Tianhe Town, the Highly Profitable Medicinal Ingredient Trade

The next day!

Early morning, atop Great Green Mountain.

Lin Changqing slowly opened his eyes. Two gleams of spiritual light flashed within them, seeming to echo the morning glow at the edge of the sky.

A faint wisp of Purple Qi drifted in from the east and entered Lin Changqing's body.

The night before, he had continued cultivating on Great Green Mountain, visualizing the Cosmic Galaxy Visualization Method, absorbing the power of the stars to strengthen his Spiritual Power.

A night of cultivation left Lin Changqing feeling refreshed.

His Spiritual Power had grown further.

He had even vaguely touched upon the state of Profound Stillness within the realm of Still Mind. In Spiritual Cultivation, the realm of Still Mind was divided into Lesser Stillness, Profound Stillness, and Everlasting Stillness.

To enter the realm of Still Mind, one needed sufficiently powerful Mental Will and Spiritual Power.

Only by driving away inner demons and becoming spotless and pure—

Could one rid the heart of all stray thoughts and enter the realm of Still Mind, using powerful Spiritual Power to unlock one's own potential.

Lin Changqing was currently in the realm of Lesser Stillness.

At this stage, Spiritual Power could microscopically observe one's inner universe, turning the insubstantial into substance.

Yet there was still the risk of regression. Once invaded by inner demons, one could even have one's mind dissolve into the Dao.

But upon reaching the realm of Profound Stillness, inner demons could no longer disturb one's mind. One could even merge Spiritual Power with heaven and earth.

Further unlocking one's own potential.

And once one entered Everlasting Stillness, the third stage of Still Mind, things would be completely different.

At this stage, the mind would never regress, becoming Invulnerable to All Laws and untouched by the mortal world, forging an unsurpassable Foundation.

With but a thought, one could even peer into the thoughts and ideas of others.

Profound and Mysterious.

"My Spiritual Power has advanced further. I'm only half a step away from Profound Stillness. Within a month at most, I'll definitely enter the realm of Profound Stillness. When that time comes, with it assisting my Martial Cultivation, my progress will advance a thousand miles in a single day."

Lin Changqing murmured to himself, a smile on his lips.

He did not hurry down the mountain. Instead, he practiced his fists at the edge of the cliff.

One step away lay a sheer hundred-zhang drop. Ordinary people would not even dare stand at the edge without their legs trembling, let alone practice martial arts there.

Yet Lin Changqing remained utterly calm. He had placed himself in such a dangerous spot not because he had a death wish.

Rather, he wanted to keep his mind tense at all times. Cultivating martial arts in perilous circumstances could bring unexpected benefits.

The fist technique was the Five Elements Technique.

Only, it was a fist technique he had further improved.

He had incorporated the Martial Skills from three Martial Arts Cultivation Methods into it, refining it further and greatly strengthening its body-tempering effects.

"Changqing..."

Suddenly, just as Lin Changqing finished his first round of the fist technique and was preparing to begin a second, he vaguely heard someone calling him.

It was Lin Hu!

Lin Changqing's gaze sharpened. With a stride of his legs, he crossed more than ten zhang in a single step and headed straight down the mountain.

Sure enough, after only a few steps, he saw Lin Hu climbing toward the mountaintop, panting heavily.

"Hu Zi, what happened?"

Lin Changqing frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice.

"My second uncle and the others are in trouble." Lin Hu hurriedly said, "They've been trapped in Tianhe Town. Only Uncle Yongxiang managed to escape and return..."

"Changqing, you have to save my second uncle and the others."

"Don't panic. Tell me slowly—what exactly happened? Didn't Uncle Yongteng and the others go to purchase medicinal ingredients? Why were they trapped?"

Lin Changqing frowned.

"It was because they were purchasing medicinal ingredients."

Lin Hu drew several deep breaths, calming himself down slightly before continuing, "The medicinal ingredients in Fengle County were originally monopolized by several shops like Hundred Herbs Hall.

"When we went directly to the herb farmers to purchase medicinal ingredients, it was the same as stealing their rice bowls..."

Lin Changqing understood.

He nodded, his eyes gradually turning sharp.

This was the method of those medicinal ingredient middlemen.

"Come, follow me down the mountain."

Lin Changqing said in a deep voice, "You don't need to worry either. Since they haven't killed them, it proves there's still room to negotiate. At the very least, Uncle Yongteng and the others won't be in danger for now."

"Mm!"

Lin Hu nodded. "That's what I think too, but I'm worried that if this drags on..."

"Don't worry. I'll make a trip to Tianhe Town in a while." Lin Changqing nodded.

"I'll go with you."

Lin Hu immediately said, "You've never been to Tianhe Town and aren't familiar with the place. I can show you the way."

"Alright!"

Lin Changqing nodded.

With his current strength, protecting Lin Hu would be no difficult task.

The two quickly descended Great Green Mountain.

By the time they returned to their own courtyard, quite a few people had already gathered there. Clan Chief Lin Yuntang was there as well.

His expression was grave.

The moment Lin Changqing returned, everyone immediately parted to make way for him.

"Changqing, I'll have to trouble you to make another trip this time." Lin Yuntang spoke to Lin Changqing with some shame.

Come to think of it, every time something happened in Green Mountain Village, Lin Changqing had been the one called upon to resolve it.

It made him feel utterly incompetent as Clan Chief.

But now that Lin Yongteng and the others were trapped in Tianhe Town, and the ones making a move were those medicinal merchants—people who were not only ruthless, but also backed by powerful connections.

If Lin Changqing did not step in, then with the people of Green Mountain Village alone—

those people probably would not even spare them a glance.

"Clan Chief, fellow villagers, rest assured! Hu Zi and I will head to Tianhe Town right now and bring Uncle Yongteng and the others back."

Lin Changqing declared loudly, "Father, bring out two horses. Hu Zi and I are leaving now..."

"Alright!"

Lin Yongfan did not waste words. He immediately went to the stable in the backyard and led out two horses.

These were horses Lin Changqing had brought back from Qingfeng Stockade. They had been kept in his backyard ever since, and Lin Yongfan had even specially built a stable for them.

They were finally coming in handy.

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Lin Changqing went into his room and took the Jingzhe Saber. Then, without another word, he left Green Mountain Village with Lin Hu and headed straight for Tianhe Town.

This time, he was not merely going there to save people.

He was also going to settle the matter of purchasing medicinal ingredients.

Those medicinal merchants would not allow them to buy medicinal ingredients directly from the herb farmers?

Heh heh!

Lin Changqing refused to believe in such nonsense. He was determined to test it for himself.

After all, this concerned the future supply of medicinal baths and medicinal cuisine for Green Mountain Village. The price difference was at least one hundred gold a month, and would only grow greater in the future.

Wouldn't it be better for him to earn that money himself? Why let those medicinal ingredient middlemen take a share of the pie?

Tianhe Town was not close to Green Mountain Village, nearly a hundred li away.

The two hurried on without pause, spurring their horses onward.

It still took them a little over two hours to reach the outskirts of Tianhe Town.

Tianhe Town naturally could not compare to Fengle County. Though it was called a town, it was more like an oversized village.

The walls around it were earthen walls less than three meters high.

They were pitted and battered, in a state of utter disrepair.

Cracks had appeared in many places, clearly the result of years without maintenance.

There was only one row of streets in town, with scattered shops here and there. However, there were quite a few people in an open area at the center of town.

They were all buying and selling medicinal ingredients.

"Changqing, Tianhe Town is one of Fengle County's major collection points for medicinal ingredients. Most of the ingredients we need can be bought here.

The prices are one-tenth of what those pharmacies like Hundred Herbs Hall charge..."

After entering town, Lin Hu and Lin Changqing dismounted together.

As Lin Hu looked around, he quietly introduced the place to Lin Changqing.

"One-tenth..."

The instant Lin Changqing heard that, he froze, somewhat dumbfounded. "Are you sure? You didn't get the price wrong?"

"There's no mistake. I asked Uncle Yongxiang—it really is that price. We didn't know it was so cheap before.

So after my second uncle and the others found out, they wanted to purchase more.

Who would have thought it would draw the attention of those medicinal merchants..." Lin Hu nodded heavily.

"One-tenth... damn it... those black-hearted medicine merchants, their hearts are black enough!" Lin Changqing's gaze grew ever colder as he gritted his teeth and gave a cold snort.

He had originally thought that getting it for half price would already be pretty good.

He never expected it to be ten times cheaper.

In other words, the medicinal ingredients he had bought from Hundred Herbs Hall for 320 gold would cost only 32 gold here in Tianhe Town.

At that moment, Lin Changqing felt like killing someone.

He finally understood why those medicine merchants had acted against Lin Yongteng and the others.

With profits this outrageous, who wouldn't want to monopolize the business?

Green Mountain Village had tried to force its way in and take a slice of the pie. The fact that they had not been killed outright was probably mercy enough.