Tian Qingbai

Ji An disembarked from the dock at the fishing enclosure, bid Liang Qiu farewell, and headed for the market square to find Wei Songnian.

Willows drooped along the shore, and he could not help but shiver.

He had fallen into the lake at dusk and had no dry clothes to change into.

The wind over the lake was fierce. After being blasted by the cold wind for so long, even his Third Layer of Qi Condensation body could not quite endure it.

He stopped, circulated spiritual power through his limbs and bones several times, and dispelled the chill from his body. Warmth gradually returned to him.

His Daoist robe was now half-dry. He smoothed out his hair, tied it up again, and inserted a wooden hairpin.

When he found Wei Songnian, the man was bent over packing up his stall. His lengthened shadow blocked the light, and he instinctively raised his head, asking in surprise, "Junior Brother, why are you in such a sorry state?"

"Just some embarrassing business. I'd rather not mention it." Ji An waved a hand and took out a jade bottle still damp with moisture. "Senior Brother, give me an estimate."

Originally, he had planned to exchange the Wood Origin Pearls for Contribution Points within the sect. But since exchanging for the fourth-layer technique allowed "installment payments," he decided to trade the Wood Origin Pearls for Spirit Stones instead.

"What good thing did Junior Brother get his hands on?"

Wei Songnian accepted the jade bottle with a smile. He found a dry cloth and wiped it down, then poured out more than twenty pale-green pearls the size of longans.

He held each pearl before his eyes for a careful look, then said blandly, "Inferior Wood Origin Pearls. Three for one Spirit Crystal."

"So cheap?"

"Junior Brother's Wood Origin Pearls were likely condensed from ordinary vegetation. Spirit Farmers can condense them themselves, so they do not fetch much of a price. They are mainly used to increase Spirit Grain yields.

"Only Wood Origin Pearls condensed from higher-grade spiritual objects are in demand. They can be used to increase the medicinal age of spirit herbs."

Medicinal age referred to medicinal potency. When cultivators spoke of a hundred years of medicinal age, five hundred years, or a thousand years, that was what they meant.

Otherwise, where would there be so many spirit herbs that had truly grown for hundreds or thousands of years for cultivators to use?

Advanced Farming Spells, combined with specialized medicinal-field formations, could accelerate the "growth" of spirit herbs, thereby increasing their medicinal age.

Among the hundred arts of cultivation, Spirit Farmers found it extremely difficult to earn Spirit Crystals in the early stages. But if they could truly endure until the later stages, they would still become highly sought after.

By then, even Alchemists would have to lower themselves to court Spirit Farmers.

Aside from spirit grasses and spirit herbs that could not be cultivated artificially, a large portion of Medicinal Materials was grown. Relying on searching the wilderness for them involved far too many uncertainties.

Why were sects and great clans able to maintain such stable inheritances? Because they possessed medicinal gardens cultivated and managed generation after generation, allowing them to continuously refine all sorts of pills for their disciples to improve their cultivation.

Take the Golden Spirit Sect, for example. Though the sect did not excel in alchemy, it could still refine several batches of pills for breaking through major realms, such as Foundation Establishment Pills and Foundation Replenishing Pills, every few years.

"Is Junior Brother selling them?"

Wei Songnian pressed further, his assessment of this Junior Brother rising another notch.

In three months, Ji An had raised both spells to the Minor Mastery level. This showed that he was indeed exceptionally gifted in Farming Spells.

Wei Songnian decided that once the next season's Spirit Grain was harvested, he would invite Ji An for a few drinks and build up their relationship.

Of course, more importantly, he would increase his investment.

He wanted to see whether Ji An would improve again after another three months. That would determine how much more he should stake.

"I'm selling."

Ji An nodded. He would not need these Wood Spirit Pearls until dozens of days later, when the Spirit Grain began to head.

An ordinary jade bottle could not seal in spiritual energy and prevent it from dissipating. If he kept them, they would probably turn into useless scraps.

"Alright. Twenty-three in total. I'll count it as eight Spirit Crystals for Junior Brother."

Wei Songnian skillfully poured out the Wood Spirit Pearls and placed them into a specially made jade bottle.

Inferior Wood Origin Pearls contained little Wood Element Spiritual Energy. With such a small quantity, they could not fetch a price.

But if one could acquire a large batch and encountered the right opportunity, there was still a decent profit to be made.

The sect's medicinal gardens had to turn in spirit herbs at fixed times and in fixed quantities. There were always occasions when something went wrong and Wood Origin Pearls were needed at short notice to improve the quality of Medicinal Materials.

If there were enough inferior Wood Origin Pearls, they could still serve as an emergency measure.

"Does Junior Brother need anything lately? Feel free to say so.

"In a few days, I'll be leaving for ten days or half a month, taking the sect's flying vessel to Azure Cloud Immortal City to sell some odds and ends."

Ji An shook his head. Even if he wanted to buy something now, he had no Spirit Crystals.

He cupped his hands and said sincerely, "I never expected Senior Brother's business connections to run so wide. Impressive, truly impressive!"

He had always thought Wei Songnian was merely a middleman within the sect. He had not expected his business reach to extend beyond the sect itself.

Either he had the means, or he had connections—or perhaps both.

"You flatter me." Wei Songnian waved a hand with a beaming smile. The business he did in the immortal city was his main source of Spirit Stones.

Tian Qingbai picked up a purple clay teapot, took a sip of spiritual tea, and rocked his head contentedly.

He was one hundred and thirty years old this year, and he had only recently broken through to the Fourth Layer of Foundation Establishment.

Back then, it had taken him nearly ten years to advance from the First Layer of Foundation Establishment to the Second Layer of Foundation Establishment. From that point on, he understood that no matter how hard he worked in this lifetime, he would never advance to the Origin Seeking stage—unless he encountered a heaven-defying opportunity.

The Golden Spirit Sect had seven or eight hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators. With so many people striving to advance, the competition was far too fierce.

The sect produced plenty, but there were too many wolves and too little meat. There was never enough to go around.

He possessed only Mid-Grade aptitude. Without sufficient external assistance in the form of Spirit Crystals, pills, and the like, improving his cultivation was nothing more than a fool's dream.

Remaining in the sect ensured stability, but if one wished for a great opportunity, one could only dream of it.

To progress more quickly, he could only venture out and seek opportunities himself.

Only by finding rare spiritual objects or spirit herbs, or exploring the abode of some great expert, could one possibly obtain enough rewards to aid cultivation.

It sounded simple enough, but venturing out rashly without plans or clues was no different from courting death.

Among the sect's Foundation Establishment Cultivators, far too many had gone out in search of opportunities after encountering bottlenecks. Few and far between were those who returned.

Many people saw only the fortunate ones who returned to the sect and soared ahead by leaps and bounds. But who had ever truly faced the heaps of white bones lining the road of cultivation?

His ambition had already been worn away by the years. Besides, after striving for half his life, it was time for him to enjoy himself properly.

So he simply took more beautiful concubines and spread his branches and leaves, raising a few more seeds of immortality for the old Tian family and earning more resources for his descendants.

If he could not accomplish it himself, then having his sons and grandsons accomplish it would count as a kind of success.

The General Affairs Hall had countless affairs to manage, and Foundation Establishment Cultivators with aspirations toward cultivation avoided such assignments as if they were snakes and scorpions.

Tian Qingbai was an Alchemist, but his skill was utterly mediocre, so he took on this assignment.

Only after truly taking control of the General Affairs Hall did he discover that, if squeezed hard enough, it was quite rich in profits!

"Martial Uncle, Li Changfeng requests an audience."

"Changfeng? Come in." Tian Qingbai put on a dignified expression.

"Martial Uncle, you were absent yesterday. A Spiritual Farmer Disciple came to exchange for the fourth layer of the farming technique. I have registered his information in the records. Please approve it."

Li Changfeng presented a ledger before him.

"Not bad. Another fine immortal seed has emerged. The sect's prosperity is just around the corner."

Tian Qingbai glanced over the ledger and laughed inwardly. If squeezed hard enough, this place really is quite rich in profits!

When a disciple cultivated a Farming Spell to Great Mastery, the sect was supposed to award fifty Contribution Points as encouragement. But the disciples did not know this rule!

Without doing anything at all, one hundred Contribution Points had fallen into his account.