Chapter 6: Fellow Daoist Zhou Qing

[“Brother Zhou, I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me for as long as I live.”]

[“If I make it out of that secret realm alive, I’ll repay your kindness tenfold… a hundredfold.”]

[Ye Feng tells you, overflowing with gratitude.]

[With the fifty spirit stones, plus the savings he has accumulated over the years and a few more borrowed from friends, he finally has enough to scrape together the hundred spirit stones needed to buy back his freedom.]

[“That secret realm… be careful in there.”]

[You are willing to lend him fifty spirit stones for two reasons. First, because of the bond between the two of you.]

[Second, because it is an investment.]

[If Ye Feng really manages to make it back alive from that secret realm,]

[even if he comes back empty-handed, he can still bring back valuable information about what is inside.]

[Information that can help you prepare for future simulations.]

[Year 21. At age 36, you successfully complete the ten-year Spirit Nurturing phase and advance into the ten-year Fire Control phase.]

[Year 22. At age 37, you notice that ever since the secret realm appears, prices for certain goods in the marketplace have risen by twenty to thirty percent. Life-saving pills and recovery pills, in particular, have become much more expensive.]

[Year 23. At age 38, you successfully break through to the third layer of Qi Refinement.]

Third Layer Qi Refinement at last…

A smile spreads across Zhou Qing’s face.

The Third Level of Qi Refinement marks the peak of the early Qi Refinement stage.

The next step is the middle stage.

Qi Refinement consists of nine levels in total. Advancing from the early stage to the middle stage, and later from the middle stage to the late stage, both requires overcoming significant bottlenecks.

[Year 24. At age 39, you discover that after years of exploration, the secret realm outside the marketplace has been picked nearly clean. Very few cultivators still venture inside.]

[Even now, you hear no news whatsoever about Ye Feng. Deep down, you know his chances of survival are slim.]

[You later learn that many late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators enter that secret realm. Ye Feng has only just reached the Third Layer of Qi Refinement, making his odds of survival there extremely low.]

[Ye Feng’s death in the secret realm also means the fifty spirit stones you lend him are gone for good. The loss stings, and it bothers you for quite some time.]

[Year 25. At age 40, Master Yun personally gives you a lesson on the art of fire control. You gain tremendous insight from the experience.]

[Year 26. At age 41, you learn more details about the secret realm.]

[The secret realm that appeared several years ago is known as the Mountain and Sea Secret Realm. It contains a vast number of spiritual herbs, including several key ingredients used in the refinement of Foundation Establishment Pills.]

[Year 27. At age 42, you gain a basic mastery of the art of fire control.]

[Year 28. At age 43, Master Yun begins to value you highly. He allows you to stand by his side while he refines pills, observing firsthand how fire control is used in actual alchemy.]

[Year 29. At age 44, you begin assisting Master Yun in pill refinement.]

[Year 30. At age 45, your mastery of fire control grows increasingly good.]

[Year 31. At age 46, you finally complete the ten-year Fire Control phase and enter the final ten-year stage: Pill Condensation.]

[Year 32. At age 47, your cultivation reaches the peak of the Third Layer of Qi Refinement. You are now fully prepared to attempt a breakthrough to the Fourth Layer.]

[Year 33. At age 48, you make your first attempt to break through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement.]

[The attempt ends in failure. Fortunately, you prepare thoroughly, and with the aid of a support pill bestowed by Master Yun, the damage is limited. You deplete only a portion of your vital essence, which can be restored after a few years of recovery.]

[This failed breakthrough makes you realize just how difficult every step on the path of cultivation truly is.]

[Year 34. At age 49, while recovering, you devote all of your energy to studying the art of pill condensation.]

[Year 35. At age 50, although your breakthrough attempt fails, the experience unexpectedly makes your progress in pill condensation much smoother.]

[Year 36. At age 51, you begin preparing to refine an entire batch of low-grade pills on your own.]

[Your first solo refinement is a success.]

[Being able to independently refine low-grade pills means that you have officially become a Low-Grade Alchemist.]

“A Low-Grade Alchemist…”

Outside the simulation, Zhou Qing sighs to himself.

After twenty-six years as an apprentice, he has finally joined the ranks of true alchemists.

A Low-Grade Alchemist may stand at the very bottom of the profession, but an alchemist is still an alchemist.

Even if he can only refine low-grade pills, he is able to live an exceptionally comfortable life.

It can be said that, with the status of a Low-Grade Alchemist, Zhou Qing has finally gained the means to establish himself in the cultivation world.

[Master Yun personally summons you and informs you that now that you have become a Low-Grade Alchemist, he is willing to lift the restrictions imposed by the spirit contract, allowing you to regain your freedom.]

[You have no intention of leaving. The path of alchemy is every bit as challenging as cultivation itself. Beyond Low-Grade Alchemist lies Mid-Grade Alchemist, and beyond that, High-Grade Alchemist.]

[Without the guidance of a seasoned alchemist, your chances of advancing to a Mid-Grade Alchemist are slim at best.]

[Master Yun looks at you with pride and decides to let you stay in the alchemy workshop. From time to time, he assigns you low-grade pill refinement jobs and pays you fairly according to market rates.]

[Year 37. At age 52, after fully recovering the vital essence lost during your previous breakthrough attempt, you challenge the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement once again.]

[Now that you are a Low-Grade Alchemist, your income has increased dramatically. You purchase a variety of items to aid your breakthrough.]

[This time, you succeed, advancing into the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement.]

[Year 38. At age 53, after entering the middle stage of Qi Refinement, you discover that cultivation has become even more difficult.]

[Your spiritual root aptitude is only low-grade. In theory, cultivators with low-grade spiritual roots have little hope of ever reaching the late stage of Qi Refinement.]

[Year 39. At age 54, under Master Yun’s recommendation, you successfully join the Alchemy Alliance of Wushan Market.]

[The so-called Alchemy Alliance is an informal organization made up of independent alchemists. Various cultivators and factions approach the alliance seeking pills, and the alliance distributes those requests to its members in the form of commissions.]

[The alliance allows alchemists to pool their resources and gain access to far more profitable refining opportunities.]

[Year 40. At age 55, after saving enough spirit stones, you rent a mid-grade 1st-tier cave dwelling within the market.]

[A mid-grade 1st-tier cave dwelling possesses significantly richer spiritual energy than a low-grade one. As a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, you now require that level of spiritual energy just to support your daily cultivation.]

[Year 41. At age 56, you continue cultivating at a slow but steady pace.]

[Year 42. At age 57, you estimate that it will take at least another fifteen to twenty years of dedicated cultivation to reach the peak of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement.]

[Year 43. At age fifty-eight, an unexpected visitor comes to see Master Yun.]

[Ye Feng.]

[The former follower whom you have long assumed is dead arrives at the alchemy workshop to pay a visit to Master Yun.]

[And the Ye Feng standing there is no longer the weak early-stage Qi Refinement cultivator of years past.]

[He is now a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.]

[From a distance, you watch as Master Yun personally welcomes Ye Feng inside. A wave of complicated emotions washes over you.]

[Thirty-three years ago, Ye Feng had only just stepped into the Third Layer of Qi Refinement.]

[Now, he has leapt all the way to the late stage of Qi Refinement.]

[You immediately realize that his expedition into that secret realm years ago must have yielded extraordinary rewards.]

[You also remember the fifty spirit stones you once lent him.]

[You wait outside for a long time before Master Yun finally emerges.]

[Master Yun nods at you. He is well aware of the relationship between you and Ye Feng.]

[After Master Yun leaves, you take a deep breath and step inside.]

[In the hall, Ye Feng sits casually in his seat. A faint but imposing spiritual pressure radiates from him. The aura of a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.]

[Noticing your arrival, Ye Feng glances at you.]

[He makes no move to stand.]

[Instead, he gives you a small smile and says:]

[“Ah, it’s Zhou… Zhou Qing, young friend.”]