In the villages near Tongguan City, large quantities of crops like wheat and rice were planted, suggesting these villages were not lacking in food.
Furthermore, the houses were grand and the village paths were clean, not the environment one would expect for people struggling through hardship.
Moreover, if danger arose, they could immediately retreat into Tongguan City to save their lives.
The surplus grain and vegetables from their daily farming could be sold in Tongguan City for other goods to improve their lives.
The ox carts and horse carriages before them were here for this very purpose.
However, not everyone was queuing obediently. In the short time Wu Tao observed, several people strode confidently directly into the city.
Seeing their actions, the cultivators guarding the city gate did not stop them at all. The mortals lining up also showed no outcry or resentment, but instead cast envious glances.
Witnessing this, Wu Tao instantly understood that this place, like the Jiuzhou Cultivation World, shared a similarity in this aspect.
Where mortals and cultivators coexisted, cultivators held privilege.
Wu Tao pondered for a moment and abandoned the idea of queuing. Like the others before him, he walked directly towards the city gate.
As expected, the cultivators guarding the gate did not impede him and even cleared a path.
The gate of Tongguan City was deep, stretching thirty zhang, indicating the thickness of the city walls. Its true defensive strength was likely even greater than it appeared.
As soon as Wu Tao stepped into Tongguan City, a cacophony of noise greeted him.
Smooth, white marble slabs paved the main road, wide enough for eighteen carriages to travel side by side.
Flanking the main road were numerous shops and taverns.
The main road was bustling with people, carriages, and horses, a sea of humanity, like a tide. This made Wu Tao feel somewhat uneasy; he disliked this place.
He preferred to stay in a quiet corner rather than be amidst a noisy crowd, which he found bothersome.
Wu Tao darted into a side street. The crowds here were indeed much sparser.
This was the northern district of Tongguan City.
The side streets were filled with small stalls, manned by both cultivators and mortals.
However, the mortal stall owners were gathered in one area, while the cultivator stall owners were in another.
It was evident to anyone with eyes that the difference between the two was immediately apparent.
Wu Tao walked directly towards the area of cultivator stalls.
It was easiest to learn about the true situation of cultivation in this region from these small stalls.
Therefore, Wu Tao was not in a hurry to patronize the large shops. He approached a small stall, picked up a piece of yellowish earth-colored stone, examined it, and smiled, saying, "Ah, this is a Thick Earth Essence Stone."
"This senior has a keen eye. This Thick Earth Essence Stone is complete in shape and has no cracks. It's a fine mineral."
"And it's cheap, only ten spirit stones."
The stall owner interjected.
Wu Tao smiled faintly and said nothing more, his gaze continuing to sweep across the stall.
The stall owner was a middle-aged man, also a cultivator.
However, his cultivation was only at the twelfth level of Qi Refining. Coupled with Wu Tao not deliberately concealing his aura, he could immediately discern Wu Tao's identity as a cultivator of the Foundation Establishment stage.
This stall owner dealt in general goods.
His stall displayed a large quantity of minerals and metals, as well as several finished magical artifacts. There were over a dozen types of talismans and several bottles of elixirs. He essentially had everything a cultivator might need daily.
Stall owners who dealt in general goods, despite their low cultivation, often had extensive networks.
Such individuals knew many people and, consequently, much information.
This was precisely what Wu Tao was looking for. The doubts he had encountered on his journey might be answered here.
Seeing Wu Tao standing there in silence for a long time, the stall owner quickly tried to push his mineral, saying, "This Thick Earth Essence Stone is also one of the main materials for refining Body Tempering Pills. Does this senior wish to purchase it?"
After speaking, he looked at Wu Tao nervously, clearly valuing this transaction highly.
This was, after all, a small stall, not like the affluent large shops. If he could sell just one piece like this a day, it would be a small fortune.
"What the hell..."
"Minerals and alchemy... they're related?"
Wu Tao's expression remained unchanged, but his heart churned.
"Could this be related to the so-called Golden Stone Alchemy?"
In the Jiuzhou Cultivation World, the path of Golden Stone Alchemy was merely a conjecture. In this underground cultivation world, it had apparently become a reality.
Moreover, judging by the situation, it seemed to be quite widespread and highly developed.
Otherwise, even low-level Qi Refining cultivators wouldn't know about it.
...
Regarding the basic situation of the Golden Stone Alchemy, Wu Tao was somewhat familiar.
After all, he had researched the art of alchemy. Although he had spent a considerable amount of spirit stones, he had ultimately failed due to a lack of talent.
However, during that process, Wu Tao had gained some understanding of the alchemy prevalent in the Jiuzhou Cultivation World and its development.
...
Speaking of which, this was also related to the re-development of alchemy after the successive great wars of the Primordial, Ancient, and High Antiquity eras.
After several destructive wars, the spiritual脉 in the Jiuzhou Cultivation World were severely damaged, and spiritual energy was largely lost, leading to the extinction of many spiritual herbs common in the Primordial, Ancient, and High Antiquity eras.
Coupled with the loss of some unique and secret alchemy methods, cultivators who rose from the ruins found themselves in a predicament where they lacked both spiritual herbs and spiritual elixirs.
In response to this situation, many geniuses with great talent in alchemy began to spend a lot of time researching alchemy anew.
With a spirit akin to Shennong tasting a hundred herbs, they sought out substitutes one by one, recreating most of the lost formulas based on their efficacy.
The spiritual elixirs refined this way were, for the most part, less effective than their counterparts from the Primordial, Ancient, and High Antiquity eras, but they were usable.
During this special period, a young alchemy grandmaster proposed a conjecture.
Since other spiritual herbs and medicinal ingredients could be found to replace those that had disappeared, why not use other things containing abundant spiritual energy as the primary materials for refining elixirs to replace the lost spiritual herbs and medicinal ingredients?
Spiritual herbs and medicinal ingredients were affected by the diffusion of spiritual energy and withered away.
But some things were not, such as hard minerals and immortal materials.
Since artifact refiners could extract various materials from minerals to forge artifacts and treasures, why couldn't alchemists isolate useful parts from them to refine spiritual elixirs?
By merging the path of artifact refining and alchemy, a new great path of alchemy might be created.
The saying goes, "For metals and stones, the longer they are burned, the more marvelous their transformations become. Minerals, when subjected to fire, do not melt despite countless refinements and remain imperishable even when buried for eons."
"This is like seeking external substances to solidify oneself, akin to oil nourishing fire and being inextinguishable, or bronze patina protecting feet, rendering them immune to water. This is borrowing the strength of bronze for use, thus obtaining the Golden Elixir."
"Essence transforms into sand, its color derived from the southern Bing Ding fire, external yang but internal yin, associated with males, the yang soul of the sun. The essence of the sun and moon illuminates heaven and earth. The Qi of the great sun, great moon, and harmonious balance combine and receive Qi for eighteen hundred years, forming essence, Qi, and cinnabar."
"Heavenly fire transforms into the sun, its yang Qi abundant. Yin Qi wanes, yang Qi flourishes, overflowing and self-generating. Its color is derived from the northern Ren Gui water, external yin but internal yang, associated with females, the yin soul of the moon, not mortal things of the human realm."
"Therefore, that which arises from red water flows into yang mercury. Named the essence of heavenly lead, the ancestor of yellow sprout, it is the Qi of the sun and moon transformed into natural, self-born elixir."
"In the hexagram's six lines, each line represents a period. A hexagram encompasses one month, hence the emphasis on the twelve generative hexagrams in the discussion of yin and yang in the elixir path, relating alchemy to mineral qualities."
"A novel approach: Transforming Metal and Stone into Elixirs!"
This groundbreaking idea, upon its announcement, caused a huge sensation, stirring up a tempest!
Among the many alchemists, two factions emerged. Many opposed it, denouncing it as unorthodox, impractical, and wishful thinking!
There were also many supporters who began extensive experiments, seeking to let facts speak for themselves.
Had it continued this way, regardless of success or failure, after thousands or even tens of thousands of experiments, a conclusion would eventually be reached.
Unexpectedly, this conjecture, once made public, caused a massive upheaval. A large group of artifact refiners and spiritual herb/medicine garden owners began to vehemently oppose it.
Good heavens! Mineral resources were non-renewable and considered rare.
Due to the massive consumption by artifact refiners in the Primordial, Ancient, and High Antiquity eras, precious immortal stones and exotic ores had become increasingly scarce. In the current era, artifact refiners themselves lacked sufficient materials when crafting artifacts and treasures.
Artifact refiners were already worried about how to obtain more minerals from other sources. Now, these alchemists wanted to compete with them for minerals. Wasn't this clearly bullying those who worked with iron?
In the eyes of these artifact refiners, the alchemist who proposed this conjecture was practically defecating on their heads.
Although artifact refiners might not be as sought after as alchemists, they were not to be trifled with.
...
A veteran artifact refining grandmaster, representing a significant portion of artifact refiners, publicly declared.
"Fine. If you truly research and widely implement the path of Golden Stone Alchemy, then, I'm sorry, alchemists, you won't be coming to us artifact refiners for the daily maintenance and repair of your alchemy furnaces from now on."
"And we artifact refiners will no longer forge new alchemy furnaces for you alchemists."
"You claim to be able to figure things out yourselves, right? Then figure it out yourselves. We won't accompany you. Do whatever you please!"