Evening. Inside the main hall of the Yuan Dan Pavilion. At the head seat, Lin Xuan and Sun He sat facing each other. "Elder Lin, congratulations, congratulations. The quality of the pills you refined is exceptional—they all sold out in a single day. Here is your share, a total of 800,000 low-grade spirit stones. I've converted them into lower-grade spirit stones at the exchange rate of one to ten thousand. That's eighty lower-grade spirit stones here. Please take them." Sun He spoke with a flushed face, his smile unceasing. Clearly, he had made a considerable profit this time. With that, he placed a storage ring on the table and pushed it toward Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan picked it up, infused it with true qi, and glanced inside. He saw a small pile of glittering stones within the storage ring. But the concentration and purity of the spiritual energy within them surpassed low-grade spirit stones by a hundred or even a thousand times. "So these are lower-grade spirit stones?" A glint of light flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes. This was his first time seeing lower-grade spirit stones, and they were indeed far beyond the quality of low-grade ones. Even within the Flowing Cloud Sect, only true disciples or inner sect elders had access to them. Inner disciples could at most use low-grade spirit stones. And Sun He, being at the Opening Spirit realm himself, was only able to obtain lower-grade spirit stones. Moreover, if not for the hefty profit he'd made today, swelling his coffers, Sun He wouldn't have been willing to part with lower-grade spirit stones for Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, not bad." Lin Xuan said with a light laugh. The scale of this gain had exceeded his expectations. After all, many martial artists at the Opening Spirit realm might not even have a hundred lower-grade spirit stones in total savings. Yet he had earned nearly a hundred in a single day. That spoke volumes. It also revealed the terrifying wealth-gathering ability of an alchemist. Lin Xuan couldn't help but feel a quiet awe. And with more to come in the following days, he was quite looking forward to it. "Our Yuan Dan Pavilion will rely heavily on Elder Lin from now on." Sun He clasped his hands and smiled, adding a touch of flattery. This time, he had truly witnessed Lin Xuan's alchemy mastery. Even some Earth-grade alchemist elders within the Alchemist Guild were far inferior to Lin Xuan. Thanks to Lin Xuan, he had made a killing today. Now, Lin Xuan was a veritable money tree, one that gleamed with gold. He naturally needed to lower his stance a bit. "Pavilion Master Sun, a pleasure to cooperate." Lin Xuan replied with a smile: "Tomorrow, please send over more materials, Pavilion Master Sun." This profit had brought Lin Xuan considerable delight. If he could earn more, he might even secure the resources to cultivate all the way to the Opening Spirit realm, or even within it. A rare opportunity like this shouldn't be missed. "Of course, of course. Please rest assured, Elder Lin. Leave these matters to me. You only need to focus on refining pills." Sun He's face was full of smiles as he repeatedly assured him. Today's sales had shown him just how sought-after the cloud-pattern pills Lin Xuan refined were. Even if Lin Xuan hadn't brought it up, he would have suggested increasing the materials. Since Lin Xuan raised it and they were in agreement, it couldn't be better. This kind of win-win cooperation was the best outcome. He naturally wouldn't oppose it. Afterward, they chatted a bit more before parting ways. Lin Xuan returned to the guest room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and prepared to cultivate. But this time, instead of taking out a fifth-grade top-tier pill, he pulled out a glittering stone. As the stone fell into his palm, a refreshing, cool sensation surged through him, spreading across his entire body. Lin Xuan felt his spirits lift, clear and refreshed. The spiritual energy in the room also began to slowly increase. This was a lower-grade spirit stone. Indeed, this time Lin Xuan intended to test the cultivation effect of lower-grade spirit stones. "I wonder, between this lower-grade spirit stone and a fifth-grade pill, which is stronger?" Lin Xuan murmured, gripping one lower-grade spirit stone in his hand. He activated the Chaos Art. Pure spiritual energy was drawn from the spirit stone, merging into his body as Lin Xuan refined it. His aura began to slowly rise. Time flew by. The night passed without incident. Morning. A ray of dawn light streamed in through the window crack, bringing a hint of brightness. On the bed, Lin Xuan slowly opened his eyes. He spread his right hand, and the lower-grade spirit stone within had turned into a pile of dust. A gentle breeze blew, scattering it away. "Peak of the Condensing Whirlpool realm, third layer!" Lin Xuan felt the slightly enhanced power within his body and nodded with satisfaction. The cultivation effect of this lower-grade spirit stone was indeed excellent, far exceeding his expectations. It also far surpassed that of a fifth-grade top-tier pill. But the consumption was too great. One lower-grade spirit stone was equivalent to ten thousand low-grade ones. Within the Flowing Cloud Sect, it could even match a hundred thousand contribution points. Yet now, it had been used up in a single night. Moreover, nearly half of it had been wasted directly. The utilization rate didn't even reach seventy percent. Without a substantial fortune, not to mention the Condensing Whirlpool realm, even someone at the Opening Spirit realm might hesitate to use it, right? In comparison, while fifth-grade pills had far inferior cultivation effects to lower-grade spirit stones, they were much cheaper and had a higher utilization rate. Calculating it, not counting time costs, using pills for cultivation was far more economical. But Lin Xuan didn't care about that. With his current alchemy mastery, earning spirit stones was simple. He wasn't bothered by a little waste. He only sought the fastest way to improve his cultivation realm and strength. These lower-grade spirit stones were just right. "From now on, I'll cultivate with these lower-grade spirit stones." Lin Xuan murmured, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth. ... Before long, Sun He personally came to deliver a storage ring to Lin Xuan, filled with a large quantity of materials. He then escorted Lin Xuan to the pill-refining area. After Lin Xuan entered to begin refining, Sun He waited outside, not leaving. Now, Lin Xuan was the Yuan Dan Pavilion's money tree. Compared to the pills they had sold before, the batch Lin Xuan was about to refine was the real prize. The new customers who had come were all there to buy the cloud-pattern pills Lin Xuan produced. He couldn't afford any mistakes. So he waited here personally, keeping watch. Nearby, many alchemists had also gathered, waiting for Lin Xuan to emerge. Soon, waves of scorching heat and rich pill fragrance wafted out from the refining room. The crowd grew even more expectant, and even more awed by Lin Xuan's alchemy skill. An hour later. Lin Xuan slowly walked out, tossing a storage ring to Sun He, and said with a faint smile: "Pavilion Master Sun, I've lived up to your trust. The success rate reached seventy percent!" Sun He took it, inspected it, and upon seeing the storage ring filled with jade bottles, a brilliant smile spread across his face: "Excellent, excellent! Elder Lin's alchemy mastery is extraordinary. I am in awe!" Sun He showered Lin Xuan with praise. The surrounding alchemists were also shaken. To succeed in such a short time with a seventy percent success rate— That level of alchemy skill was terrifying! And this time, no one dared to doubt Lin Xuan anymore. Because he had proven his ability with results.