Zhao Di handed over a few words to the young man, then mounted the Wind Chariot and flew towards Xingxing Island.

  A few days later, Zhao Di arrived at the Xingxing Island Fang City, his brow furrowed as he gazed intently at the bustling scene in the middle of the city.

  "Brother Zhao, it's been a long time!" A refined young Confucian scholar, holding a paper fan in his hand, greeted Zhao with a fist bump.

  "Old friend! It's been over a decade since we last met, congratulations on your significant progress in cultivation!" Zhao Di recognized the other person at a glance and also saluted with a fist.

  This young Confucian scholar was someone Zhao had met decades ago, the junior master of a bookstore in Xingzhou Island's Fang Market. Zhao often went to this store to buy various classics and had seen him several times; because their age and cultivation were similar, he became familiar with this Confucian scholar.

  The Confucian scholar shook his head, smiling and said: "I was just lucky to advance from the initial stage of foundation building to the middle stage of cultivation, compared to Brother Zhao's late-stage foundation building peak realm, it is really far apart!"

  Zhao Di smiled slightly and said: "Zhao Mou is just a bit of luck, Daoist friend is too modest!"

  "Brother Zhao has come to Fang City this time, is it in preparation for breaking through the Cong Dan?" The scholar asked with a hint of envy.

  "Not bad, Zhao Mou is indeed thinking of this. By the way, fellow Taoist, do you know if there have been any successful Golden Elixir cultivations in the vicinity of Xingxing Island in the past decade or so?" Zhao's expression changed slightly. This Confucian scholar has always stayed in the market town and is very well-informed about news. It just so happens that he can take this opportunity to ask around."

  "In the past decade or so, Xingxing Island has not seen any auspicious omens of a Golden Elixir being formed. However, there have been rumors that some cultivators tens of thousands of miles away from Xingxing Island have witnessed unusual celestial phenomena, which, according to their descriptions, are very likely to be the omens produced by a cultivator forming a Golden Elixir! Why do you ask this question, fellow Daoist?" replied the Confucian scholar.

  "Oh, what a pity. Zhao wanted to ask the newly condensed senior for some advice on condensing dan, but those seniors who have been condensing dan for many years won't bother with us foundation-building cultivators." Zhao's face showed regret, and he asked again: "Zhao has been in seclusion for many years, I don't know what major events have occurred on the island, please tell me about it, fellow daoist."

  "Speaking of big things, there are indeed a few. The most shocking thing is that three years ago, Senior Cai San was ambushed and killed on his way back to Xixing Island!"

  "Cai San? Isn't he the third disciple of Island Master Tian He's residence? He's a senior who has already formed his elixir decades ago!" Zhao Di exclaimed in surprise.

  "Not bad, so the rumor that someone snuck up on him should be a mid-to-late-stage Jiedan cultivator. If it were a same-stage early Jiedan cultivator, even if Senior Cai wasn't a match for them, he wouldn't have had to flee back to Xingxing Island!" The scholar said, "I heard that the island master was extremely enraged and personally investigated the matter. There are only seven or eight cultivators on this island who are above mid-Jiedan, and they were all interrogated one by one, but the culprit was still not found. At the time, everyone suspected it was a cultivator from another big island who passed through. So after that, Jiedan cultivators didn't dare to leave the island too far, let alone us Zhugaji cultivators! This situation lasted for a year or two, and then there were no more similar incidents, and things slowly returned to normal. Brother Zhao, although you're about to reach Jiedan, you should still be careful."

  "Thanks for reminding me, Brother Yi!" Zhao said with a bow of gratitude.

  "As for other things, there are some, but compared to the passing of Cai San, they are not worth mentioning. I wonder if Brother Zhao is also interested in this lively scene before us?" said the Confucian scholar with a smile.

  Zhao Di asked in puzzlement: "I was just about to ask you, Brother Yi, why is the market so lively? There are over a thousand people gathered here!"

  "Haha, this is indeed the Island Master's grand gesture! The Xuanzhou Immortal Island has a powerful force that half-sells and half-gives to the Island Master dozens of beautiful and well-cultivated furnaces. The Island Master actually put some of them up for public auction in the market today."

  "What's going on with the furnace? Is it reliable?" Zhao Di was puzzled and didn't understand.

  The term "furnace tripod" is something he has seen in the classics more than once. Unlike ordinary dual cultivation methods, some male cultivators who practice the art of adopting and supplementing often need to have sex with young girls, during which they adopt yin to supplement yang and improve their cultivation. When a breakthrough is needed, the object of adoption and supplementation should be a person with a primordial yin body, and the higher the cultivation level, the better. These young girls who are wantonly adopted and supplemented are called "furnace tripod", meaning the alchemical furnace that produces spiritual medicine, which is a derogatory term. It's clear that being a "furnace tripod" is different from dual cultivation, as the person being used for adoption and supplementation does not gain any benefits in the process.

  "I've heard that they're extremely reliable, these furnaces have been sealed with special techniques and absolutely cannot disobey their masters in the slightest! Not only are they each exceptionally beautiful, but they're also all Yin-type bodies!" The Confucian scholar said excitedly, then let out a slightly regretful sigh: "Of course, these furnaces aren't cheap, even one furnace for a Qi-refining stage cultivator isn't something that an ordinary Foundation Establishment stage cultivator can casually buy. As for those Foundation Establishment stage furnaces, naturally only existences like the Island Master or senior cultivators who have formed their Dan can enjoy them!"

  Zhao Di heard this and smiled slightly, saying: "Zhao is a person of bitter cultivation, knowing very little about the art of caressing and supplementing. I won't join in the excitement! Zhao still needs to buy some miscellaneous items, so I'll take my leave of fellow Taoist!"

  The Confucian scholar didn't stay either, and after exchanging a few polite words with Zhao, he walked into the crowd.

  Zhao Di then inquired around the market again and after that was transmitted to Penglai Fairy Island.

  On this Penglai Fairy Island, there are several spiritual veins that are all top-notch spiritual veins. Among them, the Penglai Peak is also known as the first spiritual vein of the Star Sea. The density of spiritual energy is abundant, far beyond the spiritual veins on the Western Star Island, let alone his Lingjian Island.

  Moreover, these spiritual veins are extremely large, and there are even caves available for rent. Although the cost is expensive, due to the prosperity of spiritual energy, many wealthy cultivators are still willing to pay a huge amount of spirit stones to rent them long-term.

  Zhao Di decided to find a suitable cave, borrow its dense spiritual energy, and break through the bottleneck of the Dan furnace in one go.

  Because of the elixir refinement process, it is necessary to borrow the spiritual energy from the surrounding environment to infuse the body, so in places with higher spiritual energy density, the success rate of elixir refinement is also higher.

  Therefore, every year there are many cultivators like Zhao Di who usually cultivate in other places but choose to rent a cave on Penglai Fairy Island when they break through their bottleneck.

  After arriving at Penglai Fairy Island, Zhao Di immediately hired a guide - an old man in the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refining. Although this person was not young, he seemed to be intimidated by Zhao Di's cultivation and did not dare to speak much. When Zhao Di asked him a question, he would answer with a "yes" or "no". If Zhao Di didn't ask him anything, he would stand quietly on the Wind Dragon with his head lowered. This made Zhao Di think of that talkative old man He, who was probably nearing the end of his lifespan after several decades. The old man's granddaughter, Xianxian, who possessed a rare Ice Spirit Root, should have grown up by now. With her exceptional talent and Ice Spirit Root, she had probably already successfully built her foundation and become a cultivator on par with him.

  Zhao Di was led by the guide to a three-story building built on the side of a mountain. Each floor had an independent entrance and exit. This was where the Penglai Fairy Island rented out caves. The first floor was for Qi-refining cultivators, and most of the buildings available for rent were multi-person shared buildings, with some single-person buildings but no cave rentals. The second floor was for foundation-building cultivators like Zhao Di, generally smaller caves in less desirable locations. The third floor had large caves reserved specifically for Core Formation cultivators, with excellent locations near the spiritual vein center and extremely dense spiritual energy.

  As for the Yuanying period cultivators, they are the top existence in Xingchen Sea! These terrifying old monsters will only be flattered and never offended wherever they go. If a Yuanying period cultivator is willing to stay on Penglai Fairy Island for a long time, not only can he immediately choose a best location to get a huge cave mansion for free, but also receive the worship of Penglai Fairy Island, with a large number of precious treasures sent into his hands every year.

  After inquiring about the price difference between the foundation-building period and the elixir-completion period, Zhao Zhi decisively gave up the idea of renting a cave on the third floor.

  Although for him, the price of a spiritual stone was just a number. But if it was to expose himself to the eyes of many cultivators for a slightly better cave abode, he would never do that.

  Even if this Penglai Fairy Island is called the center of the Orthodox Alliance, what it lacks most are humble gentlemen who secretly kill and plunder.

  (First update! Thank you everyone for going to Sanjiang to vote and support this book! For this, I'm adding an extra chapter! Continuing to ask for collection and recommendation votes!)