In a flash, two years had passed.
He Pingsheng’s cultivation had also reached the Foundation Establishment Stage Second Layer.
He had consumed more than eighty of the original two hundred and forty supreme-grade Gathering Qi Pills.
One hundred and sixty remained.
However, He Pingsheng did not continue his secluded cultivation.
He walked out of the small courtyard.
The cultivation notes recorded: After reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, a Cultivator cannot continuously cultivate in seclusion.
Even if there is no Bottleneck, continuous secluded cultivation will cause cultivation to fall into a temporary stagnation, because the circulation of Qi and blood is also extremely important during cultivation, and prolonged seclusion will cause the Qi and blood to become contaminated with impurities. Therefore, Disciples above the Foundation Establishment Stage must go out and travel for a period of time after each period of secluded cultivation.
Otherwise, there would be no such thing as traveling in the Cultivation World.
After He Pingsheng broke through to the Foundation Establishment Stage Second Layer, he felt turbid Qi rising within his body.
It was time to go out and walk around.
He planned to first visit the merchant guilds to see if there were any items he needed, and then go out of the city to inquire about news regarding the Tai Xu Sect.
He Pingsheng once again entered the Dingxiang Chamber of Commerce.
Due to two years of secluded cultivation, He Pingsheng obtained four updated reports from this merchant guild in one go.
He focused on the content regarding the Cultivation Alliance.
There was some news about the Cultivation Alliance, but it was not very relevant to He Pingsheng, and there was no news about the Tai Xu Sect.
It seemed there had been no changes.
“Grade three Talismans?” The shopkeeper of the Dingxiang Chamber of Commerce looked at He Pingsheng with a smile and said, “The merchant guild does not sell them. To be honest, Fellow Daoist, grade three Materials or goods like these are theoretically not sold to Disciples below the Golden Core Stage!”
“Our merchant guild has specialized auctions and trade fairs!”
“Only there can you see items of a higher grade!”
He Pingsheng asked, “Then… when does your merchant guild usually hold auctions?”
The shopkeeper shook his head, “I’m sorry, Fellow Daoist, you are not yet qualified to participate!”
He Pingsheng immediately felt insulted.
The shopkeeper, however, did not truly insult him and quickly explained, “Fellow Daoist, don’t be angry. This rule is not aimed at you, nor is it exclusive to our Dingxiang Chamber of Commerce; all merchant guilds in Dingxiang City operate the same way!”
“It’s the same rule!”
“If you want to participate in this auction, you must have an invitation!”
“And generally, invitations are only issued to Golden Core Cultivators, or to major Families and Sects!”
“And also to those Foundation Establishment Stage Disciples who possess treasures!” The shopkeeper looked at He Pingsheng with a smile, “If Fellow Daoist can produce something that would tempt a Golden Core Cultivator, I can apply to issue you an invitation!”
He Pingsheng shook his head, “This… I truly do not have it!”
“Forget it, I’ll take my leave!”
He Pingsheng came out of the Dingxiang Chamber of Commerce and then inquired at the Coral Merchant Guild and the Imperial Family Merchant Guild, two other large merchant guilds, and the answers he received were indeed the same.
Grade three Materials were virtually unobtainable.
Not to mention grade three Materials, even the poison pills he urgently needed were scarce; he swept through the three merchant guilds and only managed to acquire fewer than ten poison pills.
He Pingsheng wandered around and found himself back at the entrance of the Xuan Yuan Alchemy Shop.
“Hoh… Congratulations, Fellow Daoist… Two years unseen, and Fellow Daoist has actually broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage Second Layer, truly commendable!” Xuan Yuan Chang Geng, with his white hair but imposing stature, greeted He Pingsheng with some shock upon seeing him.
He Pingsheng hadn’t expected that after two years, the other party would still recognize him.
“Heh heh… Many thanks!” He Pingsheng cupped his hands and said, “May I ask, Fellow Daoist Xuan Yuan, does this shop currently have any second-grade poison pills?”
Xuan Yuan Chang Geng shook his head and said, “No…”
He then added, “This item is very difficult to find. Normally, after Cultivators acquire poison pills, even if they sell them to a merchant guild, the merchant guild generally won’t accept them!”
“Because this item is very difficult to sell, and if it doesn’t sell for a period of time, the poison pill will dry up, and its toxicity will dissipate, making it a losing proposition!”
“Over time, very few poison pills are sold!”
He Pingsheng asked, “Can Fellow Daoist help me collect some? I can pay a fee as well!”
Xuan Yuan did not immediately agree to He Pingsheng but smiled and said, “Is Fellow Daoist truly a poison Cultivator?”
He Pingsheng said, “One cannot say I am a poison Cultivator; I merely cultivated a poison-attribute Spell!”
“Oh?” Xuan Yuan looked very interested: “This… is Fellow Daoist convenient enough to let me see your poison Spell?”
“Of course, I have no other intentions, just a pure desire to see it!”
“If Fellow Daoist is not convenient, you can refuse!”
He Pingsheng said, “There’s nothing to hide!”
Hiss…
As soon as his voice fell, a finger-thick wood-attribute thorny vine pierced out from the ground beneath his feet. The verdant branches were covered in poisonous thorns.
Each poisonous thorn could fly out and injure people.
In reality, He Pingsheng could now condense a cluster of dozens of poisonous thorny vines in one breath, but he only displayed one, which was a partial concealment.
“What potent toxicity!” Xuan Yuan carefully examined it and said, “Even if this toxicity pierces a Cultivator at the Major Achievement of the Foundation Establishment Stage, I’m afraid the opponent would immediately lose the ability to retaliate!”
He Pingsheng neither admitted nor denied it.
“Fellow Daoist!” Xuan Yuan’s expression suddenly turned quite serious, and he said, “This humble Daoist has a good assignment here; I wonder if Fellow Daoist is interested?”
He Pingsheng said, “Fellow Daoist, please tell me!”
After all, he still wanted the other party to help collect poison pills, so He Pingsheng couldn’t outright refuse.
Xuan Yuan said, “It’s like this… Some time ago, this old man discovered a second-grade Mist Divinity Flower in a Secret Realm. Fellow Daoist should also be an Alchemist and understand what this Mist Divinity Flower is, right?”
This…
Xuan Yuan had indeed overestimated He Pingsheng.
Although He Pingsheng could perform Alchemy, compared to ordinary Alchemists, his Alchemy knowledge was vastly inferior.
Aside from the medicinal Materials on the thirty-six sides, he basically didn’t recognize the others.
“Uh… ashamed… ashamed…” He Pingsheng said, “I truly do not know what this Mist Divinity Flower is?”
“Ah?” Xuan Yuan was somewhat puzzled: “Mist Divinity Flower… you don’t know?”
“Forget it… Let me put it this way, the Mist Divinity Flower is a second-grade Spiritual Plant, and it’s a rule-based Spiritual Plant.”
“This item is one of the main Materials for refining the second-grade Medicinal Pill, the Double Divinity Pill, and it is extremely rare!”
“Fellow Daoist should know about the Double Divinity Pill, right?” Xuan Yuan asked, looking at He Pingsheng.
He Pingsheng rubbed his forehead and said, “Uh… this, I haven’t heard of it either!”
“Alright… The Double Divinity Pill is a Medicinal Pill that can increase Divine Thought!” Xuan Yuan began to explain: “It is only effective for Disciples at the Foundation Establishment Stage. After consuming it, no matter how powerful your Divine Thought is, its intensity can be doubled within one hour!”
“The Heaven-Defying aspect of this Medicinal Pill, I don’t need to explain it, right?”