After completing the books, Xiang Yu carefully stored them in his spatial ring and got up from his position. He stretched his stiff muscles and reflected on his earlier request to his martial aunt about finding workers for the Secondary Professions Pavilion construction. Since they were employing cultivators instead of ordinary mortals, the building should be finished by morning, right? Cultivators worked much faster than regular people after all.
He walked over to his carefully tended herb garden and activated the growth acceleration technique he had recently gained from his spirit farming advancement. The effects were immediate and visible. The ninth and eighth grade herbs responded dramatically, their stems lengthening and leaves unfurling at a pace visible to the naked eye. For the seventh grade ones though, only slight changes occurred, a gentle swelling of buds and a subtle deepening of color in the leaves. As for the sixth grade herbs, he didn’t even bother checking. Those stubborn plants hadn’t even sprouted yet.
Next, he moved to his spirit beast enclosure and applied the same growth acceleration technique. Unlike the plants though, he couldn’t see any immediate effects but he guessed it was working as he could sense their qi concentration increasing.
The first generation female junglefowl had already begun laying eggs and it wouldn’t be long before they started hatching. Though at this moment, Xiang Yu wondered if he still needed to cultivate these animals. He was doing it for a stable source of ingredients for high level spirit food but he couldn’t even eat it. And his junior sister would go out to hunt for herself as well.
As for resources for the school of cooking, he had already asked his martial aunt to post a beast hunting mission so they had plenty of resources. Well, it also contributed to his farming exp so he guessed there was no harm in it.
He then refined several pills and transformed more beasts into spiritual beasts. This was the final batch and he had no intentions of catching anymore, they would have to multiply on their own now.
He then expanded his garden space and planted some fifth grade herbs before he completely transitioned into pill refining.
Creating pills for the sect’s disciples was relatively easy since most of them weren’t high-level cultivators yet. The real challenge came from fulfilling commissioned orders from the five major sects, which consumed considerable time. These powerful sects already had their own skilled alchemists and primarily relied on him only for high-level pills beyond their capabilities.
Still, he managed to complete every commission successfully. With his alchemy having advanced to fourth grade, his base fifty percent success rate now translated to a guaranteed hundred percent success rate for fifth grade pills and below—assuming he didn’t intentionally mess up or face external interference. While he did fail a few times, he still managed to save a substantial amount of resources for the sect.
Most commissioned fifth grade pills came with extra batches of materials to account for potential failures. For someone with his success rate, these backup resources were essentially free additions to their treasury.
After completing the commissioned work, he prepared a specialized fifth grade lightning resistance pill for his martial aunt’s upcoming tribulation. While it couldn’t completely neutralize heavenly lightning, it would offer meaningful protection—though exactly how much remained uncertain. This was the most he could do for her, the rest was up to her.
With his pill refining work concluded, he chose not to immediately begin blacksmithing. Instead, he left the spirit spring. He noticed the sun beginning to rise over the mountain peaks. Construction sounds had been echoing from the base of the mountain for some time now and he decided to go check it out.
"Grand Elder, you’re here!" Elder Huang called out when she spotted him approaching.
The other workers immediately stopped their tasks and gathered around him respectfully. "We greet the Grand Elder!" they spoke in unison, offering formal bows.
…
Xiang Yu nodded at the respectful greeting and dismissed the workers with a casual wave of his hand. The cultivator laborers immediately returned to their tasks.
"Grand Elder, what do you think?" Elder Huang asked, gesturing proudly toward the enormous structure taking shape before them. The building’s foundation was already complete, and the walls were rising at an impressive pace. "Want to take a closer look?" she offered, stretching out her hand.
"Sure," Xiang Yu replied, but instead of accepting her offered hand, he began to rise slowly from the ground. He was actually flying. This was his first attempt at flying since breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm. The sensation felt awkward initially, his body wobbling slightly as he struggled to maintain proper balance and control. But within moments, he quickly adjusted to the new experience and found himself gliding freely through the air with growing confidence.
Elder Huang’s eyes widened in shock before her expression transformed into a delighted smile. "Congratulations on your breakthrough, Grand Elder!" she called out warmly.
Xiang Yu simply nodded in response, still thoroughly enjoying the exhilarating sensation of flight. The world looked completely different from this elevated perspective. He then soared toward the building to observe the construction progress from up close, marveling at the intricate architectural details becoming visible as he approached.
Elder Huang watched his flight pattern with growing curiosity, wondering silently to herself whether he had truly just entered the Foundation Establishment realm. The way he flew was far too stable and controlled, there was no way an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would demonstrate such on their first attempt. But she quickly dismissed these thoughts and followed him through the air.
She came to a stop floating beside him as they both observed the bustling construction site below. "They’re really fast," Xiang Yu commented with genuine admiration. Just in the few minutes since his arrival, the workers had already completed another entire section of the building.
"Aren’t they?" she responded with obvious pride swelling in her voice. "These are the best architects in the entire eastern region," she declared confidently.
When Xiang Yu heard this declaration, his heart clenched painfully. "Dammit! My money!" he thought in dismay.
Seeing his stricken expression, Elder Huang smiled knowingly. "Do you think your martial aunt is that kind of person? I’ve already paid them for you," she revealed with amusement.
Xiang Yu relaxed considerably, feeling a wave of gratitude wash over him. As expected of his martial aunt. Still, wasn’t she a little too wealthy for a sect elder of an unknown sect? Where did her substantial fortune even come from? Could it be that his martial aunt had some background as well?
He reached into his sleeve and retrieved the pill he had crafted earlier.
"Martial aunt, take this," he spoke, extending the pill toward her.
When Elder Huang saw the pill, her eyes instantly brightened. "Is that a lightning resistance pill, and at such high level! I have to research this immediately," she exclaimed, having already snatched the pill from his hand and begun examining it through a specialized microscope. The microscope was among several research instruments she had commissioned from Xiang Yu for her various studies.
"It’s not for research. It’s for help with your breakthrough," Xiang Yu clarified.
Elder Huang looked at the pill with a conflicted expression.
"Don’t refuse to use it. If you want another one for research, I can always just make another one," he assured her.
"As expected of the Grand Elder. Thank you," she spoke gratefully.
Xiang Yu wondered silently if she really wanted to keep the pill for research instead of using it for her tribulation. What kind of research was she always conducting anyway? Well, as long as she was happy, he supposed it didn’t matter much.
…
Author’s Corner
Last chapter this month. Thanks for taking the time to read my book.
Same time tomorrow…