The Poor Die of Poverty, Longchuan Commandery!
It looks like I still need to borrow some outside help...
Qin Lu pondered in his heart...
Right now, if he wanted to break through to the Qi Condensation Realm, there were simply two methods: either grind it out through brute force, spending several years of effort to continue polishing his True Essence...
This amount of time could be long or short.
Long would be over ten years, or even several decades, while short would be a few years...
Clearly-
This was not what Qin Lu wanted.
If he could break through to the Qi Condensation Realm sooner, only then could he better strive for a higher realm in the future!
The Qi Condensation Realm only granted a lifespan of a hundred and fifty years.
A hundred and fifty years...
After all, it was still far too fleeting, so fleeting that it was merely a flash in the pan, a speck of floating duckweed drifting in the long river of time...
Qin Lu was already over thirty-three years old now.
If he were to spend several more years, or even decades of time polishing...
Qin Lu did not even dare to guarantee whether he could cultivate to the Qi Condensation perfection before the end of his lifespan and catch a glimpse of that Dao Foundation realm...
By that time, he would simply be gambling with his life!
And right now-
The second method was none other than spending a heavy amount of wealth to seek items for breaking through realms.
Just the ones Qin Lu knew of...
There was the Qi Condensation Pill, a mid-grade tier-2 spiritual pill, with a single pill costing a hundred spirit stones, used specifically for breaking through the Qi Condensation Realm...
It could add a solid thirty percent probability of breaking through!
Within the Longchuan Commandery Hundred Arts Bureau, there was precisely a Rank-2 Alchemist who could refine this pill.
However, its raw materials were scarce; every decade, not even a single cauldron was refined, and a single cauldron yielded anywhere from a few pills. Although the price was said to be a hundred spirit stones...
In reality, it was still quite a bit higher!
This was just like: the Yang-Strengthening Pill, which mortals relied upon to step into the Martial Realm.
While martial artists relied on: the Qi Condensation Pill, to step onto the immortal path, layer upon layer of exploitation...
The higher one went, the fiercer the competition would only become!
Calculating the time-
It would precisely be made public this very year and put on sale in Longchuan Prefecture City...
If he retreated to second best-
It would be to seek out one: tier-2 Origin-Nurturing Spiritual Object!
Such spiritual objects also possessed the effect of Qi Condensation and could assist in breaking through the Qi Condensation Realm, only that compared to the Qi Condensation Pill, their efficacy was much inferior...
They added a mere ten or twenty percent probability.
If the Qi Condensation Pill was hopeless, he would only be able to resort to this method...
Thinking of this-
Qin Lu proceeded to take stock of his finances.
Over the past few years, apart from cultivation expenses and a portion of rewards...
The annual imperial court salary, along with what was gained from the Black Dragon Chamber of Commerce, left him with sixty-seven spirit stones, as well as over a hundred low-grade spirit medicines...
To wish to purchase a Qi Condensation Pill, this was clearly not enough...
I can only find someone to borrow money from...
"The Zhang Household?"
"Unlikely. The Zhang Household also only has a single Qi Condensation Realm cultivator; I imagine they will also want to vie for this Qi Condensation Pill and will certainly not agree..."
"That senior Gongsun Zhe... our friendship is too shallow, and he might not even pay heed..."
Mulling it over and over-
Qin Lu discovered that borrowing money was also not very realistic.
Unless he borrowed from the Hundred Arts Office, applying to the imperial court for a Qi Condensation Pill and repaying it twofold in the future...
If he succeeded, a bit of debt could be paid off in a few years with the capability of a Rank-2 Alchemist, but if he failed, he would have to pay with his life!
He might not be able to pay off the imperial court's debt for the rest of his life...
Therefore-
Qin Lu was also unwilling to walk this path. He still had a lineage, and he could not take the lineage's fortune to gamble on this thirty percent probability...
Forget it...
I'll just use this wealth to seek out one or two better tier-2 Origin-Nurturing Spiritual Objects...
If I can trade for two items, the chances will still be a bit greater. At worst, it will just mean grinding it out bitterly for a few more years, which is still better than shouldering a massive debt and hindering the lineage's development...
With a decision made in his mind-
Qin Lu tidied up simply and then issued his orders...
This time, he would make the trip personally!
A few days later-in Qianlong Port.
Countless people gazed from afar, looking toward that slightly imposing figure...
Over the past few years, Qin Lu's name had been resounding like thunder!
It had long since penetrated the hearts of the people, and countless people held even greater reverence and adoration for him!
Ever since the Qin Family had appeared-
The former situation where spiritual pills were scarce had been greatly alleviated!
In the short span of a few years, at least thirty or forty new martial artist lineages had emerged, and some martial artists mixed in the pugilistic world had even established sects...
The entire Yingchuan County had undergone drastic changes because of this!
Quite a few old men who had stopped at the True Martial Three Realms successively profited, advancing to the fourth realm, thereby opening up mountains and rivers to promote the procreation of descendants...
There were even people from other places-
Vagabonding upstream along the Ying River, countless ships converged at the county government: Yingchuan Port!
Countless wealth converged, using this as a transit station.
Ultimately traveling upstream along the Ba River all the way to Bayi: Qianlong Port! Thus completing a complete set of water transport trade!
Among them-
Regardless of whether it was the Black Dragon Tea and Tobacco, the Calm-Spirit Incense, or various kinds of spiritual pills, they had all deeply won the hearts of the people, and their momentum even overshadowed quite a few veteran alchemists...
Even within Longchuan Prefecture-
Qin Lu could now be considered a person of some standing!
Furthermore, he frequently interacted with the commandery's Immortal Clans, leaving behind no small amount of friendly ties.
Among them, his relationship with the Zhang Household was the closest!
It was precisely in these past few years that the Zhang Household officially migrated into the commandery, and the imperial court bestowed the lineage title: Xuan River!
Henceforth changing their designation to: Xuan River Zhang Clan!
Bestowing upon: the Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, Zhang Xuan, the post of one of the commandery's Six Sovereigns, holding the office of "Chief Clerk", ranking as an eighth-grade official, a crucial local official!
The Xuan River Zhang Clan thereby established a foothold in Longchuan Prefecture.
At the same time-
County Magistrate Zhang was promoted to the commandery, posthumously appointed as: Official Scribe, ranking as a ninth-grade official.
Acting as the Chief Clerk's adjutant, serving in the capacity of a principal speaker, with authority and duties equivalent to: Chief Clerk, executing the commandery's clerical work and scheduling...
As for the post of Yingchuan County Magistrate-
It was held by a newly appointed scion of the Xuan River Zhang Clan...
Presenting the posture of treating Yingchuan County as their back garden, where on the surface, even the Qin Family had to obey the Zhang Clan's dispatch...
Secretly-
The Zhang Household took sixty percent, the Qin Family took thirty percent, and the remaining ten percent was what the other small lineages shared among themselves...
Right at this moment-
A crowd of Black-Armored Army soldiers arrived at the port in separate batches, dispersing the crowds and maintaining order at the port...
When everything was ready...
A giant treasure ship, ten zhang long and three zhang wide, slowly departed from the port. Its hull was pitch-black throughout, and on the huge sail, a large Qin character displayed its identity!
There were even ten flat-bottomed craft measuring several zhang accompanying it...
Hundreds of accompanying Black-Armored Army soldiers, over twenty low-realm martial artists kept company, and several experts above the True Martial Four Realms escorted and followed along!
The Black Dragon Chamber of Commerce poured out in full force at this moment!
After a lapse of several years-
Qin Lu was once again heading south in person!
And this time, his imposing momentum surpassed the past, crossing Yingchuan County along the Ying River...
Going straight to the hinterland of Longchuan Prefecture, to the new city built by the Xuan River Zhang Clan: Xuan City, Yunchuan Port!
Afterwards, shifting to land transport to arrive at: Longchuan Prefecture City!
Along the way passing through prosperous lands-
Qin Lu did not mind doing a bit of business on the side as he went.
Who was to say that by doing business along the way, he wouldn't gather enough money for the Qi Condensation Pill?
If this trip to break through and achieve Qi Condensation went smoothly...
Then this action by his Qin Family would be regarded as laying out deployments in the commandery in advance, letting outsiders see just how flourishing his Qin Family was nowadays!
Killing the chicken to scare the monkey, making a great show of force-
To avoid arousing jealousy and having his Qin Family treated like a soft persimmon...