At the age of one hundred, I inquired about the Dao, awakening the supreme spiritual root that shatt

Ling Xiu released his divine sense to investigate, and his expression instantly darkened.

The city lord's patrol guards have come knocking on our door so quickly!

Outside the Zhenxu Pavilion stood four cultivators dressed in standard armor, fully armed and exuding a fierce fighting spirit. They were the city guards directly under the Qingyang Holy City Lord's Mansion.

All four were at the late stage of the Condensation Realm, and their auras were imposing.

The other party was very businesslike and had a tough attitude, leaving no room for polite refusal.

Ling Xiu had no choice but to remove the outer layer of restrictions and step out of the pavilion.

The middle-aged captain of the guards, who was in the lead, showed his identity token from the city lord's mansion at his waist and spoke solemnly.

"Fellow Daoist, we are guards from the City Lord's Mansion of Qingyang Holy City."

"By order of the city lord, all cultivators in the city are to be conscripted to resist the Northern Frost Beast Tide."

"The Holy City is in peril, and it is the duty of all cultivators. Please return with us immediately to the City Lord's Mansion for reorganization and to be incorporated into the city's defense ranks, to jointly protect Qingyang Holy City!"

Ling Xiu didn't speak, but he had already prepared a set of words in his mind.

"I will make preparations immediately and set off at once."

By the way, my name is Li Xiuyuan. As an alchemist, am I entitled to any special treatment?

To be honest, I am currently in a critical stage of breaking through in my cultivation.

Furthermore, I am a professional alchemist and have never been good at combat, so I lack battlefield experience.

Even if he wanted to rush to the front lines to fight the enemy, his cultivation was too shallow. If he rashly went to the battlefield, he would probably only be a burden to his fellow cultivators.

"Hmm? You're an alchemist!"

The captain of the guards looked at Ling Xiu, and his expression suddenly changed.

"Indeed, alchemists already enjoy special privileges; they don't need to rush to the front lines to directly confront ferocious beasts!"

It should be understood that professional cultivators such as alchemists, weapon refiners, and talisman masters are already rare in the world.

In times of war, the city lord's mansion never conscripts such talents to the front lines. Instead, they are listed as reserve special talents, allowing them to use their expertise to provide logistical support for the entire war.

"I recently advanced to the Earth-rank Alchemist."

Ling Xiu knew there was no way to hide this matter, and that verifying his identity would only bring him bad consequences, so he simply told the truth.

Then, he took out a jade bottle with exquisite patterns.

"These are a few Dragon Power Pills that I have refined. Please accept them, Captain and fellow Daoists, as proof of my identity as an alchemist."

The captain of the guard scanned the inside with his divine sense and, just as Ling Xiu had said, there were eight top-grade Dragon Power Pills lying quietly inside the bottle.

One pill can double one's physical strength in a short period of time, making it quite valuable on the market.

A look of obvious surprise immediately appeared in the captain's eyes.

Without any formalities, he reached out and took the jade bottle, then patted Ling Xiu on the shoulder.

"Okay, this receipt is sufficient."

He pondered for a moment, then continued seriously, "I will immediately report your status as an Earth-rank alchemist to the City Lord's Mansion and get you an official alchemist certificate as soon as possible."

The city lord's mansion will assign you another job.

It is an immense injustice and a waste of rare cultivation talent for Earth-rank alchemists to rush to the front lines and fight bloody battles!

With the fighting intensifying and countless casualties occurring on the front lines, the most pressing need on the battlefield is precisely for various healing elixirs.

Ling Xiu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly followed up with a reply.

That's exactly the point.

Although I am not skilled in battlefield combat, I am devoted to alchemy and supplying medicines to the front lines of the Holy City, which is also a way of serving the country.

I am willing to dedicate all my abilities to refining various healing elixirs, to contribute my modest strength to the defense of Qingyang Holy City.

The captain of the guard nodded in satisfaction, a smile appearing on his face.

"In that case, you can stay at Zhenxu Pavilion and wait for further instructions."

We will dispatch medicinal herbs here based on the casualties and battle situation at the front, and then notify you to start refining the elixir.

After I returned, I reported to my superiors and arranged for a batch of basic medicinal herbs to be allocated to you soon. You can start refining and storing healing pills.

"I will obey the instructions of the City Lord's Mansion."

Ling Xiu naturally wouldn't refuse and readily agreed.

Although he was born in the Eastern Spiritual Domain, he now resides in the Qingyang Holy City and has an obligation to protect this city.

As for going to the front lines to fight for his life, Ling Xiu has absolutely no plans at the moment.

After seeing off the four guards, Ling Xiu turned back to the True Ruins Pavilion and reset the multi-layered restrictions on the pavilion.

However, his expression became completely serious.

Although he was temporarily spared the risk of battlefield combat, once Qingyang Holy City was breached by the beast tide and chaos spread beyond the realm, his cultivation and plans would also be greatly affected.

He slowly walked up to the quiet room on the second floor, holding the Qiankun Xuan Gourd in his palm.

"Now that I've gathered four top-grade Profound Realm Pills, I'll seize this opportunity to break through to the Profound Realm!"

Ling Xiu sat cross-legged, cleared his mind of distractions, circulated his internal energy, and frantically mobilized his true essence to adjust his physical body and meridians to their peak condition.

He was filled with anticipation and curiosity about how many levels of the Profound Realm these four top-grade Transcendent Pills could help him advance.

If he can break through to the late stage of the Profound Realm in one fell swoop, he will be able to build a spiritual sea foundation and may even have the excellent aptitude to challenge the Divine Transformation Realm in the future.

The Profound Realm is a crucial watershed on a cultivator's path of cultivation. The quality of the golden core condensed in the dantian directly determines the cultivator's subsequent cultivation ceiling.

He carefully placed the four top-grade Tongxuan Pills into an exquisite jade bottle and sealed them with a unique divine soul restriction.

Given the current turmoil in the Holy City, the City Lord's Mansion will likely send alchemy ingredients soon, so it is not advisable to immediately go into seclusion to break through to a higher realm.

Within two hours, the city lord's men indeed escorted the first batch of alchemical ingredients to the True Ruins Pavilion.

These medicinal herbs are all basic raw materials for refining spirit-grade healing pills.

Ling Xiu checked and accepted all the medicinal herbs, and told the person who delivered the medicine to come back to collect the pills in ten days.

From then on, he secluded himself and began refining elixirs.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and Ling Xiu completed the refining process as scheduled, producing a batch of top-grade Qi-Nourishing Pills with excellent medicinal effects. These pills have a remarkable effect on repairing battle wounds.

The person who came to collect the pill was none other than the guard captain from before. Seeing this, Ling Xiu handed over a storage bag.

"This is a small gift from me, five hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Please accept it, Captain."

I have another request. Recently, I sensed that my cultivation level is nearing a critical point, and I am about to break through to a higher realm. I need to engage in long-term seclusion and cultivation.

Could the alchemy tasks assigned by the City Lord's Mansion during this period be temporarily suspended?

We hope the captain will be accommodating and do us a favor.

This guard captain was not of high rank, but he could handle such minor matters all by himself.

The captain scanned the Qiankun bag with his divine sense and confirmed that it contained a full five hundred mid-grade spirit stones. He was secretly delighted, but his face remained expressionless as he waved his hand slightly.

"Leave this to me. The alchemist's top priority is to break through his cultivation in seclusion; all worldly affairs can be postponed."

I will try my best to secure a longer period of seclusion for you, ranging from three to five months, and if all goes well, I can secure a full year of seclusion for you.

Wishing Master Li Dan a breakthrough to perfection and a great increase in his spiritual cultivation!

He readily accepted the spirit stones, feeling a slight bias towards Ling Xiu in his heart.

If it weren't for the current special wartime situation of the beast tide besieging the city, he would even be willing to transfer a few guards from the city lord's mansion to the True Ruins Pavilion to protect Ling Xiu.

There are plenty of alchemists in Qingyang Holy City. Losing one person for a short period of time will not affect the supply of pills in the logistics.

After seeing off the guard captain, Ling Xiu completely cleared away any obstacles to his seclusion.

He returned to the core meditation room on the second floor, where he set up high-level protective formations and concealment restrictions in layers. After making thorough preparations, he finally felt at ease to prepare for his breakthrough to the Profound Realm.

"Breakthrough begins."

Ling Xiu opened his eyes slightly, his gaze sharp and bright, his heart filled with certainty and anticipation.

He possesses an unparalleled supreme spiritual root, which makes his breakthrough to higher realms far surpass that of ordinary cultivators. These four top-grade Tongxuan Pills are merely icing on the cake.

When a cultivator enters the Profound Realm, the core task is to condense a golden core within their dantian.

Therefore, the vast majority of cultivators choose the Tongxuan Pill to assist in their breakthrough.

Firstly, it greatly increases the success rate of breakthroughs, and secondly, it can refine a more stable golden core.

Only with a solid foundation can one go further on the path of cultivation; this principle is no different from building a house by first laying a solid foundation.

Having made all the preparations, Ling Xiu first took a top-grade Qi-Nourishing Pill to maintain his peak physical condition, where his body was full of Qi and blood and his injuries could heal themselves.

He then swallowed several Xuan Yuan Pills to ensure that his true essence and magical power could be replenished instantly during his cultivation.

The two types of spirit-grade pills entered the body, and the powerful, warm medicinal power instantly swept through the limbs and bones, nourishing and cleansing the meridians, muscles, and dantian.

Even his own spiritual state was restored to its peak.

Everything is ready; all that remains is to break through to the Golden Core realm.