Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 111 - 109: Exchange Meeting (Part 1)

"Nourishing Essence Pill" is merely a Tier Three Lower Grade Spirit Pill, and the pill formula is fairly widespread. Essentially, out of ten Tier Three Alchemists, six or seven are proficient in crafting this spirit pill, so its value is quite lower compared to other rare pill formulas.

Meanwhile, the two Tier Three Pill Formulas Zhouyang acquired from the Wang Family, the "Immortal Ganoderma Jade Dew Pill" and the "Three Yang Barrier-Breaking Pill," happen to be rare formulas not even mastered by Elder Chen, a Tier Four High-grade Alchemist.

These two pills, the "Immortal Ganoderma Jade Dew Pill," can enhance the cultivation of Foundation Establishment Cultivators and also have some effect on Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

On the other hand, the "Three Yang Barrier-Breaking Pill" is seldom seen and used for breaking through cultivation barriers. It can assist Early-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators in advancing to Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment, and in terms of value, it surpasses the "Immortal Ganoderma Jade Dew Pill."

The bottle of unidentified Tier Three Spirit Pill that Zhouyang obtained from a demon cultivator was, after identification by Xuan Hao, confirmed to be the "Immortal Ganoderma Jade Dew Pill."

Following this, as Zhouyang and his group anticipated, under the temptation of the two rare Tier Three Pill Formulas not even recorded by the Chen Family, Elder Chen promptly forgot about the Wang Family affair and willingly exchanged the "Nourishing Essence Pill" formula with them. He even threw in an additional five ready-made Nourishing Essence Pills.

Though neither party explicitly stated it, Zhouyang knew that Elder Chen’s willingness to make this exchange tacitly agreed to help them deal with the Wang Family.

As a Tier Four High-grade Alchemist, with cultivation reaching the Eighth-Layer of the Purple Mansion, Elder Chen only needs to step in, and there’s no way the Yellow Sand Sect will not give him face.

After exchanging the pill formulas, Zhouyang and Zhou Minghan did not disturb Elder Chen’s cultivation any further and directly returned to the "Jade Spring Tower" in the marketplace.

"How did it go? Did Elder Chen agree to exchange the pill formulas?"

Seeing Zhouyang and the others return, Xuan Hao, who was waiting inside the "Jade Spring Tower," hurriedly inquired about the situation.

"It was successful. Here is the ’Nourishing Essence Pill’ formula from Elder Chen, along with the five additional spirit pills he gifted."

Zhouyang smiled slightly and handed both the formula and the pills to his father, Xuan Hao.

"That’s fantastic!"

Xuan Hao accepted the pill formula and pills, his face full of excitement and enthusiasm.

His expression lightened as he tightly gripped the formula and pills, his speech rapid and urgent: "The ’Nourishing Essence Pill’ is one of the easier Tier Three Spirit Pills to refine. With this formula, along with the complete pills to dissect and study, as long as I practice alchemy a few more times, I’m confident I can use this opportunity to break through to a Tier Three Alchemist!"

Hearing this, Zhouyang nodded at once and said, "I looked into it just now. Most of the spirit herbs needed to refine this pill can be found in our Zhou Family’s Medicinal Garden and those I brought back from the Wang Family’s garden, except for the main herb, Nourishing Essence Ginseng, which is quite difficult to find. Although it’s present in our family garden, its age is short of the three hundred years needed, as specified in the formula."

"Nourishing Essence Ginseng is generally cultivated in the medicinal gardens of various families. Given that our Zhou Family’s foundation is relatively young, it’s normal not to find one that’s three hundred years old. However, families like the Liu Family of Chixia Mountain and the Yang Family of Golden Spring Valley should have them in their gardens. Didn’t their patriarchs owe you a favor during the last demon subjugation war? After this exchange meeting, you might as well ask them to repay with spirit herbs. I’m sure they’d be happy to settle the favor with spirit herbs!"

Xuan Hao, being an alchemist, has significant influence in matters concerning spirit herbs. Upon hearing Zhouyang’s information, he immediately thought of a solution.

"Let’s proceed with that plan."

Zhouyang’s expression turned serious as he made the decision.

In the upcoming period, the three members of the Zhou Family quietly waited inside the "Jade Spring Tower" for the exchange meeting to commence.

As the time for the exchange meeting drew near, Foundation Establishment Cultivators who had received the news started flocking to the Baisha River Oasis, including many who, upon learning that Zhou Minghan was in the "Jade Spring Tower," approached him, seeking his aid as a Tier Three High-grade Refiner in crafting suitable Tier Three Spiritual Artifacts.

With the invasion of the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm by demonic cultivators becoming widespread knowledge, many visionary cultivators began draining their lifelong savings to purchase artifacts, spirit talismans, and other battle-essential treasures to prepare for the impending demon chaos.

Zhou Minghan, as a Tier Three High-grade Refiner, naturally became highly sought after, adored by many Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

As for the loss of materials due to possible failures in refining Tier Three Spiritual Artifacts, in the face of the threat posed by demonic cultivators, people were already ignoring such losses.

If left unused, the materials would merely gather dust in their hands. Should they perish, it would only benefit someone else. Thus, it was worth taking the gamble!

However, as crafting Tier Three Magical Artifacts isn’t easy and to ensure success and preserve his reputation, Zhou Minghan only refines when in perfect condition, typically not exceeding a few times a month.

With the exchange meeting approaching, his mind was preoccupied, so he could only tell people to wait until after the meeting.

After waiting for half a month, the Foundation Establishment Cultivators’ exchange meeting that Zhouyang had been eagerly anticipating finally commenced.

The venue of the exchange meeting was atop White Camel Peak, the ancestral ground of the Chen Family. Upon arriving at White Camel Peak, Zhouyang and his companions were promptly guided by the Chen Family to a cliff, where the Chen Family Ancestor, who was presiding over the meeting, sat with closed eyes atop a rock, deep in thought.

At this moment, including the three from the Zhou Family, over twenty Foundation Establishment Cultivators had gathered on the cliff, and more were continuously arriving.

The participants of the exchange meeting were not limited to the Foundation Establishment Cultivators from various families; even independent Foundation Establishment Cultivators were included.

As soon as the three from the Zhou Family sat down, Zhouyang distinctly felt many fervent gazes directed towards their direction, or more precisely, towards Zhou Minghan beside him.

"Those people are all independent cultivators who haven’t reached fifty years of cultivation. They have no personal connections with me and they can’t just come over to ask me for artifact refining help, so they can only hope that I bring out a Tier Three Magical Artifact at this exchange meeting to trade for their treasures. That’s why they’re showing such zeal."

Noticing Zhouyang’s particular gaze, Zhou Minghan slightly moved his lips and explained a few things to him via sound transmission.

Upon hearing this, Zhouyang immediately understood.

Although independent cultivators are generally not as wealthy as clan cultivators, those who have managed to cultivate to the Foundation Establishment Stage often have some fortuitous encounters, and they sometimes indeed carry precious treasures.

Simultaneously, he couldn’t help but once again marvel at the benefits of being a Tier Three Refiner. With his identity as a Tier Three High-grade Refiner, Zhou Minghan held significant fame and influence in the Baisha River Cultivation Realm. Even the Chen Family Ancestor had a much better attitude towards him than towards ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

The Zhou Family’s flourishing development over these past years was significantly credited to Zhou Minghan’s status as a Tier Three High-grade Refiner.

If he hadn’t forged connections with numerous Foundation Establishment Cultivators through refining artifacts, the Zhou Family’s development certainly wouldn’t have been as smooth sailing as it is today.

"After this exchange meeting, I also need to calm down and delve into the study of artifact refining. If I can advance to become a Tier Three Refiner, even without revealing my possession of the Qianyang Treasure Body, the attention I receive from the Yellow Sand Sect would significantly increase."

While he was silently contemplating these matters, he didn’t notice that more than forty or fifty Foundation Establishment Cultivators had gathered at the cliff, and that the Chen Family Ancestor, who was sitting cross-legged on the rock, had also opened his eyes.

"Alright, since most of the Daoist friends who should be here are now in attendance, and those who aren’t need not be waited for, I hereby announce the official commencement of the exchange meeting."

The powerful and resonant voice of the Chen Family Ancestor floated across the cliff with the wind. Upon hearing this voice, Zhouyang quickly refocused his attention on the Chen Family Ancestor standing atop the rock.

As the Chen Family Ancestor announced the start of the exchange meeting, he immediately swung his sleeve and placed seven or eight bottles of Spirit Pills on the rock in front of him. He slowly said, "According to the rules, our Chen Family, as the host of the exchange meeting, needs to throw a brick to attract jade by being the first to bring out treasures for exchange."

"I currently have five types of Tier Three Spirit Pills, three of which are used for advancing cultivation at the early, middle, and late stages of Foundation Establishment, while the other two are for healing and restoring magical power."

"As per tradition, Tier Three and above Pill Formulas are prioritized, followed by Tier Four and Tier Three Spirit Elixirs, then finished arrays, magical artifacts, and spirit talismans that catch my eye, and finally spirit stones. The specific value will be evaluated by me."

The rarity of Tier Three Pill Formulas is well known, so naturally, no one would be willing to exchange them for a few common Tier Three Spirit Pills. Swapping for Foundation Establishment Pills might be more conceivable.

Therefore, those truly exchanging with the Chen Family Ancestor mostly used various Tier Three Spirit Elixirs as substitutes.

However, a single Tier Three Spirit Pill is worth several hundred spirit stones, and the Chen Family Ancestor was unwilling to exchange them individually. This forced many interested in exchanging them to gather in groups of three or more to combine enough spirit elixirs to exchange for a whole bottle of Spirit Pills, subsequently distributing pills based on the value and quantity of elixirs they provided.

Given the Zhou Family has only been established for over two hundred years and has very few mature Tier Three Spirit Elixirs, coupled with the possibility of Zhou Xuanhao soon attaining the title of Tier Three Alchemist, these elixirs couldn’t be easily moved, leaving them unable to do anything but watch.

Not long after, the Spirit Pills that the Chen Family Ancestor had taken out were thoroughly divided up by several long-established cultivation clans and a few lucky independent cultivators possessing Tier Three Spirit Elixirs.

After all these Spirit Pills had been exchanged, the Chen Family Ancestor waved his sleeve again, storing away the various jade boxes filled with spirit elixirs from in front of him, then turned his gaze toward Liu Qingsong, the patriarch of the Liu Family from Chixia Mountain, and said, "Alright, my duty and that of the Chen Family is complete. Now, let’s have Patriarch Liu display the treasures prepared by your clan and the treasures you wish to exchange."

Liu Qingsong had been severely injured by a sand bandit using the demonic secret technique ’Bloodthirsty Demon Saber’ during the siege of Blood Mo Luo. Although Chen Family Ancestor’s aid subsequently ensured his life was not in danger, he suffered a severe loss of primordial qi, utterly severing his future path, and even losing a chunk of his already limited lifespan.

Compared to when Zhouyang initially met him, he appeared noticeably older and paler, lacking any semblance of human color, and no longer possessing the audacity he once had to make demands of the Chen Family.

Upon hearing the words of the Chen Family Ancestor, he, too, immediately waved his sleeve, laying out a pile of items before him.

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