Soon after, the Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator from the Qi Family in his thirties, who had been unconscious, gradually woke up. After treatment, he was out of danger.
However, several horses with Demon Beast bloodline were lost, as well as a small portion of goods, and a few ordinary martial artists from the Qi family were injured; these were collateral damage from the aftermath of magic.
Ultimately, there were no major issues, so after a brief rest, the merchant caravan continued on its journey.
With a Qi Refining Late Stage Elder overseeing, the subsequent journey was incredibly peaceful, with no further incidents.
The caravan successfully reached the Murong Family's spiritual land, Little Yan Mountain, and after staying there for a few days, returned to the Qi Family.
"This time, the caravan was attacked. Everyone worked hard; I personally will reward each person with ten Lower Grade Spirit Stones!"
On the return journey, the Qi Refining Late Stage elderly woman said with a smile.
She had secretly overseen the journey to the Murong Family because, apart from the high value of the goods, she also had some important matters to discuss with them.
Both the transportation of goods and the discussions were completed, leaving her in a good mood.
Add to that the wealth left behind by a few Tribulation Cultivators all ended up in her pocket, so she had to let others enjoy some of the benefits.
Upon hearing this, Qi Feng grinned, thinking that his third grandmother had specifically taken care of him by bestowing spirit stones.
The Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator in his thirties, who had been somewhat depressed since getting injured, felt a little comforted upon hearing about the ten spirit stones.
As for this unexpected fortune of ten spirit stones, Qi Chuan was naturally also pleased to hear.
As time passed, the caravan eventually returned to Red Maple Valley.
Some handover issues were not Qi Chuan's concern.
He went directly to the Main Peak's Task Tower to complete his task and received five contribution points.
Though five contribution points are not much, some clan tasks only give one or two points and take more time.
This task was only a month and a half long; despite some mishaps, having a Qi Refining Late Stage Elder in charge meant there was little actual risk.
Thus, Qi Chuan was relatively satisfied with the five-point contribution reward.
One must know, in the Qi Refining Early Stage, one year's tribution is just two spirit stones. This time, he essentially earned two and a half years of tribution, uh…
"Forget it, let's exchange for some elixirs first."
Setting aside those thoughts, Qi Chuan went to the Exchange Pavilion to see the Exchange Pavilion Elder.
"Elder, I'd like to exchange for Qi Condensing Pills," Qi Chuan said.
"No problem, how many do you want?" the Exchange Pavilion Elder asked.
Qi Chuan took out his Clan Token and ten Lower Grade Spirit Stones: "I'm wondering if it's possible to mix contribution points and spirit stones for the exchange?"
"Yes, one contribution point is equivalent to one Lower Grade Spirit Stone," the Exchange Pavilion Elder nodded, unimpressed.
"Then give me five."
For Qi Chuan now, the improvement of his cultivation is naturally the most important. Contribution points and spirit stones are not needed to be kept; use them all up.
Soon, five Qi Condensing Pills were in Qi Chuan's hands, housed in a jade bottle.
Carrying the Qi Condensing Pills, Qi Chuan returned to his isolated mountain peak.
Upon arriving at the peak, he found his second uncle was also there and hadn't gone out.
"Good timing, I was about to prepare a table of spiritual food for us to enjoy together," Qi Baicang said, looking quite pleased to see Qi Chuan return.
Although the spirit grass on his peak wasn't of high value, it was often consumed, yet the improvement in cultivation was almost nonexistent due to the low quality of the spirit grass. Even though Qi Chuan's care had slightly improved its growth, it was still quite limited.
Qi Chuan nodded in agreement.
Soon, the two sat face-to-face and began enjoying the spiritual food on the table.
"On this task, how did it go? Was it smooth sailing?" Qi Baicang asked casually while eating.
"There were some twists, but they were harmless."
Thus, Qi Chuan briefly recounted the events on the journey, but he glossed over the part about his magical combat with a Qi Refining Third Layer Tribulation Cultivator, merely mentioning that nothing happened due to the presence of a Qi Refining Late Stage Elder in the caravan.
"That happened! It's a relief that it all turned out well. I remember the last time I was involved in transportation to the Murong Family, we only had a Qi Refining Fifth Layer cultivator overseeing, and nothing happened at all," Qi Baicang marveled in surprise.
"When you take on external tasks, it's like that. No one knows what might happen…" Qi Chuan shook his head, saying.
The two exchanged words for a while, then Qi Baicang seemed to recall something and said, "By the way, I heard about something in the clan recently. The Wind Moon Sect is accepting new disciples, and it seems our Qi Family has an Inner Sect slot!"
"An Inner Sect slot?" Qi Chuan looked up with a hint of interest upon hearing this.
Previously, Qi Chuan only knew about the Wind Moon Sect accepting new disciples, assuming there would only be Outer Sect slots, never hearing about an Inner Sect slot for the Qi Family!
This was the first time he heard it.
If he could join the Wind Moon Sect and become an Inner Sect Disciple, it would undoubtedly be far better than being an Outer Sect Disciple.
Qi Baicang nodded emphatically. When he first heard it, he was also surprised—the Inner Sect slot in the Wind Moon Sect is extremely valuable, as it is said that the Wind Moon Sect's True Disciples are selected from among the Inner Sect Disciples.
The True Disciples of Wind Moon Sect are cultivated as the Foundation Establishment Seeds of the sect!
In a cultivation clan like the Qi Family, a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator can become an ancestral figure, bringing glory for two hundred years.
Even if one were to backpedal, joining the Inner Sect and achieving nothing substantial, coming back as a Qi Refining Late Stage cultivator, they would still be among the high-ranking elders of the clan.
Thus, for someone like Qi Baicang, a cultivator from the lower echelons of a cultivation family, the Inner Sect slot in the Wind Moon Sect is something almost out of reach.
"But, the Inner Sect slot is likely already claimed. It's heard that the Preaching Elder has a descendant who has a Fourth Grade Spirit Root, only twelve years old, and already at the Qi Refining Third Layer, with a slight hope of breaking through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage before the slots are finalized—truly a heaven's favorite," Qi Baicang lamented.
"This kind of gifted talent, even if they can't achieve Foundation Establishment after entering the Inner Sect, upon returning from the sect, they will at least be at Qi Refining Late Stage or even Qi Refining Perfection, with a bright future," Qi Baicang sighed.
"A Fourth Grade Spirit Root and already at Qi Refining Third Layer, with a chance to break through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage?" Qi Chuan murmured softly upon hearing this.
"Yes, but I heard that besides the Inner Sect slot, our Qi Family also has three Outer Sect slots; you might want to strive for one of these," Qi Baicang encouraged, looking at Qi Chuan with expectation.
His own descendant is also twelve years old, already at Qi Refining Second Layer. With effort, if he can advance to Qi Refining Third Layer before the slots are decided, maybe he can seize an Outer Sect slot.
"By the way, how is your cultivation going? You haven't encountered any significant problems, have you?" Qi Baicang asked again.
"It's all right, no problems," Qi Chuan replied, shaking his head.
He's currently at Qi Refining Third Layer.
Next, he needs to accumulate mana to reach the peak of Qi Refining Third Layer.
This process of accumulating mana just involves diligent cultivation; there shouldn't be much problem, mostly using elixirs to speed up the accumulation of mana.
If there's a significant issue, it would be the mid-stage bottleneck.
Honestly, even though Qi Chuan's cultivation journey has been smooth so far, the mid-stage bottleneck remains a bit uncertain. Technically, his Lower Eighth Grade Spirit Root would make breakthroughs extremely difficult.
However, having the Hundredfold Critical Strike, he believes it might play a role.
And as long as he can advance to the Qi Refining Middle Stage, even with his Lower Eighth Grade Spirit Root, he'll certainly have a slight chance to compete for an Inner Sect slot!