No Money (Please Read On, Please Bookmark)

When Wang Ping heard Zhao Qing's words, the first thing he thought of was the Spirit Wood and Spirit Grass planted in his grove. The market for Spirit Wood and Spirit Grass in the Xia Kingdom was almost monopolized by the Daoist Scripture Hall. It was not because they were difficult to cultivate, but because the Daoist Scripture Hall sold them cheaply—so cheaply that they were damn well cheaper than raising seedlings himself.

"It can probably be sold, but my output won't be very high!"

"Can others learn it?"

Wang Ping froze, then thought it over and shook his head. "Too dangerous. The karmic consequences are too great!"

If someone used this secret art on him, one careless mistake could destroy an entire city. The karma involved ran too deep, and Wang Ping did not dare take that risk.

"All right..."

Zhao Qing was somewhat disappointed, but he did not dare go against Wang Ping's wishes. Ever since becoming the Internal Affairs Steward, he had clearly felt that all of Thousand Wood Temple's efforts and operations existed to support Wang Ping's cultivation alone. This was Daoist Yucheng's will, and no one could change it.

"There's one more thing..."

Wang Ping said solemnly, "Keep an eye out for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures of Extreme Yin or Extreme Yang from the Daoist Scripture Hall. If there are any, buy one of each no matter the cost."

This time, Zhao Qing said with difficulty, "Senior brother, given our temple's current circumstances, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures are probably out of reach. Their prices start at over five hundred thousand taels, and they are almost never seen under normal circumstances. Even if they appear, they have to be auctioned off!"

"..."

Wang Ping paused, then asked, "How much money do we have?"

Zhao Qing said with a bitter face, "After repaying the Daoist Scripture Hall's one hundred thousand taels of silver, we only have around sixty thousand taels we can mobilize. And we still have to wait for Sanhe Temple to send over the spoils from exterminating demons in Shu County."

Only then did Wang Ping realize that he had been a bloodsucker all along, nearly draining Thousand Wood Temple's reserves dry.

"Then put this matter off for now... But the daily supply of ten portions of Spiritual Medicine cannot be reduced!"

"Yes!"

Zhao Qing had arrived happily, but he left burdened with worry.

Wang Ping did not explain much. If Zhao Qing proved capable, then once he successfully set up the Body Tempering Array, it would not be impossible for Zhao Qing to be the first to receive such good fortune.

As for Liu Shuang and Yang Ziping, both their Spiritual Roots were merely below average, so they did not need it at all.

That afternoon, a Young Disciple delivered the Spiritual Medicine.

Wang Ping immediately began refining it. Failure was unavoidable at the beginning.

Three months passed like this.

On the Third Day of spring, Wang Ping finally succeeded in refining one set of materials. He immediately began the fusion process, hoping his luck would explode and bring him success.

But the final result was failure!

He continued his bitter cultivation...

By the end of June, Wang Ping's Foundation Establishment progress had reached (5/100). Liu Shuang's Evergreen Cultivation Technique had sensed the existence of qi. He had condensed more than ten sets of materials for the "hand grenades," with the condensation progress reaching (17/100) and the success rate exceeding ten percent.

Just as Wang Ping planned to attempt another fusion, he received a letter from Feng Miao.

The letter first expressed her apologies. She could no longer provide Wang Ping with the follow-up to the human trafficking case as promised. The Daoist Scripture Hall had decided to let the matter end in the North Mountain Forest of Shu County.

What could Wang Ping do?

He could only let out a deep sigh after setting down the letter, then enter Secluded Cultivation to fuse his "hand grenades"!

A month later.

Wang Ping's first "hand grenade" achieved Form Completion inside a crude Alchemy Furnace.

That very afternoon, he eagerly called several junior brothers and their Disciples to a stream behind Thousand Wood Mountain to test its power.

A murky white flash swept past, followed by a deafening BOOM that made everyone's eardrums ache. At the same time, every substance within the explosion's range turned into powder.

Zhao Qing stared in disbelief at the powder drifting away on the wind and murmured, "Its power is stronger than an ordinary Qi practitioner's full-force strike!"

Wang Ping was also shocked by its power. Hearing Zhao Qing's words, he shook his head. "It is only useful against Qi practitioners at the beginning. Once they discover this thing's weakness, they only need to drain away the spiritual energy around it while it is absorbing spiritual energy. Then its explosion will at most feel like a scratch!"

"Even so, it's already incredibly powerful!" Wang Kang looked at his senior brother with worshipful eyes and asked, "Senior brother, how did you come up with this?"

Wang Ping ignored Wang Kang and asked, "Can this thing be sold?"

"It can definitely be sold. The war in the northwest is pressing, and the Imperial Court is the best sucker to fleece. But, senior brother, can you mass-produce it?" Zhao Qing was incomparably excited. Thousand Wood Temple's Internal Affairs were truly difficult to manage.

"Forget about the war in the northwest. We'll talk about it in a few years, after I have fully mastered the refining technique. Also, get me a better Alchemy Furnace."

Lu Xin, who was in charge of the Medicinal Field, suggested, "I think we should use it to exchange for more Spiritual Medicine seeds. That way, we can open up more Spirit Fields and plant more Spiritual Medicine. Only when we have enough Spiritual Medicine can we refine more..."

"We'll discuss this later!" Zhao Qing interrupted Lu Xin.

"How can this be something to discuss..."

Wang Ping ignored his junior brothers' wrangling. He was considering the safety issue when using this thing. Once the finished product received even a tiny amount of spiritual power, disrupting the Five Elements balance inside, it would detonate within five breaths at most.

If someone accidentally...

Then there would really be a fine show.

It needed an outer casing that could isolate spiritual energy. Such things were everywhere, but it also had to be easy to preserve.

As Wang Ping pondered the matter, he returned to the Mountain Top Courtyard.

Time flew by.

Winter arrived once more. On the Third Day after winter set in, Wang Ping had just completed his daily Foundation Establishment cultivation and was preparing to eat breakfast when Zhao Qing entered the courtyard holding a Long Sword custom-made for Wang Ping.

It had been forged for Wang Ping from the Tiger Demon's spear after it was melted down during last year's Encirclement and Suppression of the Group of Demons in Shu County.

"Ever since we returned last year, I've been looking for an artifact refiner. Last month, through Daoist Priest Guangxuan of Sanhe Temple, I finally found an artifact refiner willing to join our Daoist temple," Zhao Qing explained.

Clang!

Wang Ping drew the Long Sword. Like Feng Miao's long blade, its blade was entirely black. Its weight and length were both perfectly suited to Wang Ping.

After performing a full set of the Thousand Wood Sword Art, Wang Ping nodded in satisfaction. At that moment, Zhao Qing took out a letter. "Fellow Daoist Guangxuan asked someone to bring you this letter."

Wang Ping accepted it in confusion and opened it to read before Zhao Qing.

Like Feng Miao's letter, it concerned the follow-up investigation into North Mountain in Shu County. Someone had suppressed the matter, and everything ended at North Mountain!

Wang Ping did not refine the newly acquired Precious Sword, because he was still unsure whether he wanted to use a sword. However, he placed it before the Huai Tree and nourished it with spiritual energy every day, making it more convenient to refine someday should he decide to do so.

Before he knew it, another Spring Festival had arrived.

Some Wealthy Households in Shang'an Prefecture had illegitimate sons of suitable age, and they were sent to the temple one after another during the first few days of the twelfth month. Before Spring Festival, the Daoist temple held a grand Apprenticeship Ceremony, which both Wang Ping and Daoist Yucheng attended.

During the New Year period, Wang Ping took his two disciples and stayed in Daoist Yucheng's courtyard for a full half month before returning to his own small courtyard.

After the New Year, Zhao Qing organized people to expand the Front Hall of the Daoist temple. Lu Xin selected several hardworking Young Disciples to expand his Medicinal Field, while large stretches of barren mountain were also developed. Wang Kang, meanwhile, was busy with the new year's teaching.

After the first month.

Wang Ping refined another five "hand grenades." He named them "Power Pills," wrapping their outer layer with Two Forms Vine Bark to ensure their safe use.

Two Forms Vine was an extremely common vine plant. It naturally possessed a powerful magnetic field that could isolate the vast majority of spiritual energy. Planting it was not troublesome; they only needed to leave it to the villages at the Mountain Foot and collect it every year.

Zhao Qing was delighted beyond measure when he received them.

For a long time afterward, Wang Ping remained atop Thousand Wood Mountain. Every morning, he rose early to meditate and pursue Foundation Establishment. In the mornings, he studied some interesting spells; in the afternoons, he taught his two disciples. The rest of his time was spent refining Power Pills and Entering Meditation to rest.