Chapter 328 - 321: Nascent Soul Pill Completed, A Pleasant Surprise

Chapter 328: Chapter 321: Nascent Soul Pill Completed, A Pleasant Surprise

However, it seemed they had started recruiting privately again. This time, their targets were those who had already passed the assessment.

Even Zhang Chi received another invitation, but he still refused without the slightest hesitation.

"Alright, this assessment is now over. Any fellow cultivators who are unwilling to give up may continue to stay here and wait for the next assessment, or the one after that. However, including this time, each person has a maximum of three chances."

"If you fail a third time, you will have to leave. However, if your Cultivation improves in the future, or your mastery of the Hundred Skills of Immortal Cultivation grows, you are welcome to try again."

"The only catch is that you must wait at least fifty years between attempts."

At this, City Lord Wu spoke again.

"Thank you for the information, City Lord!"

The eliminated cultivators thanked him and dispersed. Some turned in their Jade Tokens and left immediately, while others chose to stay.

"Alright, let’s return to the City Lord’s Mansion!"

City Lord Wu waved his wide sleeve, and an invisible yet powerful force instantly enveloped the group, carrying them away in a flash of Escape Light.

The other two Nascent Soul cultivators flew off as well, but they returned directly to the Canglan Sect.

It turned out that although Zhang Chi and the others had become Honored Guest Elders, they could only reside within Canglan City.

There were cave mansions here as well, but they were certainly inferior in every aspect compared to those within the sect proper.

This was because they had all joined partway through their journey and had not yet earned the Canglan Sect’s complete trust or been entrusted with important roles.

Upon arriving at the City Lord’s Mansion, City Lord Wu immediately distributed the Canglan Sect’s Honored Guest Elder Tokens to everyone.

The token was a black metal plate, about half the size of a palm. The front was inscribed with "Canglan," and the back with the words "Honored Guest Elder."

A cultivator could refine the token by infusing it with Magical Power.

Should the cultivator perish, the token would shatter on its own.

In addition, the cultivators were also assigned cave mansions, though they had no say in the selection.

The token also served as the key to their cave mansions.

They also received a standard-issue Storage Bag and two sets of sect uniforms. However, these were merely Dharma Artifact Level, serving only to identify them and having little practical use.

"From now on, you will have priority when accepting public tasks at the City Lord’s Mansion. You can also accept sect missions and exchange for various resources here, including Cultivation Techniques and Magic."

"Here is the sect’s Task Jade Pendant and the exchange list. You can view and use them yourselves."

The City Lord then led the cultivators to an inner hall in the City Lord’s Mansion, where a massive Jade Pendant stood.

It also displayed various tasks, but this area was accessible only to Canglan Sect cultivators.

"Of course, the main sect grounds also have a Task Jade Pendant and an exchange list. The missions there are more numerous and of higher quality, and the items available are more abundant and valuable. However, you are not yet qualified to enter the main sect."

"You will only be granted access once your total Contribution Points or your Cultivation reaches a certain threshold. The specific requirements are detailed in the Jade Scroll inside your Storage Bags, so work hard."

After adding a few final words, the City Lord departed.

The cultivators began to examine the Task Jade Pendant, while others took out a white Jade Scroll from their Storage Bags to read.

The Jade Scroll contained an introduction to the Canglan Sect, including some of its rules.

’Not bad. If I refine twenty Middle Grade Magical Treasures for the sect, I can earn enough Contribution Points to exchange for a three-year stay in a Tier Four Spirit Vein Cave Mansion to attempt my breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm.’

After reading the Jade Scroll and looking at the exchange list, Zhang Chi couldn’t help but nod to himself in approval.

Twenty Middle Grade Magical Treasures would be an immense challenge for an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator, but for him, it was child’s play.

Furthermore, according to sect rules, he could simply turn in pre-existing Magical Treasures, and it would count as having refined them for the sect.

The sect would even give a rebate on Contribution Points.

After all, when one was commissioned to refine a Magical Treasure for the sect, the sect would naturally provide the necessary materials.

Taking this point rebate into account, he would only need to turn in seven or eight Middle Grade Magical Treasures.

Zhang Chi also checked the Contribution Points required to exchange for Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects and found the cost was several times higher.

"Senior Brother Chen, would you like to take on a mission with us?"

"I think we should all go out and celebrate first! There’ll be plenty of time for missions later. What do you say, Senior Brother Chen?"

Many people began to invite Zhang Chi, including Zheng Hongping.

"No, thank you. I’m going back to my cave mansion to get settled, then I’ll start Artifact Refining to accumulate Contribution Points."

Zhang Chi refused flatly and flew off from the City Lord’s Mansion.

"That guy... does he really think he can earn enough Nascent Soul Materials in his lifetime just through Artifact Refining?"

Having been rejected multiple times, Zheng Hongping’s expression soured.

"The man’s delusional. If he’s going to be so standoffish, let’s just ignore him."

"He’s just at the Golden Core Limit and happens to be an Artifact Refiner. What’s so amazing about that? A lone wolf like him will never have a chance at Nascent Soul Formation!"

Wei Wei and the others breathed a sigh of relief, but they were also disgruntled.

They had worried that if Zhang Chi joined them, he would steal their thunder and win Zheng Hongping’s favor.

So, they were secretly pleased that Zhang Chi wasn’t coming.

But his rejection of both Zheng Hongping and their invitation made them feel he was being arrogant and putting on airs.

Fortunately for their egos, they didn’t believe Zhang Chi had any better chance at Nascent Soul Formation than they did, so they quickly got over it and left together.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chi quickly arrived in the sky above his new cave mansion.

It was a shimmering lake within the city, with a small island at its center. His cave mansion was located on this island.

The island had a Tier Three Peak Spiritual Vein, but it was diverted from the city’s main vein and thus not for his exclusive use.

Zhang Chi estimated that the Spiritual Qi here was only half as dense as in his previous cave mansions at Qin Mountain Oasis and Bailu Oasis.

If he had joined the Canglan Sect earlier and had to cultivate here, his progress would have definitely been hindered.

Even so, this cave mansion was already excellent compared to those assigned to the other Honored Guest Elders.

The Spiritual Vein was of a higher tier, and the location was more tranquil.

Clearly, City Lord Wu had secretly arranged this for him as a small favor.

’This will do. I’ll perform the Alchemy here first. It won’t take long, anyway.’

Zhang Chi was quite satisfied with the arrangement.

His cave mansion was situated at the island’s peak, a complex of pavilions and terraces complete with both an Artifact Refining Room and an Alchemy Room.

The place was also immaculate, so he used his token to open the protective Array and moved right in.

He then waved a hand, setting up his Gold Fiend Gale Array before finally entering the Alchemy Room.

BANG!

After inspecting the Alchemy Room and finding everything in order, he sat cross-legged on the floor. He ran through the process twice in his Dream Space before taking out his Alchemy Furnace and the various Alchemy Materials.

He first refined a batch of ordinary Tier Three Spirit Pills as a warm-up, only then beginning the true process of refining the Nascent Soul Pill.

SWISH, SWISH...

One precious Alchemy Material after another was tossed into the Pill Furnace, processed with his incredible skill, and finally fused under the power of his Divine Refining Technique and Hundred Herbs Spirit Fire. The entire process was flawlessly smooth.

A month passed in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, the Pill Furnace chimed, and three pills, shimmering with Spiritual Light, flew out.

These were the Nascent Soul Pills, and surprisingly, all of them were successful formations. One was even of high-quality.

There wasn’t a single Wasted Pill.

The moment the Pills formed, a colossal pillar of golden Spiritual Light shot toward the heavens, a worldly phenomenon that spoke to the Pills’ extraordinary nature.

Fortunately, the Array he had set up completely concealed this Spiritual Light, preventing it from attracting any outside attention.

He had known such a major phenomenon would occur, which was precisely why he hadn’t attempted the Alchemy on the Floating Airship.

’I actually surpassed my own expectations? Excellent!’

Zhang Chi was overjoyed.

It might seem like just one more successful pill than he’d expected, but that single extra pill was worth a fortune.

Moreover, he had only expected to form two pills of ordinary quality, but now he had a high-quality one as well.

They were all Nascent Soul Pills, but the high-quality one was obviously far more valuable. The difference between a high-quality pill and an ordinary one was immense, as vast as the gap between an ordinary pill and a failed concoction.

If word of this got out, cultivators would fight to the death over it; even Nascent Soul Middle Stage experts would be tempted to make a move.

Using this high-quality pill for Nascent Soul Formation would not only grant a higher success rate, but the resulting Nascent Soul would also be more perfect.

Overjoyed, Zhang Chi raised a hand and caught the three Spirit Pills. He inspected them carefully for a long moment before taking out three Jade Bottles and using a Secret Technique to seal each pill inside.

’I’ll use this high-quality Nascent Soul Pill for my breakthrough!’

Zhang Chi made his decision instantly. The best items were to be used for himself.

After all, his own strength and future were what mattered most.

Besides, even if he became a Nascent Soul cultivator in the future, selling a high-quality Nascent Soul Pill would be extremely dangerous.

Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t be able to afford it, and he most likely wouldn’t be able to defeat those who could.

’It’s time!’

With that settled, Zhang Chi put away his Pill Furnace and Array, then flew back toward the City Lord’s Mansion.