"Another two months until full maturity," Chen Jinshu murmured as she inspected the spiritual herbs in the frigid-field plot. To her surprise, their growth had already outpaced her expectations.
Of course, it helped that she occasionally infused the cold spring water with a growth-accelerating solution and used Wood Spirit Arts to speed up the process. With this method, a cycle that would typically take half a year could be condensed into three or four months.
After tending to the three acres of spiritual farmland, she approached the Soulvine at the far edge of the field.
Compared to their first encounter, the vine's condition had improved considerably. A faint breath of life now pulsed from its once-lifeless form, the withering aura reduced to nearly nothing.
It seemed that her consistent irrigation and mild treatment of its rotting roots had helped it cling once again to vitality.
"Can your root system move from here?" she asked softly.
The vine's tendrils pointed downward at the decaying mass beneath it—indicating the root was still compromised and unable to detach.
Chen Jinshu understood at once. This remaining portion of the root was likely what sustained the vine's fragile existence. Any damage to it might sever the last thread of life.
"I don't intend to rip you from the soil," she said gently. "But if I could perform a proper transplantation spell—one that moves you along with your root system—would you be willing to leave?"
In response, the vine slowly wrapped a tendril around her finger, as if gauging her sincerity.
"I'm not tricking you," she said. "I truly want to take you with me. If you remain here… there may be no one left to care for you."
These three acres of cold-attribute farmland were shunned by most. Even herb gardens with weaker spiritual veins were more desirable. Among disciples of the Medicine King Peak, this plot had an infamous reputation. Most steered clear of it altogether.
The vine hesitated no longer—it gave a gentle nod.
Chen Jinshu smiled. This wasn't coercion, she told herself. It was offering the vine a better future.
She intended to move to a more suitable field herself—somewhere she could grow more diverse herbs. Under her meticulous care, this once-abandoned field had already returned to baseline productivity. In fact, it now outperformed several adjacent plots.
But the Frost Pool Garden severely limited what could be cultivated. She couldn't keep growing only frigid-element herbs forever. Had she any other choice back then, she would never have taken this plot in the first place.
"But you'll need to wait a little longer," she said to the vine. "I've only scratched the surface of spiritual transplantation techniques. I'll need to attend more of the Gu Zhēnrén lectures before I can safely move you."
Lately, she'd noticed the intervals between Gu Zhēnrén sermons were gradually increasing, and each session layered more advanced teachings atop the last. The content, too, had grown more refined and challenging. She had a hunch that the next topic might involve transplanting or maintaining spirit plants.
With that, Chen Jinshu began watering the vine, followed by applying a medicinal salve to its damaged roots. Once she was done, she made several trips to the Frost Pond for fresh water, then departed from the garden.
Two hours later, Chen Jinshu left Ink Plum Courtyard and arrived at the Alchemy Hall. Though this hall hosted most pill refinement assessments, it also functioned as the task center for alchemical assignments—though that role was relegated to a separate side hall.
She had held her Tier-One Lower Grade Alchemist certification for over a month now. Technically, she could've started taking assignments earlier, but she'd been delayed by the whole incident with the Fate Fruit and the Yin Mountain Sparrow.
Soon, she arrived at a small side hall bearing the plaque: Pill King Hall.
To her surprise, five other disciples were already lined up inside. Chen Jinshu hurried to queue up behind them.
Although managing a spiritual field also counted as a sect task and could yield contribution points, it was far slower than refining pills. One plot of herbs might take half a year—or even a full year—before generating returns.
Alchemy assignments, on the other hand, rewarded contribution points based on both the quality and tier of the refined pills, and you could turn in your results as soon as you hit the quota. Of course, not every disciple had a gift for alchemy. Many relied solely on farming herbs to earn their points.
But the true advantage of alchemy assignments was access—successfully completing tasks allowed one to gradually gain exposure to higher-tier formulas, such as Foundation Building Pills or Marrow Cleansing Pills.
Formulas were the true lifeblood of an alchemist.
At the moment, Chen Jinshu only possessed a few Tier-One mid-grade formulas—she didn't own a single high-grade one. Most known alchemy legacies outside the sect were fragmented or unreliable.
Another benefit of these assignments was that, so long as you turned in the required amount of pills, any extras were yours to keep. You could offer them to the sect for more points or use them in your own cultivation.
And contribution points… were essential to everything—resources, cultivation techniques, spell scrolls. You couldn't advance without them. Soon enough, it was her turn. She stepped forward and presented her alchemist's certificate along with her disciple token.
"Tier-One Lower Grade," the supervising senior murmured. "You may only accept assignments for lower-grade pills."
"How many do you want to take on? Don't bite off more than you can chew. If you fail to submit on time, you'll be blacklisted for future tasks of the same quota—and your points will be docked."
"What's the usual assignment quantity?" she asked after a moment's thought.
"Thirty sets of ingredients per month. You can delay for up to half a month beyond that."
"In that case, please register me for sixty sets of Lingyuan Pill materials."
"Sixty?" The senior raised an eyebrow, then nodded in approval. "That's a reasonable amount for a newly certified alchemist. Just don't go overboard. If you can't finish on time, it causes trouble for both you and us."
He sighed quietly in relief. Far too many newcomers overestimated themselves and ended up making life difficult for the task supervisors—not to mention earning disciplinary marks that restricted future access to techniques and resources.
After registration, Chen Jinshu received a token confirming the assignment and a package containing materials for sixty batches of Lingyuan Pills.
"Sixty sets due in two months. Maximum extension: two and a half. Each set must yield at least four completed pills. The final count—you'll have to do the math yourself."
"Senior, may I ask—how many contribution points per Lingyuan Pill?"
"It's a low-grade pill meant for outer-sect servants, so the points aren't much. Two to three per pill, depending on quality."
"Understood. Thank you, Senior," she said with a respectful bow.
With the materials in hand, she turned and headed back to Ink Plum Courtyard.
On the way, she examined the herbs and was surprised to find their quality higher than expected—mostly upper-mid, with only a handful of mid-tier batches. The Medicine King Peak's cultivation techniques seemed as reliable as its reputation.
At her current rate—five furnaces per day—she could complete the full batch within a month. However, that would cut deeply into her own cultivation time, which wasn't ideal. She still needed to practice with mid-grade pills daily to maintain her skill and prepare for the upcoming "Blind Box Alchemy Competition."
Given that, she could only allocate two furnaces per day to Lingyuan Pills and take rest days as needed. Even so, she would finish well within the time limit. Clearly, the sect had accounted for disciples' cultivation schedules when designing these assignments.