Gou Zai created a blessed land in the immortal abode

Cuiyuan Peak.

A small courtyard nestled in the mountains.

There are two acres of spiritual fields at the entrance of the courtyard, where the Yun Gen fruit is planted.

Li Chengming stood in the middle of the two acres of spiritual fields, chanting incantations and making hand seals. Clouds and mist appeared in the air, and a light drizzle nourished the spiritual fields.

"Having been with the Kong family for so long, I still don't know how the market is doing."

After irrigating the spirit field, Li Chengming returned to his courtyard. He had been staying with the Kong family for several months now, and by taking care of the two acres of Yungen Fruit, his monthly salary had increased to one spirit stone and one bottle of Gathering Spirit Pill.

In addition, the ripening of the Root-Nourishing Fruit within the Immortal Abode earned them seven spirit stones.

He now possesses more than ten spirit stones, along with numerous cultivation pills.

"Now I can start preparing to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining," Li Chengming thought to himself.

Although Li Chengming had to take care of the four acres of spiritual fields these days, he never slacked off in his cultivation.

With the help of the quiet room and the Qingling Pill obtained from the market, his cultivation level improved rapidly, and he was only one step away from the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

"I still have quite a few pills on me, that should be enough."

"Once these two acres of 'root-bearing fruit' mature, I will begin my seclusion."

Li Chengming pulled himself out of his thoughts and his gaze fell on the two acres of Yun Gen Guo.

The Root-Nourishing Fruits in the Spirit Field are growing well. Although they are not as good as the Root-Nourishing Fruits in the Immortal Abode, their quality is still quite good.

It's more than enough to satisfy the Kong family.

Li Chengming nodded in satisfaction and then returned to the house.

He took out the jade pestle and mortar he had obtained from the market, and also took out a Spirit Gathering Grass.

He placed it in the jade mortar, grasped the jade pestle with his right hand, and began to pound it up and down rapidly.

Li Chengming no longer sells the Spirit Gathering Grass in his Immortal Abode; instead, he keeps it for himself to grind into Qi-Returning Powder.

This Qi Dispersing Pill, while not as effective as the Spirit Gathering Pill or the Spirit Cleansing Pill in aiding cultivation, is still effective.

However, it is a good thing for restoring spiritual energy in a short time, and it is quite useful for both combat and farming.

Especially for those spirit plant masters at the second or third level of Qi Refining, who are responsible for taking care of two acres of spirit fields, casting the Spirit Rain spell every day is a considerable burden.

Therefore, I often keep a few bottles of Qi-restoring powder on hand.

After grinding the several bottles of Qi-restoring powder in his hand, Li Chengming put them away.

Stepping out of the courtyard, I walked straight down the mountain along the bluestone path, passed through a bamboo forest, and suddenly the view opened up before me.

In the valley, there was a flat area, about ten feet in circumference, where two or three groups of cultivators sat or stood, with bottles, jars, spiritual herbs and minerals in front of them, creating a lively scene.

This is the trading market at the foot of Cuiyuan Peak.

Although it was called a market, it was actually just a small trading point tacitly approved by the Confucius family.

Most of those who come here to trade are outsiders who are affiliated with the Kong family. Occasionally, a few members of the Kong family from collateral branches also mingle among them, exchanging some surplus supplies distributed by the clan for spirit stones.

Li Chengming had previously traded here many times, selling Qi-restoring powder.

The only advantage this place has over Yuehu Market is that there are no stall fees.

Simply find an open space, place a tattered cloth on it, put on the spiritual items for sale, and your stall is set up.

If you arrive late, the remaining seats might not be very good.

Li Chengming arrived a bit late today; there were hardly any open spaces left for him to set up his stall.

He didn't care, though. He found a corner to sit down, scattered the ten bottles of Qi-restoring potions he had brought on the ground, and then meditated while waiting for someone to come and ask about the price.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you've finally arrived. Why are you so late today?"

Before long, several people gathered around.

Everyone picked up a bottle or two of the Qi-restoring powder.

Li Chengming's Qi-restoring powder is made from high-grade Qi-gathering grass. You should know that this grade of Qi-gathering grass is the kind of stuff used to refine Qi-gathering pills.

However, he used it to grind up Qi-restoring powder, which made Li Chengming's Qi-restoring powder 30-40% more effective than others.

And the price remains unchanged.

As a result, Li Chengming's Qi-restoring powder was undoubtedly a highly sought-after item in the eyes of other spiritual plant masters.

In fact, if you look closely, Li Chengming's deal was undoubtedly a loss, but he knew that by giving away some small profits, he might get unexpected returns in the future.

This is a principle that Li Chengming realized after years of struggling and learning as a rogue cultivator.

Several plant cultivators chatted as they selected Qi-restoring powders.

"Have you heard? The Zhao family and the Liu family are fighting."

"Sigh, the Liu and Zhao families were originally established by talismans. In the past, with the Moon Lake Market, they could earn spirit stones together and still put aside their conflicts. Now that the Moon Lake Market is gone, everyone has started to run their own small markets."

"And that's how the conflict between the two families started."

"Yes, yes, I heard that both families are now recruiting some Qi Refining forces to set up markets again. When that happens, those rogue cultivators will just go to whichever family has the best talismans."

Listening to their conversation, Li Chengming seemed to be deep in thought:

"Lake Town was only recently invaded by evil cultivators this month. Instead of rushing to capture the evil cultivators and rebuild the town, the three families are thinking of setting up their own independent entities?"

Within Youyang County, the three prominent families of Kong, Zhao, and Liu, who had established their foundations, checked and balanced each other, forming a tripartite balance of power.

The remaining Qi cultivation forces either rely on the three major families or struggle to survive in the cracks.

Now that the Zhao and Liu families want to establish their own market, it will inevitably cause a great upheaval.

Li Chengming then asked the group:

"Fellow Daoists, now that the other two families are setting up their own markets, has the Kong family made any moves?"

One of them slowly shook his head and said:

"Fellow Daoist Li, the Kong family has not made any move so far. They have neither investigated the matter of the evil cultivators nor mentioned establishing another market."

"They simply set up a few trading points at the foot of each of the sacred mountains of the Kong family, and the traders were mostly Kong family members and our retainers; there were almost no independent cultivators from outside."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengming was taken aback.

Isn't this tantamount to escaping the world?

Good heavens, the Liu and Zhao families are fiercely vying for the status of Xinfang City, while the most powerful Kong family remains unmoved.

"Is he sitting on the sidelines watching the tigers fight, or is there another hidden story..."

"What exactly are these powerful families up to...?"

Li Chengming pondered the significance of his information, feeling that someone was plotting something bigger.

However, he was powerless and his voice carried little weight, so he couldn't get much information, or he only heard rumors from the public.

"We need to get some information from the Kong family."

Two names suddenly popped into Li Chengming's mind.

Kong Chengli and Kong Shaowen.

The former, a young genius who has already comprehended sword energy, must hold a high position in the Kong family.

The latter, with whom he has a close relationship, should not have difficulty meeting.

But he had not heard any news of Kong Shaowen since the attack on Yuehu Market.

"As for Kong Chengli, a direct descendant of the Kong family, he lives in Guangling Mountain, so it will probably not be easy to get in touch with him."

Moreover, if a retainer like him were to rashly inquire about the whereabouts of the direct descendants of the Kong family, he would inevitably arouse suspicion.

After pondering for a moment, Li Chengming made up his mind.

"I need to get the Kong family to notice me."