Chapter 22 Eighth Floor

  Recently, the Baizhitang in Huixiangfeng has slowly made a name for itself among the scattered cultivators near Yunfu Mountain. The elixirs sold by Baizhitang are very comprehensive, and most of the commonly used elixirs during the Qi Refining stage can be purchased there. Except for the elixir shops in Huchun Valley, other pharmacies do not have as many elixirs as Baizhitang. In terms of quality, most of the elixirs are mid-grade, and the mid-grade and low-grade elixirs are sold separately. The prices of low-grade elixirs are relatively cheap, while the prices of mid-grade elixirs are still reasonable, at least much more reasonable than those in Huchun Valley.

  Actually, these ordinary dan medicines have little impact on the dan medicine shop, and the price difference is not significant. Scattered cultivators usually buy dan medicines from familiar shops as well. The profit from this part is relatively stable, but it's not a huge profit. However, the profit from the business of helping to refine medicine that Yuan Futong operates is very substantial. Apart from some commonly used dan medicines, there are also some special dan medicines. The characteristic of these dan medicines is that they are used by few people, but have an extremely good effect on a certain group of people. For example, the Xuan Shui Dan that Hu Xin asked him to refine is almost useless for ordinary cultivators, but it's essential for cultivators who need to condense Xuan Shui. Xuan Shui is something that must be condensed when practicing water-based martial arts, using a small amount of pure cold energy as the core, condensing water-based martial arts power, and refining ordinary water into Xuan Shui. Xuan Shui is not a magic tool, but it can protect oneself and attack enemies, making it convenient for those who practice water-based martial arts to command. Its power is also very good, and it can be upgraded with cultivation, making it a very convenient technique. More importantly, after condensing Xuan Shui, it has an auxiliary effect on the cultivation of water-based martial arts during practice. The Xuan Shui in Yuan Futong's gourd was actually Gu Dao Ren's Xuan Shui, but Gu Dao Ren had upgraded it, making its power even greater. It can also integrate other functions, which is another important advantage of Xuan Shui.

  Hu Xin is now at the seventh level of Qi refinement and can already condense Xuan water. If she can condense Xuan water, it will be of great help to her cultivation and combat. The condensation of Xuan water depends on one's cultivation and breath control, not just taking a few Xuan water pills. Even after successful condensation, taking Xuan water pills can still enhance the power of Xuan water and promote the practice of water-based techniques. For people with average aptitude, using seven or eight pills should be enough to condense Xuan water. Using ten more pills to strengthen it is basically sufficient. Although having more is better, considering the price, it's not very cost-effective. So Hu Xin and her friends chose Dan medicine, possibly because they didn't have many Ling stones either.

  Similar elixirs are the same, with low demand, but as long as someone comes to refine them, it's a big business. All of this is based on Yuan Futong having the high-level technical manual "Liu Yun Dan Fang" in his hands. What kind of elixir requires what kind of medicinal materials, most people know roughly, but the specific firing sequence and proportion of medicinal materials are very advanced technologies. Basically, only some large sects grasp the core technology, while individual cultivators can only refine ordinary auxiliary elixirs. Special elixirs like this one can only be bought in the shops of large sects. Among the four major sects, only Huichun Valley has a relatively rich refining ability, with shops set up in various markets throughout the Great Song Dynasty to sell elixirs and earn spirit stones. The other three sects have comprehensive elixir formulas, but they only supply their own sect and familiar large families, and only sell some elixirs in the main market of the sect, without expanding nationwide.

  This situation is similar to some monopolized industries in the past. Huichun Valley is like a multinational corporation, occupying almost all high-end markets. The other three sects have their own core technologies and do not need to be controlled by Huichun Valley, but their production capacity is insufficient, only able to meet the needs of their own sect. Other scattered cultivators, due to lack of technology, become exploited objects. Ordinary dan medicine is like basic technology, mastered by many people, with no obvious profit, but high-end products have unimaginable profits for ordinary people. Yuan Futong is a small factory with core technology, weak production capacity, low cost, and makes large profits through processing materials at relatively low market prices.

  Yuan Futong is now thriving with this ability, and after more than a year of operation, Yuan Futong's shop has become the best Dan medicine shop in the market. Through Jiang Xiaotie brothers, Yuan Futong found two miscellaneous workers, and Jiang Xiaotie has become the manager of the shop. Yuan Futong focuses on alchemy and cultivation, only receiving those who come to ask for his help in refining special Dan medicines, while leaving everything else to Jiang Xiaotie to handle.

  Jiang Xiao Tie has made great progress in his cultivation under the guidance of Yuan Fu Tong over the past year, and he is now about to enter the stage of refining his Qi. Jiang Xiao Tie also has a good foundation as a Three-System Mixed Spirit Root, which is slightly better than his brother Jiang Xiao Tong's, making him qualified to embark on the path of cultivation. Yuan Fu Tong has not been stingy with Jiang Xiao Tie either, giving him several Nourishing Qi Pills in addition to his salary in spirit stones, which have greatly accelerated Jiang Xiao Tie's progress. With Yuan Fu Tong's guidance, Jiang Xiao Tie's path to cultivation is much smoother than Yuan Fu Tong's was back then, and if Yuan Fu Tong were willing to accept disciples, Jiang Xiao Tie would have already asked to become his disciple.

  In terms of medicinal materials, Yuan Futong was also very open. Jiang Xiaotie had already been able to identify most medicinal materials and spiritual herbs, and could judge the purchasing price. Sometimes, the spiritual stones that passed through Jiang Xiaotie's hands were worth several thousand, but there had never been any problems. When collecting and selling medicines, there had also been no errors. Yuan Futong was very serious about guiding and teaching Jiang Xiaotie, who had a good understanding of things. All these performances made Yuan Futong trust Jiang Xiaotie more and more. After all, it was not easy to find a cautious and honest helper, and a obedient and studious student was also hard to come by. In Jiang Xiaotie, Yuan Futong found the feeling of bringing an apprentice chef, which made him very excited. Although he still had many things to do now and couldn't take on an apprentice, Yuan Futong compensated Jiang Xiaotie with better treatment. This made Jiang Xiaotie work even harder, and with Jiang Xiaotie's hard work, Yuan Futong could devote more time to cultivation, so the past year or so was very comfortable for him.

  Comfortable days of cultivation also speed up, Yuan Futong found that his cultivation speed has been getting faster and faster. From breaking through the fourth layer to the seventh layer, he used three years of time, which is already very good, compared to those who know the assistance of their elders, it's a bit slower, but in the scattered repair, it's absolutely outstanding. The cultivation from the seventh layer to the eighth layer should have been slowing down, but it only took more than a year to successfully break through, this speed can already be compared with those sect elites. This is good news for Yuan Futong, which means that he has a good chance of reaching the tenth layer before the Ascension Conference. At that time, he can also be considered a master. Plus his alchemy skills, there is a high probability of becoming a disciple of the four major sects, and then he can obtain higher-level cultivation techniques and the foundation-building pills that must be used for his own foundation-building.

  After entering the 8th layer of Qi Refining, Yuan Fugong attempted to enter the Huoyu to command that layer of flames. Although it was much better than the first time, he still failed to guide them successfully. However, Yuan Fugong discovered a good method for cultivating his divine sense, which was to use his divine sense to explore the world within the Huoyu. After reaching the 8th layer of Qi Refining, his divine sense could withstand much greater pressure than before, and it could now enter the edge of the fiery red world, although it still couldn't break through. The yellow region inside also had some sensations. If the outer layer of the fiery red world was composed of flames at the level of terrestrial fire, then the yellow flames inside were clearly of a higher grade. The structure of the flames within the Huoyu wasn't like the wick-like distribution that Yuan Fugong knew, with the inner layers being lower and the outer layers being higher, but rather it was clear that the inner layers were higher and the outer layers were lower. As his cultivation increased, he would definitely be able to control the flames within the Huoyu, and at that time, his alchemy would have a guaranteed source of fire.

  Through these explorations, Yuan Futong discovered that although his divine consciousness could not break through into the yellow world, the pressure of the fire-red world had a compressing and strengthening effect on his own divine consciousness. The growth of his divine consciousness after entering for the first time was not an accidental phenomenon, but rather an effect that occurred every time. It seemed to be very consistent with the extreme cultivation theory he had heard about in his past life. After discovering this point, Yuan Futong began to use this method to cultivate his divine consciousness. The effect was much faster than the natural improvement during cultivation of his gongfa. Now, Yuan Futong has specially set aside time for cultivating his divine consciousness. After practicing the Three Yangs Building Foundation Cultivation Method, he conducts special cultivation of his divine consciousness, allowing his divine consciousness to become significantly higher than that of a normal cultivator. In the world of cultivation, only a few high-level gongfa with special talents in cultivating divine consciousness have this effect. It was just an ordinary heart method, Three Yangs Building Foundation, that could produce such an effect, thanks to both the help of Huo Yu and Yuan Futong's own efforts in thinking and trying.

  As Yuan Futong's spiritual awareness increased, his control over the law instrument also improved significantly, and his mastery of spells became stronger. After a few years of quiet life, Yuan Futong had the idea of going out for a walk after calming down and thinking about it.