First achieve immortality, then cultivate immortality.

"Senior brother..." Xu Mu didn't know where to begin.

Mu Changfeng smiled, moved aside, and made room for him.

"Come, junior brother, sit down."

Xu Mu nodded and sat down cross-legged beside him.

"Junior Brother's cultivation should have improved, right? The spiritual energy in the immortal sect is abundant, making cultivation much easier than in the mortal realm," Mu Changfeng said with a smile.

"Yes, I have reached the fifth level of Qi Refining. I encountered a bottleneck once, but fortunately, I received guidance from the masters of the Transmission Hall, so my cultivation has been relatively smooth."

"Okay, that's good." Mu Changfeng nodded with a smile.

"Where is Senior Brother? Is he preparing to establish his foundation?"

Xu Mu asked the question very carefully, constantly watching the other person's expression.

Mu Changfeng's smile faded noticeably, and after his gaze darted away, he let out a long sigh.

"It's a long story... Junior brother, as you know, I not only want to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, but also the Core Formation stage, and even the Nascent Soul stage..."

"My ambitions are higher than the sky, but my fate is as fragile as paper—that perfectly describes people like me."

It turns out that he had already obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill two years ago.

However, as everyone knows, even with the help of Foundation Establishment Pills, the success rate of Foundation Establishment only increases by 10% to 20%.

Foundation Establishment Pills are so precious that if you fail, you may never have another chance to establish your foundation.

Therefore, Mu Changfeng wanted to make more preparations.

Just then, a secret realm opened, so he accepted the mission and entered the realm to explore with his fellow disciples.

"In our team, there are also several inner disciples who have already established their foundations. While we can't guarantee absolute safety, at least we can look out for each other."

As it turned out, the environment within the secret realm was too treacherous, and we even encountered several demonic cultivators, resulting in significant losses.

I was too eager for quick success, which led to the miasma entering my body...

He didn't want to go into details about what happened, so Xu Mu didn't press him further.

"Miasma... I've heard it's the opposite of spiritual energy. As the saying goes, where there is yang, there must be yin, and it's something harmful to cultivators."

"If it enters the body, although it's troublesome to remove, as long as it's dealt with promptly, it shouldn't damage the foundation, right?"

"Yes, but my situation... sigh."

Mu Changfeng sighed.

Xu Mu could only sigh as well.

"So, what are your plans for the future, senior brother?"

"...I can only recuperate for a few years before trying to reach the Foundation Establishment stage again. Right now, I'm just trying to earn money to heal my injuries."

After Mu Changfeng finished speaking, he revealed a carefree smile.

Xu Mu nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the items displayed on the ground—a few medicinal herbs.

"Ahem, sometimes I'll display one or two magical artifacts or talismans, which are usually the spoils from missions. Today's items are a bit less impressive, but this Purple Sun Grass is quite good; very few people in the sect can cultivate it."

Mu Changfeng picked up his things and tried to explain them.

The Treasure Pavilion sells spiritual herbs of all kinds, most of which were grown by Xu Mu and other outer disciples.

If disciples sell their own medicines, they cannot sell them at prices lower than the sect's set price, and they will basically have no competitiveness, unless they encounter very rare spiritual herbs outside or the quality of the plants is better.

The quality of a medicinal herb affects its efficacy, which in turn affects the purity of the elixir.

However, since spiritual herbs grow from the ground, their quality is difficult to control. Therefore, the spiritual herbs that the disciples grow are either consumed by themselves or sold to the sect at a lower price.

Any disciple with a modicum of intelligence would choose to plant a batch of designated spiritual herbs to fulfill their duty, and then set aside land to plant the spiritual herbs they need, instead of foolishly cultivating only the spiritual herbs required by the sect.

However, if the harvest fluctuates and the required amount cannot be submitted to the sect, other things can be used to make up for it.

This process is difficult to control and may even result in losses, so smarter disciples don't like farming because it's clearly working for the sect with limited personal gains.

Disciple like Xu Mu, who has devoted ten years to studying only how to farm, is truly an anomaly.

At this moment, looking at the spiritual medicine in Mu Changfeng's hand, he didn't need Mu Changfeng to introduce it; he could tell its quality at a glance.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "If you don't mind, senior brother, why don't you buy your goods from me?"

"Hmm? Junior brother means..." Mu Changfeng looked surprised.

Xu Mu smiled and said, "To be honest, senior brother, I have been cultivating medicinal herbs for the past ten years and have gained some experience in cultivating spiritual herbs. Occasionally, I can cultivate second-grade spiritual herbs."

"Oh? Junior brother has such abilities." Mu Changfeng's eyes widened in surprise.

Alchemy requires elixirs.

The higher the grade of the elixir, the higher the grade of raw materials required.

Those who can cultivate high-grade elixirs can no longer be called farmers; they should be respectfully addressed as "elixir cultivators."

As the saying goes, even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice; sometimes, a pharmacist is even more valuable than an alchemist.

However, alchemists can improve their cultivation through alchemy, while pharmacists can only seek help from alchemists, and their cultivation level is often not very high.

Just like Xu Mu, if you spend all your energy on farming, how can your cultivation level be high?

Therefore, pharmacists are more like senior technicians. They are certainly respected in the sect, but they may not be without the risk of being optimized, after all, they are limited by factors such as medicinal fields.

Alchemists are the ones who hold the capital and have the opportunity to become company shareholders.

This resulted in a large number of alchemists but a small number of specialized medicine cultivators, which made them seem precious.

Any cultivator with ambition would not want to become a pharmacist.

"Junior brother is quite an extraordinary person as well." Mu Changfeng looked him over with a strange expression.

Xu Mu didn't mind and smiled, saying, "I'm a practical person. I don't have any other skills, so I can only farm."

"Then what my junior brother meant by sourcing goods..."

Mu Changfeng thought about it carefully and felt that it might be worthwhile.

Xu Mu said, "I don't have many spiritual herbs, but their quality is definitely guaranteed. Senior brother can take them and sell them, and we can split the profits."

"In that case... let's give it a try." Mu Changfeng nodded with a smile.

There's not much to criticize about his current situation.

Xu Mu nodded, immediately got up, and prepared to go home to get his own elixir to show him first.

"Junior brother," Mu Changfeng called out to him.

"...Thank you for thinking of me."

Xu Mu turned around and smiled: "Senior brother, you don't need to be so polite. I've had this idea for a long time, but I haven't been able to find a suitable person to cooperate with. It just so happens that senior brother is someone I trust, so this is a win-win situation for us."

Mu Changfeng laughed and nodded.

"Do you remember that phrase I used to say?" he suddenly asked.

Xu Mu thought for a moment and replied, "To ride the wind on a sword, roaming freely between heaven and earth?"

"Haha, Junior Brother really understands me." Mu Changfeng laughed heartily, slapping his thigh.

"Junior brother, the pursuit of freedom comes at a price, but... it's worth it."

"Mm." Xu Mu nodded with a smile, then flew away on his sword.

A moment later, he brought his elixir over for Mu Changfeng to examine.

"Selling it to a sect would feel like a huge loss, and using it myself... I haven't learned alchemy yet, so using it would be a waste. That's why I've been keeping it."

He took out bottles and jars from the storage bag he had just bought.

Some medicinal herbs need to be processed before use and are easier to preserve, while others must be picked fresh.

The spiritual herbs that Xu Mu could keep were naturally capable of being preserved for a long time.

After examining it carefully, Mu Changfeng exclaimed, "Junior Brother has quietly and unassumingly learned this skill; it's truly admirable."

"You flatter me, senior brother. I've always preferred to keep a low profile, so please don't make a fuss about it."

"Haha, of course, I'm selling from the front of the counter, why would I reveal the supplier?"

"Then... a 70/30 split?"

"Hey, how can I let my junior brother suffer a loss? You grew all these spiritual herbs by yourself. I'm just putting them up here to promote them. Taking 20% ​​at most is enough."

"...That's fine too."

Senior brother has self-respect, so Xu Mu did not refuse again.

According to the sect's pricing, even if you only get 70%, it's already higher than the sect's purchase price. If you get 80%, you can earn even more.

However, without external channels, selling to members within the sect is not easy, so it can only be considered extra income and cannot be the main source of revenue.

Xu Mu himself didn't want to show his face for this uncertain income, so handing it over to Mu Changfeng was just right, a win-win situation.