Inside Lin Sheng's cultivation room, a blazing furnace radiated waves of scorching heat.
Whoosh—
Threads of pale white flame continuously rotated beneath the furnace like flowing silk.
The temperature within the room had already risen to a terrifying degree.
Yet Lin Sheng remained completely motionless.
His eyes stared fixedly at the furnace before him.
Inside—
A medicinal pill was slowly taking shape.
The medicinal liquid had already condensed fully into pill form.
Now came the most difficult stage.
Impurity refinement.
Lin Sheng's mental energy spread carefully into the furnace while strands of Innate Flame continuously penetrated the pill surface repeatedly.
Each thread of flame targeted microscopic impurities hidden within the medicinal essence.
This was an extremely delicate process.
Too much heat—
The pill would explode instantly.
Too little—
The impurities would remain.
Time passed slowly.
Sweat gradually appeared on Lin Sheng's forehead.
His expression remained calm, but inwardly, the mental strain had already reached an astonishing level.
The chip continuously analyzed every fluctuation inside the furnace.
Temperature.
Spiritual energy density.
Medicinal essence stability.
Impurity concentration.
Everything flowed rapidly across the chip interface.
Finally—
After nearly an hour—
The pill inside the furnace suddenly trembled.
Buzz!
A wave of medicinal fragrance exploded outward instantly.
The furnace lid shook violently.
Lin Sheng's eyes sharpened.
"Condense."
Whoosh—!
The Innate Flame intensified suddenly.
The medicinal liquid rapidly compressed inward.
Then—
Twelve white pills formed completely.
Each pill was smooth and round.
Faint medicinal mist drifted around their surfaces continuously.
Most importantly—
Countless pill marks appeared upon the pills themselves.
Premium quality.
Lin Sheng slowly released a breath.
The furnace gradually cooled.
Opening the lid, he looked toward the twelve completed pills silently.
A faint smile finally appeared on his face.
Success.
The quality of medicinal pills within the cultivation world was generally divided into five grades.
Inferior.
Common.
Fine.
Premium.
Perfect.
Inferior pills were also called substandard products.
They contained too many impurities and usually carried side effects after prolonged consumption.
Common pills were considered proper standard medicinal pills.
Fine grade pills possessed stronger medicinal effects and fewer impurities.
Premium pills—
Were already considered high quality products even among official alchemy halls.
As for Perfect grade pills—
Those were legendary products rarely seen even within major sects.
Lin Sheng lowered his gaze toward the white medicinal pills before him.
These pills…
Were extremely special.
Dragon Lock Pills.
A medicinal formula personally optimized by the chip after countless calculations and deductions.
Its purpose—
Was not increasing cultivation directly.
Nor strengthening true qi.
Instead—
It targeted something far more important.
A cultivator's declining lifespan.
…
Within the cultivation world, countless Qi Refining cultivators eventually became trapped before Foundation Establishment.
Some lacked talent.
Some lacked resources.
Others lacked opportunities.
But among them—
The cruelest limitation was age.
Foundation Establishment required strong qi and blood.
Once cultivators passed sixty years old, the body gradually declined.
Viscera weakened.
Qi and blood decayed.
Meridians stiffened.
Spiritual energy circulation slowed.
At that point—
Attempting Foundation Establishment became extraordinarily dangerous.
Even failure rates skyrocketed.
Most cultivators understood this clearly.
Thus, reaching Foundation Establishment before sixty was considered an invisible life-or-death deadline.
Using the chip's analytical abilities, Lin Sheng had discovered something interesting.
The root cause of aging decline primarily originated from the gradual weakening of the internal viscera.
Especially the heart, kidneys, lungs, liver, and spleen.
Once those organs weakened—
The body itself declined rapidly.
Thus—
The Dragon Lock Pill was created.
Its effect focused specifically on locking one's bodily essence and slowing viscera decline.
In simpler terms—
It extended a cultivator's prime years.
Inferior quality Dragon Lock Pills could extend bodily decline by roughly three years.
Common grade—
Five years.
Fine grade—
Seven years.
Premium grade—
Ten years.
Ten years.
For cultivators nearing the end of their lifespan—
That amount of time could completely change fate itself.
Some people only lacked a final opportunity before reaching Foundation Establishment.
Others merely needed several more years of accumulation.
To those people—
This pill was priceless.
Of course—
Body refinement techniques could also slow bodily decline.
But body refinement consumed absurd amounts of resources.
Yao beast meat.
Medicinal baths.
Specialized pills.
Most cultivators simply could not afford such consumption.
If they possessed that level of wealth already—
They might as well purchase breakthrough resources directly for Qi cultivation instead.
Thus—
The Dragon Lock Pill possessed terrifying market value.
Lin Sheng carefully placed the twelve premium pills into jade containers one after another.
Looking at them silently, even he understood clearly—
Once these pills appeared publicly—
The entire Cloud Mist Market would become restless.
…
Several days later.
The upper management of Cloud Mist Market officially announced a large-scale auction.
The purpose was simple.
Attract rogue cultivators.
Recently, the demonic cultivator situation surrounding the market had grown increasingly serious.
Although the Qi Sensing Talismans produced by the Talisman Alliance had reduced infiltration within the market itself—
The killings outside the city had actually increased instead.
After all—
Cultivators still needed to leave the market to hunt yao beasts, gather herbs, or complete missions.
The Cloud Mist Forest remained the foundation of the market's economy.
Without entering the forest—
Most rogue cultivators would eventually run out of resources.
Thus—
The market's upper management decided to use the auction as bait.
As long as enough cultivators gathered—
The demonic cultivators would naturally become restrained.
To entice people further—
Several treasures were announced publicly.
A Low Grade Spiritual Artifact.
Five different Foundation Establishment spiritual treasures.
Each treasure capable of increasing Foundation Establishment success rates by roughly thirty percent depending on compatibility.
The news instantly shook nearby regions.
Countless Qi Refining Late Stage cultivators immediately rushed toward Cloud Mist Market.
But soon—
An even more shocking rumor spread.
A mysterious medicinal pill capable of extending bodily decline after sixty years old by five to ten years would appear during the auction.
The moment this information leaked—
The entire market exploded into chaos.
"What?!"
"A pill that extends bodily decline?!"
"Impossible!"
"How could such a thing appear in a small market auction?!"
"Who refined it?!"
Countless cultivators became restless instantly.
Especially older Qi Refining cultivators.
For them—
This was no ordinary medicinal pill.
This was another chance at life itself.
Even several nearby cultivation families became alarmed.
Some old monsters who had secluded themselves for years even emerged personally after hearing the rumor.
Within only three days—
Cloud Mist Market became incomparably lively.
Cultivators arrived continuously from surrounding regions.
Prices throughout the market skyrocketed rapidly.
Restaurants.
Inn rooms.
Spirit beast mounts.
Everything increased in price.
Ironically—
The sudden influx of cultivators also created another effect.
The demonic cultivators nearby became heavily suppressed.
Large numbers of rogue cultivators started hunting suspicious individuals aggressively for bounty rewards.
Several hidden demonic cultivators were exposed and killed publicly within just days.
For a brief period—
The tense atmosphere surrounding the market finally eased slightly.
…
Meanwhile—
Within one of the private upper rooms of the Hundred Flowers Alliance branch—
Several Foundation Establishment cultivators sat together silently.
Their expressions were all serious.
One elderly cultivator slowly placed down the jade bottle in his hand.
His gaze remained fixed upon the white medicinal pill inside.
"This pill…"
"It's real."
Another middle-aged cultivator frowned deeply.
"We already tested it using a sixty-eight-year-old Qi Refining cultivator."
"The effect was immediate."
"The decline in his viscera actually slowed considerably."
Silence filled the room briefly.
Then one person spoke slowly.
"Who refined it?"
No one answered immediately.
Because they had already investigated thoroughly.
Yet—
Nothing.
The seller remained completely anonymous.
No aura traces.
No background.
No identifiable information whatsoever.
Even the delivery process had been extremely careful.
The pill containers themselves contained anti-tracking methods.
The person responsible clearly understood concealment techniques extremely well.
One Foundation Establishment cultivator narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Could it be an old hidden alchemist?"
Another shook his head.
"Unlikely."
"If such an alchemist existed nearby, we would already know."
The room gradually fell silent again.
Meanwhile—
Outside the Hundred Flowers Alliance—
Several cultivators from nearby powers had already begun attempting various methods.
Some tried bribery.
Others attempted intimidation.
A few even secretly followed the auction house personnel.
Unfortunately for them—
Everything failed completely.
Lin Sheng had prepared thoroughly long beforehand.
From concealment techniques—
To anti-tracking measures—
To indirect sales channels—
Everything had been carefully arranged.
Even if someone investigated deeply—
They would only find dead ends.
Inside his cultivation room, Lin Sheng slowly closed his eyes while circulating his breathing technique silently.
Outside—
The entire market had already entered turmoil because of the Dragon Lock Pill.
Yet inside the room—
Everything remained calm.
The chip interface flickered quietly before his eyes.
[Dragon Lock Pill Auction Reputation Spread: Increasing…]
[Potential Future Profit Projection: Rising…]
[Recommended Action: Continue Concealment]
Lin Sheng smiled faintly.
The cultivation world was dangerous.
Especially for weak people possessing valuable things.
If others discovered that a mere Innate martial artist possessed such terrifying alchemy ability—
The consequences would become troublesome immediately.
Thus—
Low profile.
Careful preparation.
Hidden identity.
Those remained his greatest protections for now.
Outside the window—
The distant lights of Cloud Mist Market flickered endlessly beneath the night sky.
The approaching auction…
Was destined to shake the entire surrounding region.