Zhang Yuntao frowned as he looked over the list Zhang Chen had given him, his face troubled. "Young Master, everything else is easy enough to handle. We don't have many Spirit Stones, but we can still scrape together enough if we squeeze a little."
"But these pills... they're a major problem."
Zhang Yuntao sighed. "According to your plan, we need to raise the cultivation of these ten Foundation Establishment cultivators by one minor realm within a year. The amount of Gathering Yuan Pills and Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pills required will be astronomical."
"We have the pill recipes, and we're not short of Alchemists, but the raw materials... Especially the main ingredient, Purple Nether Grass. It won't have any medicinal effect unless it's at least five hundred years old."
"We've planted some in our Herb Garden, but most of it is only two or three hundred years old. It's completely unusable."
"If we purchase it from outside, the Wang Family must have anticipated this move and monopolized all the Purple Nether Grass on the market long ago."
"Without spirit herbs, we can't refine the pills. Even with Magic Artifacts, if their cultivation can't improve, this Arena Competition... is still uncertain."
The moment the Third Elder said this, the previously heated atmosphere cooled several degrees.
Even the cleverest housewife could not cook a meal without rice.
This was an insurmountable flaw.
Everyone's gaze turned toward Zhang Chen once more, carrying a trace of concern.
Yet Zhang Chen's face showed not the slightest hint of panic.
He lightly tapped the tabletop, the corners of his lips curling upward.
A mysterious, unfathomable smile appeared on his face.
"Purple Nether Grass, is it?"
Zhang Chen rose to his feet and looked toward the pitch-black night outside the window. "You don't need to worry. Not only do we not need to slow down the pill business, we need to increase our efforts."
"As for the spirit herbs..."
He pulled an unremarkable little cloth pouch from his chest. It contained the system's reward: the "Tier 3 Spirit Field Upgrade Card."
"If we can't buy them, then we'll grow them ourselves."
"And besides, the herbs I grow will definitely give the Wang Family a huge shock."
Seeing Zhang Chen's confidence, everyone was puzzled, unable to understand where he got such confidence.
But because they trusted him after witnessing this string of miracles, no one asked any further questions.
"That concludes the meeting."
Zhang Yunshan made the final decision. "Get a good rest tonight. Starting tomorrow, our Zhang Family will show the entire East Mountain Islands what a true... Nascent Soul family is!"
The moon hung high in the sky, and the night was as fluid as water.
The Zhang Family Courtyard, which had been bustling all day, finally fell silent.
Only the footsteps of patrolling disciples occasionally broke the tranquility.
At that moment, Zhang Chen did not return to his room to rest as others assumed. Instead, draped in a black cloak, he made his way toward the Back Mountain of Dao Seeking Peak.
That was where the Zhang Family's Spirit Medicine Garden lay, and it was also the foundation of the entire family's pill production.
Guarding the entrance to the Herb Garden was an old man over sixty named Zhang Tong.
He had spent his entire life tending the Herb Garden for the Zhang Family.
Although his cultivation was only at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, his understanding of the habits of plants and herbs was so profound that even the family's Tier 2 Alchemists had to address him as a master.
"Who?"
Hearing footsteps, Zhang Tong warily lifted the lantern in his hand.
"Uncle Liu, it's me."
Zhang Chen lowered his hood, revealing a gentle smile.
By the dim yellow lamplight, Zhang Tong recognized that it was the Young Master and hurriedly began to bow. "Young Master? Why have you come here so late at night?"
Zhang Chen stepped forward to support the old man and slipped a bottle of Spirit Wine for nourishing the body into his hand. He smiled and said, "I drank quite a bit during the day and can't sleep. I wanted to take a walk around the garden and dispel the alcohol."
"You don't need to worry about me, old man. Go inside and rest. I'd like to be alone for a while."
Zhang Tong smelled the rich fragrance drifting from the wine bottle. His throat bobbed, and a simple, honest smile spread across his face. "All right, Young Master, make yourself at home. I've activated all the formations in the garden. It's very safe."
"I'll keep watch at the entrance. Just call if you need anything."
Zhang Chen watched as Zhang Tong cheerfully carried the wine bottle into the small wooden hut beside the entrance.
Only then did he turn and walk into the depths of the Herb Garden.
The Zhang Family's Herb Garden was not small. Built along the mountain, it drew a branch of the Spirit Spring from Dao Seeking Peak for irrigation.
However, because of the limitations of the Spiritual Vein's grade and the soil's fertility, most of the spirit herbs planted here were Tier 1. Only in the few acres at the very core of the spirit-eye were scattered patches of Tier 2 and Tier 3 medicinal herbs.
Zhang Chen walked to the area at the center of the Herb Garden.
The Purple Nether Grass urgently needed this time was planted here.
But the scene before him was somewhat miserable.
Although the Purple Nether Grass was growing reasonably well, most of it was only two or three hundred years old.
Its leaves had yellowed, clearly showing that the soil lacked fertility.
As for the Heavenly Spirit Fruit Tree, it bore only a few unripe little fruits, and they were still far from maturity.
"Even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice."
Zhang Chen sighed. At the normal growth rate, gathering enough medicinal materials for ten people's worth of pills would require waiting at least another fifty years.
But he could not wait, and neither could the Zhang Family.
Zhang Chen drew a deep breath and surveyed his surroundings. After confirming that no one was nearby and that the formation had isolated the area, he pulled out the card radiating a faint golden light from his robes—the [Tier 3 Spirit Field Upgrade Card].
Ever since obtaining it, he had treasured it as dearly as his life.
Today, it had finally come time to put it to use.
"System, use the Spirit Field Upgrade Card. Target: the ten-acre core Herb Garden centered on this location."
Before you continue