Within the Quiet Chamber, Chen Ye had already pushed aside the small antics of his two apprentices.
From the slum district to becoming the manager of Lisong Valley today.
Chen Ye could always remain calm and focused on cultivation; how could mere cold shoulders from his disciples compare to external threats?
"The myriad worldly things, fleeting clouds passing by... Only with longevity and far-sightedness can one attain freedom."
He sat cross-legged, his mind as tranquil as water.
In front of him, the ancient and simple Hundred Herbs Furnace was emanating a faint medicinal fragrance.
He didn’t rush to refine those higher-tier pills but chose instead to continue consolidating his Qi Nourishing Pill refining technique, which had just reached the stage of "Perfection."
Currently, Chen Ye had just over four hundred Spirit Stones at hand.
It seemed like a lot, but it could be spent very quickly.
He specially recruited fifteen fruit farmers—or rather Spirit Plant Cultivators—each earning twelve Spirit Stones a month, which meant one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones for fifteen people.
Paying two months’ salary would exhaust almost all his Spirit Stones.
Although, besides Spirit Stones, he had other high-value items on him.
The Second Tier low-grade Flying Sword, Flying Light, and the puppet Qingzhi.
Both were especially precious, with prices likely fluctuating around a thousand Spirit Stones.
The First Tier top-grade Protective Magical Artifact Eight Trigrams Mirror, which he had recently had repaired by a local Artifact Refiner in the Peach Mountain District, was also worth several hundred Spirit Stones.
The Iron Sword, after several reforgings, was worth four to five hundred Spirit Stones as well.
As for the Hundred Herbs Furnace, it was practically priceless, more expensive than Qingzhi and Flying Light combined!
"Hiss... Am I now truly wealthy to this extent? I might even surpass some Foundation Establishment Cultivators."
Chen Ye clicked his tongue. Qingzhi relied on the core Bai Susu gifted after defeating a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, while Flying Light was a gain from the Stone Mirror Chairman Ji Yueze, both having notable backgrounds.
Yet the most precious Hundred Herbs Furnace came from the ordinary Li Guangzong.
This person had a great opportunity, receiving the inheritance of the Hundred Herbs Valley, with a future destined to successfully establish a Foundation or even reach the Golden Core.
Unfortunately, he encountered Chen Ye.
"Don’t forget, both the former self and Li Guangzong, these sworn brothers, have great opportunities."
After organizing his assets, Chen Ye began to ponder future ways to earn money.
In the Cultivation Realm, the importance of Spirit Stones far surpasses even the money of his previous life.
Not to mention, a significant part of Chen Ye’s formidable combat strength relied heavily on Spirit Stones and the cultivation enhancements they provided.
"Currently, I can refine eight Upper Grade Qi Nourishing Pills from one furnace, and one Top Grade Qi Nourishing Pill. The Top Grade Qi Nourishing Pill must be kept for the sake of my cultivation and that of my disciples; that’s the most crucial part, and to avoid others coveting it."
"An Upper Grade Qi Nourishing Pill sells for six Spirit Stones, which is the normal retail price. If sold in large quantities, it’s likely at the price of five Spirit Stones to many shops. Forty Spirit Stones per furnace, one furnace a day, one could earn... twelve hundred Spirit Stones a month!"
Chen Ye was startled; this was still just the lowest-tier pill!
However, thinking about the cost, Chen Ye’s boiling blood instantly cooled down.
The Silver Scale Flower, the core Spirit Plant of the Qi Nourishing Pill, sold for eighteen Spirit Stones, and along with other herbs, the cost was around twenty-two Spirit Stones.
Fortunately, he had now recruited fifteen Medicinal Farmers.
By "appropriating" the Spiritual Soil and Spirit Seeds from Lisong Valley, it was equivalent to obtaining Silver Scale Flowers for free.
Only,
these Medicinal Farmers had low cultivation, and to forcefully speed up a Spirit Plant from a Spirit Seed to maturity required a lot of effort, likely only being able to mature one plant per month. As for other materials for the Qi Nourishing Pill, they were mortal plants, easily taken care of.
Therefore, forceful maturation lacked cost-effectiveness, with only one plant matured per person per month, and the proficiency of the Spirit Plant Technique used by the maturing party also affected the efficacy.
The standard management strategy of Lisong Valley was to let Spirit Plants grow naturally, with Medicinal Farmers using Spirit Plant Technique for care in daily tasks, allowing each to tend to a large medicinal field.
"Forget it, I don’t have time to wait slowly. Fifteen batches of medicinal materials a month are enough; I need to set aside time for cultivation... that amounts to a net income of four hundred twenty Spirit Stones a month!"
Chen Ye steadied himself, took out the last batch of Spirit Plants from his body, his movements fluid, lighting the fire, warming the furnace...
"Buzz——"
As the Jade Pointing Hand was deployed, the Hundred Herbs Furnace emitted a slight buzzing, as if resonating with his Divine Sense.
This time, he could clearly "see" how the medicinal liquid of those Spirit Grasses inside the pill furnace, under the fire’s blaze, decomposed, recombined, and ultimately condensed into the plump embryonic form of pills.
It’s done!
Chen Ye felt a surge of joy in his heart, performing a spell, and lowered his voice, "Open!"
The furnace lid rose in response, revealing nine pills lying quietly at the bottom of the furnace.
Eight of them were all Upper Grade.
And the one in the center, wholly light gold, surrounded by pill patterns, with pill clouds gathering, emitted a refreshing fragrance that lifted the spirits.
Yet another Top Grade Pill!
"Should I give this pill to Qing Jun first, or to Zhiwei first... This is really troubling."
...
Early in the morning.
The morning light cast dappled shadows on two lumps under the quilt.
Two exquisite and lovely little girls were curled up and sleeping soundly.
One of them, with silver hair like moonlight snow, scattered across the light green pillow.
She slept deeply, her small body curled up into a ball, exposing only a smooth, full forehead, her long lashes casting shallow shadows under her eyelids, quivering slightly with her even breaths.
The other, with hair like ink, a small, cold face, fair and translucent. Her delicate brows slightly furrowed, as if caught in a nightmare.