Across the street, inside a bustling inn, numerous cultivators sat drinking spirit wine while naturally discussing the hottest topic in the Thousand Isles Archipelago.
A middle-aged Qi Refining cultivator raised his wine cup before grinning at the man opposite him.
"So..."
"I heard you're finally preparing to attempt Foundation Establishment."
The latter laughed heartily.
"If you had asked me three months ago, I'd have said absolutely not."
He gently patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist.
"But now..."
"...it's different."
"The Dragon Lock Pill finally gave me enough confidence."
A trace of emotion appeared on his face.
"I've been trapped at Peak Qi Refining for nearly twelve years."
"Twelve years..."
He shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Age truly determines everything."
"If I failed again, I doubt I'd ever have another opportunity."
Several cultivators nearby quietly nodded.
Foundation Establishment wasn't merely about talent.
Age mattered just as much.
Once one's vitality began declining, even possessing sufficient Spiritual Qi often wasn't enough to force a breakthrough.
Fortunately...
The Dragon Lock Pill had changed everything.
"I heard..." another cultivator leaned closer before lowering his voice slightly, "that during these past three months alone, several hundred Peak Qi Refining cultivators across the Thousand Isles Archipelago have successfully broken through."
"Hmph."
A Foundation Establishment cultivator seated nearby chuckled.
"You're only counting those publicly known."
"My clan alone produced seven new Foundation Establishment cultivators."
"The Dragon Lock Pill deserves much of the credit."
Someone immediately shook his head.
"Not entirely."
"The Crystal Pure Pill contributed just as much."
"After cleansing one's Magical Power, the chances of successfully breaking through increase by nearly twenty percent."
The surrounding cultivators immediately revealed expressions of envy.
"Those fortunate fellows truly acted quickly."
"If only I'd trusted the Heaven Pill Shop from the beginning."
"I also hesitated."
"I thought some unknown alchemist appearing out of nowhere had to be selling fraudulent pills."
The speaker sighed heavily.
"By the time everyone realised the Crystal Pure Pill truly worked..."
"...the situation had completely changed."
The Foundation Establishment cultivators reacted far faster than ordinary people.
The moment they confirmed its astonishing effects, countless influential families and independent Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately began purchasing every batch released by the Heaven Pill Shop.
The result...
Ordinary Qi Refining cultivators rarely even saw one nowadays.
Even if a bottle occasionally reached the market...
The price had already risen several times above its original value.
One young cultivator couldn't help complaining.
"They're simply too wealthy."
"We finally discover a treasure capable of improving our foundations..."
"...only for those Foundation Establishment seniors to buy everything."
An elderly cultivator beside him merely smiled.
"Can you blame them?"
"If you possessed sufficient Spirit Stones..."
"...would you leave such an opportunity for others?"
The young man immediately fell silent.
Of course not.
Cultivation resources had always belonged to whoever possessed the strength and wealth to obtain them.
Another cultivator suddenly remembered something.
"Speaking of the Heaven Pill Shop..."
"The Clear Spirit Pill has practically become a standard Foundation Establishment resource."
"I heard almost every newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator purchases several bottles."
"That's no longer the case."
The speaker opposite him smiled knowingly.
"The Heaven Pill Shop recently released a weaker version."
"Its medicinal strength is lower..."
"...but Qi Refining cultivators can finally afford it."
Several people's eyes immediately brightened.
"I've already tried it."
"It really works."
"My Spiritual Sense has become considerably stronger."
"If I continue taking it for another year or two..."
"...my chances of forming Divine Sense before Foundation Establishment should increase substantially."
The atmosphere within the inn became increasingly animated.
Almost every topic somehow returned to the Heaven Pill Shop.
Some praised the mysterious alchemist behind it.
Others wondered why such a talented figure had never appeared anywhere before.
Eventually...
One burly cultivator carefully glanced around before lowering his voice.
"I heard something interesting."
Everyone instinctively leaned closer.
"What?"
The man looked around once more before whispering,
"My friend's cousin's sister's neighbour told me..."
"...that several Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators attempted to force the Heaven Pill Shop's alchemist into serving them."
The surrounding tables instantly became silent.
"What happened?"
"What else could happen?"
The burly cultivator laughed.
"They were suppressed."
"Completely."
"I heard they would've died on the spot..."
"...if a passing Purple Palace senior hadn't personally stepped in to mediate."
Several people involuntarily inhaled sharply.
Peak Foundation Establishment cultivators...
Suppressed with ease?
One elderly cultivator slowly placed down his wine cup.
"It seems..."
"...the Heaven Pill Shop's master isn't someone ordinary after all."
No one disagreed.
From that day onwards...
Very few people dared entertain any improper thoughts towards the mysterious alchemist hidden behind the rapidly rising Heaven Pill Shop.
.....
Deep beneath the Island, the cultivation chamber remained completely silent.
Formation lights pulsed rhythmically along the surrounding walls as Lin Sheng sat cross-legged before the ancient teleportation altar. Numerous formation materials had already been embedded throughout its damaged pathways over the past several months, restoring what had once been nothing more than a broken skeleton into something that finally resembled a functioning ancient array.
His palm rested gently upon the central formation core.
A faint silver glow emerged from the fragment of Void Stone suspended above the altar before an invisible connection silently extended across an immeasurable distance.
This had become his monthly routine.
Every month, he would establish a brief connection with the opposite side of the formation, allowing Crystal to compare both arrays simultaneously.
Although the connection lasted only a few breaths each time, the information obtained proved invaluable.
Fortunately, the Void Stone he got from the Heaven Seal Gate secret realm was astonishingly massive. Even after months of continuous testing, the amount consumed remained almost negligible.
By Crystal's calculations...
There would still be more than enough remaining after performing a complete long-distance teleportation.
Many cultivators might consider such repeated inspections unnecessary.
Perhaps even overly cautious.
Lin Sheng, however, had never viewed caution as a weakness.
After all...
No cultivator had ever died because they prepared too thoroughly.
His fingers slowly traced one of the repaired formation lines while Crystal continued analysing the latest data.
The greatest mystery remained unchanged.
The severe damage suffered by the formation on this side clearly hadn't resulted from the passage of time.
It had been deliberate.
Almost every critical node had been destroyed through precise attacks, as though someone had intentionally crippled the array before leaving.
Judging from the remaining traces...
The person responsible was most likely the Qian Family Ancestor himself.
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What exactly were you escaping from..."
The question had lingered within his mind ever since discovering the altar.
Someone powerful enough to construct—or at least possess—such an ancient teleportation array should never have needed to flee in such desperation.
Yet the evidence suggested otherwise.
The Qian Ancestor had seemingly damaged the array before departing through it himself, almost as though he feared something would follow.
Fortunately...
Whatever danger had existed...
It apparently never reached the opposite side.
Crystal's repeated inspections showed that the formation over there had suffered only ordinary deterioration caused by countless years of inactivity.
No battle damage.
No deliberate sabotage.
Only the unavoidable wear brought by time itself.
That single difference became the greatest reassurance Lin Sheng could have hoped for.
The silver light gradually faded as the monthly inspection concluded.
Crystal immediately began integrating the newly acquired information.
•[Formation comparison complete.
Repair efficiency increased by 17.4%]•
A faint smile appeared on Lin Sheng's face.
The constant inspections had proven far more useful than he initially expected.
Instead of blindly repairing damaged sections, Crystal could directly compare both formations, identifying missing structures while calculating the optimal methods to compensate for irreparable damage.
As a result, the restoration progressed considerably faster than anticipated.
Originally, Crystal estimated nearly a year would be required.
Now only four months remained.
Perhaps slightly longer after final testing.
Either way...
The ancient teleportation array would soon become operational once again.
His gaze slowly shifted towards the piles of Mid-grade Spirit Stones stored within the corner of the chamber.
Even after months of earning profits through the Heaven Pill Shop...
They still weren't enough.
Repairing the formation consumed far fewer resources than activating it.
The true expense would begin the moment he attempted his first teleportation.
Lin Sheng quietly fell into thought.
His current source of income remained stable.
Perhaps too stable.
If he wished to gather enough Mid-grade Spirit Stones within four months, then relying solely upon Foundation Establishment cultivators would likely prove insufficient.
That left him with several possibilities.
The first...
Was auctioning one of the Heaven Mending Pills.
He had finally succeeded in refining one during his spare time several weeks earlier.
A pill capable of improving Spiritual Roots would undoubtedly ignite the entire Southern Archipelagos.
The profits would be unimaginable and unfortunately so would the attention.
Even Purple Palace cultivators would undoubtedly intervene.
The second possibility involved releasing medicinal pills specifically targeting Purple Palace cultivators.
Compared with Foundation Establishment cultivators, those experts possessed vastly greater purchasing power.
Selling even a small quantity would produce immense profits.
Yet...
The danger remained exactly the same.
Anything capable of attracting Purple Palace cultivators inevitably invited equally troublesome consequences.
Lin Sheng slowly shook his head.
Neither option suited his current situation.
His strength had certainly increased.
But not enough to calmly withstand the attention generated by treasures of that calibre.
After several moments of silence...
A third possibility gradually surfaced within his mind.
The black market.
Unlike ordinary commercial districts controlled by the Jiuding Merchant Alliance, the black market cared very little about the origins of its goods.
As long as something possessed sufficient value...
Someone would buy it.
A faint smile slowly appeared across Lin Sheng's face.
"I don't need to expose the Heaven Pill Shop."
"I only need another identity."
Crystal immediately understood his intention.
•[Recommendation accepted.
Creating three exclusive pill formulas for black market distribution significantly reduces association probability with Heaven Pill Shop]•
Lin Sheng nodded slightly.
That was exactly what he wanted.
The Heaven Pill Shop would continue supplying ordinary cultivation resources to Foundation Establishment cultivators and those below.
Meanwhile...
An entirely different alchemist would quietly emerge within the black market, selling three completely unrelated medicinal pills.
By separating both identities completely, he could dramatically increase his monthly income while minimising the chances of anyone connecting the two together.
More importantly...
The immense quantities of Mid-grade Spirit Stones circulating through the black market would soon become his.