Alchemists among loose cultivators were already extremely rare, and the people in their entire small compound hadn't been able to befriend one before. Once they ran out of spirit pills or healing pills in the mountains, they could restock nearby, extremely convenient. Even buying pills from Leo would cost spirit stones, but compared to shops, it would always be a bit cheaper. For them, saving a little was saving a little; in the long run, not only could their cultivation speed increase significantly, but it would also save a large amount of expenses.

  "Alright. Brother Sasha, you know many people. Help me inquire about pill recipes for the middle and late stages of Qi Refining. Healing-type recipes would also work. It would be best if I could get my hands on them before entering the Moonwatch Mountain Range," Leo said.

  "Brother Leo, you've already reached such a level in pill refining?" Sasha exclaimed in surprise.

  "Brother, you're so foolish. The scent of the Qi Gathering Pill when we came in was noticeably stronger than what we used before. Brother Leo must have refined a mid-grade Qi Gathering Pill. Naturally, he can try refining higher-tier pills now. In the future, our pills might all depend on Brother Leo." Morana's beautiful eyes shifted as she spoke.

  "Currently, the success rate for Qi Gathering Pills is a bit over thirty percent, not quite forty. With a bit of luck, I can indeed refine mid-grade Qi Gathering Pills. If I refine pills needed for the middle and late stages of Qi Refining in the future, you two siblings can come to me to buy them. The price will be slightly lower than the market rate."

  Leo had a good impression of these two siblings. Moreover, over the past half year and more, they had indeed provided him with much useful information. As the only two people he knew in Moonwatch Immortal City, he didn't mind helping them out.

  "A success rate of over thirty percent... Brother Leo's talent in pill refining is astonishing." Sasha couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. Even among those alchemists trained by families, very few achieved such a success rate, and those were all veterans with decades of refining experience. Even if Leo started refining from the womb, his talent was a bit too astonishing. However, hearing Leo's promise, Sasha was overjoyed and immediately patted his chest, saying, "Brother Leo, rest assured. Leave this matter to me. I will definitely find out news about the recipes for you."

  There were several types of pills used in the middle and late stages of Qi Refining. Nurturing Qi Pills and Essence Energy Pills were just representatives; there were other recipes with good effects. With four months left until the sect disciple recruitment, preparing for a while before entering the mountains should allow enough time to inquire.

  "Thank you, Brother Leo." Morana smiled so much her eyes narrowed, happily thanking Leo.

  Leo smiled slightly. In fact, over the past half year of continuously refining Qi Gathering Pills, his success rate had improved to nearly fifty percent. He had produced high-grade pills twice and mid-grade over a dozen times. If the siblings knew these figures, he wondered what expression they would have.

  The Sasha siblings hurried off to inquire about recipe news. After disguising himself as a rough-faced man, Leo also left the courtyard. He set up a stall by the street, with a wooden sign beside it saying "Qi Gathering Pills for Sale."

  With the sect disciple recruitment approaching, the number of loose cultivators gathering in Moonwatch Immortal City was noticeably higher than before. Pills, being essential for cultivation, were most popular among loose cultivators. Many families in Moonwatch Immortal City operated pill shops. The spiritual herbs from spirit fields were limited, harvested once a year. And alchemists were extremely scarce, causing pill prices at this time to be nearly ten percent higher than usual, yet still in short supply.

  Leo's stall had only been set for a short while before over a dozen people gathered around. Because his price was still the same as before, ten percent lower than current shop prices. Soon, the few dozen Qi Gathering Pills displayed on the stall were snapped up. After collecting over a hundred various spirit stones, Leo packed up his stall. Then, after changing his disguise, he moved to a different street.

  Repeating this several times, the boundary space had accumulated over three hundred spirit stones—undoubtedly a windfall for a Qi Refining cultivator.

  There were still two bottles of pills left in front of the stall. Leo hesitated slightly, then put away the two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills, preparing to end the stall.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Excuse me, are the Qi Gathering Pills in your hand still for sale?" A slightly immature voice sounded at this moment.

  Leo looked up to see an honest-looking, sturdy youth dressed in ordinary linen clothes, looking at him somewhat nervously. His cultivation was at the third layer of Qi Refining. "Alright, you're the last one today. I have seven Qi Gathering Pills left here. Four low-grade spirit stones each."

  "I don't have enough spirit stones. Can I exchange them with something else?" The sturdy youth asked somewhat awkwardly.

  "What do you have?" Leo inquired.

  "I have a set of formation flags that can form a Fortifying Element Array, capable of trapping a Great Perfection Qi Refining expert for about an hour." The sturdy youth whispered, "However, the first activation of the formation requires consuming twenty spirit stones. The second time needs forty spirit stones, doubling each time. After about four or five uses, the formation flags will be rendered useless."

  "Formation flags? Do they have killing power?"

  Leo's heart tightened as he asked. In the cultivation world, alchemists were a rare group, but formation masters were even rarer than alchemists and artifact forgers.

  Because advancing as a formation master was even harder than refining pills. More importantly, formation masters consumed vast amounts of energy and time studying formations, usually resulting in their cultivation level not being very high. However, once they produced a formation, its killing power was usually not something ordinary cultivators could compare to.

  "N-No." The sturdy youth stammered.

  Leo was momentarily speechless. A formation, costing twenty more spirit stones each use, only usable five times? Even if usable later, after five uses, it would cost one hundred and twenty spirit stones. Probably couldn't afford it anyway. And it only trapped the opponent for about an hour, with no killing power. Truly a useless item. Buying this set of formation flags required spending money; with those spirit stones, better to buy more spirit talismans.

  "I spent twenty-three low-grade spirit stones on materials to make this set of formation flags. I, I only want five Qi Gathering Pills."

  The sturdy youth seemed to know the formation flags he made had little practical use. He had been setting up stalls in the city for several months with almost no inquiries. Occasionally, one or two asked, but when they saw the consumption for using the formation, they shook their heads and left without a second thought.

  Leo initially thought it useless, but then reconsidered. He currently had no powerful spirit artifacts. If he really encountered a formidable opponent, being able to trap them and escape with his life wouldn't be bad. Moreover, the youth before him seemed honest, steady, and somewhat inexperienced. Befriending a formation master might be helpful in the future. For an alchemist like him, Qi Gathering Pills could be refined anytime.

  Thinking this, Leo poured out one Qi Gathering Pill from a pill bottle, then handed it to the sturdy youth along with the bottle. "You're at the third layer of Qi Refining now. Pills are especially important for breaking through to the middle stage. There are six Qi Gathering Pills in here. I hope they help you reach the fourth layer."

  "Th-Thank you, big brother. My name is Warren. May I ask your name, big brother?" The sturdy youth stammered, overwhelmed with emotion.

  "My name is Leo."

  Accepting the four azure-blue, meter-long small formation flags from Warren, Leo chatted with him for a bit. He learned Warren came from a small cultivation family under a place called Noctis Kingdom. His family had been passed down for several generations. After his parents' lifespans were exhausted, Warren decided to come to Moonwatch Immortal City to seek an opportunity to join an immortal sect.

  Leo felt a pang of silence within. Even a Qi Refining cultivator, if unable to reach Foundation Establishment, was ultimately no different from a mortal.

  Going to the Moonwatch Mountain Range required many preparations. Leo put away the formation flags and first went to a spirit talisman shop to replenish several dozen low-grade talismans. Now that he was a bit more financially comfortable, the talismans he bought were slightly better than before. Then, he spent over sixty spirit stones to buy a spirit sword.

  With sufficient pill supply, at the current cultivation speed, he could probably reach the sixth layer of Qi Refining in about a year. If he obtained new recipes, the speed would be even faster. So, he had to consider the obtain of a new technique.

  The newly purchased spirit artifact was a golden short sword—a mid-grade spirit weapon. Leo lovingly examined it for a while. Along the way, he inquired at two shops selling technique manuals but couldn't find the second part of 'The Primordial Chaos Scripture.' He didn't give up, walked two more streets, and came to Moonwatch Immortal City's largest technique shop.

  "If even this shop doesn't have it, I'll choose a different technique," Leo decided, stepping inside.

  True to being the largest technique shop in Moonwatch Immortal City, there were over a dozen rows of ancient-looking bookshelves. Roughly estimating, there were at least tens of thousands of techniques. Ten mortal employees were responsible for explaining to buyers. At the moment, many people were browsing the shelves for suitable techniques, while others were asking the shop assistants questions.

  "Immortal Master, what kind of technique are you looking for? Our shop has tens of thousands of techniques of all kinds. I believe we definitely have what you want."

  As soon as Leo entered the shop, a clerk enthusiastically greeted him.

  "Do you have 'The Primordial Chaos Scripture'? The part for the late Qi Refining stage." Leo asked.

  "'The Primordial Chaos Scripture'? Not many Immortal Masters choose that technique; it's quite obscure. Please wait a moment, Immortal Master, I'll look for it."

  The clerk thought for a moment, chin in hand, then led Leo to the innermost bookshelf. The shop's techniques were categorized by attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, ice, wind, thunder. Then, within each attribute, techniques for early, middle, and late stages were separated.

  Five-element spiritual roots were the most common. Leo hadn't tested his spiritual root values, but he learned spells from any of the five elements at the same speed. Ice, wind, and thunder were slightly slower. A cultivator's spiritual root value, no matter how high, wouldn't exceed one hundred points. Below thirty points was considered inferior aptitude. Above fifty was considered excellent.

  Leo estimated he had all five elemental spiritual roots and they were very balanced. Even if maximally calculated, each element wouldn't exceed twenty points, definitely among the inferior. So, he didn't bother testing.

  Most cultivators chose to focus on cultivating the spiritual root of their main element. Those choosing 'The Primordial Chaos Scripture,' which had no attribute requirement, weren't nonexistent, but their numbers were extremely few.