"Disciple, do you see those cultivators over there?"
After entering the city, Zhimeng's expression was cold as she secretly sent a voice transmission to Gu Qing.
Gu Qing turned his head to glance. A few cultivators at the Divine Fire Realm were surrounding two men and a woman, inviting them to form a team.
However, their expressions and threatening words didn't sound much like an invitation; they sounded more like a threat.
The group looked like lambs waiting to be slaughtered. In the end, they handed over several thousand Immortal Crystals before they were allowed to leave.
Sure enough, robbery was truly the fastest way to make money.
Without leaving the city to risk their lives, just moving their lips earned them several thousand Immortal Crystals.
"No matter where you are, you must remember: never show fear, and never let anyone know your true details. Otherwise, the consequences will be endless," Zhimeng continued via voice transmission.
She hadn't given the city officer eight thousand Immortal Crystals because she was generous.
Zhimeng knew perfectly well that in this secret realm, where order did not exist, there were definitely old hands who specialized in robbing newcomers.
These people were like little ghosts; they had more or less some connection with the Harmony Immortal City and were the most difficult to deal with.
Therefore, these eight thousand Immortal Crystals served as a deterrent to the city officer, as well as to those with ill intentions.
Of course, this was just a stopgap measure. Given enough time, problems would definitely be exposed.
In a world where the strong reign supreme, conspiracies and tricks are merely means; in the end, it all comes down to strength.
Gu Qing agreed deeply. If he exposed his weaknesses, it would be the equivalent of handing someone a handle to use against him.
Looking at the domineering Zhimeng, with that commanding aura radiating from the inside out, who wouldn't be intimidated?
Gu Qing felt a mix of emotions.
Zhimeng was absolutely a brilliant and talented woman favored by the heavens. The only stumbling block she had likely ever encountered was Jiang Yu.
"You focus on your secluded cultivation and comprehend the rules of heaven and earth. Don't worry about anything else."
Entering the cave dwelling, they were greeted by three immortal mountains. The air was thick with immortal energy, radiating with ten thousand colors of rosy light, and ancient trees reached for the sky.
Zhimeng took out a cave dwelling jade tablet and gave it to Gu Qing. After branding it with her aura, he wouldn't be repelled by the formation.
Gu Qing nodded and entered the mountaintop. He activated the formation and operated the Chaos Indestructible Scripture to absorb the immortal energy.
In reality, immortal energy couldn't compare to the Xuanhuang Mother Qi. He was only absorbing it as a catalyst.
What Gu Qing mainly absorbed was still the Xuanhuang Mother Qi, converting his own mana into Immortal Source.
After that, once his own Dao and Laws merged with the rules of heaven and earth, he would be a true creature of the Immortal World and would no longer be rejected by its natural laws.
This process was extremely slow. Simply converting to Immortal Source, even with sufficient immortal energy, would take at least a hundred years.
For those at the Divine Fire Realm, it would take at least a thousand years or more.
As for the metamorphosis of the Dao and Laws, that depended on one's comprehension.
Ordinary ascending cultivators would need around a hundred years.
And that was with the aid of an Ascension Immortal Pool.
Without the Ascension Immortal Pool, the time required would be at least a hundred times greater.
However, with the aid of the Xuanhuang Mother Qi and the Nine-Colored Soul Lotus, Gu Qing took only three months to convert all his mana into Immortal Source.
Gu Qing did not rush to leave seclusion. Instead, he continued to comprehend the rules of heaven and earth, and his cultivation climbed steadily.
Another three months passed. Gu Qing gained a certain understanding of the Immortal World's rules. His own Dao and Laws had completely metamorphosed, becoming no different from the creatures of the Immortal World.
Furthermore, he broke through to the fourth level of the Saint Realm. His combat power was more than ten times stronger than when he was at the third level of the Saint Realm.
Each level of the Saint Realm was a massive chasm.
The first three levels, the middle three levels, and the last three levels were like the difference between clouds and mud, mastering different levels of power.
"System, bring up my attribute panel data."
[Name: Gu Qing.
[Realm: Saint Realm Fourth Level.
[Physique: Starry Cosmos Divine Body, Dao Eye, Chaos Indestructible Body.
[Talent: Dao Accompaniment, Unparalleled Throughout Antiquity, Eternal Life in One Thought.
[Destiny: Variable.
[Fate Number: Unknown.
[Luck: 3,000,000.
[Innate Divine Powers: Chaos Precious Vase Seal, Yin Yang Wheel, Star-Seizing Hand, Chaos Return to Ruins Sword Art, Shattering Star Finger, Star Fist, Divine Prison, Blood Reshaping, Xuanhuang Heaven-Sealing Art, Space Divine Art, Devouring Divine Art.
[Divine Powers: Space Shift (Great Achievement), Samsara Divine Eye, Life and Death Wheel, Nine Heavens Profound Sword Art, Blood Qi Transforming into Dragon, Big Dipper Nine Sword Art, Xuanhuang Heaven-Sealing Finger, Heaven Emperor Fist.
[Sky-Opening Divine Halberd (Destroying Eight Wastelands, Five Elements Dissolution, Yin Yang Opening of Heaven, Yin Yang Reversal, Minor Achievement).
[Dharma Treasures: Chaos Indestructible Halberd, Xuanhuo Precious Mirror, Void Flying Boat, Big Dipper Nine Swords, Yin Yang Bracelet.
[Companion Rare Treasure: Calamity Black Dragon.
[Innate Spirit Root: Nine-Colored Soul Lotus.
[Innate Dharma Treasures: Golden Gourd, Space Divine Pattern, Xuantian Sword, Hongmeng Ruyi Pagoda, Return to One Sword, Heaven Pearl, Fire Spirit Pearl, Metal Spirit Pearl, Earth Spirit Pearl.
[Techniques: Chaos Indestructible Scripture.
Gu Qing withdrew his gaze, his expression thoughtful.
The higher the realm, the harder it was to break through.
Even a slight improvement was a massive gain.
Although Gu Qing possessed the Hongmeng Ruyi Pagoda with its tenfold time flow, the Myriad Daos within the Ruyi Space were not complete. The entire space was filled with the Xuanhuang Great Dao, which offered limited help in comprehending his own specific Dao.
"It seems I still have to rely on the Calamity Black Dragon to devour living beings and refine their comprehensions," Gu Qing thought.
With the comprehensions from the Calamity Black Dragon and the tenfold time flow of the Ruyi Space, his breakthroughs would be absolutely skyrocketing.
However, killing and fighting were prohibited in Harmony Immortal City, and there were formations monitoring everything. Committing crimes in Harmony Immortal City was a path to self-destruction.
So, he still had to leave the city.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Gu Qing walked out of the cave dwelling. As soon as the formation opened, the jade slip floating before his eyes transformed into Zhimeng's figure.
"Disciple, I am going out for a trip. I will return soon. You cultivate in peace; do not leave the city under any circumstances."
"Here are some Immortal Crystals. Take them in case of emergency."
As she finished speaking, the image dissipated into spots of light, and the jade slip fell into Gu Qing's hand. Lying inside the jade slip's space were three hundred thousand Immortal Crystals.
Gu Qing's lips moved, a warmth spreading through his heart.
Three hundred thousand Immortal Crystals; not every Divine Fire Realm cultivator could necessarily take that amount out.
Zhimeng must have taken many risks to obtain these crystals. After all, killing and looting wasn't exactly easy.
Guqing thought for a moment and decided not to leave the city for now. He would wait for Zhimeng to return.
He was completely unfamiliar with the Morning Twilight Sea. If he got separated from Zhimeng because of this, the loss would outweigh the gain.
Moreover, Zhimeng was working so hard to earn Immortal Crystals; it wasn't right for him to just sit back and enjoy the fruits of her labor. He had to find something to do.
As for what made money the fastest, besides robbery, there was pill refining.
Having spent ten years with Jiang Yu, Guqing had long mastered the art of refining Divine Pills with pill patterns.
His pill refining skills had reached the pinnacle of perfection.
However, no matter how good one's pill refining skills were, one still needed recipes and spirit herbs.
He didn't know what spirit pills Immortal World cultivators took, or whether spirit herbs and recipes were easy to buy.
With this in mind, Guqing hurried out. After browsing through several major commercial towers, he finally locked onto the Immortal Source Pill.
The Immortal Source Pill was a spirit pill designed specifically for cultivators below the Heavenly God Realm.
A single pill could restore ten percent of a Divine Fire Realm cultivator's Immortal Source and could also assist in cultivation. It was simply an essential miracle pill for killing and traveling.
Therefore, the Immortal Source Pill was in very high demand, often falling short of supply.
Furthermore, the Immortal Source Pill was a low-grade spirit pill of the Immortal World.
The Immortal Spirit Herbs used to refine the Immortal Source Pill were very easy to buy, and the recipe was also cheap.
Three hundred thousand Immortal Crystals was exactly enough to buy the recipe and two furnaces' worth of Immortal Spirit Herbs.
"Excuse me, this Dao Friend, are you a pill master?"
Inside the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Tower, a group of cultivators looked at Guqing in surprise. A disheveled young man couldn't help but cup his fists and ask.
"Mm." Guqing grunted. With a cold attitude, he gave a slight nod and walked straight out of the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Tower.
It was normal for these people to be curious about him.
After all, this was a secret realm. For a pill master—who was essentially a weakling in combat—to enter here was a rare sight in itself.
Not to mention that Guqing was so young, with only a cultivation base at the Saint Realm Fourth Level.
For someone with this level of cultivation to come here was almost no different from seeking death.
Unless Guqing had a powerful backer and was just in the Morning Twilight Sea for sightseeing.
Everyone felt that Guqing was definitely a rich young master out for some fun.
Consequently, quite a few people followed him out, wanting to know where he lived.
They didn't dare think about befriending Guqing, but he was a pill master. If there was ever a time they could be of use, wouldn't they be able to cling to a powerful thigh?
Guqing was composed. He paid no mind to the people following behind him; after all, they might be potential customers.
As for robbing him? They wouldn't dare do that even if they had ten times the guts.
Entering the cave dwelling, Guqing silently deduced the process of refining the Immortal Source Pill a few times in his mind before beginning to refine.
He conjured a pill furnace from the void and refined the liquid medicine from the Immortal Spirit Herbs one by one, in order.
Guqing followed the rules strictly. He didn't dare get arrogant and treat it like a Ninth-Grade Spirit Pill, throwing everything in at once to refine dozens of furnaces simultaneously.
He had to remember that these Immortal Spirit Herbs contained violent immortal energy. If he lost control, the entire cave dwelling would be destroyed.
Three days passed in a flash. The cave dwelling was filled with the fragrance of spirit pills, and Guqing made a hand seal to collect the pills.
A full batch of nine pills: three High-Grade and six Medium-Grade.
"Not bad!" Guqing was very satisfied.
Although he was a Grandmaster Pill Refiner, his cultivation was ultimately too low. Being able to refine spirit pills of such quality was entirely thanks to the miraculous pill refining technique taught by Jiang Yu.
Guqing continued refining.
This batch yielded one Supreme-Grade pill and eight High-Grade pills.
Guqing put away the Immortal Source Pills and closed his eyes to deduce what he had learned from this refining session.
The cause,ultimately, was still insufficient cultivation and imperfect control, which resulted in only one Supreme-Grade pill.
If he had a pill furnace to assist, the effect would definitely be much better.
With that thought, Guqing hurried out again and headed straight for the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Tower.
He kept the Supreme-Grade pill and didn't sell it. The seventeen Immortal Source Pills sold for a total of 870,000 Immortal Crystals.
If this were in the outside world, they wouldn't sell for that much. A single High-Grade pill would fetch at most 30,000 Immortal Crystals.
But in the Morning Twilight Sea, the purchase price for a High-Grade pill was 50,000, and 45,000 for a Medium-Grade pill.
Selling to cultivators would cost 5,000 Immortal Crystals more.
"Get me five batches of Immortal Spirit Herbs for the Immortal Source Pill."
Guqing spoke with a calm expression.
One batch of Immortal Spirit Herbs for the Immortal Source Pill cost 100,000. Five batches cost 500,000.
He wondered if the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Tower would give him a discount.
"Okay, Master Gu, please wait a moment. I will retrieve them for you immediately." A beautiful young girl smiled obsequiously and moved nimbly to fetch the Immortal Spirit Herbs.
At the same time, she sent a message to the manager, her heart trembling with excitement.
When she sold the Immortal Spirit Herbs to Guqing earlier, she had memorized his appearance and secretly suspected that he might be a pill refiner. She didn't expect her guess to be right.
That rich fragrance of pills couldn't be wrong. Guqing was a newly arrived Immortal Pill Master. Reporting this would surely earn her a reward.
The cultivators who had followed Guqing earlier, as well as those in the hall, looked at Guqing with a mix of awe and obsequiousness, not daring to step forward and disturb him rashly.
In their hearts, they couldn't help but feel sour with envy.
They risked their lives outside for decades or centuries, and they might not even earn a few hundred thousand Immortal Crystals.
Guqing, on the other hand, had earned that much in just a few days.
How could they not be envious and jealous?
Guqing sat in the hall, ignoring the eager gazes around him, silently pondering.
The Immortal Source Pills were definitely sold too cheaply. If he had haggled, he probably could have earned tens of thousands more.
But Guqing wasn't stupid enough to haggle.
After all, once you start haggling, your "aloof master" persona shatters instantly.
However, if the Heavenly Treasure Merchant Tower didn't offer some compensation, he wouldn't come back next time.
"Li Yuzheng pays his respects to Master Gu."
Soon, a middle-aged man with a kindly face hurried over. His frank smile made one feel a sense of goodwill at first glance.
Li Yuzheng's cultivation was at the peak of the Divine Fire Realm, but facing a pill master who could refine High-Grade Immortal Source Pills, he didn't dare act the slightest bit arrogant.
Even in the outside world, a pill master who could produce High-Grade pills was a rare existence.
Let alone inside a secret realm.
It was imaginable that Guqing's background was definitely terrifyingly huge. Otherwise, he absolutely wouldn't dare to appear here so openly.
It had to be said, these people had quite the imagination.
Guqing hadn't done anything yet, but he had already become an existence they couldn't afford to provoke.
"Mm." Guqing grunted. He asked indifferently, "Are the spirit herbs ready?"
"They are ready."
Li Yuzheng presented them with both hands and smiled, "Since Master Gu is new here, consider these five batches of Immortal Spirit Herbs a small token of appreciation from our Heavenly Treasure Merchant Tower."
Just like that, Immortal Spirit Herbs worth five hundred thousand Immortal Crystals were given away for free.
"Mm." Guqing accepted them calmly, as if it weren't five hundred thousand worth of spirit herbs but a common object.
This scene made everyone around him green with envy, hating themselves for not being pill masters.
Back in the cave dwelling, Guqing refined pills without stopping.
However, this time he controlled the heat to refine some Lower-Grade and Medium-Grade pills.
If he refined all High-Grade pills, it would be too eye-catching.
There was no shortage of cultivators in this world who would take risks.
Just to be safe, it was better to keep a low profile.
As for Supreme-Grade pills, Guqing certainly didn't dare expose them.
However, after several such transactions, Guqing's reputation spread.
The entrance to the cave dwelling was almost overcrowded; everyone wanted to beg Guqing to refine a batch for them.
They would provide their own Immortal Spirit Herbs and give thirty percent of the pills, plus a small amount of Immortal Crystals as payment.
If the refinement was successful, they would make a fortune.
If the refinement failed, Guqing bore no responsibility and would still receive the Immortal Crystal payment.
Zhimeng returned looking haggard and travel-worn. She was startled when she saw the dense crowd at the entrance.
She observed for a while and, finding nothing unusual, directly opened the formation and entered.
The rich fragrance of medicine rushed to meet her, sweeping away her exhaustion in an instant.
"So you really are refining pills."
Zhimeng covered her forehead.
For a moment, she hadn't thought of it; Gu Qing had actually returned to his old trade.
"Master, I know what you're worried about. Rest assured, I know my limits. I've only been refining Lower, Medium, and High-Grade pills, just like an ordinary pill master. It's fine," Gu Qing laughed.
"That's good."
Hearing this, Zhimeng breathed a sigh of relief.
If he were just an ordinary pill master, it wouldn't be a big problem.
She was afraid that Guqing wouldn't know the severity of the situation and refine Supreme-Grade pills for sale.
If that happened, it would definitely alert the City Lord's Manor, and by then, their fortune would be unpredictable.
"Master, where did you return from?" Gu Qing asked.
Zhimeng shook her head. Instead of answering, she asked, "How much money have you made?"
"Fifteen million," Gu Qing answered truthfully.
Hearing this, Zhimeng's red lips twitched, and a look of defeat appeared on her face.
Was this a joke? She had calculated and schemed outside, risking life and limb, and adding up all the Immortal Crystals she earned—excluding the artifacts she couldn't sell—she had less than a million in total.
Gu Qing, on the other hand, had effortlessly obtained fifteen million.
People really couldn't be compared.
It wasn't just that she couldn't compare to Gu Qing; other pill masters couldn't compare to him either.
Many people thought that pill masters were the ones who made the most money, and that every pill master was rolling in wealth.
In reality, this was a misconception.
On the contrary, pill masters were actually the poorest group.
Many pill masters only maintained a façade of prosperity while secretly being buried in debt.
Because the success rate of pill refining was very low. Every wasted furnace of spirit pills was money burned.
Furthermore, to improve one's pill refining skills, one had to buy spirit herbs to practice.
Heaven knows how many times they fail before they succeed.
A pill master like Gu Qing, who went through no failures, was rare in the world.
Of course, there were also some exceptionally talented pill masters with very high success rates who made a fortune.
But they were the minority.
In short, the dry drown, and the wet float.
Thinking about it, Zhimeng looked proud. Her disciple was just impressive, unparalleled in the world.
She felt a sense of honor.
"Give it to me. I'm going out to buy some equipment," Zhimeng said with a smile, not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed.
Because she knew very well that Guqing didn't need Immortal Crystals for his cultivation.
Neither did she.
It was really because Guqing had given her too much Xuanhuang Mother Qi.
Being able to convert all her Immortal Source within four months was due not only to her high comprehension and creating a unique technique of her own but, more importantly, to the Xuanhuang Mother Qi.
"Here."
Gu Qing tossed the Immortal Crystals to her and asked curiously, "What do you need Immortal Crystals for, Master?"
"To buy some special artifacts," Zhimeng answered truthfully without hiding anything.
The so-called special artifacts were artifacts that could detect time currents in advance, as well as various healing and detoxification pills, and maps and coordinates of the Morning Twilight Sea, etc.
She even had to buy the coordinates of Harmony Immortal City.
One coordinate for Harmony Immortal City wasn't expensive, but three thousand coordinates would cost one million Immortal Crystals.
In addition, probing for information, exchanging information with others, all of this cost money.
In short, there were many places to spend money.
Until she was fully prepared, Zhimeng would not take Gu Qing away from Harmony Immortal City.
"Oh." Gu Qing said "Oh," looking at Zhimeng's haggard face, he couldn't help but fall into silence.
Zhimeng was simply a woman like an eagle.
She shouldered all the hardships on her own, facing the wind and frost alone.
[
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