I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Huangfeng Valley Market, a secluded little courtyard.

"Yellow Maple Valley, the cultivation world, the Southern Continent..."

Zhou Yuan leaned back on the stone chair, his eyes somewhat unfocused.

It wasn't until recently that he fully awakened his memories of his past life and confirmed a fact that left him both amused and exasperated.

He had been reborn into a mortal world of cultivation.

His current identity is that of a 24-year-old rogue cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining, whose aptitude is considered garbage by the cultivation world as a pseudo-spiritual root.

Ten years ago, he was just a boy from a mountain village. He accidentally entered a cave dwelling of an ancient person and received the inheritance of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. That's how he stumbled and struggled onto the path of immortality.

For now, they have rented a small courtyard in Huangfeng Valley Market, which is barely enough to be considered a place to stay.

"A pseudo-spiritual root..."

Zhou Yuan muttered to himself, raised his hand, and tried to circulate his internal energy.

The speed at which spiritual energy enters the body is outrageously slow, and its circulation in the meridians is extremely sluggish, like an old ox pulling a broken cart.

This is a pseudo-spiritual root, a death sentence on the path of cultivation.

Without a stroke of luck against all odds, one will be trapped in the Qi Refining stage for life, turning into a handful of dust a hundred years later.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and calmed his mind.

That's enough, there's no point in thinking about it anymore.

With a thought, the storage bag at his waist flashed with a faint light, and a pile of miscellaneous items instantly filled the stone table in front of him.

This is all his current net worth.

Thanks to that fallen Foundation Establishment cultivator, his wealth was much greater than that of an ordinary Qi Refining stage cultivator.

A volume titled "Experiences in Alchemy" records the techniques for refining first-tier elixirs.

The "Fire Cloud Technique" is a basic cultivation method that can be practiced up to the Foundation Establishment stage.

A volume titled "Basic Spells," containing common spells like Fireball and Wind Control.

Dozens of low-grade spirit stones gleamed faintly on the table; these were his last savings, accumulated through frugality.

There were more than a dozen talismans painted with cinnabar runes, most of them mid-level, with a few high-level talismans mixed in.

The porcelain bottles containing pills were all low-grade, first-level pills such as Qi-boosting pills and fasting pills.

Finally, there is a half-person-high alchemy furnace, its body a reddish-gold color, ancient and heavy.

And a longsword with a sheath, the sheath was ancient and the blade was bright white, named "Jinghong", which was actually a high-grade magic weapon.

Among Qi Refining stage cultivators, possessing a high-grade magic weapon is definitely a sign of considerable wealth.

Zhou Yuan's fingers brushed across the cold blade, but he felt little joy.

For the past ten years, he has been working to support his pseudo-spiritual root cultivation to the eighth level of Qi Refining.

He has already sold most of the magical artifacts and some elixirs from the cave's relics.

Fortunately, the Foundation Establishment cultivator's storage bag contained several bottles of elixirs that could enhance cultivation.

Otherwise, if he were to cultivate on his own, he would probably still be stuck in the middle stage of Qi Refining.

"Fortunately, at least it wasn't a disastrous start."

Zhou Yuan comforted himself in this way, his gaze finally settling on the crimson gold alchemy furnace.

The myriad arts of cultivation: alchemy, weapon crafting, talismans, formations…

As long as you are good at one skill, there will always be a way to make a living.

Unfortunately, despite studying that volume of "Experiences in Alchemy" for several years, he can only refine the lowest-grade pills so far. The success rate is also highly dependent on luck, sometimes high and sometimes low, barely enough to make a living.

"Right now, alchemy is the only path we can take."

Zhou Yuan sighed, reached out and pressed his hand on the cold alchemy furnace, feeling its heavy metallic texture.

It happened the instant his palm touched the furnace.

"Crimson Gold Furnace detected. Equip?"

A cold, emotionless mechanical voice suddenly rang in his mind.

Zhou Yuan shuddered violently, freezing in place.

The next moment, a pale blue light screen that only he could see suddenly unfolded before his eyes.

Name: Zhou Yuan

Age: 24

[Cultivation Level: Qi Refining Level 8]

[Technique: Fiery Cloud Technique (Eighth Level)]

[Spells: Fireball (Minor Success), Wind Control (Minor Success), Heavenly Eye (Minor Success)...]

[Alchemy: Tier 1]

[Equipment 1: None]

One hundred spirit stones can upgrade an equipment slot.

"This...this is..."

Zhou Yuan's breathing became rapid instantly, his heart pounded, and a surge of heat rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!

A cheat code?!

The essential perk for time travelers, ten years late, has finally arrived!

He stared intently at the light screen in front of him, clenching his fist tightly. The stinging sensation of his nails digging into his palm confirmed that he was not dreaming.

"Huff... huff..."

Zhou Yuan took several deep breaths to forcefully suppress his turbulent emotions and stared intently at the crimson gold furnace in front of him.

This alchemy furnace is one of the best items among the relics of that Foundation Establishment cultivator, a fine example of a first-tier magic weapon.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he silently recited in his mind.

"equipment!"

hum!

The crimson gold incense burner on the stone table vanished without a trace in an instant.

Zhou Yuan immediately looked at the panel and saw that the [Equipment 1] section had changed.

[Equipment 1: Crimson Gold Furnace (Tier 1, High Grade) Effect 1: Increases the success rate of refining Tier 1 pills by 20%. Effect 2: Improves alchemy talent. Effect 3: Improves weapon crafting talent. Note: This furnace was meticulously crafted by a weapon craftsman. After passing through the hands of three different alchemists, it has been opened more than 3,700 times. The furnace body contains a faint trace of the Dao of alchemy and the Dao of weapon crafting.]

The success rate of pill formation has increased by 20%!

Alchemy talent, improved!

Zhou Yuan's eyes instantly turned red!

For an alchemy apprentice whose success rate has been hovering around 20% to 30% for years, what does an increase of 20% mean?

This means he can immediately go from barely making ends meet to having a small surplus!

More importantly, it's about improving one's alchemy talent!

This is something that truly defies fate and changes destiny!

Zhou Yuan has studied alchemy for so many years, but his alchemy skills have always been mediocre, simply because of his limited talent.

Now, this panel can actually directly improve talent?

"And then there's the talent for weapon crafting... Hmm? That's just as expensive as alchemy, so I'll pass on that for now."

Zhou Yuan grinned, wanting to laugh, but his eyes felt a little hot.

After ten years of struggle, at this moment, we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"The Crimson Gold Furnace can be equipped, but what about the other items?"

Zhou Yuan looked at the other items on the table and an idea came to mind.

Then, he reached out and took the top-grade magic weapon, the Jinghong Sword, into his hand.

"The Swift Sword has been detected. Equip it?"

The next moment, the previously vanished crimson furnace reappeared.

The Jinghong Sword in Zhou Yuan's hand disappeared.

It seems that only one item can be equipped in this equipment slot at a time.

Equipping a new item will remove the previous one.

Zhou Yuan subconsciously looked at the attribute panel.

[Equipment 1: Jinghong Sword (Tier 1, Superior) Effect 1: Increases swordsmanship talent. Effect 2: Increases weapon crafting talent. Note: This is a magical artifact meticulously crafted by a weapon craftsman, incomparably sharp.]

The two talents enhance the effect?

Zhou Yuan was surprised.

In his view, the effect of enhancing talent is far more valuable than other effects.

Improving one's talent is tantamount to defying fate.

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Yuan looked at the jade slip titled "Insights into Alchemy" on the table.

I wonder if this thing can be equipped?

"A jade slip containing insights into elixirs has been detected. Equip it?"

Really!

With a thought, the Jinghong Sword returned to Zhou Yuan's hand once more.

The jade slip containing "Insights into Alchemy" has disappeared.

The properties panel has changed again.

[Equipment 1: Alchemy Jade Slip (Tier 1, High Grade) Effect 1: Improves alchemy talent. Effect 2: Increases the success rate of refining Tier 1 pills by 30%. Note: This contains the life's work and insights of an alchemist, preserving all their hard work.]

Has your alchemy talent improved?

The success rate of first-tier pills has increased by 30%?

Zhou Yuan's eyes lit up.

A single volume of "Insights into Daoist Alchemy" could have such remarkable effects?

If one could equip both "The Dao of Alchemy" and the Crimson Gold Furnace at the same time.

Can they be stacked?

Unfortunately, you can only equip one item at a time.

Zhou Yuan looked at the last line of the panel attributes.

One hundred spirit stones can upgrade an equipment slot.

One hundred spirit stones isn't a lot.

Zhou Yuan was filled with anticipation.

PS: The original work did not clearly classify pills, but the author has made changes here, classifying the pills used in the Qi Refining stage as the first tier.

It is further subdivided into low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, and top-grade, corresponding to the early stage of Qi Refining, the middle stage of Qi Refining, the late stage of Qi Refining, and the tenth level and above of Qi Refining.

As for the pills used during the Foundation Establishment stage, they are divided into two tiers.

And so on.

Please refrain from negative comments; I would be very grateful.