"Thank you, Uncle," Du Man'er said with bright gratitude. Not long after, she couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, how did you figure that out? And will I be able to regain my former looks?"
Her voice trembled slightly with nervous anticipation as she asked her next question.
Because Fang Jinyu, being at the Foundation Establishment stage, had almost unrestricted access to a vast number of alchemy texts, he could peruse them at will. Du Man'er, however, was not so fortunate – the number of alchemy books available for her to borrow was extremely limited.
"I happened to have seen it before. When I read about that miraculous pill, I was instantly awestruck. As for whether it can restore your appearance … I'm not entirely sure. But since a Foundation Establishment cultivator's lifespan is two hundred years, by the time you reach that stage, even if you can't fully revert, you should be able to retain a youthful, ageless appearance for a long time," Fang Jinyu explained.
"Thank you for your guidance, Uncle." Du Man'er's face lit up with gratitude. Then, a note of wistfulness crept into her tone. After a brief pause, she edged a little closer and, in a low voice, revealed more. She wasn't whispering secrets for the sake of gossip; rather, she told Fang Jinyu that she had recently heard that a Qi Refinement Ninth-Level disciple of Tianling Sect—one of those from the Lingyao Peak—was seen in the training field wielding a pair of low-grade thunder attribute spirit instruments to demonstrate their power.
At the mention of this, Fang Jinyu's expression flickered with a hint of concern. Previously, the Sect Master had mentioned that he would have someone send him the treasured thunder attribute spirit instrument from within the sect as a reward for exposing the scam in the underground market. Although thunder attribute spirit instruments are classified as low-grade, they are extremely rare in the entire cultivation world.
Moreover, given their immense power, even one such low-grade thunder spirit instrument is often more expensive than a decent mid-grade spirit instrument—and one simply cannot find them on the market. In Tianling Sect there is only one such item: a pair of spirit instruments fashioned from a hammer and a nail. When the Sect Master mentioned that matter earlier, Du Man'er was present and therefore well aware of it.
"I'll go and look for the Sect Master," Fang Jinyu said quietly.
He recalled that at that time the Sect Master had promised to have the spirit instrument sent over; yet after Fang Jinyu left his seclusion, not only was there no notice (no spirit talisman message) from outside the sect but no one came to inform him. Now, upon arriving at Tianling Peak, Fang Jinyu waited for quite some time before finally meeting the Sect Master.
Moments later, his face took on a rather troubled expression as he left Tianling Peak. "I've noted down this debt," he muttered bitterly. He was angered by what the Sect Master had told him: that the thunder attribute low-grade spirit instrument had already been claimed three days ago by the grandson of a Golden Core Realm grand cultivator, and that he was given two choices – either wait for the sect to gather another one or take a compensation of two thousand spirit stones.
"Two thousand spirit stones to buy a thunder attribute spirit instrument?" He thought with dismay. Even five thousand spirit stones might not guarantee one could purchase such a rare item! But Fang Jinyu had no choice; he had to settle for the two thousand spirit stones. He was already aware that the underground market scam was likely only the tip of the iceberg. His actions that day had offended many who had a stake in this matter. After all, if it were merely a scheme based on debt-free buying and selling, how could three Qi Refinement Ninth-Level disciples be in possession of a mid-grade spirit instrument—and one that was a formation-type? In this world of spirit instruments, those classified by elemental attributes find the thunder type to be the most precious. They are rarely seen in circulation; when one obtains such an item, or acquires the rare celestial materials capable of crafting a thunder attribute spirit instrument, it is always for personal use and never circulated publicly.
Furthermore, if the instruments are categorized by type, then formation-type spirit instruments are naturally the most prized of all. Their production is exceedingly difficult and requires the alchemist to have profound mastery of array techniques. "At that time, one Golden Core cultivator from the same peak as those four arrived first, and then two more Golden Core cultivators showed up. One of them, without a word, made the earliest-arriving Golden Core cultivator step aside… Among everything, it probably even involved disputes among grand cultivators of the Golden Core realm!" Fang Jinyu mused. His thoughts turned quickly, and he resolved that he would not leave the Lingyao Peak (marked "") until the Lingdu Secret Realm opened.
Compared with Xiaohe Peak, although the " Lingyao Peak also had no Golden Core cultivator stationed there, the concentration of spiritual energy was far denser than at Xiaohe Peak. Otherwise, no Foundation Establishment cultivator from Xiaohe Peak would have left for other peaks one after another. For example, in his own case – he, a new Foundation cultivator – would never have returned to Xiaohe Peak if not for the need to change his cultivation method.
[Today is a hard day spent refining pills, but with virtually no progress in the art itself.] [Extraction: Acquired Alchemy Technique +1]
In an instant, all the alchemical knowledge in Fang Jinyu's mind seemed to burst into life. When he set up the furnace to begin a new batch the next day, his success rate for refining Qi-Replenishing Pills had climbed steadily to twenty percent!
This sudden leap in his alchemy skills filled him with boundless enthusiasm. "I truly am an alchemy genius!" he boasted shamelessly. Such confidence, however, was tempered by the practical need to recoup losses. In the previous days, his streak of refining had earned him results that not only increased his personal wealth but also spread his reputation from the "" Lingyao Peak throughout the sect—proving that he possessed remarkable alchemy talent.
Though he eventually sold only about thirty percent of his Qi-Replenishing Pills – as each pill sold for twenty spirit stones had to be registered with his name when selling to Tianling Sect – that thirty percent was enough to make his name known throughout the peak. It signified that Fang Jinyu enjoyed a rare alchemical aptitude.
That day, however, Fang Jinyu left the " Lingyao Peak. Quite unexpectedly, he had once again unearthed a new opportunity—a guiding arrow (only he could see) that pointed toward Du Man'er's future fate. Just as before, it manifested as a small arrow, but this time its direction clearly urged him to leave Tianling Sect.
After much hesitation, Fang Jinyu decided to "scrounge" for fate. In order to hedge his bets, he took five Qi-Replenishing Pills and asked Du Man'er to accompany him outside Tianling Sect—specifically, to visit Yuan City. He reasoned that with the second female lead's fated Qi, even should danger arise, she would likely find a way to turn misfortune into fortune.
Yuan City was a mixed, mundane city not affiliated with any imperial court—a "city beyond governance," so to speak. Its origins lay in the settlements of Tianling Sect disciples who married, had children, and established themselves there. Over time, this community had grown into a vast city existing outside the jurisdiction of any central government.
Du Man'er, though she had relocated to Yuan City later in life, had lived there for years even before joining Tianling Sect; she could essentially be regarded as a native of Yuan City. Otherwise, with her five-attribute spiritual root, she wouldn't have been admitted to Lingyao Peak by exception. Although Lingyao Peak was often known for favoring appearance, there was a minimum requirement regarding the attribute of one's spiritual root. After all, a sect would not take in someone whose cultivation remained stuck at the very beginning of the Qi Refinement stage.
Du Man'er was delighted by Fang Jinyu's invitation. Having been saved by him in the past when her life was in danger, she was happy to escort him around Yuan City—even if she didn't need any alchemical pills herself, she was content simply to accompany him home and see her family.
Fang Jinyu did not insist that she accept the pill personally. Instead, he followed the arrow visible in his field of vision, and Du Man'er fell in step with him—after all, she was following Feng Jinyu without him clarifying the destination.
Eventually, the two arrived at a stall set up by a small Qi Refinement cultivator. Fang Jinyu glanced over and couldn't help but mutter to himself: "This routine is so dated…" He had already predicted the ensuing developments.