When it comes to cultivating immortality, it naturally starts with upgrading the herb garden.

"It probably failed to transform in the past few days, and after being fertilized, it all erupted at once."

Song Chen grinned and excitedly put away the four spiritual herbs together.

"Keep the Meridian-Opening Grass, send the rest to Linglong Tianlou!"

That being said, Song Chen is not short of spirit stones right now, so there is no need to rush. He might as well use the resources he has to improve his skills first.

So, for the next few days, he stayed indoors and practiced cultivation almost frantically.

He doesn't sleep at night when the moon doesn't sleep; he gets up during the day when the sun rises.

Spirit stones and spirit-gathering pills were always by his side.

When I get tired of practicing, I go to the courtyard to practice the newly bought spell "Shadow Step".

This magic is known for its ability to escape, making it difficult to discern the true form and distinguish between reality and illusion.

In the front yard, Song Chen made a hand seal, releasing a large amount of spiritual energy that condensed into two black shadows.

The shadowy figure, like a bubble, kept changing shape, gradually transforming into a human-shaped mass. Just as it was about to take shape, it suddenly collapsed at the last moment.

"The Shadow Step is truly difficult to master; even the first step is extremely challenging."

Song Chen sighed inwardly, realizing that more than a quarter of the spiritual liquid in his dantian had been lost in that brief moment.

The effect of Shadow Step is to condense two clones that look exactly like the caster using spiritual energy.

The clone is incredibly realistic, indistinguishable from the real person, and most importantly, it possesses the power to deliver a single blow.

This attack isn't very powerful; it's usually only used to unleash minor spells for cover.

But that's more than enough to fool people.

Song Chen composed himself. Cultivation is inherently a process with both difficulties and ease; how could it possibly be smooth sailing every step of the way?

"If you can't master it, you can just spend more time on it. If all else fails, you can just switch to another spell."

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

There was another knock on the door, but this time it was accompanied by a call: "Hello! Is anyone home?"

These are the new neighbors who moved in a few days ago, replacing Zhou Ming's household.

I think I came today to offer my condolences.

The newcomer was dressed simply, but in reality, his clothes were somewhat tattered with obvious signs of mending. He was at the third level of Qi Refining, with dim eyes and a somewhat timid demeanor.

He has an ordinary appearance with no special features, but upon closer inspection, he exudes a kind and gentle aura.

"My name is Zhang Yuanshan. I am new here and was originally a rogue cultivator from Fenghe Island... I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

Song Chen nodded slightly and replied, "Song Chen."

After exchanging a few polite words with Zhang Yuanshan, the latter gave Song Chen a small portion of white cakes, a specialty of Fenghe Island, which were said to taste alright.

"I still need to visit my other neighbors, Fellow Daoist Song, let's chat another time."

"it is good."

Zhang Yuanshan cupped his hands in greeting, walked towards Jiang Shuyan's house, knocked on the door, but received no response.

Song Chen guessed that Zhang Yuanshan was doing hard labor at the port. He didn't remind Zhang Yuanshan, but went straight back into the house.

He didn't eat the white cake, not because he didn't like it, but because he didn't trust someone he had just met.

Fortunately, nothing was wasted; it was all thrown into the pit for composting.

Looking at the empty medicinal herb garden, Song Chen said expressionlessly, "It's about time to buy seeds."

With the combined support of fertilizer storage facilities and medicinal herb fields, the transformation speed of the medicinal herbs has been greatly accelerated.

In just a few days, four more plants transformed, all of which Song Chen collected, leaving the crowded medicinal field somewhat empty for a time.

Song Chen glanced at the setting sun and thought to himself, "Tomorrow then."

Night falls, and it's another sleepless night.

Song Chen was cultivating. He had only two Qi Gathering Pills left in his storage bag, which would be used up in three days at most.

However, the amount of spiritual liquid in his dantian had already increased to as many as nine drops, and he was about to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

There is no bottleneck between the fourth and fifth levels of Qi Refining; it's purely a matter of gradual, persistent effort.

As long as resources are sufficient, the vast majority of cultivators will not be stuck at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

"The spiritual liquid is 99% complete, just one step away from the fifth level."

The effect of the Qi Gathering Pill came to an abrupt end. Just as Song Chen was about to take another one to break through his cultivation, his hand, which was suspended in the air, paused, and he clicked his tongue inwardly.

He took back the Qi Gathering Pill and instead took out a Crimson Fire Pill and swallowed it, while his right hand gripped the spirit stone.

The Crimson Fire Pill is not as effective as the Qi Gathering Pill, but it is more than enough to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Dense fire spiritual energy surged into his dantian, and as Song Chen's consciousness continued to compress, it expanded again.

As long as Song Chen transforms this spiritual energy into spiritual liquid and channels it into his dantian, he will break through to the next level.

One hour later.

Boom!

Ten drops of spiritual liquid gathered in his dantian, forming a small pool that floated on top.

A surge of pleasure rushed from his abdomen to the top of his head, causing Song Chen to lose his senses for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, his aura rose slightly, transforming into the fifth level of Qi Refining cultivation.

"carefree!"

Song Chen gritted his teeth, exhaled a breath of stale air, and let out a muffled groan.

This feels even better than masturbation!

......

Zhang Family Residence.

It was clearly nighttime, yet the mansion remained brightly lit.

If outsiders were to come here, they would be shocked by the Zhang family's wealth and power. In order to provide lighting, they actually pasted one luminous talisman after another on the pillars on both sides of the corridor.

In the central room of the mansion, Zhang Guan and a tall man were inside. On the main seat sat an old man with a wrinkled face but piercing eyes.

"Greetings, Master of the House!"

The two of them addressed the old man together.

"Is Zhang Jiu still running that hopeless pharmacy?"

The old man's gaze swept over the two of them; his imposing presence, though not angry, sent chills down their spines with just a single glance.

"Young Master... he said he wants to fulfill his dream."

Zhang Guan had completely lost his imposing manner in front of Zhou Ming and lowered his head as he spoke.

"What kind of ideals are these! Instead of cultivating a perfectly good single spiritual root, they run off to study these unorthodox methods! Humph!"

The old man slapped the chair, unleashing his aura and revealing his tenth level of Qi Refining cultivation.

The two were so intimidated by this aura that they couldn't utter a single word.

"Alright! Let's talk about the harvest from Wind Crane Island and Guanshi Peak."

The old man put away his imposing manner and spoke softly.

Zhang Guan and the man breathed a sigh of relief. The man spoke first:

"Our Zhang family has reaped a great harvest from Wind Crane Island, and we have also discovered a top-grade spell that can help us break through to the Foundation Establishment stage."

Upon hearing this, the old man raised an eyebrow, but quickly lost interest.

He had been stuck at the tenth level of Qi Refining for a long time, only one step away from the peak of Qi Refining, but the bottleneck was like an insurmountable chasm, preventing him from taking another step forward.

His only hope was to find a third-grade alchemist to refine a third-grade Purple Qi Breakthrough Pill, so that he could break through with the help of the pill's power; otherwise, it was absolutely impossible.

"Zhang Qian, that's it? Is there anything else?"

The man dared not answer and quickly took a step back. Zhang Guan took over the conversation, saying:

"Traces of the Purple Qi Breakthrough Pill have been discovered at Guanshi Peak."

"There it is!"

"It is said that it was taken from the inheritance by a rogue cultivator named Shen Yunge. He should be being hunted down by the Xu family now. His cultivation level is Qi Refining Level 7."

The old man stood up and looked at Zhang Guandao: "Tell me as soon as you have any news. I want to go myself!"

Zhang Guan sneered inwardly, silently feeling sorry for Shen Yunge.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Step down."

Zhang Qian walked out, but Zhang Guan remained standing in the same spot.

"What's wrong?"

"I have another matter to report. Recently, our agent in Huanbei City died. I have taken measures, but I am worried that there are people behind that person who may affect our grand plan."

"Who?"

"Feng Sancai!"

Upon hearing the name, the old man burst into laughter, which puzzled Zhang Guan. However, due to his status and power, he dared not ask and could only stand there and watch.

"Then you don't need to pay attention to it, just let it go! Hahahaha!"

"Why?" Zhang asked, puzzled.

The old man shook his head, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes, and said:

"It's alright to tell you, Feng Sancai was a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining in his early years."

Zhang Guan was shocked, never expecting that Feng Sancai had such a past.

"It happened many years ago; almost all the late-stage Qi Refining cultivators in this area know about it..."