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

"All collected! Enough to refine fifty Foundation Establishment Pills!"

Shi Jian was holding a bulging cloth bag filled with heavy sand and gravel.

Everyone was overjoyed, but Song Chen's expression changed slightly.

Fifty coins wouldn't be enough for him to break through, let alone having to share them among ten people.

Having missed this opportunity, and not knowing when he would be able to return, Song Chen wanted to make a clean break and never come to this seemingly dangerous yet beautiful valley again.

"Should we gather some more?"

Shi Jian was slightly taken aback and looked at Song Chen in shock.

According to the distribution rules, the three Qi Refining Stage 10 members will receive half, and the remaining seven members will share the rest equally. He can get at least eight Foundation Establishment Pills.

With the Stone-Solid Dual Spiritual Roots, conservatively speaking, it would take ten Foundation Establishment Pills to achieve stable Foundation Establishment, but eight might be enough if we take a gamble.

Shi Jian was shocked to discover that Song Chen, who had broken through to the tenth level of Qi Refining before him and was even younger, had suggested collecting more.

Could it be that his aptitude is even worse than my dual spiritual roots?

Of course, all of this is just speculation, and it's also possible that Song Chen simply wants to make more money.

Shi Jian hesitated, unable to make up his mind for a moment.

He hesitated and wanted to return, after all, he had a family, but considering the Foundation Establishment stage, he wanted to go further.

The group exchanged bewildered glances; some wanted to take things further, while others felt it was time to call it a day.

Everyone has different ideas and their own opinions.

At this point, the key lies with the leaders; they must make a decision.

Seeing that the two Qi Refining Stage 10 cultivators were indecisive, Du Wanming realized that she needed to play a role as a third party.

So he suggested, "How about we decide by voting? The minority shall obey the majority."

Song Chen and Shi Jian agreed when they heard this.

The proposal was immediately approved, and the ten people began voting.

"What if it's a tie?" Shi Jian asked.

"Go back!" Song Chen replied.

Shi Jian nodded, which was taken as agreement.

The voting results came out quickly.

Six to four.

Song Chen received six votes and Shi Jian received four, making it a tie. The crucial vote was cast by Du Wanming, which ultimately determined their fate.

"Alright! Since this is the vote result, let's go! Let's do something big!"

"Heading towards the valley!"

The few who originally intended to withdraw shouted out, seemingly to bolster their courage.

"In that case, let's go!"

Seeing that things had come to this point, Shi Jian had nothing more to say and walked into the depths of the valley.

As the group walked away, several translucent rats emerged from the ley lines they had just collected, making squeaking noises.

"Brother Song? You have a pseudo-spiritual root?" Shi Jian asked as he walked.

Song Chen did not give a direct answer, and instead gave a vague response.

The fog in the mountains grew thicker.

"Where are the earth veins? Why are there still no traces of them?" Ying Wanjie asked anxiously.

He walked for half a day, but still couldn't find any trace of the earth's veins, and he became a little anxious.

Not only Ying Wanjie, but several other cultivators also whispered among themselves, beginning to complain about Song Chen.

"If it weren't for Song Mazi insisting on collecting more, we would already be back enjoying our retirement!"

"Exactly! Why didn't he go by himself? Why did he have to drag everyone to this godforsaken place!"

Song Chen had sharp ears and eyes, and heard everything clearly.

His face remained expressionless, but his gaze darted around, searching for traces of the earth's veins.

Logically, after discovering a ley line, the difficulty of finding other ley lines should decrease significantly; it's not like we've been searching for ages and still can't find it...

A shimmering expanse appeared in the distance.

The fog was very thick. For someone to be so kind in such thick fog, it must be a large ley line.

Song Chen squinted and pointed there, saying, "Brother Shi, look!"

Shi Jian followed Song Chen's gaze and his face lit up with joy: "It's so bright! It must be a large ley line!"

Earth veins are divided into medium and large sizes. The one they just encountered was a small earth vein, which contained the amount of fifty Foundation Establishment Pills. Now, with such a bright and large earth vein, it is estimated that it contains more than five hundred pills.

"Once we get back the other essential ingredients for Foundation Establishment, we can find someone to refine Foundation Establishment Pills!" Song Chen was overjoyed.

Apart from the most precious earth vein crystal sand, the other materials for Foundation Building Pills are much easier to obtain.

Upon hearing this, everyone shook off their dejection and strode towards the light.

Upon closer inspection, it truly was a massive ley line!

The valley was originally narrow, but a pit appeared at the bottom that sank into the mountain wall, greatly increasing its width. At the same time, the earth veins were crisscrossed, which brought together the right time and place, allowing a large amount of crystal sand to gather here.

Looking at the earth vein crystal sand, Song Chen was initially delighted, but then became worried.

He turned to look at the people behind him, each of them with eyes gleaming with greed.

Du Wanming remained silent, finding a place to lean against and rest, just like before. She didn't dig for crystal sand, behaving exactly like Song Chen had just done.

Song Chen ignored him and said to Shi Jian:

"Brother Shi, let's hurry and gather the resources to leave this place!"

"......good."

Shi Jian beckoned the group forward, and they began a large-scale collection, though the atmosphere was somewhat different from before.

While collecting crystal sand, Song Chen kept an eye on the others out of the corner of his eye to prevent anyone from suddenly launching a sneak attack.

Fortunately, the collection process went very smoothly. There were no attacks or accidents, and all the crystal sand was collected in less than a quarter of an hour.

According to Shi Jian's rough estimate, including the first round of collection, the amount of crystal sand here is enough to refine seven hundred Foundation Establishment Pills, worth more than one million spirit stones.

He held the cloth bag, his hands trembling slightly, revealing his peasant-like nature.

"Distribute them!"

Shi Jian had only one thought in his mind: to secure the gains. He immediately addressed the crowd.

People sat in a circle, waiting for their share to be distributed.

For some reason, the fog became even thicker.

Song Chen was sitting in the circle, and he couldn't even see the faces of the people opposite him clearly.

This is not a good thing. If someone launches a sneak attack, this natural fog will be the best reliance.

He subconsciously activated his magical artifact, and various protective measures were secretly activated, so that even if someone attacked, he would not be killed by a sneak attack.

Shi Jian placed a cloth bag in front of Song Chen: "This is yours."

Song Chen picked up the heavy cloth bag, opened it, and roughly calculated that it could be used to refine 115 Foundation Establishment Pills!

But he was still a little worried. What if the alchemist made a few mistakes? Wouldn't they fail to reach the target of one hundred?

Just as Song Chen was pondering whether to suggest collecting some more, someone shouted:

"Why do I have so little crystal sand? Didn't we agree that three Qi Refining Stage 10 cultivators would each make half, and then we'd distribute it evenly? I only have enough to refine fifty pieces. Where did the other twenty go?"

Song Chen couldn't see the person's face clearly, but he could recall the drinking party from last night based on the voice. This person should be a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

"Me too! I have even fewer than you, only forty!"

"Me too!"

At his call, several cultivators at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining responded in unison.

Song Chen could sense that their gazes were fixed on him, Shi Jian, and Du Wanming, three cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Refining, and their eyes were full of resentment.

Shi Jian quickly replied, "Impossible! The amounts I allocated to you were just right!"

These words were completely useless and had the opposite effect, but they did shut them up.

Song Chen remained silent, finding it somewhat amusing.

A few lowly Qi Refining cultivators at the eighth or ninth level dare to challenge the authority of a Qi Refining cultivator at the tenth level?

There is a small bottleneck between the ninth and tenth levels of Qi Refining. Just like a Qi Refining early stage cultivator, even ten of them would not be a match for a Qi Refining mid stage cultivator.

The same applies to the tenth level of Qi Refining. Even if there are ten cultivators at the late stage of Qi Refining, it would be useless, let alone the fact that there are three cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Refining now!

Just put up with it!

Besides, Song Chen really didn't take any extra, so there's even less reason for him to vent his anger!

The atmosphere was heated, but no one made a move.

At this moment, the ground shook, and the shaking became more and more violent, giving a feeling of an earthquake. Rocks rolled down from both sides, giving people a thrilling feeling.

"What's going on?"

"How could there be an earthquake in the valley? Could it be that there's an earthworm stirring up here too?"

Several people exclaimed in surprise and were about to take off on the wind.

In the mist, a rat wearing a crown, with a plump body and a face that looked like a mole, stood upright holding a staff, muttering something indistinctly, and then slammed its fist on the ground, producing a ripple.

Instantly, the spiritual energy became chaotic, and several cultivators who were about to fly landed on the ground, unable to mobilize even a trace of spiritual energy!