Gou Zai created a blessed land in the immortal abode

The days passed by.

Li Chengming continued his daily routine of going between the pharmacy, his courtyard, and his immortal abode.

The wages for pounding herbs were paid daily, with each day's income being five taels of spirit rice. Occasionally, if Kong Shaowen was in a good mood, he would give an extra tael.

Li Chengming saved most of the spirit rice, keeping only a small portion for daily food and to buy wood ash.

In the path of cultivation, dietary supplements are also very important.

This is especially true for cultivators who practice Qi cultivation.

Although the spiritual energy contained in the spirit rice is thin, it adds up to a considerable amount over time.

Li Chengming eats Lingmi (a type of rice) with every meal.

This is considered quite extravagant among the independent cultivators in Moon Lake Market.

Most independent cultivators are lucky if they can afford one meal of spirit rice a day; the rest of the time they fill their stomachs with ordinary food.

Inside the Immortal Mansion.

The Spirit Gathering Grass in the Spirit Field has fully matured.

"It's time to reap the rewards."

Li Chengming took a deep breath and began to pick the Spirit Gathering Grass one by one from the spirit field.

He made a hand seal, imbued his palm with spiritual power, and then gently pinched the root of the Spirit Gathering Grass with his fingers. With a slight twist, the entire Spirit Gathering Grass was completely detached from the soil.

Li Chengming picked the plants one by one, his movements slow but steady.

It took about an hour to harvest all the Spirit Gathering Grass.

A total of twenty plants.

Most of them are of superior quality.

"This batch should yield at least sixty jin of spirit rice," Li Chengming estimated.

However, where to sell it is a big problem.

After all, a rogue cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining can only produce twenty Qi Gathering Grasses at a time.

In this bustling market, it's hard not to attract attention.

"Let's go to the Kong family's place instead."

After much deliberation, Li Chengming decided to sell it to the Kong family.

After all, he had been working at the Kong family's pharmacy for several years, and Kong Shaowen treated him well and the prices were fair.

Moreover, he might be able to use this opportunity to establish a connection with the Kong family.

This month, Hufang City is controlled by the three foundation-building families of Kong, Liu, and Zhao.

Among them, the Kong family was skilled in alchemy, while the Liu and Zhao families mainly focused on talismans.

If Li Chengming were to become a long-term laborer for the Kong family, he would certainly be unwilling.

But if we can establish a business connection, that would be best.

After all, as the number of immortal abodes and spiritual fields increases, the quantity of spirit-gathering herbs and other spiritual medicines will naturally increase as well.

We need to find a stable source in advance.

If I could become a retainer of the Kong family and learn about the methods of alchemy, that would be the best outcome.

…………

The next morning.

Kong Family Shop.

As Li Chengming entered, Kong Shaowen was flipping through a yellowed booklet behind the counter. Seeing Li Chengming come in, he smiled and put the book down.

"Hey Li, what brings you so late today?"

Li Chengming placed the cloth bag on the counter, untied the ribbon, and revealed the neatly arranged Spirit Gathering Grass inside.

"Master Kong, I have some medicinal herbs that I'd like to sell. Could you please take a look?"

Kong Shaowen looked up at him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He then stood up, walked to the counter, and picked up a Spirit Gathering Grass.

He examined it for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes:

"High-quality spirit-gathering grass?"

"Hey kid, where did you get all this?"

Even for the Kong family, it wouldn't be easy to cultivate such a batch of top-grade Spirit Gathering Grass.

Li Chengming had already prepared his words, and remained expressionless:

"I met a wandering monk who was going into the mountains at Fangshikou a few days ago. I thought the item looked good, so I bought it."

Kong Shaowen stroked his beard, his gaze shifting back and forth between the medicinal herbs and Li Chengming, before suddenly chuckling:

"Young Li, you've worked for me for years, and I've never seen you accept any medicinal herbs. Today, you suddenly produce twenty top-grade Spirit Gathering Herbs. You must have found them somewhere, right?"

Li Chengming's heart tightened, but his face remained expressionless:

"Master Kong, you are wise. We did run into them. That rogue cultivator was in a hurry to use spirit stones, so I scraped together some spirit rice to buy this batch of goods."

"borrow?"

Kong Shaowen looked at him with a half-smile: "You're just a rogue cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining, living in the cheapest courtyard by Moon Lake, earning five taels of spirit rice a day. How much spirit rice could you possibly borrow?"

Li Chengming's heart skipped a beat.

This old Taoist priest looks kind, but he is actually very shrewd.

He was trying to figure out how to explain himself when Kong Shaowen waved his hand:

"Alright, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask. In this world, everyone has their own connections."

He put the spirit-gathering herb back into his cloth bag, took out an abacus from under the counter, and started clicking away on it:

"A top-grade Spirit Gathering Grass costs three catties of spirit rice per plant. Since yours is of good quality, I'll calculate it at three catties and two taels. Twenty plants would be a total of sixty-four catties of spirit rice."

Sixty-four jin, more than Li Chengming had anticipated.

Li Chengming understood that this was Master Kong taking care of him.

This moved Li Chengming deeply.

"Master Kong, thank you for your guidance."

Kong Shaowen waved his hand, put the packet of Spirit Gathering Grass into a hidden compartment behind the counter, and said:

"Although I don't know how you obtained this batch of top-grade spirit-gathering herbs, if you have any more in the future, bring them to my Kong family's shop."

"However many there are, my Kong family will take them all."

"Of course!"

Li Chengming was delighted; this was exactly the effect he wanted.

A stable sales channel can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.

After chatting for a while, Li Chengming took his leave.

On the way, Li Chengming mentally calculated his savings.

Today's earnings, plus past savings, amount to approximately two spirit stones.

"I have enough spirit stones to buy Spirit Gathering Pills."

But Li Cheng was torn between building a new structure or buying pills to improve his cultivation.

"Let's see if there are any buildings that can assist in cultivation."

After returning home, Li Chengming entered the Immortal Abode.

After searching for a while, he indeed found a building that could assist in cultivation.

Li Chengming carefully examined the architectural drawings that appeared before him.

[Quiet Room: Fanpin]

[Current effect: Cultivation speed increased by 30%, probability of breaking through bottleneck slightly increased]

[Requirements for establishment: 20 catties of spirit wood, 5 catties of spirit iron, and 1 piece of spirit-condensing jade]

"Cultivation speed increased by 30%!" Li Chengming's eyes shone brightly.

The effects of this quiet room may seem small, but they are a long-lasting and beneficial thing.

Cultivation is a process of gradual, persistent effort; even a slight improvement can lead to a considerable difference over time.

Not to mention the added benefit of increased probability of breaking through bottlenecks.

It should be known that the three hurdles of the Qi Refining stage—before, during, and after—have blocked countless independent cultivators.

Next, let's look at the required resources.

"Spirit wood and spirit iron are easy to obtain, but this Concentration Jade is really not cheap."

The price of spirit wood is almost the same as that of spirit rice; one pound of spirit rice can be exchanged for one pound of spirit wood.

Spirit iron is much more expensive; about five catties of spirit rice can be exchanged for one catty.

This resulted in the loss of forty-five catties of spirit rice.

It's about half a spirit stone.

The most expensive is the Concentration Jade.

When Li Chengming worked at the Kong family's pharmacy, Kong Shaowen mentioned that a single Concentration Jade would cost at least one or two spirit stones.

"It should be about right."