I planted the spiritual roots for my people, and they bestowed upon me a body inscribed with incense

Back in his room, Li Yuan took out the three Qi Condensation Fruits. Seeing that the spiritual energy in them had dissipated somewhat, Li Yuan was somewhat troubled.

If he kept this item, he feared it would be a waste. However, consuming it alone would not have much effect on the second or third piece. Li Yuan thought he should exchange it for spirit stones to use for his cultivation.

With this in mind, Li Yuan took the Condensing Essence Fruit and headed towards Luoshan City. The only cultivator Li Yuan knew was Xu Qingfeng, and in order not to waste the Condensing Essence Fruit, Li Yuan planned to go and find Xu Qingfeng again.

Although Li Yuan had a pleasant conversation with Xu Qingfeng last time, he did not think Xu Qingfeng was someone worth befriending. Moreover, once the Li family developed, they would inevitably clash with the Xu family sooner or later, and Xu Qingfeng must understand this.

The two are able to cooperate now purely based on mutual benefit, and it has nothing to do with friendship or whether they appreciate each other.

Soon, Li Yuan arrived at Xu Qingfeng's residence in the city, as Xu Qingfeng had politely mentioned during their conversation.

Xu Qingfeng lived in a courtyard house in the east of Luoshan City. As soon as Li Yuangang arrived at the gate, he heard the sounds of children playing inside.

The courtyard has three entrances and four exits, which is quite impressive.

Before Li Yuan even saw anyone, a voice reached his ears.

"Haha, when I heard the servants say that Brother Li had arrived, I was a little skeptical, but it turned out to be true." As he spoke, Xu Qingfeng walked out of the courtyard.

Seeing this, Li Yuan quickly spoke up:

"I'm sorry to bother you, Fellow Daoist Xu," Xu Qingfeng said, waving his hand.

"If that's the case, I'm afraid you might have forgotten me." As they spoke, the two walked into the courtyard.

After chatting for a while, Xu Qingfeng spoke first: "Brother Li, is there something you need for your visit?"

Li Yuan nodded, and then said:

"Brother, I have indeed come here with a request. Do you know of the Qi Condensation Fruit?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfeng's eyes lit up.

"What? You have connections, bro?"

Li Yuan nodded.

"Yes, Brother Xu, do you need it?"

Xu Qingfeng's face lit up with joy upon hearing this.

"Of course, Brother Li doesn't hold back at all." Xu Qingfeng said, rubbing his hands excitedly.

"How many spirit stones can you offer, brother?" Li Yuan asked.

Xu Qingfeng made the number three with his hand.

"As long as you have it, brother, I'll take it all, three spirit stones each."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan nodded and then said:

"Alright, I have two here, but I didn't bring them with me. If you need them, I'll go back and get them now."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfeng instantly understood Li Yuan's meaning.

"Haha, brother, don't worry. I am a registered cultivator of the dynasty and would never engage in any activities that would lead to my demise."

"However, to put your mind at ease, I will accompany you."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan scratched his head awkwardly. He did have such thoughts, but he didn't think it was inappropriate. When traveling, one should still be cautious.

After finalizing the cooperation, Li Yuan became curious about the dynasty Xu Qingfeng mentioned and then asked:

"Brother Xu, what's the deal with the registered cultivators of this dynasty?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingfeng slapped his forehead and made an apologetic expression.

"Brother Li, I've been confused; I completely forgot to mention this."

When Brother Li was a mortal, he must have known that the Daqing Dynasty was founded on military strength, but that is not the case. The true foundation of the Daqing Dynasty was the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the royal family.

Actually, our Great Qing Kingdom, though called an imperial dynasty, is in reality just a sect created by the Medicine Sect for easier management.

The Medicine Sect is divided into three peaks: Beast Taming Peak, Spirit Medicine Peak, and Sect Miscellaneous Goods Peak.

Our Great Qing Dynasty is under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Medicine Peak of the Medicine Sect. The Spirit Medicine Peak governs three dynasties: the Great Qing Kingdom, the Great Wei Dynasty, and the surrounding Mosa Kingdom.

As for registered cultivators, they are anyone in the Great Qing Dynasty who has reached the third level of Qi Refining or above. This is mainly to prevent evil cultivators from causing trouble within the territory.

If a family or sect is established, it must pay tribute to the dynasty. Of course, this is a rule of the Medicine Sect, and the tribute will eventually be handed over to the Medicine Sect.

Only then did Li Yuan realize how effective the information blockade was; his father had been in the Vajra Sect for so long, yet he still didn't know any of this.

Perhaps because Xu Qingfeng had benefited from Li Yuan, on their way to the Li family, Xu Qingfeng told Li Yuan many secrets of the Daqing Dynasty.

Li Yuan took out two Condensing Essence Fruits and traded them to Xu Qingfeng. Xu Qingfeng immediately gave Li Yuan six spirit stones, the transaction was completed, and Xu Qingfeng took the Condensing Essence Fruits and returned directly to Luoshan City.

After he left, Li Yuan took out the last Qi Condensation Fruit. Although the Qi Condensation Fruit was not very effective when taken alone, that was for mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators. For a Qi Refining early stage cultivator like Li Yuan, the Qi Condensation Fruit was still of great help.

Holding the Condensing Essence Fruit, Li Yuan quickly arrived at the bamboo forest. The bamboo forest and the surrounding area, which Li Yuan and Old Master Niu had been exploring on the second day, were sold by the Niu family for one hundred taels of silver.

This news made the Li family the talk of the village, as it was worth one hundred taels of silver. What followed was even more exciting for the villagers.

"The Li family is preparing to build a house in the bamboo forest and needs to hire dozens of laborers."

The news quickly spread like wildfire throughout the village.

Everyone was discussing, "With dozens of laborers, how big must the house be?" At the same time, countless villagers stepped forward to sign up.

After arriving at the bamboo forest, Li Yuan saw stones being moved everywhere below. He wanted to tell Wang Tiezhu that no one could go up the mountain without permission, but after seeing that Li Daqiang had already given the order, Li Yuan went to the top of the mountain alone.

At this moment, the white snake was cultivating on the mountaintop with the jade stone given to it by Li Yuan in its mouth. Upon seeing Li Yuan arrive, the white snake immediately stepped forward and gave the jade stone, which had been almost completely absorbed, to Li Yuan. Upon seeing this, Li Yuan put away the jade stone and patted the white snake's head.

Then Li Yuan handed another jade stone to the white snake. Li Yuan carefully sensed the white snake's aura, which was much stronger than his own. It should have reached the third level of Qi Refining, which is the peak of the initial stage.

The white snake had obtained the spirit stone; no wonder it was so eager to get the jade from Li Yuan—it was all for breaking through its cultivation realm.

Seeing the white snake crawl to the side and begin cultivating, Li Yuan also began to concentrate his mind and prepare to take the Qi Condensation Fruit to help him condense his magical power. Li Yuan estimated that in order to break through to the third level of Qi Refining, he would need at least fifty strands of magical power in his body, or even more.

After preparing, Li Yuan swallowed the Qi Condensation Fruit in one gulp. As soon as it entered his mouth, Li Yuan couldn't wait to use his magic power to catalyze it, allowing it to decompose rapidly until it was completely transformed into medicinal power and integrated into his body.

As the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Technique was activated, the magical power within the body gradually became refined and purified.

Feeling the pure magical power within his body, Li Yuan quickly accelerated the circulation of the "Five Elements Spirit Gathering Technique," striving to maximize the effectiveness of the Qi Condensation Fruit.

As time passed, the magical power within Li Yuan's body gradually became more refined, and his aura began to grow stronger.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Yuan slowly opened his eyes. At this moment, Li Yuan was like the most upright bamboo in the forest. His internal magic power had been refined by half a percent, and he had also gained four strands of magic power. Li Yuan felt that as long as he cultivated for another two months, he would definitely be able to reach the third level of Qi Refining.