Seeking immortality begins with daily intelligence reports.

Two and a half months later.

In a small courtyard in the outer city area of ​​Fangshi.

Li Shen let out a long sigh, withdrew the released spiritual power, and walked towards the alchemy cauldron.

Lifting the lid, one sees two perfectly round, yellow pills, with a little steam still swirling inside the cauldron.

Li Shen used a traction technique to retrieve the pill, placed it in his palm, and examined it from both sides.

The various arts of cultivating immortality have both similarities and differences.

Li Shen's experience in drawing talismans, cultivating, and fighting enemies over the years is still evident in his alchemy.

He didn't spend too much time going from zero to one, but currently he can only refine the most basic fasting pills.

The reason he wanted to learn alchemy was not only because his aptitude was poor and he needed a lot of pills to aid his cultivation, but also because he had previously told his two neighbors about his desire to learn alchemy.

It would be strange if I didn't practice it for a long time.

Furthermore, it is a perfectly natural reason to use this opportunity to interact with them and strengthen our friendship.

A few days ago, when Li Shen went to Liu Rou to check on the progress of the precious spiritual plant, he ran into Lin Xiaoxiao, who happened to be in Liu Rou's room.

As the three chatted, the conversation turned to alchemy, and Lin Xiaoxiao and Li Shen even had different opinions on how to control the heat during the alchemy process.

Lin Xiaoxiao believes that the key to alchemy lies in "stability" and "evenness," emphasizing steadiness and gradual progress.

This is the line of thinking she has always followed, and it is also the concept recognized by most conservative alchemists.

In the art of alchemy, stability is more important than excellence. After all, spiritual plants are limited, especially older and more precious ones, for which there is little cost of trial and error.

Unlike drawing talismans, where if you mess it up, you only lose the talisman paper and the spiritual ink.

Li Shen, however, believes that maintaining stability is futile; seeking change is the only true path.

This was the answer he arrived at by summarizing his experience in drawing superior-grade breath-concealing talismans, combined with his study of the alchemy insights left by Shi Yong.

When medicinal plants are burned in the furnace, their medicinal properties are not released evenly, but vary in strength over time.

If you always pursue stability, you may easily miss the key moment when the medicinal properties are fully developed, and different spiritual plants may even produce special reactions at special times.

Shi Yong mentioned the concept of "observing its momentum, following its edge, and guiding it to transform it" in his experience.

Just like drawing talismans, if you want to advance to a higher level, you must seek change.

The two had conflicting accounts, and neither could convince the other at the time.

Ultimately, at Liu Rou's suggestion, the two decided to refine the same elixir using different approaches to see whose finished product was better.

In order not to bully Li Shen, a beginner, Lin Xiaoxiao took the initiative to propose a contest using the Bigu Dan (a type of herbal medicine).

Although the Bigu Pill is a basic elixir, most alchemists can only produce low-grade pills. Some experienced or talented alchemists can produce mid-grade pills, but high-grade pills have not yet been seen in the Yunhe Mountain Market.

Of course, this is also due to the fact that the Bigu Pill itself is easy to refine and has low profit. Rather than spending a lot of time and energy researching pills with only the effect of filling the stomach and resisting hunger, alchemists would rather spend it on pills with more important and rarer effects, such as Qi Gathering Pills and Breakthrough Pills.

Even if it were refined, so what? Would a superior-grade fasting pill last longer? What difference would that make from eating a few more pills?

Moreover, once a cultivator breaks through to the Foundation Establishment stage, they no longer need the Bigu Pill.

The contest between the two was scheduled for seven days later.

Today is the sixth day, and there is only one day left until the competition.

Li Shen's thoughts returned to the Bigu Pill in his hand, observing its color, smelling its fragrance, and exploring its medicinal power.

Li Shen quickly made a judgment in his mind.

Both of these are of excellent quality.

"Lin Xiaoxiao, you're doomed."

Li Shen muttered to himself, a confident smile on his face.

After putting away the pills and tidying up the room, Li Shen pushed open the door and went out, preparing to go to the Zhao residence.

Today is the day for handing over the talismans.

Having not been out for a long time, the atmosphere in the market became even more tense.

The main reason is that the events that happened at the Zhao family's foundation-building celebration have spread.

The fact that the Song family offered a large reward for demonic cultivators had already shaken the market.

But since they couldn't find it, time passed, and the atmosphere in the market eased again.

Most people accepted the conclusion that the Song family members had actually died at the hands of demonic beasts, since the Song family was, after all, the strongest Foundation Establishment family, and they only fabricated a story about a demonic cultivator at the tenth level of Qi Refining for the sake of face.

This time, the aura of the demonic path was discovered during the Foundation Establishment Ceremony.

Although there was still no result this time, once might be a fluke, but twice should serve as a warning.

The incident occurred at the Zhao family's residence, and suspicion fell on the Tang family. Whether it was a deliberate targeting or not, it was a dangerous signal for the peace of the market.

In the event of a demonic invasion or a family feud, the first to suffer will undoubtedly be the rogue cultivators at the bottom of the market.

Another factor is the Wild Wolf Gang, one of the two major independent cultivator forces in the market. They surrounded and killed Wang Meng, the vice leader of the Giant Tiger Gang, leading to a complete declaration of war between the two gangs.

Several small-scale clashes have occurred in the outer city of Fangshi, and the dead are either members of the Giant Tiger Gang or the Wild Wolf Gang.

It is impossible to determine whether it is true or false.

"These are truly turbulent times."

Li Shen sighed inwardly, quickened his pace, and headed towards the Zhao residence.

Before long, he arrived at the Zhao family's courtyard.

After the servant verified his identity, he quickly went to announce the arrival of the servant, while he sat in the hall to wait.

Not long after, Manager Zhao, who was in charge of liaising with Li Shen, quickly entered, cupped his hands in apology, and said:

"Master Li, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

The manager was obese and seemed to have just been out running around; he spoke with a slight lack of breath.

"You're too kind, Manager Zhao."

Li Shen returned the greeting without much formality, directly taking out a thick stack of talismans from his storage bag and placing them on the table.

"This is the talisman agreed upon this month. Please verify it."

Manager Zhao paused for a moment, then carefully began to count the items.

Each time, Li Shen submitted more talismans than agreed upon.

Not long after, Steward Zhao finished counting and chuckled:

"Master Li's skills have become increasingly refined. Not only has the quantity exceeded expectations, but the quality remains consistently high. Especially this Concealing Breath Talisman. Since we started using this talisman, the losses of my family members hunting in Laoshan have been greatly reduced. It has truly been a great help."

"Manager Zhao, you flatter me. It's just my duty."

Li Shenqian responded.

Over the past few months, the Zhao family has indeed treated us with sincerity.

Therefore, Li Shen slightly increased the number of mid-grade breath-gathering talismans while maintaining a reasonable level of efficiency.

Besides making it easier for the Zhao family's disciples to hunt mid-to-late stage first-tier monsters when hunting demons in Laoshan, it also demonstrates Li Shen's friendly and cooperative attitude.

Especially at a time when undercurrents are swirling in the market, maintaining a good relationship with a Foundation Establishment family is by no means a bad thing.

Manager Zhao put away the talisman, but did not immediately settle the spirit stones as usual.

The other party was silent for a moment, looking somewhat hesitant, before carefully speaking:

"Master Li, to be honest, there is another matter I would like to discuss with you today."