Lin Mo knew the rules and handed over a Storage Bag tied to his waist.
"Remember to give me back the Storage Bag afterward."
That Storage Bag was worth a whole Spirit Stone. He had bought it specifically for trading.
The black-robed man's hand paused. Clearly, he had not expected someone who offered twenty Spirit Plants in one go to be so stingy.
Could he have scraped together those twenty Spirit Plants by pinching pennies like this?
If Spirit Plants had been picked too long ago, their potency would decline even inside a Storage Bag. Naturally, they would no longer be worth thirty drops of Spirit Liquid.
Yet when his spiritual qi touched the Spirit Plants inside the Storage Bag, their fresh aura came as a pleasant surprise.
Mortal fruits and vegetables came in all sizes, some good and some bad.
Spirit Plants were no different.
Every Spirit Plant Lin Mo had given him was plump and round, clearly top-quality specimens, better even than those ordinarily grown in the Spirit Plant Courtyard.
"Not bad. Let me ask you-will you have more of these in the future?"
The black-robed man raised his head as he spoke.
Lin Mo hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I will, but certainly not this many."
Hearing that, the black-robed man nodded and continued, "I can give you forty drops of Spirit Liquid for these twenty fruits. But if you sell any more Spirit Plants of this quality, you must sell them all to me. I'll buy them at this same price. How does that sound?"
Spirit Plants of such quality were quite rare. Used in pill-making, they could improve the medicinal potency by ten or twenty percent.
That was no small matter.
With such an offer on the table, what objection could Lin Mo possibly have? He nodded and agreed on the spot.
The price was indeed generous, exceeding the market rate. Clearly, the man valued Lin Mo as a source of supply.
No one knew how high the black-robed man's cultivation was, but he was certainly far stronger than a weak little chick like Lin Mo. One glance told him that these were not goods Lin Mo could have supplied himself. More likely, someone had sent him here to run an errand.
A price that satisfied both sides would be enough to secure that connection.
After all, who would complain about earning too much?
The black-robed man casually tossed over a Storage Bag.
"There are forty drops of Spirit Liquid inside. Consider the Storage Bag a gift. Let's be friends, so you can stop being such a penny-pincher."
Lin Mo flashed a toothy grin.
"Thank you, senior brother."
An Emerald Formation Disc rested on the black-robed man's lap. With a light stroke of his hand, an invisible barrier spread out.
The barrier muffled their conversation, preventing others from overhearing and growing greedy.
That was quite considerate of him.
Lin Mo returned with a rich haul.
He did not notice that the black-robed man's pale blue eyes followed him all the way, only slowly withdrawing once he had disappeared from sight.
By the time he returned to the Small Courtyard, a fish-belly white had appeared on the horizon.
Lin Mo opened the Storage Bag the black-robed man had given him and found four White Jade Vials inside.
Each small jade vial held ten drops of Spirit Liquid.
He took out a drop and poured it into his mouth, smacking his lips as he felt it circulate through his body.
"It feels... not quite as good as my Spirit Spring."
The taste was the same. Its spiritual qi was somewhat more concentrated than that of his Spirit Spring, and it was easier to absorb than the gourd's Spirit Spring. All in all, it was worth the price, truly a fine substance that cost one contribution point per drop.
The only issue was that it seemed to be missing something.
Lin Mo could not say exactly what was missing, but he could sense that it was something very important.
He poured all thirty-nine remaining drops of Spirit Liquid into the Little Gourd at once, then set off toward the Spirit Field in satisfaction.
On the way, he encountered Qin Sang Sang.
The poor girl had actually worked herself into a faint yesterday.
After waking, she had been terrified, afraid that Liu Xianzong would dislike her for it and drive her out.
Another Outer Sect Disciple might well have done just that.
But the same thing still held true.
Liu Xianzong was a kindly old soul.
Qin Sang Sang had indeed failed to finish her allotted work, but she had already done her best. What more was there to say?
Liu Xianzong had not made things difficult for her. He had merely told her to pace herself while working today.
"Have some water if you get tired."
Looking at Qin Sang Sang, who was already hard at work so early in the morning, Lin Mo thought for a moment, then tossed her a water flask.
It contained water mixed with Spirit Spring whose spiritual qi concentration had already dissipated considerably. He had originally intended to use it to water the Golden Coin Grass.
Lin Mo was a kindhearted person too.
For some reason, looking at this little girl always reminded him of his younger sister... Xiao He.
I might as well help where I can. One gourdful can dilute a whole large bucket anyway. I have plenty of it.
Qin Sang Sang held the flask and burst into tears of gratitude, thanking him over and over.
He seemed to have gone through much the same thing once.
But back then, no one so kindhearted had helped him. When he first came up the mountain, he had taken several beatings and nearly failed to make it through.
Seen that way, this little girl was fairly lucky.
Whether he was marveling at Qin Sang Sang's good fortune or applauding his own kind heart, watching the little girl bustle about left Lin Mo feeling considerably more at ease.
Evening came.
Having finished his work, Lin Mo returned to his own Small Courtyard.
Some time ago, he had already worked out the pattern: after pouring clear water into the gourd, it took twenty-four hours for its spiritual qi concentration to reach its peak.
After obtaining Spirit Liquid yesterday, Lin Mo had felt that the Little Gourd would surely need longer to perform "Spirit Infusion" on a genuine cultivation treasure like this.
To his surprise, it still took only twenty-four hours.
To get a clear sense of the changes, Lin Mo poured out three drops.
He finally confirmed that, whether it was Spirit Liquid or ordinary spring water, twenty-four hours was enough for its spiritual qi concentration to reach its peak.
That certainly saved some trouble.
Excited, Lin Mo sat cross-legged on his bed and poured twenty drops of Spirit Liquid into his mouth.
Ever since obtaining the precious gourd, he had been wondering what would emerge if he poured true Spirit Spring-in other words, Spirit Liquid-into it.
Two months later, he finally got his first taste.
He worried that drinking too much at once would cause the surging spiritual qi to burst him apart, so he drank only about half.
Twenty drops.
The instant the upgraded Spirit Spring entered his mouth, before Lin Mo could even swallow, it transformed into even purer spiritual qi and flowed into his body.
A small portion drove the Spiritual Qi Vortex in his dantian to spin at tremendous speed, advancing Lin Mo's cultivation.
Most of it, however, settled into the various acupoints throughout his body, purifying his flesh. Wrapped in a mysterious power, it improved his physique and cultivation aptitude at an extremely slow pace.
This was precisely what the Spirit Liquid that had not passed through the gourd was missing.
The spiritual qi concentration of the Spirit Spring he poured out had not risen to a terrifying degree, but the benefits it brought Lin Mo amounted to far more than abundant spiritual qi. It offered him a brighter future.
"I can feel it. My body feels lighter, and I'm absorbing spiritual qi faster and faster."
Lin Mo happily assessed the changes. At present, he had no idea just how much his aptitude had improved. He would have to find time to get it tested later.
Once his excitement settled, Lin Mo left his room and went to the plot behind the courtyard.
But one look made him frown.
"I've been harvesting too often. I completely forgot about the earth's qi."
"Has the spiritual qi in this plot already been almost exhausted?"
Before you continue