“……” “Junior Brother Nie Kong, I need one Heart-Breaking Pill. Could you possibly refine it for me?

Nine-tenths fusion would be sufficient. Thirty points!” “Junior Brother Nie Kong, I possess an exceptional Grade Three spirit medicine formula.

If you can refine a few pills for me, I’ll hand over the formula right now.” “I also happen to need a spirit alchemist to help refine some medicine. Junior Brother Nie Kong, I don’t have many points, but I don’t need such a high fusion rate—eight-tenths will do!” “Junior Brother Nie Kong, Junior Brother Nie Kong…” “……” Cang Hai left cheerfully clutching the spirit medicine with 92% fusion.

Yet, a large crowd of Inner City disciples still lingered outside the Ascension Hall. The two spirit medicines with fusion rates above ninety percent had stirred their hearts intensely, and they clamored out loud, looking at Nie Kong with considerable eagerness.

“Esteemed Senior Brothers and Sisters, I have some matters to attend to and must take my leave now.” As more and more Inner City disciples began speaking up, Nie Kong realized he would have trouble escaping if he stayed any longer. He quickly returned the medicine cauldron to that Senior Sister and shot away from the crowd in a flash.

“Junior Brother Nie Kong, don’t run—” “If it works or not, just give me a sound! Are you worried I won’t give you the points or something?” “Why are you running?

Big Sister won’t eat you!” “……” The more urgently the calls sounded from behind, the faster Nie Kong ran. Fortunately, the Inner City disciples outside the Ascension Hall were not tenacious like sticky candy.

Once he could no longer see their figures, Nie Kong slowed his pace and headed towards the Inner City Pharmacy. With the 'Chilling Red Palm Leaf Grass' secured, he needed to exchange for the other ingredients required to refine the 'Blood Cicada Pill.' Furthermore, when refining the 'Blood Scale Fir' medicine and the 'Chilling Red Palm Leaf Grass,' he would need to incorporate certain auxiliary herbs.

Those necessary medicines could all be found within the Inner City. Now that the worry about the 'Chilling Red Palm Leaf Grass' was gone, Nie Kong felt relaxed and began to ponder quietly, recalling the scene just moments ago.

In the Inner City, if he refined spirit medicines to sell himself, he could generally fetch around twenty points; higher quality ones would command a better price. If he were specifically hired by someone to refine medicine, the pricing differed based on the difficulty of the refinement and who provided the necessary components.

If he helped them refine spirit medicines achieving over ninety percent fusion, charging thirty to forty points each time, wouldn't that mean he could amass eighty thousand points after just two or three thousand successful refinements? Others might manage two or three refinements a day, but when he refined, the spiritual energy consumed was minimal, allowing him to attempt dozens of times a day without issue.

Eighty thousand points might seem like reaching the heavens for an average spirit alchemist, but for him, it didn't appear nearly as difficult as imagined. By calculation, perhaps in about a year, he could obtain the 'Phoenix Plume Illusory Immortal Flower'!

It was just a pity that while the wish was beautiful, reality was comparatively harsh. Nie Kong sighed inwardly.

There were only a few hundred disciples in the entire Inner City; it was impossible for everyone to seek him out for Grade Three spirit medicine refinement daily. Moreover, many Inner City disciples needing Grade Three spirit medicines were quite poor and might hesitate to spend thirty or forty points specifically for his specialized refining service.

They might prefer to spend less money and buy medicines with lower fusion rates. What’s more, he had to dedicate his afternoons every day to cultivating in the 'Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm'; he couldn't devote all his time to alchemy.

The most exasperating thought was that even if he managed to acquire the 'Phoenix Plume Illusory Immortal Flower' after a year, it might not have the intended effect on the little fellow. By then, perhaps it would have already advanced to the Fourth Order!

It seemed Lan Shang was right; he needed to set his sights on the high-ranking figures of the Spirit Control City. A single successful endeavor among them would yield immense profit.

To attract their attention, he first needed to build up his reputation. Only by fully displaying his alchemy prowess could he stir their latent interest.

Nie Kong suddenly realized he had handled the situation outside the Ascension Hall perfectly. Successfully refining two spirit medicines with fusion rates above ninety percent consecutively in public, one of which was the 'Thousand Layer Pill,' was the fastest way to boost his fame in the Inner City—though this was far from enough.

Nie Kong’s thoughts raced, and a rather promising idea suddenly struck him, causing a smile to cross his face and his steps to lighten considerably… In the following days, Nie Kong followed a strict routine: mornings were spent at the Pharmacy, then back to his residence for work; after noon, he immediately headed to the 'Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm' to train. His days were exceptionally fulfilling, leaving him no time to even visit Miao Ge and Tai Hong, who lived in the same area.

Nie Kong’s high-profile display outside the 'Ascension Hall' that day indeed had a significant effect. Many spirit alchemists resided in the Inner City, including proficient Fourth Grade alchemists, but few could effortlessly refine two spirit medicines with fusion rates above ninety percent back-to-back.

These past few days, many Inner City disciples came seeking Nie Kong’s residence, hoping to commission him for refining work. Regarding the requests from these peers, Nie Kong neither accepted nor declined, merely stating he would consider it, a consideration that stretched over several days, keeping them thoroughly expectant.

Some disciples, unable to wait for a definite answer, gave up on asking Nie Kong for help. However, those who had personally witnessed Nie Kong’s refining outside the 'Ascension Hall' remained persistent, showing up at his pavilion residence day after day… And at this juncture, Nie Kong’s cultivation reached a critical moment.

“Boom!” Inside the Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm, Nie Kong’s body was once again enveloped in a verdant aura. As the 'Spring and Autumn Life Spirit Art' circulated, boundless spiritual energy surged from his meridians, pouring into Nie Kong's 'Four Spiritual Apertures'—vast and mighty, crashing wave after wave against that invisible barrier.

After failing his first attempt to break through to the 'Spirit Fusion Sixth Grade' within the Illusion Realm, Nie Kong did not rush the next attempt. Instead, he continued to cultivate normally, constantly refining the wood spirit energy elements within the realm into his body.

The vitality that entered his body was condensed into a liquid form. Days passed, and Nie Kong’s spiritual energy intensity increased bit by bit… By today, he barely needed to forcibly control his spiritual energy.

After cultivating for a short while simply by circulating the 'Spring and Autumn Life Spirit Art,' the powerful surges of spiritual energy in his meridians reversed course on their own, as if the spiritual energy had reached the body’s maximum tolerance. The 'Four Spiritual Apertures' seemed to have transformed into the 'Blood Scale Fir,' only instead of absorbing spirit beasts within a dozen-mile radius, it was absorbing the spiritual energy within Nie Kong’s meridians.

Everything unfolded naturally, smoothly, and without constraint. “Boom!” “Boom!” “……” Within the Four Spiritual Apertures, dull roars continuously exploded in Nie Kong’s mind.

He could even clearly feel the invisible barrier within the apertures gradually melting away like ice under a scorching sun due to the incessant impact of the spiritual energy. Although the speed was not fast, it was exceptionally stable.

This situation was a first for Nie Kong. Previously, Nie Kong had experienced breakthroughs that felt natural and effortless.

Back then, regardless of the speed, Nie Kong always seemed to sense a violent aura. But today was completely different.

Although the impact of the spiritual energy remained fierce, the feeling was exceptionally tranquil. This change seemed to stem not from the vitality, but from the 'Four Spiritual Apertures'… Nie Kong felt a hint of confusion.

When the fourth aperture appeared, his cultivation had just broken through to Spirit Fusion Third Grade. Afterward, taking a 'Heart Sun Pill' raised his cultivation to Spirit Fusion Fourth Grade, followed by sustained cultivation to finally reach the Spirit Fusion Fifth Grade realm.

Neither of those two advancements carried this sense of peace! “Four Spiritual Apertures…” Muttering these words in his mind, Nie Kong’s attention suddenly focused on the ball of liquid vitality inside the small aperture.

Ever since leaving the illusion space and absorbing a massive influx of vitality, Nie Kong’s spiritual energy had reached saturation. Most of the vitality absorbed into his body during this period was concentrated in that new aperture.

But strangely, after it expanded to the size of a thumb, no matter how much vitality it absorbed, it failed to expand further; it seemed like a bottomless pit, capable of endlessly swallowing the vitality entering his body. This was indeed a strange phenomenon!

Nie Kong racked his brain but found no answer. He brought his focus back to the surging spiritual energy, unable to help but chuckle inwardly.

In the past, during such breakthrough processes, he had always been wholly absorbed, fearing that a moment of distraction would lead to failure. Yet now, here he was, with violent fluctuations of energy within his apertures, yet he still had the leisure to ponder other matters, and it didn't affect the circulation of the 'Spring and Autumn Life Spirit Art' at all.

“It’s only been five or six days, and this fellow’s cultivation has advanced…” Watching the vibrant green energy fiercely churning around Nie Kong, the Inner City disciples who had paused their own training couldn't help but marvel inwardly. Such intense spiritual energy fluctuations around a Spirit Master’s body only occurred when their cultivation was about to break through to the next level.

The spirit energy elements on the first layer of the Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm were twice as dense as the outside world, which meant a Spirit Master’s training speed here was also double that of the outside. However, this notion wasn't absolute.

Every Spirit Master's physical constitution and other conditions were never exactly the same, leading to variations in cultivation speed within the 'Spiritual Cultivation Illusion Realm.' Some might not achieve a true double speed, while a small minority of Inner City disciples could even surpass it. Undoubtedly, Nie Kong, who had just recently entered the Inner City, belonged to that minority.

If they hadn't seen it, fine. But now, witnessing Nie Kong’s breakthrough just as they encountered him, how could they suppress the envy in their hearts?

Humans are like this: when they were Outer City disciples, they yearned for the training speed of Inner City disciples; upon reaching the Inner City, they then desired an even faster pace. Sighing inwardly, these Inner City disciples couldn't help but cast their gazes towards Bai Yuqing, who was not far away—that young girl had been in the Inner City for half a year, and the speed at which her cultivation grade increased was astonishingly fast.

What was even more marvelous was that she was a rare Ice Spirit Master with terrifying combat prowess! It was rumored that Nie Kong and Bai Yuqing came from the same city?

“Boom!” Another explosion echoed in his consciousness, and the final sliver of the invisible barrier within Nie Kong’s aperture dissolved. As if shedding a shackle, Nie Kong felt a sudden wave of lightness and ease.

But when he once again focused his awareness into the aperture, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise…