Forming a Group

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Alchemists among Rogue Cultivators were already extremely rare, and no one in their entire small courtyard had ever met one before. If the Spirit Pills used in the mountain range or the Pills for healing were depleted, they could replenish them nearby, which was extremely convenient. Even buying Pills from Lu Xiaotian required Spirit Stones, but it was always a little cheaper than from shops. For them, every bit saved was a bit gained. In the long run, not only could their cultivation speed increase significantly, but they could also save a considerable amount of expenses.

"That's fine. Brother Luo, you know many people. Help me inquire about the Pill Recipes for Pills used in the Mid and Late Qi Refining stages. Recipes for healing Pills are also acceptable. It would be best if I could get them before entering the Moon Gazing Mountain Range," Lu Xiaotian said.

"Brother Lu's attainments in alchemy have already reached such a level?" Luo Yuan exclaimed in surprise.

"Big Brother, you're truly confused. The medicinal scent of Qi Gathering Pills that entered the room just now was clearly much richer than what we used before. Brother Lu must have refined mid-grade Qi Gathering Pills. Naturally, he can try refining higher-level Pills. In the future, our Pills might depend on Brother Lu," Luo Qing said, her beautiful eyes darting around.

"Currently, the output rate of Qi Gathering Pills is a little over thirty percent, less than forty percent. If my luck is good, I can indeed refine mid-grade Qi Gathering Pills. If I refine Pills needed for the Mid and Late Qi Refining stages in the future, you two siblings can come to me to buy Pills. The price will be slightly lower than the market price."

Lu Xiaotian had a good impression of these two siblings, and over the past six months, they had indeed provided him with a lot of useful information. As the only two people he knew in Moon Gazing City, he didn't mind helping the siblings out.

"An output rate of over thirty percent, Brother Lu's talent in alchemy is astonishing." Luo Yuan couldn't help but gasp. Even Alchemists trained by families rarely achieved such an output rate, and they were all veteran cultivators with decades of alchemy experience. Even if Lu Xiaotian had started cultivating alchemy from the womb, his talent was too astonishing. However, upon hearing Lu Xiaotian's promise, Luo Yuan was overjoyed and quickly patted his chest, saying, "Brother Lu, rest assured, this matter is on me. I will definitely find out about the Pill Recipes for Brother Lu."

There were several types of Pills used in the Mid and Late Qi Refining stages. Qi Nurturing Pills and Origin Energy Pills were just representative examples. There were also other Pill Recipes with good effects. With four months left before the Immortal Sect's recruitment, preparing for a period before entering the mountains should allow them to find out.

"Thank you, Brother Lu," Luo Qing said happily, her eyes narrowing into crescents as she thanked Lu Xiaotian.

Lu Xiaotian smiled slightly. In fact, over the past six months, he had been continuously refining Qi Gathering Pills, and his output rate had increased to nearly fifty percent. He had produced high-grade Pills twice and mid-grade Pills more than ten times. He wondered what expressions the two siblings would have if they knew this data.

The Luo siblings bustled off to inquire about the Pill Recipes. Lu Xiaotian, disguised as a rough-faced man, also left the courtyard and set up a stall by the roadside, with a wooden sign erected next to it stating that he was selling Qi Gathering Pills.

As the Immortal Sect's recruitment approached, the number of Rogue Immortals gathered in Moon Gazing City had significantly increased compared to before. Pills, as necessities for cultivation, were the most popular among Rogue Cultivators. Although many families in Moon Gazing City operated Pill shops, firstly, the Spiritual Grass planted in spiritual fields was limited, with only one harvest per year. Secondly, Alchemists were also extremely scarce, leading to Pills being nearly ten percent more expensive than usual, yet still in short supply.

Not long after Lu Xiaotian set up his stall, a crowd of over a dozen people gathered around. Because the price was still the same as before, ten percent lower than current shops, the dozens of Qi Gathering Pills placed on the stall were quickly sold out. After collecting over a hundred various Spirit Stones, Lu Xiaotian packed up his stall and then changed his appearance again, moving to another street.

After repeating this several times, over three hundred Spirit Stones had accumulated within the Barrier, which was a windfall for cultivators in the Qi Refining stage.

There were still two bottles of Pills in front of the stall. Lu Xiaotian hesitated for a moment, put away the two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills, and prepared to close his stall.

"Excuse me, are the Qi Gathering Pills in your hand still for sale?" a slightly immature voice rang out at this moment.

Lu Xiaotian looked up and saw a sturdy young man in plain linen clothes looking at him with a hint of nervousness. His cultivation was at the Qi Refining Third Layer. "Fine, you are the last one today. I have seven Qi Gathering Pills left, four Low-grade Spirit Stones each."

"I don't have enough Spirit Stones. Can I exchange them for something else?" the sturdy young man said somewhat awkwardly.

"What do you have?" Lu Xiaotian asked.

"I have a set of Formation Flags that can form the Origin Guarding Formation, capable of trapping a cultivator at the Qi Refining Great Perfection stage for about an hour," the young man said softly. "However, the first time using the formation requires the consumption of twenty Spirit Stones, the second time requires forty Spirit Stones, and it stacks up. After about four or five uses, the Formation Flags will be scrapped."

"Formation Flags, do they have any offensive power?"

Lu Xiaotian's heart tightened as he asked. In the Cultivation World, Alchemists were a very small group, but Formation Masters were even rarer than Alchemists and Pill Refiners.

This was because the advancement of Formation Masters was more difficult than alchemy. More importantly, Formation Masters consumed a great deal of energy and time in studying formations. Their cultivation levels were usually not very high, but once a formation was created, its destructive power was usually incomparable to ordinary cultivators.

"No, no," the sturdy young man mumbled.

Lu Xiaotian was speechless. A formation that cost twenty Spirit Stones to use once, could only be used five times, and after that, even if it could still be used, the cost would be one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones. He probably couldn't afford it anymore. Moreover, it could only trap the opponent for about an hour and had no offensive power. It was truly useless. Buying this set of Formation Flags would incur expenses. With these Spirit Stones, it would be better to buy more Spirit Talismans.

"The materials I used to refine this set of Formation Flags cost twenty-three Low-grade Spirit Stones. I, I only need five Qi Gathering Pills."

The sturdy young man seemed to know that the Formation Flags he refined didn't have much practical use. He had set up a stall in the city for several months without many people inquiring. Occasionally, someone would ask, but after seeing the cost of using the formation, they would shake their heads and leave without thinking.

Lu Xiaotian originally thought it was useless, but then he considered that he didn't have any powerful Spiritual Artifacts on hand. If he really encountered a formidable opponent, being able to trap them and escape with his life wouldn't be bad. Moreover, the young man in front of him looked honest and sincere, appearing inexperienced in the world. Befriending a Formation Master might be helpful in the future. As for Qi Gathering Pills, as an Alchemist, he could refine them at any time.

With this thought, Lu Xiaotian poured out a Qi Gathering Pill from the medicine bottle and handed it to the sturdy young man. "You are currently at the Qi Refining Third Layer. Pills are especially important for breaking through to the Mid Qi Refining stage. Here are six Qi Gathering Pills, hoping they can help you advance to the Fourth Layer."

"Th-thank you, big brother. My name is Wang Mo. May I ask how big brother is called?" the sturdy young man said, too excited to speak coherently.

"My name is Lu Xiaotian."

After receiving four small, azure Formation Flags, each about a foot long, from Wang Mo, Lu Xiaotian chatted with him for a while. He learned that Wang Mo came from a small cultivation family under the Ye Qin Kingdom. His family had been passed down for generations. After his parents' Lifespans were exhausted, Wang Mo decided to come to Moon Gazing City to seek an opportunity to join a cultivation sect.

Lu Xiaotian felt a moment of silence in his heart. Even cultivators in the Qi Refining stage, if they couldn't reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, were no different from ordinary mortals.

Traveling to the Moon Gazing Mountain Range required many preparations. Lu Xiaotian put away the Formation Flags and first went to a Spirit Talisman shop to replenish dozens of Low-grade Spirit Talismans. Now that he was slightly more financially well-off, the Spirit Talismans he bought were also slightly better than before. Then, he spent over sixty Spirit Stones to buy a Spirit Sword.

With a sufficient supply of Pills, at his current cultivation speed, he could reach the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining in about a year. If he obtained new Pill Recipes, his speed would be even faster. Therefore, he had to consider the issue of new Cultivation Techniques.

The newly purchased Spiritual Artifact was a golden short sword, a mid-grade Spiritual Artifact. Lu Xiaotian admired it with great affection for a while. Afterward, Lu Xiaotian inquired at two shops selling Cultivation Technique manuals along the way, but he couldn't find the lower volume of the "Primordial Scripture." He didn't give up and walked two more blocks to the largest Cultivation Technique shop in Moon Gazing City.

"If this place still doesn't have it, I'll choose another Cultivation Technique," Lu Xiaotian decided and stepped inside.

As expected of the largest Cultivation Technique shop in Moon Gazing City, it had over a dozen rows of ancient bookshelves. Roughly estimating, there were at least tens of thousands of Cultivation Techniques. There were also ten ordinary clerks responsible for explaining to purchasers. Currently, many people were browsing the bookshelves, selecting suitable ones. Some were also inquiring with the shop assistants.

"Esteemed Immortal, what kind of Cultivation Technique are you looking for? Our shop has tens of thousands of Cultivation Techniques, and we are sure to have what you want," a shop assistant eagerly greeted Lu Xiaotian as soon as he entered.

"Do you have the 'Primordial Scripture' here? The part for the Late Qi Refining stage," Lu Xiaotian asked.

"'Primordial Scripture'? No Immortal has ever chosen this Cultivation Technique before. It's very obscure. Esteemed Immortal, please wait a moment, I'll go and look."

The shop assistant pondered for a moment, resting his chin, and then led Lu Xiaotian to the innermost bookshelf. The shop's Cultivation Techniques were arranged by categories such as Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Ice, Wind, and Lightning. Within each attribute, the early, mid, and late-stage Cultivation Techniques were separated.

The Five Elements Spiritual Root was the most common. Lu Xiaotian had not tested his Spiritual Root Value, but he learned any of the Five Elements Spells with equal speed. Ice, Wind, and Lightning were slightly less common. No matter how high a cultivator's Spiritual Root Value was, it would not exceed one hundred points. Below thirty points was considered inferior. Above fifty was considered excellent.

Lu Xiaotian estimated that he possessed all Five Elements Spiritual Roots, and they were very balanced. Even at full capacity, each element would not exceed twenty points, making him a definite member of the inferior category, so he was too lazy to test it further.

Most cultivators chose to focus on cultivating a single Spiritual Root. The number of people who chose Cultivation Techniques like the "Primordial Scripture," which did not require specific attributes, was not zero, but it was very small.