Top-level Qi Luck: Leading My Clan to Cultivate

The next morning at the Lin Family Hall of Merit.

More than a dozen people gathered in the grand hall on the first floor of the Family Merits Hall, consisting of men and women, elders, young adults in their twenties, and middle-aged women. They were all Lin Family members exchanging merit points or trading various materials for weapon crafting and talisman making.

A young man in a blue robe took out several stalks of spiritual medicine, a demon core from a demonic beast, and various parts of a demonic beast's body from his storage bag.

An elder in a white robe efficiently picked up the spiritual medicine materials to inspect them while three youngsters with a thick book stood by, making records.

The book's cover was made of green, oily beast skin, with densely packed runes swirling on the surface, giving it a rather peculiar appearance.

The elder was none other than the Hall of Merit's Master of the Lin Family, Lin Shixin, at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining Realm, who was also over ninety years old—about the same age as his own grandfather.

Lin Shixin had watched over the family's treasury for more than forty years, experienced and knowledgeable, known for his fairness, responsible for collecting and exchanging all kinds of cultivation resources.

As Lin Shixin counted and verified the items, he called out loudly:

"Two stalks of Golden Flower Grass, each worth eight merit points, a total of sixteen merit points, three stalks of Wind Spirit Grass, each for six merit points, totaling eighteen merit points, one stalk of Jade Ginseng for five merit points."

"One First Order Medium Grade Three-eyed Wolf demon core for eighteen merit points, four Three-eyed Wolf claws for a total of twelve merit points, one demonic eye bead for five merit points, and one Three-eyed Wolf skin for eight merit points, adding up to eighty-two merit points in total."

The young man in the blue robe, seeming a bit surprised at the price, then spoke excitedly:

"Uncle Ten, help me exchange for three Lingshen Pills, one Huadu Pill, one Huiyuan Pill, and one First Order Superior Attack Talisman."

Lin Shixin nodded, checked the ledger, and proclaimed aloud:

"Three Lingshen Pills, each for eight merit points, totaling twenty-four merit points, one Huadu Pill for twelve merit points, one Huiyuan Pill for eight merit points, and one First Order Superior Attack Talisman for fifteen merit points."

"That makes fifty-nine merit points altogether, leaving a balance of twenty-three merit points after deduction."

Before the words were finished, the young man in blue handed his Family Token to Lin Shixin.

After Lin Shixin cast several law decrees, a series of red numeric figures flashed and then disappeared.

Lin Shixin then went into the treasury to get the items for the family member and handed them over.

The young man took his Family Token and the exchanged items, bowed with his fists and left the Hall of Merit.

The family had established a complete exchange mechanism; one merit point could be exchanged for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

Exchanges for various materials and elixirs from the family's treasury were made at the market prices of the Cultivation World.

However, selling materials to the family could only yield eighty to ninety percent of the market price, as the family needed Spirit Stones for its operation and to support its High Order Cultivators, thus it needed to make a profit as well.

For example, the two stalks of Golden Flower Grass brought by the young man in blue would have exchanged for ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones each in the market, but in the family, they could only be exchanged for eight or nine Low-Grade Spirit Stones each.

After the young man in blue left, a steady stream of family members continued to come and go, some selling, some buying, bringing lively activity to the entire Hall of Merit.

In the noisy crowd, a young man in a green shirt appeared, it was Lin Tianming.

Yesterday, he barely managed to concoct a flawed Fasting Pill on his first attempt at alchemy. Today, he planned to visit the Hall of Merit to see if there were any Alchemy Furnaces available.

After exchanging customary greetings with his peers and elders, he approached Lin Shixin to pay his respects:

"Grandson Tianming, greets Uncle Ten."

Lin Shixin nodded and couldn't help teasing him: "You little rascal, just tell me what you want to exchange."

Lin Tianming didn't waste any time and stated his purpose directly.

"Uncle Ten, do you have any Alchemy Furnaces? I am learning alchemy and lack both a Pill Furnace and spiritual medicines, so I thought to come and have a look."

After hearing this, Lin Shixin replied, "The family has only four Pill Furnaces in total, and the only Second Order Medium Quality Dan Furnace is used by your grandfather."

"Your Fifth Uncle has exchanged the one First Order Superior Grade Alchemy Furnace, and currently, only two First Order Medium Grade Dan Furnaces are left."

While speaking, Lin Shixin took out two Dan Furnaces and placed them on the counter.

Upon closer inspection, one was a fiery red furnace with three legs and four handles, named the Four Symbols Furnace. It was previously a First Order Superior Grade Dan Furnace, but for some reason, its grade had dropped to a First Order Medium Grade. It must have been damaged during a spell battle.

Despite the grade drop, it was still significantly better to use than an ordinary First Order Medium Grade Alchemy Furnace, and it could be quite decent if repaired.

The other was a blue-green Alchemy Furnace about three feet tall, adorned with runes on its body, named the Azure Mist Furnace, which was also a First Order Medium Grade Dan Furnace, left by a Lin Family ancestor.

'The Four Symbols Furnace requires two hundred and fifty merit points, and the Azure Mist Furnace requires one hundred and twenty merit points. Which one do you want to exchange for?'

When Lin Tianming heard the prices, he was taken aback. The thirty-five Spirit Stones given by Ren Yuxuan, along with three Lingshen Pills and his own Spirit Stones, were nowhere near enough even for half an Alchemy Furnace.

It seemed like his hope to exchange for an Alchemy Furnace today was dashed.

With an involuntary wry smile, Lin Tianming said:

"Uncle Ten, it seems I can't get a Dan Furnace. The combined merit points and Spirit Stones are far from enough. I can only exchange for some Fasting Pill spiritual medicines to concoct elixirs."

The Fasting Pill requires eleven different types of common spiritual medicines, each valued at three Merit Points. Each portion of the spiritual medicine can be used to concoct three batches of Fasting Pills.

"Then I'll exchange for ten portions of Fasting Pill ingredients."

Once he finished speaking, he took out his Family Token. After a few breaths, the Merit Points on the token were all reset to zero.

Lin Tianming had not yet reached the Fifth Level of Qi Refinement and could not take on family tasks, thus he was unable to earn Merit Spirit Stones. The thirty Merit Points on the token were given to him by his mother, Ren Yuxuan.

Ren Yuxuan, possessing Four Spirit Roots and aged fifty-three, was at the Seventh Level of Qi Refinement. Knowing that her chances for Foundation Establishment were slim, she saved up most of the cultivation resources for Lin Tianming and Lin Xingrong to cultivate with.

In the Cultivation World, if one can't reach Foundation Establishment before the age of seventy, the difficulty of doing so increases significantly after seventy.

Qi Refining Cultivators have a lifespan of slightly over one hundred and twenty years. Once they exceed half of their lifespan, their vital energy gradually declines, making Foundation Establishment increasingly difficult.

Most Lin Family members, upon reaching fifty years of age without advancing to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, would conserve cultivation resources to pass on to their offsprings who possessed better talents.

Members of the Lin Family rarely marry before the age of forty.

Only those with extremely poor talent or those without ambition would marry and have children early. This way, they could maximize the use of limited resources and focus on nurturing the next generation.

The spiritual roots of Lin Tianming's parents were not very good. His father, Lin Xingrong, was a Four Spirit Roots cultivator at fifty-five years old, who had reached the Ninth Level of Qi Refining Realm. His mother, Ren Yuxuan, also had Four Spirit Roots and was at the Seventh Level of Qi Refinement at fifty-three years old.

Since the birth of Lin Tianming, Ren Yuxuan had been saving cultivation resources for more than a decade, reserving them for her son while also supporting Lin Xingrong's cultivation.

Otherwise, for Lin Xingrong alone, it would be very difficult to reach Great Perfection of Qi Refining Stage.

After the Merit Points on the token were reset to zero and he had collected ten portions of Fasting Pill ingredients, he bid farewell to Lin Shixin and left the Hall of Merit to head straight for the Alchemy Hall.

Less than half an hour later, Lin Tianming appeared before his grandfather, Lin Shigong.

"Grandfather, I've exchanged for ten portions of Fasting Pill ingredients. I want to concoct Fasting Pills. I don't have extra Merit Points to exchange for an Alchemy Furnace, so I can only borrow your Three Star Furnace for a bit," he said.

Lin Shigong didn't hesitate, he took out his Alchemy Furnace, gave several instructions, and left the pill room.

Lin Tianming didn't rush to start alchemy, but instead practiced cultivation for half a day to adjust his condition.

In the pill room, Lin Tianming's hands formed seals, casting several Law Decrees onto the Alchemy Furnace. Earth Fire surged forth, and after controlling the temperature, he warmed up the furnace for a quarter of an hour.

He threw in the spiritual medicines one by one, brought out his Divine Sense, and operated his cultivation method to fully purify the medicines.

A quarter of an hour later, he opened the lid of the furnace, and fragrance filled the air. A Fasting Pill hung in the center of the furnace.

Overjoyed, Lin Tianming took out the Fasting Pill and inspected it carefully. It was undoubtedly a complete Fasting Pill.

There were still plenty of medicinal ingredients left. Having had a good start, he continued to strike while the iron was hot. He casually threw the freshly concocted Fasting Pill into his mouth, and the hunger he had been feeling for the past half-day disappeared instantly.

After four hours, he had finished processing one portion of the spiritual medicine. The first batch yielded one pill, the second batch failed to produce any, and the third batch also yielded one pill. Overall, he was quite satisfied.

After continuously concocting three batches of Fasting Pills, his Spiritual Power was completely depleted, and his Divine Sense overly exhausted. He had to meditate and cultivate to recover before he could continue with alchemy.

Time swiftly passed, half a month had gone by. Lin Tianming stepped out of the pill room. Over the course of half a month, he had frenziedly crafted Fasting Pills, using up all the spiritual medicines.

His effort had been rewarded. After dozens of attempts, the success rate of the final third of the materials had surpassed sixty percent, yielding at least three and sometimes up to five Fasting Pills per batch.

In half a month's time, from the ten portions of spiritual medicines exchanged, after thirty batches of concocting, he ultimately produced thirty-nine Fasting Pills. After consuming one, he had thirty-eight left.

Lin Tianming found his grandfather Lin Shigong to return the Three Star Furnace and report his alchemy results.

Lin Shigong was so astounded that he stared in disbelief and couldn't help but laugh heartily, exclaiming, "Heaven bless the Lin Family, Heaven bless the Lin Family..."

After exuberantly shouting for more than a dozen breaths, Lin Shigong finally regained his composure.

"You little devil, you're barely considered a First Order Inferior Alchemist now. Seeing how serious you are, this old man must reward you properly. Hand over your family token," he said.

Lin Tianming did not put on airs and directly handed over the Family Token to Lin Shigong.

His grandfather took out his own Family Token and with a swipe of his hands, added three hundred Merit Points to Lin Tianming's token.

Lin Shigong said, "Go and exchange for the Four Symbols Furnace at the Hall of Merit. That Dan Furnace is indeed good and will help you quickly concoct pills."

"Once you can concoct First Order Medium-Grade elixirs, I will ask your Third Grandfather to help you repair the Four Symbols Furnace. If there are materials for crafting, perhaps he could even upgrade it to a Second Order Dan Furnace," he added.

Lin Tianming nodded, took the token, bowed with his hands clasped, and said goodbye to his grandfather.

Time slowly went by...

After half a month of frenzied alchemy, his Spiritual Power and Divine Sense were greatly drained. After concocting three batches of pills, he needed to meditate for half a day to recover before he could continue with alchemy, leaving him utterly exhausted.

Although alchemy was strenuous, by replenishing what had been consumed, his cultivation base steadily improved, and his Divine Sense grew a bit. He felt that he was getting ever closer to the Fifth Level of Qi Refinement.

With three Lingshen Pills left, Lin Tianming planned to go into seclusion to cultivate for a while. He would not come out of seclusion until he had broken through to the Fifth Level of Qi Refinement.