I'm in the world of cultivation, and I get a system for becoming a wealthy urban tycoon?

Qingxifang Market.

This is a market town located fifty miles west of Dongwang Mountain, within Qingxi Stream. It is named after a clear stream that meanders out from the depths of the mountain stream.

The stream remains clear and blue year-round, never freezing even in the dead of winter. A thin layer of white mist floats on the surface, shrouding the scattered pavilions on both banks in a hazy glow.

Within the territory of Yue, this market town was not large, only about two or three streets in size, but it was the closest market town to Dongwang Mountain.

Most of the cultivators from the Lu family come here to make a living, either by hunting monsters to sell, collecting spiritual herbs to exchange, or working in shops in the market, earning a few spirit stones a year to supplement their cultivation.

There is only one restaurant in the market that sells spiritual food, called He's Restaurant, which is run by the He family, a family that has achieved Foundation Establishment.

Because the cultivators in the vicinity are not particularly strong, the He family, as a Foundation Establishment family, is already considered a top power in this area.

As the only restaurant in the market that can serve spiritual food, He's Restaurant is naturally quite grand, with a three-story facade and upturned eaves, making it quite impressive even in the small place of Qingxijian.

Even the waiters were all cultivators at the early stage of Qi Refining.

Lu Xiao then worked as a waiter at this restaurant.

Lu Xiao has worked at this restaurant for over five years, so he's considered a veteran.

Because of his handsome appearance and eloquent tongue, he stood out among the waiters.

The He family steward in charge of the restaurant valued him highly and even revealed that he intended to promote him to a junior steward position.

Unfortunately, Lu Xiao's talent was just average, his cultivation techniques were unremarkable, and he didn't have many resources. After all these years, he was still only at the early stage of Qi Refining.

If someone with this level of cultivation were to be promoted to a minor steward, they would find it difficult to gain the respect of the people.

Therefore, the matter has remained unresolved, with no substantial progress.

However, even this slight sign was enough to give Lu Xiao a sense of hope for the future.

Besides working as a waiter in the restaurant every day, he would lock himself in that rented little room and bury himself in his cultivation, working very hard.

Because of his hard work, and the fact that he has been cultivating since he was thirteen years old, for a full sixteen years now, his cultivation level finally reached the threshold for a breakthrough a few days ago.

He immediately asked the restaurant for leave and went into seclusion at his residence to begin breaking through his bottleneck.

It was precisely because of this seclusion that when Lu Zimu arrived at Qingxi Market and found him, he was unable to immediately bring him back to the Lu family for the New Year.

At present, Lu Zimu is guarding outside Lu Xiao's residence, protecting him.

The soul connection between Lu Yang and the puppet bodyguard is unaffected by distance.

He quickly learned the whole story from Wang Wu.

This relieved Lu Yang.

He thought Lu Xiao had run into some trouble.

It turns out it's a good thing!

It startled him!

However, Lu Xiao's spiritual root is only of the low grade, and the cultivation technique he uses is also mediocre. Even if he is at the bottleneck between the early and middle stages of Qi Refining, it would probably take him several months to break through it.

After a moment's thought, Lu Yang decided to make a trip to Qingxi Market tomorrow.

On the one hand, she had just promised Hongdou that she would take her to the market to buy some fun things; on the other hand, she also wanted to send some top-quality Qi-nourishing pills to her older brother.

The Supreme Yellow Dragon Pill is too potent for Lu Xiao in his current state. Unlike Lu Yang, who has a strong cultivation technique, a superior spiritual root, and an extremely strong physical body, he cannot absorb such a powerful medicinal force.

If Lu Xiao, who was in the early stage of Qi Refining, were to use the top-grade Yellow Dragon Pill, its violent medicinal power would probably sever his meridians.

The best Qi-Nourishing Pill is just right.

This should greatly reduce the time it takes for him to break through.

After confirming that Lu Xiao was safe and sound, Lu Yang gathered his thoughts, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state.

The moonlight outside the window was like water, and the winter night at Dongwang Mountain was so quiet that only the rustling of the wind through the pine forest could be heard.

…………

Early the next morning.

Taibai Market.

Inside the alchemy room on the fourth floor of the Miraculous Pharmacy.

The air was filled with a faint fragrance of grass and trees, and the walls were engraved with soundproof and spirit-gathering patterns, keeping out all the noise of the market streets.

In the center of the alchemy room stands a stone alchemy furnace platform about half a person's height, with dark fire marks left from the refining of pills over the years still remaining on its surface.

Guan Qiu was standing next to an unfolded Yellow Dragon Pill recipe, patiently explaining the key points of refining the Yellow Dragon Pill to Lin Ying in her hoarse voice.

From identifying and processing medicinal herbs, to controlling and adjusting the heat, and then to the rhythm of releasing and withdrawing spiritual energy during the condensation of the elixir...

Each point was broken down and explained in great detail.

Lin Ying listened attentively, sometimes frowning in thought, sometimes nodding with a relaxed expression.

Her gaze swept back and forth over the dosage of several of the auxiliary medicines, but a bold idea kept popping into her mind.

I have a feeling that if the dosage of some auxiliary medicines is slightly changed while keeping the main ingredients of the formula unchanged, the effect might be better.

This idea surprised and even made her somewhat uncertain.

As a top-tier first-order alchemist, Lin Ying actually has a deep understanding of the medicinal properties of first-order spiritual herbs.

She knew by heart the properties of each first-tier herb—its hot, cold, warm, and cool properties, its reactions after being used in medicine, and its interactions with other herbs.

She carefully considered the idea several times in her mind and actually felt that it might actually be feasible!

But she had never had such thoughts before, had she?

She always followed the prescription meticulously, never daring to add or subtract anything.

How did I suddenly get this inspiration today?

Lin Ying felt both surprised and apprehensive.

Could it be that I've suddenly had a breakthrough?!

If I were really like that, my alchemy skills would probably improve, right?

I'll definitely be able to refine more and better pills for Junior Brother Lu then!

Whenever she thought of Lu Yang, her thoughts would drift away.

Junior Brother Lu should be home by now, right?

What is he doing now?

Did he think about himself?

Even though she hadn't seen Junior Brother Lu for only a day, she already missed him terribly.

Thinking of that mischievous yet tender smile on his lips, thinking of the warmth of his fingertips when he pinched her cheek...

Those images floated into my mind one by one, pushing Guan Qiu's explanations further and further away.

For the first time, Lin Ying felt that the Spring Festival could be so long.

"Young Mistress? Are you alright?"

Guan Qiu's voice suddenly rang in her ears, pulling Lin Ying back from her tender thoughts.

Her pretty face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes: "I'm sorry, Senior Guan, I... I was just lost in thought."

Guan Qiu pursed her lips, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Was my explanation not good enough? I actually managed to distract the young master's wife.

Before the young master left, he instructed her to properly teach the young master's wife.

If she didn't teach him well, then it's her fault.

Although she, a third-level alchemist, personally teaches, there are countless alchemists outside who would line up to hear her but never get a chance.

If anyone else had dared to be distracted during her lecture, she would have stormed off long ago.

But she dared not show the slightest disrespect to the young master's wife.

Seeing that Lin Ying seemed to have recovered, Guan Qiu continued his explanation.

After a short while, she finally finished explaining the recipe for the Yellow Dragon Pill from beginning to end, including how to grasp the timing of adding the medicine, how to process the medicinal materials, how to change the heat, how to gather the spiritual energy when condensing the pill, and so on. She explained every detail clearly.

Guan Qiu looked at Lin Ying and asked, "Has the young master's wife remembered everything?"

Lin Ying nodded: "Yes, I've got it."

Guan Qiu nodded slightly, her tone gentle: "Then why doesn't the young mistress refine a batch first to test her skills, so that I can see your current alchemy level? Afterwards, I can prescribe the right medicine and explain it to you in detail."

Lin Ying nodded quickly, "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Senior Guan!"

Guan Qiu originally intended to lend his alchemy furnace to Lin Ying, but Lin Ying gently shook her head and refused.

She took out the Crimson Heart Furnace that Lu Yang had given her.

As soon as the alchemy furnace hit the ground, a faint red glow spread throughout the room.

The furnace body is vermilion, as if solidified from the sunset. The cloud patterns engraved on the furnace wall flow faintly under the firelight, as if there are clouds slowly rolling inside the furnace.

Looking at the crimson alchemy furnace, a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

A top-grade spiritual artifact level alchemy furnace...

She never imagined that she would be able to use a pill furnace of this level.

Guan Qiu only glanced at Lin Ying's top-grade spiritual artifact-level alchemy furnace, without being overly surprised.

After all, this is the young master's wife. Given the young master's status and resources, it's perfectly normal for him to prepare a top-grade spiritual artifact-level alchemy furnace for her.

She took out batches of medicinal herbs from her storage bag and arranged them in categories on the wooden shelf next to her.

Guan Qiu stepped back a few paces, his tone gentle and calm: "Young Mistress, there's no need to be nervous. The ingredients for the Yellow Dragon Pill are all here; you can take them at any time."

Lin Ying nodded earnestly: "Thank you, Senior Guan."

Guan Qiu said politely, "Young Mistress, there's no need for thanks. It's nothing I should do. You can begin at any time."

Lin Ying took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and spent a moment calming her mind.

Then, she slowly opened her eyes.

Guan Qiu, who had been watching Lin Ying closely, suddenly stiffened slightly.

She looked at Lin Ying with some surprise.

In her mind, the young mistress who had been somewhat shy and even lost in thought while she was explaining was gone.

Standing before the alchemy furnace, Lin Ying's eyes were clear as a mirror, calm and without a trace of impurity.

A mind as clear as a mirror.

Lin Ying herself also noticed the difference in her current state.

The details of the Huanglong Dan formula in my mind, the inspiration for adjusting the dosage of auxiliary medicines, the pill-condensing techniques and fire control methods recorded in the Qinghua Jiuzhuan Danyuan Yaoshu, and so on—all these knowledge and insights were linked together by a clear force and arranged in an orderly manner in my consciousness, ready to be used at any time.

A ripple of emotion suddenly stirred within her.

This...this state...?!

She had never experienced it before!

However, her clear and focused mind quickly suppressed the shock in her heart.

Lin Ying's eyes regained their clarity.

She stopped thinking about it, reached out her hand, and began to refine the elixir methodically.

The furnace temperature was gradually increased using the Qinghua Nine-Turn Fire Control Technique.

Under the licking of the flames, the cloud patterns on the surface of the Crimson Heart Furnace began to slowly flow.

She meticulously extracted the medicinal properties of each herb, removing the dross and retaining the essence, without any error.

Following the order recorded in the prescription, she added the main ingredients and excipients at a leisurely pace, while slightly altering the dosage of the excipients according to her own understanding.

The control of the heat was like a tamed stream at her fingertips, changing from large to small as she pleased, without the slightest hesitation.

Every step was fluid and graceful, a pleasure to behold!

This caused Guan Qiu's cloudy eyes to widen little by little.

Looking at Lin Ying's current state, the shock in her heart surged up like a tidal wave.

No... this state... it's like the legendary "pure and clear mind"?!

Something's not right!

A mere first-level alchemist, yet he has already achieved enlightenment?

This level of alchemy is not something that can be achieved through mere effort!

How many third-tier alchemists spend their entire lives trying to reach the state of "clear mind and pure heart"?

Even she only managed to enter this state once by sheer luck!

And this young mistress, who was only at the Qi Refining stage, actually entered that state of perfect clarity of mind so naturally?!

Guan Qiu felt a surge of absurdity welling up from the bottom of her heart.

Such a genius, young master, you want me to teach him?!

Am I really capable of teaching her?!

Young Master, aren't you giving me far too much credit?!