139: Chapter 139 The Arrogant Alchemist

However, Li Qing was not blinded by the current success. He knew very well that the current stability was merely a superficial phenomenon; his troubles were far from over and were even watching him from the shadows.

To say nothing else, just consider Master Cangyue of the Houtu Sect; that old thing would never let him go.

In the Xuanbing Secret Realm, he had not only killed many elite Disciples of the Houtu Sect but also publicly humiliated Master Cangyue, rubbing the Houtu Sect's Face into the dirt. Master Cangyue would absolutely not forgive this grudge.

Furthermore, Li Qing was currently a wanted criminal named by the Houtu Sect. As long as he existed, it was a blatant slap in the Face to the Houtu Sect!

Besides the Houtu Sect, none of the remaining Sects among Ten Great Sects were easy to deal with.

Li Qing's performance in the Secret Realm had been too dazzling; he had snatched the immortal destiny that should have belonged to them, and his strength made them deeply wary. One by one, they had long regarded him as a thorn in their side, just waiting for an opportunity to suppress or eliminate him.

It might seem that he could live a stable life with the backing of the Luoshui Sect and the support of the Gao Family and the Sun Family in Yingshui City, but in reality, this situation was fraught with hidden dangers. If he revealed even the slightest flaw, he would immediately fall into an irrecoverable situation with no chance of turning things around.

"Strength is the only hard truth. No matter how many backers you have, it is not as reliable as having your own strength. Only by quickly reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage and possessing the ability to contend with these forces can I truly gain a firm foothold in Yingshui City and not fear anyone's trouble or retaliation."

Li Qing clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with determination. He secretly vowed to give his all to Cultivate and cross the threshold of Foundation Establishment as soon as possible.

From then on, Li Qing closed his doors to visitors, dived into his Immortal Cave, and never went out again, putting all his focus into Cultivation.

The Medicinal Pill and Spirit Stone harvested from the Secret Realm were continuously brought out. The Medicinal Pill turned into pure Spiritual Qi to nourish his Meridians, while the Spiritual Qi released by the Spirit Stone continuously expanded his Dantian. His Cultivation level rose steadily like a rocket, without the slightest pause.

Days passed by like this. Without outside interference or Sect disputes, Li Qing devoted himself entirely to Cultivation, always maintaining his best state.

Time flowed like water, and before he knew it, two whole years had passed silently.

After two years of tireless and arduous Cultivation, the Spiritual Qi within Li Qing's body had reached its extreme. His entire Dantian was filled to the brim, and even his Meridians were saturated with dense Spiritual Qi. He could clearly feel that he had touched the barrier between Qi Refining Perfection and the Foundation Establishment Stage.

This should have been a happy occasion, but when he actually tried to break through the barrier, Li Qing was completely dumbfounded.

This barrier was far thicker and sturdier than he had imagined. No matter how he urged all the Spiritual Qi in his body to charge at it with all his might, the barrier remained motionless, like an impenetrable wall, and he could never take that critical step to achieve the Foundation Establishment Stage.

He tried countless times, but each attempt ended in failure. The consumption of Spiritual Qi left Li Qing feeling drained, his Face turning somewhat pale, and in the end, he had no choice but to give up this futile assault.

He knew in his heart that at this point, relying solely on his own Spiritual Qi to force a Breakthrough was simply impossible; he had to rely on the foundation establishment pill!

Calming his mind and carefully sensing his own condition, Li Qing slowly formed an accurate judgment:

He was Cultivating the Five Elements Art, and his Five Elements spiritual power was deep, his Foundation incredibly solid. However, the corresponding Foundation Establishment barrier was also several times stronger than that of an ordinary Cultivator. To break through this barrier, he would need at least five foundation establishment pills.

Only by utilizing the powerful medicinal efficacy of the Medicinal Pill could he completely shatter the barrier and successfully step into the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Once he stepped into the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, given the density of his Five Elements Spiritual Qi, he would definitely be able to contend with a Cultivator at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage!

However, without the assistance of the foundation establishment pill, even if he were to toil for another ten or a hundred years, he would only be stuck at Qi Refining Perfection and would never be able to achieve a Breakthrough in his life.

Realizing this, Li Qing dared not delay for even a moment and immediately set out to prepare for refining the foundation establishment pill.

Although he only had one foundation establishment pill in his possession, he had a sufficient reserve of mysterious ice flower, which was enough to refine four foundation establishment pills.

Yet there was one problem—he did not know Alchemy. Although he possessed a book on Alchemy, he had not had the time to study it.

It seemed he would have to find someone else to help.

The first person Li Qing thought of was Divine Doctor Wei. Divine Doctor Wei had stayed in Yingshui City for many years, had extensive connections and many channels, and knew quite a few Alchemists. Asking him for help would surely be the right choice.

Immediately, Li Qing tidied his appearance, brought some modest gifts, and personally visited Divine Doctor Wei to explain his desire to refine the foundation establishment pill and his need for a reliable Alchemist.

Unfortunately, Divine Doctor Wei only knew medicine, not Alchemy.

But Divine Doctor Wei was very righteous. Back then, when Li Qing shared the mysterious ice flower with him, helping to solve Xue Ying's major problem with Foundation Establishment, he had always remembered this favor.

Upon hearing Li Qing's request, he agreed without a second thought, patting his chest in assurance. He immediately used his connections to contact Zhang Xuan, a second-tier Alchemist with a small reputation in Yingshui City.

The foundation establishment pill he had obtained had come from the hands of Zhang Xuan.

This Alchemist, Zhang Xuan, was somewhat famous in Yingshui City and did indeed possess some skill in Alchemy. However, this person had a terrible temper, was arrogant and high-handed, and, relying on his status as a second-tier Alchemist, was accustomed to being overbearing.

When ordinary Cultivators came to ask him for Alchemy, he couldn't even be bothered to look at them directly. Either he would refuse to see them, or he would make things difficult in every possible way; ordinary people simply could not hire him.

But when facing a Foundation Establishment Master, he showed a different Face.

Through Divine Doctor Wei's introduction, Li Qing arrived at Zhang Xuan's Alchemy workshop. As soon as he entered, he smelled a rich medicinal scent. The Alchemist, Zhang Xuan, was sitting in the main seat, crossing his legs, and playing with a Medicinal Pill in his hand. He didn't even lift his eyelids, not paying the slightest attention to Li Qing.

Li Qing bowed and explained the matter of wanting to refine the foundation establishment pill.

Only then did Zhang Xuan slowly lift his eyelids, glancing at Li Qing sideways. His eyes were filled with disdain and arrogance. After sizing Li Qing up and down, and seeing that Li Qing was only a Cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage and not dressed in anything luxurious, the contempt on his Face grew even stronger.

Li Qing suppressed his discomfort, handed over the list of medicinal materials he had prepared for the foundation establishment pill, and said politely:

"Great Master Zhang, I wish to refine the foundation establishment pill. I have prepared the medicinal materials myself. As long as you can help with the refining, the reward is negotiable."

Zhang Xuan took the list casually, didn't even look at it carefully, and threw it aside. A mocking smile curled at the corners of his mouth, and he spoke slowly with an arrogant and mean tone:

"Refine the foundation establishment pill? Do you know how difficult that is? It's only because of Divine Doctor Wei's Face that I am willing to see you. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't even bother."

He picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and continued unhurriedly:

"Let me make this clear to you. Although the foundation establishment pill is a first-tier Medicinal Pill, the difficulty of refining it is extremely high. When I refine pills, the success rate is only fifty percent, which means that out of two batches, it is highly likely that only one will succeed. Furthermore, even if it succeeds, each batch can produce at most one foundation establishment pill; no more than that."

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Qing's expression sank instantly, and his anger surged up, almost causing him to erupt on the spot.

Before coming, he had specifically inquired about the rules of Alchemy: a single Pill Furnace could yield ten pills in a full batch, but a full batch of ten was just a legend; almost no one could achieve it.

But even the poorest Alchemist could produce at least two or three pills per batch; that was the most basic bottom line.

This Zhang Xuan, as a second-tier Alchemist, actually claimed a success rate of only fifty percent and a maximum of one pill per batch. This wasn't Alchemy; it was clearly a deliberate attempt to gouge him, asking for an exorbitant price, treating him like a fool to be fleeced!

It was just because he saw that he was young and didn't understand Alchemy that he dared to extort him so blatantly. It was truly black-hearted!

Did he really think Li Qing was easy to bully?

Li Qing suppressed his anger, just about to say a few words, when Zhang Xuan noticed his dissatisfaction and immediately snorted coldly, his tone even more arrogant:

"What? You're still not satisfied? I am only willing to refine pills for you because of Divine Doctor Wei's Face. Without Divine Doctor Wei's introduction, what qualifications do you have to stand before me? In the entire Yingshui City, the people who want to ask me for Alchemy could line up from the east of the city to the west. If you are not willing, you can go find someone else; I won't serve you!"

He folded his arms across his chest, glancing sideways at Li Qing, his Face full of impatience:

"Don't think you're amazing just because you know a few Foundation Establishment Masters. Without an Alchemist of my level, even if you have more mysterious ice flower, you won't be able to refine a single foundation establishment pill, and in the end, it will just rot in your hands. I advise you to be sensible and don't be ungrateful!"

These words were extremely arrogant. Every word and sentence carried mockery and contempt. He didn't put Li Qing in his eyes at all, convinced that Li Qing would have to beg him for Alchemy.

Looking at Zhang Xuan's greedy and arrogant Face, the last bit of patience in Li Qing's heart was completely exhausted, and he directly dismissed the idea of asking him for Alchemy.

Even if he didn't use the mysterious ice flower, he would never cooperate with such a black-hearted and arrogant Alchemist, only to be slaughtered for no reason and have to endure his attitude.

More importantly, when the mysterious ice flower was distributed, Li Qing had kept a mental note and did not tell Gao Qingxiong, Ancestor Sun Zhenhai, and Divine Doctor Wei the true quantity of his mysterious ice flower.

Now everyone thought he only had one mysterious ice flower and could at most refine one foundation establishment pill. If he were to take out a large amount of mysterious ice flower to find someone to refine pills now, it would inevitably expose his assets, attract the covetousness of others, and then the trouble would only increase.

Faced with the extortion and difficulty from the black-hearted Alchemist on one side, and the concern about not being able to expose the quantity of the mysterious ice flower on the other, Li Qing did not hesitate. Without thinking, without even saying goodbye, he turned around and left, returning to his Immortal Cave in low spirits.

It seems that rather than begging others, it is better to rely on oneself!