You Have to Be Flexible

During the test, the stone had also turned gold, but it had only flashed once.

Now, with He Pingsheng pouring his magical power into it, the stone did not merely flash once. It remained gold.

After ensuring that it had enough energy, He Pingsheng observed it for quite a while longer before returning to his room to learn the techniques for collecting and grinding pollen.

It was not easy!

Of course, it was not terribly difficult either.

Since a single infusion of spiritual power could last seven days, He Pingsheng had ample time to cultivate.

He picked a time when no one was around, then took out a Supreme Qi-Gathering Pill.

Its fragrance soon spread.

But that was not much of a problem.

First, although the fragrance was strong, there were very few people in the valley, and they were far away.

Beyond twenty zhang, it was difficult to smell the supreme-grade pill.

Second, this was a place for growing spirit plants to begin with. All sorts of spirit herbs and flowers competed to bloom, and the valley was already filled with the fragrances of medicinal herbs.

With that layer of fragrance masking it, the scent of the supreme-grade pill in He Pingsheng's hand was further diluted by half.

He picked up his little black axe and divided the pill into four portions.

He Pingsheng had worked out that he would need to collect pollen roughly once every three days.

That meant interrupting his cultivation every three days.

A quarter of a pill was just enough for three days of cultivation.

Once everything was ready, He Pingsheng put away the other three fragments, tossed the remaining piece into his mouth, and began cultivating.

As his cultivation advanced, he refined the pill faster and faster.

Previously, he had needed more than ten days to refine and fully absorb a quarter of a pill. Now, he could finish in less than three days.

One day!

Two days!

Three days!

After three days, He Pingsheng had completely absorbed the energy in that fragment.

Then he picked up his bottles and tools and headed to the Blazing Sun Flower spirit field.

It was time to collect pollen.

He Pingsheng arrived at the Blazing Sun Flower field with his tools and saw that the stone had changed color.

It had gone from gold to yellow.

In other words, the fire spiritual power inside could sustain the Blazing Sun Flowers for another three or four days.

There were not many Blazing Sun Flowers in this spirit field, only three hundred plants.

He Pingsheng spent about two hours collecting pollen and obtained a little over one bottle.

The pollen was all red.

Clearly, it was only low-grade stuff.

Collecting the pollen did not finish the job. It still needed to be ground.

The next step was to grind the pollen into an even finer powder. After all, it would be mixed into talisman ink, so he had to ensure that it flowed smoothly enough when writing.

After grinding it, he sealed it in jade bottles.

He Pingsheng had originally wanted to try using his basin to see whether he could enhance it, but ultimately abandoned the idea.

The risk of exposing himself was a little too great.

He collected pollen every three days like this. After roughly ten collections, he delivered all ten bottles of ground pollen to the entrance of Withered Wood True Person's cave.

He Pingsheng worked carefully and made no mistakes.

He followed the rules, earning neither merit nor blame.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

He had also used up his last two Supreme Qi-Gathering Pills.

His cultivation resources had run completely dry. Of course, he was still a long way from the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

One day, Withered Wood True Person emerged from his cave abode and summoned both He Pingsheng and Wang Dun.

"He Pingsheng has done well these past two months!" Withered Wood True Person looked at He Pingsheng and voiced his approval, then took out two spirit stones and tossed them to him. "These are your reward!"

He Pingsheng was immediately overjoyed. "Thank you, Senior!"

Beside him, Wang Dun looked envious.

"Mm..." Withered Wood nodded again. "By my reckoning, the Blazing Sun Flowers have one final month left in their flowering season. However, I have something to attend to and must leave the sect for a while. Take good care of the Blazing Sun Flowers for me while I'm away!"

"After a month, the flowers will wither, and you won't need to tend to them anymore!"

"Yes!" He Pingsheng cupped his hands.

Withered Wood continued, "However, this pollen is not easy to preserve. Its fire properties will dissipate over time. Once too much fire spiritual power is lost, it can no longer be used to draw Blazing Fire Talismans!"

"But I don't know when I'll return!"

"Let's do this... Wang Dun, when the time comes, take He Pingsheng to Horsehead Mountain. Bring the pollen collected during this final month to the market there, find a shop called Abundant Harmony Manor, and hand it over to Shopkeeper Shi!"

"Yes..." Wang Dun and He Pingsheng cupped their hands.

Withered Wood then took out a Paper Crane and gave it to Wang Dun.

After that, Withered Wood left Spirit Medicine Valley.

Only He Pingsheng and Wang Dun remained in the vast valley.

Afterward!

He Pingsheng continued working as he always had.

Infusing spiritual power, collecting pollen, and grinding pollen.

During this time, Wang Dun came by now and then to keep an eye on him, as though afraid He Pingsheng would steal something.

He Pingsheng found it amusing.

Sure enough, just as Withered Wood True Person had said, after that final month, all three hundred-odd Blazing Sun Flowers withered overnight.

He Pingsheng had collected a little over eleven bottles of pollen during this last month.

He had worked for three months.

In the first month, he had obtained a little over ten bottles of pollen.

In the second month, he had likewise obtained a little over ten bottles.

Yet for some reason, this month had yielded an extra bottle, bringing the total to a little over eleven.

He could not help letting his thoughts wander.

After all, there was no precise standard for how much pollen could be collected each day during the flowering season. He only had a rough range.

A little more or a little less-who would know?

Should I skim a little off the top?

He Pingsheng could guarantee that even if he pocketed some, neither Withered Wood True Person nor Wang Dun would discover it.

"Whew..."

Faced with those eleven bottles of pollen, He Pingsheng did not hesitate much. He simply took one bottle and poured its contents into his own jade bottle!

Sorry, Senior Withered Wood!

I really am short on cultivation resources!

Let me borrow a bottle of pollen from you today!

If I have the chance in the future, I will surely repay this karmic debt!

You have to be flexible in life. You can't be a block of elmwood, can you?

With those thoughts running through his mind, He Pingsheng took a bottle of pollen without so much as a change in expression. After packing up all the remaining pollen, he went to find Wang Dun up ahead.

"Senior Brother Wang!" He Pingsheng said. "The Blazing Sun Flowers have all withered. I've finished collecting the remaining pollen and have ground all of it!"

"It's all here. Please take a look!"

Wang Dun opened the cloth bundle He Pingsheng had brought, examined the eleven bottles, and said, "Junior Brother He, didn't you think about keeping some for yourself?"

He Pingsheng immediately put on a solemn expression. "Senior Withered Wood has treated me well. I would never do such a thing!"

"Heh heh heh..." Wang Dun chuckled. "How about this? We hide half a bottle. Senior Withered Wood might never know. When the time comes, we'll just say the flowering season ended two days earlier. Who would know?"

"Once we sell that half bottle of pollen, we split the spirit stones fifty-fifty between us. What do you say?"