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

After a while.

The alchemy room was completely silent.

Zhou Yuan's fingertips caressed the cool-to-the-touch cyan token, the icy sensation seeping into his bones through his skin.

Looking at the token in his hand, Zhou Yuan finally couldn't help but smile.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, joining Huangfeng Valley is a done deal.

Otherwise, this Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Lin family wouldn't have made this trip in person.

However, this also shows that the Lin family highly values ​​Zhou Yuan, an alchemist who can refine top-grade pills.

As for the ten-year agreement with that Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Lin family.

Zhou Yuan didn't really take it to heart.

The conditions proposed by the other party were nothing more than a result of their contempt for his pseudo-spiritual root aptitude.

In their eyes, a pseudo-spiritual root's life's work is reaching the Qi Refining Perfection stage, with no hope of Foundation Establishment.

That's why I wanted to use a mere piece of paper to firmly grasp this tool that could reliably produce top-grade pills in my hands.

With this Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Lin family around, Zhou Yuan would be subject to their control for life until he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, if Zhou Yuan successfully establishes his foundation, his status and position will undergo a dramatic change.

At that time, this agreement will be nothing more than a piece of waste paper.

Zhou Yuan could tear it up at any time if he wanted to.

In the world of cultivation, strength ultimately determines everything.

How could the Lin family, a mid-level cultivation family, possibly tolerate a guest elder who is only at the Foundation Establishment stage?

This is also why Zhou Yuan agreed to the ten-year agreement.

Over the next two months, Zhou Yuan completely focused on his studies.

He rarely left his house, devoting all his energy to refining Golden Source Pills for the Miaodan Pavilion.

Of course, he wouldn't miss the opportunity to line his own pocket.

He needed to accumulate enough "ammunition" to improve his cultivation level after entering the Yellow Maple Valley.

With the terrifying enhancements from the two pieces of equipment, [Dan Dao Xin Yin] and [Crimson Gold Furnace], his alchemy talent had already surpassed the ordinary, and he also had an unwavering 50% guaranteed success rate.

Now, his skill in refining Golden Essence Pills has reached an astonishing level.

More than 90%!

It's practically a zero-failure rate!

This means that for every two sets of alchemy materials delivered by Miaodan Pavilion, Zhou Yuan could embezzle one whole set of finished pills without any qualms.

This is no longer alchemy.

This is printing spirit stones out of thin air; the profits are so enormous that they could drive anyone in the know crazy.

A bottle of top-grade first-tier pills can be sold for dozens of spirit stones.

This means that Zhou Yuan can earn dozens of spirit stones every time he opens the furnace twice.

Driven by this motivation, Zhou Yuan worked tirelessly day and night to refine pills for the Lin family.

…………

Time flies, and the two-month deadline is fast approaching.

In the alchemy room, Zhou Yuan extinguished the furnace fire and stopped the work he had been doing for nearly sixty days and nights.

After tidying himself up, he left the alchemy room and went to the second floor of the Myriad Pill Pavilion to find Manager Wang, where he handed over all the pills he was supposed to receive for the next two months.

Manager Wang's wrinkled face immediately broke into a smile like a blooming chrysanthemum, and he personally welcomed Zhou Yuan into the inner hall.

Zhou Yuan met his eager gaze and spoke up.

"Manager Wang, I'd like to settle the dividends for the past two months in advance."

"Of course, of course!"

Shopkeeper Wang readily agreed and was about to order someone to fetch the spirit stones.

Zhou Yuan raised his hand and added a sentence seemingly casually.

"Furthermore, I'm new to the sect and unfamiliar with the area, so I have a lot to deal with, which inevitably puts me under some financial strain. I wonder if it would be possible... to receive an advance on some of my future profit sharing?"

Upon hearing this, Manager Wang paused noticeably as he prepared to get up.

A glint flashed in his shrewd eyes as he quickly weighed the pros and cons.

But then he thought about it again. Zhou Yuan was about to become a disciple of Huangfeng Valley. With the Lin family's Foundation Establishment Ancestor around, Zhou Yuan's bond with the Lin family would only deepen in the future, so he wasn't afraid that Zhou Yuan would renege on his promise.

An alchemist who can consistently produce top-quality pills is definitely worth investing in.

He was extremely easy to talk to, and without the slightest hesitation, he directly ordered someone to bring him a full five hundred low-grade spirit stones.

"Master Zhou has a bright future ahead of him. These few spirit stones are but a token of my respect!"

The arrival of these spirit stones immediately made Zhou Yuan feel even more cheerful.

Afterwards, he went to the city center of Fang alone.

This time, he went straight into a magic artifact shop called "Tiangongge".

Zhou Yuan neatly placed the Xuan Turtle Shield, a high-grade defensive magic weapon that the Lin family had given him, on the counter.

The heavy shield slammed into the wooden cabinet with a dull thud.

A high-grade defensive magic weapon is quite valuable, enough to make any Qi Refining stage cultivator envious.

After some haggling.

In the end, the shield earned him over four hundred low-grade spirit stones.

After doing all this, the number of spirit stones in Zhou Yuan's storage bag was approaching one thousand.

He didn't linger in the market; after determining the direction, he headed straight for the gate of Huangfeng Valley.

Huangfeng Valley Market is located on the northeastern edge of the Taiyue Mountains.

The entrance to Huangfeng Valley is located in the central part of the Taiyue Mountains, and the journey is not too far.

With his Qi Refining eleventh level cultivation, he unleashed the Wind Control Technique at full power, the wind whistling in his ears and the scenery rushing past beneath his feet.

In less than half a day, a majestic mountain range, undulating and shrouded in mist, appeared at the edge of his field of vision.

With the cyan token given to him by Lin Xu, Zhou Yuan passed through smoothly and entered the gate of Huangfeng Valley without any obstacles.

Lin Xu didn't try to fool Zhou Yuan; he had already made all the necessary arrangements in advance.

After verifying the token, the disciple in charge of guiding the disciple did not set up any obstacles, but simply registered the information as a routine procedure.

The disciple's gaze held even a hint of barely perceptible envy.

Even within a cultivation sect, having a Foundation Establishment cultivator supporting you is something to be envied.

Zhou Yuan quietly and successfully joined the Yellow Maple Valley.

……

"You can live here from now on."

After all the procedures were completed, Lin Xu finally appeared in front of Zhou Yuan.

He took Zhou Yuan to a mountain peak called Xuankun Mountain.

The mountain peaks soar into the clouds, and the spiritual energy in the air is several times more concentrated than that of the outside world.

With each breath, pure spiritual energy flowed into Zhou Yuan's lungs through his mouth and nose, giving him a feeling of comfort throughout his body.

In Yellow Maple Valley, the rules are strict.

Only disciples who have cultivated the basic cultivation techniques issued by the sect to the tenth level or above are qualified to be exempted from the complicated sect affairs and are allowed to move to Xuankun Mountain to live.

Those who can live here are all elites among the inner disciples.

Here, the disciples have much greater freedom.

Not only can they freely open up their own cave dwellings on the mountain, but there are also absolutely no restrictions on the type and size of their cave dwellings.

You can build a simple thatched hut or a magnificent palace.

As long as you have the ability.