Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

Liu Xing reaped a bounty at this underground exchange. Nearly every one of the two hundred or so Foundation Establishment cultivators present offered him some useless manuals. While useless in others' hands, they proved immensely useful in his. Although he spent nearly twenty thousand spirit stones, ten dozen talismans, two top-grade flying swords, and six mature spiritual herbs, he received over a thousand manuals in return, all rare and unavailable on the market. Their value was inestimable. He also found a fourth-level demon pill, a surprising bonus, allowing him to try his hand at refining the Soul-Nourishing Pill.

In the past six months, Liu Xing had read most of the books available in Haibin City and participated in both the light and dark trade fairs, gaining a great deal. Next, he needed to digest these gains and transform them into his own knowledge and abilities, so as to further his path to immortality.

After leaving the underground exchange meeting, he and Nie Xiaoqian exchanged sound transmission notes and parted ways. Liu Xing rushed to the Tongda Chamber of Commerce in the North District without stopping. Three months had passed, to see if there were any alchemy tasks assigned to him. After all, he was still under the title of guest alchemist, and he had to fulfill his promise every day in Haibin City.

"Brother Dongfang, you are finally here. I have been waiting anxiously." Liu Xing changed back into the appearance of a white-bearded old man. When Chang Qing saw Liu Xing coming, he was surprised and took his hand and walked into the house.

"Brother Chang, I've been delayed for a while recently due to some things. I hope it hasn't affected the Chamber of Commerce's alchemy work?" Liu Xing asked apologetically.

"Brother Dongfang, if you don't come soon, the people who come to ask for the elixir will break my old bones." Chang Qing said complainingly.

"Brother Chang, I'm really sorry. I will try to come here once a month in the future. Without further ado, let's go to the alchemy room now." Liu Xing was not a fussy person. When he heard that there were a lot of tasks piled up, he rolled up his sleeves and prepared to get to work.

Led by Chang Qing, the two soon arrived at an alchemy room, complete with earth fire, an alchemy furnace, and other utensils. Liu Xing could choose to refine the elixir using either his own Samadhi True Fire or the earth fire. The provided alchemy furnace was also top-grade. This alchemy room clearly possessed high standards, and it was clear that Shopkeeper Chang had great confidence in his alchemy skills. Chang Qing then handed him a storage bag. He opened it, revealing over a dozen different types of elixirs, each containing at least two raw materials. The reward was 30% of the market price in spirit stones. Since these alchemy missions were for cultivators at the Qi Refining stage, the pay was modest, around 1,000 spirit stones, but this was still a significant income. According to the rules, only one finished elixir needed to be successfully refined for the employer. If both failed, the reward would be returned and the cost of the raw materials would be reimbursed. Raw materials were generally only one-fifth the price of the finished elixir, but gathering them was extremely difficult, so everyone chose a reliable alchemist for their high success rate and high-quality elixirs. Finding the Tongda Chamber of Commerce to refine pills, the Chamber of Commerce can also act as a guarantor, so the credibility will be better. Previously, there were only Master Li and a few others in charge, and business was always in short supply. They had to refuse some business that they could not handle and diversify it to other channels.

Chang Qing made arrangements with Liu Xing and departed. Liu Xing sorted the pills into categories and began researching the recipe. Having already refined the Qi Refining Pill and the Foundation Establishment Pill, these Qi Refining Pills were no challenge. So, in just three days, he achieved a near 90% success rate, and unceremoniously appropriated the remaining materials for himself.

Two days later, Liu Xing handed Chang Qing the finished pills. Chang Qing was astonished. Had they completed the task so quickly? Unconvinced, he selected several bottles and inspected them one by one. Sure enough, the quality was excellent, just as the client had described. Finally, he recognized Liu Xing's accomplishment and looked at him as if he had found a treasure. Liu Xing felt a little uneasy, as if he were being stared at by a pervert.

"Brother Chang, refining Qi Refining Pills is not difficult for me. You can arrange for Foundation Establishment Pills later, and I can guarantee that I can complete the task." Liu Xing said confidently. The more expensive the pills, the higher the reward, and his own alchemy skills will also improve faster.

"Okay, okay, okay, Dongfang, your alchemy skills are so high that I'm impressed. I'll assign you higher-level tasks in the future. I hope you'll come more often," Chang Qing said excitedly. He wasn't worried about Liu Xing asking for high-level tasks, but he was worried that his ability wouldn't keep up. The two of them exchanged notes, agreeing to meet again next month, and Liu Xing took his leave.

Liu Xing returned to the West District, and after making sure that no one was following him, he changed his appearance back to his original appearance. He first went to the shops to buy a large amount of ores and wood for refining equipment and puppets, and then quietly returned to the Yulan Bay Cave. He first released Jiao Jiao from the storage bag and settled him in the next room to practice. He was sitting on the bed in meditation and resting, and only then did he relax physically and mentally, especially because of the huge wealth of the Tongda Chamber of Commerce's auction, which had kept him worried for three months. Finally, he got through it peacefully. The Tongda Chamber of Commerce did not take any measures against him. Maybe he was really too suspicious, or maybe his alchemy was more valuable. In short, the stronger his ability is in the future, the less likely others will covet his fortune of hundreds of thousands. Liu Xing is now considering his next plan.

First, he would refine weapons. He had harvested nearly a hundred demon beast carcasses from the Sunset Secret Realm, which provided excellent refining materials. He then planned to refine them into magical instruments, using them as trial materials to improve his refining skills and prepare for refining a top-grade magical instrument.

Secondly, puppetry. He planned to study the puppet-making techniques and finished mechanical puppets he had recently collected and apply them to his own needs. He hoped that in the future he would be able to refine advanced puppets that would become his best helpers against his enemies.

Finally, he wanted to refine the alchemy. He currently had a fourth-level demon pill, but he wasn't sure if he could refine the Soul-Enriching Pill. He wanted to continue to hone his alchemy skills by completing the alchemy tasks of the Tongda Chamber of Commerce, thereby increasing his chances of success in refining the Soul-Enriching Pill.

So, Liu Xing embarked on a frantic work cycle. Aside from completing his monthly alchemy mission at the Tongda Chamber of Commerce, he spent all his time in his cave refining artifacts and puppets. When mental exhaustion overwhelmed him, he'd lie in bed for a day and a night, and when his spiritual energy was depleted, he'd take out a mid-grade spirit stone and meditate to recover. He had plenty of money, so he used the spirit stones to cultivate and keep up with his progress.

He refined one magical weapon after another, starting with low-grade ones, then progressing to mid-grade and finally high-grade ones. Every three months, he would meet with Nie Xiaoqian and hand over the finished magical instruments. At first, the instruments were of low quality, so Nie Xiaoqian didn't pay much attention. Later, she was shocked to see them rising in level. She realized that Liu Xing was practicing refining, but the rate of progress was too rapid. At this rate, Brother Liu would soon be able to refine a top-grade magical instrument.