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

The remaining storage bags were all very poor, containing only fifty spirit stones in total, and nothing else.

That makes sense. If they had any spirit stones, they wouldn't be stuck at the third level of Qi Refining, moving corpses.

After packing his things and organizing his thoughts, Song Chen took out a spirit stone and a Qi Gathering Pill and began cultivating.

The next day, Song Chen emerged from his meditation.

Overnight, the spiritual liquid in his dantian increased by two drops, which is considered quite fast.

Roughly calculated, Song Chen could break through to the sixth level of Qi Refining in just two months.

"I'm afraid Feng Sancai won't give me that much time."

Song Chen frowned, sighed, and got up to walk towards the alchemy room.

Upon entering the dark room, the image "Alchemy Room lv1" appeared above the alchemy furnace.

He took out a portion of Crimson Flame Grass and Green Vine from his storage bag, washed them, ground them into powder, added a small amount of warm sand, and then activated his fire control technique to begin refining the pill.

The journey was smooth and easy, with no difficulty.

Song Chen's pill-forming process was so natural, and with the help of the pill-making room, his pill-forming rate reached 90%, with the remaining pill being of inferior quality.

Nine pills were successfully made in one batch, but one was of inferior quality.

At the current market price, it can be sold for ninety-five spirit stones.

With just one batch, Song Chen not only broke even but also made a net profit of twenty-five spirit stones.

He didn't stop working; after briefly cleaning the alchemy furnace, he continued refining pills.

The success rates of the last two batches were 80% and 90% respectively, and there were no wasted pills.

Song Chen gathered the inferior pills together and used Feng Sancai's unique pill-setting technique to successfully exchange them for two successful pills and two defective pills.

After completing the operation, Song Chen obtained an additional twenty-eight Crimson Flame Pills, bringing his total to thirty-two.

Song Chen could never finish consuming so many Crimson Flame Pills in his lifetime.

Moreover, with such a high success rate for the Crimson Flame Pill, Song Chen could certainly try to challenge other more difficult Grade 1 pills, or even attempt to break through to Grade 2.

Once a thought arises, it is difficult to suppress.

However, a problem arose: Song Chen did not know the formulas for any other pills besides the Crimson Flame Pill.

Apart from the Crimson Flame Pill, Feng Sancai, that old man, had never taught Song Chen any other pill formulas.

Of course, it's also possible that he genuinely only knows the formula for this one type of first-grade elixir.

After all, most of the prescriptions for elixirs are in the hands of a few people.

"Going to the Exquisite Heavenly Pavilion to buy pill formulas? And while you're at it, sell the Purple Qi Breakthrough Pill formula?"

Song Chen was considering the feasibility of this move. He had already been ambushed the last time he went out, and who knows what kind of trouble might arise this time.

As he sold herbs more often, some observant people eventually discovered his hidden wealth.

But Song Chen had no choice but to sell, otherwise where would he get the spirit stones?

"If only someone could help me sell my goods."

Song Chen sighed.

But that's obviously impossible; even if he did, he might not do it.

After all, such a relationship is extremely fragile, and there is even a possibility that the other party will turn the tables on you.

He would not easily sell herbs to third parties unless there was a clear conflict of interest.

Just then.

"Knock knock knock".

There was another knock on the door.

To Song Chen's surprise, the visitor was the old man from the Linglong Tianlou.

What is he here for?

Song Chen felt somewhat uneasy.

Before he could think further, the old man spoke up: "Fellow Daoist, my name is Xu Bo, and I have a request to make."

Song Chen glanced at Xu Bo, but couldn't discern his cultivation level.

Considering that Xu Bo is a cultivator from the Lower Sword Sect, his aptitude must be quite good, and his cultivation level is probably at the late stage of Qi Refining.

Facing a cultivator of this level, Song Chen couldn't escape, nor could he defeat him in a fight; it was truly a terrifying prospect.

"Junior Song Chen, senior, what can I do for you?"

Xu Bo leaned down, feigning weakness, and said, "Fellow Daoist Song, there's no need to be nervous. I have a favor to ask of you, and I would never do anything to harm you."

Song Chen was puzzled. What could a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator possibly need from a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator like him?

"Fellow Daoist Song's cultivation has progressed remarkably quickly, and you frequently sell medicinal herbs. You must have connections in higher places, right?"

Song Chen paused for a moment, then didn't answer.

Is it because of Feng Sancai again?

Xu Bo, oblivious to his expression, continued:

"The thing is this: I am getting old and have been stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refining for decades, without making any progress."

"The difficulty of this bottleneck is beyond your knowledge, fellow Daoist. It is even slightly greater than all the difficulties encountered before the ninth level of Qi Refining."

"After breaking through from the ninth level of Qi Refining to the tenth level, there is still a bottleneck at the peak. Every time I think of this, I am moved to tears, feeling that my future is hopeless..."

As Xu Bo spoke, tears streamed down his face, leaving Song Chen speechless.

After Xu Bo wiped away his tears, he said:

"Fortunately, there is always a way out. Recently, I discovered a solution, which is a pill that requires the Meridian Opening Grass to refine."

"Unfortunately, the herbal medicine shops around the north only have a handful of plants, which is far from enough to meet my needs..."

Upon hearing this, Song Chen suddenly realized what was going on and decided to ask for the Meridian Opening Grass!

Believe it or not, although Song Chen doesn't have many Meridian Opening Grasses right now, he might not have many in the future.

You should know that this medicinal garden produces one 'Qianmai Grass' every day, and over time it must accumulate to an astonishing amount.

Having another sales channel is also a good thing.

Xu Bo continued, "If you have any needs, fellow Daoist, I can exchange them for anything I can provide."

"I only ask for fifty plants of the Meridian-Clearing Herb."

"I hope you can communicate with your Foundation Establishment master. I will come again tomorrow."

Xu Bo took out a medicine bottle and handed it to Song Chen, saying, "This is just a small token of my appreciation, nothing to mention."

Then, he rode the wind and flew away into the distance.

Song Chen closed the courtyard gate, his mind racing, and he roughly sorted out the current situation.

Xu Bo probably thought that all those spiritual herbs came from another Foundation Establishment Master.

Very reasonable.

Looking at Song Chen's large-scale sale of spiritual herbs from an outsider's perspective, only two conclusions can be drawn.

They either extracted large quantities from a secret realm of heaven and earth, or they mastered the technique of targeted ripening.

This kind of miraculous skill is something that no one in the Qi Refining stage can master; only Foundation Establishment cultivators have a chance of mastering it.

No wonder Xu Bo thought Song Chen had a Foundation Establishment Master.

Song Chen asked疑惑地问道, "But why doesn't he think I've mastered a small-scale secret realm?"

This is not impossible; many Qi Refining cultivators have had their own extraordinary encounters.

For example, Song Chen's system.

A thought flashed through his mind, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a terrifying idea occurred to him: "Could this be a test?"

He looked at the medicine bottle; the answer was probably in there.

Song Chen opened the medicine bottle, and immediately the fragrance of medicine filled the air. Just by smelling it, his cultivation level improved slightly. This was actually a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills!

"Seven Spirit Gathering Pills!"

The Spirit Gathering Pill, a high-grade third-rank Qi Gathering Pill, is worth a thousand spirit stones. It is considered a major medicine for those in the Qi Refining stage and is extremely beneficial for increasing cultivation level.

But Song Chen quickly snapped out of his joy, put the cap back on the bottle, and the fragrance of the elixir disappeared instantly, leaving only a few traces in the space.

"Is this the gift for a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

"It's good for Qi Refining cultivators, but isn't it a bit too slow for Foundation Establishment cultivators?"

Song Chen's eyes darted around, and he smiled, "It seems the problem lies here!"

If Song Chen's answer tomorrow is very satisfactory, it means that there is no Foundation Establishment Master at all.

How could a Foundation Establishment cultivator be satisfied with just a small bottle of Spirit Gathering Pill?

Xu Bo would then assume that Song Chen possessed a secret realm, and would directly kill him and seize the realm.

Thinking of this, Song Chen broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed that tomorrow's answer would only be unsatisfactory!

But Song Chen didn't want to refuse the deal; he needed spirit stones to cultivate.

Is there no way to have the best of both worlds?

Song Chen paced back and forth in the courtyard, lost in thought.

As the sun rose high in the sky and his shadow merged with his body, Song Chen finally came up with a solution:

"I've got it! I can use this as a starting point."

"Since Xu Bo considers me a disciple of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, then I shall be one!"

He came up with a brilliant answer.

This would solve the problem of him being discovered selling goods, and also meet Xu Bo's needs.

"Excellent! From today onwards, I am a disciple of a Foundation Establishment True Person!"