Xiangning's Gift of Thanks, the Chen Household's Twin Heroes

Senior Brother Fang chatted with the people around him for a long time before finally bringing over his wine glass when he found an opening.

"Brother Zhou, I owe my success today to your help!" Senior Brother Fang said with a broad smile.

Zhou Ning cupped his hands slightly. "It was merely external force; in the end, Senior Fang's strength is truly outstanding!"

Fang Tianyu did not correct his form of address.

That's how it is in the cultivation world; if your cultivation level is one major realm lower, you have to be called a senior.

After exchanging a few words, a voice transmission drifted into Zhou Ning's ear. "Brother Zhou, the formula for the Rejuvenating Pill hasn't been leaked, has it?"

Upon receiving Zhou Ning's reply that he would not divulge the formula, Senior Brother Fang was in a good mood and then transmitted his voice, saying, "I hope Brother Zhou will not spread this either. This Pill Formula is related to our journey to the secret realm twenty years from now. I will compensate you with other spiritual materials."

Zhou Ning was speechless. Wasn't this just like asking him to refine pills for nothing?

Considering that Fang helped him to bully the Su Household, he decided not to pursue the matter and outwardly agreed very solemnly.

Afterwards, Fang Tianyu left to continue talking with the other cultivators.

Foundation Establishment cultivators and Qi Refining cultivators like Zhou Ning lived in two completely different worlds, and no one paid them any attention.

As for Gu Xiangning, since she is a disciple of a sect and has gained a great deal from the secret realm, she is likely to reach the Foundation Establishment in the future. Therefore, some Foundation Establishment cultivators came over to chat for a few minutes.

Some even tentatively asked if Zhou Ning was a Dutch person.

Seeing that Zhou Ning's expression was indifferent, Gu Xiangning knew that he didn't particularly like this kind of occasion, so she made an excuse and took him away early.

At the foot of a mountain near the mountain gate.

Gu Xiangning took out several jade boxes and said, "Brother Zhou, this is Fang Tianyu's reward to you."

Zhou Ning opened it and found that it contained the auxiliary materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill, such as Cold Spoon Grass and Spirit Concentration Flower. These were relatively scarce and were more than enough to compensate for his pill refining costs.

He was quite satisfied; Fang Tianyu hadn't looked down on him.

However, it's unlikely that he'll be as polite as before, unless he becomes Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Gu Xiangning paused for a moment before taking out a black jade box with a talisman pasted on its surface.

She gently tore open the talisman, leaving only a small gap, a faint smile on her face.

"Brother, please take a look."

Zhou Ning probed it with his Divine Sense and found a fruit the size of an egg, with a jet-black skin and several red lines around it.

After his Divine Sense lingered there for a while, he felt a slight heat, as if he had been steamed by the fruit.

"Is everything going well for you, elder brother?"

In a daze, Zhou Ning heard that ethereal and melodious voice and felt that it was the most beautiful sound in the world.

Zhou Ning took a deep breath and said, "Thank you Xiangning!"

This item is one of the three main ingredients of the Earth Profound Fruit and Foundation Establishment Pill, ranking alongside the Purple Monkey Flower and Jade Marrow Ganoderma, making it extremely rare.

Zhou Ning had earned enough money from the Su Household to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill, but he couldn't find a way to do so.

Foundation Establishment Pill, being rare and precious materials, are considered strategic resources.

It's very difficult for a Qi Refining cultivator to obtain Foundation Establishment Pill.

Just like howitzers and artillery in the past, ordinary people can definitely afford to buy them if they have enough savings.

You could blow a house down with a single shot and physically eliminate your enemy, but you simply can't buy one unless you're within that social class.

In fact, Zhou Ning could still gamble on Gu Xiangning becoming a senior Foundation Establishment cultivator within the sect, thus gaining the qualification to trade Foundation Establishment Pill.

This is the most time-consuming method, and he doesn't like to entrust his future to others.

Therefore, finding the materials yourself, secretly refining the elixir, and then secretly Foundation Establishment is the safest approach.

Gu Xiangning smiled gently, "You've helped me a lot too."

If it weren't for the pills that restore her Law Power, she would probably have perished in the Azure Ruins Secret Realm long ago, and she wouldn't have the bright future she has today.

"Brother Zhou, try to open this item as little as possible to avoid the leakage of Spiritual Qi. Wait until you have someone refine Foundation Establishment Pill before opening it," Gu Xiangning reminded him.

As for why Zhou Ning wasn't allowed to refine the elixir himself?

Foundation Establishment Pill is a second-tier high-grade pill, requiring at least a second-tier mid-grade skill level to even attempt to use it.

Even though she believed in Zhou Ning's talent, the Foundation Establishment Pill was too difficult to refine. Even Su Yanghao in the sect was only able to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill this year, and he was only participating in it!

The dominant figures are still the elders of the Pill Cauldron Hall.

Gu Xiangning: "If you can't stay in the Su Household, you can go to Purple Palace Immortal City —once I reach Foundation Establishment, the Su Household will definitely not dare to treat you—"

She then went on to explain how to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill.

For example, a method of collaborative alchemy is very popular in the cultivation world. People who haven't collected enough main ingredients can cooperate with others to gather enough materials.

One batch of Foundation Establishment Pill yields three pills, just enough for three sets of main ingredients to be scored.

Of course, this is only an ideal situation; there are many troubles and unexpected events involved, making coordination difficult.

Finally Gu Xiangning escorted him to the mountain gate and instructed him to guard the area and be careful.

Zhou Ning also gave away a jade box, then urged his flying boat to leave.

Gu Xiangning watched him disappear before opening the jade box, which was filled to the brim with ten bottles of Azure Essence Pill.

"It's really valuable—" she said softly, her voice as melodious as the sound of a zither.

Nine days later.

Zhou Ning stepped on the bamboo leaf Law Artifact and crossed a vast river.

"Hmm, not bad. Little Willow Marsh isn't far from here. If I'm chased by a powerful enemy, I can escape into the river!"

Zhou Ning continued flying forward and came into view a wetland and shallow beach covering an area of about twenty miles in circumference.

He probed with his Divine Sense, but the deepest part was no more than two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), and in many places it was only one chi (approximately 3.3 meters) deep. Willow trees were planted on the exposed land.

A large, brown tortoise lay at the diving spot, and as a gentle breeze blew willow catkins down, the tortoise opened its mouth and ate them.

Zhou Ning clicked his tongue in amazement, "Turtles eat willow catkins?"

"Is this Little Willow Marsh?"

Zhou Ning had investigated this place beforehand. First-tier spirit willows grow here. Their branches are tough and resistant to breakage and can be used to weave armor, which can withstand attacks from Law Artifact to a certain extent.

The fallen willow catkins and leaves are fed to the spirit turtles and Silver-Scaled Fish. These Spirit Planting creatures, in turn, nourish the spiritual mud at the bottom of the water. The mud is then transported out and placed in the medicinal field, which helps the spiritual herbs grow better.

"It's self-sustaining, and the location is nice."

For this reason, Little Willow Marsh became a place that the Su Household and Chen Household fought over.

Zhou Ning looked towards the very center of the marshland, where there was a small island of about twenty acres, with many buildings built on it.

Two cultivators flew up from the island. One of them, an old man, had a smiling face, giving off a "smiling tiger" vibe. "Are you the cultivators from the Su Household? We've been waiting for you for quite some time!"

The other person was much younger, with a square face, and was carefully scrutinizing Zhou Ning.

Zhou Ning presented the Su Household's token.

The two invited Zhou Ning onto the island. Just then, Zhou Ning noticed that the Scent-Smelling Insect on his sleeve had started to turn red.

He was puzzled. "I've only just reached the shore, and they're already trying to kill me? Isn't that a bit too hasty?"

Was it the Chen Household stirring things up, trying to eliminate the Su Household and monopolize Little Willow Marsh, or was it the two of them's own idea?

Zhou Ning was invited to the tea room. After a brief chat, he learned that the old man was named Wang Guanhe, Qi Refining Ninth Layer and a retainer of the Chen Household.

The square-faced cultivator was at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, while Chen Long was a distant relative of the Chen Household, and also a retainer.

When the two asked about Zhou Ning's identity, Zhou Ning proudly replied that he was a guest of the Su Household.

Wang Guanhe twitched. Who didn't know that the Su Household's guest elders were equivalent to other families' retainers?

And retainers are practically slaves!

However, this feeling of automatically being inferior made him a little unhappy.

He and Chen Long exchanged a glance and reached a consensus: they couldn't rush things this time. It would be best to control him, place a restriction on him, and take control of his life and death to avoid alerting the Su Household and sending their true direct descendants.

Both of them felt relieved upon seeing Zhou Ning's cultivation level of the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining.

The two sides exchanged pleasantries for a while, and both showed surprise, especially after learning that Zhou Ning was an Alchemist.

After Zhou Ning left.

Wang Guanhe released the array plate, shielding himself from Divine Sense probing.

Chen Long said urgently, "Alchemist are wealthy and certainly have plenty of life-saving items, plus they hold a high position. Killing them will definitely cause trouble later. This is a real problem!"

Wang Guanhe completely unfazed, scoffing, "You say there will be trouble after killing him? I don't believe it. If the Su Household really cared about this person, why would they send him here? He's probably just an unlucky fellow!"

However, he did not refute the point that Alchemist were not easy to kill.

"Before we take action, let's have someone scout out his situation," Wang Guanhe said.

Otherwise, if we kill the wrong people, even if we manage to extract all the good stuff from the bottom of the lake, they won't live to use it.

Chen Long immediately said, "I'll keep an eye on this person. Old Wang, you go and investigate."