Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

Song Changsheng wasn't quite sure if the original cultivators of the Treasure Bottle Sect could use spatial storage artifacts on the island, but generally speaking, such independent alchemy halls would usually be equipped with a treasure vault specifically for storing spiritual herbs and finished spiritual pills.

Even the most reclusive sects still need to interact with the outside world, so it's impossible for them to carry so many precious pills and spiritual plants with them.

The alchemist may have fled after the heavenly tribulation, which is why no body was found. However, the other party didn't even bother with the pills in the furnace, so they probably didn't have time to take away their inventory. The barrier and restrictions were intact, so it's unlikely that they came up empty-handed.

Stepping into the back hall, it was also in a mess. Jade slips were scattered all over the floor. Picking up one at random, I found it was the alchemist's alchemy notes from his lifetime. It recorded everything from the temperature of the furnace fire to the changes of the pills at different temperatures to the state of the mist when the furnace was opened. It was a record of everything.

Song Changsheng would also take notes after refining weapons, but never in such detail.

It's clear that this is a meticulous alchemist to the core.

"【Jade Purity Pill】, it turns out that the alchemist is actually a mid-grade fifth-level alchemist."

He picked up a few more scrolls, and without exception, they were all alchemy notes. He had never heard of many of the pills before, but based on the effects recorded in the notes, he could recall pills with similar effects, which were probably all pill formulas created by the Treasure Bottle Sect.

He didn't stand on ceremony and collected all the notes, holding them up behind him with the power of the laws. These seemingly ordinary alchemy notes were far more precious than the pill formulas. They represented the life's work of a fifth-level alchemist, and with these notes, one could avoid many detours.

If one has sufficient aptitude, one can rely on these notes to grow into a fifth-order alchemy master.

He scanned the room with his divine sense and finally found a mechanism on the bookshelf.

This mechanism requires rotating a specific number of times in a specific direction and at a specific speed to open correctly, which he naturally didn't know, so he chose...

"boom……"

With a wave of his sleeve, the valuable redwood frame instantly shattered into pieces, revealing the ancient bronze gate hidden behind it.

"Barriers, restrictions, formations—the defenses are truly formidable." Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow; the more formidable the defenses, the more valuable the things behind the hidden door became.

This meant he couldn't resort to violence. He broke through the barriers and restrictions on the gate one after another, until only one formation remained. After examining it, he frowned and said, "It's actually a mid-grade fifth-order formation."

"【Eye of Illusion】, activate!"

A strange pattern appeared in his eyes, and the overall structure of the great formation immediately became clear before his eyes.

"Fortunately, the formation has been neglected for a long time, and many of the formation patterns on the base have been worn away, leaving many flaws. It shouldn't be too difficult to break it." Song Changsheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This thunderstorm could dissipate at any time. If the formation was delayed for too long, there would be no time to explore other areas.

While he was breaking the formation, Zhuang Yuechan arrived at the eastern part of the island after flying for a while. What came into view was a vast expanse of fertile spiritual fields. One of the two fifth-order spiritual veins on the island originated from this place.

The soil in these spirit fields is a peculiar bluish-gray color, and dense spirit rice is planted in them. The rice ears have mostly fallen off, and the stalks are shriveled and black, as if they have been carbonized.

Ordinary spirit rice stalks would completely decompose in ten years at most. The Treasure Bottle Sect has been destroyed for thousands of years, yet these spirit rice stalks can still maintain their approximate appearance, so they must be extraordinary.

After breaking one off, they discovered that the inside was made of a material that resembled jade.

"Blue-gray spiritual soil?" Zhuang Yuechan used her magic to condense a phantom hand, took a handful of spiritual soil, and examined it closely. This spiritual soil was quite different from any she had seen before. It didn't look like soil; instead, it resembled the residue left over from alchemy.

"Could it be medicinal mud?"

The Treasure Bottle Sect is a major sect of alchemy with profound foundations. The effects of this medicinal mud are probably far superior to ordinary spiritual soil. No wonder these spiritual rice plants are so extraordinary. I wonder if any of the spiritual seeds have survived. Zhuang Yuechan pondered to herself.

The Song family's medicinal garden has been expanding year by year. Although they have been continuously collecting spiritual soil, the varieties are mixed and the quantities are small. Many of them are even incompatible. The Spirit Plant Hall has complained to the elders many times. If there is a chance, they will definitely take these medicinal muds with them.

The Palace of Myriad Phenomena probably wouldn't be interested, but for the Song family and Luoxia City, the more the better.

In addition, some spiritual rice can be stored for more than a thousand years without being hulled and can still maintain its activity. These spiritual rice are obviously not ordinary. With such a large planting area, there may be rice varieties that can be grown.

Spirit rice, as the most in-demand basic cultivation resource, can not only assist cultivators in their cultivation, but also be used to brew spirit wine and [Bigu Pill], among other things.

It may seem insignificant, but it is indispensable to every power.

The Song family still maintains a large number of spirit fields specifically for growing spirit rice. In addition to supplying the cultivators within the clan, the remainder is distributed to families in the mortal world who have produced cultivators.

It has long been observed and studied that long-term consumption of spiritual rice by mortals can not only strengthen their bodies but also improve their constitution, and significantly increase the chances of their offspring being born with spiritual roots.

The higher the grade of the spirit rice, the better its effects. Song Qingxi's goal is to promote spirit rice throughout the mortal realm, replacing ordinary rice and wheat. This is not impossible, since cultivating spirit rice is not difficult; it just requires a sufficient number of spirit fields. His divine sense spread out, enveloping the entire spirit field, and began searching inch by inch. Unexpectedly, he soon made a discovery.

Scattered among the bluish-gray soil was a pile of spirit grains, most of which had carbonized and lost their spiritual energy. But if you peeled back the top layer, you could see a dozen or so rice grains with bluish husks, round like soybeans.

Even after thousands of years, these grains still exude an extremely strong spiritual energy, and even emit a strange medicinal fragrance.

Zhuang Yuechan's eyes lit up. She carefully collected the grains and searched all the spirit fields in sight. In the end, she obtained a large handful of about a thousand spirit grains, which was enough to be used as seeds.

Aside from the spirit grain, the only value of these spirit fields is the vast amount of medicinal mud. There are a few other medicinal fields on the outskirts, but the medicinal herbs have all completely decayed. Only a few withered seeds were found, with an extremely low chance of survival.

She wasn't discouraged. These were low-level spirit fields, without even a protective barrier around them. The truly valuable ones were the spirit fields located indoors and protected by formations not far away.

The high-level spiritual fields of the Treasure Bottle Sect are all located indoors, occupying a vast area and completely enclosed. They can use arrays to simulate a suitable environment for the growth of spiritual plants, avoiding pests and diseases while also facilitating management.

The Song family is currently trying to develop in this direction, but due to inherent disadvantages, it is difficult to make progress.

The plants planted here are all of the fourth rank or higher, with long life cycles. Protected by the array, many should still be able to survive.

Having been married to Song Changsheng for so many years, she has become quite knowledgeable about formations through constant exposure. However, if she were to break these formations one by one, there would definitely not be enough time.

"Yu Shu!"

With a soft call, the long-silent Jade Cleansing Sword was drawn on its own, its sharpness gleaming in the air. The sword energy descended from the sky, shattering the outer array with a single strike.

These formations are mainly used to simulate the environment and do not have the ability to self-destruct, which saved her a lot of trouble.

Pushing open the towering gate, a medicinal fragrance wafted out, and what came into view were spirit flowers blooming as fiercely as flames. Although most of them had withered and died, nearly a hundred still stood sparsely in the spirit field.

Zhuang Yuechan had never seen this kind of spiritual herb before, but its grade had reached the fourth level, and it also contained a trace of the [Law of Fire].

In terms of rank alone, this is already a considerable fortune.

Zhuang Yuechan pulled up the medicinal herbs along with the soil and carefully lifted them up with her magic. She couldn't use storage magic items, which added a lot of obstacles to her exploration.

The fact that spatial laws clearly exist here but cannot be used is truly strange, which made her feel vaguely uneasy, so she couldn't help but speed up her search.

She broke through several formations in succession, and found anywhere from a dozen to over a hundred plants, all of which were valuable fourth-tier spiritual plants, but none of them were what she wanted.

After breaking through another array and pushing open the door, all that could be seen was an empty field, with only a three-zhang-tall spirit tree standing in the center. This was the only spirit plant in the entire spirit field, and it was made of the extremely precious [Jade Marrow Spirit Soil].

Perhaps because it had been neglected for too long, the edges of its leaves had withered and turned yellow, emitting a faint glow. Six fist-sized spirit fruits hung on the branches, golden in color, somewhat resembling large plums.

"This is... [Nine Mysterious Jade Longevity Plum]?"

The moment this conclusion was reached, Zhuang Yuechan felt her heart skip a beat. This was a rare longevity-extending spiritual item, ranked fourth, which could be used to extend the lifespan of Golden Core and Purple Mansion stage cultivators.

Although it only has an effect when the first pill is taken, it can directly extend one's lifespan by three Jiazi (60 years), or 180 years. Even the fourth-tier [Azure Jade Jiazi Pill] can only extend one's lifespan by two Jiazi.

However, the maximum dosage of Jiazi Dan is three pills, which is approximately 210 years, so each has its own merits.

The life-extending effect of the Nine Profound Jade Longevity Plum is slightly reduced after being refined into an elixir, but it still extends to around 150 years. Six plums are produced at a time, making it one of the top-ranking life-extending spiritual items among the fourth-tier.

Its value is immeasurable!

At the same time, Song Changsheng finally broke through the formation of the hidden door of the Pill Hall.

Pushing open the heavy door, he found himself in a dimly lit, enclosed space. The spirit-gathering array inside seemed to have failed, and a rotten smell permeated the murky air.

Song Changsheng's heart sank. In an environment rich in spiritual energy, the rate at which the spiritual essence of pills or elixirs dissipates will be greatly slowed down. Combined with the jade box and sealing restrictions, the preservation time of elixirs can be extended to nearly ten thousand years, and pills may even reach tens of thousands of years.

With the spirit-gathering formation failing, the spiritual herbs stored inside are most likely lost...

...(End of this chapter)