Opportunity (Please Bookmark)

Not long afterward, the unconscious Qi Family Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator in his thirties gradually woke up. After treatment, he was no longer in danger.

However, several horses with traces of Demonic Beast Bloodline had been lost. A small portion of the goods, along with a few Qi Family Mortal Warriors, had also suffered damage, all of them innocent fish caught in the Spell Aftermath.

In the end, there was no major harm done. After a brief rest and reorganization, the caravan continued onward.

With a Late Qi Refining Stage Elder keeping watch, the rest of the journey was tranquil, and no further accidents occurred.

The caravan ultimately arrived safely at 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 time, the caravan was attacked, and everyone has worked hard. In my personal capacity, I'll reward each of you with ten Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

On the return journey, the old woman at the Late Qi Refining Stage said with a beaming smile.

The reason she had secretly overseen this trip to the Murong Family, aside from the considerable value of the goods, was that she also had one or two important matters to discuss with the Murong Family.

This time, both the delivery of supplies and the discussions had been completed, so naturally, she was in a fine mood.

Moreover, the possessions left behind by those Rogue Cultivators had ultimately all flowed into her pocket. She had to let the others have a sip of the soup as well.

Hearing this, Qi Feng grinned, thinking that his Third Grandmother was deliberately looking after him by granting him Spirit Stones.

The other Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator in his thirties had looked somewhat gloomy ever since being injured. Upon hearing that he would receive ten Spirit Stones, he felt slightly comforted.

Qi Chuan was naturally pleased to receive this unexpected windfall of ten Spirit Stones.

As time passed, the caravan eventually returned to Red Maple Valley.

The handover matters were no longer Qi Chuan's concern.

He went directly to the Mission Hall on the Main Peak, completed his mission, and received five Contribution Points.

Five Contribution Points were not much, but some Intra-family missions only offered one or two Contribution Points and took even longer to complete.

This mission had lasted only a month and a half. Though a few unexpected events had occurred along the way, with a Late Qi Refining Stage Elder presiding over things, there had basically been no risk.

Thus, Qi Chuan was fairly satisfied with the five Contribution Points he had earned.

After all, an Early Qi Refining Stage cultivator only received two Spirit Stones a year as a stipend. This trip had earned him two and a half years' worth of stipends, uh...

"Forget it. I should 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 Contribution Points and Spirit Stones together for the exchange?"

"Yes. One Contribution Point counts as one Low-grade Spirit Stone." The Exchange Pavilion Elder nodded, unconcerned.

"Then give me five."

For Qi Chuan, improving his Cultivation Base was naturally the most important thing. There was no need to save Contribution Points or Spirit Stones for now. He would use however much he had.

Before long, Qi Chuan had five Qi Condensing Pills in his hand, stored in a Jade Bottle.

With the Qi Condensing Pills, Qi Chuan returned to his own Independent Peak.

When he returned to 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 their effect on cultivation was practically nonexistent; the quality of the Spirit Herbs was simply too low. Even though Qi Chuan had tended them over the past two years and their growth had improved somewhat, the improvement remained extremely limited.

Qi Chuan naturally nodded in agreement.

Soon, the two sat facing each other and began enjoying the Spirit Food laid out on the table.

"How was your mission outside this time? Did everything go smoothly?" As he ate, Qi Baicang asked casually.

"There were a few disturbances, but nothing serious."

Qi Chuan then roughly described what had happened along the way. However, he glossed over his battle with the Qi Refining Third Layer Rogue Cultivator, saying only that the caravan had a Late Qi Refining Stage Elder and had ultimately come through safely.

"That happened? Good thing it was a false alarm. I remember that when I took part in a delivery to the Murong Family last time, only a Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivator was stationed with us, yet the entire journey was smooth sailing and nothing happened." Qi Baicang was somewhat startled and sighed.

"That's how missions outside are. No one knows what might happen..." Qi Chuan shook his head.

After the two spoke for a while, Qi Baicang seemed to remember something and added, "Oh, right. A few days ago, I happened to hear something in the family. This time, when the Wind Moon Sect recruits disciples, our Qi Family seems to have an Inner Sect Quota!"

"An Inner Sect Quota?" Qi Chuan could not help raising his head, a look of interest appearing on his face.

Previously, Qi Chuan had only heard about the Wind Moon Sect recruiting disciples. He had assumed there would be Outer Sect Quotas, but he had never known that the Qi Family actually had an Inner Sect Quota assigned to it!

This was the first time he had heard of it.

If one could join the Wind Moon Sect and become an Inner Sect Disciple immediately, that would naturally be better than becoming an Outer Sect Disciple by an immeasurable margin.

Qi Baicang nodded heavily. When he had first heard of it, he too had been extremely surprised. The Wind Moon Sect's Inner Sect Quota was exceedingly important. It was said that the Wind Moon Sect's True Disciples were selected from among the Inner Sect Disciples.

And the Wind Moon Sect's True Disciples were raised 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 glory to it for two hundred years.

Even taking a step back, if one entered the Wind Moon Sect's inner sect and remained utterly unremarkable, by the time one left, one would at least be at the Late Qi Refining Stage. Returning to the family, one would still become one of its lofty Elders.

Thus, one could imagine what kind of existence a Wind Moon Sect Inner Sect Quota was in the eyes of low-level cultivators from a Cultivation Family like Qi Baicang.

"However, I hear that this Inner Sect Quota will most likely already have an owner. The Transmission Elder has a Junior with a Fourth-grade Spiritual Root. He is only twelve years old, yet he is already at the Qi Refining Third Layer. There is even a sliver of hope that he can break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage before the quota is officially decided. He truly is a Heavenly Prodigy."

Qi Baicang's face was full of emotion. "With talent like that, after entering the inner sect, even if he ultimately fails to reach Foundation Establishment, when he returns from the sect, he will still be at the Late Qi Refining Stage, or even Perfection of Qi Refining. His future will be bright."

"A Fourth-grade Spiritual Root, already at the Qi Refining Third Layer, with a chance to break through to the Mid Qi Refining Stage?" Qi Chuan murmured softly.

"Yes, but I heard that besides the one Inner Sect Quota, our Qi Family also has three Outer Sect Quotas. You might be able to strive for one of those." Qi Baicang looked at Qi Chuan with expectation and 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.

"Oh, right. How is your cultivation going now? You haven't run into any major problems, have you?" Qi Baicang asked again.

"Mm... it's all right. No problems." Qi Chuan shook 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 only required diligent cultivation. Basically, no problems would arise. At most, he could use Elixirs to speed up the accumulation of mana.

If there was a problem, it would be the Mid-stage Bottleneck.

To be honest, even though Qi Chuan's cultivation had been smooth sailing until now, the Mid-stage Bottleneck was truly an unknown. Logically speaking, with his Lower Eighth-grade Spiritual Root, breaking through would be extraordinarily difficult.

But he possessed the Hundredfold Critical Hit. It would likely be of some help in this regard.

And as long as he could advance to the Mid Qi Refining Stage, even with a Lower Eighth-grade Spiritual Root, he would certainly have a sliver of a chance to compete for the Inner Sect Quota!