Building the Peach Blossom Pavilion

After successfully reaching Foundation Establishment, Liu Shihao did not come out to meet everyone. Instead, after informing them of his success, he remained in seclusion to consolidate his cultivation.

Once the Liu Household cultivators confirmed that Liu Shihao had successfully reached Foundation Establishment, they began shifting their attention to the opening of the Peach Blossom Pavilion.

After several months of effort by Grand Elder Liu Qiusheng and the other senior members of the lineage, the site for the Peach Blossom Pavilion had been selected, and construction and stock preparations began!

The Purple Forest Market branch of the Peach Blossom Pavilion stood on a relatively secluded street in the market, surrounded by rogue cultivators at Qi Refinement. The property had originally been a general store and covered three mu, with a shop in front and a courtyard behind. The rear courtyard had enough rooms to accommodate more than a dozen lineage members living and cultivating there.

With Liu Qiuju's help, they purchased it from a rogue cultivator at Foundation Establishment for fifty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones. The shop's location was not particularly good, but it could meet the Liu Household's current needs. From then on, the Liu Lineage had a foothold in the Purple Forest Market.

Since both the general store and the houses in the rear courtyard were rather dilapidated, the lineage's senior members planned to tear them all down and rebuild.

Besides building the Peach Blossom Pavilion, they also needed to prepare sufficient stock.

The Peach Blossom Pavilion would mainly sell the various spiritual goods needed by Qi Refinement cultivators, while also purchasing all kinds of spiritual goods from cultivators.

At present, however, the Liu Lineage could supply only a small range of spiritual goods, such as Spirit Peaches, Peach Blossom Brew, and spirit rice, along with some pills and talismans produced by its members. They still needed to send people to purchase a batch of spiritual goods and gradually establish reliable supply channels.

To this end, Grand Elder Liu Qiusheng assigned lineage members without cultivation-related crafting skills to build the Peach Blossom Pavilion, while those with a gift for words were sent to purchase various spiritual goods.

At the same time, he sent people to buy materials for alchemy and talisman making, and assigned Liu Changxu and the others with cultivation-related crafting skills to produce pills and talismans.

As a lower-grade first-tier alchemist and an upper-grade first-tier talisman maker, Liu Changxu was placed in charge of this work.

From then on, Liu Changxu worked day and night refining pills and making talismans.

To speed up production while also training a fellow lineage member, Liu Changxu took his fifteenth uncle, Liu Shichao, who wanted to learn alchemy and talisman making, as his assistant. Liu Shichao helped him prepare the materials, while Liu Changxu instructed him in both crafts.

His fifteenth uncle, Liu Shichao, was only thirty-seven that year. He had four spiritual roots-fire, wood, earth, and metal-and poor aptitude, but he was steady and dependable. He had five wives and concubines and eleven children, five of whom had already been found to possess spiritual roots.

With so many wives, concubines, and children, his household needed a great many spiritual goods for cultivation. This had always left Liu Shichao short of cultivation resources for himself, slowing his progress. Only after receiving a large sum of spirit stones from the opportunity Liu Changxu had provided did he gain enough pills to support his breakthrough to the sixth level of Qi Refinement.

Liu Changxu understood his fifteenth uncle's circumstances and had a very favorable impression of him, so he decided to help him master alchemy and talisman making as quickly as possible.

From then on, uncle and nephew threw themselves into the busy work of refining pills and making talismans.

Liu Changxu was already a lower-grade first-tier alchemist and planned to use this opportunity to advance to middle-grade first-tier alchemist.

His success rate in refining lower-grade first-tier Qi Refinement Pills had reached forty percent, but that level was still insufficient to support an attempt at becoming a middle-grade first-tier alchemist.

Thus, Liu Changxu refined Qi Refinement Pills in large quantities. With ample materials available, his success rate soon rose steadily: forty percent, fifty percent, sixty percent, seventy percent. Only when it reached eighty percent did he stop refining Qi Refinement Pills.

Alchemy was extremely taxing on both physical stamina and mental energy. During his breaks, Liu Changxu began instructing his fifteenth uncle, Liu Shichao, in refining Qi Refinement Pills.

Although Liu Shichao had no great talent for alchemy, he was steady by nature. Whenever he encountered a problem, he put aside his pride as an elder and humbly sought Liu Changxu's advice!

After ruining more than thirty batches of Qi Refinement Pills, he finally succeeded in producing pills that met the required standard.

Liu Changxu also successfully refined Middle-Grade First-Tier Qi-Gathering Pills, becoming a middle-grade first-tier alchemist. His success rate in refining Qi-Gathering Pills continued to rise.

While refining pills, Liu Changxu did not abandon talisman making.

He could already make upper-grade first-tier Fireball Talismans, but his success rate was low, at only twenty to thirty percent.

Once he had sufficient talisman-making materials, Liu Changxu produced a batch of middle-grade first-tier talismans before beginning to make upper-grade first-tier Fireball Talismans in large quantities. His success rate rose steadily: forty percent, fifty percent, sixty percent... eighty percent!

Liu Changxu also learned to make Upper-Grade First-Tier Wood Vine Talismans, as well as upper-grade first-tier Wood Shield Talismans, Cloud Mist Talismans, Fire Rain Talismans, Swift Movement Talismans, Concealment Talismans, and more!

Under Liu Changxu's guidance, his fifteenth uncle, Liu Shichao, also soon became a lower-grade first-tier talisman maker!

Grand Elder Liu Qiusheng greatly praised Liu Changxu's efforts.

After more than a month of frenzied pill refining and talisman making, they finally produced enough pills and talismans to sell, just in time for the opening.

By then, construction of the Peach Blossom Pavilion had also been completed through the efforts of the Liu Household cultivators.

The newly built Peach Blossom Pavilion was a five-story building, five zhang tall, with its main structure built from middle-grade first-tier gold crystal stone. Together with the houses in the rear courtyard, it cost fifteen thousand spirit stones.

Once Liu Shihao had stabilized his Foundation Establishment cultivation, he emerged from seclusion.

Liu Changxu was overwhelmed with excitement when he saw his father emerge!

Crying out, "Father!" he threw his arms tightly around him.

While his father was attempting his Foundation Establishment breakthrough, Liu Changxu had fervently hoped he would succeed, but he could not help secretly worrying. After all, there were many cases of cultivators failing at Foundation Establishment, their bodies perishing and their path ending. If his father had failed and died, he would not have known how to face it! Despite already being a late Qi Refinement cultivator, Liu Changxu was still only a seventeen-year-old boy.

So when he saw his father emerge from seclusion, he could not help embracing him!

Liu Shihao was also delighted to see that his son had broken through to late Qi Refinement!

He patted Liu Changxu on the shoulder and said, "My son, your breakthrough to late Qi Refinement truly makes your father happy!"

Father and son faced one another, both beaming with happiness!