Great Void Valley
"Go on, drink all the water." Shi Yue pointed to the pit and ordered.
The Yellow Wind Ox shifted its legs and ambled toward the Water Pool.
When it reached the pit, it lowered its head and began gulping down the water.
As it drank, a pale yellow stream suddenly sprayed from the caterpillar-like thing beneath it.
Shi Yue's face lit up at the sight. He hurried over, took out a gourd-shaped magical artifact, and aimed its opening at the Yellow Wind Ox's caterpillar.
The Yellow Wind Ox really did produce a lot of urine. It took a full quarter of an hour to finish relieving itself.
Shi Yue shook the gourd-shaped magical artifact in his hand and nodded with satisfaction.
By Shi Yue's estimate, the Yellow Wind Ox produced at least a dozen pounds of urine each time. If it took Urine-Inducing Powder, it could indeed store several hundred pounds of urine in just a few days.
After it finished, the Yellow Wind Ox had also drunk its fill, its belly swollen and round.
Shi Yue turned to look toward the Spirit Field. After it had been upgraded once, time passed twenty times faster inside than in the outside world. The Spirit Grain and Spirit Fruit would be ripe in less than a month.
Shi Yue hurried over to the Spirit Field. Taking out a pair of scissors, he carefully snipped off each ear of grain and put them into his Storage Bag.
Perhaps because the spiritual energy was abundant, every stalk of Spirit Grain bore unusually plump ears.
Once he had cut off all the ears, only bare stalks of Spirit Grain remained in the field.
Shi Yue's expression shifted. The Yellow Wind Ox quickly trotted over and took a bite out of one of the stalks.
In just a few bites, the Yellow Wind Ox had eaten an entire stalk of Spirit Grain.
"Eat all the Spirit Grain without ears, but don't touch the Spirit Herbs beside it." Shi Yue pointed at the grain.
The Yellow Wind Ox mooed, as if responding to Shi Yue, then eagerly gobbled down the earless Spirit Grain, looking thoroughly content.
Seeing this, Shi Yue smiled in satisfaction and headed toward the Spirit Fruit trees.
After a year of growth, the ten trees had grown considerably taller, and each was laden with fruit.
Shi Yue snipped off the fruit with his scissors. The trees had grown so tall that he could barely reach, and some of the fruit grew in fragile spots, making them difficult to pick.
Seeing this, Shi Yue whistled. A buzzing rose, and hundreds of Spirit Devouring Bees flew in front of him.
The Spirit Devouring Bees were not very large. They were all low-grade first-level spirit insects, extremely fragile, and even a basic spell could kill them.
"Go on, pick those few fruits up there for me." Shi Yue pointed to the fruits high above and ordered.
As soon as he finished speaking, hundreds of Spirit Devouring Bees flew toward the spot he had indicated.
Dozens of bees crawled over a fruit, covering it completely. Some of them then bit through the stem, and the dozens of bees carrying the fruit flew down to Shi Yue's hand.
They scattered, revealing a perfectly intact fruit.
Shi Yue nodded in satisfaction. Before long, the Spirit Devouring Bees had helped him pick dozens of fruits from high in the trees.
Shi Yue had no intention of selling the Spirit Grain and Spirit Fruit. He planned to keep them to make Bigu Pills.
As the saying went, a thousand gold pieces in hand were no match for a skill to call one's own.
In less than half a year, Shi Yue had advanced through two minor cultivation levels. People might believe he had done so with the help of pills.
If Shi Yue became an alchemist, he could not only explain his rapid improvement in cultivation, but also buy Spirit Herbs and Spirit Herb seeds without raising suspicion.
It was perfectly normal for an alchemist to buy and sell Spirit Herbs. If someone who wasn't an alchemist frequently bought and sold them, it would be hard not to attract attention.
Of course, most importantly, refining Spirit Herbs into pills increased their value several times over.
As Shi Yue mulled this over, he arrived in front of the beehive.
After a year of hard work by the Spirit Devouring Bees, the hive had more than doubled in size, and the number of bees had more than doubled as well.
"Senior Xiaoyaozi, does Urine-Inducing Powder have to be made with Spirit Devouring Bee honey?" Shi Yue asked, his expression shifting.
"Not necessarily. Honey itself has a laxative effect, and honey from most spirit bees will do," Xiaoyaozi replied.
At that, Shi Yue nodded. He took out a White Porcelain Bottle and carefully broke off a small piece of the hive. Deep yellow honey dripped from the broken edge toward the ground, and Shi Yue hurriedly caught it in the bottle.
The bottle soon filled, and honey overflowed, running down onto Shi Yue's hand.
Shi Yue quickly switched hands and licked his honey-covered right hand.
The honey was sweet and contained a trace of spiritual energy.
Shi Yue licked his palm clean, then licked the outside of the bottle several times too, not letting a single drop of honey go to waste.
"It's just a little honey. Is all that really necessary?" Xiaoyaozi said with disdain.
Shi Yue ignored him. As far as he was concerned, this honey was Spirit Stone. How could he bear to waste it?
After filling several bottles with honey, he put the piece of hive back where it had been.
For the time being, he had no plans to sell the honey. First, it contained too little spiritual energy to fetch many Spirit Stones; second, the Spirit Devouring Bees needed a large amount of honey to feed their larvae.
By then, the Yellow Wind Ox had finished eating the Spirit Grain in the Spirit Field.
"Come back." Shi Yue nodded in satisfaction and gave the order. Then he patted the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist. The Yellow Wind Ox quickly shrank and flew back into the bag.
After Shi Yue watered the Spirit Herbs and Spirit Fruit, he left Palm Heaven Space. He planned to buy a plow for turning the Spirit Field; from now on, he would leave the tilling to the Yellow Wind Ox.
After leaving the inn, Shi Yue strolled along the street.
There were even more people on the street than before, and the place was bustling. The shops were also pulling out all the stops, dressing their shop assistants in neat clothes and having them hold various magical artifacts to advertise their businesses.
A tall attendant in blue held a green bamboo tube about a foot long in his right hand. Spiritual light flowed across its surface, making it clear that it was a magical artifact.
The attendant poured his magical power into the bamboo tube, and a melodious voice rang out from it: "Our shop sells a wide selection of pills: Qi Refining Powder, Strength Pills, Rejuvenation Pills, and Qi Nurturing Pills. We carry pills for every Qi Refining Stage cultivator, and our quality is guaranteed. Don't miss out as you pass by!"
The red-clad maid at the neighboring shop had a red parrot perched on her shoulder. She stroked its head, and the parrot began speaking in a human voice: "Looking to buy top-quality Talismans? We have every kind of basic Talisman, including Fireball Talismans, Wind Blade Talismans, Water Arrow Talismans, and Flying Talismans. As long as you can afford the Spirit Stones, our shop even has intermediate Talismans!"
The Zhou Family Magical Artifact Shop across the street wasn't about to be outdone. A young man in yellow stood in front of the entrance, holding a copper bell about the size of his palm. He gave it a gentle shake, and a slightly rough voice spread out in all directions from the bell: "Our shop sells all kinds of magical artifacts at affordable prices. Whether you're a Qi Refining Stage cultivator or a Foundation Establishment Realm expert, we can meet your needs..."
The bell was engraved with Clear Sound Spiritual Patterns. Its tone was gentle and never grating; listening for a long time wouldn't make anyone feel irritated.
Similar scenes played out at every shop along both sides of the street.
"Our shop sells all kinds of first-grade Spirit Herbs. We've been in business for a hundred years, and our quality is guaranteed. We treat young and old alike fairly. Buy with confidence!"
"Want to learn powerful cultivation techniques? Want to learn about the disaster that struck the Cultivation World tens of thousands of years ago? Want to learn about the customs and traditions of Cultivation World regions far and wide? Want to learn the art of crafting magical artifacts? Our shop sells cultivation manuals, secrets of the Cultivation World, and skill manuals. What are you waiting for? Come on in and take a look! Enjoy a ten percent discount on your purchase today!"
This was Great Void Valley, the city that never slept.
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