I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

For a long time afterward, few people at Baicaotang discussed Zhang Wufeng.

Xu Zhou occasionally heard his name and discovered that the other person was either refining pills or collecting medicinal herbs.

Although he was silent, it was clear that this junior brother was putting in a lot of effort to accumulate spirit stones, preparing for his next exploration of the secret realm.

In contrast, Xu Zhou was much more relaxed.

Since deciding not to compete with them, he has accumulated a considerable amount of spirit stone resources.

Zhang Wufeng had previously given him a generous consultation fee, which made him have some surplus resources.

"If I were to take out all these spirit stones at once, I could even get a Foundation Establishment elder to help me."

Xu Zhou glanced at the total amount of spirit stones in his storage bag, sighing with regret, but also inwardly lamenting, "It's a pity I still can't buy Foundation Establishment Pills."

"Both the Foundation Establishment Pill and its main ingredients are priceless treasures. And those who can provide both are usually alchemists, who have no shortage of spirit stone resources."

"However, there's no point in keeping these spirit stones in hand."

"We need to find a way to transform it into a foundation-building aid."

Xu Zhou's gaze darkened slightly.

"In that case, we should try to make contact with the merchant guilds in the cultivation world."

...

Two years later, on a certain day.

Within the Golden Flame Sect, a group of disciples returning from their training trip.

These people had just returned and did not immediately go to the miscellaneous affairs hall to hand over their tasks.

Instead, they headed towards Baicaotang.

A moment later, in Xu Zhou's cave.

A middle-aged man with a thick beard stood in front of the others and respectfully bowed to Xu Zhou:

"Master Xu, we have brought back what you needed."

He carefully took a wooden box from his storage bag and handed it over.

Xu Zhou took the wooden box and glanced at the seal on it.

He reached out and removed the seal, then scanned the contents with his divine sense.

"good."

Xu Zhou nodded in satisfaction: "Thank you all for your help in bringing this item back for me."

He handed over the storage bag he had prepared beforehand: "As agreed, this is your reward."

The middle-aged man took the storage bag, opened it, and glanced at it. His face immediately lit up with a mixture of surprise and delight.

"Thank you so much, Alchemist Xu! You are incredibly generous!"

Several disciples expressed their gratitude repeatedly, and the leading man even said, "If Master Xu finds us suitable, you can come to us again for similar missions in the future."

We are at Master Xu's beck and call!

Xu Zhou smiled and nodded.

Soon, the group said goodbye and left.

After leaving the cave, the middle-aged man showed the storage bag in his hand to the others one by one.

Everyone was pleasantly surprised after confirming their payment.

The thought that they had finally handed over the items they had escorted for two months and received their reward immediately put them at ease.

"I earned three hundred spirit stones in just one mission, which is equivalent to half a year of hard work!"

"No wonder those senior brothers in the late stage of Qi Refining are desperate to curry favor with the alchemist."

One of them asked curiously, "What do you think it was that Master Xu spent so many spirit stones to have us bring back from Red Leaf Market?"

"That's a full three hundred spirit stones! The wooden box must contain extremely rare treasures!"

The middle-aged man sneered, "Do you think Master Xu is like those petty people in the sect? He's a top-grade alchemist; he doesn't lack spirit stones at all."

This reward of three hundred spirit stones might just be a fraction of what others earn from alchemy. Our fuss here is nothing to Master Xu.

"What exactly is inside?"

"Uh..." the middle-aged man hesitated, "That's hard to say."

"I heard that Master Xu has been collecting Foundation Establishment artifacts all these years. Could there have been one in that box just now?" someone speculated.

The middle-aged man frowned: "No way."

The thought that such an important item had been in their hands for two months filled him with a sense of unease.

He immediately shook his head repeatedly: "Don't talk nonsense. If this news gets out, we might encounter several more groups of raiders next time. You'd better keep your mouths shut and don't spread it around!"

The group realized the gravity of the situation, their expressions changed rapidly, and they dared not utter a word.

Inside the cave.

Xu Zhou placed the wooden box in an open space, and then completely removed the restrictions on it.

The next moment, the shrinking restriction on the wooden box disappeared, and the things stored inside poured out, filling the room to the brim.

Contrary to what the disciples had imagined, the wooden box did not contain any extraordinary Foundation Establishment artifacts.

It's just a large batch of formation materials.

Even if he had a lot of spirit stones, he wouldn't ask a few junior disciples to help carry his Foundation Establishment artifact. That would easily attract some vicious Qi Refining Peak cultivators, and even disregarding the lives of these junior disciples, it would still cost him a sum of spirit stones.

Although these array formation materials are also very valuable, they are only useful to array masters and will not attract too much trouble.

Xu Zhou began to inventory the materials: "Primordial Magnetic Gold, Spiritual Void Wood..."

"This batch of materials is of good quality; the goods from the Thousand Pulse Chamber of Commerce are as excellent as ever."

He picked up a letter from the materials, opened it, and read it carefully.

The letter was naturally written by Li Pochen.

Since achieving mastery of his cultivation, this young man has been going out to gain experience.

Two years ago, Xu Zhou thought that he was still abroad, so he wrote him a letter and asked him to act as an intermediary to contact the Qianmai Chamber of Commerce in Hongyefang City.

With Li Pochen's help, Xu Zhou's business dealings with the Qianmai Chamber of Commerce have continued for two years.

In the past two years, in addition to materials for array formations, he has also purchased several batches of rare medicinal herbs. Correspondingly, the Thousand Veins Chamber of Commerce has also purchased some pills from him.

The cooperation between the two parties is relatively smooth.

However, Li Pochen's letter mentioned something else that Xu Zhou was concerned about.

"Master, the people from the Thousand Veins Merchant Guild asked me to tell you that the Spirit Essence Flame and Flawless Leaf that you have always wanted have been found."

These two spiritual items are of great value. The Chamber of Commerce plans to send someone to trade with you. The time and place are...

Xu Zhou's lips curled up slightly.

The two items mentioned in the letter are rare spiritual objects that aid in foundation building, and their value surpasses that of spiritual objects like the Blood Refining Jujube.

He had only asked the Chamber of Commerce to inquire about it back then, never expecting that in just two short years, they would actually be able to obtain these two spiritual items.

Xu Zhou did some quick calculations.

"Judging from the time, it should be next month."

...

A mortal city outside the Golden Flame Gate.

This is the trading location chosen by the representatives of the Thousand Pulse Chamber of Commerce.

The members of the Chamber of Commerce stated frankly that the items they were carrying were too precious to be known by too many people, and therefore they could not go to Jin Yan Men to pay their respects.

In a city inhabited by ordinary people, any accident could easily affect the local inhabitants. The deaths of a large number of ordinary people would inevitably force the Golden Flame Sect to investigate, thus providing some degree of security.

Even so, Xu Zhou arrived in the city more than half a month in advance.

Accompanying him were two close friends, both at the peak of Qi Refining, so they could look out for each other.

In addition, Xu Zhou also set up an array outside the agreed location.

If an unexpected situation arises, he can immediately activate the formation, which is sufficient to deal with most dangers.

After confirming that everything was correct, he waited for the guests in the city.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

At the appointed time, Xu Zhou waited quietly at a restaurant in the city. His two other friends were waiting not far away.

Noon.

As Xu Zhou was pondering where the other party would appear, he suddenly felt a tightening in his senses and immediately turned his head to look.

But then, at the entrance of the restaurant's stairs, a well-to-do old man was walking up.

Xu Zhou was slightly surprised.

Before this, his divine sense had already covered the entire restaurant area, and he could detect any movement.

But he only sensed the old man when he was within five zhang of him. It was as if the old man had suddenly appeared within his range of divine sense.

On the other hand, the other party also showed surprise at this moment.

Clearly, he hadn't expected that Xu Zhou would notice him before he even got close.

But the old man quickly showed a respectful and admiring expression, walked to Xu Zhou's side, and bowed: "You must be Fellow Daoist Xu."

Fellow Daoist's perception is remarkably sharp, allowing you to detect my presence beforehand. I am deeply impressed and apologize for my overconfidence.

Xu Zhou returned the greeting with a cupped hand, and took the opportunity to glance at his friends two tables away, only to find that they were still calm and composed, as if they had not noticed the commotion on his side.

他顿时心中一沉。

The Thousand Veins Chamber of Commerce truly lives up to its reputation as a major chamber of commerce that has established itself in several countries; its foundation is probably no less than that of the Golden Flame Sect.

The fact that the other party dared to come alone clearly shows that they have some ability.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Xu," the portly old man said with a smile. "I am Cai Mouyuan, the captain of the guards under Manager Huang of the Thousand Veins Chamber of Commerce in Red Leaf Market."

As he said this, a hint of smugness appeared on his face, clearly indicating that the captain of the guard was not of low status.

After the two sat down, the other person got straight to the point: "The Spirit Essence Flame and Flawless Leaf that Fellow Daoist Xu previously asked the Merchant Guild to search for are now on my person. Would Fellow Daoist Xu like to take a look at them now?"

Xu Zhou pondered for a while and then said, "Okay."

Cai Mouyuan immediately took out two wooden boxes and placed them on the table.

He opened one of the wooden boxes, and a ghostly green flame immediately shot out and floated in mid-air.

"This is the Spirit Marrow Flame, a Foundation Establishment artifact crafted by the Yin Soul Sect using secret methods."

Cai Mouyuan smiled and said, "This item is quite precious. Its refining method is a closely guarded secret of the Yin Soul Sect, and it is extremely difficult to obtain. If a cultivator uses this item to temper their soul, they can greatly enhance the strength of their soul. Its benefit in passing the soul barrier is even comparable to that of the Foundation Establishment Pill."

Xu Zhou glanced around and found that the other ordinary diners were not looking over, as if they could not see the strange things here.

He took another look at the Spirit Essence Flame.

The Spiritual Essence Flame did not emit any heat; it simply floated there quietly. Only when Xu Zhou's divine sense swept over it could he feel a slight stinging sensation in his spiritual platform.

Cai Mouyuan then opened another wooden box, inside which lay two leaves with simple, ancient patterns—the flawless leaves, of course.

"Flawless Leaf, a specialty of the sacred land of Yan."

Cai Mouyuan continued, "Swallowing and refining this substance can remove impurities from one's magical power. If the user is at the Foundation Establishment stage, the resistance encountered at the magical power barrier will be much less."

Xu Zhou nodded slightly.

Subsequently, Cai Mouyuan informed him of the price of the spiritual item.

Upon hearing the price, even with Xu Zhou's considerable wealth, his expression twitched slightly.

He didn't begin to question it, but merely glanced at the spirit essence flame floating in the air.

Xu Zhou looked at it for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Cai, speaking of this Spirit Essence Flame, I have heard a story about it before."

Cai Mouyuan looked curious: "Oh?"

"I've heard that the true spiritual essence flames flowing from the Yin Soul Sect should be azure in color."

Xu Zhou picked up his teacup.

"As for the dark green color, it seems to be mostly due to insufficient cooking time."

The air fell silent for a moment.

The smile on Cai Mouyuan's face faded slightly.