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Thousand Poisons Qian made his way to Zheng Cong's place. He had no means to deal with Mi Xiaojing, whose background was terrifyingly formidable. He had met his match there, but Zheng Cong was still someone he could bully.
Having suffered such a loss, he needed to find some compensation. Lately, his losses were severe, and Thousand Poisons Qian felt like he was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Zheng Cong was incredibly unlucky. Ever since he tried to extort Yong Ji, and ended up dealing with Mi Xiaojing, his misfortune had been relentless. In the end, he even provoked a terrifying Elemental Infant stage powerhouse, and he didn't dare to flee.
After returning to Tianyuan Market, he desperately gathered Spirit Stones.
Ten thousand medium-grade Spirit Stones—Zheng Cong was on the verge of tears. His entire net worth was about that amount, but to actually convert it into ten thousand medium-grade Spirit Stones was still a huge challenge.
Once home, Zheng Cong didn't dare to delay. He immediately set things in motion—selling what needed to be sold, exchanging what needed to be exchanged, desperately gathering Spirit Stones. In the end, he even sold his residence, thinking that as long as he could save his life, he could earn Spirit Stones later. If he lost his life, there would be no coming back.
While Zheng Cong was still gathering the stones, Thousand Poisons Qian abruptly appeared before him and said indifferently, "Hand them over!"
Zheng Cong shuddered in fear, taking out a Storage Bag and saying, "I'm still short by over two thousand... Please, give me some more time." Then he saw Thousand Poisons Qian's twisted face and was so frightened that he lowered his head.
Nearly eight thousand medium-grade Spirit Stones—Thousand Poisons Qian hadn't expected to extort so many. Originally, he planned to just extort tens of thousands of low-grade Spirit Stones, but it turned out this guy was really wealthy.
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Thousand Poisons Qian said, "Alright, I'll give you some time. Also, the medium-grade Spirit Stones from another person, you'll collect them for me. I'll come to collect after some time!"
Zheng Cong didn't dare say anything else, only agreeing. As long as he could save his life, everything else could be set aside.
With a large sum of Spirit Stones in hand, Thousand Poisons Qian went straight to the shops to start a frenzied purchasing spree. He needed to refine many of his weapons again and required a large amount of materials.
***
Clouds Market.
Sitting in the backyard's VIP room of Clouds Between Market, Thousand Poisons Qian held a list in his hand, with Old Duo sitting opposite him. Thousand Poisons Qian said, "Give me a discount on the price. Earning Spirit Stones isn't easy."
Old Duo knew how difficult Thousand Poisons Qian was to deal with and didn't aim to make much profit. In principle, as long as Clouds Between Market didn't lose out, earning a little less was acceptable.
Such a master was not someone Clouds Between Market would offend. Of course, operating at a loss was out of the question, so Old Duo had to personally handle the negotiations.
Thousand Poisons Qian wasn't in the mood for much haggling. He needed to rush back to the manor and, before that, he had to gather all the necessary materials to refine his damaged weapons.
He knew that he might not have the time to come out again in the future, and he must stay by Mi Xiaojing's side. Despite his extreme reluctance and hatred, he had to submit to preserve his life.
Old Duo initially thought the negotiation would be tough, but to his surprise, Thousand Poisons Qian wasn't excessive. He agreed readily, not as persistent as before, which astonished Old Duo.
After two busy days, Thousand Poisons Qian finally gathered all the materials he needed and hurried back to the manor.
As he passed the place where he had been beaten last time, Thousand Poisons Qian saw someone standing there, and his heart immediately tensed. This place gave him a psychological shadow, feeling that nothing good ever happened here.
Upon recognizing the person, Thousand Poisons Qian finally relaxed. It was just an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Seeing Thousand Poisons Qian approach, the man stepped forward and asked, "Are you Senior Thousand Poisons Qian?"
According to Thousand Poisons Qian's past habits, anyone who dared to ask like that would have been slapped across the face. But now, he had lost all his arrogance and asked, "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
Remarkably, he spoke with a rare calmness.
The man said, "Senior, I've been entrusted by two other seniors, um... a man and a woman..."
Thousand Poisons Qian's expression changed drastically. Now, the mention of a man and a woman made his bones ache. He forced a smile, though it was extremely ugly, and tried to keep smiling as he said, "Oh, what's the message?"
The man handed over a piece of jade and said, "This is it, and this..." He then handed over another small item, a very delicate jade bird, a sword-shaped jade bird. Such an item was rarely seen and was specifically used for conveying messages, a single-use item.
The thumb-sized jade contained a message restriction. Upon activating the restriction, the sealed voice would be released.
Thousand Poisons Qian nodded and said, "Okay." He took the items and walked away briskly.
The man shouted, "Senior, the seniors who asked me to deliver this said you would give me ten Spirit Stones for it!"
Thousand Poisons Qian, feeling helpless, casually tossed a medium-grade Spirit Stone and said, "There, take it!"
The man was somewhat simple-minded and said, "It's ten Spirit Stones! You only gave me one!"
Thousand Poisons Qian almost slapped him to death. Holding back his anger, he threw out nine low-grade Spirit Stones. The man happily picked them up and ran off.
After unlocking the restriction and listening to the message, his expression improved a bit. The voice was only audible to the person who unlocked the restriction; others couldn't hear it.
Stowing the sword-shaped jade bird, Thousand Poisons Qian continued on as if nothing had happened and soon arrived at the manor.
He made his way to the wooden house where Mi Xiaojing was still cultivating. Finding an empty spot, Thousand Poisons Qian sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate as well.
The people in the manor, seeing Thousand Poisons Qian, didn't find it strange. Each went about their business as if he wasn't there.
The manor settled into calm, with everyone immersed in arduous cultivation.
After more than ten days of cultivation, Mi Xiaojing had completely stabilized his Cultivation level and even made some progress. At the Great Perfection stage of Foundation Establishment, with a bit more time, he could attempt to reach the Foundation Establishment stage. What he intended to condense was not a Golden Elixir, but a Star Elixir.
For Mi Xiaojing, this was an entirely new experience. This time, he couldn't rely on Wang Weijun's guidance, as Wang Weijun didn't know how to condense a Star Elixir either.
During this time, Yong Ji and Yang Shan had also gathered their materials.
Mi Xiaojing planned to start Alchemy, and this time, he moved the alchemy location to a small building in the backyard.
Thousand Poisons Qian was curious that Mi Xiaojing could perform Alchemy. He followed along, and after spending some time together in silence, everyone had gotten used to ignoring him. As long as he wanted to follow, he could; no one spoke to him. Thousand Poisons Qian himself was not talkative, so both parties did not disturb each other.
Mi Xiaojing brought out the Kui Dragon Cauldron, standing in the center of the room, with four people sitting in the corners. Thousand Poisons Qian occupied one corner, while Yong Ji, Yang Shan, and Luo Bo each took one. Except for Thousand Poisons Qian, the others were Mi Xiaojing's Protectors.
The preparation of the various materials took some time, and only then did Mi Xiaojing begin the formal Alchemy process.
The pill recipe he used was recorded in the Ancient Tribulation Pill Scripture. As time passed, Mi Xiaojing gradually understood the content of the Pill Scripture. Many things, as long as his Cultivation level kept up, could be learned and understood bit by bit.