Rewards

After arriving in Qinghe Town, Liu Yuanchen did not rush to claim credit. Instead, he returned to his residence.

Mo Lianshan would naturally handle the distribution of merits.

This time, they had killed four rogue cultivators.

All four were at the Ninth Qi-Nourishing Layer. They must have had quite a few valuable possessions on them.

Upon returning to his temporary residence, Liu Yuanchen took out the ape-man's storage pouch.

The storage pouch looked utterly ordinary, refined from black beast hide.

When his Divine Sense entered the storage pouch, he found that its interior space had a diameter of ten zhang, comparable to a warehouse.

Unfortunately, even with a storage pouch like this, however much weight it contained was how much it weighed overall.

With Liu Yuanchen's current physical strength, carrying a storage pouch weighing three to five hundred jin would not affect him too much.

If it became any heavier, though, it would affect his speed.

The ape-man's storage pouch was quite good, and his wealth was considerable as well.

There were over three thousand Spirit Stones in the storage pouch alone.

There were also pills, talismans, and the like.

They were all first-tier items, and Liu Yuanchen had no use for them.

Aside from those, there were several sealed jars, a square jade box, and two books made of beast hide.

The ape-man had been quite powerful, so Liu Yuanchen attached great importance to the two beast-hide books.

Opening one of them, he saw the three words "Beast God Transformation" written on the cover.

What followed was the general outline of the inheritance.

According to its records, the Beast God Transformation was a cultivation technique specifically intended for Half-Demons.

In fact, this technique had some connection to the Myriad Beasts Scripture Liu Yuanchen cultivated.

The Beast God Transformation had been created by using a fragment of the Myriad Beasts Scripture as its foundation and combining it with certain inheritances of the Demon Race.

The Beast God Transformation did not cultivate Astral Force. It merely drew upon the Myriad Beasts Scripture's methods of comprehending the essence of demon beasts and tempering the body.

True members of the Demon Race cultivated through their own bloodline inheritances. They had no need to create any additional cultivation techniques.

Half-Demons, however, had impure bloodlines and chaotic inheritances, making it impossible for them to cultivate anything worthwhile.

Half-Demons did not fully possess the bloodlines, physical structures, or even innate essence of demon beasts.

That was why they had drawn upon Human Race cultivation techniques and combined them with Demon Race inheritances to create something like this.

The Beast God Transformation refined Demon Race essence blood into the body, gradually altering the body's structure through various methods and making it more akin to the Demon Race. In doing so, it compensated for the Half-Demons' extremely low potential.

As their cultivation realms rose, Half-Demons would become increasingly similar to true members of the Demon Race.

How far a cultivator could progress depended primarily on what kind of essence blood they refined.

The more extraordinary the essence blood, the stronger the cultivator's realm and potential would become.

Yet among the Demon Race, Half-Demons held extremely low status and were not particularly strong.

If they wanted to rise through the Beast God Transformation, they had to obtain the bloodline of a high-level demon beast of the same type.

But high-level demon beasts possessed considerable status and formidable strength.

How could Half-Demons possibly obtain their essence blood so easily?

For example, a Half-Demon with the bloodline of a low-level dragon-type demon beast would be best served by refining True Dragon Essence Blood when cultivating the Beast God Transformation.

As long as there was enough essence blood, their potential could approach that of a True Dragon.

In reality, leaving aside True Dragons, even Flood Dragons held extremely high status among the Demon Race. They were far beyond the reach of Half-Demons.

If one used the bloodline of low-level Demon Race creatures such as Spirit Serpents, their bloodline and body would only develop in the direction of a Spirit Serpent.

But Spirit Serpent bloodlines were too lowly, and their innate potential was poor to begin with.

After cultivating with immense hardship until one nearly became a pure-blooded member of the Demon Race, only to turn into a low-level demon, it would have been better not to cultivate at all.

In short, the Beast God Transformation was a cultivation technique with tremendous potential but little practical use.

He then flipped through the other beast-hide book. Its contents formed a set with the Beast God Transformation, containing supporting spells and body-tempering secret arts for it.

Afterward, he took out a jar over a foot tall. Once he opened it, a dense bloody stench wafted out.

Inside the jar was a thick, crimson liquid containing considerable spiritual power. It was likely demon beast essence blood.

He opened several more jars, all of which contained essence blood as well.

There were indeed certain pills in Alchemy Art that used demon beast essence blood as ingredients.

However, essence blood used for pill refinement needed to be carefully processed.

Something stored so casually was utterly unusable.

After resealing the jars, Liu Yuanchen turned his gaze to the jade box.

The jade box was also a magical artifact, primarily used to preserve the medicinal properties of spiritual items.

Opening the jade box, he saw a fresh, emerald-green peach inside, about the size of an adult's fist.

The peach contained dense water spiritual power and wood spiritual power. Its emerald skin was nearly transparent, while rippling liquid light within seemed ready to overflow.

As a Spirit Apothecary, he naturally recognized the peach.

This peach was called an Azurewater Spirit Peach, a lower-grade second-tier spirit plant.

It contained abundant water and wood spiritual power. For Qi-Nourishing Realm cultivators of water and wood attributes, eating an Azurewater Spirit Peach would provide considerable benefits to cultivation.

Moreover, this peach could improve one's vitality to some extent and provide a certain degree of assistance in body tempering.

The peach wood was also quite extraordinary and made for decent artifact-refining material.

Of course, Liu Yuanchen would not eat the peach. Who knew what it had gone through in the ape-man's hands?

However, the peach was already ripe, and its pit could certainly be planted.

The next time he went to the Bluestone Mountain Spirit Realm, he would plant the peach pit there.

He then took out the spiked club he had seized from the ape-man and examined it carefully.

This spiked club was indeed extraordinary. Its shaft had been refined from upper-grade first-tier spirit wood, while its head was made from iron essence.

So-called iron essence was Mystic Iron Essence.

It was made by selecting large pieces of mystic iron, repeatedly hammering them, then using secret techniques to gather the essence within the mystic iron.

The mystic iron left behind after losing its essence became scrap iron.

Once the scrap iron was removed, what remained was Mystic Iron Essence.

With the skill of the Azure Elixir Sect's Artifact Refining Hall, one hundred jin of mystic iron could be hammered into roughly one jin of Mystic Iron Essence, and the labor involved was immense.

Therefore, Mystic Iron Essence was extremely valuable and was generally used to refine second-tier magical artifacts.

Yet the refiner of this spiked club had clearly lacked skill.

He had used materials meant for a second-tier magical artifact to create only an upper-grade first-tier magical artifact.

Moreover, the spiked club was quite heavy, weighing over one hundred jin.

When skill fell short, materials made up the difference. It truly had the style of the Azure Elixir Sect's artifact refining.

A single spiked club had used over one hundred jin of Mystic Iron Essence.

The materials alone had to be worth four or five hundred Spirit Stones.

At that price, one could buy a mid-grade second-tier magical artifact.

It had to be said that the Artifact Refining Master who made this spiked club was truly a genius.

All the ape-man's belongings combined were probably worth nearly four thousand Spirit Stones.

It was clear that he had made thorough preparations to break through to the Sea of Qi Realm.

The storage pouches of the other three rogue cultivators contained nothing particularly valuable.

There were only some basic rogue cultivator techniques, along with pills, talismans, and the like. Their magical artifacts were ordinary as well.

The combined wealth of the three did not even amount to two thousand Spirit Stones.

Five days later, Mo Lianshan sent word for him to visit the Azure Elixir Pavilion, saying that the results of the merit assessment and rewards had arrived.

Liu Yuanchen hurried to the Mission Office of the Azure Elixir Pavilion and saw Mo Lianshan, his son, and Hu Shanren inside the room.

After exchanging greetings, Hu Shanren smiled. "Yuan Chen is here as well, so I'll explain the rewards from above.

"This time, the rogue cultivators lay in ambush at Jintong Mountain and plotted against the mine.

"To protect the mine, we fought the rogue cultivators to the death.

"In the end, we preserved the mine and rendered great merit."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuanchen could not help grumbling inwardly. They only reported the good news and hid the bad. The intelligence had clearly been incomplete, and we walked right into their trap.

Yet those above claimed that they had fought the rogue cultivators to the death in order to protect the mine.

Hu Shanren continued, "Liu Yuanchen captured a rogue cultivator spy alive and rendered great merit by obtaining intelligence.

"Afterward, you killed a rogue cultivator and also destroyed a resentful soul within the Hundred-Soul Banner of a Sea of Qi rogue cultivator.

"The Sect Master personally approved your promotion to a personal disciple.

"If you can cultivate to the Qi-Nourishing Peak before the age of twenty-five, the sect will sell you one auxiliary pill for breaking through to the Sea of Qi Realm when you attempt your breakthrough."

This personal disciple status merely meant that his standing within the sect was comparable to that of an elder's personal disciple. It did not mean that he had truly become the personal disciple of any elder.

This title held little value for Liu Yuanchen.

However, the qualification to purchase an auxiliary pill was rather enticing.

Auxiliary pills for breaking through to the Sea of Qi Realm were not something anyone could buy merely because they had Spirit Stones. Eligibility was also required.

Elders with real authority could purchase one every five years, while idle-position elders could purchase one every ten years.

As for stewards, they could only purchase one every thirty years. Personal disciples had the same privileges as stewards.

Inner disciples and outer disciples, meanwhile, were merely workers in the sect's eyes and had no such qualification at all.

Furthermore, these pills were in greater demand than supply.

Having the qualification to purchase one did not mean one would definitely be able to buy one.

A group of elders were waiting above them, leaving stewards with almost no chance to obtain one.

Yet Liu Yuanchen's reward was that, as long as he reached the Peak Qi-Nourishing Realm before the age of twenty-five, the sect would definitely sell him a pill.

This differed from other purchasing qualifications. He would not need to compete for it.

Liu Yuanchen had originally planned to grow spirit herbs himself in the Bluestone Mountain Spirit Realm, wait ten or twenty years, then refine a Meridian-Fixing Pill himself.

Cultivators of the Earth Immortal Path had longer lifespans than cultivators of the Qi Refinement Path. Breaking through a few years later would not have much impact.

Now that there was a better opportunity, he naturally could not let it pass.

He was only twenty years old now, so he still had five years.

As for his cultivation, it had already been half a year since he broke through to the Seventh Qi-Nourishing Layer.

As long as he put a little more effort into cultivation, breaking through to the Eighth Qi-Nourishing Layer would take only two or three months.

Reaching the Peak Qi-Nourishing Realm before the age of twenty-five would be effortless.

Hu Shanren took out a silver token. "Yuan Chen, this is the personal disciple token newly issued by the Elixir Hall."

Liu Yuanchen accepted the token and cupped his hands. "Thank you both for your support, Elders."

Hu Shanren took out another silver token. "In this battle, Mo Linghai drew away more than ten Qi-Nourishing Realm rogue cultivators, killed three, and severely wounded one.

"The First Elder approved your promotion to a personal disciple.

"Like Yuan Chen, if you can cultivate to the Qi-Nourishing Peak before the age of twenty-five, the sect may give you priority in purchasing one auxiliary pill for breaking through to the Sea of Qi Realm."

Mo Linghai's face lit up with joy as he accepted the token. "Thank you, Hall Master Hu."

He should not even be seventeen yet, and he was already at the Seventh Qi-Nourishing Layer.

The Qi-Nourishing Peak was simply a step beyond the Ninth Qi-Nourishing Layer. In essence, it was still the Ninth Qi-Nourishing Layer, only with the qualification to break through to the Sea of Qi Realm.

With a Grade-B Mid-Grade Immortal Seed, advancing fewer than three minor realms in eight years would be as easy as turning one's hand.

The reason the sect placed such emphasis on reaching the Qi-Nourishing Peak before twenty-five was because it hoped its disciples could break through to the Sea of Qi Realm before the age of thirty.

If one merely wanted to break through to the Sea of Qi Realm, then with auxiliary pills, there was still a decent chance of success even at seventy or eighty.

However, those who broke through to the Sea of Qi Realm before thirty would have a greater chance of breaking through to the Condensed Origin Realm later.

More than seventy percent of cultivators who could break through to the Condensed Origin Realm had entered the Sea of Qi Realm before the age of thirty.

Of the remaining thirty percent of Condensed Origin Realm cultivators, the overwhelming majority had broken through to the Sea of Qi Realm before the age of forty.

There were also cultivators who broke through to the Sea of Qi Realm relatively late and still advanced further into the Condensed Origin Realm, but they were exceedingly rare.

A cultivator's cultivation speed was affected not only by talent and cultivation techniques, but also by age.

A cultivator's life could be divided into three stages.

The first third of one's lifespan was the growth period. During this stage, a cultivator's cultivation speed was extremely fast.

Cultivators with above-average talent did not need spiritual items at all to break through minor realms.

The second third of one's lifespan was the stable period. During this stage, cultivation speed gradually declined to around one-quarter of that during the growth period.

When breaking through minor realms, pills were usually needed for assistance.

Even with auxiliary pills, the success rate of breaking through major realms would decline slightly.

The final third of one's lifespan was the decline period. During this stage, the body aged and withered, potential was nearly exhausted, and cultivation would slowly decline as well.

Even through diligent cultivation and bitter training, one could only ensure that their cultivation did not fall.

To improve one's cultivation, one needed all kinds of pill assistance.

Breaking through even a minor realm required paying an enormous price.

Without heavenly treasures, it was almost impossible to break through a major realm.

For Qi-Nourishing Realm cultivators, the growth period lasted until before the age of forty. For Sea of Qi Realm cultivators, it lasted until before the age of eighty.

The earlier one broke through, the longer the growth period left for the next realm, and the greater the chance of advancing further.

Therefore, any faction with the means would do its best to have its talented disciples break through to the Sea of Qi Realm before the age of thirty.

Of course, their foundations had to be solid.

That was why disciples were required to cultivate to the Peak Qi-Nourishing Realm before the age of twenty-five, leaving five years to accumulate gradually.

Seeing that both of them were delighted, Hu Shanren sighed. "This time, when we wiped out the rogue cultivators' nest at Jintong Mountain, our side also suffered considerable losses. More than ten disciples were killed."

Seeing his sorrow, Mo Lianshan offered a few words of comfort.

The rogue cultivators had dared to set an ambush at Jintong Mountain because they had accurately judged that Jintong Mountain was short on manpower.

This was a flaw. After pondering for a long while, Liu Yuanchen decided to point it out.

"This time, the rogue cultivators set an ambush at Jintong Mountain. If we had not obtained intelligence by chance, I fear the Jintong Mountain mine would have been in danger as well."

Although Qinghe Town stood at the easternmost edge of the sect's territory, evil cultivators did not dare openly attack the sect's heartland.

However, it was still very possible for them to send a small number of experts to infiltrate the rear and cause destruction.

If those evil cultivators dared to set an ambush at Jintong Mountain this time, they might penetrate even deeper into the sect's heartland next time.

If the sect did not strengthen the defenses of the Jintong Mountain mine, the rear might become unstable."

Hu Shanren chuckled softly. "Martial Nephew Yuan Chen truly has remarkable insight. The sect's higher-ups have also recognized the value of Jintong Mountain.

Jintong Mountain is not far from Qinghe Town and is relatively close to the border. With an entire defensive system supporting it, it forms a mutually supporting position with Qinghe Town.

As long as more personnel are stationed there, the sect's heartland can be fully protected."

"The sect has already transferred several Sea of Qi Realm cultivators there, along with fifty or sixty Qi-Nourishing Realm cultivators.

If circumstances change in the future, another conscription order will be issued to recruit sect disciples and cultivators from families under the sect's jurisdiction to guard Jintong Mountain."