I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

Xu Zhou refined a batch of Qi Condensation Powder and handed it to Wang Mo for confirmation, which also served as a verification of his alchemy skills.

After that, he refined several more batches of Qi Condensation Powder, and finally earned back some spirit stones.

However, although this amount of spirit stones was not a small sum for a Qi Refining cultivator, it was almost all spent after purchasing a batch of second-tier medicinal herbs.

Xu Zhou had no choice but to start refining pills again.

So they studied and refined elixirs at the same time, and three months passed quickly.

On this day, someone carrying a token of the Thousand Veins Chamber of Commerce arrived at Red Maple Valley and delivered a letter.

Xu Zhou opened it and was overjoyed.

Shopkeeper Huang has found a buyer.

...

Xu Zhou entered the separate room of the Thousand Pulse Chamber of Commerce once again.

The array patterns inside flickered, not only isolating the sounds from inside and outside, but even interfering with the spiritual senses of the cultivators inside the room.

The reason for such caution is mainly to prevent the identities of both parties in the transaction from being revealed.

After all, the Foundation Establishment Pill is still considered a priceless treasure in the Mu Kingdom. Transactions involving this item are handled with extreme caution.

Xu Zhou had also disguised himself to avoid revealing his identity.

The cultivator opposite also concealed his face, and even his voice was slightly muffled.

However, his behavior was quite disciplined, unlike that of an ordinary rogue cultivator; he must have come from a family of cultivators.

Upon seeing Xu Zhou enter, the other party immediately stood up.

"Greetings, senior."

Xu Zhou nodded slightly, but did not ask any further questions about his identity. He simply sat down slowly.

For a moment, the room fell silent.

After a moment, the cultivator broke the silence first: "Manager Huang has already told me about it. I heard that you have Foundation Establishment Pills to sell?"

Xu Zhou did not answer, but simply took out a jade bottle and placed it on the table.

The cultivator picked up the jade bottle with steady movements.

But when the bottle was opened even slightly, and a wisp of medicinal fragrance escaped, the other person's breathing clearly paused for a moment.

He resealed the jade bottle almost immediately.

After a long pause, he said in a low voice, "It really is a genuine elixir."

"Now that we've confirmed the authenticity of the pills, let's talk about the price."

The cultivator remained silent for a moment, then tentatively asked, "How many spirit stones does Senior intend to collect?"

Xu Zhou directly gave a number.

He didn't ask for an exorbitant price; the price was fair and roughly in line with the value of Foundation Establishment Pills as believed by most cultivators in the Mu Kingdom.

After hearing this, the monk fell into a long silence.

After a long while, the other person finally gave a slow, bitter smile.

"If it's just spirit stones, I'm afraid I can't afford it."

Xu Zhou did not respond, and his expression did not even change.

If the other party is just an ordinary cultivation family, it would indeed be difficult for them to come up with this amount of spirit stones directly.

He then patiently observed what other bargaining chips the other party could offer.

The cultivator hesitated for a long time before cautiously asking, "Senior, are you interested in spirit ore?"

Xu Zhou shook his head: "I am just a rogue cultivator and have no interest in running a mine."

The cultivator's breathing quickened slightly.

After another silence, the other party tentatively spoke again: "In that case, senior, would you like some pills? My family has connections to obtain quite a few second-tier pills, enough to sustain a newly established Foundation Establishment cultivator for ten years."

Xu Zhou chuckled inwardly, but shook his head outwardly.

The other party seemed stunned, as if they hadn't expected that this wouldn't sway him.

The cultivator realized that if he couldn't offer Xu Zhou a compelling deal, the transaction would likely fall apart.

Thinking this, he gritted his teeth slightly, as if he had finally made up his mind, and took out a long box from his storage bag.

"If I were to include this item as a gift, what would you think, senior?"

The long box is opened.

One of them lay quietly, a dark purple ore.

Xu Zhou glanced at it, initially not paying much attention.

But Manager Huang, who had been sitting quietly to the side, recognized the object: "A lightning-attracting stalagmite?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhou raised his eyebrows slightly.

Although he didn't know much about spiritual minerals, he had heard of lightning-attracting stalagmites.

It is said that only in places with thunder veins that are constantly bombarded by heavenly lightning can such spiritual objects be nurtured over hundreds of years, making them extremely rare.

Its unique properties allow it to absorb lightning, making it an extremely unorthodox spiritual object.

Xu Zhou examined the ore carefully again and indeed found the distinctive lightning marks on it.

It is indeed this item.

Since Manager Huang had already revealed the nature of this item, he simply explained it in a few words: "I've heard that lightning-attracting stalactites are extremely difficult to obtain. It's rumored that if someone with great fortune can collect more than thirty-six of them, they can set up a lightning-attracting array, greatly reducing the difficulty of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage."

Xu Zhou's expression was strange.

"Nascent Soul..."

For the vast majority of cultivators, the Nascent Soul stage is still too far away.

Moreover, there is only one lightning-attracting stalagmite in front of us, so there is no way to set up any kind of lightning-attracting array.

The cultivator opposite him was also somewhat embarrassed and didn't know how to explain.

But he quickly regained his composure.

After taking a deep breath, he looked at Xu Zhou with a sincere tone.

"Now that I've brought this item out, my identity can no longer be concealed. With a little inquiry, you'll know I'm from the Chen family."

He looked at the lightning-attracting stalactite in his hand, his eyes filled with deep reluctance: "This was brought back from 'Thunderfall Ravine' by my ancestor. He intended to use it to cultivate lightning techniques, but before he could put it into practice, he died at the hands of an enemy cultivator."

Although this item cannot be used to set up any kind of lightning-attracting array, it is still a rare spiritual object related to lightning. If it were used as material to forge a spiritual weapon, its power would certainly be considerable.

He put the stalagmite into a long box and placed the box on the table: "This is all the sincerity I can offer. I only hope that you will be merciful, senior."

For a moment, the room fell silent.

Xu Zhou stared at the long box on the table, pondering for a long time.

Finally, he looked at the monk in front of him.

"I don't know much about the Chen family. Have you been forced to sell your ancestral treasures?"

The cultivator was slightly taken aback, not expecting Xu Zhou to ask about this.

"It's a long story."

Now that their identities were revealed, the other party no longer concealed them.

"It is common knowledge that our Chen family's ancestor is nearing the end of his life."

If we don't cultivate a Foundation Establishment cultivator soon, our family probably won't last long and may be swallowed up by the Hu family.

Once a cultivation family loses a Foundation Establishment cultivator to its position, it often falls into decline quickly. It may even be devoured, swallowed up, or enslaved by other forces.

What happened to the Chen family is not uncommon in the cultivation world.

However, Xu Zhou was more interested in something else.

"The Hu family is also connected to your Chen family?"

The opposing cultivator gritted his teeth slightly: "The Hu family and my Chen family's territory border each other, and there have been many conflicts in the past. If our ancestor were still alive, they wouldn't have made a move. But once our ancestor passes away, anything can happen."

Xu Zhou nodded without saying anything more.

He just pondered it to himself.

After a moment, he slowly spoke again: "In that case, giving you this Foundation Establishment Pill will be a way of helping others achieve their goals."

Under the surprised gaze of the other cultivator, Xu Zhou pushed the jade bottle on the table aside and placed his hand on the long box: "Then let's go with the price you mentioned."

The opposing cultivator was overjoyed.

"Thank you for your kindness, senior!"

Xu Zhou waved his hand: "It's just a normal transaction, but the price you offered was indeed good, and I urgently needed spirit stones, so I agreed."

We exchange money and goods. After the transaction, we have no further dealings.

The other cultivator was taken aback for a moment, then immediately replied, "Senior is right!"

Soon, the storage bag filled with spirit stones was in Xu Zhou's hands.

Once the money and goods are exchanged, the transaction is considered complete.

The cultivator seemed somewhat anxious, saying that time was of the essence and he needed to return to his clan as soon as possible.

After thanking Xu Zhou again, he turned and left the room.

Xu Zhou didn't stay any longer.

After he left, the room returned to silence.

Xu Zhou remained seated and did not get up immediately.

He gently stroked the long box on the table with his fingers, a sense of realization dawning on him.

Frankly speaking, the lightning-attracting stalagmite is considered to be of a relatively high grade among second-tier spiritual objects. Considering its rarity, its value is certainly not low.

Even if Xu Zhou were to exchange this item for a Foundation Establishment Pill, he might still make a profit.

In reality, the other party was willing to add a considerable amount of spirit stones to this item, just for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

In the eyes of the Thousand Veins Chamber of Commerce, the value of Foundation Establishment Pills was even lower. If it weren't for the fact that they were in the Mu Kingdom, this lightning-attracting stalagmite might have been able to be exchanged for several Foundation Establishment Pills.

The Kingdom of Mu is still too remote.

Xu Zhou had a thought, but he suppressed it for the time being.

Manager Huang had already wisely stood at a distance before the deal was even finalized.

Seeing Xu Zhou looking over, he respectfully stepped forward.

His gaze remained fixed on the lightning-attracting stalagmite, and although he was about to speak several times, he refrained from saying anything more.

Clearly, he also knew the true value of this stalagmite.

Xu Zhou chuckled inwardly and put the long box away.

He looked at the somewhat dejected Manager Huang: "Thank you for your help, Manager, which enabled Mr. Xu to complete this transaction."

After saying that, he counted out a sum of spirit stones, which was almost 20% of the total amount given by the previous cultivator. He packed it up separately and handed it to Manager Huang.

Manager Huang accepted it with a smile, but a trace of regret remained in his eyes.

"Oh, right."

Xu Zhou suddenly asked again, "Excuse me, does the Chamber of Commerce sell Tier 1 inheritance items?"

Shopkeeper Huang was slightly taken aback, then quickly nodded: "Of course we have them. Which one would you like, senior? The prices for array formations, pills, talismans, and artifacts are a bit higher, but the others are all reasonable."

"Is there a tradition of spiritual plant inheritance?"

"have."

...

In the end, Manager Huang still saw Xu Zhou off with a smile.

After flying back to Red Maple Valley, Xu Zhou landed from the clouds and casually glanced at the mound of earth in front of the wooden house.

The spirit tree seed has naturally not yet sprouted.

"When I was practicing Qi cultivation before, I thought about learning some spiritual plant cultivation as well. Unfortunately, I had already learned three skills at that time, and I really couldn't spare the energy to learn spiritual plants as well."

"Now that I've reached the Foundation Establishment stage, I have more free time. Since I'm still a bit short on cultivation resources, I might as well pick up some more spiritual plants."

He glanced at the array formed by spirit wood around him.

If one learns the art of spiritual plants, the efficiency and power of the array formation will likely increase.

He returned to the hut and took out the spiritual plant inheritance book, "The Gentle Rain Nourishes All Things," from his storage bag.

The red leaves outside the window sway gently.

By the light of the lamp, Xu Zhou slowly opened "The Gentle Rain Nourishes All Things".

Outside, the first wisp of spiritual energy quietly emanated from the mound of earth where the Star-Picking Spirit Tree was planted.