86: Are there any female cultivators with hidden illnesses?

Lu Yang stood quietly in the center of the crowd, his robes fluttering in an imperceptible current of air.

The enthusiasm of the surrounding Inner Sect elites surged like a tide. The earnestness and praise in their words were almost overwhelming, yet his face remained as calm as usual. His brows didn't move an inch; he showed neither the self-satisfaction of being the center of attention nor any hesitation in the face of a choice.

His gaze was as steady as a deep pool, slowly scanning across the faces filled with expectation—there were personal Disciples of Peak Masters eager to recruit talent, deacons with sincere expressions, and some who carried themselves with reserve but could not hide the determination to win him over in their eyes.

Lu Yang did not interrupt anyone; he simply listened with focused attention, taking in every recruitment offer, whether blunt and earnest or subtle and indirect.

Danxia Peak had abundant Pill Furnace resources; Xuanite Peak's Artifact Refining techniques could assist in tempering pills and tools; Bibo Peak excelled in spirit plant cultivation and could provide rare medicinal herbs; Qinglan Peak's Formation expertise could protect the Alchemy process; Zidian Peak was known for speed and could quickly gather scattered Spirit Medicine... Although these were not the top forces in the Inner Sect, each had its own unique reliance. Through these brief descriptions, their strengths, weaknesses, and resource priorities gradually formed a clear outline in his mind.

This was one of the core purposes of his trip. Using his Foundation Establishment cultivation as his backbone and his consummate Alchemy skills as a stepping stone, he had thoroughly revealed his value under the watchful eyes of the Alchemy Hall Competition, prompting these Inner Sect forces to compete in extending olive branches.

Only in this way could he take the initiative among the many choices and select the most stable and advantageous starting point for his path within the Hehuan Sect's Inner Sect.

Facing the influx of recruitment offers, Lu Yang consistently nodded in acknowledgement, his tone respectful and modest. Whether dealing with the personal Disciples of high-cultivation Elders or junior deacons, he never showed the slightest neglect.

Lu Yang's expression was peaceful, as if he were merely listening patiently to the proposals from various parties. However, within his Sea of Consciousness, his thoughts were already racing like thunder.

Now that he had promoted to Foundation Establishment, the urgent problem of his impending Lifespan limit was finally resolved. This allowed him to completely break free from his previous sense of urgency and calmly plan for the long term.

But this was by no means the end; it was a new beginning.

Admittedly, with the full support of Junior Sister Xia Yuxuan and Martial Aunt Chi Rong, he was not without help in the Sect.

But that alone was far from enough.

First was the consideration of resources. Although the Dragon Phoenix Yin-Yang Art Lu Yang practiced did not require external Medicinal Pills to assist in cultivation, the cultivation of Martial Aunt Chi Rong, Xia Yuxuan, and others was still only at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Their path to advancement was inseparable from the accumulation of massive amounts of Medicinal Pills, Spirit Stones, and other cultivation resources.

The stronger they became, the greater the assistance they could provide him. Whether it was networking support or actual help, they were important arms for him to establish a foothold in the Hehuan Sect.

Letting them grow quickly was, in essence, paving the way for his own cultivation Realm.

Second was the advancement of his Alchemy path. The cultivation world was a place where the strong preyed on the weak, and the same was true within the Sect. To truly gain a firm footing and climb to higher branches, his existing Rank 3 low-grade Alchemy was far from enough.

Only by continuously breaking through and refining higher-grade, better-quality Medicinal Pills could he steadily increase his indispensability and become a core figure that various forces vied to recruit.

This was not only a manifestation of strength but also the key to obtaining resources and expanding his network.

Furthermore, there was the matter of his practical Foundation. Coming from Blue Star, he understood better than anyone that "the economic base determines the superstructure."

The networking in the cultivation world might seem ethereal, but it still required a solid material Foundation to maintain.

Female Cultivators might look down on mundane wealth, but who could refuse a flawless-quality Medicinal Pill with zero pill toxin, or a rare spiritual material that could significantly boost one's cultivation?

Magic Treasures and talismans might be declined due to Sect rules or personal temperament, but Medicinal Pills that improved cultivation and were pure and stainless were a basic necessity for every Cultivator.

Especially the "flawless quality" pills he could refine, which completely eliminated the hidden danger of pill toxin and had extremely pure medicinal effects. This attraction was something even arrogant Golden Core, Nascent Soul, or even Soul Transformation Cultivators would find hard to resist.

And Alchemy was the best shortcut for him to reach female Cultivators with higher cultivation. With the help of the System, his Alchemy proficiency was far beyond that of ordinary Cultivators; this was his greatest trump card.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang subconsciously brought up his attribute panel and found that he had already accumulated twenty-three proficiency points at some point.

These twenty-three proficiency points, combined with his now stable Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation and increasingly refined control over spiritual energy, were enough to support him in pushing his Alchemy to Rank 3 Advanced in one go. This level already surpassed the average Inner Sect Disciple and was enough to secure him a core position among the alchemists of any peak.

His mind made up, a flash of imperceptible certainty crossed Lu Yang's eyes, and his gaze became even more serene.

He was no longer just passively listening but began to actively communicate with the people in front of him, asking in detail about the specific conditions of each peak: the area of spiritual fields, the Rank of medicine gardens, the number of Pill Furnaces, the cultivation of the Peak Master, the resource allocation ratio... Every question hit the mark and was asked in an orderly fashion.

After meticulously inquiring about the core resources and Foundations of each peak, Lu Yang's questions would always seemingly inadvertently slide toward a more critical and personal direction.

His expression remained peaceful, and his tone maintained just the right amount of humility and seriousness, as if he were just asking casually, but the weight behind it was undeniable.

"May I ask, Senior Brother, roughly how many female Disciples are there under your peak?"

After saying this, he paused slightly, as if organizing his thoughts or simply following the topic out of curiosity, naturally adding:

"One more thing... Are there any female Disciples in the peak who, well... are either facing a Bottleneck on their path of cultivation and have been unable to break through for a long time, or... are troubled by hidden ailments like fire poison?"

Lu Yang asked frankly, his expression natural. His face still bore that impeccable, gentle gentlemanly look, as if these questions about the status of female Cultivators were just as common as his previous inquiries about spiritual fields, Pill Furnaces, and resource ratios when weighing the value of a peak.

Ultimately, among the many olive branches, Lu Yang chose Bibo Peak.

This decision was not on a whim.

The rare spirit plant resources Bibo Peak could provide were undoubtedly crucial for his advancement in Alchemy.

But the deeper reason was closely related to the "inside information" revealed by Senior Sister Su Wan.

According to Su Wan, although Bibo Peak was famous for its abundance of exotic flowers and herbs and its gathering of female Disciples, it hid a difficult dilemma—a severe shortage of alchemists, especially high-level ones, who were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

This dilemma had long since formed a vicious cycle: the female Disciples' stipends were already meager, and their cultivation resources were inherently insufficient. Even if they could use their peak's advantages to buy rare spirit plants from the medicine gardens at low prices, they suffered because no one could refine them into Medicinal Pills with pure effects that were easy to absorb. In contrast, in those peaks with high-level alchemists, Disciples could easily obtain finished Medicinal Pills to assist their cultivation, making their progress naturally twice as effective with half the effort.

The female Cultivators of Bibo Peak had no other choice but to consume the spirit plants directly.

But eating them this way not only significantly reduced the efficiency of spiritual energy absorption—often only refining thirty percent of the medicinal effect—but also sometimes led to disordered spiritual energy in the body due to the mixed medicinal properties or improper handling, which instead dragged down their cultivation progress, truly resulting in half the result with twice the effort.

Because of this, to obtain a single Medicinal Pill that could aid their cultivation, the female Cultivators of Bibo Peak often had to lower their status and travel to other peaks to plead with alchemists.

Even for just the most common Qi Gathering Pill or healing pill, they were willing to run errands, deliver letters, tend to medicine gardens, and handle chores, exchanging mundane labor for this hard-won karmic connection with pills.

When Su Wan spoke of this, her tone carried a hint of emotion: "Those Junior Sisters come to me for pills, but they don't actually ask for any high-level ones; most are just common pills for consolidating the Foundation and nurturing the origin.

What they seek is just a bit of help for stable cultivation, yet their attitude is very respectful. They speak softly and hold things with both hands when handing them over, for fear of neglecting me.

To be honest, we alchemists study our craft hard; isn't it for this value of being able to solve people's problems and for this heartfelt respect?"

Behind this respect was the urgent craving of the Bibo Peak female Cultivators for high-quality Medicinal Pills, and even more so, a huge gap in demand—and this was exactly the opportunity Lu Yang had spotted at a glance.

In an environment where everyone thirsted for pills but they were hard to come by, once he, an alchemist who could stably refine "flawless quality" pills, joined, his status and influence could well be imagined.

The gathering of female Cultivators provided the perfect cultivation soil for his Dragon Phoenix Yin-Yang Art.

Rare spirit plants were readily available, which not only saved him the trouble of searching everywhere but also provided a continuous supply of top-tier raw materials for his research into high-level Pill Formulas and the advancement of his Alchemy Realm.

And the widespread "pill famine" was an excellent springboard for him to quickly establish prestige and weave a network of connections.

In this way, choosing Bibo Peak was equivalent to choosing a shortcut that could maximize the advantages of both his Cultivation Technique and his Alchemy, and it was the perfect starting point for him to gain a firm footing and rise step by step in this cultivation world.