Bathed in the spiritual qi of early morning sunlight, the sect's plaza was densely packed with people. Today's gathering was unlike the usual sect assemblies; in the Nebula Continent, the strong reigned supreme. Inevitably, high-cultivation figures were constantly searching for treasures and expanding their territories, making vigilance an absolute necessity.
There were three types of boots worn by cultivators sold in the Lingyun Market: the fastest were the Flying Cloud Boots, followed by the Wind Spirit Boots, and the slowest were the Gale Boots. Most people bought the Gale Boots—lightweight and graceful, they cost about two hundred low-grade Spirit Stones.
Therefore, for disciples with limited budgets, these were the choice, though wealthy disciples could afford them easily. As for the majority with no independent source of income, they could only acquire them by completing missions.
Aside from wearing fast boots, there was another option: sword flight. To master sword flight, one needed to be at least at the Qi Condensation 8th Layer. The speed was moderate at first, but once a cultivator reached the Foundation Establishment stage, maneuvering became relatively light and agile. For those at the Core Formation or Deity Transformation stages, sword flight was even faster—as swift as flying clouds.
The fastest at sword flight within the sect was Great Elder Li Qinghe, who was also addressed as the Sect Master. Ranking second was Executive Elder Elder Shen. Word was that Elder Shen's cultivation had surged recently as well, becoming unfathomably deep! Elder Shen had originally started out as a rogue cultivator, only entering the Zixiao Sect after passing through grueling rounds of selection. Everyone cheered, "Elder Shen! Strategist Shen has arrived!"
At this moment, Elder Shen cleared his throat and said, "All disciples have made progress through day-to-day meditation and cultivation, but recently I've heard that the Kongmo Sect, in a scramble for Spirit Stones and Qi Condensation Pills, has launched brutal attacks, resulting in the deaths of four of our outer disciples and two inner disciples. This is a lesson written in blood!"
Elder Shen reiterated sternly, "Anyone daring to run wild on Zixiao Sect territory—currently there are only two major sects: the Kongmo Sect and the Lingyun Sect—must be met with complete solidarity and utmost caution." In truth, the Yunlan Sect had also shared some past grudges with the Zixiao Sect, but having transmigrated here, those would be addressed whenever they crossed paths again.
Han Lin stood quietly in a corner, pondering Elder Shen's words, and silently vowed: "As long as the Zixiao Sect stands, I stand; if the Zixiao Sect falls, I fall. If I'm not afraid of death, what else is there to fear?"
Judging by the trajectory of cultivation in the Nebula Continent, both the strong and the weak eventually hit bottlenecks, likely due to a general shortage of alchemists.
Elder Shen's painstaking efforts were crystal clear: most disciples had now stepped into the Qi Condensation stage 2nd or 3rd Layer. Learning sword flight and practicing cultivation techniques would allow them to escape danger and trade blows with enemies for a few rounds. The communication talismans used by inner disciples were quite expensive, costing several hundred Spirit Stones to redeem.
Yet once they mastered sword flight, they could report enemy movements at any time. Mastering the rules of flight was only possible after reaching the Qi Condensation 8th Layer, making it a tough hurdle for the majority of Qi Condensation stage disciples.
Other sects, especially the Kongmo Sect, had always cast covetous eyes upon their sect. Past clashes with them had always ended in mutual exhaustion, though their sect's elders still held a slight upper hand.
The Zixiao Sect possessed fine cultivation resources, such as the mountain-top secret chamber. However, the development, collection, and classification of spiritual tools and magical tools still left room for improvement.
"Could it be that only high-cultivation cultivators get to use top-grade magical tools?" an inner disciple remarked.
That was indeed partly true; for instance, while swords of the profound-grade magical tool tier were useful, some elders found flying swords of the earth-grade magical tool tier far more convenient.
The disciples felt full of confidence in Elder Shen's suggestions, but another inner disciple named Huzi brashly shouted, "Everyone currently uses lower-grade profound-grade spiritual tools. The higher the grade of the spiritual tool, the easier it is to fly, and second is cultivation—only those with cultivation at the late stage of the Qi Condensation stage can fully master the second realm of sword flight." Therefore, what they lacked right now were pills like Qi Condensation Pills, Nourishing Pills, and Rejuvenation Pills.
An outer circle disciple complained with frustration, "We're only allotted seven Qi Condensation Pills a month; how are we supposed to advance?" On top of that, ten Spirit Stones—what was that even good for? If they used Spirit Stones to trade for pills, they would have to live sparely and frugally.
At that moment, Li Chao, the Great Elder's son, came to relay a message: "Disciples, rejoice! Our Zixiao Sect is bound to surpass the disciples of all other sects. You may not know this, but the Sect Master has invited a tier-4 alchemist for us, so everyone's bottlenecks will gradually ease from now on."
Hearing Li Chao's words, both inner and outer disciples cheered outside the plaza. With so many people, oh my goodness!
Han Lin thought of his family's medicinal herb field. If they grew spiritual herbs on a large scale to produce all sorts of elixirs and miracle medicines, it would find a great market within the sect. They could trade them for Spirit Stones, cultivation techniques, and top-tier magical tools—that would be simply awesome!
Speak of the devil, he thought to himself: the pills refined by his father were at least better than anything sold on the market, with guaranteed quality and free of any mixed impure herbs.
Just then, Feng Qing and the others led his father into the grand hall. Li Chao exclaimed, "This is the tier-4 alchemist invited by my father! Everyone, get acquainted!"
Tears streamed across Han Lin's entire face with emotion. His father, Han Longsheng, laughed and said, "You're all grown up and still crying? Can you act like a man? A man must stand tall and proud!" Instantly, father and son embraced, Han Lin burying his face in his father's broad shoulders and weeping.
Although his father Han Longsheng's pill-refining skills couldn't compare to tier-6 alchemists of the Nebula Continent, at the very least, his Qi Condensation Pills and Nourishing Pills were fully guaranteed in both quantity and quality.
His father took his hand and led him back to his quarters, saying he would make him something delicious and that there was also a surprise waiting.
Since childhood, his father would never watch his son lose without intervening. Knowing that a stray heavenly lightning bolt had previously struck and damaged the spiritual roots in his son's dantian, his son's matters were his own matters, and he wouldn't simply stand by and do nothing. This time, his father presented him with a black Storage Ring. Opening it, he found the internal storage space was vast, holding over a dozen Qi Condensation Pills, Rejuvenation Pills, two Recovery Pills, and two cultivation techniques.
His father explained, "You must keep these Recovery Pills safe. They can be used by anyone below the Nascent Soul stage. Most importantly, Recovery Pills can also repair damaged spiritual roots—your ruined spiritual roots are saved." Overwhelmed with emotion once again, he thanked his father.