The city was teeming with them, resulting in a great many inns within its walls. Those low-level cultivators new to Xianque City who lacked their own island territories, or the Earth Clan strongmen without masters, had no choice but to lodge in the city's inns, cultivating while searching for opportunities.

On a somewhat secluded street in the city, Ye Qin found a mid-sized inn that was quite unassuming. A waiter at the inn stood lazily by the entrance.

When he suddenly saw Bai Xiuer walk in, her face alight with curiosity, he nearly froze, unable to help but swallow hard. Although most Earth Clan women were beautiful, one as stunning and spiritually vibrant as the one before him was truly rare.

Upon seeing Ye Qin following behind, he instantly startled and realized that the Earth Clan woman was very likely this senior's female attendant. A late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, while not a monumental figure in Xianque City, was far beyond the comparison of a mere shop attendant like himself.

With only a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation, he was relegated to minding a shop in such a minor location. To have such a beautiful Earth Clan woman as a maid—that was a blessing he could only envy.

The waiter quickly composed his expression, daring not to show any slack. “Senior, are you looking for a single room or a suite?

The suite is a bit more expensive, but it includes a private meditation room, an alchemy lab, a refining room, and so on, and your attendant can comfortably stay with you as well.” “Suite.” Ye Qin did not deny his relationship with Bai Xiuer. He took out a bag of spirit stones and rented a suite for a year, deciding to settle in temporarily.

Earth Clan strongmen held a low status; without a backing cultivator, many people would target them. “Oh, right, are there any jobs suitable for Earth Clan strongmen in the city?” Ye Qin asked casually.

When the waiter heard that Ye Qin intended to let his attendant work, his impression of Ye Qin plummeted instantly. He secretly despised Ye, viewing him as one of those cultivators who relied on women for support, but he dared not show anything.

He quickly plastered on a smile. “Certainly, the major alchemy workshops, refining shops, and herb gardens in the city are always hiring.

However, many jobs in the city require cultivators with magic power, making them suitable for you, but it’s difficult for an Earth Clan member to find suitable work. Nevertheless, the docks outside Xianque City often see large fleets setting sail to hunt sea beasts, and these fleets frequently hire Earth Clan strongmen as crew.

Since your attendant is a strongman, she could follow the fleet to hunt low-grade sea beasts in the nearby waters.” “Oh, she needs to go out to sea with the fleet?” Ye Qin frowned slightly. Hunting sea beasts at sea was not without danger; accidents could occur at any time, even on calm waters.

Furthermore, those who ventured out to hunt beasts were mostly men, and it was quite improper for a woman to accompany a fleet alone. Forget it, this wasn't urgent.

He could look for something slowly. He planned to stay in Xianque City for a long time anyway.

Ye Qin rented the suite and settled the overly excited Bai Xiuer in. Afterward, he entered the alchemy room to refine pills.

He devoted himself to alchemy for ten full days. During the long sea voyage, most of the spirit stones he carried had been depleted.

In Xianque City, one couldn't move an inch without spirit stones; buying anything required large sums of them. The quickest way for Ye Qin to acquire more spirit stones was naturally by selling various high-grade elixirs.

This was not the familiar Qingdan Sect, nor was it Lingwu City. This was Xianque City, renowned as the premier metropolis of the East Sea Islands, boasting an immense and untraceable population of cultivators.

Even if he flooded the market with a batch of mid-grade elixirs, no one would pay much attention. With his current cultivation at the peak of the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, and his identity as an alchemist, he didn't need to be overly cautious about such matters.

During these ten days, he not only refined dozens of bottles of mid-grade elixirs intended for Foundation Establishment cultivators but also took the time to process the four Blood Spirit Fruits Bai Xiuer possessed into low-grade azure Blood Spirit Pills and mid-grade blue Blood Spirit Pills, specifically for strongmen. Additionally, he refined several high-grade crimson Blood Spirit Pills.

When Bai Xiuer received her four Blood Spirit Pills, the look of dreamlike astonishment and utter disbelief on her face was indescribably peculiar. When Ye Qin offered to refine the pills for her, she had been somewhat doubtful and reluctant.

Since refining Blood Spirit Fruits into Blood Spirit Pills carried the risk of failure, and she knew nothing about alchemy, she wanted to sell the fruits to exchange for spirit stones to avoid wasting them. She had never expected Ye Qin's alchemy skills to be so formidable that he achieved zero failures.

Blood Spirit Pills were incredibly helpful to Earth Clan strongmen. One mid-grade Blood Spirit Pill could aid her cultivation for over half a year.

Ye Qin merely smiled faintly at Bai Xiuer's shock, unconcerned. Subsequently, taking the mid-grade elixirs he had refined over the past few days, he left the inn and headed to the bustling downtown streets to purchase items he urgently needed.

What he needed most urgently were aids to boost his success rate for Core Formation. “As the largest gathering place for cultivators in the East Sea Islands, Xianque City must have countless shops and pavilions, with a highly developed commerce.

Finding items to assist in Core Formation should not be too difficult,” Ye Qin mused inwardly. The streets were crowded with all sorts of peculiar things.

Ye Qin walked casually through the throngs of people. He suddenly spotted a small plaza ahead, surrounded by a large group of low and mid-stage Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, all shouting excitedly, “Me, big brother, take me!

I’m a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!” “My strength is greater, I’m at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment, take me!” In the cultivation world, whenever cultivators gathered in one place, it invariably aroused intense curiosity in others, leading them to secretly speculate about whether it was some spiritual treasure or some impending benefit, quickly drawing the attention of the surrounding cultivators. Although Ye Qin wasn't curious about everything, he couldn't help but want to crowd over and take a look at the excitement before him.

He squeezed in and discovered that there was a huge public notice posted, bearing the two large characters: “Recruitment Notice.” Standing before the recruitment announcement were three cultivators: the leader, a burly man with a thick beard dressed in azure robes; a rather arrogant man in white holding a feather-fan magic tool; and a young, dignified, and reserved woman in red. All three were late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The burly, bearded man announced loudly, “A friend of mine accidentally discovered a lone sixth-tier Horned Golden Scale Beast on a certain small island and urgently needs to recruit two to three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators to venture out to sea together to hunt this demonic beast. However, we must test abilities first.

We only have half a day; we depart tonight, so those interested should hurry.” The atmosphere among the surrounding crowd was nearly explosive. The Horned Golden Scale Beast was considered an extremely formidable high-tier Golden elemental demonic beast, but the most crucial aspect was that the Golden Scale Beast was a treasure all over.

Its scales could forge high-tier defensive magic tools, its horn could be refined into a Golden elemental offensive magic tool, and its blood could be used in medicine… The spoils from killing a single Horned Golden Scale Beast were incredibly lucrative. Even if divided among five or six late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, it was still highly worthwhile.

Seeing Ye Qin squeeze in, whose cultivation was clearly a notch higher than the other surrounding Foundation Establishment cultivators, the burly man politely said, “Brother’s cultivation is quite good; you are already at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, with a good chance of forming a core! However, this journey is somewhat dangerous; the Horned Golden Scale Beast is no easy opponent.

May I ask what elemental magic you specialize in? Cultivators proficient in Golden or Earth elemental magic would be preferable.

It would also be best if you prepared two or three high-tier magic tools.” “Uh, I cultivate all five elements concurrently, knowing a bit of magic from each system. I don’t seem to have any high-tier magic tools on me,” Ye Qin replied, feeling frustrated.

He was just passing by and casually glanced over; he hadn't intended to join. He hesitated for a moment, then said with a faint smile.

“What!?” The burly man stared, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. Even the white-robed man standing next to him cocked his head and rolled his eyes dramatically, slowly waving the high-tier feather-fan magic tool in his hand.

His gaze clearly conveyed scorn—or, to be more precise, extreme contempt. Single spiritual root cultivators could not cultivate multiple elemental magics.

Therefore, a cultivator practicing multiple elemental magics must necessarily have a mixed spiritual root. Cultivating all five elements concurrently meant Ye Qin must have a Five-Spirit Root.

A spiritual root this mixed was also "rare." Moreover, cultivators practicing multiple elemental magics would never progress as quickly as those who specialized in only a single element. And he didn't even possess a single high-tier magic tool, yet he dared to go hunt a sixth-tier demonic beast?!

What a joke. The dignified and reserved woman glanced at Ye Qin, and unconcealed surprise, along with restrained amusement, flickered in her eyes.

This man was somewhat amusing. The surrounding crowd of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators clearly went numb, and then the crowd erupted in boisterous laughter.

Initially, these cultivators had shown some respect upon seeing Ye Qin’s high cultivation, but that reverence vanished instantly. Amidst the noisy clamor, there were also mocking, sarcastic remarks mixed in.

“Brother, why don’t you go somewhere cooler to stay? The Golden Scale Beast is dangerous.” “I really don’t know how he cultivated to late-stage Foundation Establishment.

He must be a disciple from some major family, propped up by spirit pills.” “What if he’s at late-stage Foundation Establishment? At this rate of progress, he’s still useless.” “Little brother, go get a high-tier magic tool first, then we can talk!

The sea is no place for people like you.” The bearded man shook his head repeatedly. “Brother, in that case, I must apologize; you should return.” After being mocked by the crowd, Ye Qin offered no defense, retreating with a flushed face.

He sighed inwardly; the Foundation Establishment cultivators in Xianque City were indeed as numerous as ants, and anyone dared to mock a ninth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator. Fortunately, he didn't care about the ridicule of others; what mattered was enhancing his own strength.

He quickly left the small plaza and headed to the large shops nearby, looking for a place that specifically sold elixirs. Soon, he found a large, luxurious elixir shop named “Haidan Pavilion.” “Are there any items here to assist with Core Formation?” Ye Qin asked as soon as he spoke.

The shop attendant regarded him with a cold attitude and directly handed him a list. “Look for yourself!” Ye Qin glanced over the list and immediately felt deflated.

The very things he had desperately sought to aid his Core Formation—not only were they available, but there were many of them.