The beam of Daoist flying sword flashed across the sky above Ten Thousand Withered Ridge, heading toward Green Pill Mountain where the group—Sect Master Wu, Vice Sect Master Wu, Elder Yan, and over a dozen accompanying Foundation Establishment stage cultivators of the Green Pill Sect—was traveling.

Yan Xuan stood upon Elder Yan’s flying sword, soaring high above. She kept turning back to stare at the barren Ten Thousand Withered Ridge, sulking. She shook Elder Yan’s arm and demanded, "Father, why didn't you bring Junior Brother Ye along? He already has the Foundation Establishment Pill anyway; he should return to Green Pill Mountain for secluded cultivation to break through. Leaving him in the cave within Ten Thousand Withered Ridge is too dangerous.”

Although Yan Xuan was usually proud and tended to look down on outer sect disciples, lacking much experience in venturing out, she wasn't entirely unreasonable. She knew that an outer sect disciple possessing a Foundation Establishment Pill while remaining inside a cave in Ten Thousand Withered Ridge was a perilous situation. Even if she had obtained the pill, she wouldn't dare stay in Ten Thousand Withered Ridge; she would immediately and obediently follow her father back to the Green Pill Sect for seclusion.

She held a slight favorable impression of Ye Qin, compounded by the Foundation Establishment Pill. Originally, she had intended to ask Ye Qin to return with her and the others following Sect Master Wu back to Green Pill Sect, but somehow, Elder Yan had subtly obstructed her, preventing her from voicing the request.

Elder Yan stated calmly, "There is no such need. Whether he remains in Ten Thousand Withered Ridge or at Green Pill Sect, the outcome will be the same."

"Why?" Yan Xuan asked, puzzled.

Elder Yan remained silent then, guiding the flying sword without offering an explanation. Yan Xuan refused to yield and started acting spoiled, insisting on knowing the reason; otherwise, she couldn't possibly return to Green Pill Sect with any peace of mind.

Elder Yan was badgered relentlessly and could only sigh helplessly, "How could I not know his situation! I have scrutinized his aura; that boy emits almost no external energy. His eyes are vacant and lifeless, and all his vital energy is consolidated internally, not leaking out. This clearly indicates he is cultivating an extremely ancient immortal cultivation technique, the Siddhartha Scripture. His greatest tribulation now stems not from Ten Thousand Withered Ridge, but from this life-threatening technique. In ancient times, countless cultivators died because of this method; success rates were less than one in a hundred, with very few reaching Foundation Establishment. Although I also favor his potential, the premise is that he must have the lifespan to survive this hurdle and live."

Yan Xuan exclaimed in surprise, "The Siddhartha Scripture? What kind of immortal cultivation technique is that?"

"That is an ancient technique created by the cultivators of Spirit Mist Immortal Fate City. It has no Spiritual Root requirement and is suitable for cultivators of all spiritual root types. No cultivator practices it anymore. I don't know where that boy got his hands on it and started cultivating it haphazardly. Alas, cultivators originating from rogue paths truly lack experience. If he had just started cultivating, perhaps I could still lend him a hand. But he is already at the peak of the ninth level of the Qi Condensation stage. Never mind me; even the Ancestor wouldn't be able to help him now. It relies entirely on his own will."

"But Ten Thousand Withered Ridge is too dangerous. Bringing him back to Green Pill Sect would be safer. I worry—"

"Heh, what is there to worry about? That boy managed to snatch eight map scrolls from over ten sect cultivators and successfully escaped. He also endured half a month alone in the third level of the cave, which shows his extraordinary shrewdness. It won't be easy for him to die. If he could protect eight scrolls, are you afraid he couldn't protect two Foundation Establishment Pills? In the Ten Thousand Withered Ridge Cave, whether it's demonic beasts or cultivators from other sects, the danger to that boy is not great. Whether he breaks through in Ten Thousand Withered Ridge or in seclusion at Green Pill Sect, if he cannot overcome the hurdle of the Siddhartha Scripture, it will cost him his life just the same. Where he establishes his foundation is ultimately the same. Everyone has their own predestined fortune; life and death are their own creation. There is no need to interfere arbitrarily. As long as he can pass this calamity and survive, I will try my best to compensate him. I will arrange a good post for him within the sect later, saving others from saying that I, Yan Fengzhen, am cold and ruthless," Elder Yan stated with a solemn expression.

Seeing that her father refused to take Ye Qin back, Yan Xuan let out a faint sigh and turned to look back towards Ten Thousand Withered Ridge.

Ye Qin stood alone by the lava river, his blue water-elemental protective shield fully active, warding off the searing heat waves washing over him from the river. He gazed down at the rolling red magma, a wry, helpless smile touching his lips.

He had left this place only a day ago. His original plan was to leave, use the map scrolls to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pills from the Sect Master, and then return to Green Pill Sect for secluded cultivation to break through. However, some unexpected turns of events had occurred, and after circling about, he had returned to this exact location.

"Could it be that I have some affinity with this lava river?"

The only difference from before was that he now held two Foundation Establishment Pills awarded by the sect. Even if he succeeded in establishing his foundation, no one within the sect would question how he suddenly became a Foundation Establishment cultivator, nor would they suspect anything else. Of course, if he failed to establish his foundation, none of this would matter to him anyway.

This lava river was the deepest and hottest part of the subterranean cavern. To reach it, one had to pass through numerous demonic beast lairs along the way. Few people would venture to this spot in a short time.

Ye Qin searched for a long time along the banks of the underground lava river, which spanned over ten li. Finally, at a sharp bend, on a hundred-foot-high cliff wall, he located a very hidden fissure, just large enough for a single person to slip through. If one didn't search meticulously, this crack would be completely missed.

With a single leap, he landed lightly inside the fissure.

Ye Qin investigated the fissure and discovered several Red Flame Earth Fires of varying sizes. Some flames reached nearly ten feet high, while smaller bursts were only a few inches tall. These flames spewed out from the underground crack, scorching the rock walls red. The flames were quite pure and stable, perfectly suitable for alchemy.

He allowed himself to completely relax. Here, he didn't need to worry about being found by cultivators from other sects for the time being.

Pushing all unresolved issues out of his mind, his sole focus now was on entering Foundation Establishment without distraction. Once he succeeded, the number of cultivators who could threaten his safety would greatly diminish, and he wouldn't have to worry about being crushed like an ant by Elder Zhao or Wu Zijian and the like.

Foundation Establishment cultivators possessed one fundamental and incredibly potent ability: flying on their swords. Even if they couldn't defeat other Foundation Establishment cultivators in a fight, sword flight offered much greater escape speed than the sluggish pace of top-tier spiritual artifacts like the Bat King Wings.

Ye Qin found a flat patch inside the fissure and sat down cross-legged, tidying up his storage pouch.

He had already gathered the seeds of nearly a hundred rare spiritual herbs and medicines required to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill, storing them within his Purple Mansion Floating Island. As for various low-grade spirit stones, his reserves were ample.

Naturally, cultivating the required medicinal ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill would take considerable effort. These herbs were not all of the same elemental type. Wood-element herbs needed to be planted using Wood Spirit Stones, while Fire-element herbs could only be planted with Fire Spirit Stones; mixing them was strictly forbidden. One could discern the elemental nature of the medicinal ingredients by probing them with divine sense.

Ye Qin sank his divine sense into the Purple Mansion.

In the boundless void, the surroundings were still an endless expanse of gray mist, stretching limitlessly. Only a single floating island, roughly a li in circumference, drifted in the sky.

Currently, the floating island resembled a miniature village. On the flat ground directly in the center of the island stood four ancient, rustic small wooden houses, styled like those in the villages of Zhuqi County. These small houses were constructed entirely from spiritual wood within the Purple Mansion, with vines wrapped around the thresholds, making them truly authentic and brimming with a rural flavor.

One house was a brewing workshop, dedicated to making spiritual wine. The workshop was stacked with large quantities of Flame Berries and Frost Berries, and the brewed spiritual wine flowed into numerous wooden barrels, ready to be drawn upon when needed.

Another was the Seed House, used to store the seeds of all collected spiritual plants. After all, spiritual herbs were too numerous and too large; this one-li floating island could hardly accommodate every spiritual herb in the world, so keeping them as seeds was the most suitable method. One Seed House was sufficient to hold all the seeds. Ye Qin had collected seeds for about two hundred types of spiritual herbs so far; if he needed to concoct any spiritual pill in the future, he could find the corresponding seeds here.

A third was the Spirit Stone House, stacking various spirit stones and rare ores. Purple Fire Element Crystal Ore was also stored here.

The fourth was the Insect Beast House, which currently housed only two beehives, capable of producing Thorn Honey.

Surrounding the small houses were large and small plots of cultivated fields, used for planting various spiritual items. One plot grew shrubs like Flame Thorns and Frost Thorns; these shrubs were treasures from top to bottom. Their fruits were used for brewing wine, their seeds for casting entanglement spells, and the shrub fibers, when refined, could support the creation of Thorn Silk Armor. Furthermore, there was a large expanse of empty fields—this was where the spiritual grasses required for the Foundation Establishment Pill would be planted.

Everything on the floating island was orderly. Ye Qin was very satisfied with the environment here. This appearance had manifested only after a thought moved through his heart. Originally, the floating island was barren, like an uninhabited deserted island. Finding it tedious, he simply manipulated his flying sword artifact with his divine sense, chopped down several sturdy Golden Sandalwood Spirit Trees, and built these small houses.

After surveying the island environment, Ye Qin retrieved the necessary spiritual herbs for the Foundation Establishment Pill from the Seed House and planted them one by one in the fields, accurately recording the quantity of spirit stones needed for each plant.

Days passed, and it took him a full two months to prepare the medicinal ingredients required to refine forty batches of the Foundation Establishment Pill. Most of the low-grade spirit stones in his Purple Mansion were completely depleted. Although forty batches of raw materials sounded like a large quantity, this was merely the raw material, not the finished product. If failures during alchemy were accounted for, the final yield of successful pills would likely not exceed ten.

While Ye Qin dedicated himself to cultivating spiritual herbs by the lava river to prepare for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill, the Ten Thousand Withered Ridge Cave grew increasingly bustling. The number of disciples undergoing trials who entered the third level gradually increased.

Cultivation sects dispatched large numbers of trial disciples to seize the spirit stone mining points on the second level of the Ten Thousand Withered Ridge Cave. Most sects didn't gain much advantage; the ones who truly benefited were those possessing the map scrolls of the Ten Thousand Withered Ridge mining routes. Sects with map scrolls held the most accurate intelligence regarding the mining tunnels—which tunnels were worth exploiting and which were of little value and could be abandoned—they knew this clearly. Naturally, they could decisively give up poor mines and concentrate superior manpower to secure rich ones.

Of course, no one knew precisely which cultivation sects held the thirty-two scrolls. Sects possessing map scrolls would never advertise the fact that they held them. Undeniably, the Green Pill Sect held as many as eight map scrolls, accounting for a quarter of the total. This benefit was absolutely inestimable and would bring the Green Pill Sect immense advantages for hundreds of years to come.

Besides the spirit stones on the second level, the Fire Element ores of the third level were also a target fiercely contested by various sects. The third level covered a vast area and possessed exceptionally rich Fire Element mineral deposits, enough to accommodate all the sects for mining without sparking conflict over these resources.

Furthermore, Elder Zhao's son, Zhao Qiankun, had vanished. Although Elder Zhao mobilized considerable manpower to search for him, there was still no clue. The seven or eight disciples who had been involved in that affair—whether outer sect or inner sect—had all shrunk back like turtles, keeping silent and refusing to mention anything about their association with Zhao Qiankun to anyone. Even the inner sect disciples who had traveled with Zhao Qiankun did not dare claim they had left Green Pill Mountain with him. Anyone who spoke up would be a fool; such matters were best avoided entirely, lest they be caught in the backlash of Elder Zhao’s fury and bring misfortune upon themselves. After causing a stir for a while, the matter gradually faded from public attention.

In truth, Elder Zhao wasn't the most vexed. Although he had lost his most beloved youngest son, he still had several other elder sons to inherit the family business. Moreover, his current position overseeing mining yielded substantial benefits, which satisfied him to some extent.

The most frustrated was likely Wu Zijian. His attempt to pursue and seize the Foundation Establishment Pill from Ye Qin had failed. He then took men to pursue Shen Bao and Zhang Yunzi. However, Shen Bao and Zhang Yunzi were no weaklings. They were rogue cultivators who had risen from the absolute bottom of the cultivation world, having experienced countless life-and-death situations and escapes while traveling across various nations. While they might be outmatched in a direct fight, when it came to desperate evasion in dangerous circumstances, Wu Zijian couldn't hold a candle to the two of them. It was not so easy to capture them. Furthermore, Wu Zijian had already wasted significant time chasing Ye Qin, making the subsequent pursuit of Shen Bao and Zhang Yunzi much harder.

Shen Bao and Zhang Yunzi quickly shook off the Green Pill Sect disciples chasing them. They both hid somewhere within the vast third level of the cave, spanning several hundred li, leaving Wu Zijian furious and empty-handed.

Shen Bao maintained extensive connections within the Green Pill Sect, having made many sworn brothers over drinks and meals. He sent a sound transmission talisman to these brothers for aid. Quite a few inner sect disciples with close ties to him couldn't stomach what was happening, and soon a rumor concerning a wave of hostility directed squarely at Wu Zijian began to spread.

The fact that Wu Zijian had unilaterally mobilized personnel to pursue Ye Qin, Shen Bao, and others in an attempt to seize the Foundation Establishment Pills spread widely among the lower-level inner sect disciples, even reaching back to the Green Pill Sect.

Elder Yan, who oversaw discipline and law within the Green Pill Sect, dispatched investigators to Ten Thousand Withered Ridge. They discovered that Ye Qin, Shen Bao, and Zhang Yunzi were indeed missing, and Wu Zijian had indeed mobilized forces to pursue them. This immediately caused an uproar within the sect. Mutual persecution among sect members—this was intolerable. Subsequently, several sect elders jointly impeached Vice Sect Master Wu before the Golden Core Ancestors of the Green Pill Sect, demanding his removal from office for failing to discipline his son and condoning his violent actions, as a form of reprimand.

Vice Sect Master Wu was among the last high-ranking officials to learn of the situation. He was so enraged his nose nearly twisted sideways. How could he have imagined his son was so foolish? Ye Qin and the others had just rendered the sect a great service, and at such a sensitive juncture, Wu Zijian tried to seize their Foundation Establishment Pills, causing trouble for his father.

He immediately recalled Wu Zijian from Ten Thousand Withered Ridge to the Purple Gold Hall on Green Flame Peak. In front of the Sect Master, Vice Sect Masters, and Elders, he harshly berated Wu Zijian, furiously threatening to disown him and expel him from the sect as an act of righteousness.

Wu Zijian immediately put on a facade of grievance and sorrow, claiming that a certain Junior Brother surnamed Wang had informed him that the three were colluding too closely with disciples from other sects, prompting him to arrest them for verification. He claimed the three misunderstood his intentions and fled. He insisted he wasn't after the Foundation Establishment Pills and that he was being framed.

Vice Sect Master Wu’s anger subsided considerably. His tone shifted, and he began questioning Wu Zijian about how he had been misled. Wu Zijian naturally laid out all the minute details of the situation. After "clarifying" the situation, Vice Sect Master Wu ordered Wu Zijian to enter closed-door cultivation for three years, forbidden from leaving his chamber under any circumstances, as punishment. Moreover, the more than twenty outer and inner sect disciples who participated in pursuing Ye Qin and the others were also severely punished, although they too claimed they were misled into attacking Ye Qin and the others. As for the obscure Junior Brother surnamed Wang, who had no one to appeal to, he wasn't even interrogated; he was directly expelled from the sect, permanently barred from returning to Green Pill Mountain Gate.

Sect Master Wu, the other Vice Sect Masters, and the Elders watched this father-son pair performing a duet in the Purple Gold Hall with cold eyes. The Green Pill Sect had complex internal structures and numerous factions; many people were eager to see Vice Sect Master Wu suffer misfortune. It was natural for Vice Sect Master Wu to protect his son; even a cruel tiger doesn't eat its cubs. He wouldn't genuinely expel his son. As for the actual truth, they all knew it as clearly as day; who could they fool? However, the goal of some among them wasn't to eliminate Wu Zijian, but to undermine Vice Sect Master Wu. Now that Vice Sect Master Wu had drawn fire onto himself, his position was precarious, and the intended effect had been achieved.

After decisively dealing with those involved in the incident in public, Vice Sect Master Wu quickly begged forgiveness from the Golden Core Ancestors, offering to forfeit ten years of his stipend to atone for his son's sins.

Ancestor Huangfu did not dismiss Vice Sect Master Wu from his post, but his attitude clearly cooled significantly. Vice Sect Master Wu was originally in charge of the daily affairs of Green Flame Peak, one of the Seven Peaks of Green Pill. The real powers he held were swiftly stripped away, relegating him to a powerless observer engaged in quiet contemplation. Meanwhile, an Elder responsible for investigating the case was promoted to take over some of Vice Sect Master Wu’s former powers.

Vice Sect Master Wu suffered a heavy blow unexpectedly. The morale of the Green Pill Sect seemed to improve overnight; people were upright, evil tendencies vanished, and even petty thieves disappeared. Especially among the high-ranking core inner sect cultivators, conversations were constantly filled with talk of fraternal love, though no one knew what they truly thought.

Shen Bao and Zhang Yunzi used this wave of rectification to emerge from the Ten Thousand Withered Ridge Cave and hurried back to the Green Pill Mountain Range, entering seclusion to cultivate and reach the ninth level of Qi Condensation as soon as possible so they could use the Foundation Establishment Pill.

However, the whereabouts of Ye Qin, the figure currently most scrutinized by the Green Pill Sect higher-ups, remained completely unknown to anyone. Ye Qin never appeared. In fact, he did not appear for a considerable time afterward, leading many to suspect he had been murdered by Wu Zijian. Because of this incident, those eager to kick Wu Zijian while he was down came one after another. The unfortunate Vice Sect Master Wu was finally stripped of his Vice Sect Master position and demoted to a mere Elder two years later, all because he failed to locate Ye Qin, who had once rendered the sect a great service. Along with him, the cultivators belonging to Vice Sect Master Wu's faction also suffered a heavy blow, losing their power. Once Vice Sect Master Wu lost his authority, Ye Qin's "usefulness" disappeared, and naturally, no one mentioned him again; he was forgotten.

Two months was a very short time...

Inside the hidden small fissure by the lava river in the subterranean cavern, Ye Qin, having prepared all the medicinal herbs, focused entirely on refining the Foundation Establishment Pill, oblivious and unconcerned with external affairs, completely unaware of anything.

Ye Qin had once spent three years in secluded cultivation in the North Camp Mountain mine tunnel of the Green Pill Sect, refining large quantities of low-grade spiritual pills. His current alchemy skills were considered top-tier among the eight thousand Qi Condensation disciples of the Green Pill Sect; he was fully qualified to be called an Alchemist.

The key to alchemy lies in controlling the heat and mastering the timing of drawing out the pill. The recipe for the Foundation Establishment Pill provided very detailed descriptions regarding specific aspects requiring special attention, such as "raw material quantity, composition, fire intensity, ingredient dosing, and the entire process of drawing out the pill." Ye Qin only needed to proceed according to the recipe's descriptions.

However, simply following instructions does not guarantee success. Even a master-level alchemist cannot immediately grasp a newly acquired pill formula perfectly. When first attempting a new high-level formula, failure is almost certain. Only after a period of adaptation can the pill yield rate gradually be improved.

The Green Pill Sect claimed to be the cultivation sect with the most profound alchemy techniques in the Spirit Mist Mountain Range, leading many cultivators from Immortal Fate City to mistakenly believe that Green Pill Sect disciples could refine all sorts of strange and exotic spiritual pills. This was not the case. Most alchemists in the Green Pill Sect were only proficient in refining two or three of their most skilled pills, and these were often common spiritual pills. Because the raw materials for common spiritual pills were easily obtainable, higher yields from more refinement meant greater profit. Those strange spiritual pills required rare and hard-to-find materials and had extremely low yields, so few cultivators were willing to refine them. Refining small quantities didn't earn much spirit stone income. Alchemists would trade their most skilled spiritual pills for spirit stones or exchange them with fellow sect members for their respective pills.

Few alchemists in the Azure Pill Sect ever attempt to refine more than five types of spiritual elixirs.

This practice has both advantages and disadvantages.

The benefit is that the fewer elixirs one refines, the higher their proficiency in those specific few naturally becomes. Over years and decades, the success rate for those particular elixirs steadily climbs, yielding greater returns. A cultivator who dedicates their entire life to perfecting a single elixir is often the wealthiest among them.

However, there is a significant drawback: such specialization creates an absolute dependence on fellow sect members. Once separated from the sect, they find themselves constrained everywhere they go. Take the 'Satiation Pill' (Bigu Dan), for example; this elixir serves only to stave off hunger for Qi Refining stage disciples—it has no other function. An alchemist mastering the Satiation Pill can only sell them; they cannot possibly consume the entire output themselves.

The fewer types of elixirs an alchemist masters, the greater their reliance on others becomes. Some alchemists who specialize in rare and unusual elixirs are utterly incapable of leaving the Azure Pill Sect; separation would likely lead to ruin.

Although the majority of alchemists within the sect recognize the pitfalls of mastering too few elixirs, they often have no other viable choice.

Alchemy is notoriously expensive. Spiritual herbs are exceedingly costly; an ordinary batch of spiritual elixirs frequently demands several, or even dozens, of low-grade spirit stones. High-tier elixirs can cost hundreds of low-grade spirit stones. If an alchemist cannot profit from their refining, their life becomes incredibly arduous—even the cleverest cook cannot bake without flour. Disposing of a single ruined batch can cause devastating frustration.

Therefore, within the Azure Pill Sect, the common upper limit is five types of spiritual elixirs; the variety rarely exceeds this number.

Ye Qin, however, paid no heed to these conventions. He possessed a Purple Mansion capable of cultivation, ensuring that as long as he had sufficient spirit stones, spiritual herbs would never be an issue. He refined whatever elixirs corresponded to his current cultivation stage—from the lowest first-tier Dew-Dripping Elixir (Jiang Lu Dan) up to the third-tier Qi Gathering Pill (Ju Qi Dan). He deliberately chose to concoct only those elixirs that would directly advance his cultivation.

Now that he needed to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, he intended to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill himself.

Every three years, the Azure Pill Sect hosts a minor competition. The disciples exhibiting the highest aptitude for alchemy are selected and specially assigned to refine various high-tier spiritual elixirs, such as the Foundation Establishment Pill, and those required by Foundation Establishment cultivators, like the Primordial Returning Pill (Gui Yuan Dan), Origin Nurturing Pill (Pei Yuan Dan), and Essence Gathering Pill (Ju Yuan Dan). Beyond these, they practice no other formulations. This method ensures the maximum yield of high-tier elixirs with the minimum expenditure of herbs, sometimes achieving success rates as high as fifty or sixty percent.

Ye Qin lacked such innate talent. When first attempting the Foundation Establishment Pill, his success rate was barely one in ten.

His only recourse was to refine numerous batches, gradually improving his yield percentage to acquire the necessary Foundation Establishment Pills. A single batch required roughly one thousand to fifteen hundred low-grade spirit stones. In practical terms, this meant he needed around ten thousand low-grade spirit stones to produce one finished Foundation Establishment Pill.

Ye Qin’s method of "burning money" was virtually unparalleled.

Even a major immortal cultivation family, sustaining such extravagance, would likely face financial collapse and eventual ruin.

The key to the Azure Pill Sect's ten-thousand-year endurance among the myriad sects in the Spirit Mist Mountain Range lay in their ability to cultivate spirit grasses on the seven peaks of Azure Pill Mountain, absorbing the rich spiritual energy concentrated there to grow their own medicinal herbs and refine their own elixirs. Growing their own herbs and refining their own pills dramatically lowered their costs. The only price they paid was the considerable time investment required for cultivation.

The Azure Pill Mountain Range could truly be called a blessed land, perfectly suited for growing spiritual flora.

Conversely, Ye Qin’s Purple Mansion operated in direct opposition to the mountain range’s function: it drastically reduced the time needed to grow herbs, lacking only the ambient spiritual energy. He used spirit stones to ensure the herbs absorbed sufficient energy for rapid growth.

After preparing all forty sets of materials, Ye Qin retrieved the Copper Sand Alchemy Furnace from his storage pouch, set it over a weak vein of earth-fire, and poured in an appropriate amount of spring water. He then rubbed the medicinal ingredients between his hands until they pulverized into dust, poured the powder into the furnace, and began the refinement process.

In the subterranean caverns, many areas held natural lakes and springs; one trip for water was enough to last him for a very long time.