Scarlet Gold Spirit Needle, Breaking Condensing Qi!

"Junior Qin Lu, pays respects to Senior, pays respects to Senior Gongsun..."

"As Senior said, Junior has come here precisely to take root in the bazaar, establish a firm footing, and thus seek out a storefront."

"If there is anything needed, Junior will definitely do his utmost to gather it all."

"Hehe~"

"This is easily done..."

Wu Yanmian half-supported Qin Lu to stand, not putting on any senior airs, and was very amiable.

Following that--

A jade slip landed in Qin Lu's hand.

Strikingly, it was a contract document stamped with the official seal of the Hundred Arts Office Official!

"These years, the targets assigned by the imperial court have been fulfilled quite well by you..."

"According to the rules, for serving the imperial court loyally for three years, a Yellow-grade Attendant may obtain the right to use a shop in the nearby Prefecture and county bazaars..."

"If he dies and his descendants have no one to succeed him, the shop will automatically be reclaimed."

"Of course, you can also choose to buy out the title deed or lease it long-term..."

"Buying it out is three hundred spirit stones, while leasing it is ten spirit stones annually. Little Friend Qin may make his own choice regarding these matters in the future."

Qin Lu was stunned--

He had not expected that serving the imperial court would come with such perks!

"You need not be surprised."

"In fact, not all Hundred Arts Office cultivators have this kind of perk."

"Do you know that in Longchuan Prefecture, the total number of people who can practice the Four Great Immortal Arts adds up to less than fifty..."

"As for Longchuan Prefecture and its twenty-odd subordinate county offices."

"The number of martial artists therein, added together, is no less than thirty thousand!"

"Fewer than fifty people must meet the needs of tens of thousands, from which one can imagine the gold content of Hundred Arts Office cultivators..."

"To be precise, it is the Hundred Arts Office cultivators of the Four Great Immortal Arts versus those without them."

Having said this--

Wu Yanmian pointed again at Gongsun Zhe, saying:

"I forgot to make introductions. This old man bears the single surname Wu, given name: Yanmian, and is the director of the Longchuan Commandery Hundred Arts Bureau branch..."

"I am also a Xuan-grade Attendant, and this is Gongsun Zhe, whom I suppose Little Friend is already familiar with."

"Secondly, the Hundred Arts Office has two other Xuan-grade Attendants: one is a master of talismans, and the other specializes in formations. Basically, every prefecture has more or less this configuration..."

"In the future, everyone will be colleagues, and we Four Arts cultivators naturally ought to stick together as one."

"According to custom..."

"As fellow alchemists, when a new member joins, this old man ought to send a welcoming gift."

"However, right now, this old man has nothing decent to take out, so I shall let Fellow Daoist Gongsun send you a modest gift on my behalf..."

"How about it, Old Zhe?"

Hearing this--

Gongsun Zhe nodded slightly; his old partner had already spoken, so he naturally would not reject his face...

"This old man can help you refine one item, but as for the materials, this old man will not shell out for them. I only act for you once, and as for what grade it is refined into, this old man makes no guarantees."

"That naturally accords with what Senior Gongsun said."

"However, right now, Junior happens to have one item here. I wonder if Senior might be able to refine it?"

Qin Lu cupped his fists and took out the Cyan Needle Law Artifact.

Then, he also took out the tail sting of the Red Gold Bee. The spiritual light of both items flickered, and they were indeed fine products.

"Are you thinking of refining these two items together into one?"

"Or should we add a few more materials and refine them into a set of mother-and-child needles?"

Gongsun Zhe raised a hand, guiding both items before him.

Even though the grade of this Cyan Needle Law Artifact was a bit low, the refining materials were passable. Smelting it down and combining it with the bee sting in a single refinement...

It could indeed become an extraordinary treasure!

With a bit of luck, it could become a Second-Tier Law Artifact; with a bit less, it could be refined into a First-Tier Superior-Grade.

"Junior is willing to have them combined and refined!"

"I ask Senior to make a move, and in the future Junior will definitely repay this with courtesy!"

Seeing that Qin Lu's mind was made up.

Gongsun Zhe smiled frankly and put the items away.

"Alright!"

"Three days later, just send someone to retrieve them."

With that--

Gongsun Zhe took the lead in leaving the table. Afterwards, Qin Lu conversed with Wu Yanmian for a long time. Since both were alchemists, they naturally had plenty to talk about...

After Qin Lu consulted him on some doubts regarding the Dao of Alchemy, he took his leave and departed.

A few days later--

In Longchuan Bazaar, at the very end of East Street, an old shop reopened...

Its name was: Old Alchemy Pavilion!

Qin Lu had pondered this name for a long time. The inspiration came from his past life: Old Tavern, and he hoped that Old Alchemy Pavilion could likewise...

Become a place to go and a memory for the lowest-tier cultivators.

For the sake of this name, Han Fei, Chu Shan, and the others had also come up with names like Canghai Residence and Jade Liquid Pavilion, causing quite a comical uproar...

However, for the present--

Qin Lu had no usable people on hand, so he could only sort out the shop first...

As for the candidate... Qin Lu currently intended to let Chu Shan's younger brother, Chu He, hold down the fort, and in the future, he would let the fifth son, Qin Zhao, come here to hold down the fort and learn.

The eldest son oversees the household, the second son focuses on cultivation, the third son focuses on military campaigns, the fourth son focuses on civil administration, the fifth son focuses on the path of commerce, and the sixth son focuses on controlling spirits.

All six sons had assigned duties, and as a father, his conscience could rest easy.

In this way--

The foundational layout of the Qin Family could also be considered barely propped up.

He only hoped that time could be a bit more abundant.

The Qin Family could then better cope with the future situation. He asked for not much, praying only to survive; that would already be a blessing from the heavens...

A month later--

The Black Dragon Chamber of Commerce set sail northward, and this trip also successfully concluded to a full close...

At the top floor of the ship building.

Qin Lu looked at the long needle in his hand, half a foot long and of a pure cyan-gold color throughout. A strand of spiritual charm continuously welled outward...

The dense golden Qi was even as tangible as substance!

Merely touching it felt as though tens of thousands of silver needles were piercing the flesh, pricking with searing pain!

"Second-Tier Lower-Grade Law Artifact: Jinyuan Needle..."

"Truly a fine treasure!"

"The rest... is simply awaiting the opportune moment, constantly seeking the chance for Qi Condensation!"

Qin Lu gazed into the distance at the river surface--

The pressure in his heart multiplied, and at the same time, a burst of heroic spirit welled up.

This time, success or nothing!

As the end of the month approached--

Muxuan Mountain—in the Pill Pavilion's secret chamber.

Qin Lu sat cross-legged in meditation, and with every inhale and exhale, True Essence overflowed!

Then--

After continuous compression, it returned to the Dantian...

In front of him was placed a jade elephant carving, by his side was inserted a Calm-Spirit Incense stick, and nearby stood a pot of mind-awakening tea.

Right at hand were placed the Stone Pith and the Peiyuan Spirit Fruit!

When everything was fully prepared.

Qin Lu drank the mind-awakening tea, lit the Calm-Spirit Incense, and then consumed the Stone Pith...

When his True Essence reached fullness and his Dantian had reached its limit.

Qin Lu began his breakthrough!

His True Essence continuously overflowed, just like a pond leaking water outward...

The True Essence within his body was replenished once more, forming a delicate balance of entering and exiting, yet alas, it still seemed to lack a fraction!

He saw that the True Essence stubbornly refused to reverse-refine into spiritual Qi, seemingly lacking something further...

Seeing his aura begin to decline.

Qin Lu could no longer care about anything else; he swallowed the Peiyuan Spirit Fruit in one gulp, frantically refining its medicinal efficacy with his True Essence to sustain his breakthrough!

The intense tearing sensation even caused Qin Lu's vision to blacken...

Muscles, blood, soul!

At this moment they constantly intertwined, and the majestic True Essence finally showed signs of concentration. As the first drop of spiritual liquid formed...

An overbearing aura immediately surged toward the heavens and earth!

Countless spiritual mechanisms gathered above the firmament, transforming into a cyan-white spiritual cloud...

At the peak of Muxuan Mountain, it began to rain Spirit Rain!

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