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

Purple Dream Sprout is more valuable than Myriad Red, mainly because the pills made from them are different.

Purple Dream Sprout is mainly used to make Qi Gathering Pills, and is a key ingredient for condensing spiritual energy.

Between Qi Gathering Pill and Detoxifying Pill, Qi Gathering Pill is generally considered to be of higher value.

Song Chen hadn't expected that the herbs would undergo a transformation right after the upgrade. Fortunately, the system had the function of masking the scent of herbs; otherwise, who knows how many troubles it would have caused.

But it makes sense, considering there are so many herbs in the herb garden, it's not surprising that one of them would transform into something else.

But in any case, with this spiritual herb, the immediate crisis has been resolved.

Song Chen stroked the delicate leaves of the Purple Dream Sprout, gently rubbed the blooming buds, and pondered the best way to handle it... Selling it directly wouldn't be surprising, since it's no secret that his family has a medicinal herb field.

And since there was only one plant, it should be considered good luck.

Thinking of this.

Without saying a word, Song Chen gently removed the Purple Dream Sprout along with the soil around its roots, without causing any damage.

Then, the extracted Purple Dream Sprouts were placed in a special wooden box for storing herbs, and the wooden box was then placed in a storage bag.

That's it.

Just as he was about to leave.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

Suddenly, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Song Chen felt his hair stand on end. At such a coincidental juncture, who would come looking for him?

Could it be that the system's function of blocking grass scent is flawed, allowing some of the aroma to be exposed?

If that's really the case, Song Chen will truly have a bitter pill to swallow.

He walked silently to the courtyard gate, a fireball appearing on his fingertips, while his other hand opened the door a crack, his eyes fixed on the gap.

alert!

If the visitor is hostile, he will launch a surprise attack.

An old man was standing outside the door.

With a full head of white hair, a face full of wrinkles, a long beard, and a Taoist robe, he looked very ethereal and otherworldly.

Song Chen recognized this person; it was his former cheap alchemy master.

His name is Feng Sancai.

He possessed a cultivation level of Qi Refining Level 7, making his strength unfathomable. Unfortunately, his aptitude was low, and he had no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment. In addition, he was getting old, so he wanted to pass on his skills.

Upon seeing this person, Song Chen's tense nerves relaxed.

Feng Sancai is a humble person who treats his disciples like his own children. It seems that even if a spiritual herb is exposed, there won't be any problems.

"Master, what brings you here?"

"I heard you can't even afford your rent anymore?"

Song Chen remained silent.

Feng Sancai took out a small burlap sack, which was bulging and filled with spirit stones.

"Take it!"

"This is......"

Song Chen was slightly taken aback. In his memory, this master did not love his predecessor. On the contrary, he was quite strict.

I never expected them to be so kind to me.

In this treacherous world of cultivation, it is truly rare to find someone so sincere.

"I'll lend it to you. Pay me back when you have the money. Oh, and remember to come over tomorrow to refine the pills."

After saying that, Feng Sancai turned and left, leaving Song Chen standing there silently for a long time.

Master...

Judging from Feng Sancai's reaction, the system should be fine.

If even the slightest leak were detected, the other party should have noticed. It seems the system is quite reliable.

Song Chen glanced at the sack; these spirit stones... were indeed the icing on the cake.

Thirty pieces.

I'll repay you when I have the chance in the future; for now, my priority is to improve myself.

Song Chen packed up his things and headed towards the Linglong Tianlou.

This is a trading center specially set up by the Lower Sword Sect to collect the property of rogue cultivators. It has a good reputation and both righteous and evil people can sell their stolen goods here.

"Sell or buy?"

The cultivator on duty from the Lower Sword Sect remained calm, but after glancing at Song Chen, he revealed a barely perceptible hint of disdain.

"For sale, Purple Dream Bud, three years old."

Upon hearing this, the cultivator raised an eyebrow, took the wooden box, and examined the spiritual herbs inside.

"Twenty-five spirit stones, plus a three-stone handling fee."

The handling fee is three spirit stones?

Why is it so expensive?

Seemingly noticing Song Chen's confusion, the other party explained:

"No matter what you sell or how much you sell, Tianlou will accept three spirit stones."

damned!

Does the Lower Sword Sect have to be this ruthless?

That's three spirit stones!

You should know that the shop in its predecessor only earned three spirit stones a day.

But no matter how unwilling they were, there was nothing they could do. The rules were set by the other party, and the only way to avoid paying transaction fees frequently was to sell more items next time.

He reluctantly accepted the twenty-two spirit stones and walked out of the Heavenly Tower.

There was no time to grieve over the three spirit stones.

Song Chen glanced at the panel, pondered for a moment, and realized that if he wanted to upgrade the building, he could only upgrade the alchemy room.

Other buildings are not unlocked.

A level 2 medicinal field starts at 50 spirit stones. If you don't pay the rent, you can try your luck with those conditions, but if you fail, it's no different from being dead.

Song Chen prefers stability, or to put it bluntly, he's a cautious person. He doesn't like his predecessor's cowardice, nor does he like his predecessor's parents' radicalism.

The path to immortality is long and arduous; life is the most important thing, and everything else can be relegated to second place.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, it's better to pay the rent first.

He went straight to the building where the rent was collected and paid the rent.

Looking at the twenty-two spirit stones remaining in the storage bag, it was more than enough to upgrade the alchemy room to level 1. The question was which direction to upgrade in.

【Route 1】

[Upgrade Requirements: Two low-grade spirit stones, learn the "Elementary Alchemy" technique, and successfully refine one Crimson Flame Pill (Completed)]

[Function: Increases the success rate of first-grade pills in the Qi Refining Realm by 10%, and the success rate of second-grade pills by 5%]

【Route Two】

[Upgrade Requirements: Two low-grade spirit stones, learn the "Elementary Alchemy" technique, and successfully refine one Heavenly Light Pill (Completed)]

[Function: Increases the success rate of first-grade pill formation in the Qi Refining Realm by 20%]

【Route 3】

[Upgrade Requirements: Two low-grade spirit stones, learn the "Elementary Alchemy Technique," and successfully refine one Qi Gathering Pill]

[Function: Increases the success rate of producing Grade 2 pills in the Qi Refining Realm by 10%]

......

The pills required for the first two routes were already first-grade entry-level pills, which the original owner had already completed because he often learned alchemy from his father and master.

The Qi Gathering Pill of Route 3 is extremely difficult to refine, making it the most difficult among second-grade pills.

It would take Song Chen at least two years to learn the refining method.

There are so many things you could do with this time; you could at least reach the fourth level of Qi Refining by now if you used it for cultivation.

Therefore, he is not prepared to specifically learn the refining method in order to unlock this path.

Then the remaining choice is between option one and option two.

After careful consideration, Song Chen finally decided to choose Route Two.

There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, he is still unable to refine second-grade pills, so even if he increases the probability, it will be of no use.

Secondly, since elixirs can be sold for money, people naturally choose the route that increases the probability of success.

Thirdly, looking at the subsequent path of the medicine field, it seems that there is still a chance to change the function of the subsequent level 2 alchemy room.

In conclusion, Song Chen should naturally choose Route Two.

With a thought, the alchemy room was upgraded to level 1.

At the same time, the conditions and effects of the Level 2 Pill Room appeared before Song Chen's eyes.

【Route 1】

[Alchemy Room lv1]

[Level 2: Function: Increases the success rate of first-grade pills by 30% and second-grade pills by 5% in the Qi Refining Realm; increases the success rate of third-grade pills by 5%]

[Upgrade Requirements: Fifty low-grade spirit stones, five kidney king plants, three portions of frost sand, and successfully refine one spirit flame pill]

【Route Two】

[lv2: Function: Increases the success rate of first-grade pills by 10%, second-grade pills by 15%, and third-grade pills by 10%]

[Upgrade Requirements: Fifty low-grade spirit stones, five kidney king plants, three portions of frost sand, and successfully refine one spirit flame pill]

【Route 3】

[Function: Increases the success rate of Grade 2 pills by 20%, and guarantees a successful Grade 2 pill on the first batch each day.]

[Upgrade Requirements: 50 low-grade spirit stones, 3 Kidney King plants, 10 portions of Frost Sand, 10 portions of Yin Stone, and successfully refine one Spirit Gathering Pill]

Route 4

[Function: Increases the success rate of first-grade pills by 50%, and guarantees success for the first five batches of first-grade pills refined each day.]

[Upgrade Requirements: Fifty low-grade spirit stones, five kidney king plants, twelve portions of frost sand, and successful refinement of one Spirit Gathering Pill]

Route 5

......

Song Chen stared at the words on the panel, especially 【Route Three】 and 【Route Four】, and was utterly astonished.

It will surely be successful!

Song Chen's heart skipped a beat. If he successfully upgraded to [Route Three], wouldn't he be able to eat any second-grade pill he wanted in the future?

An upgrade is necessary!

He glanced at the pills required for the upgrade. This Spirit Gathering Pill was a superior grade three Qi Gathering Pill, and it was extremely difficult to refine even among grade three pills.

Song Chen is currently only a first-grade alchemist, so it's impossible for him to refine this kind of pill. But just because he can't now doesn't mean he can't in the future!

Thirty years to Hedong, thirty years to Hexi!

What's more, he's only eighteen!

Don't bully young poor!

In the past, these spirit stones would mostly be used to buy talismans and pills to improve cultivation and strength.

But now... Song Chen only wants to focus on refining pills and farming; he'll never risk his life like that in this lifetime.

The most urgent task is to plant more medicinal herbs, increase the quantity of spiritual herbs, and hone our alchemy skills.

Song Chen turned into a shop selling medicinal herbs and went inside...