Investing in a Friend

Zhou Ning smiled knowingly when he saw the familiar handwriting.

He was rootless and without any cultivation level. If he stayed obediently in the Su Household, he would only be ruthlessly exploited by the despicable Su Household.

Fortunately, Gu Xiangning from the Azure Mystic Sect was there to help him save face.

He thought for a moment and decided to ask Gu Xiangning for help again to put some pressure on the Su Household.

Then he took out a jade bottle containing five Three Flowers Pill.

This is a breakthrough pill for those who have broken through from the Early Qi Refining. In the current climate of rising pill prices, one pill can sell for two Spirit Stone.

The difficulty of refining this pill is slightly greater than that of the Lesser Ginseng-Nurturing Pill. Zhou Ning refined it in three batches, but only managed to produce five pills.

We suffered a net loss of five Spirit Stone!

He recalled the century-old Vermilion Fruit that Gu Xiangning had given him. That fruit was worth one Spirit Stone and provided considerable cover and assistance for his plot to become Alchemist.

So Zhou Ning separated two pills and put them into a bottle separately. "Tomorrow, have Old Jia deliver them to the post station under the jurisdiction of the Beast Taming Sect Core Formation Sect, a Core Formation Sect, and then forward them to the Azure Mystic Sect."

Zhou Ning planned to have Gu Xiangning act as a go-between, finding a few Aristocratic Clan, such as the Ye Household where Ye Menglong belonged, to send letters to the Su Household, creating the illusion that they were vying to hire him as Alchemist.

"Hmph, I earn over a dozen Spirit Stone for the Su Household every year, but their basic salary for me is only three Spirit Stone per year!"

"They need to know I'm highly sought after."

Then, he would take the opportunity to demand a large sum of money from the Su Household, laying the groundwork for his future rapid advancement.

He continued reading. Gu Xiangning was still at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, but she had already reached the perfection of the sixth level and was preparing to break through to the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining.

The path of cultivation becomes increasingly difficult as one progresses. For Middle-Grade Spirit Root like Zhou Ning, without the aid of elixirs, it would take approximately six years to cultivate to the perfection of the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

When they first met, Gu Xiangning had just broken through to the sixth level; three and a half years have passed since then.

Zhou Ning remembered that when they were tested on their aptitude, although they both had Middle-Grade Spirit Root, Gu Xiangning was actually about 10% better than him.

He estimated that after Gu Xiangning became a disciple of the fake Alchemist, the Cultivation Resources she received should be better than those of Su Wen in the past, but not as good as those of Su Yunjin, the true direct descendant of the Su Household.

"Cultivating immortality, it all comes down to resources."

After Gu Xiangning reached the sixth level of perfection in her cultivation, she faced a bottleneck. If she could break through it, she would become a Late Qi Refining cultivator, with a completely different status and position.

However, this bottleneck is extremely frustrating. Old Jia next door, with his Low-Grade Spirit Root, spent his entire life trying to break through it but failed.

If you want to take a shortcut, the only way is to consume the Spirit Condensation Pill, a breakthrough pill. However, this pill costs at least ten Spirit Stone!

Even if Gu Xiangning were a disciple of a sect, she would probably still deserve a thumbs up.

Zhou Ning thought for a moment and said, "Fine, I'll invest in her!"

He added another Three Flowers Pill, bringing the total to six Spirit Stone.

In the letter, Gu Xiangning also answered some questions, such as Scholar Xu's question about how Jiang Xiaohua and the others reacted after hearing that Zhou Ning had become Alchemist.

Gu Xiangning said that Young Master Luo and Princess Tao were initially incredulous until they saw the Spirit Essence Pill sent by Zhou Ning.

Even within the Azure Mystic Sect, alchemy disciples were considered superior, arrogant and haughty.

Therefore, she could tell from their expressions that they seemed somewhat interested, but hesitated to speak.

Gu Xiangning naturally wouldn't bring it up herself, so she gave a perfunctory answer.

However, because Gu Xiangning wanted to build connections and hone her Cultivation Method, she joined a small circle within the sect and frequently came into contact with them.

As for Jiang Xiaohua, she is already True Disciple of the sect and is about to break through to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. Even though they are in the same sect, they are from two different worlds.

Therefore, there was no response.

Zhou Ning was secretly alarmed. He remembered Jiang Xiaohua; wasn't she only twenty-two or twenty-three years old?

As expected of a resource-rich Earth Spirit Root.

Zhou Ning is twenty-seven years old this year, and only has a pitiful Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement in Land of Wei.

Relying on his Divine Sense, comparable to that of Foundation Establishment, as well as talismans, magical Law Artifact, and secret techniques, he was able to defeat Su Changhe, an ordinary Late Qi Refining.

But when facing true elite sects, they are probably no match.

"We still need to practice!"

The second letter was from Miss Su Yunjin, asking him why he hadn't told her sooner that he had become Alchemist.

There was a hint of melancholy between the lines.

Zhou Ning snorted coldly, "I'm afraid Su Wen was behind this, concealing the information and diverting the young lady's gratitude for the gift of the incense burner."

"That Su Wen actually wants to monopolize me; her intentions are malicious, and she's already courting death!"

He had noticed something amiss earlier, so last month he specifically asked Old Jia to anonymously send a letter to the Duan Household specializes in weapon crafting.

Only through conflict can his interests be maximized.

Although Miss Su knew about Su Yanghao's plan, she did not harm him openly. On the contrary, she gave him gifts twice.

There is no way to die yet.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ning frowned. "According to what Scholar Xu said, Su Yanghao made me stay in the Su Household in order to keep an eye on Jiang Xiaohua of the Azure Mystic Sect."

"But I'm a retainer in the Su Household. Although I'm called a retainer, I'm not much different from a servant, and there's even the risk of sudden death."

"I hate the Su Household too much to be grateful."

"Is Su Yanghao some kind of idiot? Does he have his left and right brains working in sync?"

Forget it, I can't figure it out anyway.

Once he has established his Immortal Foundation, he will confront Su Yanghao face to face.

With this thought in mind, Zhou Ning took out his Storage Bag and began to take stock of the gains from this trip to Land of Wei.

He really won too much this time.

They obtained forty-five spirit Spirit Stone, which was an enormous sum of money—an income that an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator could not earn in a lifetime.

His experience in cultivating the Secret Method [Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils] can greatly increase his success rate in peeling off eyeballs and refining his fiery eyes.

Five bottles of Earth Spirit Milk, if refined into Origin-Restoring Pill, would allow him to fight for much longer.

Ten Fire Furuncle Fruit, each more potent than Thunder Explosion Pearl, can also be used in medicine, to cultivate poisonous fire Law Technique, and to cure cold poisons...

He had two Ni Marsh Python, but unfortunately, he couldn't find the weapon refiner Shen Huaizhen. Otherwise, he could have forged a magic robe, which would have made him much safer.

Fortunately... Zhou Ning set out the scarecrow, and after examining it closely, he discovered that after it left Dead Wood Ridge, its grass color had become even drier, making it look like a dead thing.

Zhou Ning studied it for a while, then removed the withered grass behind the scarecrow and discovered an inner cavity with blue runes inscribed on it.

He took out a Spirit Stone and put it in. The scarecrow's entire body of grass roots stiffened, and it suddenly raised its head, its empty eye sockets staring straight at him.

Zhou Ning controlled the scarecrow to strike forward, the movement as light as a feather.

But Zhou Ning knew that this bird puppet, though it looked weak, was actually extremely strong.

He sensed something, recalled the scarecrow, took out the Spirit Stone and looked at it. He found that the Spirit Stone had lost 20% of its spiritual Spiritual Qi from that attack!

Zhou Ning felt a pang of regret; although he possessed numerous spiritual items, he hadn't yet had the chance to realize their value.

Including the harvest from Land of Wei, the total number of Spirit Stone is only a little over ninety.

Although it hurts to spend the money, I must say, Spirit Stone are really durable.

This scarecrow's full-force attack is definitely no weaker than that of Foundation Establishment cultivator from Cuiwei Lake. It's worth it to have Foundation Establishment cultivator hit me five times for just one Spirit Stone!

With this treasure, even if Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Su Household comes, Zhou Ning can stall them by giving them a few Spirit Stone.

Zhou Ning then took out the Soul-Nurturing Wood Pendant that he had snatched from the main hall. The jade pendant was warm and understated, containing a mysterious vitality of Yi Wood, which could calm the mind and stabilize the spirit.

He threaded a string through his neck and put it on, immediately feeling much clearer-headed.

"Perhaps this will increase the success rate of alchemy?"

"No wonder Brother Zhuoran's eyes were wide open back then."

The jade pendant looked ordinary, with no apparent mystery; even Ma Huangshan couldn't discern its secrets.

Wearing it close to the body, combined with his [Flowing Light Concealing Shadow Technique], is enough to conceal anything unusual.

Then, Zhou Ning took out a small, dark red awl. The awl was covered with fine edges and was engraved with thunder patterns and fire symbols. The tip of the awl was extremely sharp.

With a gentle twist, it spun like a top, continuing to spin for a long time.

Zhou Ning infused his spiritual energy slightly, and a dazzling burst of lightning immediately erupted from the surface, exceptionally eye-catching.

"Wow, this must be Law Artifact Law Artifact!"

"Brother Zhuoran hated it to the core... It's a pity Brother Zhuoran is dead... No matter, I'll take over and control it for you from now on!"

The other gains were more varied, including an old-fashioned flying boat, two Jade Graceful Branch, eighteen Calamity-Severing Grass, twenty-seven demon souls, and two large bags of medicinal garden Chen Earth...

Zhou Ning took out the ginseng medicine, which included six ginseng roots that were five hundred years old, seven Black Essence Ginseng, and two of them that were over a thousand years old.

He took out the prescription for Greater Ginseng-Nurturing Pill and studied it for a moment.

"Once this pill is refined, cultivation speed will take off."

"As for Su Changhe... he is currently at the peak of the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining. It would be best to seize the Purple Monkey Flower before he breaks through to the eighth level."

"From now on, after each training session, go to the lakeside to observe the wind. If you find an opportunity, seize it immediately!"