Infiltrating the Su Family

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Half a month later, Song Wen arrived at the foot of Qingping Mountain.

Before him stood a grand mountain gate, with five large characters inscribed on it:

"Su Family of Qingping Mountain."

In front of the gate stood a dozen guards, some in the mid-stage of Qi Refining and some in the late stage.

Song Wen's current appearance was that of an elderly man in his fifties, at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

From the old woman's memories, he learned that the Su family was recruiting alchemists. Thus, he spent half a month learning how to refine Qi Gathering Pills from the alchemy insights of Rong Jingyun.

Qi Gathering Pills are the most common cultivation enhancement pills for early-stage Qi Refining cultivators. The Su family, with its thousands of Qi Refining practitioners, had a significant demand for them.

"Stop! Who are you? What is your business with the Su family?"

As Song Wen approached the foot of the mountain, the guards stopped him.

He smiled and cupped his hands in greeting. "Young sir, I heard from the marketplace that the Su family is recruiting alchemists, so I came here to try my luck."

Upon hearing this, the guards' stern expressions softened immediately.

"You are an alchemist?"

Song Wen nodded. "I feel ashamed to admit it, but I've been immersed in alchemy for over thirty years. Currently, I only know how to refine Qi Gathering Pills and Blood Qi Pills. I'm not sure if I can join the Su family."

When the guard heard that Song Wen could refine Qi Gathering Pills, a hint of a friendly smile appeared on his face.

"Fellow daoist has been refining only two types of pills for thirty years. It seems you must be quite proficient with these pills. Please follow me; I'll take you to the alchemy room."

"As for whether you can enter the alchemy room, it will be decided by the room's supervisor."

The guard from the Su family was surprisingly courteous, which made Song Wen take a closer look at him. He appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Song Wen cupped his hands again and asked, "Thank you, young sir. May I ask your name?"

"I'm Su Shan."

Song Wen followed Su Shan up a broad staircase leading up the mountain.

As they walked, Su Shan introduced him.

"On and off the mountain, you can only use the stairs. Any place without stairs is guarded by various hidden formations, whether for alerting, trapping, or killing. It is very dangerous to rashly intrude."

Soon, they arrived outside a large hall located halfway up the mountain.

The hall was built close to the cliff, ancient and imposing, covering several acres. A plaque hanging on the hall read "Alchemy Room."

Standing outside the alchemy room, one could feel the faint heat emanating from inside.

Under Su Shan's guidance, they easily passed the guards' inspection and entered the alchemy room.

Inside the alchemy room were various engraved alchemy furnaces, as well as many types of displayed pills, with numerous people coming and going.

Su Shan walked directly to a female cultivator around forty years old and spoke respectfully.

"Reporting to the supervisor, there is an elderly man who self-recommended himself to become an alchemist for our Su family."

The female cultivator looked up at Song Wen behind Su Shan and asked,

"What pills can you refine?"

"Qi Gathering Pills and Blood Qi Pills."

The female cultivator frowned. "Just these two?"

Song Wen nodded. "I am of limited talent and have been refining pills for over thirty years, only having refined these two types. If I am fortunate enough to join the Su family, I will certainly dedicate myself to serving the family."

The female cultivator stood up, waved her hand indicating that Su Shan could leave, and then said to Song Wen,

"What is your name?"

"Yuan Cheng!"

"Alchemist Yuan, please follow me. Words alone are not enough; I need to test your alchemy skills."

The female cultivator led Song Wen deep into the hall.

As they went deeper into the hall, Song Wen discovered another world within.

In the depths of the hall, there was a corridor carved into the mountain, leading deep into its interior.

Walking along the corridor for several dozen meters, alchemy rooms carved out of the mountain appeared before him.

The female cultivator took out a black triangular token and placed it into a triangular recess on the stone door of an alchemy room. The stone door immediately opened.

The alchemy room was small, with a diameter of less than three zhang (approximately ten meters). Inside, there was an alchemy furnace with a small hole beneath it, through which a steady stream of scorching heat emerged.

This small hole should be connected to the underground, using formations to draw the underground fire here for alchemy.

The female cultivator took out three jade boxes and handed them to Song Wen, saying,

"Here are three sets of materials for refining Qi Gathering Pills. As long as Alchemist Yuan succeeds in refining one batch, you will pass the assessment and become an alchemist of the Su family."

Next, the female cultivator demonstrated how to guide the underground fire, then exited the alchemy room.

Alchemists are very sensitive while refining pills; even the smallest disturbance from an outsider can cause distraction and lead to failure.

Seeing the stone door close, Song Wen focused and began guiding the underground fire for alchemy.

Underground fire has much greater intensity than wood fire, significantly speeding up the refining process.

This was his first time using underground fire for alchemy, so he was somewhat unfamiliar with controlling the fire's intensity, resulting in the failure of the first batch of pills.

Fortunately, the second batch was successfully refined.

Song Wen pressed a mechanism on the stone door, and it slowly opened.

Following the corridor, he returned to the main hall and approached the female cultivator.

Handing over a jade bottle, Song Wen said,

"I have fulfilled my duty. The second batch has been successfully refined."

The female cultivator took the jade bottle, opened it, and five pills the size of a fingertip appeared.

The pills were round and abundant in spiritual energy, standard in quality—neither particularly good nor bad. They still had a faint fire aura, indicating they were freshly refined.

A smile appeared on the female cultivator's face.

"Alchemist Yuan, welcome to the Su family. I am Su Huayue, the steward of the alchemy room."

Song Wen cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Steward Su. I look forward to your guidance in the future."

Su Huayue nodded in response, "Our Su family alchemists are divided into seven ranks. From the first to the third rank is a first-grade alchemist. Blood Qi Pills are first-grade lower-quality pills, and Qi Gathering Pills are first-grade middle-quality pills. You are a second-grade alchemist, with a monthly salary of thirty spiritual stones."

"The Su family provides thirty sets of materials needed for Qi Gathering Pills each month. You only need to refine eighty pills to complete the task. Any excess pills will be purchased by the alchemy room at two spiritual stones per pill."

"Is Alchemist Yuan satisfied with this arrangement?"

With thirty sets of materials, refining all of them could yield up to one hundred and fifty Qi Gathering Pills. The Su family's requirement of eighty pills only demands a success rate of over fifty percent.

This requirement is not too harsh.

In the Northern markets, Qi Gathering Pills sell for around three spiritual stones each.

The Su family's purchase price of two spiritual stones per pill is also quite fair.

Song Wen showed a delighted expression, "Thank you, Steward. I am satisfied with this arrangement."

Su Huayue said, "Then Alchemist Yuan can take a rest for now. You will officially start refining pills the day after tomorrow."

She then called a maid with no cultivation and instructed her to take Song Wen to his residence.

Under the maid's guidance, Song Wen arrived at a large compound at the foot of the mountain, which was divided into independent buildings, each with three rooms.

The maid, being from the Su family with no spiritual roots and thus unable to cultivate, was very familiar with Qingping Mountain. She gave Song Wen a brief introduction to the general layout of the mountain.

Above the mountain's waist, most of the Su family's direct lineage resided. Those with decent spiritual roots and talent lived there.

Below the mountain's waist were various cultivation areas, such as alchemy, refining, and talisman crafting.

They were currently in a location that, strictly speaking, was no longer part of Qingping Mountain. The area was inhabited entirely by outsiders like Song Wen.

On the other side of the mountain foot, there was a small town with several tens of thousands of Su family members.

Most people in the town were like the maid, without spiritual roots, while a smaller portion had lower-quality spiritual roots.

Their primary responsibilities were to serve Su family members with spiritual roots and to help the Su family expand by producing descendants with excellent spiritual roots.

To the west of Qingping Mountain, there was a piece of spiritual land of several dozen acres where most of the Su family's spiritual herbs were grown.

To the east, there was a valley that was a restricted area for the Su family. It was said to be the secluded place of the Su family's ancestor, and outsiders were prohibited from approaching.

Outsiders like Song Wen were not allowed to roam freely on Qingping Mountain without permission and could only move about their assigned areas. They could, however, move freely within the compound at the mountain's foot and the town.

(End of the Chapter)

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