22: Chapter 22 Revisiting the Heavenly Gang Sect

The night was as still as water; in the small courtyard of the Su Family, father and son sat facing each other.

"Father, take two hundred top-grade qi gathering pills with you to the Prefecture City this time." Su Cheng handed over the Medium Grade Storage Pouch. "One hundred must be personally delivered to Sister. The other hundred will be the startup capital for all our plans over the next two years."

Of the three hundred-plus Medicinal Pills, he kept over a hundred as spares; the rest were to be converted into more practical resources and strength.

Su Chengyuan took the Storage Pouch, felt its heavy weight, and nodded.

"The Prefecture City is not like the county town. Your mission this time is heavy, so be careful in everything," Su Cheng urged again. "Searching for the foundation establishment pill recipe is the primary goal, but don't be too hasty. Selling Medicinal Pills for Spirit Stones and buying new Pill Formulas and Magical Artifacts can all be done simultaneously. Remember, safety first."

"I know, your father is an 'old hand in the Jianghu' now." Su Chengyuan joked, easing the slight sadness before their parting. "You must also hide yourself well at home. Hearts are unstable within the Family, so do not let anything slip."

"I understand."

Father and son spoke no more; everything that needed to be said had already been discussed countless times.

That night, Su Chengyuan once again blended into the darkness and quietly departed.

This time, his destination was the Tiangang Sect, thousands of miles away, and the even more distant and prosperous Qinghe Prefecture City.

Su Chengyuan traveled swiftly. His Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivation allowed him to cover a thousand miles a day, and after more than half a month, the towering mountain gate of the Tiangang Sect came into view in the distance.

It was the same mountain-guarding Disciples as last time. Seeing Su Chengyuan, one of them even took the initiative to smile and offer a greeting.

"Fellow Daoist Su, here to visit Junior Sister Su again?"

"I appreciate the Immortal Master's concern." Su Chengyuan politely cupped his hands and skillfully handed over a cloth bag containing thirty Spirit Stones.

The Disciple weighed it in his hand, and the smile on his face became more genuine. "Fellow Daoist Su is too polite. Wait a moment, I'll go report it right away."

Soon, a familiar and heroic figure dashed down from the mountain.

"Father!"

When Su Yunling saw her father, her eyes reddened, and she threw herself toward him.

"You're so grown up now, yet you're still crying." Su Chengyuan smiled and patted his daughter's back, his heart softening.

Having not seen her for over a year, his daughter had grown into a graceful young woman, and her cultivation had advanced to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer Early Stage.

Such speed was considered outstanding in the entire Tiangang Sect Outer Sect, bringing her significant fame and attention.

Father and daughter found a secluded mountain forest.

"Father, is everything okay at home? How is my younger brother?" Su Yunling asked urgently.

"Everything is fine, everything is fine." Su Chengyuan glossed over the matter of the Wang Family and then handed a Storage Pouch to his daughter. "Xiao Cheng asked me to bring this to you."

Su Yunling's Mental Energy swept inside, and when she saw the hundred top-grade qi gathering pills shimmering with treasure light and overflowing with medicinal fragrance, she was completely stunned.

"This... so many?" She covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes filled with shock.

The ten Medicinal Pills from last time had already transformed her, causing her cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds.

This time, there were actually a hundred!

She simply could not imagine how her younger brother had refined such a massive quantity of supreme-grade pills in such a short time.

"My brother... he himself..."

"Don't worry, he kept enough for his own use," Su Chengyuan laughed. "He told me to tell you not to be frugal. In the Sect, strength is everything. Raising your cultivation as quickly as possible and achieving Foundation Establishment early is the greatest help you can give us."

Su Yunling nodded heavily, clutching the Storage Pouch tightly in her hand.

Siblings' hearts are connected; she understood her younger brother's well-intentioned efforts.

Just as the father and daughter were talking, several female Disciples wearing the same uniform approached on a nearby path.

The leader was a beautiful woman in luxurious clothing. When she saw Su Yunling, a flash of disdain and jealousy crossed her eyes.

"Oh, I was wondering who it was; it turns out to be Junior Sister Su." The female Disciple spoke mockingly. "I heard Junior Sister Su 'encountered an Opportunity' during her last training trip, and her cultivation soared. How is it that after only this long, you're out meeting Family again? Are you planning to find another 'Opportunity'?"

This person was named Lin Feier, the granddaughter of a Sect deacon. Relying on her Family background, she had always looked down on Disciples like Su Yunling who had no backing.

Especially after Su Yunling's cultivation surpassed hers and she received praise from a certain Senior Brother whom Lin Feier had a crush on, she opposed Su Yunling at every turn.

Su Yunling's delicate brows furrowed, not wanting to argue with her. "Senior Sister Lin, I am reuniting with my father. What does that have to do with you?"

Lin Feier's gaze swept contemptuously over Su Chengyuan. Seeing him in plain cloth clothes and appearing to have a cultivation of only Qi Refining Third Layer, the disdain in her eyes deepened.

"Hehe, so this is Junior Sister Su's Family." She chuckled, covering her mouth. "I thought it was some extraordinary figure who could help your cultivation advance. It seems Junior Sister Su's 'Opportunity' really depends entirely on luck. Your father's cultivation is truly an 'eye-opener'."

The insulting implication in these words was more than obvious.

Su Yunling's face flushed with anger, and she was about to lash out when Su Chengyuan reached out to stop her.

Su Chengyuan looked at the female Disciple named Lin Feier, his face still wearing that honest smile, but deep in his eyes, it was icy cold.

He said nothing, just quietly watched her.

Lin Feier felt a bit uneasy under his gaze. Those eyes were too calm, so calm that they made her heart flutter with nervousness.

How could a Qi Refining Third Layer Cultivator have such a gaze? But she quickly dismissed this doubt, assuming the other party was merely feigning composure.

"Junior Sister Su, you'd better behave yourself." She threw down a harsh parting shot and turned to leave.

In her heart, however, she was calculating that Su Yunling must have a secret.

A father at the Qi Refining Third Layer could never support such a rapid cultivation speed.

The next time she left the Sect, she would definitely find a way to follow her and see what kind of "fortuitous encounter" it really was.

Watching Lin Feier's departing back, Su Yunling said worriedly, "Father, this Lin Feier is narrow-minded. I'm afraid she will..."

"It's fine," Su Chengyuan said calmly. "Just a buzzing fly. You just need to remember: before you have absolute strength, do not easily make enemies. But if someone truly wants to kill you, do not be soft-hearted. You must pull them up by the roots; you absolutely cannot expose yourself."

Su Yunling took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and nodded solemnly to her father.

After saying goodbye to his daughter, Su Chengyuan did not linger and returned to Qinghe Prefecture City once again.

This time, his goal was clear—to exchange the remaining hundred top-grade qi gathering pills for a foundation establishment pill recipe.

He did not go to small-time places like the Ghost Market again.

The Ghost Market simply couldn't handle a hundred supreme-grade pills, and it would only invite disaster.

He put on the most unremarkable Loose Cultivator face. This time, he did not hide his cultivation, showing the Peak Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, and walked straight toward the grandest building in the center of the Prefecture City—Treasure Gathering Tower.

The Treasure Gathering Tower in the Prefecture City was more than ten times grander than the one in the county town.

The guards at the entrance were all Late Qi Refining Stage Cultivators, and Foundation Establishment Cultivators were frequently seen among the guests coming and going.

Su Chengyuan walked into the hall and spoke directly to a middle-aged man who looked like a manager. "I want to see someone in charge; I have a big business deal to discuss."

The manager initially wanted to dismiss him, but with a flick of his finger, Su Chengyuan sent a jade bottle containing a top-grade qi gathering pill into his hand.

The manager opened it, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately said respectfully, "Senior, please follow me."

In an elegant quiet room on the third floor, Su Chengyuan met the Second Manager of Treasure Gathering Tower, a smiling fat man whose cultivation was genuinely at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage.

"I wonder how I should address you, Fellow Daoist? What can I do for you?" The Fat Shopkeeper personally brewed tea for Su Chengyuan, his attitude very polite.

"My surname is Wang." Su Chengyuan used a fake name and went straight to the point. "I have one hundred top-grade qi gathering pills in my hand and would like to make a deal with your tower."

"Pfft—" The Fat Shopkeeper spat out the tea he had just sipped. Ignoring his loss of composure, he stared at Su Chengyuan with wide eyes. "Dao... Fellow Daoist, how many did you say?"