Before long, the Qi Family cultivator in his thirties at the Qi Refining Third Layer, who had fallen unconscious, gradually woke up as well. After treatment, he was out of danger.
However, several horses carrying a trace of Demonic Beast Bloodline had been lost. A small portion of the goods and a few Qi Family Mortal Warriors had also suffered damage, all of them innocent fish caught in the spell aftermath.
In the end, nothing serious had happened. After a brief rest and reorganization, the caravan continued onward.
With a Late Qi Refining Stage Elder overseeing the journey, the remaining road was tranquil beyond compare, and no further accidents occurred.
The caravan ultimately reached the Murong Family's Spirit Land, Little Swallow Mountain. After staying there for several days, it set out once more for the Qi Family.
"This caravan was attacked, and you have all worked hard. In my personal capacity, I will reward each of you with ten Low-grade Spirit Stones!"
On the return journey, the Late Qi Refining Stage Old Woman spoke with a smile.
The reason she had secretly accompanied them to the Murong Family this time was not only because the goods were quite valuable, but also because she had one or two important matters to discuss with the Murong Family.
Now that both the delivery of supplies and the discussions had been completed, she was naturally in a fine mood.
Moreover, the belongings left behind by those Rogue Cultivators had all ended up in her pocket. Naturally, she had to let the others have a sip of the soup as well.
Hearing this, Qi Feng grinned, thinking his own Third Grandmother was specifically looking after him by granting him Spirit Stones.
The other Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator in his thirties had remained somewhat gloomy ever since being injured. Yet upon hearing that he would receive ten Spirit Stones, he found a little comfort in his heart.
As for this unexpected windfall of ten Spirit Stones, Qi Chuan was naturally more than happy to accept it.
As time passed, the caravan finally returned to Red Maple Valley.
The matters of handing things over were no longer Qi Chuan's concern.
He went straight to the Mission Hall on the Main Peak, concluded his mission, and received five Contribution Points.
Five Contribution Points were not much, but some Intra-family missions only awarded one or two Contribution Points while taking even longer.
This mission had lasted only a month and a half. Although some unexpected events had occurred along the way, with a Late Qi Refining Stage Elder in charge, there had essentially been no real danger.
Thus, Qi Chuan was fairly satisfied with earning those five Contribution Points.
One had to know that cultivators in the Early Qi Refining Stage only received two Spirit Stones in annual stipends. This time, he had earned two and a half years' worth of stipends, uh...
"Forget it. I'd better exchange for some Elixirs first."
Casting aside the many thoughts in his mind, Qi Chuan headed to the Exchange Pavilion and met the Exchange Pavilion Elder.
"Elder, I would like to exchange for Qi Condensing Pills," Qi Chuan said.
"No problem. How many do you want?" the Exchange Pavilion Elder asked.
Qi Chuan took out his Family Token, then brought out ten Low-grade Spirit Stones. "May I use a combination of Contribution Points and Spirit Stones for the exchange?"
"Yes. One Contribution Point counts as one Low-grade Spirit Stone." The Exchange Pavilion Elder nodded, clearly not bothered by it.
"Then give me five."
For Qi Chuan, improving his cultivation base was naturally the most important thing now. There was no need to save Contribution Points or Spirit Stones at present. He would use however much he had.
Before long, Qi Chuan had five Qi Condensing Pills in his hand, stored in a Jade Bottle.
Carrying the Qi Condensing Pills, Qi Chuan returned to his own Independent Peak.
When he reached the peak, he found that Second Master was there and had not gone out.
"You came back at just the right time. I was about to prepare a table of Spirit Food. Let's enjoy it together." Qi Baicang was quite happy to see Qi Chuan return.
Although the Spirit Herbs on his peak were not worth much, they could still be enjoyed from time to time. Yet they could practically be said to have no effect on improving one's cultivation base. The quality of the Spirit Herbs was simply too low. Even though Qi Chuan had tended them for the past two years and their growth had improved a little, the improvement was still extremely limited.
Qi Chuan naturally nodded in agreement.
Soon, the two sat across from each other and began enjoying the Spirit Food on the table.
"How did your mission outside go this time? Was everything smooth sailing?" Qi Baicang asked casually as he ate.
"There were some disturbances, but nothing came of them."
Qi Chuan then roughly recounted what had happened along the way. However, he glossed over his battle with the Qi Refining Third Layer Rogue Cultivator, saying only that there had been a Late Qi Refining Stage Elder in the caravan, so nothing had ultimately happened.
"That actually happened! Good thing there was danger but no disaster. I remember the last time I took part in a delivery to the Murong Family, the one overseeing us was only at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, yet the entire journey was calm and peaceful. Nothing happened at all." Qi Baicang was somewhat astonished and sighed with emotion.
"Outside missions are just like that. No one knows what might happen..." Qi Chuan shook his head.
After the two talked for a while, Qi Baicang seemed to recall something and added, "Oh, right. A few days ago, I happened to hear something within the family. During this Wind Moon Sect disciple recruitment, our Qi Family seems to have an Inner Sect Quota!"
"An Inner Sect Quota?" Hearing this, Qi Chuan could not help raising his head, a hint of interest appearing on his face.
Previously, Qi Chuan had only heard about the Wind Moon Sect recruiting disciples. He had assumed there would only be Outer Sect Quotas and had never known that the Qi Family actually possessed an Inner Sect Quota!
This was the first time he had heard of it.
If one could join the Wind Moon Sect and become an Inner Sect Disciple right away, that would naturally be better by an unknown amount than becoming an Outer Sect Disciple.
Qi Baicang nodded heavily. When he had first heard of this matter, he too had been extremely surprised. The Wind Moon Sect's Inner Sect Quota was extraordinarily important. It was said that the Wind Moon Sect's True Disciples were selected from among the Inner Sect Disciples.
And Wind Moon Sect True Disciples were cultivated as the Wind Moon Sect's Foundation Establishment Seeds!
In a Cultivation Family like the Qi Family, a single Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator could become the ancestor of an entire lineage and bring it glory for two hundred years.
Even taking a step back, even if one entered the Wind Moon Sect's Inner Sect and remained mediocre throughout, by the time one left the sect, one would at least be at the Late Qi Refining Stage. Upon returning to the family, one would still be one of the lofty family Elders.
Thus, one could well imagine what the Wind Moon Sect's Inner Sect Quota meant in the eyes of a low-level cultivator from a Cultivation Family like Qi Baicang.
"However, I heard that this Inner Sect Quota will most likely already have an owner. The Transmission Elder has a Junior with a Fourth-grade Spiritual Root. At only twelve years old, he is already at the Qi Refining Third Layer. He even has a sliver of hope of breaking through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage before the quota is truly decided. He is simply a Heavenly Prodigy."
Qi Baicang's face was full of emotion. "With such talented aptitude, even if he ultimately fails to reach Foundation Establishment after entering the Inner Sect, when he returns from the sect, he will still be at the Late Qi Refining Stage, or even the Perfection of Qi Refining. He has a bright future ahead of him."
"A Fourth-grade Spiritual Root, already at the Qi Refining Third Layer, and with a chance to break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage?" Qi Chuan murmured softly.
"Yes. But I heard that aside from the one Inner Sect Quota, our Qi Family also has three Outer Sect Quotas. Perhaps you can strive for one of those." Qi Baicang looked at Qi Chuan with expectant encouragement.
His own junior was also twelve years old and already at the Qi Refining Second Layer. If he worked hard and could advance to the Qi Refining Third Layer before the quotas were decided, perhaps he might have a chance to seize an Outer Sect Quota.
"Right, how has your cultivation been going lately? You haven't encountered any major problems, have you?" Qi Baicang asked again.
"Mm... it's been fine. No problems," Qi Chuan said, shaking his head.
He was now at the Qi Refining Third Layer.
What he needed to do next was accumulate mana and reach the Qi Refining Third Layer Peak.
This process of Accumulating Mana merely required diligent cultivation. There would basically be no problems; at most, he could use Elixirs to speed up the accumulation of mana somewhat.
If there was any problem, it would be the mid-stage bottleneck.
To be honest, although Qi Chuan's cultivation had gone smoothly all the way until now, the mid-stage bottleneck remained deeply unknown to him. Logically speaking, with his Lower Eighth-grade Spiritual Root, breaking through would be exceptionally difficult.
But he possessed a Hundredfold Critical Hit. Presumably, it might have some effect on this.
And as long as he could advance into the Mid Qi Refining Stage, then even with his Lower Eighth-grade Spiritual Root, he would certainly have a sliver of a chance to compete for the Inner Sect Quota!
Before you continue