"Outsiders in this Jade Dragon Commandery see my Ge Family as a veteran spirit plant lineage with boundless splendor, protected by immortal mountain sects, and an absolute top-tier major power in the secular world."
"But in the cultivation world, we are merely the lowliest immortal clan."
"Among the hundred arts of cultivation, spirit planting is just a minor path. If our Ge Family wants to take another step upward, we must ascend to become a spirit meal lineage."
"A spirit meal!?"
Hearing the patriarch utter these two words, the other family members could not help but be astonished. After all, their Ge Family was a century-old spirit plant lineage; though they possessed some foundation, they were still a certain distance away from being a spirit meal lineage.
A white-bearded elder asked, "The most crucial aspect of this spirit meal path is specialized spirit recipes. Major spirit meal lineages treat them as secret family heirlooms never passed outside. Our Ge Family has researched for years, yet the food we cook is nothing more than ordinary spirit food. When have we ever had a specialized spirit recipe?"
Patriarch Ge Xiangying smiled slightly, gesturing for everyone to look at the fasting cake in his hand.
"This is the opportunity of our Ge Family."
The group looked at one another in mutual dismay, completely bewildered.
"I see this as nothing more than worldly pastry. Even though it smells sweet, it's far from worthy of being called a spirit recipe, isn't it? How can this possibly be called an opportunity?"
"If I casually hunt a couple of spirit beasts and roast them over a fire for a bit, it'll beat this."
"Could it be that eating this thing has special effects?"
Hearing someone in the clan hit upon the crux of the matter, Ge Xiangying stopped holding back.
"That's right. This pastry looks ordinary on the outside, but it conceals profound mysteries within. Do you all know of the Grain-Repelling Pill?"
Everyone present had stepped into the cultivation world, so naturally they had all heard of the illustrious Grain-Repelling Pill.
"A Grain-Repelling Pill is no larger than a peanut. Once eaten, it can sustain one for a full table's worth of meals, keeping a person from hunger for three days."
"The Grain-Repelling Pill is the lowest-tier medicinal pill. Succeeding in its refinement makes one a first-grade alchemist, and only Foundation Establishment mighty figures have the strength to refine it."
"The price of the Grain-Repelling Pill is extremely stable. One Grain-Repelling Pill can be exchanged for two low-grade spirit stones. As long as there is output, major immortal sects or rogue cultivator markets will buy them up."
After listening to the answers of his clansmen, Ge Xiangying nodded, then shook his head.
"Everything you said is right, but. You only know the surface and not the inside. Not all Grain-Repelling Pills are the lowest-tier first-grade pills; there are also second-grade, third-grade, and even ninth-grade Grain-Repelling Pills. Rumor has it that eating a high-grade Grain-Repelling Pill can make one go without food for an entire year."
"And aside from filling the stomach, the Grain-Repelling Pill has no other effects. Why is its price so high? Moreover, why is it never worried about finding a market? Can't cultivators just eat the spirit rice and spirit fruit we grow? The price is cheap, delicious, and satisfying."
Seeing all his clansmen display puzzled expressions, Ge Xiangying provided the answer.
"Because. The Grain-Repelling Pill is an essential item for cultivators in seclusion! High-tier cultivators in seclusion cannot be disturbed by external matters. If they ate three meals a day, how could they wholeheartedly comprehend the heaven and earth? Therefore, in order not to interrupt their comprehension, cultivators all choose to use Grain-Repelling Pills to assist their seclusion."
"It can be said that as long as cultivators still need seclusion, the Grain-Repelling Pill will never go out of style in the cultivation world."
"However, Grain-Repelling Pills are exorbitant in price, and low-tier cultivators simply cannot afford them. So what then?"
"This item!"
He raised the compressed biscuit in his hand once more.
"Just modify the formula slightly, and it becomes a specialized spirit meal, which can also be called a low-grade Grain-Repelling Pill!"
The crowd instantly erupted in an uproar.
"Mortal pastries actually possess such wondrous properties?"
"But this little biscuit has zero spiritual qi, how can it be called a spirit meal?"
Hearing the clan members' skepticism, Ge Xiangying revealed a patriarch's confident smile. "I tasted a few pieces and could taste a rich wheat fragrance from them. The raw materials must include wheat flour."
"If we replace that wheat flour with our spirit wheat flour—"
The crowd: "Oh~~~"
"This matter is a grand strategy for the clan. We need to find the force that produces this item as quickly as possible and buy out their formula and craftsmanship with money."
"I'll go!"
"This old man will make the trip myself,"
"Uncle, I am willing to go!"
Seeing the younger generations of the family eagerly volunteering, Ge Xiangying's heart warmed greatly. His Ge Family was a century-old lineage, prosperous generation after generation, and it relied precisely on this cohesive family spirit where the people of the clan twisted into a single rope, exerting their strength together.
"You are all cultivators, so it's not suitable for you to move around too much among mortals. It will attract the attention of the imperial court. If you happen to make a move against mortals and get seen, it will ruin the reputation of our Ge Family, damage the foundation of the lineage, and besides, who knows how long this matter will take? Do not let your spirit fields go to waste."
"I have a half-step Innate retainer named Zhao Kuangfeng. He created his own Gale Saber Technique, establishing a formidable reputation in the martial world. Once his ultimate technique, the Eighth-Rank Great Gale, comes out, even Innate Grandmasters have to show a degree of deference. Sending him is enough."
The crowd all voiced their agreement.
The retainer Zhao Kuangfeng came to the council hall. Upon hearing the master family's instructions, he accepted the task.
"I purchased this fasting biscuit at the Treasured Goods Pavilion in Jade Dragon Commandery. You go there, and they will naturally tell you who sold it."
Zhao Kuangfeng furrowed his brow. "I have roamed the martial world for many years and frequently purchase supplies at the Treasured Goods Pavilion. Their rule is 'Treasured goods do not question their origin, funds are settled promptly.' I'm afraid that—"
Ge Xiangying laughed dismissively.
"Heh~ Rules are constraints for the weak. If my Ge Family wants it, how would their Treasured Goods Pavilion dare utter a single 'no'?"
Zhao Kuangfeng asked again, "What if this force is unwilling to sell the formula?"
"Then use your methods to make them spit it out. You needn't hold back in what you do; I have the Ge Family backing you up."
"Understood, Kuangfeng is off."
"Ah~~"
Yang Genshuo stretched lazily. Time in the game flowed rapidly, and apart from running the board game teahouse and the manor, the Yang Family made no other moves.
It was almost time for the once-a-year ancestor worship again.
Yang Genshuo pondered for an hour, yet could not think of any particularly good supplies on hand right now that could help Yang Shi.
After all, all the money on hand had already been spent, leaving no way to pump supplies into Yang Shi.
Should I give him a few books to read?
He did have quite a few impulse-buy books hidden in his bookcase, basically none of which he had ever read.
A man who could comprehend whip techniques from "100 Draws Upon Logging In" might genuinely be able to learn something from a book.
Just as he was picking out a book, a prompt popped up in the game.
Your descendant Yang Shi is petitioning you. Will you respond?
"What is it?"
"Old Ancestor, I have already purchased the five restorative medicines you requested, and the small gold bars have also been smelted into shape according to your requirements. Does Yang Shi still need to prepare any other tributes?"
"No need."
"Uh."
Yang Shi stopped mid-speech, seeming rather embarrassed to open his mouth.
"Speak if you have something to say."
Incense Value was ticking away right here!
Wait any longer, and it would drop by -1 again.
"Old Ancestor, our Yang's Board Game Teahouse has recently been packed to capacity. A single set of Three Kingdoms Kill Standard Edition cards is simply not enough to use. The cards I counterfeited myself are hideously ugly and lack that layer of transparent film, making them extremely prone to damage. Might the Old Ancestor bestow some cards upon Yang Shi this year?"
Eh?
This was the first time Yang Shi had ever asked him for a favor. Previously, whatever was given was simply accepted without daring to say another word of excess.
I hadn't thought of this.
"As it happens, I have plenty of sets of different versions of Three Kingdoms Kill cards left over, all of which are plastic-coated. I can give them to him."
Yang Genshuo replied with a single character: "Good!"
With that, the matter of the reward was also settled.
The time for ancestor worship soon arrived. Accompanied by Yang Shi's kowtows, one tribute after another on the incense table vanished amidst the smoke.
Your descendant Yang Shi successfully completed this year's ceremony of ancestor worship.
Incense Value +10
You received tributes sacrificed by members of the Yang lineage: 10 Mind-Calming Pills, 10 Vision-Soothing Pills, 10 Spleen-and-Stomach Pills, 10 Lung-Moistening Pills, 10 Essence-Sealing Pills, 10 gold bracelets (50g), 2 catties of spirit rice.
Shall you bestow a reward down upon the descendants of the Yang family?
"Give, give, give, all these cards are yours. Make my board game shop bigger and stronger in the cultivation world!"
Ten boxes of Three Kingdoms Kill, one box of Werewolf, and a book he personally selected: Thirty-Six Stratagems.
After the items were bestowed, Yang Shi cast his gaze toward his gains this time.
The five restorative medicines each corresponded to reinforcing the five viscera of the human body, yielding immense benefits to physique. The gold bracelets were crafted separately from a total of one catty of heavy gold bars, making it convenient for him to cash them out.
"Sell through a few more gold shops, and I can pretty much digest them all. The money should also be enough for me to pay off my loan."
"But this kind of thing can't be done often, or else the relevant departments will notice, and by then a charge of unexplained property will finish me off."
He only planned to sell them this once.
Finally, he directed his gaze toward those two catties of unprocessed spirit rice, his eyes burning with excitement.
This was a spirit object eaten by cultivators!
Yang Genshuo had figured out bringing this stuff out right from the start, intending to show it to the Daoist Priest.
'Daoist Priest' was the nickname of Yang Genshuo's college roommate, a top-tier straight-A student who had continued advanced studies ever since graduation and was now already a postdoctoral fellow at Shimen Agricultural University, specializing in seed science.
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