Essence of All Things: One Hundred-Year Spiritual Herb per Month

But he had heard of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. The publicly recognized exchange rate was one to a hundred, yet if one truly went to exchange them, a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone could easily fetch 120 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

He and Big Black Ox hid in an empty corner, their gazes constantly sweeping the surroundings, one hand clenched tightly around the Mountain-Splitting Axe.

"Old Ox, we're rich," Chen Xun whispered gleefully.

"Moo~" Big Black Ox called softly, resting its head against Chen Xun's chest, its eyes Filled With joy.

The greatest use of Low-Grade Spirit Stones was cultivation. Their spiritual power was far purer than the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which cultivators had to continually refine to remove its impurities.

But that was how the filthy rich of the Cultivation World did things. Ordinary cultivators could only use them for trade, since pills worked better, though they came with medicinal resistance.

And anyone who could eat enough pills for their body to develop medicinal resistance was an outrageously wealthy big shot. Medicinal resistance was simply outside the scope of consideration for ordinary cultivators.

The next day, they continued peddling their booklets and finally scraped together a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Chen Xun trembled with excitement from head to toe, while Big Black Ox kept mooing and circling him.

"Old Ox, we must keep a low profile."

Chen Xun said sneakily, feeling as though everyone wanted to rob them of their Spirit Stones.

"Moo! Moo!" Big Black Ox called. It understood.

On the third day, they stopped selling booklets and instead browsed the various stalls. Suddenly, Chen Xun's eyes lit up when he spotted a familiar "old acquaintance."

"Miss, it's you."

The girl's appearance had not changed much. She still looked as she had before, with several spiritual herbs and bottles of pills displayed before her stall.

Her expression jolted. Those familiar legs, those familiar four black ox hooves—an involuntary thought surfaced in her mind: Why had this bandit come dragging his ox around again?

"Hehe, it's you," the girl forced a smile. That getup had made far too deep an impression; it was hard to forget even if she wanted to.

"We're here to buy things. We have Spirit Stones."

"Then that's wonderful. What would you like to buy?"

The girl's eyes brightened, and she instantly perked up. As long as they were not here to toy with her.

"Could you introduce these three spiritual herbs to me..."

Chen Xun crouched down and smiled awkwardly. Still, he had studied Medical Skills and could make out a thing or two.

Under the girl's astonished gaze, Chen Xun pulled several Spirit Stones from his crotch and showed them to her as proof that he truly had them.

"Alright..."

The girl froze awkwardly, her gaze dropping as she pointed to one of the spiritual herbs. "This is Water Cloud Grass, twenty years old. It is an ingredient for the Gathering Qi Pill."

"This is Frost Maple Grass, but it is only ten years old. It is an ingredient for the Heavy Feather Pill."

"This is Spirit Gathering Grass, thirty years old. It is also an ingredient for the Heavy Feather Pill."

The girl introduced them one by one. Though their ages were not high, it was already Not Easy for an independent cultivator to gather so many spiritual herbs.

If they were any older, quite a few demon beasts and spirit beasts would come fighting over them.

"Miss, how many Spirit Stones? I'll take them all."

Chen Xun licked his lips, his eyes locked tightly onto the spiritual herbs. Their age seemed especially easy to determine, just as he had expected.

"Twenty." The girl thought for a moment, then named her price outright.

"What?!"

Chen Xun sprang to his feet with a shout. The piercing sound made the girl frown, and she asked sweetly, "Then how much are you offering?"

"Eight."

"What?!"

Now it was the girl's turn to leap up in shock. Was that how one bargained? "Why don't you just go rob someone?!"

Chen Xun wore a troubled expression. Reaching toward his crotch with One Hand, he laboriously pulled out several Spirit Stones and said, "Ten Spirit Stones, then. This is all I have."

The girl's chest rose and fell slightly as she studied Chen Xun's expression, but she could not read a thing from it. Only that nose, those eyes, and that mouth were exposed.

"Fine, deal." The girl Nodded Gravely.

"Give me three more boxes as well. I don't have anything to store them in..."

Chen Xun looked at the Medicine Boxes behind her, having coveted them for a long while. As expected of someone who sold spiritual herbs—this was what professionalism looked like.

The girl Opened Wide her eyes. This man really had been born a bandit, Plucking Feathers from a Passing Goose. Still, she gave them to him, and even flashed Chen Xun a sweet smile at the end.

"Old Ox, save where we should save and spend where we should spend. Understand?"

"Moo moo!"

Big Black Ox nudged Chen Xun discontentedly. They had been in the Mortal Realm for so long; they had long understood this principle.

"Big Brother, how much is this Fireball Spell?" Chen Xun walked up to a stall selling spells, his eyes as still as an Ancient Well.

A Middle-Aged Man glanced at Chen Xun, his pupils widening slightly. "Four Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Chen Xun revealed a troubled look, his eyes wavering with indecision. Big Black Ox tugged at Chen Xun. Go! Go!

"Fellow Daoist, wait."

The Middle-Aged Man looked at Chen Xun, then at Big Black Ox. "Do you really want it?"

"Mm, I'm a little sincere." Chen Xun nodded once.

"Two Spirit Stones and take it!"

"Big Brother, you're straightforward."

Chen Xun praised him, pulled two Spirit Stones from his crotch, took the spell, and left in one smooth motion.

The Man Shook Head slightly, then pulled another copy of "Fireball Spell" from beneath the stall. It was a common little spell found everywhere; he could print countless copies.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox bought one spellbook from each stall, never buying more than one.

"Object Manipulation Art," "Basic Pill Refining Art," "Compendium of Spiritual Herbs," "Spirit Clarity Art," and more. They also bled heavily to buy a bag of spiritual herb seeds, and their hundred Spirit Stones quickly dwindled away.

Chen Xun and Big Black Ox walked through the valley, their hearts thumping wildly. They felt their family fortune was far too abundant, as though countless independent cultivators wanted to rob them.

"Old Ox."

"Moo~"

The man and ox looked deeply into each other's eyes. Their steps gradually quickened, and they charged straight out of the valley before vanishing without a trace. This time, the Ten Great Immortal Sects had not even made an appearance before they fled.

On the outskirts of the Ningyun Mountain Range, they occupied a wild beast's den. A massive boulder sealed the entrance tightly, too heavy for ordinary people to move.

The boulder was covered in dense, tangled vines. Unless one looked deliberately, one truly would not discover there was a Mountain Cave here.

Crack!

Firelight flared, illuminating the entire Mountain Cave. Chen Xun's face was flushed red, while Big Black Ox ran in circles as if its hooves had sprouted wings.

"Old Ox, wealth must not be displayed. Steady your heart."

Chen Xun laughed softly through a trembling voice. "Look at you. When will you ever become like me?"

"Moo~~"

Big Black Ox kept rubbing against Chen Xun, incomparably happy. "Moo moo!"

"We each have 15 points of Essence of All Things, making 30 in total. In one day, we can accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs by over two years."

The more Chen Xun spoke, the more excited he became, saliva flying everywhere. "Old Ox, do you know arithmetic? How many years is that in one month?!"

"Moo moo?" Big Black Ox called twice, picked up a stone, and began scribbling calculations on the ground.

"Seventy-five years!"

Chen Xun said excitedly as he looked at Big Black Ox. "One hundred-year spiritual herb per month—good heavens!"

"Moo? Moo moo!"

Big Black Ox was jolted in shock, and the stone fell from its hoof. They had asked around before: a hundred-year spiritual herb was worth roughly one hundred to two hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

They still had spiritual herb seeds. Sell one crop, buy more seeds, and repeat without end—who in the Cultivation World could have more Spirit Stones than them?

"Don't let your imagination run wild. We still lack the strength to ensure we can sell large quantities."

Chen Xun knew what Big Black Ox was thinking just by looking at its expression. "Fire one shot, then change positions. That way, we won't draw attention. Besides, we still need to refine pills for ourselves."

"Moo moo!"

Big Black Ox kept nodding, its eyes round and vacant. It had nearly gotten carried away.

"First, we'll cultivate the three spiritual herbs in the Medicine Boxes until they are a hundred years old. As for those spiritual herb seeds, we'll do them one at a time."

Chen Xun spoke calmly and unhurriedly. The peculiar medicinal fragrance of hundred-year spirit herbs, when planted outside, could attract the attention of quite a few demon beasts and spirit beasts.

And these Medicine Boxes could not only preserve the herbs' medicinal properties, but also conceal their fragrance. We'll need to get more of them in the future, Chen Xun thought.