Ye Lingshuang sent out a signal and reunited with the sect's cultivators.
The story she told others was that the Foundation Establishment uncle had fallen beneath the Demonic Sect fiend's strange talisman treasure while saving her. She had relied on a life-saving item bestowed by her master to launch a lucky counterattack, gravely wounding the enemy before hiding to recover.
As for Li Qingshan, she only said he had cleverly hidden with her. She never mentioned his strength or the details of the battle.
Although everyone thought the ordeal had been perilous, Ye Lingshuang's injuries were severe, and the Demonic Cult Talisman Treasure was no trivial matter, so they did not press for details.
Qingyang Market had suffered heavy losses and needed to be rebuilt and reorganized.
Li Qingshan's guard duty ended ahead of schedule as a result, and he returned to the Spring Autumn Sect with Ye Lingshuang and the others.
After returning to the sect, Li Qingshan discreetly asked about Zhang Hongxiu.
Knowing what worried him, Ye Lingshuang smiled faintly. "Don't worry! Zhang Hongxiu entered seclusion a few days ago to prepare for Foundation Establishment. She won't be coming out anytime soon—not for several months, at least!
"As for you, she may have forgotten about you already, so she probably won't come after you. If she really does, leave everything to me!"
"Thank you, Senior Sister Ye!"
Li Qingshan said gratefully.
He felt relieved, but immediately grew wary again.
She's in seclusion... That's good. At least I'm safe for now. But I can't let my guard down or put all my hopes in Ye Lingshuang.
Li Qingshan thought to himself. The pressure on him had not eased in the slightest. If she succeeds in Foundation Establishment and comes after me once she leaves seclusion, how will I stand against her? I have to find a way to grow stronger—even to... Foundation Establishment!
Foundation Establishment was the first great chasm separating mortals from immortals.
With the help of a Foundation Establishment Pill, one's chances of success increased dramatically.
However, Foundation Establishment Pills were exceedingly precious and strictly controlled by the sect. They were mainly distributed to elite inner disciples and cultivators with powerful backers.
As an outer disciple who was publicly known to be only at the sixth level of Qi Refining and already over a hundred years old, he had virtually no chance of obtaining one through normal channels.
After mulling it over for a long while, Li Qingshan went to Ye Lingshuang for help again.
"You want to go to the Alchemy Hall?"
Ye Lingshuang looked at him in surprise.
Although the Alchemy Hall was an important department, ordinary disciples who entered it mostly did menial work, such as processing medicinal ingredients and tending the furnaces.
"Yes, Senior Sister."
Li Qingshan replied respectfully, "I'm getting on in years, and my path of cultivation is difficult. I've developed some interest in the art of alchemy, and thought I might learn a little at the Alchemy Hall. Then, in the future, I could make some pills to prolong my life and strengthen my foundation. Besides, the Alchemy Hall is rich in spiritual energy, so it would also be a better place to recuperate."
His reasoning was perfectly sound, and entirely fitting for a hundred-year-old cultivator.
Ye Lingshuang recalled that he had obtained a "Foundation Establishment cultivator's legacy." Perhaps it had included some pill recipes that had sparked his interest. Helping him with this little favor was no trouble for her.
She nodded. "That works. The Alchemy Hall is indeed quieter. I know one of its elders, so I can arrange for you to go there as an alchemy apprentice and learn the art little by little.
"Keep cultivating. If you can break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, I'll find a way to make you an inner disciple!"
An alchemy apprentice?
Being able to learn alchemy was better than he could have hoped for.
After all, with the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd, he didn't need to worry about his chances of success. Even if he made a worthless pill, it would be an exceptional spirit pill to him.
More importantly, Ye Lingshuang had even made him a promise: once he broke through to the late stage of Qi Refining, she would help him become an inner disciple.
A higher status could only be a good thing.
At the very least, Zhang Hongxiu wouldn't dare deal with an inner disciple as she pleased.
Suppressing his excitement, he bowed. "Thank you, Senior Sister, for making this possible!"
Several days later, Li Qingshan was successfully transferred to the Alchemy Hall and became an alchemy apprentice.
The Alchemy Hall stood halfway up a spirit mountain.
The grand hall loomed magnificent beneath a vast formation barrier. Fire-attribute spiritual energy brimmed here, filling the air with heat.
The master of the Alchemy Hall was named Qi Lie. He was a Golden Core cultivator and an elder of the Spring Autumn Sect, but he was rarely in the hall.
The Alchemy Hall was managed by several vice masters at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
The Alchemy Hall's outer disciples were all alchemy apprentices. Only those who had truly completed their training and could independently refine first-tier, high-grade spirit pills were considered true alchemists and could become inner disciples.
Every alchemist in the Alchemy Hall held a high status. Some were people even the vice masters dared not offend.
After all, the Alchemy Hall was the Spring Autumn Sect's cash cow, refining large quantities of spirit pills for the sect every year.
News that Li Qingshan had transferred to the Alchemy Hall was like a pebble tossed into a still lake. It raised no towering waves, but sent ripples spreading far and wide.
After all, word of a hundred-year-old Heaven's Spiritual Root had long spread throughout the Spring Autumn Sect. Many had heard of it and lamented what a waste it was; even more had sneered and mocked him.
Many were waiting to see when this hundred-year-old Heaven's Spiritual Root would meet a dismal end.
But no one had expected the old man not only to survive, but to still be full of life—and now he had even transferred to the Alchemy Hall.
An old man over a hundred had actually come to be an alchemy apprentice? It had practically become a running joke at the Alchemy Hall.
"Have you heard? That old Li who used to burn trash at the Hall of Discarded Treasures somehow got lucky and transferred to our Alchemy Hall!"
"He's got a Heaven's Spiritual Root, at least. So what if he's a hundred? Maybe he really can set foot on the immortal path and become a Nascent Soul patriarch!"
"Hahaha! A Nascent Soul patriarch? He'll probably die of old age before he even breaks through to the late stage of Qi Refining!"
"Exactly! That old Li is just deluding himself. Plenty of people are waiting to see him make a fool of himself!"
"He's over a hundred and still wants to be an alchemy apprentice? Does he even know all the basic spirit herbs? Don't let him mistake a Purple Monkey Flower for foxtail grass and toss it into the furnace!"
"I heard he's very close to Senior Sister Ye. She arranged for him to come here!"
"So he's a favored connection?"
"Maybe Senior Sister Ye pitied him and found him a quiet place to wait for death. What a waste of resources..."
Li Qingshan could faintly hear talk like that every day.
His expression remained unchanged, as though the whispered comments and contemptuous looks—both open and concealed—had nothing to do with him. Each day, he went on time to the secluded courtyard and auxiliary pill room assigned to him, quietly carrying out the odd jobs he had been given.
He cleaned residue from the furnaces, sorted and processed basic medicinal ingredients, and hauled fuel.
His mind was as steady as a boulder.
A century of worldly trials had long since worn away his temper. Compared with the hardships he had endured, these few rumors were no more than a breeze brushing his face.
The problem, however, was that no alchemist was willing to take on an apprentice as old as him.
Alchemy required keen spiritual sense, precise control over spiritual power, and countless hours of practice and trial and error. No one believed a hundred-year-old man could have any potential left.
After all, the Alchemy Hall had at least eight hundred alchemy apprentices. Only the lucky ones got to apprentice under an alchemist.
Most were left with nothing but menial work.
Li Qingshan didn't lose heart. He completed his assigned work step by step, then devoted himself to cultivation.
He was already at the ninth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from breaking through to the great perfection of Qi Refining.
That step was crucial, and he was willing to be patient.
Just as Li Qingshan thought he would have to spend a whole year doing menial work here before looking for another way, a turning point appeared.
Before you continue