Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

When Qi Feng returned to the great hall, Master Chang Kong's gaze slowly swept across the chamber, observing the respectful expressions of everyone present. He offered a slight smile, his demeanor kind as he spoke, "Well, that will be all for today. Everyone, go back to your own affairs. As for the matter of the wagered battle, once I have discussed it with the two Vice Alliance Hierarchs and reached a decision, I will announce it to you all. You may leave!"

"Yes, we will heed the Alliance Hierarch's directive and take our leave now!" The assembly rose from their seats with a thunderous chorus of assent, then bid farewell and departed.

After Zhao Sheng and the others rose to take their leave, the great hall was left with only Master Chang Kong and the two Vice Alliance Hierarchs, along with Xu Chong and his two disciples.

"Yao'er, you take your senior brother and rest first," Master Chang Kong mused for a moment before instructing Chu Yao.

Chu Yao replied softly with "Understood," though Ge Chen's eyes briefly flashed with dissatisfaction. He seemed on the verge of speaking but was instead pulled out of the hall by his junior sister.

In the blink of an eye, only Master Chang Kong, Qi Feng, Master Chi Yuan and Xu Chong remained in the great hall.

The four of them discussed several secret matters concerning the alliance, revealing an exceptionally close relationship between Xu Chong and the Spring and Autumn Alliance. None of these secrets were concealed from him.

However, what was strange was that the four of them did not mention a single word about the wager with the Mystic Sky Sect.

After half an hour, when the discussions were nearly finished, and Qi Feng, Chi Yuan, and Xu Chong also rose to bid farewell, Master Chang Kong suddenly mentioned casually,

"By the way, we need to thoroughly investigate the leak regarding the Seven-star Reef Spirit Vein. Daoist Qi Feng, I entrust this task to you."

"Yes, Alliance Hierarch!" Qi Feng narrowed his eyes and then bowed deeply in assent.

Master Chi Yuan was startled by this but said nothing, silently retreating from the hall.

Once the hall was left with only him, Master Chang Kong's smile slowly faded, and his right hand struck the jade chair with force.

In an instant, the jade chair silently shattered into a pile of dust.

...

After leaving the great hall, Zhao Sheng politely declined the invitation from Meng Quyi, Zhao Guanxi and others to gather, but agreed to visit their respective cave mansions in the coming days.

Having bid farewell to everyone, Zhao Sheng rode his flying sword, transforming into a radiant sword rainbow, and headed straight for Xia Guang Island, a subordinate isle of Nine Virtuous Isle.

Elixir Fire Square of Xia Guang Island,

No sooner had Zhao Sheng landed on the streets of Elixir Fire Square than he immediately smelled a thick fragrance of elixirs and medicinal herbs.

The Elixir Fire Square was Nine Virtuous Isle's main district for alchemy, the selling of Spiritual Medicine, and where the highest concentration of elixir medicine shops could be found. It hosted the largest number of alchemists and saw a tremendous flow of visitors.

Various medicine shops and elixir stores lined the streets on both sides, bustling with crowds. From time to time, one could spot alchemists in crimson robes being surrounded and flattered by a group of Loose Cultivators as they moved through the streets.

This clearly showed the lofty status of alchemists on Nine Virtuous Isle, where a severe supply and demand imbalance existed.

As evening approached, Zhao Sheng left the market with a look of disappointment.

He had roamed around Elixir Fire Square, visiting countless elixir medicine shops in the market, purchasing a large amount of Spiritual Medicine and spirit medicine seeds. However, he found not a single Alchemy Furnace that caught his eye to purchase, let alone the coveted Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire.

Upon further inquiry, he found out that the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire, Elixir Recipes and Alchemy Furnaces were mostly monopolized by the Alchemy Master Association. The Elixir Fire Square allowed only for the transaction of ordinary elixir recipes and alchemy furnaces of average quality.

As for Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire, it was a forbidden delicacy of the Alchemy Master Association and extremely rare in the market shops.

The Alchemy Association held a high reputation on Nine Virtuous Isle, possessing vast hidden power; every alchemist on the island was without exception a member.

Its external headquarters were located at the base of Dusk Peak on Xia Guang Island.

Leaving the market, Zhao Sheng had already made up his mind. Without any further ado, he released his flying sword, transformed into a radiant sword rainbow, and sped towards Dusk Peak.

Within minutes, a sword rainbow flew rapidly from afar. Approaching a mountain peak emitting white smoke, the rainbow took a turn and swiftly descended.

Zhao Sheng dispersed the Sword Light, standing at the base of Dusk Peak.

The mountain body of Dusk Peak was quite peculiar, from a distance resembling a vast red chimney, and on the summit lay a depressed valley, at its deepest point a hot volcanic lake. Around this lake, cave mansions were carved into the cliffs, frequented by alchemists in crimson robes moving in and out.

At the base of the mountain, a great number of structures stood tall, with several palace buildings of varying sizes at the center. The most magnificent palace bore the golden-painted words "Alchemy Master Association."

Zhao Sheng briefly scrutinized the cluster of buildings in front of him before making his way towards Dinglu Palace.

After showing his Guest Token to the guards at the entrance, he smoothly entered the grand hall of Dinglu Palace. Stay updated through My Virtual Library Empire

As soon as Zhao Sheng stepped inside, a young man in a white robe with the pattern of a three-eared Pill Furnace embroidered on his chest came to greet him.

"Taoist friend, may I ask if you are here to purchase a Pill Furnace, or do you have a Pill Furnace to sell?" the white-robed youth asked with considerable respect.

"Hmm, I would like to buy a handy Alchemy Furnace of decent quality, having a Spiritual Artifact Level Alchemy Furnace would be best," Zhao Sheng said indifferently.

The eyes of the white-robed youth lit up at these words, and his manner became even more respectful as he hurriedly said, "Senior, please follow me. Master Jin Ming happens to be on duty, and he certainly has an Alchemy Furnace you will be satisfied with."

"Lead the way!"

After Zhao Sheng responded, he followed the white-robed youth through the hall, down a corridor, and into a side palace.

Upon entering the side palace, they saw a short, fat, bald elder with a beard, holding a green-rusted Pill Furnace in his hands, which he was examining closely for inscriptions on the surface.

Zhao Sheng glanced at the man, knowing in his heart that this person must be the so-called Master Jin Ming.

The white-robed youth leaned in and whispered a few words to the elder.

The short, fat elder set down the Alchemy Furnace, turned his head to look at Zhao Sheng, and suddenly burst into a hearty laugh, "So it's a customer who has come to us! Taoist friend, please come over here. I may not have much else, but I have the most Pill Furnaces of fine quality. You'll arrive in high spirits and leave satisfied!"

Zhao Sheng smiled faintly, stepped forward, and offered a courteous bow before sitting opposite the elder.

No sooner had he sat down than the short, fat elder couldn't wait to ask, "May I know what level of Alchemy Furnace you wish to purchase, Taoist friend?"

Zhao Sheng spoke calmly, "Do you have a Spiritual Artifact Level Alchemy Furnace available?"

"Hmm?! This... this is going to be difficult!" The short, fat elder gasped, rubbing his hands together with a troubled expression on his face.

"Could it be that you don't have any? It can't be that such a large Alchemy Master Association doesn't even have a single Spiritual Artifact Furnace!" Zhao Sheng raised an eyebrow, intentionally bringing a hint of challenge into his tone.

Upon hearing this, Master Jin Ming almost jumped up, responding directly, "How could that be possible? Not just one, even if you wanted ten or eight, we can produce them. But..."

"But what? Feel free to speak plainly, Taoist friend."

After saying that, Zhao Sheng released his Foundation Establishment Realm aura and took out the Guest Token, sliding it across to the short, fat elder.

When Master Jin Ming sensed Zhao Sheng's Foundation Establishment aura and saw the Token, he immediately relaxed and said with a smile, "So it turns out to be a Guest Elder of the Spring and Autumn Alliance, now that's great, we're all family here. Some rules naturally don't apply."

Without being asked, the short, fat elder immediately explained to Zhao Sheng.

It turned out that Alchemy Furnaces were considered special among Magic Artifacts, with a difficulty in refining far exceeding that of other artifacts of the same tier, and Spiritual Artifact Level Alchemy Furnaces were even more challenging.

Even with the strength of the Alchemy Master Association, the number of Spiritual Artifact Furnaces available for trade on a day-to-day basis wouldn't exceed twenty.

To prevent Spiritual Artifact Furnaces from being lost to "outsiders," the Alchemy Master Association had secretly agreed not to sell them unless an outsider could exchange a treasure that would entice the association.

As the Spring and Autumn Alliance was the dominating force of Nine Virtuous Isle, the Alchemy Master Association also needed its protection, so members with the status of Foundation Establishment Minister within the alliance were not considered outsiders.

Nevertheless, transactions involving Spiritual Artifact Level Alchemy Furnaces also had to follow the rule of barter, strictly prohibiting the use of Spirit Stones.

Plainly speaking, the Alchemy Master Association was so wealthy that it held no regard for mere Spirit Stones, of course, except for Top-grade Spirit Stones.

After listening to the short, fat elder's explanation, Zhao Sheng fell silent, feeling somewhat troubled.

After much consideration, the most suitable item he had for trade was the "Refining Elixir Hundred Formulas" written by Can Hezi.

But was he really willing to exchange that alchemy formula for just one Alchemy Furnace?

He found himself indecisive.