"My pillcraft has definitely improved." Chen Jinshu glanced at the four high-quality Lingyuan Pills inside the jade bottle, a faint smile tugging at her lips.
This furnace had yielded eight pills in total—four of them high-grade, the remaining four slightly above average. In the past, her best results for a single batch were two or three high-grade pills at most. Now, after refining two furnaces in a row with four high-grade pills each, it was undeniable—this was proof her alchemy had reached a new level.
"That's enough refining for today. Alchemy must be taken step by step, no rushing it."
Though her cultivation had reached the fifth level of Qi Refining, she still limited herself to five batches of Lingyuan Pills a day. Any more, and her spiritual energy would be dangerously depleted, increasing the chance of mistakes.
Besides, refining pills wasn't her only task—tending the spirit fields and accelerating herb growth also demanded a steady stream of spiritual energy. She pulled out a modified Qi Condensing Pill and swallowed it swiftly, sitting down at once to refine the energy.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. Threads of new energy coiled within her dantian, strengthening her base. It wasn't enough to break through to the sixth level of Qi Refining just yet, but she had only advanced to the fifth level less than three months ago. She wasn't in a rush.
…
Seven days later, in the Spirit Plant Zone of Ink Plum Courtyard—
Chen Jinshu stood beside four acres of spiritual farmland, steadily irrigating them. The sound of water gushed softly as it sprayed from a storage bottle. A cooling mist rich with spiritual energy began to fill the air. Once she finished watering, she walked the fields to inspect the herbs.
"The Goldvine Flowers will mature in another month. But the Purple Sear Flowers are ready."
This particular batch of Goldvine Flowers had already been harvested once. She'd replanted them using spirit seeds, and now—after seven or eight months—they were almost ready again.
Purple Sear Flowers, one of the key ingredients in Qi Condensing Pills, matured every six months. She'd already gone through several planting cycles.
However, she hadn't sold any due to her recent entry into the Xuanming Sect. The result? An accumulated stock of several thousand stalks—even after subtracting what she used for alchemy.
Goldvine Flowers, as a core ingredient for more advanced pills, she had always hesitated to sell. But this new batch was of exceptional quality. She'd made up her mind.
"On the market, three Purple Sear Flowers fetch one spirit stone. At this scale, that's at least eight or nine hundred stones. But mine are higher quality—two stalks per stone would be fair."
She did the mental calculations. The total return surprised her—it exceeded even her highest expectations. With that, she decided to sell not just the current harvest, but also the entire stockpile she'd been holding onto.
Besides, she had an alchemist's certificate. That alone could raise the price even higher. Two hours later, she'd sorted and packed thousands of Purple Sear and Goldvine Flowers into several storage pouches. Naturally, such a large batch couldn't be sold to a single vendor—it would draw too much attention.
Fortunately, she owned a spirit artifact that could obscure her appearance. Unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator deliberately investigated her, no one would recognize her face. Half an hour later, Chen Jinshu appeared at Shuiyue Pavilion in the Pingwu Market.
She had traded here multiple times before. As it was a sect-affiliated business, she made no effort to disguise her intent. With her alchemist credentials and high-quality herbs, she successfully raised the price—two flowers per spirit stone.
For ordinary cultivators, that was an extravagant rate.
Just as she finalized the transaction with a senior brother from Shuiyue Pavilion, a faintly familiar figure appeared at the edge of her vision. The voice jolted a memory awake.
She carefully compared the man's appearance to her recollection. Yes—he was the same insect cultivator who had once ambushed her. And now, he'd grown stronger.
It had been over a year. He had already been at the ninth level of Qi Refining back then. Now, he was likely just one Foundation Pill away from breaking through.
Chen Jinshu quickly suppressed the tension rising within her, pretending not to notice as she subtly observed him out of the corner of her eye—waiting for her senior brother to finish verifying the herbs.
His appearance hadn't changed much, though his clothes were cleaner now, more refined—not the tattered look of a rogue cultivator. He resembled a disciple from a formal sect, though he didn't wear any insignia.
"Junior Sister! Here are your spirit stones and your token," the senior brother called, snapping her back to the present.
"Many thanks, Senior Brother." She accepted the items with a nod.
Once the insect cultivator left the shop, she leaned in slightly and asked, "Senior Brother, may I ask—who was the one you were just speaking with? He seemed quite familiar with your pavilion."
"You know him?"
"We've crossed paths a few times," Chen Jinshu replied.
"Oh, he's a regular here. Mostly trades in insect beast corpses, droppings, things like that. Junior Sister's from the Medicine Peak, so you'd know—spirit farms need spirit fertilizers to maintain their nourishment. The best materials are monster beast waste and remains."
"What faction is he from?" Her suspicion was confirmed. This man was undoubtedly the same insect cultivator from before.
"He's a disciple of Insect Valley."
"Insect Valley? I've never heard of them," Chen Jinshu murmured. She realized this was a blind spot in her knowledge. She'd have to research it once she got back.
"The Xuanming Sect has been rooted here for over a thousand years, naturally with plenty of vassal forces. Insect Valley is one of the smaller ones. I heard their strongest cultivator is only in the later stages of Foundation Establishment. That's about all I know."
"His name's Li Chenliang—peak Qi Refining stage, not to be underestimated. He's been busy lately, scrambling for a Foundation Pill. But Foundation Pills aren't exactly easy to come by."
The senior brother scoffed—not in mockery, but with a knowing shake of the head.
"I see… thank you for the insight." Chen Jinshu bowed in thought.
A disciple from a Foundation-level faction reduced to working as a hired killer for a few spirit stones—this spoke volumes about the state of his sect.
Judging by how hard he was working, he'd clearly been running himself ragged in pursuit of a Foundation Pill. For now, with his cultivation so much higher, all she could do was monitor him discreetly and—when possible—throw a few obstacles his way.
"No need for thanks."
Afterward, Chen Jinshu visited several other vendors, finally managing to offload all her herbs, earning over a thousand spirit stones in total.
Her record high.
But she wouldn't hold onto those stones for long. She needed a new self-defense artifact. Her current Plum Rain Fan was a low-grade spirit weapon. It had already started falling behind her needs ever since she advanced to mid-stage Qi Refining—and she was still growing.
It was time for a proper upgrade.
She changed into her sect disciple robes and headed straight for Wanbing Pavilion, the finest spirit weapon shop in the market. It, too, was a sect enterprise, but more specialized—selling only premium spirit weapons.
Shuiyue Pavilion dealt in some spirit tools as well, but its focus was on pills and everyday cultivation goods.
When it came to spirit weapons, quality mattered. So she came here without hesitation. Unfortunately, the alchemist certificate wouldn't get her a discount at Wanbing Pavilion. Only a sect disciple token would shave a few spirit stones off the price.
Moments after she stepped through the doors, a senior sister greeted her warmly.
"Welcome, Junior Sister, to Wanbing Pavilion!"