After entering Qianjie City, there were many roads and rustic buildings.

Some roads even had signs.

"Thousand Song Purple River Carrot?" Looking at the sign pointing to the right, Su Qing was confused.

’Isn’t that a poetic name for a placenta?’

"Five Viscera Temple?"

"Blood Pool?"

"Gathering Spirit Formation?"

...

"Thousand Tribulations Hall."

Su Qing had finally found the place he was looking for.

He encountered a few mortals along the way, but most people were Cultivators.

The Demon Cultivators here hardly bothered to hide their Demonic Qi, and they all headed down the paths with strange names like Blood Pool and Five Viscera Temple.

The Cultivators who went in were excited. The ones who came out gave Su Qing a very gloomy feeling, as if they were on the verge of succumbing to their inner demons.

After watching for a while, Su Qing figured out what those places were for.

Just like the Demonic Cultivation Technique he had obtained, these were places for Demon Cultivators to practice their Cultivation.

Thousand Tribulations Hall.

Su Qing arrived shortly after.

As soon as he entered, Su Qing saw a great hall.

The hall was brightly lit, using lifestyle-type Magical Artifacts similar to those at the Zhengxuan Sect.

There were also many boards: a bounty board, a mission board, an assassination board, and so on.

Even the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect’s Celestial Pride List was there.

First Place: Qian Qiusheng

Second Place: Bai Jiangxue

Third Place: Baili Xuanao

...

However, there was no information about their power level or age.

There were only names and portraits.

’Feels like this is just a warning not to be too reckless if we run into these prodigies.’

’Otherwise, you won’t even know what hit you.’

...

"How do I join the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect?"

Su Qing walked over to a reception desk where a woman was stationed. She didn’t seem to have any Demonic Qi, but Su Qing couldn’t be sure.

"Join the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect?"

"It’s simple. Take on an assigned job for three years, and then you can join the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect as a Servant Disciple."

The woman said after glancing at Su Qing.

"Besides becoming a Servant Disciple, are there any other ways to join the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect?"

Su Qing kept his composure and continued to ask. ’If this is the only way to join, what a helpless and bitter choice that would be.’

’In three years, a baby would have already learned to walk.’

"So you want to become an Outer Disciple, a rank above Servant Disciple, right now?"

"There is a way, but it’s very difficult."

"How difficult?" Su Qing asked.

"Pass the trials in the Heart Refining Hall. If you do, you’ll be given an Outer Disciple Token for the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect. Once you have the Token, you can choose to join the Sect or keep the Token without joining. You’ll still gain the right to exchange items with our Sect either way."

"But you should know that tempering your heart in the Heart Refining Hall can easily drive a person mad. It can even lead to death."

"It’s hard to pass no matter how strong your Cultivation is."

The woman emphasized again.

"The other way is to join during the Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect’s disciple recruitment. However, we generally only recruit once a year, and last month’s recruitment has already ended."

"The requirements are quite strict, and it’s very difficult."

"So, you don’t have a chance anytime soon."

Su Qing was silent for a moment before asking, "What can an Outer Disciple do?"

"Being an Outer Disciple is great, of course. You can exchange for many medicinal herbs and Spirit Fruits. Even the Foundation Establishment Pill can only be exchanged for if you have the status of an Outer Disciple," the woman said without hesitation.

Foundation Establishment Pill. Su Qing didn’t need one just yet.

He began to ponder.

He shook his head. ’The Heart Refining Hall... I really don’t dare go there.’

"Then forget it..."

Su Qing sighed. It took too long to become a Servant Disciple, but becoming an Outer Disciple required passing through the Heart Refining Hall.

"Actually, you could wait until next year. My Ten Thousand Tribulations Sect will recruit a new batch of disciples then. This year’s just ended."

"..."

Su Qing fell silent.

He left the Thousand Tribulations Hall.

...

Su Qing headed to the Marketplace, the place for trade.

He had quite a few unwanted Magical Artifacts to sell.

After a round of transactions, Su Qing had over three hundred more Spirit Stones.

"How many Spirit Stones for this Medicine Cauldron?"

Su Qing noticed a stall selling a Medicine Cauldron and decided he wanted to buy it.

He planned to live here for the long term.

The Spiritual Qi, the Spirit Gathering Arrays, and the grounds suitable for Spirit Cultivators were simply too abundant here.

However, the consumption of Spirit Stones was also extremely high, so Su Qing wanted to learn a trade to earn some.

Alchemy was a good trade.

’If Alchemy is also a type of Magic, it should show up on my synthesis panel.’

’Even if it’s not, I’ll have to figure it out myself.’

’Other people can refine Elixirs without a Golden Finger. Why can’t I?’

"This Medicine Cauldron is also a Magical Artifact. I’ll sell it to you for 80 Spirit Stones."

"80? Do you think I’ve never been to the Treasure Tower?" Su Qing retorted irritably upon hearing the price of 80 Spirit Stones.

"Hey, I haven’t used it that many times," the stall owner added.

"Open your eyes and look at the residue caked inside this Medicine Cauldron. Look how thick it is."

"’Not many times?’" Su Qing really did want to buy it.

"Final price, 30 Spirit Stones."

"Done!" The stall owner agreed readily, handing the Medicine Cauldron to Su Qing.

Su Qing: "..."

He suddenly felt like he had been ripped off.

Still, he handed over the 30 Spirit Stones.

Su Qing took the Medicine Cauldron.

’Medicine Cauldron, Pill Formula, Alchemy Technique, and a flame.’

’The flame is a non-starter. The best I can do is rent a room with Earth Fire in one of Qianjie City’s Alchemy Rooms.’

Pill Formulas were available at the Treasure Tower, so Su Qing bought one for the Qi Nourishing Pill.

The Alchemy Technique cost 100 Spirit Stones, and the Pill Formula cost 50 Spirit Stones.

The Alchemy Technique was called Silk Binding Hand.

It was something he could cultivate.

Su Qing then rented a small cabin for 10 Spirit Stones a month.

Living in Qianjie City was expensive.

But he didn’t have to worry about all sorts of trouble. Fighting was forbidden within the city.

Anyone caught initiating a fight would be killed on the spot, so his safety was guaranteed.

---

[Silk Binding Hand: Entry Level (300/500)]

After just a few attempts at the Silk Binding Hand, Su Qing had already gained this much Skill Level.

Almost a hundred points per attempt.

He didn’t synthesize a better version of Silk Binding Hand because it was just an auxiliary skill for Alchemy. Su Qing only wanted to learn Alchemy quickly.

Inside his room, Su Qing used his Demon Sword to continuously scrape away the layers of medicinal residue from the Medicine Cauldron.

After cleaning it, Su Qing continued practicing his Silk Binding Hand.

[Silk Binding Hand: Perfection (Fire Control)]

It quickly reached Perfection, and Su Qing could clearly feel that his hands were completely different.

His control over his hands had become incredibly precise. He even had a clear sense of the approximate weight of anything he held.

"All that’s left is to practice."

Su Qing bought thirty sets of ingredients for the Qi Nourishing Pill formula.

It cost him nearly a hundred Spirit Stones.

A bottle of Qi Nourishing Pills contained three pills, and each pill was worth one Spirit Stone.

A single set of ingredients for the Qi Nourishing Pill, however, could probably produce a dozen to two dozen pills.

If he succeeded in refining them all, the profits would be enormous.

He rented an Alchemy Room.

Spirit Stones per hour.

...

"A failure."

"Failed again!"

"Too many ingredients this time."

"Failed again."

"Rushed the smelting process."

"Dammit, I was too impatient and added too much."

Failure...

Failure...

After more than twenty attempts.

A batch of fragrant Qi Nourishing Pills finally emerged from the cauldron.

"Great! I finally refined them."

---

[Alchemy: Tier One (1/10,000)]

’Alchemy has a Skill Level too?’

Su Qing was baffled. And it seemed like there was no bonus from his Five Qi God Demon Body.

’Maybe this doesn’t count as Cultivation.’

’Still, ten thousand successful refinements is an insane amount.’

Then, Su Qing saw another piece of information behind the word "Alchemy."

[Can be synthesized]

"’Can be synthesized’!!!"

Su Qing froze. ’This can be synthesized too?’

’How do you synthesize this?’

...