Lingxiao Palace Market was as bustling as ever, with people coming and going. Several restaurants on the upper floors were also filled with revelers enjoying drinks.

“Have you heard, my friends? Our Lingxiao Palace has witnessed a once-in-a-millennium marvel.” At a bustling restaurant by the window, a young man in fine attire deliberately said with a flourish.

“What’s the strange thing?” The several drinkers at the same table asked in unison.

“It was that guy named Lu Xia Tian who got the most foundation-building pills last time he entered the Blood Moon Forbidden Land. He hasn't even succeeded in building his foundation until now.” The noble youth said with delight, “Do you know about Lu Xia Tian? He used to be a lone cultivator from望月城 and entered Lingxiao Palace together with me. His aptitude was really terrible. I even offended him back then. When I heard the news that he came out of the Blood Moon Forbidden Land, I was taken aback. I didn't expect him to be so unlucky. He failed even after taking dozens of foundation-building pills. It's really a waste of those medicinal pills, such a waste.” If it were me, I would have succeeded several times already.”

The young man in fine clothes felt both fortunate and regretful.

“Just you? You’re only at the eleventh level of Qi refinement now. It’ll probably be a few years before you can even attempt foundation building, and you’d need a foundation building pill.” A young man sitting nearby, though acquainted with the youth in fine clothes, didn’t seem particularly close to him. He immediately questioned, “Even if you reach the thirteenth level, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll get a foundation building pill. Besides, Lu Xiaoteng hasn’t shown himself yet, his seclusion isn’t over and who knows what might happen?”

“Half a year is enough time for someone to establish their foundation, even if they are slow. There’s no need to wait until now. If it was successful, they would have long since come out and flaunted it. Only if they failed would they stay silent. It's possible that this kid has failed at establishing his foundation and is ashamed to show his face, having already slipped away from the Lingxiao Palace.”

>

The young man in fine clothes said with disdain, "If he had succeeded, he would have thrown a grand banquet and invited all his relatives and friends. He would have made a public announcement. All the new Foundation Establishment cultivators in Lingxiao Palace, big and small, would have celebrated. He had been in Lingxiao Palace for over eight years and had quite a few friends. He knew the Foundation Establishment cultivators from several nearby peaks, let alone Lu Xiaoteng, who was also from Qinglian Peak."

"Looks like I'll disappoint you. I don't need to leave Lingxiao Palace with my tail between my legs." A faint voice echoed from the stairwell.

A few youths in fine clothes looked over. A young man, slightly handsome and dressed in green, emerged from the stairs. The strong spiritual pressure emanating from him clearly indicated that he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and judging by his tone, he seemed to be here with ill intentions.

“Senior, I was disrespectful. Please forgive me!” The young man in fine clothes turned pale as a sheet and knelt on the ground begging for Lu Xia Tian’s forgiveness. Though eight years had passed, he could still recognize the man before him despite his ordinary attire—it was Lu Xia Tian, who he had mocked just moments ago. Thinking about his previous words, cold sweat broke out on the young man's forehead. He now regretted his actions deeply and, forgetting his shame, slapped himself repeatedly.

“Before you, seniors! The juniors have been slandering you behind your back without end. Please punish us!”

Several others were also uneasy, their faces etched with worry. They all hastily apologized to Lu Xiaoteng. Although a Qi Refinement cultivator couldn't punish them arbitrarily in the market, the prerequisite was that they had to be in the right. Now, not only were they slandering someone behind their back but also caught in the act, wherever they took this lawsuit, they would be at a disadvantage. Moreover, their backers paled in comparison to a Qi Refinement cultivator. Even if Lu Xiaoteng didn't take action himself, many people would be happy to help.

Lu Xia Tian didn't expect to run into Guo Yun, the son of a noble family who had entered Lingxiao Palace with him, here. Although he didn't have any good feelings towards Guo Yun, he didn't have time to waste on such trivial matters at this time. He had important business to attend to and impatiently waved his hand, "Alright, get lost."

Guo Yun raised his head, looking utterly incredulous. He hadn't expected Lu Xia Tian to let him go so easily. The others were also surprised.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

"Need I say it again?" Lu Xia Tian's face turned cold as he saw the few people still standing there in shock.

“Yes, yes, this junior will leave immediately.” Guo Yun and the others were as if they had received a pardon, happily escaping from the restaurant.

"These guys really got lucky, encountering such a good-tempered Qi Refining senior." Other Qi Refining cultivators whispered privately.

Lu Xiaotian's eyes swept across the tavern, landing on a drunkard in a corner, alone at a table. He was unshaven and reeked of alcohol. Lu Xiaotian walked over and sat down, saying, "You must be Zhang Yang, the alchemist?"

Lu Xia Tian didn't know anyone here, so he wouldn't come to this tavern for no reason. After turning around in the Lingxiao Palace Market, he didn't find a suitable alchemy furnace. Alchemy furnaces weren't mass-produced like weapons. Every cultivator needed a weapon, but not every cultivator needed an alchemy furnace.

>

He looked down on alchemists, and as for those who refined elixirs... The entire Lingxiao Palace was said to have only one high-level alchemist, a dozen or so mid-level ones, and dozens of entry-level ones. With so few alchemists, the demand for cauldrons wasn't like that of spiritual implements or magic weapons. Therefore, obtaining a suitable cauldron was actually more difficult than acquiring a suitable weapon.

He inquired around the area and heard about a junior alchemist named Zhang Yang. It seemed he had recently encountered some trouble, with his alchemy success rate too low. He had consecutively failed to refine dozens of elixirs. No one hired him for alchemy anymore. Zhang Yang spent his days drinking in the market. So, he decided to give it a try and came over.

"Are you looking for me to refine pills? You've got the wrong person. No one believes in me anymore, and I can't refine pills either. Oh, so you're a high-level cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage, my apologies." After a long while, Zhang Yang finally opened his bloodshot, blurry eyes, smiling dizzily. He said this much, but he didn't show much respect towards Lu Xiaoteng. Let me know if you have any other text you'd like translated!

Lu Xiaitian didn't mind. Alchemists never judged each other by cultivation level. The other person was a former Junior Alchemist, an identity that was more valued in Lingxiao Palace than his own as a Qi Refining cultivator. "I'm not here to ask you to refine pills, although I don't know what happened to you, I won't pry. But, may I ask, since you can no longer refine pills, do you have any thoughts of selling your alchemy furnace?"

“Want my alchemy furnace? In your dreams!” Hearing Lu Xiaottian’s words, Zhang Yang stood up awkwardly and shouted. He then poured the wine jug into his mouth, but no wine came out. Zhang Yang grasped the jug in his hand and shook it a few times, but there was nothing inside, naturally without any sound. Then he yelled, “Waiter, come quickly and bring me some wine.”

A middle-aged man dressed as a shopkeeper, at the Qi Refining Mid Stage, walked up to the wine shop and first paid respects to Lu Xiaoteng. Then, he looked at Zhang Yang with an unpleasant expression, "Zhang Daoist, you've run up a tab of thirty-seven lower grade spirit stones here. My shop is small and runs on thin margins, so could you settle your account first?"

"Are you afraid I can't afford your drinks?" Zhang Yang was instantly furious upon hearing this.

“I wouldn’t dare question Daoist Zhang like that. It’s just that the shop can’t afford to run on credit. Since Daoist Zhang can afford it, please settle your previous bill first.” The middle-aged shopkeeper said calmly.

>

Zhang Yang reached into his storage bag, but it was empty. Not even a single bit of alchemy materials remained. He couldn't help but slump back down in defeat.

>

“Here are forty spirit stones, give him a few extra for drinks.” Lu Xia Tian placed forty lower-grade spirit stones on the table.

"Yes, I will certainly follow your instructions," the middle-aged shopkeeper hurriedly said respectfully, secretly wondering about the relationship between this Nascent Soul senior and Zhang Yang. Luckily, he had been polite to Zhang Yang before, otherwise, if he were blamed by this Nascent Soul senior, he would be in deep trouble.

>

Lu Xia Tian nodded, got up and walked downstairs. Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate! ?

"Hold on, friend!" Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

"Have you figured it out?" Lu Xia tian stopped his figure. He had just put down dozens of spirit stones naturally to give Zhang Yang a little favor, but he didn't have much hope. Seeing that Zhang Yang's attitude had loosened a bit, he was naturally quite pleased.

“This is not a place to talk, friend. Come with me.” Zhang Yang sighed and led Lu Xiaoxiao out of the tavern directly. After turning several corners, they arrived at a dilapidated courtyard.

The small courtyard still retained the scent of elixir waste, from Peiyuan Dan to Yuangan Dan and so on.

"Have a look at my alchemy furnace," Zhang Yang took out a black, crystal-like furnace from his storage bag. It was as smooth and lustrous as black jade.

"A dan furnace forged from Hao Long Stone? With your level as a junior alchemist, there's no reason you couldn't refine pills with such a good furnace." Lu Xia Tian's face flashed with surprise. This kind of dan furnace was extremely rare; it was the pinnacle among furnaces.

>

"As for my usual alchemy standards, refining pills is naturally no problem at all. But to obtain this alchemy furnace, I spent nearly five years of effort, finally getting it, but I was unfortunately targeted by others and chased, fleeing into the thousand-year ice cave where I suffered frostbite in my lung meridian. Now, my sensitivity to fire has dropped to an extreme point, and if time goes on, I might completely lose this ability." Zhang Yang's face carried a hint of hatred and pain.

Lu Xia Tian was speechless for a moment. A alchemist who lost his ability to sense heat, wasn't even as good as a regular alchemist.

Zhang Yang said angrily, “If you can swear an oath to help me exterminate that entire family, this alchemy furnace will be yours, free of charge. I won't take a single copper coin. And I'll give it to you right now.”

"I can't fulfill your request. To be honest, I don't really need this particular alchemy furnace. With some time, I could easily find some refining materials and have someone craft one for me." Lu Xia Tian shrugged his shoulders. Although Zhang Yang's situation was unfortunate, he wasn't the kind of person to interfere in others' affairs. He was ruthless towards his enemies but wouldn't easily go so far as to wipe out a family just for an alchemy furnace.

“Don't you want to know who the opponent is? They are just a Qi Refining family from a secular country. With your strength, you could obliterate them with a flick of your wrist.” Zhang Yang said hurriedly.

"I'm not a person who's overflowing with a sense of justice, and I don't want to get involved in this feud that has nothing to do with me. As for your request, I'm afraid I can't help you." Lu Xia Tian shook his head and started to leave.

"Wait a moment." Zhang Yang shouted from behind.

"Is there anything else?" Lu Xia Tian frowned and said.

"Then let's make a deal. I was originally from Yue Country, and after embarking on the path of cultivation, I left my homeland over forty years ago. I had one son, but you are going to Yue Country anyway. Could you go to my house and see if there is any child with spiritual roots? If so, bring them back to Lingxiao Palace and take them as your disciple, raising them well. I can also give you this alchemy furnace." Zhang Yang's momentum suddenly deflated.

>

“What if your family doesn’t agree? You’ve experienced it yourself, the path of cultivation is not easy.” Lu Xia Tian said, he didn’t want to force anyone.

"Just let it be, if they don't want to, then so be it." Zhang Yang sighed.

Why don't you do this yourself?

“The cold has already seeped into my bones, there’s no cure for it now. Even if there was, I wouldn't have the strength to seek it out now.” Zhang Yang let out a bitter laugh.

“If you have spiritual roots, I can take them to Lingxiao Palace, or let them cultivate on the mountain where I am. However, I don’t plan to take disciples for now. Consider it.” Lu Xia Tian pondered in his heart. This time, the mission of going out to practice, the closer and more lively places had already been chosen by the previous teams of cultivators. The remaining remote places, Zhang Yang's mouth-described country Yue, was bordering Bei Liang Country. Going there wouldn’t be too much trouble.”

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate! ?

"Well, this is good then. To have the favor of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is considered fortunate enough," Zhang Yang pondered for a moment before extending his hand. The black pill furnace floated towards Lu Xiaottian's presence. "If you agree with one word, I would be rather suspicious. At least on the surface, you seem like an honest person. My afterlife, I entrust it to you."

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like translated! ?

It turned out that the previous attempts were just a test. Lu Xiaoteng smiled upon hearing this, of course, if he had agreed directly, these tests might not have been tests at all. As for this person, whether they wanted revenge or to delegate their affairs afterwards, it didn't concern him. Lu Xiaoteng took the alchemy furnace and left directly.

Qian Yue Peak, located in the northeastern corner of the Qinglian Peak region, is relatively secluded. The distribution of spiritual energy is moderate. In fact, Lu Xia Tian didn't have too many requirements for the richness of spiritual energy. He basically obtained the spiritual power he needed by absorbing medicinal pills directly. After all, with his aptitude, absorbing spiritual energy from the air directly was too slow. At this rate, it would take him years, even decades, to raise his cultivation level by one level.

However, at the foot of Qingyue Peak, a young disciple stood respectfully. From the air Lu Xia Tian, who was flying with his sword, looked somewhat familiar. He landed. Upon closer inspection, it was Luo Kang, who had taken good care of him during his time as an errand boy. Beside Luo Kang stood a young girl, fifteen or sixteen years old. Although she wasn't exceptionally beautiful, she was delicate and pretty.

"Lu, Lu Shishu!" Luo Kang saw the joy on Lu Xiaoteng's face first, then hurriedly bowed.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate! ?

"How did you get here? Who is this?" Lu Xia Tian asked.

“This is my cousin, He Liping. Yes, she’s here to take care of Uncle Lu’s daily needs, like meals and chores. She can also help with other errands.” Luo Kang looked at Lu Xiaodao with a fawning expression.