Plants vs. Cultivation.

Chapter 121: External Alchemy Technique
Yuquanfang Market.

This market was founded by Yuquan Zhenren, a great Jindan monk. With him in charge, the Yuquan market has been able to develop steadily for hundreds of years.

Today, the Yuquan Market has become the most prosperous large market in this area.

However, there has been a rumor recently that Master Yuquan failed in his attempt to reach the Nascent Soul stage and has died. Of course, many people scoffed at this.

Because a few years ago, there was a Jindan cultivator who, probably after hearing this rumor, wanted to come to Yuquanfang City to cause trouble, but was eventually killed by a terrifying sword light.

After this incident, no one believed the rumor anymore.

"I wonder if there is any external alchemy technique here." A middle-aged man on the street of Yuquanfang City swept his eyes across the shops on both sides of the street.

Wherever the middle-aged man passed, countless people stepped back and looked at him with awe, because he was a cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building.

A cultivator of this level is definitely considered a master in Yuquanfang City.

And this middle-aged foundation-building cultivator was none other than Gu Mo, who performed the secret art of disguise. Of course, Gu Mo only disguised his figure and face, but he did not use the breath-concealing technique to conceal his cultivation level.

Displaying the cultivation level of the middle stage of foundation building can reduce a lot of unnecessary troubles.

In fact, at the beginning, Gu Mo chose to restrain his aura and disguise himself as a Qi-refining cultivator. However, who would have thought that he would encounter several robbery cultivators on the way. Seeing that Gu Mo's cultivation level was low and he was alone, they wanted to rob Gu Mo.

It has to be said that the real world of cultivating immortals is indeed full of dangers. Unlike the sects, even if there is competition, there are still bottom lines due to the sect's regulations.

After casually dealing with those Tribulation Cultivators, Gu Mo changed his strategy and no longer concealed his cultivation level. Sure enough, the journey was very safe afterwards and no more blind Tribulation Cultivators appeared.

"It should be right here."

After walking for a while, Gu Mo stopped in front of a tall building. The name of the building was Treasure Building. Even though it was Gu Mo's first time here, he knew what kind of business this building was doing just by seeing the name.

"Senior, please come in!"

The attendant in charge of reception at the Treasure House sensed the undisguised aura fluctuations of the middle stage of foundation building from Gu Mo, and bowed hurriedly to lead Gu Mo into the building.

Gu Mo glanced at the attendant leading the way in front. The other party was not an ordinary person, but a cultivator in the Qi Refining period. Although he was only in the initial stage of Qi Refining, the fact that they could use cultivators as welcoming attendants was enough to show the strength of this Treasure House.

"I have met this Taoist friend!"

After entering the Treasure House, a Foundation Establishment cultivator soon came up to greet them enthusiastically. According to his self-introduction, this person was the person in charge of the Treasure House.

After exchanging some pleasantries with the other party, Gu Mo directly stated his purpose of coming here. Purchasing the external alchemy technique was Gu Mo's main goal in coming here, and everything else had to be put aside.

"Daoyou want the technique of external alchemy?"

Hearing Gu Mo's request, the Foundation Establishment cultivator looked a little surprised. After all, Gu Mo was only in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, and to practice the art of external alchemy, one must at least reach the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and it would be better to reach the great perfection of Foundation Establishment to be safe.

In addition, if you want to practice the art of external alchemy, you must also possess a level 3 demon pill. This level 3 demon pill is the most important.

"What? Isn't it in the Treasure House?" Seeing the other party's reaction, Gu Mo asked.

"I do have the technique of external alchemy in my Treasure House. I'll have someone fetch it right away." The foundation-building monk said as he asked his attendant to bring a jade slip.

Gu Mo took the jade slip and scanned it with his spiritual sense, confirming that this was indeed an external alchemy technique. Of course, Gu Mo could only see a small part of the contents of the jade slip. Only after removing the restrictions on the jade slip could he read the whole picture.

"I wonder how much this external alchemy technique costs?" Gu Mo asked the most crucial question.

Gu Mo now has more than 200 mid-grade spirit stones and tens of thousands of low-grade spirit stones, as well as several high-grade magic tools and some tier-2 pills. These spirit stones and supplies are definitely not enough to buy an ordinary tier-3 technique. However, the price of a special tier-3 technique like the outer alchemy technique is not too expensive.

After all, the most expensive thing about practicing external alchemy is not the practice method, but the third-level demon pill.

"5000 low-grade spiritual stones."

The Foundation Establishment cultivator quoted a price. 5000 Spirit Stones was definitely an unimaginable amount of money for some Qi Refining cultivators. Even some Foundation Establishment cultivators who had just been promoted rarely had 5000 Spirit Stones on them.

But purchasing a level 5000 external alchemy technique for 3 spirit stones is very cheap.

Since the price was right, Gu Mo chose to take it without hesitation. After paying 5000 low-grade spirit stones, Gu Mo left the Treasure House with the jade slip that had unlocked the ban.

Watching Gu Mo leave, the foundation-building cultivator from the Treasure House took out a communication jade talisman and sent a message.

Soon, in a villa in the center of Yuquanfang City, an old-looking cultivator who had reached the great perfection of foundation building looked at the information in the communication jade talisman in his hand, and a gleam of sharpness flashed in his eyes.

He is the actual ruler of Yuquan Market, and also the registered disciple of Yuquan Zhenren back then, Hua Daoliang. The so-called Yuquan Zhenren founded this market, which was actually created by him under the name of his master.

However, after the market town was established, Hua Daoliang brought most of the profits from the market town to Yuquan Zhenren as tribute. Afterwards, Yuquan Zhenren came to the market town in person to confirm the matter.

No matter what realm a cultivator is at, they all have the same thirst for resources. The benefits that a market town can bring are definitely not a small amount.

You don't need to worry about it, just put your name on the list and you can get a large amount of spirit stones. Even a great Jindan cultivator like Yuquan Zhenren would be tempted.

With the personal endorsement of Yuquan Zhenren, the development of the market town entered the fast lane. Although most of the profits of the market town needed to be paid as tribute to Yuquan Zhenren, the remaining amount was enough for Hua Daoliang to quickly break through his cultivation.

As time passed, Master Yuquan was finally ready to try to take that crucial step. After leaving a message for Hua Daoliang, he disappeared.

This was also the last message Hua Daoliang received from Yuquan Zhenren. After that, Hua Daoliang made inquiries from many sources, but still could not get any information about his master Yuquan Zhenren.

The disappearance of the pillar of the business, Yuquan Zhenren, made Hua Daoliang feel tremendous pressure. The profits earned by this market every year were so great that many Jindan cultivators were jealous. However, due to Yuquan Zhenren's strength, no one dared to get involved. But if they knew that Yuquan Zhenren had disappeared, these people would definitely come to snatch it as soon as possible.

Although Hua Daoliang tried hard to hide the information about the disappearance of Yuquan Zhenren, there were still rumors in the market. After all, Yuquan Zhenren had not appeared for many years. This was a fact. Not long after the news came out, it attracted a Jindan cultivator.

Knowing the critical situation, Hua Daoliang used the trump card left by Yuquan Zhenren without hesitation and killed the Jindan monk, which temporarily calmed the situation. However, there was only one trump card that could kill a Jindan monk in seconds. If another Jindan monk came next time, Hua Daoliang would be unable to resist.

Unless Hua Daoliang can enter the Jindan realm, even with the weakest fake elixir or external elixir, combined with the formation of the market town, he will not be afraid of other Jindan cultivators.

But the reason why he was only a registered disciple of Yuquan Zhenren was naturally because his talent was average. With the help of the resources earned from the market, Hua Daoliang had built up his cultivation to the great perfection of foundation building, but it was almost impossible to go any further.

Moreover, his life span is almost coming to an end. If he dies, the younger generations in his clan will not be able to protect this market at all.

Just when Hua Daoliang was full of worries, he received a message that a cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building had purchased a set of external alchemy techniques in the Treasure House.

Ordinary cultivators would never purchase the art of external alchemy, unless they were cultivators who were planning to practice this art.

In order to practice the art of external alchemy, one needs to prepare a third-level demon pill. That is to say, the cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building is very likely to have a third-level demon pill on him.

The combat power of a level 3 monster is no weaker than that of an orthodox Jindan cultivator. Even its physique and innate magic skills are beyond the reach of human cultivators. Therefore, it is very difficult to kill a level 3 monster. Moreover, some level 3 monsters, knowing that they are no match for the enemy, will directly detonate their own monster core and die together with the enemy.

This also makes it extremely difficult to obtain the 3rd-level demon pill.

Hua Daoliang has been looking for a third-level demon pill for years. Given his situation, there is no hope for him to break through to the golden pill stage, nor is there any hope for a fake pill. However, he can still become an external pill cultivator by using external pill techniques.

As long as he could become an outer alchemy cultivator, Hua Daoliang would be able to extend his life by hundreds of years. At the same time, he would be able to completely control the market formation and no longer fear the covetousness of the golden elixir cultivators.

It's just that the 3rd level demon pill is rare, even if someone has it, they won't sell it. After all, a 3rd level demon pill is a foreign pill cultivator. Only a fool would sell a 3rd level demon pill.

Since he couldn't buy a rank 3 demon pill, Hua Daoliang was ready to take all his belongings and try his luck at the auction house in Xiancheng.

But who could have thought that the surprise came so suddenly, that a person in the middle stage of foundation building was suspected to have a 3rd-level demon pill. This was simply a chance sent from heaven.

Of course, Hua Daoliang’s opportunity should be a disaster for a cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building, but this is how the world of immortal cultivation is.

"Is there someone following me now?"

Gu Mo frowned. After leaving the Treasure House, he found that he seemed to be followed. He knew that the world of immortal cultivation was not peaceful, but Gu Mo did not expect to encounter such a bad thing the first time he went out to buy things.

Ignoring those who were following him secretly, Gu Mo rented a cave in the market town, preparing to comprehend the art of external alchemy. If it was suitable, then Gu Mo would directly start refining the fake elixir.

This time when the incarnation went out, he brought the fake elixir with him, so that after obtaining the external elixir technique, he could refine the fake elixir as quickly as possible and become a fake elixir cultivator.

In this way, even if he showed off his wealth in the market and encountered peeping people, Gu Mo would not be afraid. Now it seems that this arrangement is really useful.

As for whether the secret spy would take action in the market, Gu Mo was not worried about that.

A big factor in whether a market can prosper is safety. Only a market that can provide safety for monks will attract people.

Therefore, any market town will kill without hesitation any cultivator who dares to take action in the market town.

"You have rented a cave. Are you planning to practice here for a while?" Hua Daoliang frowned when he received the news. It would be difficult for him to take action unless the target left the market town.

This is his market town, which can provide him with a lot of income every year. Especially after the disappearance of Yuquan Zhenren, all the income from the market town belongs to him alone.

If Hua Daoliang takes action in the market town and the news leaks out, the reputation of this market town will be completely destroyed. Without credibility, the decline of the market town is only a matter of time.

"Keep watching, and report any action taken by the target in a timely manner." Hua Daoliang gave the order. He had no lack of patience to wait.

As for the cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building, who had not yet reached the late stage of foundation building, Hua Daoliang was not worried at all that he would be able to refine the 3rd level demon pill into an external pill.

It is even safest to perform external elixir refining after reaching the great perfection of foundation building. There is still a considerable risk of failure in refining in the late stage of foundation building. As for the middle stage of foundation building, there has never been a case of a cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building who could successfully refine external elixir.

Market town and cave house.

Gu Mo took out the jade slip of external alchemy that he had just obtained, probed it with his spiritual sense, and began to read the contents. Then Gu Mo's eyes showed surprise.

90% of the content of this external alchemy technique is about how to deal with the third-level demon pill, such as how to eliminate the residual soul of the demon beast hidden in the demon pill, how to refine the demon power in the demon pill and so on.

After all, the compatibility between human cultivators and demon pills is extremely poor. If one wants to successfully refine the demon pills into external pills, a lot of preparatory work is required.

Different external alchemy techniques have different ways of dealing with demon pills. Some high-level external alchemy techniques can deal with demon pills more thoroughly and have a higher success rate during the ritual.

The external alchemy technique that Gu Mo obtained was of a relatively common type, but Gu Mo did not need to deal with the fake pill in his hand at all, because this was condensed by himself, and the power of the fake pill was of the same origin as that of the incarnation.

Therefore, Gu Mo directly abandoned the first 90% of the external alchemy technique in his hand and turned directly to the final method of sacrificial refining.

The strength of the external alchemy method only depends on the processing methods of the previous 90% of the demon pills. There is basically no difference in the final sacrificial refining method.

"So that's how it is. It doesn't seem that difficult." After reading the ritual and refining methods of external alchemy, Gu Mo suddenly understood.

Since the external elixir ritual was not very difficult, Gu Mo did not hesitate and started the ritual directly.

After several hours, Gu Mo looked at the fake pill in his dantian with a trace of bewilderment on his face. The refining of the fake pill was so smooth that Gu Mo even doubted whether he had made a mistake.

According to the introduction in the jade slip, in order to perform external elixir refining, one needs to go through many stages. However, as soon as Gu Mo started to refine the fake elixir in his hand, the fake elixir smoothly entered the dantian of Gu Mo's incarnation.

There was no obstruction during the process, as if the fake pill originally belonged there. Well, it seems that this is not wrong. This fake pill was born from the Dantian of the incarnation, and now it has just returned to the Dantian of the incarnation. Although they are not the same incarnation, the two have the same origin, so it is no problem to regard them as the same incarnation.

Of course, there were some changes after the fake pill entered the Dantian. For example, at this moment Gu Mo felt as if a mountain was pressing on his Dantian. The heavy feeling made the circulation of spiritual power in Gu Mo's body slow down.

That was because Gu Mo's physique was unable to bear the weight of the fake pill. If the power of the fake pill was not from the same source as the power of the incarnation, if it were any other cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building, trying to refine the third-level demon pill, even if he succeeded by chance, his body would be crushed by the weight of the demon pill.

(End of this chapter)