The next day, Chen Jinshu made her way to Pingwu Market, located near the Xuanming Sect.
Pingwu Market was established by the Sect itself, primarily to facilitate the exchange of resources between the Sect and the outside world. It also served to make it easier for disciples to obtain rare resources without having to risk their lives venturing out—most things could be found right here.
This market had a longer history than Vermilion Market, and according to the senior brother guiding her, it had already been around for five to six hundred years.
Within the market, the Shuiyue Pavilion belonged to the Sect. Disciples enjoyed discounts when purchasing spiritual items from there.
Of course, the Sect owned other shops as well, but none as well-stocked as Shuiyue Pavilion.
Chen Jinshu's goal today was to find materials to accelerate the growth of the Xuanming Ice Lotus Seed, so that it would mature and bear fruit more quickly.
Upon learning from Elder Gu that the spiritual seed she received was the Xuanming Ice Lotus Seed, she had immediately gone to the archives to research it.
Records stated that under accelerated cultivation techniques, the seed could grow from sprout to maturity in as little as two months. That gave Chen Jinshu hope that she might be able to bring it to bloom within half a month. However, even achieving the two-month mark was no easy feat.
According to the records, several spiritual botanists from the Medicine Peak had experimented with many methods to reduce the cultivation time, ultimately burning through tens of thousands of spirit stones worth of resources before succeeding.
Naturally, Chen Jinshu wasn't confident she could replicate that in such a short time. But if there was even a sliver of a chance, she wasn't one to let it go. Once inside Shuiyue Pavilion, she presented her Sect token and inquired about Spiritual Spring Dew, an elixir used to accelerate spiritual plant growth.
"Junior Sister, best not to even think about it! Spiritual Spring Dew has to be refined personally by alchemists. It's not something you'll ever see on open sale in a market—it's strictly controlled by the Sect."
"No disciples have tried making it themselves?" Chen Jinshu frowned slightly, frustrated that just when she'd found a lead, she'd hit a wall again.
"Ordinary disciples? Do you think it's that easy? And even if they do manage to make it, they're not allowed to sell it. The Sect forbids private sales of Sect-affiliated goods—unless you have explicit permission."
"Spiritual Spring Dew is incredibly rare. The Sect usually keeps it for internal use, with heavy restrictions on outside circulation."
"I see. Then, Senior Brother, please help me gather some medicinal herbs." Chen Jinshu nodded in understanding. She already knew the Dew was rare. But she wasn't going to give up just because of that. She handed a detailed herb list to the attending disciple.
"I'll be back shortly with your request, Junior Sister."
Her list was extensive and complex. Hidden within it were a few Tier 1 herbs required for a lower-tier version of Spiritual Spring Dew.
To a trained spiritual botanist, the list might appear to be for crafting a Remnant Root Recovery Elixir, a niche concoction used to repair damaged spiritual plants.
She had taken careful notes when Gu Zhēnrén casually mentioned this during a lecture, intending to try it out herself. If she ever came across a damaged spirit herb in the future, at least she wouldn't be caught empty-handed.
After receiving her herbs, Chen Jinshu made her way through the stalls run by unaffiliated cultivators, searching for additional ingredients. Only after visiting numerous vendors did she finally complete her ingredient list for refining the Dew.
It wasn't that she was obsessed with the Ice Lotus.
The Xuanming Ice Lotus itself sold for 20–50 spirit stones per flower in the market—nearly the full price of a Concentration Pill. Buying the pill was essentially the same as buying the lotus.
The seeds were slightly more affordable: 5 spirit stones for a Tier 1 seed, while Tier 2 ones were significantly more expensive and took longer to cultivate.
But what she truly wanted was to learn the acceleration technique and the spiritual root repair method. Once she mastered these techniques, she'd be able to deal with similar plants in the future with ease. Perhaps that was exactly why Gu Zhēnrén had arranged this kind of "test."
Ink Plum Courtyard, Alchemy Room
Chen Jinshu was currently channeling fire energy, preparing to refine the Spiritual Spring Dew.
"Just a few herbs cost me twenty spirit stones. Outrageous."
"Thankfully, I've already planted a few spiritual seeds in the herb garden dimension," she murmured to herself, mentally tallying up the remaining balance of her spirit stones. She had spent fifty spirit stones in total at Pingwu Market today. The sting of that cost was still fresh.
The original Spiritual Spring Dew formula from Medicine Peak used several Tier 2 herbs—far beyond what she could afford or handle with her current skills.
What she was attempting was a low-tier version, with all ingredients downgraded by one tier. Even so, the cost had hurt.
Since she hadn't yet passed the Alchemist Certification Exam, she couldn't sell pills. Her only source of income was the spiritual herbs growing in her personal plot. Even that had to be kept under wraps, as she currently managed a rather peculiar field within the Frost Pool Herb Garden.
She could take the alchemist exam at any time. However, as a fourth-layer Qi Refining cultivator, her mastery of mid-grade Tier 1 alchemy would definitely draw attention from the higher-ups at Medicine Peak. She had considered rushing into the exam, but after reviewing past records, she decided against it.
The most famous alchemy prodigy, Peng Qi—direct disciple of the Medicine King Peak—had only passed the low-grade Tier 1 certification at the same cultivation stage. He didn't pass the mid-grade Tier 1 exam until the fifth layer. So she'd wait until she hit Qi Refining Layer 5. That way, she'd draw less scrutiny.
"I hope this batch of Spiritual Spring Dew can help the Snow Lotus mature."
Once she had regulated her spiritual energy, she raised the flame under the cauldron. One by one, she added the prepared herbs, her hands forming seals rapidly to begin the refinement process. Before long, the fragrance of medicine filled the room—a clear sign that the herbs had turned into liquid.
Spiritual Spring Dew didn't need to be condensed into a pill. It was applied as a liquid, making it easier for spirit plants to absorb. As the scent intensified, she swiftly extinguished the flames and transferred the potion into a storage bottle.
A thin stream of light yellow liquid poured in, like a trickle from a spring.
"…Yellow?"
Chen Jinshu frowned. Spiritual Spring Dew was supposed to be a clear, emerald green liquid.
"Did I fail?"
Yet she hadn't made any mistakes during the process. Her control over the refining stage had become quite stable by now. The only likely issue would've been her control of the heat.
"…Let's try again."
She stored away the yellow liquid and reignited the furnace.
By hour three of the evening, the sky was darkening. Chen Jinshu continued refining batch after batch of potion while taking Qi-Gathering Pills to maintain her cultivation.
Before her sat five bottles of "Spiritual Spring Dew."
—Pale Yellow (Failure?)
—Deeper Yellow
—Faint Green (Closest to records.)
—Muddy Gold
—Amber (Worryingly dark.)
The ancient record had only listed the ingredients, not the actual refining method. So she had to rely on experimentation.
"Life or death… I'll know once I try."
After restoring her spiritual energy, she stepped into the spiritual herb space. She chose five Purple-Tassel Flowers, all nearing maturity with just half a month left. Using a Sealing Circle Technique, she isolated each plant to prevent the elixirs from affecting surrounding herbs.
Then, she applied the five different potions one by one.