If we were to compare the Arctic Cultivation Continent and the Northern Borders Cultivation Continent to Earth, the level of prosperity between the two would be akin to:

The Arctic Continent's cultivation world being like a northern county town, while the Northern Borders Continent's cultivation world is comparable to a second-tier city in the south. The difference between the two is immense.

In the Arctic Continent's cultivation world, the False Nascent Soul stage cultivators are the ceiling, followed by the Golden Elixir stage grand cultivators, then the Foundation Establishment stage, and lastly the Qi Refining stage.

However, in the Northern Borders Continent's cultivation world, not only are there Elemental Infant stage cultivators, but also those who have surpassed the Elemental Infant stage to reach the Transformation stage.

The area of the Northern Borders Continent's cultivation world is hundreds to thousands of times larger than that of the Arctic Continent's cultivation world.

The Qi Family Pharmacy is ranked among the top ten pharmacies in the Northern Borders Continent's cultivation world, with business spread across various major cultivation markets throughout the Northern Borders Continent.

The staff at the Qi Family Pharmacy greet everyone who enters with a smile, showing great enthusiasm. They do not look down on anyone, even if they are a poorly dressed, low-level Qi Refining stage cultivator.

After Guo Feilong entered the Qi Family Pharmacy, he glanced around the hall and saw only five or six Qi Refining stage cultivators at the third or fourth level conversing with a female cultivator behind the counter, making the business seem rather quiet.

At this moment, a beautiful female shop assistant with a sweet appearance and outstanding temperament approached Guo Feilong with a smile and said enthusiastically:

"Hello, guest. I'm Wang Xinrong, a staff member at the Qi Family Pharmacy. On the first floor, we handle transactions below 1,000 spirit stones. Transactions exceeding 1,000 spirit stones can be conducted in private rooms on the second floor, where divine sense is isolated to ensure customer privacy."

Guo Feilong replied, "Then let's go to a private room on the second floor."

The beautiful female cultivator led him to the second floor, which resembled a hotel, with a long corridor and about twenty or thirty room doors.

Several of the room doors were covered by a moon-white formation light screen, which isolated sound and divine sense detection, preventing people from suddenly barging in from outside. However, this light screen did not prevent people inside from coming out.

Rooms with light screens outside the doors were occupied, while those without light screens were unoccupied.

The most profitable transactions at the Qi Family Pharmacy took place in these private rooms on the second floor. At this moment, the transaction amount in one of the rooms with a light screen could be tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of spirit stones.

Just then, the light screen outside one of the rooms Guo Feilong passed by suddenly disappeared, and two female cultivators wearing black hats, whose faces were not visible, walked out.

The female cultivator on the left, wearing a hat, paused her gaze on Guo Feilong for a few seconds, slightly furrowed her brows, and then left with her companion.

After the two female cultivators wearing black hats left the Qi Family Pharmacy, one of them asked, "Sister, do you know that cultivator? Your gaze lingered on him for quite a while."

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"That cultivator was wearing a mask; how could I possibly know him? You know I have a natural instinct for danger. That person gave me the feeling that he could easily kill the two of us."

"Sister, that can't be right. We're both at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and he's just a mere early Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. How could he easily kill us?"

"Sister, how many times have I told you not to judge things by their appearance? Seeing isn't always believing, and hearing isn't always the truth."

"We sensed that he was at the early Foundation Establishment stage, but does that necessarily mean he truly is an early Foundation Establishment stage cultivator? Couldn't he be a higher-level cultivator concealing his aura?"

"Oh, alright, sister. Please stop lecturing me. It's already annoying enough with our parents and grandfather lecturing us at home. We finally got a chance to go out and have some fun, so please don't lecture me anymore."

"I've already remembered what our parents and grandfather said: don't provoke anyone outside, don't meddle in matters that don't concern us, and if we decide to fight, strike first to gain the upper hand. If we can't win, then run away and send a distress signal."

"By the way, sister, let's head to that newly appeared Third Grade Heavenly Abode. I'm getting impatient."

"Alright."

The sister nodded and released a flying spiritual beast from her Spiritual Beast Bag, which was comparable to the late Foundation Establishment stage. The two sisters stood on the back of the flying spiritual beast and soared into the sky, disappearing into the horizon.

...

...

...

Inside the private room.

The beautiful female shop assistant, Wang Xinrong, poured a cup of spirit tea for Guo Feilong. The aroma was refreshing, and just smelling it cleared his mind.

This tea was picked from a Fourth Grade spirit tea tree, known as Awakening Tea, and cost 400 low-quality spirit stones per ounce. Ordering a pot of Awakening Tea at a restaurant or inn would cost 10 low-quality spirit stones.

A low-level Qi Refining stage cultivator would need two months' income to afford a pot of Awakening Tea. Although spirit tea doesn't increase cultivation levels, it can speed up the recovery of mystic power, relieve mental fatigue, refresh the mind, and leave a pleasant taste, making it very enjoyable to drink.

Guo Feilong had sold dozens of pounds of it before, and when entertaining guests of similar status, he would brew a pot or two of Awakening Tea for them.

Despite the enticing aroma of the Awakening Tea poured by the beautiful shop assistant, Guo Feilong didn't take a sip. When buying or selling things outside, he never casually consumed any tea or food offered by others.

If someone were to add a colorless and tasteless poison to the food or drink, it would be his misfortune. One can never be too cautious outside. Not only did he avoid consuming external food and drink, but he also never let anyone see his true appearance, always wearing a mask-like spiritual instrument on his face.

After stating the names of the medicinal herbs he wanted to purchase, the beautiful shop assistant, Wang Xinrong, was delighted and said with a hint of joy in her voice, "The spirit herbs and spirit medicines you wish to buy are of a high grade, which is beyond the authority of an ordinary staff member like me. Please wait a moment while I notify one of our managers to discuss it with you."

She left and shortly returned with a middle-aged late Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

"I am Qi Peng, a minor manager at the Qi Family Pharmacy. Greetings, Fellow Daoist." He cupped his hands in salute to Guo Feilong.

As they were of the same cultivation level, Guo Feilong also cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Qi."

Qi Peng said, "The spirit herbs and spirit medicines you wish to purchase, unfortunately, one of them was just bought out by a customer a few days ago. If you can wait, it will be restocked in seven days."

"Seven days is fine," Guo Feilong nodded. He was purchasing medicinal herbs for refining Seventh Grade cultivation elixirs, and as long as he could buy them, waiting an extra week or so was no issue.

Before coming to the Qi Family Pharmacy, he had visited several other pharmacies, and some had the spirit herbs and spirit medicines he needed, while others didn't, with even longer waiting times.

The medicinal herbs for refining Seventh Grade cultivation elixirs were truly expensive. Moments later, the spirit stones in Guo Feilong's storage bag were reduced by half, leaving him with about 25 million.

As Guo Feilong was about to leave the private room, Qi Peng asked him, "May I ask if Fellow Daoist Guo is purchasing these Seventh Grade cultivation elixir ingredients for yourself or on behalf of your master?"

Guo Feilong replied, "How could a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator like me have so many spirit stones? Of course, I'm buying them for my master."

Qi Peng asked, "Could you please convey to your master that our Qi Family is willing to associate with all high-level alchemists? If your master is willing to collaborate with our Qi Family and become a guest alchemist for us, all high-grade elixirs refined will be purchased at a high price. Additionally, when purchasing spirit herbs and spirit medicines from our Qi Family Pharmacy, there will be a 15% discount. We have the capability to obtain spirit herbs and spirit medicines that are hard to find on the market. Furthermore, your master can participate in the high-level alchemist exchange conference organized by our Qi Family Pharmacy, where they can exchange experiences with other high-level alchemists and collaborate on researching new elixirs and recipes. Most importantly, by becoming a guest alchemist for our Qi Family, your master can earn contribution points, which can be used to purchase spirit herbs and spirit medicines unavailable elsewhere. If enough contribution points are accumulated, they can even request our Qi Family to do anything, including eliminating enemies."

After hearing this, Guo Feilong was somewhat tempted and nodded, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Qi, I will convey your message to my master. However, I cannot guarantee whether my master will become a guest alchemist for the Qi Family."

Qi Peng smiled and said, "As long as you convey the message, that's enough."

Without an alchemist, even the most advanced spirit herbs and spirit medicines cannot be turned into elixirs. Selling spirit herbs and spirit medicines doesn't earn as much as selling elixirs. Any cultivation force places great importance on alchemists. A high-level alchemist can not only become a guest alchemist for one cultivation force but can also serve multiple cultivation forces simultaneously. Whenever a high-level alchemist is encountered, major cultivation forces will invite them to become a guest alchemist and collaborate for mutual benefit.