203: Chapter 203 The Three Major Families Come to the Door

The enthusiasm of the Cultivators in Heiyuan City was far more intense than Li Qing had anticipated.

He had originally intended to set up his stall leisurely for the entire day to sell off this batch of golden cloud pills he had concocted, along with the first-grade Medicinal Pills he had on hand, but he could not withstand the sheer frenzy of the Cultivators in Heiyuan City.

Heiyuan City was a lawless place where fighting and conflict were common occurrences. Cultivators getting injured or exhausting their Qi were everyday events, so Medicinal Pills used for healing and Cultivating were inherently hard currency.

However, within the entire city, Tier 2 Alchemists were few and far between. High-grade Medicinal Pills were in a state of perpetual shortage, with most being firmly controlled by a few top-tier powers. For ordinary Loose Cultivators to acquire one, they either had to pay a high price or rely on luck.

Now that ready-made Medicinal Pills were laid out before them, no one wanted to miss this opportunity.

At first, people lined up cautiously to test the waters. Once the first batch of Cultivators bought the Medicinal Pills and verified their efficacy on the spot, the crowd instantly became agitated, pushing and shoving to get to the front, fearing that if they were a step too late, everything would be snatched up by others.

In less than two hours, the Medicinal Pills displayed on the stall were completely sold out. Even the last few were bid up by people competing for them, and they were swept clean.

The crowd in front of the stall looked at the empty stone platform with faces full of regret. Many Cultivators who had failed to grab any remained gathered on the spot, unwilling to disperse, staring longingly at Li Qing, waiting for him to bring out another batch of Medicinal Pills to sell.

Li Qing packed up the empty medicine boxes, looking at the crowd around him who were still unsatisfied, and sighed inwardly.

The scarcity of Medicinal Pills in Heiyuan City was even more severe than he had imagined.

After counting his gains from this trip, he had made a net profit of eight thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, plus over two hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

This income, in the eyes of his past self, would have been a huge sum of money.

Now that he had this income, his finances were finally much more comfortable, and he would no longer need to be constrained when it came to future Cultivation or purchasing Spirit Medicine Materials.

After briefly telling the waiting Cultivators that the Medicinal Pills were sold out for the day and he would set up again another time, Li Qing packed up his things, turned, and left the bustling market, heading towards the Advanced Immortal Cave he had rented.

Returning to the Immortal Cave, Li Qing first set up a few layers of simple warning Restrictions to prevent anyone from spying in secret.

He had originally intended to meditate and adjust his breath for a while to calm the Qi he had consumed during the day, and then properly plan out his subsequent Alchemy schedule.

But before he could even sit down properly, a clear announcement of a visit came from outside the Immortal Cave.

"The Grand Elder of the Wang Family has come to visit and requests an audience with Alchemist Li!"

Li Qing raised his eyebrows slightly, understanding the situation.

What was meant to come had finally arrived.

He had long anticipated that after revealing his Rank 2 Alchemy skills, the several great Families would definitely come knocking to recruit him immediately, but he just hadn't expected the speed to be this fast.

Li Qing tidied up a bit, opened the door to the Immortal Cave, and invited the group from the Wang Family inside.

The Wang Family's Grand Elder brought two attendants and carried two large boxes full of generous gifts. His attitude was humble and respectful, completely lacking the arrogant airs of an Elder from an established Family.

After taking their seats, the Grand Elder did not engage in too much pleasantry and went straight to the point, stating his purpose.

First, there was a round of polite flattery, praising Li Qing for being young and having shocking Alchemy talent, and then he laid out the Wang Family's recruitment terms.

As long as Li Qing was willing to officially join the Wang Family and become a retained Alchemist for the Wang Family, he could immediately enjoy the top-tier treatment within the clan: permanent free residence in the Wang Family's exclusive top-tier Cultivation Immortal Cave, a fixed monthly salary of one thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, priority allocation and use of rare Spirit Medicine from the clan's medicine garden, and all Magical Artifacts and Yao Beast Materials needed for Cultivation would be fully supplied by the Wang Family.

Besides this, the Wang Family would also dispatch Cultivators from the clan to provide Li Qing with round-the-clock protection, completely eliminating harassment from others. Even if people from the Houtu Sect came looking, the Wang Family could step in to mediate within Heiyuan City.

After laying out the conditions, the Grand Elder looked at Li Qing with a face full of anticipation, waiting for his reply.

Li Qing's expression was indifferent and non-committal. He just responded with a few casual remarks, neither agreeing on the spot nor directly refusing.

Seeing this, the Wang Family's Grand Elder did not dare to press him. After a few polite words, he stood up to take his leave, repeatedly urging Li Qing to consider it carefully before departing, adding that the Wang Family would await his reply at any time.

The moment the Wang Family group left, the knocking on the door of the Immortal Cave sounded again.

This time, it was people from the Huang Family.

In order to show his sincerity, the Huang Family Clan Chief, Patriarch Huang Kun, personally led the team to pay a visit. The accompanying Elder also brought a large amount of Spirit Stones and Spirit Medicine, making the display even more grand than the Wang Family's.

Patriarch Huang Kun knew deeply that the matter of recruiting Li Qing had already formed a secret competition with the Wang Family; being one step slower would mean losing everything.

After sitting down, Patriarch Huang Kun's attitude was extremely sincere, and the conditions he offered were a cut above the Wang Family's.

In addition to a top-tier Immortal Cave and massive amounts of Cultivation resources, he also promised Li Qing a very high degree of authority within the Huang Family. He would have priority decision-making power over any resource allocation within the clan, and they would additionally gift him a defensive Magic Treasure to use for self-protection.

Likewise, the Huang Family promised that as long as Li Qing joined the clan, no power in the city would dare to easily provoke him, and they would do their utmost to clear away all obstacles for him.

Li Qing remained the same; after listening to the other party's conditions, he simply nodded to acknowledge them, gave no clear answer, and politely saw the Huang Family group off.

Not long after the Huang Family left, the Second Elder of the Su Family also came to visit with generous gifts.

The Su Family acted steadily, and the conditions they offered were standard and conventional. Although they could not compare to the Huang Family in terms of resource treatment, they won out in being stable and secure. They promised to give Li Qing absolute freedom, would not interfere too much in his Cultivation and Alchemy, and only required him to concoct Medicinal Pills on time when the Su Family needed them, without imposing too many constraints.

Within a short hour, representatives from the Wang, Huang, and Su Families visited one after another, taking turns offering generous terms to recruit him. The entire entrance to the Immortal Cave was as bustling as a marketplace.

Yin Tiancheng, who lived in the neighboring Immortal Cave, saw all of this clearly.

Now, seeing with his own eyes the three top Families of Heiyuan City scrambling to come and win over Li Qing, Yin Tiancheng instantly broke into a cold sweat.

He had long thought that once Li Qing's identity as an Alchemist was announced, he would definitely become a rare commodity.

But he hadn't expected that it would so quickly attract the three great Families of Heiyuan City to come knocking, with the Huang Family even having their Clan Chief personally come to extend an invitation.

Yin Tiancheng stood inside his Immortal Cave, hesitated for a moment, and instantly made a decision in his heart.

"If I can't afford to offend them, can't I at least avoid them?"

Continuing to live here, it would be inevitable to have interactions with Li Qing, and if he accidentally offended the other party, it would be a dead end.

Thinking of this, Yin Tiancheng dared not hesitate any longer. He quickly packed his personal luggage, decisively completed the procedures to end his lease, and left the Immortal Cave area without looking back.

Li Qing stood at the entrance of the Immortal Cave, watching Yin Tiancheng's figure leaving in a hurry, a faint smile flashing across the corners of his mouth, not taking it to heart.

The petty thoughts of a Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivator could not stir up the slightest wave in the face of absolute strength and influence.