Cultivating immortality through titles, without bottlenecks.

The old woman's lively expression flashed by for a moment, then quickly became stiff.

Even the voice sounded mechanical:

"Low-grade Qi-Nourishing Pill, let's begin. Refining one substandard pill is considered acceptable. You have two chances. Those who fail will be eliminated from the pill-refining competition."

Before he finished speaking, a hidden compartment popped out from the blue stone beneath him, containing the essential medicinal materials for refining the Qi Nourishing Pill.

Wei Zhong sat cross-legged before the alchemy furnace. The furnace before him was bluish-black, its spiritual light dim and dull, clearly not a good furnace. Its grade was barely the lower level of the first rank, similar to the Black Fire Furnace that Wei Zhong had used before.

"It's just a low-grade Qi-Nourishing Pill, there's no need to use the Azure Essence Furnace."

Wei Zhong sat cross-legged on the futon, lit the furnace fire, and immediately began refining the elixir.

Before long, four low-grade Qi-Nourishing Pills appeared in Wei Zhong's hands. Without exception, they were all good quality pills with 80% medicinal power and 20% toxicity.

As soon as the elixir was completed, the old woman's illusory figure opposite seemed to sense it, and with a wave of her hand, an inexplicable force snatched the elixir from Wei Zhong's hand.

He glanced down at it, making no other move, his eyes seeming to see right through the entire elixir:

"Four good pieces, therefore classified as Grade B!"

With a casual wave of his hand, a silver token landed in Wei Zhong's palm, with the character "乙" clearly engraved on it.

Before Wei Zhong could understand the meaning of the token, the scenery around him flashed by, and he had already left the alchemy room and entered the outside world.

"Fellow Daoist, your alchemy is finished. This way, please!"

He heard the voice of a disciple of the Medicine King Sect and followed the sound away from the stone wall, returning to the courtyard along the same path.

As soon as they turned around, Yang Jingting and Lin Qingyuan surrounded them:

"How is it? What's the situation?"

Wei Zhong nodded:

"The low-grade Qi-nourishing pills are not difficult to refine; four good-grade ones were produced."

"but……"

Wei Zhong pulled out a silver token, his expression full of doubt:

"What is the meaning of this token?"

Even Yang Jingting looked completely bewildered at this point.

He looked around but didn't see a single young alchemist turning around.

Although Wei Zhong was not the first person to leave this villa, he was the first to return.

There was no way around it; Wei Zhong's skills were simply too proficient. With the blessing of the [Breaker]'s ability to grant permanent proof, both the quality of his pills and the speed of his pill refining far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Alchemy had become an instinct, and there would be no mistakes.

Therefore, the entire alchemy process was quick and efficient, which led to him being the first to return.

There was nothing they could do but wait. Before long, batches of alchemists who had gone out returned.

Yang Jingting mingled among the old alchemists, inquiring for a moment before returning to report:

"Not everyone has this token. Out of thirteen people, only four have it, and it's different from yours, Zhong'er. Theirs is made of bronze and is a Bing-character token."

Wei Zhong was taken aback; it turned out that these tokens really did have different levels.

Just then, Shen Xiaolou returned. Upon seeing Wei Zhong, he immediately pulled out a silver "Yi" token identical to Wei Zhong's, brandished the "Silver Radiance" in his hand, and laughed loudly at Wei Zhong:

"Wei Zhong, look at the silver token in my hand."

This shout instantly attracted the attention of many people in the courtyard.

At first, the group was puzzled, but they quickly realized what was going on.

Glancing down at the bronze tokens on the waists of the alchemists, and comparing them to the silver token in Shen Xiaolou's hand, the difference in quality was immediately apparent.

"So there are even higher-level versions of this bronze token!"

Before Shen Xiaolou could reach Wei Zhong and the others, a large group of people surrounded him.

"Young friend, impressive skill..."

"May I ask where you are from, young friend, and whether you have any teachers?"

Most of the forces present were at the Foundation Establishment stage, and upon seeing such a "genius," they naturally wanted to approach him, try to recruit him.

Surrounded by the crowd, Shen Xiaolou was overjoyed, but at the same time felt a little guilty.

After offering perfunctory compliments, Shen Xiaolou pushed through the crowd and emerged to stand before Wei Zhong and the others.

Unable to resist, he showed off the "B" token in his hand to Wei Zhong:

"Young man, what is my skill level?"

Upon hearing that his seniority had decreased by an inch, Wei Zhong couldn't help but shake his head.

However, Yang Jingting, always a shrewd old fox, offered a compliment, which made Shen Xiaolou even more delighted.

Lin Qingyuan stood silently to the side.

Wei Zhong raised his hand to touch the top of Shen Xiaolou's head, then leaned down to transmit his voice:

"What tricks did you use, young fellow Daoist, to deceive that senior's illusory figure?"

Upon hearing this, a fleeting sense of panic crossed Shen Xiaolou's mind:

"Heh, heh, what nonsense are you spouting, Fellow Daoist Wei?"

"Can anyone fool the Core Formation Supervisor of Medicine King Valley?"

"This...this is all due to my own strength!"

Wei Zhong did not argue, but instead recalled the old woman:

"This person is actually a Core Formation cultivator?"

Wei Zhong had considered that this person was highly skilled, and might even be a Foundation Establishment elder from Medicine King Valley, but he never expected that the other party would actually be a Core Formation cultivator.

"No wonder Master couldn't see through him; he's comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, how could he possibly be on par with a true Core Formation cultivator?"

Looking down at Shen Xiaolou, Wei Zhong didn't intend to expose the latter's trick, and transmitted his voice:

"You know a lot, huh? Can you tell me more about Medicine King Valley? I promise I will never tell anyone about your cheating."

The latter paused, looking embarrassed, then lowered his head in thought, before looking up after a while:

"Is Fellow Daoist Wei's statement true?"

"Heaven and earth can bear witness!"

"Okay, it's a deal!"

"It's a deal!"

A moment later, the two sat on the stone bench, ignoring the outside noise, and began to talk.

"That old woman was Qi Wuyan, one of the True Immortals of Medicine King Valley, known as 'Grandma of Rejuvenation'."

"There are currently three people in this valley who have reached the Core Formation stage, in addition to Su Changqing, the 'Master of Alchemy,' and Jiang Tiexin, the 'Blazing Alchemy Fanatic.'"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhong couldn't help but send a telepathic message:

"Could these three be titled cultivators?"

Shen Xiaolou couldn't help but roll her eyes at Wei Zhong:

"Do you think titled cultivators are as common as cabbages?"

With his arms crossed, he said rather smugly:

"None of the three are titled cultivators. Moreover, there isn't a single titled cultivator in the entire Medicine King Valley."

Wei Zhong was greatly surprised upon hearing this:

"How is that possible?"

This surprise was genuine, even turning from a whispered message into a spoken one, drawing the attention of Yang Jingting and his companion, who both looked on with confusion.

Wei Zhong quickly covered his mouth, turned to look at Shen Xiaolou, and continued to transmit his voice:

"Why does the vast Medicine King Valley, a powerful Core Formation cultivator, not have a single titled cultivator?"

"Even Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment sects exist, like the Azure Sky Sect..."

Shen Xiaolou shook his head:

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"

"In short, none of these three Core Formation cultivators hold any titles."

"Among them, 'Grandma Rejuvenation' Qi Wuyan is the oldest, approximately seven hundred years old..."

The maximum lifespan for Core Formation cultivators in this world is eight hundred years. This person is seven hundred years old, which means he is clearly approaching the end of his lifespan.

"His cultivation level is also among the top in the entire Medicine King Valley, reaching the Perfect Core Formation stage..."