Cultivation Is the Root, Alchemy the Leaves

Li Chengjie looked at Chen Xing's shocked, jealous face, still forcing out a smile, and felt nothing at all. He saw Chen Xing off.

Li Chengjie then turned to the Task Wall and set his sights on the Harmony Qi Pill job.

The reward for this task was quite good—exactly what he wanted.

But before he could reach out to accept it, an irritating voice rang out from behind him. "Well, well, who do we have here? So it's Junior Disciple Li. You've only just climbed to Qi Refining Level 6, and you already dare set your sights on Mid-Grade Pills? Why don't you weigh yourself first and see how many pounds you're worth?"

Li Chengjie did not even need to turn around to know it was Wang Zhen, who had always disliked him.

This fellow had brought several lackeys with him and deliberately released the Spirit Pressure of Qi Refining Level 7 to frighten people. His face was filled with contempt.

Wang Zhen continued mocking him. "Is a Mid-Grade Pill something you can refine? If you ruin the materials, who will pay for them? Wasting the sect's resources is a crime! I am Elder Jin's personal disciple. The Harmony Qi Pill task is under my supervision now. If I say you aren't qualified, then you aren't qualified!" He was clearly using his status to deliberately block him!

A surge of anger rushed straight to Li Chengjie's head, but he knew that confronting Wang Zhen head-on would bring him no good.

Li Chengjie forcefully suppressed his anger and merely gave Wang Zhen a deep look, his gaze so calm that it sent a faint chill down one's spine.

"Fine. Whatever Senior Brother Wang says goes." With that, Li Chengjie turned and left, without the slightest hesitation.

Back in his shabby little room, Li Chengjie's face was gloomy.

Although he had long expected Wang Zhen to trip him up, such blatant bullying still left him deeply irritated.

For the time being, his path of earning Spirit Stones through sect tasks had been cut off. He could only complete sect tasks, then buy medicinal ingredients to refine pills and earn Spirit Stones.

After that, Li Chengjie outwardly obediently completed the thankless, laborious low-level tasks assigned by Wang Zhen. In secret, however, he changed into several different outfits and slipped over to where rogue cultivators had set up stalls, buying three batches of materials.

When the night was deep and all was quiet, he activated the crude Protection Array that came with his room and took out his dark-red alchemical furnace.

Lighting the fire, preheating the furnace, adding the ingredients... every movement flowed like drifting clouds and running water. Supported by the spiritual power of Qi Refining Level 6, his Heat Control and purification of medicinal ingredients became increasingly precise.

Several hours later, the alchemical furnace trembled, and the pill fragrance drew in.

When he opened it, the first batch had produced seven pills—five passed, while two were of fine quality!

The second batch was even fiercer, producing eight pills, three of them fine-quality! Only the third batch was slightly worse due to excessive mental exhaustion, but it still yielded six pills, two of them fine-quality.

After three batches, he had nine qualified Harmony Qi Pills and seven fine-quality Harmony Qi Pills in hand!

Just like that, he had carved out a fast track to wealth!

But Li Chengjie knew full well that privately refining pills for sale carried no small risk. If that fellow Wang Zhen discovered it, he would certainly come looking for trouble again.

Li Chengjie had to be careful and then even more careful, secretly disposing of these pills in batches.

"Wang Zhen, you may be able to block my sect tasks, but you can't stop me from finding my own road!" Li Chengjie's gaze hardened as he carefully put away the pills.

Li Chengjie knew that the grudge between him and Wang Zhen had been set in stone.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, eight months had passed.

Over these eight months, Li Chengjie's life seemed to have fallen into a fixed cycle.

Every day, Li Chengjie still completed those cumbersome and time-consuming low-grade pill tasks that Wang Zhen deliberately arranged for him. He handed over eighty percent of the pills and acted like the most ordinary, most inconspicuous Registered Apprentice, even seeming somewhat resigned to mistreatment.

Seeing that his suppression appeared effective, Wang Zhen gradually eased off on pressing him so hard. Still, whenever they happened to meet, he could not help shooting him mocking, icy looks.

Beneath that surface calm lay Li Chengjie's nearly frenzied accumulation in secret.

Li Chengjie used every spare moment to exchange for meager Spirit Stones.

More importantly, every so often, Li Chengjie would secretly head to the Rogue Cultivator Market, using his saved Spirit Stones to purchase Harmony Qi Pill ingredients. Then, inside his small room protected by basic restrictions, he would fire up the furnace and refine pills.

With Su Yuchen's complete experience as a Mid-grade Alchemist, coupled with the support of his Qi Refining Level 6 cultivation level, his success rate and pill quality in refining Harmony Qi Pills remained steadily at an extremely high level.

Producing seven or eight pills per batch had become routine, while the rate of fine-quality pills remained at twenty to thirty percent.

Through all kinds of hidden channels, he carefully sold these privately refined pills in batches. They turned into one Low-grade Spirit Stone after another, silently flowing into his Storage Bag.

The results of eight months of endurance and accumulation were astonishing.

At this moment, Li Chengjie sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, his divine sense sinking into his Storage Bag. In one corner, Low-grade Spirit Stones lay piled together, giving off a soft, enticing spiritual glow. With a rough sweep, their number astonishingly reached three thousand!

This was a fortune enough to make many late Qi Refining stage cultivators green with envy!

It was everything Li Chengjie had accumulated over the past eight months, through almost sleepless days and nights and the exhaustion of all his strength and effort!

Yet there was not much joy on Li Chengjie's face. Instead, his brows were slightly furrowed, carrying an indescribable heaviness and confusion.

Just today, he had clearly sensed a certain invisible ripple coming from the Golden Finger panel in his mind, which had been silent for so long—the year-long Replication cooldown had finally ended!

With a thought, Li Chengjie summoned the panel:

Name: Li Chengjie

Cultivation Level: Qi Refining stage Level 6 (Peak)

Cultivation Art: Mysterious Flame Art (Proficient 99/100)

Pill Dao: First-rank Mid-grade (Mastery 85/100)

Available Replication Points: 0

Replication Count: 1 (Ready)

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

The Replication Count was ready once more!

This meant he could once again replicate someone else's experience or cultivation technique!

Looking at the words "Replication Count: 1 (Ready)" on the panel, Li Chengjie's breathing quickened.

After waiting an entire year, this crucial opportunity had finally come again!

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Chengjie immediately made his decision. "Replicate the Experience and Insights of a First Rank High-Grade Alchemist!"

The target was clear, and his thoughts were focused.

His cultivation bottleneck was certainly troubling, but if he could first elevate his alchemy skills to the high grade, refine more valuable pills, and earn spirit stones at a faster rate, it would bring about a qualitative leap.

By then, not only would he accumulate Replication Points more quickly, but it would also be easier to obtain opportunities to resolve his cultivation technique bottleneck.

His most pressing task was to seize this replication opportunity and achieve a breakthrough in alchemy.

With his mind made up, Li Chengjie immediately took action.

Li Chengjie knew that in all of Falling Cloud City, the place with the greatest concentration of alchemists was undoubtedly the Flowing Cloud Pill Pavilion.

There were numerous alchemists within the pavilion, so the target he needed was surely among them.

Without drawing attention, Li Chengjie left his small house and returned to the bustling area near the Hall of Affairs. Yet rather than taking on a mission, he wandered about like an ordinary passerby, seemingly at random. In truth, he had completely immersed his consciousness in the panel within his mind, focusing on the passing cultivators dressed in formal alchemist robes whose auras were clearly extraordinary, silently reciting in his heart, "Scan!"

[Replicable Target detected: 'Elder Zhou' (Foundation Establishment Early Stage). Replicable Items: ... Estimated Replication Point cost: points.]

[Replicable Target detected: 'Steward Qian' (Peak of Ninth Level of Qi Refining). Replicable Items: ... Estimated Replication Point cost: 2000 points.]

[Replicable Target detected: 'Senior Sister Sun' (Qi Refining Level 8). Replicable Items: ... Estimated Replication Point cost: 800 points.]

A string of prompts rang out, including no small number of Foundation Establishment experts. Li Chengjie continued his patient search and scans.

At last, the real targets had arrived—the three First Rank High-Grade Alchemists of the Flowing Cloud Pill Pavilion. Li Chengjie locked onto the three targets who met his requirements:

[Replicable Target detected: 'Zhao Yiming' (Qi Refining Level 9). Replicable Items: First Rank High-Grade Alchemist Experience and Insights (specializes in: Spirit Nurturing Pill, Detoxification Pill, and others; stable pill formation rate; has mastered three exclusive high-grade pill formulas). Estimated Replication Point cost: 2800 points.]

[Replicable Target detected: 'Qian Feng' (Qi Refining Level 8). Replicable Items: First Rank High-Grade Alchemist Experience and Insights (specializes in: Explosive Flame Pill, Wind Walking Pill, and others; skilled in refining combat support pills; fire-control techniques are wild yet exquisite). Estimated Replication Point cost: 5500 points.]

[Replicable Target detected: 'Sun Miao' (Qi Refining Great Perfection). Replicable Items: First Rank High-Grade Alchemist Experience and Insights (specializes in various common high-grade pills; exceedingly seasoned experience; extensive reserve of pill formulas; profound understanding of medicinal properties). Estimated Replication Point cost: 8000 points.]

The information flooded into his mind, and Li Chengjie swiftly weighed his options.

Sun Miao's experience was the deepest and most comprehensive, but the price of 8,000 points was enough to make him balk.

Qian Feng excelled at combat pills and possessed unique fire-control techniques. Though 5,500 points was something he could barely afford if he worked harder to earn spirit stones, Li Chengjie believed time was precious. There would be plenty of Replication Points in the future; what he needed now was rapid growth.

As for Zhao Yiming, the price of 2,800 points was exactly within his means. The descriptions "stable pill formation rate" and "mastered three exclusive high-grade pill formulas" held enormous appeal for him, given his present need for stable output and a broader range of pill formulas!

"It's him—Zhao Yiming!" A flicker of resolve flashed through Li Chengjie's eyes. He hesitated no longer and immediately issued an order to the panel in his mind. "Recharge 2,800 Replication Points!"

[Command received. Consume 2,800 Low-grade Spirit Stones to exchange for 2,800 Replication Points. Confirm?]

Feeling a huge portion of his Storage Bag empty in an instant, Li Chengjie forcibly suppressed the ache in his heart.

Just as he was about to confirm, the panel suddenly went "ding":

[Notice: Two nearby individuals have been discovered cultivating the same Mysterious Flame Art. One is Qi Refining Level 9 (a big shot!), and one is Qi Refining Level 6 (a rookie). Want to view detailed information? It'll cost 10 Replication Points.]

Li Chengjie's heart began pounding wildly!

Holy shit!

The same cultivation technique!

And there was even a Qi Refining Level 9 big shot!

Without hesitation, Li Chengjie immediately spent ten spirit stones to exchange for 10 points. Even if he would not replicate it, he had to confirm who they were!

[Target One: Han Li (this Han Li is not that Han Li). Cultivation level: Qi Refining Level 9 (as high as it gets). Cultivation technique: Mysterious Flame Art (crippled version). Replicable content: complete cultivation insights + breakthrough experience + his own brainstormed ideas for filling in the gaps. Price: 2800 points.]

[Target Two: Sun Xiaohai. Cultivation level: Qi Refining Level 6. Cultivation technique: Mysterious Flame Art (also crippled). Replicable content: mid-stage cultivation techniques (mainly how to compress spiritual power and play with fire). Price: 500 points.]

The truth was finally laid bare!

The Mysterious Flame Art really was a half-baked, scam-ridden defective product!

Han Li's experience cost 2,800 points—nearly everything he owned—but it concerned whether he would still be able to raise his cultivation level quickly in the future!

"Cultivation is the root, alchemy the leaves. If the root rots, then no matter how pretty the leaves grow, they're doomed." Li Chengjie muttered under his breath.