The Space's Marvelous Uses: Accelerating the Growth of Medicinal Herbs!

Whoosh!

The moment Chen Huai'an's thought settled, an overwhelming weakness washed over his mind. He saw a pale white halo gush from the mouth of the Purple-Skinned Gourd. The halo rapidly expanded and, with a whoosh, enveloped Wang Tong's corpse before it vanished from right in front of him.

If not for the bloodstains left on the ground from their battle, he would have wondered whether he was dreaming. The gourd had actually taken Wang Tong's corpse inside.

But it was not over yet. The corpse was gone, but the traces of battle remained, especially his own blood. He feared someone might discover it.

Thus, dragging his exhausted body along, he gathered the bloodstained dirt from the surrounding area and, with another thought, stored it inside the Purple-Skinned Gourd Space.

Chen Huai'an had destroyed the corpse and erased the evidence, but he also worried that Wang Tong's body would contaminate the water source in his Gourd Space.

Chen Huai'an no longer cared that this was the wilderness, where he might be discovered. After finding a relatively safe spot, he entered the space with a single thought.

The reason Chen Huai'an had dared to consider fighting back was not because he had been fueled by hot blood alone. After some exploration, he had found that he could freely enter the Purple-Skinned Gourd Space.

Entering the space consumed his willpower—his spiritual strength.

If he could not win, could he not at least escape?

"Thank goodness, thank goodness. The corpse entering the space did not contaminate the water source." When Chen Huai'an entered the space, he did not see Wang Tong's corpse soaking in his Spirit Spring Water. Instead, it lay on an empty patch of ground within the space. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Otherwise, he truly would not have been able to bring himself to drink that water again.

Only now was Chen Huai'an truly safe. He no longer needed to worry about being watched by Zhang Hu's men.

The battle was finally over. He drank several mouthfuls of Spirit Spring Water and sat in meditation to recover his strength.

Only after the time it took to eat a meal did Chen Huai'an awaken from his meditative cultivation.

Chen Huai'an examined himself. Aside from the wound on his palm, he had no obvious external injuries. Most of what he suffered were internal injuries.

After drinking the Spirit Spring Water, his injuries had healed seven or eight parts out of ten.

Besides aiding cultivation, this Spirit Spring Water actually possessed miraculous healing effects. That was truly an unexpected delight.

After all that busy work, Chen Huai'an finally remembered that Wang Tong's corpse was still waiting in the space for him to deal with it.

He still held some expectations for Wang Tong's corpse. He wondered what good things the fellow might have been carrying.

Chen Huai'an searched Wang Tong's body and found a dagger that glinted with cold light, as well as a small cloth pouch tucked close against his chest.

The sight of that dagger sent a chill through Chen Huai'an's heart.

Wang Tong had been too arrogant. If he had held that dagger in his hand from the beginning, then the one who died would not have been Wang Tong, but him.

Chen Huai'an opened the cloth pouch layer by layer. To his surprise, it contained a Body Tempering Pill, three glittering little stones, and several silver notes worth an estimated hundred-odd taels.

Those stones were spirit stones, the kind the immortal masters had spoken of. It was his first time seeing them.

Pills and spirit stones were exactly what Chen Huai'an needed most right now. As for the silver notes, he felt they would not be of much use to him, but he planned to leave them for his mother.

These hundred-odd taels in silver notes were enough for his family to live comfortably.

Murder and arson brought golden belts; horses did not grow fat without midnight fodder. If one wanted to get rich quickly, murder and robbery truly were the fastest ways to make money.

The three low-grade spirit stones could be used to purchase Body Tempering Pills. The dagger could be used for self-defense. If he had possessed this dagger during his battle with Wang Tong, he would not have ended up in such a sorry state. With a sneak attack, he could ensure a one-strike kill.

Wang Tong's corpse could not be burned. Although he had a firestarter, he had no firewood. The only thing he could do was dig a hole in the space and bury it, while planting that one-year-old polygonatum alongside it.

Wang Tong's corpse could serve as fertilizer for the medicinal herb.

"Once this matter is over, I should find a way to get a hoe." Using a dagger to dig a hole and bury Wang Tong had been far too inconvenient. Nothing handled as well as a hoe.

After disposing of Wang Tong's corpse, he watered the polygonatum with some Spirit Spring Water, then took a large gulp himself before dragging his weary body out of the space.

As for the spoils seized from Wang Tong, Chen Huai'an did not carry them on his person. He left them inside the space instead.

Likewise, Chen Huai'an still had some concerns. Ordinary river water evolved into Spirit Spring Water after entering the space, while pills could evolve into high-grade pills. Though Wang Tong's corpse had been buried, he worried that it might undergo some other mutation.

But this was not the time for him to worry about such matters. Without a means to destroy the corpse and erase the evidence, the best way to prevent the truth from coming to light was to put it in the space. At worst, once he had the means in the future, he could think of a way to dispose of it.

By the time Chen Huai'an returned to his residence, it was already evening. Without realizing it, he had dawdled outside for an entire day.

"I hope I have not been noticed by certain petty people." Chen Huai'an silently prayed that Zhang Hu would not come looking for trouble just yet. He needed time to properly make use of these spoils and improve his strength before Zhang Hu came for him.

Facing Zhang Hu, Chen Huai'an no longer felt the same fear as before. Faintly, he even felt a trace of anticipation.

"No, I cannot indulge in such wishful thinking. Zhang Hu is someone I cannot defeat right now. I cannot let my guard down." Chen Huai'an shook his head and suppressed that unhealthy mindset.

Wang Tong's death had come because his opponent had not gone all out and had died through carelessness. It was not because Chen Huai'an was truly stronger than him.

What he needed to do now was become a nobody, lie low as much as possible, and make sure no one set their sights on him.

As for Zhang Hu, if Chen Huai'an encountered him now, he would run as far away as he could.

Chen Huai'an did not rest that night. He gulped down mouthful after mouthful of Spirit Spring Water to assist his cultivation.

The human body had twelve primary meridians, eight extraordinary meridians, fifteen collateral meridians, and three hundred and sixty-five tiny branch meridians.

At this moment, Chen Huai'an had already opened three primary meridians, five collateral meridians, and dozens of tiny branch meridians. Once he opened thirty-five primary, extraordinary, and collateral meridians, he would officially step into the first level of the Body Tempering Realm.

After a night of cultivation, he opened another extraordinary meridian, further improving his strength. The injuries he had sustained in his battle with Wang Tong also fully recovered.

Without the Spirit Spring Water in the Spirit Gourd Space, let alone advancing in cultivation, he would have been lucky just to keep his life.

"Wang Tong is dead. Zhang Hu should have received the news by now, right? Next, I should become a nobody and lie low for a few days while improving my strength." Chen Huai'an had originally wanted to eat at the dining hall, but when he considered that the moment he showed himself, Zhang Hu's men would surely notice him, he could only stay in his residence.

Fortunately, he had Spirit Spring Water to aid his cultivation. It did not matter even if he went without food for several days.

After shutting the door, Chen Huai'an moved with a thought and impatiently entered the space.

After one night of tempering in the Purple-Skinned Gourd Space, that low-grade Body Tempering Pill had already evolved into a high-grade one.

What delighted Chen Huai'an beyond measure was that the three low-grade spirit stones he had placed in the space had grown a full circle larger, brimming with surging spiritual energy. He guessed that these spirit stones had surpassed the low grade and might be mid-grade—or perhaps even high-grade.

As for the dagger, it was the same as before. He could not make heads or tails of it.

"Eh? This polygonatum has grown this much in just one night?" Chen Huai'an stared wide-eyed at the polygonatum planted in the space. Its branches and leaves flourished, and it had grown more than a full circle larger than yesterday.

This growth rate was far too terrifying.

This space could actually accelerate the growth of medicinal herbs. If so, would it turn into a legendary spirit herb in just a few more days?