Hide in The Immortal Cultivation World, Strike Hard in the Martial World
Chapter 424 - 207: Invitation for Offerings_2

The Immortal Cultivation World is full of mysteries, and one cannot rely solely on what they see with their eyes. Sometimes, intuition is important.

This time, Yang Dan's primary aim is to have her little brother apologize to Chen Yi in an attempt to alleviate any enmity they might have accrued over the years. Even if there is a slight chance that Chen Yi might be responsible for those incidents, these apologies serve as an assurance for her future.

Secondly, she wants to personally assess Chen Yi, to probe his cultivation level, martial methods, and use secret skills to sense her talisman treasures, puppets, and Aunt Qin's quasi-magic weapon.

So far, Chen Yi had seemed impeccably normal, indistinguishable from any other cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage.

While attempting to subtly sense these treasures, Yang Dan didn't find any evidence of previous ownership.

Seems like it was a mere coincidence, all those incidents probably had nothing to do with Chen Yi.

Yang Dan had formed a preliminary conclusion in her mind, but it didn't matter. She had a third reason to visit today,

which is to recruit offerings for the Yang Family.

As Chen Yi received the storage bag and scanned it with his divine sense, he expressed genuine surprise and joy on his face:

"Is this a quasi-third-tier pill refining furnace?

Elder Yang, isn't this too precious?

What merits do I, Chen Yi, have to deserve such a valuable treasure?"

The pill refining furnace is a dedicated magical instrument for alchemists. While it may not be as valuable as regular magic weapons of the same tier, a quasi-third-tier item wouldn't be of trivial value even if considered just for the materials used in it.

This one, although second-hand, is still of impeccable quality.

"It might surprise you, but this pill furnace is not brand new. It was left behind by the previous alchemist of the Yang Family.

Since the Yang family currently doesn't have a second-tier alchemist in service, I thought it would be a waste to let the furnace gather dust. So, I decided to give it to Daoist Chen,

Firstly, it is to apologize to you for my little brother's Foundation Establishment incident.

Secondly, I wanted to ask, if you, Daoist Chen, would consider becoming an offering for the Yang Family?

Our Yang Family is in desperate need of talents like Doctor Chen. If you are willing to take up this role, you only need to ensure a fixed supply of Pill Talismans every year while residing at the Yang Family. The Yang family would not restrict your freedom. Besides the usage rights of a third-tier spiritual vein, you would be provided with at least 3,000 spirit stones for cultivation resources every year. You will also be granted the privilege of exchanging advanced resources including the auxiliary materials for the Crystallisation Pill,

And if one day you reach the third-tier as an alchemist and wish to stay permanently with the Yang Family, we are willing to expend hundreds of thousands of spirit stones for you to refine top-tier pills in the Immortal Cultivation World like the Crystallisation pill.

How does this sound?"

Yang Dan already had a contingency plan in mind. If she found any evidence of Chen Yi being a hidden mastermind, she would simply give him the quasi-third-tier pill furnace as a gift without any conditions attached,

If there were no suspicious signs, she would then use the opportunity to present her proposal,

An item for two uses, not a bad deal.

Hearing this, Chen Yi paused, so they were waiting for me after all...

He placed the storage bag down and quickly weighed the gains and losses of Yang Dan's proposal.

Ordinarily, he would reject outright any offer to serve as an offering without even considering it,

But this time, the Yang Family simply offered too much.

Every year 3,000 spirit stones' worth of resources, along with the third-tier spiritual vein's usage rights - these were the terms given to the previous quasi-third-tier alchemist of the Yang Family.

Regarding the responsibilities, Chen Yi would have to shoulder even fewer burdens,

If this offer had been made decades earlier, alchemists would be fighting tooth and nail for it.

However, times have changed. The Yang Family has fallen from grace and can no longer attract any quasi-third-tier alchemists.

They have now turned their sights on reliable and promising second-tier alchemists like Chen Yi.

If Chen Yi were to become an offering at the Yang Family, he would gain a stable third-tier spiritual vein cultivation spot and yearly spirit stone resources,

As for Yang Family's mention of exchanging scarce resources, and access to top-tier resources including the Crystallisation Pill, Chen Yi hadn't given it much thought. Even if he had the privilege, he would have to queue, and considering the Yang Family's current status, they might not have many top-tier resources at hand.

As for the talk of cultivating Chen Yi into an alchemist capable of concocting Crystallisation Pill, it was just pie in the sky. The Yang Family lacked this capability, and Chen Yi did not take this promise seriously.

Despite these misgivings, serving as an offering at the Yang Family seemed like a very good choice,

Agreeing at this moment would be akin to providing much-needed aid.

If the Yang Family were to bounce back someday, Chen Yi would be rewarded with an elder's status,

Or, if Chen Yi decides to settle down in the Yang Family, finds a suitable partner among the family's women, and has descendants, he might even have a chance of becoming the Family head or at least start his own Immortal Cultivation Family.

If Chen Yi really were just a loose cultivator artisan, it would actually be better for him to serve as an offering to the Yang Family, rather than going with Ling Jingjing to Xuantian Continent,

On one hand he could be a big fish in a small pond, while on the other, a small fish in a big pond,

One side is him being the master, while the other is him being the middleman, quite a big difference.

Of course, this requires betting on the Yang Family's revival, what if the Yang Family doesn't rise again?

Or if they encounter more troubles, even resulting in Yang Dan's death, what then?

Such a fate going to the Yang family he would regret it at that time.

If Chen Yi were someone in need of opportunities, he might take the bet.

But he simply doesn't need to,

After some thought, Chen Yi said:

"Thank you for True Person Yang's gracious invitation, your sincerity is overwhelming to me and I am very honored. If you had come a few years earlier, I would certainly have gladly accepted and firmly rooted in the Yang Family!

However, some time ago, senior Ling Jingjing came to invite me to join the Lingxiao Sect. Although I haven't agreed yet, I did say I would consider it for a while before giving her a reply.

So, I'm sorry that I can't give you a definite answer at the moment.

If in the future my plan to join Lingxiao Sect does not work out, I will personally go to Wangyue City to express my gratitude for your favor.

I hope you can understand my situation."

Chen Yi didn't explain everything clearly, but the unwritten rules of the Immortal Cultivation World are there. First come, first served—Ling Jingjing was the first to extend the invitation, so Chen Yi should answer her first,

Second, in terms of cultivation level and influence, Ling Jingjing, being a Golden Body cultivator at the middle stage of Core Formation, along with the Lingxiao Sect having a Nascent Soul elder, far surpasses the current Yang family,

Moreover, Ling Jingjing's shadow is vaguely present in the cause of the Yang family's current predicament,

Chen Yi would not risk offending Ling Jingjing by joining the Yang family,

With Chen Yi's current ability, even with full output, it might be hard to withstand an attack from a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator,

If he had to confront such strong opponents, Chen Yi could only escape to the Martial World to save his life.

Chen Yi's phrase is rather straightforward and justified,

Yang Dan could only accept the current situation with a bitter smile. It's extremely difficult for the Yang family to find someone willing to help them in their hour of need.

"If that's the case, I won't force Doctor Chen. If not as offering, can the Yang family make an annual order for pills and talisman scrolls from Doctor Chen?"

"Normal trade is naturally possible. However, my most urgent task is to complete True Person Ling's order. I don't know if Predecessor Yang is willing to wait for a few years?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Dan's face darkened again, but now she really had no other way. She could only play her biggest trump card:

"What if I am willing to trade Yang family's high-level resources with Doctor Chen?"

"Oh? Do you have auxiliary herbs for the Crystallisation Pill?"

"Yes."

"Then I could try to speed up work. Predecessor Yang, what talisman scrolls and pills would you like to order?"

"....."

After half a day of negotiation, Yang Dan paid the highest price to secure Chen Yi's secondary supply priority to the Yang family for the next few years,

Those resources were originally intended to attract high-level offerings.

This time, Yang Dan is taking a gamble. No one in the Yang family can utilize those resources currently. If they could gain Chen Yi's high-quality talisman scrolls and pills or win Chen Yi's favor,

There might be a glimmer of hope for the Yang family if they face a crisis in the future.

Chen Yi generally doesn't refuse such benefits that are presented to his doorstep.

Of course, the issue of Yang Dan robbing him of the top-quality Foundation Establishment Pill decades ago had already been settled with her during her Core Formation,

This time, Chen Yi gained quite a bit from the Yang family, he owed her a favor.

Then the Yang siblings made small talk with Chen Yi for a while,

Before they took their leave. The two didn't return home immediately, instead, they went to their neighbor, Xiao Qiu's peak.