Chapter 537
"Master Song, my junior brother is always straightforward and honest in his dealings. I won’t hide it from you—our Jiu Shan Sect is in urgent need of talents in alchemy."
Master Song and the others from the Qing Mu Sect listened intently.
"That’s why we invited you here for a visit."
"The medicinal herbs in this garden were just planted a few days ago, and we put a lot of thought into it."
"In short, we are eager to recruit talented individuals."
Elder Xiong's expression shifted slightly, seemingly moved by Sister Zhang's candidness.
Even Qian Zhenren, who stood nearby, looked a bit surprised.
Sister Zhang's demeanor was surprisingly humble, especially considering her usually proud nature.
Her expression was sincere.
She wasn’t one to beg for help, but her junior brother was waiting for alchemical talents to refine pills and improve the "Jiu Shan Golden Pill Method," which was crucial for Zheng Fa's infant formation...
She pulled out the account book and pointed at the experimental field, saying, "We’ve calculated that for the Fu Yao leaves in this garden, we can supply them at five qian per spirit stone for a ten-year harvest."
"The Dian Xing grass is a bit more expensive..."
Master Song listened, his heart racing as he calculated in his mind. This price was thirty percent lower than what they could cultivate themselves!
Some were even half the original price!
Sister Zhang closed the account book, looking somewhat dissatisfied. "Zhenren Qian has just begun cultivating and improving these herbs, so the prices should drop even further in the future."
Even lower?
Master Song felt a tremor in his heart, eagerly glancing at Zhenren Qian.
Such a master in herb cultivation could make their Qing Mu Sect, an alchemical sect, respectfully call him 'Immortal.'
Unfortunately, he was an Immortal of the Jiu Shan Sect.
Or perhaps he understood the situation clearly.
Sister Zhang led them to see the market first, then the herb garden, and what they saw was a dazzling array of spirit stones!
Endless customers and high-quality, low-cost medicinal herbs.
All under the banner of this technical alliance.
He couldn’t help but glance at Elder Xiong beside him.
To his surprise, Elder Xiong wasn’t looking at him but was fixated on the Dian Xing grass.
Noticing his gaze, Elder Xiong turned to him and scolded, "He can cultivate this stuff in eighteen days... Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?"
Master Song was taken aback.
Suddenly, he understood the elder's words.
He had only seen the benefits of joining, but Elder Xiong had seen the drawbacks of not joining:
If the Qing Mu Sect couldn’t obtain affordable, high-quality spirit herbs from the Jiu Shan Sect while other sects could, the consequences would be...
Their alchemical costs would crush them!
Forget about revitalizing the Qing Mu Sect; the very survival of the sect would be in jeopardy.
"This ancestral method..."
"I know several ancestors; I’ll go talk to them when I’m dead!"
"…"
That was a fair point.
The Qing Mu Sect had been established for less than twenty thousand years, and this elder had indeed seen the ancestors.
He was someone with a bit of face down below...
Seeing that even Elder Xiong, who had the strongest objections, agreed, Master Song clasped his hands toward Sister Zhang and said, "Zhang Zhenren, we are willing to join the technical alliance."
Sister Zhang nodded, her expression warm. "Then follow me to meet Junior Brother Zheng and sign an agreement."
Master Song was used to it by now, following Sister Zhang as they stepped onto the rainbow bridge, heading toward Gong Kai Island—the so-called industrial production base of the Jiu Shan Sect.
Feeling encouraged by Sister Zhang's polite demeanor, he asked, "Zhang Zhenren, are we the first sect to join the technical alliance?"
Sister Zhang shot him a glance, half-smiling, "No, the first to join was the Jin Guang Sect."
He knew about the Jin Guang Sect, a Golden Core sect with some expertise in talismans.
That made sense; after all, the Jiu Shan Sect was already a leader in talisman arts within the Hundred Immortals Alliance, and those talisman sects weren’t afraid of their ancestral secrets leaking out.
He felt a bit disappointed.
They were indeed too reserved.
"Then among the Nascent Soul sects, are we the first?"
"No, the Su Nu Sect was the first."
...
Those from the Su Nu Sect, who were involved in the flesh trade, were truly lacking in modesty!
"For this inspection, we only invited you and the Chong Xuan Sect. The Su Nu Sect came on their own initiative."
When Sister Zhang mentioned "initiative," her expression was quite peculiar.
As a female cultivator, she didn’t have a good impression of the Su Nu Sect, but the problem was that they were too perceptive...
She couldn’t help but admire how the Su Nu Sect had truly taken the lead in understanding human nature.
But Master Song didn’t have time to dwell on the Su Nu Sect.
His voice dropped suddenly.
"What about the Chong Xuan Sect…"
"They politely declined."
Sister Zhang still wore a smile.
But that smile made Master Song lower his head slightly, not daring to speak further.
...
Upon reaching Gong Kai Island, he looked up and saw twelve towering structures resembling... candied hawthorns.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he mustered the courage to ask, "What are those?"
"External Dan factories."
"Factories?"
Sister Zhang didn’t elaborate further, simply leading them onward.
Zheng Fa stood beneath one of the candied hawthorns, quietly discussing something with Madam Xuanhua.
Sister Zhang brought the resource data from the Jiu Shan Realm, and the six major industries of the Jiu Shan Realm were officially on the agenda.
Among them, the most important were the three major industries on Gong Kai Island:
Talisman printing, external dan production, and the Shen Xiao flying boat—oh, now it could be called the shipbuilding industry.
The Shen Xiao flying boat was based on external dan.
Thus, the core industry of the Jiu Shan Sect was this external dan factory.
Zheng Fa had been too busy to meet with Master Song and the others these past few days because of the construction of the external dan factory.
These twelve candied hawthorns were actually the production workshops for external dan, each corresponding to a different type of external dan.
He sensed that Sister Zhang was bringing Master Song over and nodded at them, then turned back to Madam Xuanhua and said, "It's in your hands now."
Madam Xuanhua's gaze swept over the more than two hundred disciples standing in the factory.
Some of those disciples were timid, some were nervous, but all met her gaze, holding their breath.
About half of them were the original members of the "Golden Dan Project" team.
At this point, these veterans had become the backbone or management of the factory, mentoring the newcomers and forming a competent team.
Madam Xuanhua took a deep breath, feeling even more nervous than when she was refining weapons.
She cast aside her distractions, lifted her chin, and said in a deep voice, "Light the fire!"
The disciples split into several groups, methodically casting their spells.
One of the candied hawthorn workshops lit up.
By now, it was night in the Jiu Shan Realm, and the light from the workshop illuminated the disciples, casting shadows on the ground.
These shadows moved in perfect unison, as if they were one person, giving Master Song and the others a feeling of being overwhelmed.
External dan, Master Song understood, was a secret technique that combined alchemy and weaponry.
While he wouldn’t say he was an expert, he could refine a type, and he knew well that typical external dan required a very high level of cultivation, usually only achievable by Nascent Soul cultivators.
But here...
All these disciples were Foundation Establishment cultivators, not a single Golden Core among them!
In terms of cultivation, they absolutely did not meet the traditional requirements for refining external dan!
Yet somehow...
They succeeded!
A month later, looking at the shimmering purple-gold Shen Xiao external dan before him, Master Song pursed his lips, finally understanding why a confidentiality agreement was necessary for entering the Jiu Shan Realm this time.
One external dan.
An external dan that could bankrupt an average Golden Core cultivator in the market.
Yet it had been refined by a group of disciples with such low cultivation levels.
He looked at Madam Xuanhua, pondering. He knew her and was aware of her skills in weapon refinement.
But... could she really be this capable?
Unexpectedly, Madam Xuanhua smiled at Zheng Fa and said, "Master is right; this Golden Dan Project can indeed be combined with the Immortal Array techniques!"
"These disciples used to have conflicting spiritual energies, but now they move as one."
"This is a great benefit for external dan refinement."
Zheng Fa smiled as well. "This is also thanks to Uncle Pang."
He was somewhat different from the cultivators of the Xuan Wei Realm.
When Xuan Wei cultivators encounter useful spells, their first thought is to use them for combat—which isn’t a problem.
But Zheng Fa thought a step further, considering whether these spells could be used for production or to enhance productivity.
For instance, could the Immortal Array techniques be integrated with assembly lines...?
The essence of assembly lines isn’t quite similar to Uncle Pang’s linking talisman techniques?
Although Uncle Pang had left the Jiu Shan Realm, he was still helping to refine this idea in the Jiu Shan Forum.
Now, it seemed to be showing initial results.
Table of Contents
