Although Gu Dao Academy had numerous factions, Qin Hanchu faced no obstacles in gathering information.
As long as he was willing to pay, someone would readily provide Qin Hanchu with the most accurate intelligence.
In just two days, Qin Hanchu obtained the background information of the sloppy man.
The sloppy man was named Zhou Chuanqiong. When he first entered Gu Dao Academy, he had joined a faction.
He had initially believed this faction would cultivate him into a higher-level alchemist, but to his surprise, they merely treated him as an alchemy machine.
Unwilling to be oppressed, he withdrew from that faction.
Subsequently, other factions had attempted to recruit him, but he rejected them all.
These factions all boasted seven-star alchemists, thus directing their best resources towards these seven-star alchemists.
Zhou Chuanqiong knew that these factions were all the same; they merely wanted him to do the grunt work.
For this reason, Zhou Chuanqiong never joined any faction again.
Aside from the resources provided by the sect, he had to personally contact martial artists to gather resources and refine divine pills.
On the third day, Zhou Chuanqiong arrived at Qin Hanchu's cave dwelling as agreed.
Qin Hanchu activated the guardian divine formation and stated, "I can give you the divine medicine, but you must give me all the divine pills you refine."
"What? You want me to work for free?" Zhou Chuanqiong was angered by Qin Hanchu's terms.
Qin Hanchu shook his head and said, "I won't give you divine pills, but I can give you other things as compensation."
"What? Divine medicine?" Zhou Chuanqiong asked with a frown.
"Insights and notes from an eight-star alchemist, are you interested?" Qin Hanchu asked with a smile.
Qin Hanchu's words caused Zhou Chuanqiong to stand up abruptly: "What did you say? You have the insights and notes of an eight-star alchemist?"
"As long as you agree to my terms, the insights and notes of an eight-star alchemist will be handed over to you immediately," Qin Hanchu said.
Without a second thought, Zhou Chuanqiong replied, "As long as you give me the insights and notes of an eight-star alchemist, I will refine pills for you for free forever."
Seeing Zhou Chuanqiong's promise, Qin Hanchu flipped his hand and presented a memory jade slip to Zhou Chuanqiong: "Examine the goods."
Zhou Chuanqiong eagerly took the memory jade slip.
Zhou Chuanqiong's expression became extremely excited: "It really is the insights and notes of an eight-star alchemist! Where did you get it?"
The insights and notes of an alchemist were closely guarded secrets. Unless the eight-star alchemist was already dead, it was impossible for him to pass on his insights and notes to others.
"You don't need to know that," Qin Hanchu continued. "With this, do you have the confidence to reach the level of a seven-star alchemist?"
"Of course, I do, but I'll need time to study it," Zhou Chuanqiong replied.
Qin Hanchu waved his hand and presented four hundred Divine Emperor-grade divine herbs to Zhou Chuanqiong: "These divine herbs are for you. You can use them to enhance your alchemy experience."
"They're for me?" Zhou Chuanqiong was surprised by Qin Hanchu's generosity.
"We are going into seclusion. We hope that by the time we emerge, you will have reached the level of a seven-star alchemist."
"At that time, I will provide you with the materials for the Divine Emperor Yu Cheng Pill and the Divine Emperor Xuan Miao Pill."
"We hope that by then, you can refine high-quality Divine Emperor Xuan Miao Pills and Divine Emperor Yu Cheng Pills for me."
The divine herbs Qin Hanchu gave to Zhou Chuanqiong were common Divine Emperor-grade divine herbs. He would not part with precious Divine Emperor-grade divine herbs at this time.
Zhou Chuanqiong's alchemy skills were already at the seven-star level, which was why he dared to approach Qin Hanchu for business.
Although he possessed seven-star alchemy skills, he was inferior to veteran seven-star alchemists in terms of pill quality and material consumption.
With the insights and notes provided by Qin Hanchu, his alchemy techniques would undoubtedly become stronger.
"No problem. How long will your seclusion last?" Zhou Chuanqiong asked.
"It's uncertain, at least a thousand years."
Impacting the Divine Emperor realm was an extremely difficult undertaking. Even with sufficient resources, one could not achieve a breakthrough in a short period.
"You cannot go into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to the Divine Emperor realm yet."
At this moment, the voice of the Sky-Opening Divine Axe suddenly echoed into Qin Hanchu's sea of consciousness.
Qin Hanchu transmitted his thoughts, asking, "Why?"
"You two are not spirits of the Divine Realm, and therefore lack the profound essence of the Divine Realm's Great Dao."
"Even if you prepare sufficient cultivation resources, you will not be able to successfully reach the Divine Emperor realm."
"To achieve a smooth breakthrough, the first thing you must do is find the Replenishing Spirit Fruit!"
"The Replenishing Spirit Fruit can not only complete your Great Dao's profound essence but also enhance your divine aura."
"The stronger your divine aura, the easier the breakthrough will be."
After hearing the Sky-Opening Divine Axe's explanation, Qin Hanchu said dejectedly, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"It's not too late to say it now," the Sky-Opening Divine Axe stated calmly. "The Replenishing Spirit Fruit is not a common item. To obtain it, you must wait for the opening of the Replenishing Spirit Realm."
"The Replenishing Spirit Realm? What is that?" Qin Hanchu asked.
The Sky-Opening Divine Axe replied, "The Replenishing Spirit Realm is an independent world of the Replenishing Spirit Tree. Even Ancestor-level powerhouses cannot enter it at will."
"Does the Replenishing Spirit Tree possess Ancestor-level combat power?" Qin Hanchu was shocked.
"You could say that."
Qin Hanchu asked, "When does it open, and how can I enter?"
"Wait at Replenishing Spirit Mountain. It does not have a specific opening time."
Qin Hanchu's exchange with the Sky-Opening Divine Axe happened in a very short period.
After concluding the transmission, he said to Zhou Chuanqiong, "Our plan needs to change. You should study alchemy first. We'll find you when we return."
A Xiang looked at Qin Hanchu in surprise but remained silent.
"Alright, I'll be going back now." Zhou Chuanqiong was extremely engrossed in alchemy. Having obtained the insights and notes of an eight-star alchemist, he naturally wished to study them thoroughly and integrate them as soon as possible.
After Zhou Chuanqiong left, A Xiang asked, "What happened?"
Qin Hanchu recounted the words of the Sky-Opening Divine Axe: "Although I don't know what the Great Dao's profound essence is, what it said is likely true."
"That's easy to understand. A self-created world is, after all, incomplete in its Great Dao," A Xiang said.
Qin Hanchu nodded. "If we cannot obtain the Replenishing Spirit Fruit, I fear we will be stuck at the Divine Venerable realm."
"When do we depart?" A Xiang asked.
Qin Hanchu replied, "We'll report to the sect first, and then we'll set off."
The two closed their cave dwelling and then headed towards the sect's Internal Affairs Pavilion.
Their departure would be for a long time, so they needed to register their absence here.
After completing the registration, they flew directly outside the sect.
It was at this moment that an inner disciple hurried to Wu Jiantian's palace: "Senior Brother Wu, Baili Hansu and Han Xiang just registered at the Internal Affairs Pavilion. They are leaving the sect."
"Still daring to go out? You two are truly courting death!" Wu Jiantian's face broke into an excited smile. He then directly rushed towards the sect's exit.