Not long after, the Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator of the Qi Family in his thirties, who had lost consciousness, gradually woke up. After receiving treatment, he was no longer in danger.
However, several horses bearing a trace of demon beast bloodline were lost, along with a small portion of cargo and a few mortal martial artists of the Qi Family who suffered injuries. All these were collateral damage from the aftermath of the magic.
There was no serious harm overall, so after a brief rest and recovery, the caravan continued onwards.
With the Qi Refining Late Stage Elders guarding the group, the journey that followed was peaceful and uneventful, without any further accidents.
The caravan ultimately succeeded in reaching the Murong Family's spiritual land, Little Yan Mountain, and after staying there for several days, returned to the Qi Family.
"This time, the caravan was attacked. You have all worked hard. In my personal capacity, I am giving each of you ten lower grade spirit stones as a reward!"
On the return journey, the Qi Refining Late Stage elder granny said with a cheerful smile.
As for the reason she was secretly accompanying the caravan to the Murong Family, other than the high value of this shipment, she had one or two important matters to discuss there as well.
Now, both the cargo delivery and negotiations were completed, so her mood was naturally quite good.
Those tribulation cultivators' possessions finally ended up in her pocket, so she thought it necessary to give everyone else a taste of the soup.
Upon hearing this, Qi Feng grinned, thinking his third grandmother was especially taking care of him and bestowing spirit stones.
The other Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator in his thirties, who had been somewhat depressed due to his injuries, was now comforted by the reward of ten spirit stones.
As for this unexpected windfall, Qi Chuan was naturally happy to accept it.
With the passage of time, the caravan eventually returned to Red Maple Valley.
There were some handover matters that Qi Chuan need not concern himself with.
He went directly to the Main Peak Task Tower, completed his task, and received five contribution points.
Five contribution points weren't much, but some clan tasks only gave one or two points and took even longer.
This task took just a month and a half; despite some accidents, with the Qi Refining Late Stage Elders' protection, there was really little risk.
Thus, Qi Chuan was quite satisfied with the harvest of five contribution points.
One should know, for Qi Refining Early Stage, a year's tributor reward was only two spirit stones. This time, Qi Chuan had essentially earned two and a half years' worth in one go, uh…
"Forget it, I'll go exchange some elixir first."
Qi Chuan set aside all the thoughts in his mind and proceeded to the Exchange Pavilion, where he met the Exchange Pavilion Elder.
"Elder, I'd like to exchange for Qi Condensing Pills," Qi Chuan said.
"No problem, how many do you want?" asked the Exchange Pavilion Elder.
Qi Chuan took out his Clan Token, along with ten lower grade spirit stones. "May I combine contribution points and spirit stones for the exchange?"
"Yes, one contribution equals one lower grade spirit stone." The Exchange Pavilion Elder nodded carelessly.
"Then, I'll take five pills."
For Qi Chuan at present, raising his cultivation is the top priority; contribution points and spirit stones don't need saving, so he will use everything he's got.
Soon, Qi Chuan had five Qi Condensing Pills on hand, contained in a jade bottle.
Bringing the Qi Condensing Pills, Qi Chuan returned to his own independent mountain peak.
Upon arriving, he found Second Uncle there and hadn't gone out.
"Just in time! I was about to make a table of spiritual food. Let's enjoy it together." Qi Baicang was visibly happy to see Qi Chuan return.
Although the spiritual grass on his peak wasn't worth much, they could still enjoy it often. But as far as improving cultivation, it hardly accomplished anything; the spiritual grass quality was simply too low. Even though Qi Chuan had tended to it for two years, the growth had improved somewhat, but it was still extremely limited.
Qi Chuan naturally nodded in agreement.
Soon, the two sat opposite each other and began to enjoy the spiritual food on the table.
"This time, you went out on a task. How did things go? Was it smooth sailing?" Qi Baicang asked casually while eating.
"There were some ripples, but nothing serious."
So Qi Chuan described the events on the road in broad strokes, but glossed over his magical combat with a Qi Refining Third Layer tribulation cultivator, only saying that the caravan was safe thanks to the Qi Refining Late Stage Elders.
"Such a thing happened! At least it ended well. I remember last time when I took part in delivery to the Murong Family, the guard was only a Qi Refining Fifth Layer, yet the trip was peaceful with nothing at all occurring." On hearing this, Qi Baicang was surprised and sighed in relief.
"Going out on tasks is always like this; no one knows what will happen…" Qi Chuan shook his head and replied.
Afterward, the two chatted, and Qi Baicang seemed to recall something: "Right, a few days ago in the clan, I happened to hear that this upcoming Wind Moon Sect disciple recruitment, our Qi Family seems to have an Inner Sect quota!"
"Inner Sect quota?" Hearing this, Qi Chuan couldn't help raising his head, showing a hint of interest.
Previously, Qi Chuan always heard merely about the Wind Moon Sect disciple recruitment, assuming only an Outer Sect quota would be given, but never knew the Qi Family actually had an Inner Sect quota!
This was the first time he'd heard of it.
If one could join Wind Moon Sect as an Inner Sect Disciple, that would be countless times better than being an Outer Sect Disciple.
Qi Baicang nodded emphatically. He himself was shocked at first. The Inner Sect quota of the Wind Moon Sect is extremely precious; it is said the True Disciples of the Wind Moon Sect are chosen from the Inner Sect Disciples.
And the Wind Moon Sect's True Disciples are cultivated as Foundation Establishment Seeds!
In a cultivation clan like the Qi Family, a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator could become the clan ancestor and shine for two hundred years.
Even if one simply entered the Inner Sect of the Wind Moon Sect and never accomplished much, upon returning, he would at least be Qi Refining Late Stage, making him one of the clan elders.
This shows how precious the Inner Sect quota of Wind Moon Sect is in the eyes of bottom-level cultivators of the Qi Family.
"But the Inner Sect quota likely already has an owner. I heard the Preaching Elder has a descendant with a Fourth Grade Spirit Root, only twelve years old and already a Qi Refining Third Layer. There's even hope to break through to Qi Refining Middle Stage before the quota is finalized, truly heaven's favored child."
Qi Baicang exclaimed, "With such a talented aptitude, after entering the Inner Sect, even if he fails to establish a foundation, he'll return from the sect as a Qi Refining Late Stage or even Qi Refining Perfection cultivator. The future is bright indeed."
"Fourth Grade Spirit Root, already at Qi Refining Third Layer, and may break through to the Middle Stage?" murmured Qi Chuan softly.
"Yes, but I heard that apart from the Inner Sect quota, our Qi Family still has three Outer Sect quotas. You might be able to compete for one." Qi Baicang looked at Qi Chuan with anticipation and encouragement.
Their own family's younger generation was also twelve, already at Qi Refining Second Layer. If he tries hard enough to reach Qi Refining Third Layer before the quota is decided, he might have a chance at one of the Outer Sect quotas.
"By the way, how's your cultivation going? Any big issues?" Qi Baicang asked again.
"Hmm… it's okay, nothing major." Qi Chuan shook his head.
He himself is currently at Qi Refining Third Layer.
The next step is to accumulate mana and reach the peak of Qi Refining Third Layer.
This process of accumulating mana is simply diligent cultivation; basically, no real problems, at most using elixirs to speed up the accumulation.
If there is a problem, it's the bottleneck to the middle stage.
To tell the truth, even though Qi Chuan's cultivation has been smooth so far, the bottleneck to the middle stage is unknown. By rights, with his Lower Eighth Grade Spirit Root, breaking through would be exceptionally arduous.
But with his Hundredfold Critical Strike, perhaps it will help.
And as long as he can break through to Qi Refining Middle Stage, even with a Lower Eighth Grade Spirit Root, he'll still have a slim chance to compete for the Inner Sect quota!