Chapter 108: Senior Brother Zhao of the Spirit Herb Sect

Five or six thousand spirit stones, plus a full set of rare herbs and flowers for refining Foundation Establishment Pills—the value of this haul was enough to rival the sum of all her previous spoils combined. With these materials complementing what she had already gathered, her breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage was all but guaranteed. How could Chu Xin'er not be overjoyed?

Without delay, she ceased her celebration, packed her belongings, and departed from her cave dwelling, flying toward the Spirit Herb Sect.

Though she had come to request the refining of pills, Chu Xin'er was unsure how to gain entry into the Spirit Herb Sect. Fortunately, she did not have to worry; no sooner had she arrived at the foot of Spirit Herb Peak than the patrolling disciples discovered her presence.

"Halt, fellow daoist. This is the restricted ground of the Spirit Herb Sect. Any unauthorized entry will be treated as an affront to the dignity of our sect."

The four young men and women were all below the Foundation Establishment stage, clearly the lowest-ranking disciples of the sect. Seeing Chu Xin'er’s modest cultivation and unremarkable appearance, their tone was rather cold.

"Greetings, brothers and sisters. I have come to request that your seniors refine some medicine for me. I ask for your assistance in introducing me. Please, accept this small token of my appreciation..."

Chu Xin'er was sharp-witted. As she spoke with a smile, she waved her hand, taking a pouch of spirit stones from her storage bag and handing it to the white-robed young man who appeared to be their leader.

In truth, she knew full well that these low-level Qi Refining disciples had no authority to take her to see any high-level alchemist. However, as the saying goes, "it is easy to see the King of Hell, but hard to deal with his underlings." Her own cultivation was too low; if she did not curry favor with them, she feared she might not even encounter someone in charge, let alone succeed in her quest for pills.

"You are too kind, fellow daoist. Junior Sister Lin, please take this fellow daoist to see Uncle-Master Xu."

The pouch contained several dozen spirit stones—not a large sum, perhaps, but these disciples who patrolled the outskirts rarely received many cultivation resources each month. As the white-robed youth accepted the stones, his attitude underwent a complete turnaround. Of course, he would not keep them all for himself; as he smiled and instructed the young woman with the oval face, he had already passed a dozen stones to her.

"Very well, Senior Brother Li. Fellow daoist, please follow me."

The oval-faced girl only had a cultivation of the eleventh level. Usually, those who came to the Spirit Herb Sect to request pills were seniors at the Foundation Establishment stage or higher, and they were rarely as generous as Chu Xin'er. After nodding to the white-robed man, she smiled and beckoned for Chu Xin'er to follow.

Just as Chu Xin'er had anticipated, following Junior Sister Lin made it easy to reach the aforementioned Uncle-Master Xu. Once he understood the purpose of her visit, he immediately ordered a disciple to escort her to the Guest Pavilion.

The Guest Pavilion of the Spirit Herb Sect was quite pleasant, with its cascading waterfalls, flowing springs, and elegant pavilions—even more comfortable and beautiful than her previous residence on Green Leaf Island. Furthermore, every building in the Guest Pavilion was protected by a separate restrictive formation, which could only be opened with a specific jade talisman, allowing one to cultivate within in complete peace of mind.

However, the Spirit Herb Sect was not a charity. While high-level cultivators could stay in the Guest Pavilion for free, low-level rogue cultivators like Chu Xin'er were required to pay a daily fee in spirit stones. Refining pills required payment, and lodging required spirit stones; the Spirit Herb Sect’s accountants were truly shrewd.

Chu Xin'er had learned this the hard way, as she was required to pay hundreds of spirit stones upfront while waiting for the negotiations with the alchemists to bear fruit. Fortunately, she had gained a great deal of wealth from killing the Zhang siblings, and when combined with the assets of Liang Fan, Old Man Hua, and others, she now possessed nearly twenty thousand spirit stones. Though she feigned a look of pained reluctance, she did not truly mind the expense.

Seven or eight days passed in the blink of an eye.

Guided by a dedicated attendant, Chu Xin'er and several dozen other cultivators staying in the Guest Pavilion were led to the main hall. Of course, because the Spirit Herb Sect was so renowned, there were far more visiting cultivators than just these few dozen. However, those present were all of low cultivation—not a single Foundation Establishment cultivator was among them—which made it clear that the others were not qualified to meet with the high-level alchemists.

Indeed, all the cultivators in the hall were at the Qi Refining stage; there was no need to ask—their purpose was the same as Chu Xin'er's: they were all there to request the refining of Foundation Establishment Pills. Compared to the nearly one hundred pill-seekers, there were quite a few alchemists from the Spirit Herb Sect present. After all, within a sect of thousands of disciples, those at the Foundation Establishment stage were not exactly scarce.

It was no wonder that the Zhang siblings had been so confident in their trip to the Spirit Herb Sect; with so many idle alchemists around, what was there to fear regarding the acquisition of Foundation Establishment Pills?

In truth, what Chu Xin'er did not know was that the success of refining medicine depended not only on the alchemist's experience and cultivation but also on the quality of the flame. High-level alchemists could use their own infant fire or pill fire to refine medicine with ease regardless of their location, but cultivators who had not yet formed their Golden Core were forced to rely on terrestrial fire. The reason the founder of the Spirit Herb Sect had established the sect in this mountain range was precisely because of the rich geothermal fire veins beneath it.

The Spirit Herb Sect's alchemists earned generous rewards for refining pills for outsiders, but in return, they were required to pay the sect a fee for the use of the fire-tempered chambers. Still, the alchemists kept the majority of the profit. Moreover, each refining session provided some degree of improvement in their craft. Over time, their alchemical skills would naturally rise, and the higher the quality of the pills they could produce, the greater their earnings would be. This was the reason why these Foundation Establishment experts were willing to lower themselves to meet with the low-level Qi Refining cultivators.

"Since Senior Brother Zhao has made the effort to come, please, you choose first."

Seeing that everyone had arrived, a dozen young alchemists stepped aside, making way for the white-robed man with the highest cultivation.

*Choose first? We aren't merchandise.*

Hearing this, and seeing the burning gazes of the Foundation Establishment men and women directed toward them, Chu Xin'er's heart skipped a beat. Fortunately, she soon noticed that the others showed no sign of surprise—some even looked pleased—and she quickly realized what was happening. Was it the custom of the Spirit Herb Sect to allow the alchemists to choose their own clients after they had been brought in? Her suspicion was immediately confirmed.

"Since you juniors are so gracious, I, Zhao, shall not decline. Very well. You have all come to my Spirit Herb Sect for pills, and there is no need to repeat the rules. You, you, you, and you—come with me."

In the world of cultivation, strength reigned supreme. The handsome white-robed man, already at the peak of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, did not reject the offer from his peers. He smiled faintly at the crowd, gestured for five people—including Chu Xin'er—to follow him, and turned to walk out of the hall.

The number of people chosen by Senior Brother Zhao was roughly one-tenth of those present, proportionate to the number of alchemists. Clearly, despite his high cultivation, he was not the type to bully others, and he knew enough not to be the first to break the established rules.