Wood Spirit Peak.
Ever since Zheng Huaiyuan broke through to Nascent Soul, congratulations had rung endlessly in his ears. Even the Seventh Elder had come.
"I heard that you were able to break through to Nascent Soul because you previously refined Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pills, fellow Daoist?"
Qi Yue posed the question, and the hall immediately fell silent. A group of Golden Core Peak cultivators looked at Zheng Huaiyuan with burning gazes.
In the Azure Feather Dao Sect, only those who made major contributions to the sect would be granted a Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill.
Not everyone could break through to Nascent Soul through their own strength, so demand for Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pills was high.
There were few Alchemists in the Azure Feather Dao Sect who could refine Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pills, and he was an outer sect elder at that. If they gathered all the ingredients for a Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill in the future, could they not commission Zheng Huaiyuan to refine it?
"That's right. I refined three at the time and used one during my breakthrough. I have two left."
Zheng Huaiyuan smiled faintly and took out the two remaining Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pills.
At once, every Golden Core cultivator in the hall looked at the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pills in Zheng Huaiyuan's hand. Had the Seventh Elder not still been there, many would probably have already offered to buy them.
Golden Core cultivators could live for at most eight hundred years. After breaking through to Nascent Soul, their lifespan reached two thousand years.
Many people in the hall were already over six hundred years old. Some had even remained at Golden Core Peak for several hundred years, but without confidence in breaking through to Nascent Soul, they could only put it off.
"You may not be aware of this, fellow Daoist Zheng, but the Sect Master recently ordered preferential treatment for the sect's grandmaster Alchemists. If you are willing to offer the sect a Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill, you can immediately obtain a position as an inner sect elder."
A month earlier, Ling Ziling had ordered improvements to the treatment and status of the sect's Alchemists, relaxing many rules for them.
"Of course I'm willing!"
Zheng Huaiyuan agreed on the spot. Inner and outer sect elders received vastly different treatment. Outer sect elders had to spend several times as many contribution points to exchange for many precious medicinal ingredients, and some were not available to them at all.
Moreover, there were quite a few grandmaster Alchemists in the inner sect. If he could enter it, Zheng Huaiyuan's Pill Refining Technique would improve rapidly as well.
Originally, Zheng Huaiyuan would have needed at least another hundred years to reach the Nascent Soul Middle Stage before he could enter the inner sect. Now, all it took was one Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill. How could he refuse?
Hearing Qi Yue's words, the Golden Core cultivators in the hall looked at Zheng Huaiyuan with an added trace of envy. Unfortunately, alchemy required talent. The Spirit Root requirement alone shut most people out.
"Good, good, good. Do you wish to join Pill Cloud Peak, fellow Daoist? Would you prefer to choose a peak yourself, or have this one moved over?"
Qi Yue put away the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill and asked kindly.
Of the inner sect's nine great peaks, Pill Cloud Peak was where Alchemists gathered. The Ninth Elder on Pill Cloud Peak was even rumored to be the Azure Feather Dao Sect's foremost Alchemist. Naturally, Zheng Huaiyuan wanted to join Pill Cloud Peak.
"I naturally wish to join Pill Cloud Peak. I have lived on Wood Spirit Peak for over a hundred years, so I ask that you move this peak to Pill Cloud Peak, Seventh Elder."
Zheng Huaiyuan cupped his fists in salute. Wood Spirit Peak also held many medicinal fields, which he naturally could not abandon.
Qi Yue went outside to make preparations, leaving the hall to the Golden Core cultivators.
Once Qi Yue left, a large crowd of Golden Core cultivators gathered around, hoping to purchase the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill in Zheng Huaiyuan's possession.
In the end, Mo Qi's master offered the highest price and obtained the Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill.
Sure enough, Alchemists were all wealthy. The Golden Core cultivators could only gaze at the vast ocean and sigh.
However, quite a few had also gathered the ingredients for Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pills and wanted to ask Zheng Huaiyuan to refine them. Naturally, promises of benefits were unavoidable.
The fee alone for commissioning an inner sect grandmaster Alchemist to refine a Nascent Soul Breakthrough Pill was enough to make many veteran Golden Core cultivators wince.
Zheng Huaiyuan had only just broken through to Nascent Soul. Out of regard for their past ties as fellow outer sect elders, his fees were naturally low.
In the end, both host and guests were delighted.
Qi Yue had finished his preparations. Everyone on Wood Spirit Peak left and hovered in the air, waiting for him.
"Rise!"
Holding a token, Qi Yue shouted, and the whole of Wood Spirit Peak shook.
Wood Spirit Peak's mountain-guarding formation immediately activated, protecting the entire peak. Beneath it lay another, deeper layer of formations, which lifted Wood Spirit Peak directly.
This was the mountain-guarding formation of the entire Azure Feather Dao Sect. Through his authority as the Seventh Elder, Qi Yue could exercise some control over the formation, such as moving mountains.
"Hiss!"
Seeing Wood Spirit Peak fly straight into the air, Ye Xuan sucked in a breath of cold air and resolved to study formations properly in the future.
"Let's go."
Zheng Huaiyuan swept his hand, carrying Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe with him as he followed Qi Yue toward the inner sect.
On the ground, countless people raised their heads, pointing at Wood Spirit Peak as it flew through the air, intensely curious.
At the boundary between the Azure Feather Dao Sect's inner and outer sects, Ye Xuan could see Wood Spirit Peak pass through a thin membrane and then merge into the inner sect.
"That over there is Azure Feather Peak."
Zheng Huaiyuan pointed at the tallest peak in the distance.
Azure Feather Peak stood over ten thousand zhang tall. The entire mountain was shrouded in clouds and mist, with streaks of flying light appearing within them and immortal cranes calling together from time to time. It truly had the feel of an immortal abode.
Pill Cloud Peak lay west of Azure Feather Peak and was slightly shorter. Dozens of smaller peaks also surrounded it.
Rumble!
Qi Yue set Wood Spirit Peak down on the outskirts of Pill Cloud Peak and formed a Method Formula with his hands. Wood Spirit Peak swelled with the wind, rising several thousand zhang in an instant and growing to ten times its original size. Its Spiritual Qi also became more abundant.
"You two head down first. I'll accompany the Seventh Elder to visit the Ninth Elder."
After giving them these instructions, Zheng Huaiyuan followed Qi Yue toward Pill Cloud Peak.
Ye Xuan and Ji Fenghe descended from the air and stood on Wood Spirit Peak.
Everything around them looked somewhat familiar, yet somewhat strange.
Wood Spirit Peak was now enormous, with large stretches of empty land between its spirit fields.
"Wood Spirit Peak has grown so big. We'll have plenty of spirit fields to tend from now on."
Ji Fenghe wore a mournful expression, but once he sensed the Spiritual Qi on Wood Spirit Peak, his face immediately broke into a smile.
The concentration of Spiritual Qi on Wood Spirit Peak was now at least five times what it had been before. Their cultivation speed would increase greatly.
"But we're still outer disciples. Thanks to Master, we've entered the inner sect early, but there are still plenty of places here we can't visit."
After wandering around the mountain, Ji Fenghe shifted his gaze to Pill Cloud Peak, towering in the distance.
They were still wearing the blue robes of outer disciples. Without Zheng Huaiyuan accompanying them, they could not enter Pill Cloud Peak at all.
"That's fine too. Since we're outer disciples, at least we won't have to compete with a bunch of inner disciples in the selection for the Spirit Medicine Realm."
Ye Xuan offered some comfort. With such a vast gap in resources, he suspected that Ji Fenghe would very likely be eliminated if he participated in the inner sect's selection.
"That's true. Once we return from the Spirit Medicine Realm, we can become inner disciples. It's only a few months away."
Ji Fenghe thought it over and felt that Ye Xuan was right. He cast a somewhat envious glance at the white-robed inner disciples flying back and forth through the air, then began planning how to cultivate medicinal fields on Wood Spirit Peak's empty land.