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

Three more days passed.

Song Chen's talent in alchemy is clearly visible.

Without relying on the alchemy room's functions, the success rate of producing Crimson Flame Pills exceeded 70%, and the remaining three were all inferior pills, with no waste pills.

His mastery of spiritual energy is unparalleled. In terms of fire control, he can easily condense rockets and launch them stably, giving them considerable power.

Upon seeing this, Feng Sancai's face was full of smiles, and he said, "That's right! In that case, I'll start by teaching you the art of pill preparation."

He took out an ancient-looking jade slip from his storage bag, wrapped in a tattered membrane, and handed it to Song Chen.

Song Chen took it with a puzzled look: "This is...?"

"This is the art of alchemy. You must first read and understand it thoroughly, and then demonstrate it once before I can assist you in learning it."

Upon hearing this, Song Chen was startled and said tactfully, "This..."

Feng Sancai looked at him with a peaceful expression: "Take it! There's more contract magic coming up, you'd better hurry, my days are numbered."

"My master has treated me with great kindness. My parents are dead, and from now on you are my second parents. I will take good care of you in your old age... I will not fail you!"

Seeing Song Chen like this, Feng Sancai walked out of the alchemy room, a smile playing on his lips, the madness in his eyes impossible to conceal:

"To catch fish, you need firm bait!"

Inside the alchemy room, the excitement on Song Chen's face faded, and he returned to calm, but the doubts in his heart grew stronger and lingered for a long time.

After overhearing Zhou Ming's words, his trust in everyone plummeted.

After all, in his predecessor's memories, Zhou Ming was a "great person" who would eat with him during holidays, offer to lend him money when he encountered difficulties, and even invite him to go and find a hidden gem in the late stage of Qi Refining!

If even someone so close to you harbors ill intentions, what about Feng Sancai, who is not related to you at all?

Song Chen's mind was completely clear.

He wondered if he were in Feng Sancai's shoes, would he pass on his skills to a pseudo-spiritual root cultivator who was not related to him?

Obviously not.

Song Chen would rather establish a lineage than pass on his skills to a Qi Refining cultivator with a pseudo-spiritual root.

What was Feng Sancai's purpose?

The more Song Chen thought about it, the more cold sweat broke out. He couldn't figure it out and felt helpless.

If a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator wants to harm a third-stage Qi Refining cultivator, how can the latter protect himself?

The answer is obvious: there is absolutely no way to protect oneself.

Only by submitting and secretly improving their own strength can they have a glimmer of hope.

Therefore, Song Chen began to look through the contents of the Pill Refining Technique.

First, one refines their own spiritual energy, adjusting the precision of its output to make it possible to infiltrate the elixir.

Then came constant practice, using spiritual energy to regulate the impurities in the pills, stabilizing them on one side, and then cutting them along their general direction.

Furthermore, because the pills were cut using spiritual energy, they possess the same source of spiritual energy, so identical parts can be fused together.

Once you are familiar with the above steps, to begin making pills, simply add one more pill during the process.

By separating and fusing two pills cut in half, a completely new pill can be obtained.

Song Chen read it several times but couldn't find any flaws.

Apart from a brief period of inattention due to prolonged concentration, there are no other aftereffects during the entire process of the Dan-setting technique.

Feng Sancai provided genuine products.

This did not lessen Song Chen's vigilance; on the contrary, it made him shudder and start to think of countermeasures.

The bigger the bait, the worse the consequences.

"With a system, pills, and spirit stones, it's only a matter of time before my cultivation breaks through."

"But how can I buy more time?"

He keenly recalled what Feng Sancai had just said, urging him to focus on his cultivation.

"Since he wants me to cultivate faster, then I'll deliberately slow down... no, I can hide my strength, as long as Feng Sancai thinks I'm progressing slowly!"

"If Feng Sancai truly wants to teach me magic, it wouldn't matter if I'm a little slow, would it?"

So, after making a plan in his mind, Song Chen began to seriously study the art of pill making.

Days passed by like this.

half a month later.

With only five Crimson Flame Pills and seven spirit stones left, Song Chen successfully broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining.

The myriad spiritual energies within his dantian transformed into a single drop of spiritual liquid, containing a concentration of spiritual energy far exceeding that of before. Just considering the Fire Shield Technique alone, Song Chen could easily cast it for three quarters of an hour without any loss.

The process of liquefying spiritual energy is actually not simple; it severely tests a cultivator's control over spiritual energy, and many people never understand this step in their entire lives.

However, for a master alchemist like Song Chen, who hones his spiritual energy manipulation skills every day, this is nothing compared to the vastness of the universe.

Even so, this breakthrough was much faster than expected, probably because Song Chen put too much pressure on himself.

Aside from cultivating with Feng Sancai, he spent the rest of his time practicing combat and improving his cultivation, pushing himself to the limit, which naturally led to significant progress.

As I broke through my cultivation level, the system also unlocked an additional building, the [Night Pillar].

What is this?

【Route 1】

【Night-Shining Pillar Lv0】

[Level 1: Function: Herbs restore 10% of their normal growth rate at night.]

[Upgrade Requirements: 10 low-grade spirit stones, 1 Night-Illumination Talisman, and 1 five-meter-tall pillar]

【Route Two】

[lv1: Function: Herbs have a 10% chance of transforming and returning to normal growth at night]

[Upgrade Requirements: 15 low-grade spirit stones, 5 night-illumination talismans, and a 5-meter-tall pillar]

【Route 3】

[Level 1: Function: Herbs recover 5% of their normal growth rate at night and 5% of their transformation potential.]

[Upgrade Requirements: 15 low-grade spirit stones, 1 Night-Illumination Talisman, and 1 five-meter-tall pillar]

......

Song Chen observed the functions of the various routes, and summed it up in one sentence... concise and clear.

Normal herbs cannot grow and transform at night, but the Night-Shining Pillar breaks this ironclad rule. Its nighttime growth effect indirectly accelerates the growth rate of herbs, which is simply too incredible!

Moreover, the upgrade requirements for several lines are almost identical.

It's done!

We absolutely have to do Route Two!

The fertilizer plant and level 2 buildings require too many resources, and Song Chen hasn't had the time to upgrade them, so they simply can't.

However, the upgrade requirements for the Night Pillar lv1 in Route 2 are not expensive.

It requires far fewer spirit stones than the ten biogas talismans needed to upgrade the fertilizer plant.

Song Chen was confident that he would gather enough spirit stones to upgrade the Night Pillar after the next transformation of the spirit herb.

Over the past two weeks, the remaining five ordinary herbs have performed remarkably well, all transforming into spirit herbs, as has one inferior herb. A total of six herbs sold for 125 spirit stones.

This time, he deliberately avoided the early morning and went to make the transaction at dusk, and sure enough, he didn't see the old man.

Excluding the handling fee, it was 122 spirit stones.

He spent thirty-five yuan to purchase a mid-grade magic weapon, the Wind-Breaking Sword, which could be used to escape by flying with the wind or to summon a hurricane by infusing it with spiritual energy to tear enemies apart.

He also purchased a mid-grade Golden Body Talisman and a mid-grade Swift Travel Talisman, spending twenty-four yuan.

He used the remaining ten spirit stones to buy five "potential stocks".

After seeing Song Chen several times, the seed sellers became acquainted with him.

"Oh! You're here to buy seeds again?"

"Yes! Your seeds are really good!"

"Right! They're all bred by me! They have to be pretty good!"

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair, at the sixth level of Qi Refining, named Zhang Jiu. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two parted ways.

At this point, Song Chen was penniless once again.

But he didn't feel bad about it. Spirit stones are meant to be used. What's the point of hoarding them like a miser?

Moreover, these spirit stones weren't wasted; they were all converted into an equivalent amount of strength!

Song Chen's strength among mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators is undoubtedly top-tier!

Meanwhile, Jiang Shuyan next door seemed to have realized the passing of his parents and started going out intermittently to try and earn spirit stones.

He even made a special trip to Song Chen's home to humbly ask him for advice on how to earn spirit stones.

Unfortunately, Song Chen had no idea how to earn spirit stones; he earned them all by relying on the medicinal fields and the system.

Song Chen gave a few perfunctory replies to brush it off, thinking that Jiang Shuyan would understand his predicament.

To everyone's surprise, Jiang Shuyan said after hearing this, "I understand!"

Song Chen was dumbfounded. He himself didn't understand what Jiang Shuyan understood.

Watching Jiang Shuyan's departing figure, he seriously doubted the other's ability to survive in society.

Another point is the cultivation of the Pill-Making Technique. Song Chen had actually been able to use it proficiently a week ago.

Song Chen can precisely exchange ten inferior pills for five superior pills!

The spells themselves weren't difficult; the main challenge of the pill-making technique was the manipulation of spiritual energy. Song Chen had practiced this countless times through pill refining, so he was naturally extremely proficient.

Perhaps this is why Feng Sancai didn't actively instruct Song Chen on the art of pill making; for alchemists, the art of pill making is truly a simple spell.

Recently, Feng Sancai has checked on Song Chen's progress in learning the art of alchemy several times, and almost every time he enters the alchemy room with a smile but leaves with a frown.

After the inspection, the frequency of supervision was greatly increased under the pretext of urging him to learn the art of alchemy.

This move had no effect, since as long as Song Chen didn't want to reveal the true level of his magic, who would know that he had already mastered it?

This only made Song Chen more convinced that Feng Sancai had a problem, and he continued to implement the planned strategy in an orderly manner.

As long as he continues at the current pace, he will eventually surpass Feng Sancai's cultivation level, at which point the situation will be completely reversed.

In the evening, Song Chen returned home, first tended to the herb garden, and then went back to his room to cultivate.

"Thump, thump. Thump!"