Available Replication Count: 1

Li Chengjie's thoughts raced. He knew there was no point in resisting head-on; he would only be thrown out immediately.

Li Chengjie had to buy time!

An expression of extreme struggle and heartache appeared on Li Chengjie's face. Trembling, he pulled the Storage Bag containing his spirit stones from his robes, counted them again and again, and finally took out forty spirit stones. Holding them out with both hands, his voice choked with tears:

"Lord Steward... I truly can't come up with sixty spirit stones!

Th-this is everything I own. I only have forty!

Please show mercy. Take these forty spirit stones first—consider them... consider them an advance payment. Give me a few days' grace!

Just a few days!

Once I refine some pills and sell them, I'll definitely make up the remaining twenty!

If... if Zhao Yizhen really comes back, then I won't even take these forty spirit stones back. I'll leave at once, without a word of complaint! Lord Steward, please leave me a way to live!"

The Steward Disciple looked at the forty spirit stones, then at Li Chengjie's nearly broken-down appearance. His eyes flickered.

He weighed the spirit stones in his hand, and his tone softened slightly, though it still carried the condescending air of alms:

"Hmph, forty... Fine. Looks like there's no more oil left to squeeze from you, brat. I'll reluctantly accept these forty spirit stones first as part of your rent for these two months. As for the remaining twenty, I'll give you five days! I'll come collect them five days from now! If you can't produce them by then, or if Zhao Yizhen returns, don't blame me for showing no mercy. I'll throw you and all your belongings out together!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Lord Steward! Thank you for granting me time! I'll gather it all within five days!" Li Chengjie bowed repeatedly, though he inwardly let out a small sigh of relief. At least he had gained five precious days!

The Steward Disciple put the forty spirit stones into the Storage Bag tucked in his sleeve. With a cold snort, he said no more and turned to leave.

Li Chengjie shut the door and leaned against it. A few days of grace was enough. With these five batches of materials, at current prices, he could earn at least forty spirit stones!

Li Chengjie did not dare waste even a moment, immediately throwing himself into a frenzied round of pill refinement.

Day and night, without rest or sleep, all his energy was focused on fire control, Melting Herbs, and Core Condensation.

Relying on the experience he had accumulated and the Mysterious Flame Art's exquisite control over Fire-attribute Spiritual Power, he forcibly maintained a respectable Pill Formation rate despite such crude conditions.

Five days later, when the Steward Disciple knocked on his door again, Li Chengjie opened it, exhausted yet with resolute eyes, and handed over twenty spirit stones.

The Steward Disciple raised his brows in some surprise. Taking the spirit stones, he said in an unreadable tone, "Hmph, looks like you've got some skill after all," then turned and left without another word.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, five months had passed.

Over those five months, the outer perimeter of Qingshi Market had long since been reduced entirely to ruins and bandit dens. The atmosphere in the inner circle grew increasingly tense as well, with rumors everywhere that the Flowing Cloud Sect might abandon this place.

Prices soared, and everyone was gripped by panic.

Yet amid this chaos and decay, Li Chengjie was like a weed growing from a crack in the stone—stubbornly surviving, quietly accumulating his gains.

On this day, Li Chengjie counted the savings he had amassed over the past five months after deducting all expenses and that unexpected "rent" payment.

When he took every spirit stone from his Storage Bag and piled them before him, their soft radiance nearly lit up the shabby room.

A full five hundred and three Low-grade Spirit Stones! Fortune was indeed sought amid danger. Without such widespread panic, how could there have been such outrageous profits?

Looking at the pile of spirit stones, Li Chengjie slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his eyes gleaming with irrepressible excitement.

Five hundred and three! This was not merely a huge sum—it was proof that he had struggled to survive in this Desperate Situation and never given up!

More importantly, at the very instant he stared at that pile of spirit stones, an icy voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation rang clearly through the depths of his consciousness like long-awaited sweet spring water:

Replication cooldown period has ended.

Available Replication Count: 1.

Almost at the same time, with a thought from Li Chengjie, the translucent panel visible only to him naturally appeared before his eyes:

Name: Li Chengjie (Metal, Wood, Fire)

Cultivation level: Fifth Level of Qi Refining

Cultivation Method: Mysterious Flame Art (Entering the Hall 98/100)

Available Replication Points: 0

Available Replication Count: 1

Replication Point Recharge: One Low-grade Spirit Stone = One Replication Point.

The cooldown had ended!

The one-year period was over, and he once again possessed a precious Replication opportunity!

His cultivation method proficiency had also risen to 98 points through five uninterrupted months of pill refinement. He seemed only one step away from breaking through to the next realm.

Li Chengjie's heart pounded wildly. He resisted the urge to rush out at once in search of a replication target, took several deep breaths, and forced himself to calm down.

He had only one chance. It had to be used where it mattered most!

Li Chengjie's gaze involuntarily returned to the panel in his mind, to the target he had coveted for so long—Zhang Gui, a first-tier mid-grade alchemist's Experience and Insights! Replication required: 100 Replication Points!

One hundred points! He now possessed five hundred and three spirit stones! More than enough! He could use the extra to buy a few Protective Arrays and talismans later.

A crystal-clear, temptingly alluring thought burst through the soil of his mind like spring bamboo shoots, growing wildly: "Replicate Zhang Gui's Experience and Insights! Right now! Immediately!"

Li Chengjie could no longer suppress the excitement and longing in his heart. He put the five hundred and three spirit stones into his Storage Bag, then immediately rushed out the door and hurried toward the Inner Circle East District, where Zhang Gui's Pill Hut stood in his memory.

The Inner Circle East District was far more prosperous and orderly than the southern district where Li Chengjie lived. Its streets were wider, and the courtyards lining both sides were visibly more imposing, with Formation Spirit Light faintly flowing around them.

Following his memory, Li Chengjie arrived outside Zhang Gui's courtyard, which bore a plaque reading "Pill Hut," only to find its gates standing open and the faint sound of conversation drifting from within.

Zhang Gui stood in the courtyard, but he was not wearing his usual smug, self-satisfied expression. Instead, he was slightly bent at the waist, his face bearing unprecedented respect and even a trace of fawning as he spoke to the two people before him.

The two were an old man and a young man.

The old man wore a plain gray robe. His features were lean, his gaze gentle. No powerful Spirit Pressure emanated from him, yet he gave off an unfathomable air.

The younger man was dressed in brocade robes, handsome in appearance, with a touch of arrogance between his brows. His Cultivation level was astonishingly at the late Qi Refining stage.

Zhang Gui's flattering voice carried clearly through the air. "...With Master Feng personally offering guidance, this junior has been enlightened and benefited immensely! Controlling the Heat Control of this 'Dragon Pattern Grass' has always been my bottleneck. Today, with a single word from you exposing the key, I truly... truly cannot thank you enough!"

Before the old man called Master Feng could speak, the brocade-clad youth at his side gave a soft laugh, his tone carrying a faintly condescending edge. "Alchemist Zhang, there is no need for such courtesy. My master was passing through this place during his travels and heard that you have made some progress in recent years, so he stopped by to take a look. How much you can comprehend depends entirely on your own fortune."

"Yes, yes, yes, this junior understands! Many thanks to Master Feng, many thanks to Young Master Su!" Zhang Gui nodded repeatedly, lowering himself to the utmost.

Outside the door, Li Chengjie watched with a jolt in his heart.

Zhang Gui was already a Mid-grade Alchemist, a figure of some standing among the Rogue Cultivators of Qingshi Market. Yet he was showing these two such respect?

Just what was the background of this Master Feng and Young Master Su?

Almost instinctively, he focused his mind on the seemingly unfathomable Master Feng and silently recited in his heart, "Detect!"

The next moment, the cold notification sounded again. Yet the information it delivered struck Li Chengjie like a bolt from the blue, freezing him where he stood!

[Replicable Target detected: 'Feng Qiubai' (Ninth Level of Qi Refining). Replicable Items: First Rank High-Grade Alchemist Experience and Insights (includes various first-rank pill formulas and exclusive secret alchemy arts). Estimated Available Replication Points required: 3000.]

Three thousand points!

Li Chengjie felt as though he could barely breathe. It was so high.

Li Cheng had originally thought Zhang Gui was already an excellent target. But now, before his eyes, had appeared someone who required three thousand Replication Points to replicate!

A First Rank High-Grade Alchemist!

What kind of level was that?

He was probably an honored guest even in Qingshi Market, wasn't he?!

Li Chengjie stared blankly at the seemingly ordinary old man, then looked at the glaring "Available Replication Points: 0" and the "Replication Count: 1" that had just finished cooling down in his Sea of Consciousness. An unprecedented sense of smallness and helplessness surged into his heart.

Three thousand points... how long would that take? This Qingshi Market, fraught with danger on every side.