28: Exchange for the recipe

Inside the exquisite pavilion of the Lingmiao Market, tea fragrance wafted.

Xu Qi'an did not agree to Water Lingmiao's request too early.

Xu Qi'an had a rough guess about the Mystic Realm Water Lingmiao mentioned.

The Foundation Establishment Secret Realm of Xiao Langlang Mountain.

Besides this, what other Mystic Realm could there be?

"Water Lingmiao is at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment, likely around the sixth level. It's probable that the Spirit Medicine she wants to obtain is for breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment Stage."

"This Foundation Establishment Secret Realm is probably not simple!"

Water Lingmiao's gaze was as clear as autumn water, yet carried a hint of elusive profound meaning.

She gently put down the teacup in her hand, her tone soft yet carrying an undeniable firmness: "Fellow Daoist Chu, about the proposal just now, what are your thoughts?"

Xu Qi'an responded indifferently: "Daoist Shui, your Qingzhu Market doesn't only have you as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, does it?"

Water Lingmiao covered her mouth and smiled charmingly: "Fellow Daoist is right, I would like that too, but unfortunately, my two disappointing disciples have low cultivation."

"They only entered the Foundation Establishment Secret Realm a few months ago and were injured as a result. They are currently still in secluded cultivation healing."

"Oh? So that's how it is."

Xu Qi'an sat on the cushion opposite her, his expression calm, but a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

He shook his head slightly, his tone indifferent: "Market Owner Shui's good intentions, I appreciate them."

"However, my current trip is by order of my Sect, and I have important matters to attend to."

Upon hearing this, Water Lingmiao's brows furrowed slightly, but soon relaxed again.

She chuckled lightly, her tone carrying a hint of probing: "Oh? May I ask which Sect Fellow Daoist Chu comes from? To be able to Cultivate such a young Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Xu Qi'an's expression remained unchanged, and he said indifferently: "I am from the Xuantian Sect, but due to Sect orders, the details are not convenient to disclose."

"Xuantian Sect?" A hint of doubt flashed in Water Lingmiao's eyes; she had clearly never heard of this Sect.

But she did not pursue the matter further, instead smiling slightly, her tone carrying a hint of flattery: "So that's it, no wonder Fellow Daoist Chu has such extraordinary bearing."

Xu Qi'an continued: "Although I will not go to the Mystic Realm with Fellow Daoist, I can exchange items with Fellow Daoist, or use other methods."

Water Lingmiao became interested upon hearing this: "May I ask what Fellow Daoist Chu wishes to exchange?"

Xu Qi'an did not respond, but instead took out a crystal-clear Foundation Establishment Pill from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

The surface of the pill was covered with seven complex patterns, emitting a rich spiritual energy fluctuation.

"This is..." Water Lingmiao's gaze was instantly drawn to the Foundation Establishment Pill, and a hint of shock flashed in her eyes.

As the owner of Lingmiao Market, she had naturally seen many Foundation Establishment Pills, but a seven-pattern Foundation Establishment Pill was her first time.

When she previously went into seclusion to break through to Foundation Establishment, she had only taken a five-pattern Foundation Establishment Pill.

Xu Qi'an said indifferently: "This is a seven-pattern Foundation Establishment Pill personally refined by me; the quality is acceptable."

"If Market Owner Shui is interested, you might as well invite the Alchemy master of your market to appraise it."

Hearing this, Water Lingmiao immediately instructed a maid to invite the Alchemy master of her own Qingzhu Market.

A moment later, a white-haired old man hurried over.

He wore a gray long robe, his face was thin, but his eyes sparkled with brilliance.

"Market Owner Shui, what are your instructions?" the old man asked respectfully.

Water Lingmiao pointed to the Foundation Establishment Pill on the table, her tone carrying a hint of urgency: "Daoist Li, please appraise this Foundation Establishment Pill."

Daoist Li nodded, carefully picked up the Foundation Establishment Pill, and examined it closely.

His gaze lingered on the patterns on the surface of the pill for a moment, then he used his spiritual sense to probe the internal spiritual energy structure of the pill.

A moment later, Daoist Li put down the Foundation Establishment Pill, his face showing excitement: "Marvelous! Simply marvelous! The refining technique of this Foundation Establishment Pill is extremely profound, the spiritual energy structure is flawless, and the seven patterns are naturally formed. I have refined pills for decades, and I have never seen such a perfect Foundation Establishment Pill!"

After speaking, he actually bowed directly to Xu Qi'an, his tone carrying a hint of earnestness: "Senior, may I ask if you would accept this old man as your disciple? I am willing to give everything, just to learn your Alchemy techniques!"

Xu Qi'an was slightly taken aback, then shook his head and said: "Daoist Li, you are too kind. I merely have a slight understanding of Alchemy techniques and dare not claim to be a master."

Daoist Li wanted to say more, but was stopped by Water Lingmiao.

He could only show an expression of extreme disappointment and retreated.

Seeing this, Water Lingmiao no longer had any doubt about Xu Qi'an's identity.

Being able to refine pills of such high quality, his Alchemy level was naturally not poor, and furthermore, Xu Qi'an was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his control over spiritual energy far surpassed that of Qi Refining Cultivators.

If the Spirit Medicine for Foundation Establishment Pills were handed to Xu Qi'an for refining, not only would the number of pills increase exponentially, but the quality could also be guaranteed!

Thinking of this, Water Lingmiao smiled slightly, her tone carrying a hint of eagerness: "Fellow Daoist Chu, since you are an Alchemy master, how about we cooperate?"

"My Lingmiao Market will provide you with Spirit Medicine, and you will refine Foundation Establishment Pills for us."

"As long as the quantity is sufficient, I am willing to give you the pill recipes I have collected."

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment, and finally nodded: "That is exactly what I intended."

Inside the best Alchemy room of the Lingmiao Market, Xu Qi'an sat cross-legged in front of the Alchemy furnace, his expression calm.

He did indeed plan to refine Foundation Establishment Pills, but only to train his Alchemy level.

He had never refined pills of the Foundation Establishment level before, and refining Foundation Establishment Pills was a good opportunity to improve his Alchemy level.

As for the final delivery of the pills, it would naturally be from the Foundation Establishment Pills he had already prepared.

With sufficient preparation, Xu Qi'an began refining Foundation Establishment Pills.

A month later.

Xu Qi'an exhaled a long breath and used spiritual energy to draw out the pills from the Alchemy furnace.

Only one Foundation Establishment Pill was successfully formed, with two patterns.

Xu Qi'an felt quite satisfied upon seeing the Foundation Establishment Pill he had successfully refined.

"In this way, my Alchemy level has also greatly improved."

In the past month, Xu Qi'an had failed to refine Foundation Establishment Pills hundreds of times. If not for the Omnipotent Treasure Basin, the spiritual herbs and Spirit Medicine would have long been exhausted.

Xu Qi'an put the Foundation Establishment Pill he had refined back into his storage bag, and then took out a few more Foundation Establishment Pills from his storage bag.

"Three six-pattern Foundation Establishment Pills, one seven-pattern Foundation Establishment Pill, that should be enough."

Xu Qi'an muttered to himself, then put the pills into a jade bottle and walked out of the Alchemy room.

Water Lingmiao was already waiting outside the door. Seeing Xu Qi'an come out, she immediately went up to him: "Daoist Xu, how did it go?"

Xu Qi'an handed her the jade bottle and said indifferently: "Fortunately, I did not fail the mission."

Water Lingmiao took the jade bottle, opened it, and a hint of ecstasy immediately flashed in her eyes.

She carefully took out a Foundation Establishment Pill, examined it closely for a moment, and then smiled: "Daoist Xu truly lives up to being an Alchemy master! The quality of these Foundation Establishment Pills is indeed excellent!"

Xu Qi'an smiled slightly, his tone carrying a hint of indifference: "Market Owner Shui is too kind."

Water Lingmiao put away the jade bottle, took out three Jade Slips and a scroll from her sleeve, and handed them to Xu Qi'an: "These are the pill recipes I have collected, please accept them, Daoist Xu."

Xu Qi'an took the Jade Slips, swept them with his spiritual sense, and was secretly satisfied.

These three Jade Slips respectively recorded three types of pills: the Kaiyuan Pill, beneficial for the early Foundation Establishment Stage; the Shengyuan Pill, beneficial for the middle Foundation Establishment Stage; and the Ling Yuan Pill, helpful for the late Foundation Establishment Stage.

The scroll recorded some precautions and experiences for refining Tier 2 pills, which was a good reference for Xu Qi'an's Alchemy.

In fact, these pill recipes and experiences were not precious to Water Lingmiao; what was precious were the spiritual herbs and Spirit Medicine within them.

Currently in Yue Country, the main ingredients for refining these pills are hard to find. Besides being found in some Mystic Realms with abundant spiritual energy, they are basically unobtainable in the outside world.

This was also why Xu Qi'an needed the pill recipes. If he were to say he needed a pill beneficial for Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, the other party would not only not provide it but would also become suspicious of Xu Qi'an.

"Thank you, Market Owner Shui."

Xu Qi'an cupped his hands, his tone carrying a hint of sincerity.

Water Lingmiao smiled, her tone carrying a hint of expectation: "Fellow Daoist Chu, you might want to reconsider the previous matter."

"I see that Fellow Daoist Chu's cultivation has also reached the peak of the early Foundation Establishment Stage. You are in need of a high-grade pill to break through the Bottleneck."

"Although that Foundation Establishment Secret Realm is somewhat dangerous, if we can find the Spirit Medicine and refine it into pills, I can also share some with Fellow Daoist Chu."

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment, but in the end, still shook his head: "Thank you for Market Owner Shui's kindness, but my current travels have limited time, and I'm afraid I cannot stay long."

Hearing this, a hint of disappointment flashed in Water Lingmiao's eyes, but she quickly regained her smile: "In that case, I won't force you to stay. If Fellow Daoist Chu has any needs, you can come to Lingmiao Market to find me anytime."

Xu Qi'an nodded, then turned to leave.

Water Lingmiao, however, thought of something and said: "Right, Fellow Daoist Chu, may I ask if you would sell me that seven-pattern Foundation Establishment Pill from earlier? I will certainly give you a satisfactory price."

Xu Qi'an paused in his steps, then took out the seven-pattern Foundation Establishment Pill and smiled: "This Foundation Establishment Pill is already useless to me. If Daoist Shui wants it, consider it a gift."

Water Lingmiao's expression was slightly surprised, then her gaze softened, and she said softly: "Fellow Daoist Chu wishes to give it as a gift, but I dare not accept it so easily."

"How about this, I will give Fellow Daoist a Tier 2 mid-grade Hanhai Talisman and a book of refining experiences for water-attribute Foundation Establishment Spiritual Artifacts!"

After speaking, Water Lingmiao raised her hand and waved, and a Talisman emitting blue light and a blue Jade Slip appeared in mid-air.

"Oh?" Xu Qi'an smiled indifferently, did not refuse, and raised his hand to put the items before him into his storage bag.

"Then I shall take my leave." Xu Qi'an finished speaking and left the pavilion.

His figure quickly disappeared into the streets of the Qingzhu Market.

Only Water Lingmiao was left standing in place, holding the seven-pattern Foundation Establishment Pill in her hand, her gaze deep, wondering what she was thinking.