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

"Zhang Jiu!"

Song Chen exclaimed in surprise, but ignored Zhang Jiu's life or death.

He reacted quickly and reached for the bottle, which wobbled in his hand a few times before narrowly avoiding falling to the ground.

Song Chen then came to his senses, frowning as he stared at the 'Zhang Jiu' in front of him, a few guesses popping into his mind.

Of the myriad arts of cultivating immortality, the first four—alchemy, talisman, array, and artifact—are the most refined, each possessing profound knowledge on its own.

However, even after these four arts, there are still many strange paths.

For example, the paths of insects and medicine, if cultivated to their highest level, can influence the world.

The Zhang Jiu before me is probably not the real person, but a puppet.

Puppetry cultivation is the most expensive, requiring a large amount of money to acquire the basic materials for crafting puppets, each of which can easily bankrupt a rogue cultivator.

But that's not all.

In this world, no skill can be perfected without repeated learning and experimentation, and the art of puppetry is no exception.

The cost of each repeated attempt by the Puppet Path is beyond imagination, and is far beyond what a rogue cultivator can afford.

Based on what Song Chen just saw, this "Zhang Jiu" was likely a popular communication bot on the market.

It is used for long-distance transmission of information and supplies, but it is extremely expensive, costing at least tens of thousands of spirit stones to purchase.

A thought flashed through Song Chen's mind like a spark. Combining Zhang Jiu's surname with the information broadcast by the puppet he sent: "Zhang Jiu is a member of the Zhang family."

But soon new questions arose in his mind.

"Is broadcasting this a threat, or does it mean something else?"

"The Zhang family is powerful; eliminating a mere rogue cultivator like me would be a piece of cake."

"Are you still considering Feng Sancai? What exactly is Feng Sancai?"

Wandaobo is a cluster of countless islands, on which numerous markets and towns are naturally distributed.

The market is orderly and cannot be managed by only the major sects. There are also families under the sects.

The Zhang family is the largest family power, encompassing the three islands of Duanya Island, Fenghe Island, and Yizhi Island.

Within these three islands, apart from the sects, the Zhang family is the largest administrator.

"The puppet's appearance was Zhang Jiu, and it revealed a lot of important information concerning my life."

"For example, the secrets of Feng Sancai and his parents in his previous life. It's not entirely true that this action is detrimental to me."

"Forget it, compared to the unknown Zhang family, Feng Sancai, who is right next door, is my biggest threat right now. I should focus on improving my strength!"

Then, Song Chen, carrying the medicine bottle, closed the courtyard gate and walked towards the herb garden.

Song Chen placed the bottle in the corner and opened the control panel.

"I don't know if this herbal insect-repelling liquid will work."

"It wouldn't be good if something that shouldn't have been added was added, which would affect its usability."

[Medicine Garden lv1]

【Route Thirteen】

[Level 2 Function: Increases growth rate by 20%, increases molting probability by 20%, and produces one Blood Vessel per day.]

[Upgrade Requirements: Fifty low-grade spirit stones, ten drops of Hundred Herbs Insect Remedy, five Qi Gathering Talismans, and one Spring Insect and Autumn Herb (already completed).]

"It seems that at least the system itself is working fine."

Song Chen's lips curled up slightly.

Even if there's something wrong with the herbal insect-repelling liquid, it doesn't matter, since he doesn't use it himself anyway.

A thought arose.

upgrade!

In an instant, the liquid level in the small bottle plummeted, and the upgrade materials in the storage bag disappeared.

The medicinal field remained motionless, as if nothing had changed, but Song Chen knew that everything had changed.

Because the words floating above the herb field had suddenly changed to "[Herb Field lv2]".

From now on, the most difficult-to-obtain medicinal herb in the Qi Gathering Pill, the Meridian Opening Grass, will no longer be a problem for Song Chen!

Purple Dream Sprouts often spawn in his herb field, so they're probably not that rare.

Only the entangled grass remains, and I haven't managed to get it yet.

Song Chen was going to buy some, but he didn't know if they were even selling them.

Thinking of this, he probed his storage bag and discovered that he only had thirty-seven spirit stones left on him.

The previous hundred spirit stones were spent in the blink of an eye, like water flowing away.

Spirit stones are truly wasted.

Song Chen couldn't help but sigh, and then turned his attention to the functional routes and upgrade conditions of the [Medicine Field lv3].

With just a glance, he felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

【Route 1】

[Level 3: Function: Herb growth speed +30%, probability of ordinary herbs transforming into spiritual herbs increased by 30%, and an additional drop of Three Pure Jade Dew produced daily.]

[Upgrade Requirements: Foundation Establishment, a rib from a peak Qi Refining cultivator, a drop of morning dew]

【Route Two】

[Level 3: Herb growth speed +30%, probability of ordinary herbs transforming into spirit herbs increased by 30%, and an extra piece of Mystic Jade Ice Cream produced daily.]

[Upgrade Requirements: Foundation Establishment cultivation level, a rib bone from a peak Qi Refining cultivator, and a century-old ice crystal]

......

Song Chenguang was examining the functions until his mouth was completely dry.

Both the Three Pure Jade Dew and the Mysterious Jade Ice Cream are rare and precious materials worth two to three hundred spirit stones.

I want it! I really want it!

But... these upgrade conditions...

The sight of ribs belonging to Foundation Establishment cultivators and Qi Refining Peak cultivators, along with unidentified rare and precious materials, left Song Chen bewildered.

Of course, that's not the most outrageous part; the most outrageous is [Route Twenty-Seven].

[Level 3: Herb growth speed +50%, probability of ordinary herbs transforming into spiritual herbs increased by 50%, daily random production of one rare natural treasure, one piece of Three Pure Jade Dew, and one piece of Mystic Ice Jade Paste.]

[Upgrade Requirements: Foundation Establishment cultivation level, rib bone of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.]

There's no other way but to take it slowly.

Just as Song Chen was pondering his route, a sound came from the courtyard gate.

"Thump. Thump. Thump."

"Brother Song! Are you there?"

Jiang Shuyan knocked on Song Chen's door.

At first glance, Jiang Shuyan has changed quite a bit.

His skin was darker, and he was taller. He held a silver bell in his hand and shook it incessantly. His eyes were as bright as stars.

The only thing that remained unchanged was his cultivation level.

Song Chen saw him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Brother Song! I'm moving to room number seventeen in South Alley. The landlord said there's a vacancy there and they're in a hurry to rent it out. The first month's rent is only one spirit stone!"

Jiang Shuyan revealed her white teeth, her lips curved up, and her eyes were squeezed into slits.

"Thank you, Brother Song! If you hadn't told me I could move to South Alley, I wouldn't have known there was such a great place!"

Upon hearing this, Song Chen congratulated him, saying, "Oh, that's great! Are you still cutting fish at the dock?"

"Oh! This? There's a guy named Zhang Yuanshan who introduced me to a job that pays twelve spirit stones a month!"

Zhang Yuanshan?

Song Chen's face showed a somewhat amiable expression.

him?

Perhaps they took pity on Jiang Shuyan, their neighbor, and helped her out?

He seems to be a kind person.

Song Chen's eyes were full of kindness; he could only relax when chatting with such an innocent and carefree child.

He smiled faintly and said, "That's great! So what kind of job does this?"

"I don't know! It seems like they'll tell me after I move to South Alley."

Jiang Shuyan touched his hair and recalled.

"That's true, we're all neighbors, it's normal to help each other out."

"A neighbor? Zhang Yuanshan? Is he our neighbor?"

Jiang Shuyan blinked, puzzled.

Song Chen was slightly taken aback, but without thinking much of it, he replied, "Yes, it's the house next door to me."

Perhaps Zhang Yuanshan just happened to see Jiang Shuyan at the dock and, unable to bear seeing the child working as a laborer, did this act of kindness on a whim.

After all, there are many people and opinions at the dock, so who can say for sure?

It's also reasonable that you haven't seen it before.

Zhang Yuanshan always went out in the evening, while Jiang Shuyan always went out at noon, so it was normal for them to leave at different times.

Everyone's schedule is different.

However, Zhang Yuanshan left home early today and hasn't returned yet.

Jiang Shuyan pondered for a moment and said, "It's probably just a coincidence of names, right? The Zhang Yuanshan I know also lives in South Lane."

"Is that so? That's quite a coincidence."

Song Chen thought about it and felt it was possible. Zhang Yuanshan was a simple yet meaningful name, so it was reasonable for someone to have the same name.

"Brother Song, I have to move now, so I'll be going now! I'll come see you during the holidays next time."

"it is good."

Song Chen stood at the door, watching Jiang Shuyan walk towards the south alley.

For some reason, that thin, frail figure evoked a sense of desolation in him.

A gentle breeze blew by, lifting the hem of Song Chen's clothes. The wind blowing from the alley was not cold, but rather warm.

A leaf fell silently, drifting slowly through the air, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, and just happened to block Song Chen's view of Jiang Shuyan.

At this moment, Jiang Shuyan walked to the corner, turned his body to the side, and disappeared from sight.