"You're not trying to fool me, are you?"

As he spoke, Qin Xin slowly activated the Spirit Devouring Stone.

Why would I lie to you? It wouldn't do me any good.

The white-haired old man was clearly terrified, but then added, "Boy, quickly put that broken stone away. Just a friendly reminder, this mysterious fragment of the map can't be revealed to anyone else, otherwise...hehe..."

Qin Xin frowned and said, "Thank you for the reminder."

"Young man, do you want to become an alchemist?" the white-haired old man suddenly asked, his intentions unclear.

"Oh, senior, you are an alchemist?"

Looking at Qin Xin's suspicious face, the old man straightened his chest, his voice tinged with pride, "Of course, but I have conditions."

Upon hearing this, Qin Xin was taken aback. In the Tianxuan Continent, everyone wanted to become an alchemist, but the requirements were too demanding. Hearing that one could become an alchemist, Qin Xin asked with some suspicion, "Senior, are you perhaps planning to take over my body?"

"With that stone, I don't want my soul to be scattered." The white-haired old man glanced at Qin Xin and said impatiently, "Do you want to learn or not?"

"I will learn! But have I met the requirements?" Qin Xin blinked, and his gaze towards the white-haired old man brightened considerably.

"More or less, just now when I tried to possess you..." The white-haired old man paused for a moment, "Ahem, I mean when I examined your martial spirit just now, it had both fire and wood attributes, and its perception was also quite good, so I'd say it was passable."

"Senior, may I ask what rank you were as an alchemist before?" Qin Xin's tone towards the white-haired old man became more polite.

"Anyway, it's above the ninth rank. I haven't even stated my conditions yet, kid," the white-haired old man stroked his beard and said calmly.

"Please speak, senior!" Qin Xin bowed slightly without any hesitation.

"First, become my disciple; second, help me find the people who chased me back then; third, help me restore my physical body." After saying this, the white-haired old man looked at Qin Xin with a somewhat nervous expression.

“Senior, I can accept the first and second conditions, but the third condition…” Qin Xin shook his head and said.

"I didn't say I wanted you to help me restore my physical body now, I meant later." The white-haired old man rolled his eyes.

"It's not some kind of possession, is it?" Qin Xin pursed his lips and said.

"What nonsense about possession! This thing depends on the right time and place. I used my only chance on you. Forget it, you wouldn't understand anyway. So, will you agree or not?" The white-haired old man said with some resentment on his face.

"As long as I don't do anything utterly immoral, I'm fine with anything," Qin Xin said with a smile.

"Hmph! Then let's have him become my disciple first!" The white-haired old man sat up cross-legged, his words full of dissatisfaction with Qin Xin, but a wicked smile couldn't help but appear on his lips.

Qin Xin had his own plans, but in order to become an alchemist, he reluctantly went through the apprenticeship ceremony.

Seeing that the apprenticeship was complete, the white-haired old man's face lit up with joy, and his words became somewhat affectionate, "My name is Danqing, and from now on you will be my first apprentice. Just keep my name in your heart, and don't flaunt it to others."

"The first apprentice?" Qin Xin was puzzled, feeling something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"Hmph, kid, don't look at your master with such doubt. Following me will only bring benefits, not harm." Danqing's face hardened, and his words became serious.

"Old man, you haven't offended a lot of people, have you?" Qin Xin looked at the painting in front of him, feeling quite depressed.

"You brat, he's a teacher, not an old man!"

"Don't worry, all the people I offended in the past should be dead by now," Danqing said thoughtfully.

"Then when will you teach me the method of condensing the elixir?" Qin Xin's eyes darted around.

"What's the rush? Let's wait until you reach the Innate Realm and can condense true fire before we talk about it."

"Hehe, teacher, I have a tricky problem now. Since I am your disciple, do you have any high-level pills that can help me break through quickly? Please take them out!" Qin Xin stretched out his hand and stepped forward to ask for them.

"Get out of here! Do you think high-grade pills are something you can just eat casually? With your small frame, you probably couldn't even withstand the medicinal power just from the smell." Danqing was speechless as she looked at Qin Xin, who was asking for something. She scolded him with a wry smile.

Having made his demands to no avail, Qin Xin reluctantly withdrew from the space containing the incomplete map.

At this moment, inside Qin Xin's Niwan Palace, on one side was the mysterious fragment of the map, and on the other side was the Spirit Devouring Stone. It seemed that the two were deliberately left at a distance so as not to disturb each other.

Just as he was lost in thought, Danqing's voice suddenly appeared, "Prepare these medicinal herbs."

"Warm Pulse Flower, Heavenly Star Grass, Eight-Leaf Flower, and three hundred-year-old spiritual ginseng plants—what are these?" Qin Xin asked in confusion.

"I'll refine some pills for your cultivation. Also, don't forget to prepare a pill-refining furnace." Danqing's voice rang out in my mind once again.

Fortunately, this medicine only costs 100 gold coins, and Qin Xin could buy several portions with the money he had left.

Before we knew it, the night had passed.

Qin Xin put away the bottle containing the Qi Gathering Pills. Half of them had been used up in just one night. Because of the low level of his Martial Spirit, most of the pills' potency was wasted.

"My cultivation progress is still a bit slow. At this rate, I'm afraid I won't be able to break through to the seventh level of the Acquired Realm for another month." Qin Xin woke up from his cultivation and felt the faint increase in true qi within his body. He muttered to himself.

I glanced at the medicinal herbs I bought while purchasing hairpins the day before. It seemed there was only one Wenmai flower among them; the other herbs would have to be purchased elsewhere.

Push open the door and step into the courtyard.

Zi Ling went out early in the morning, saying she wanted to buy some things and renovate the courtyard. Qin Xin offered her gold coins, but the girl said she already had some.

After leaving the courtyard, Qin Xin headed towards the clan's inner treasury.

The Qin Clan Manor's inner treasury is located to the east of the council hall. Every month, the clan members receive their monthly elixirs here. However, they can also purchase medicinal herbs and weapons here at prices lower than in the outside market, which can be considered a benefit for the clan members. Of course, some items can also be consigned in the inner treasury.

Qin Xin walked for a while and encountered some members of his clan on the road. They looked at him with strange eyes, but he didn't pay any attention to it.

Upon arriving at the inner vault, Qin Xin stepped inside.

"What brings you to the inner treasury?" An old man in the inner treasury glanced at Qin Xin, then lowered his head to tidy up his things.

The old man's name was Qin Fan. He had been working in the inner treasury since Qin Xin could remember. Even the clan chief treated him with great respect.

"Do you have any of these medicinal herbs: Wenmai Flower, Tianxing Grass, Baye Flower, or Bai Nian Ling Shen?" Qin Xin asked casually.

"Warm Vein Flower, ten gold coins per plant; Heavenly Star Grass, twenty gold coins per plant; Eight-Leaf Flower, twenty gold coins per plant; and as for the Hundred-Year Spirit Ginseng, fifty gold coins per plant." Qin Fan glanced at Qin Xin.

"Give me three hundred-year-old spiritual ginseng roots, one Heavenly Star Grass and one Eight-Leaf Flower, and I also need a pill-refining furnace," Qin Xin said after thinking for a moment.

"One hundred and ninety gold coins, and this alchemy furnace is yours." Qin Fan pushed the medicinal herbs and the furnace in front of Qin Xin.

After paying the bill, Qin Xin left with his belongings.

"Learning alchemy isn't that easy." Qin Fan's voice echoed in the inner treasury as Qin Xin's figure walked away.

As Qin Xin was walking back to the courtyard, several voices interrupted his steps.