lin's departing figure.

"He has reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, his spiritual consciousness is complete, and his foundation is solid," he murmured to himself. "He's quite a promising talent."

Behind him, a middle-aged cultivator stood bowing; it was none other than Lu Yuanshan, the peak master of Cuiping Peak.

"Uncle-Master, what do you think of him?"

The old man rolled up the bamboo slips and said calmly, "Let's see. The outcome will be clear after the small competition."

(Thanks, Baozi, for the immortal herb that I, Dao Duxing, sent.)