Once it was settled that Lin Donglai had leased a cave dwelling and contracted the spiritual plant tasks for Tianquan Manor, Liu Jinyang departed, satisfied.
As Liu Jinyang left, Lin Donglai watched him go.
Once he was completely out of sight, Lin Donglai activated his Spiritual Eye technique—specifically, the version supported by his Jianmu Spiritual Root—to inspect both the cave dwelling and Tianquan Manor.
The Spiritual Eye technique supported by Jianmu Spiritual Leaves manifested as a mark similar to a "Heavenly Eye" between the brows. Lin Donglai had previously used this to locate underground spiritual veins and to see the specific forms of the various spiritual energies within heaven and earth.
He was inspecting the area now to see if there were any locations that looked capable of hiding opportunities, or if Liu Jinyang had left behind any means of surveillance.
"Not in the cave dwelling, but in Tianquan Manor."
Lin Donglai's gaze finally settled on the two spiritual pools used for processing waste liquid.
Beneath the pools, there was actually an existence similar to a secret chamber. However, it would be difficult for an ordinary person's divine sense to penetrate it, as the pools were equipped with non-ordinary formations.
Lin Donglai had no intention of investigating further; he quickly closed his eyes, deactivated the technique, and immediately used his outer disciple token to send a message to the Seven Friends of the Spiritual Field Mutual Aid Society.
These individuals had all participated in the Spiritual Planting Competition but had not placed. They had originally intended to congratulate Lin Donglai, but seeing him surrounded by inner disciples and later departing with Huang Yue and Liu Jinyang, they had each gone to select their own cave dwellings.
However, they were all aware of the situation at Tianquan Manor, so they chose dwellings nearby. They opted for mid-grade first-tier cave dwellings, not daring to believe the flattery of the Construction Hall disciples regarding high-grade dwellings, fearing they could not afford the upkeep. Lacking merit points, they had signed three-year spiritual lease contracts, leaving them heavily in debt.
Upon hearing that Lin Donglai had rented a high-grade cave dwelling, they were astonished. "Chief, you are being foolish! Most of our time is spent in the spiritual fields; the cave dwelling is only used for resting or secluded cultivation. There is no need to rent such a high one. Besides, even for cultivation, an early-stage Qi Refinement cultivator can only practice for one hour, and a mid-stage cultivator only two. A mid-grade cave dwelling is more than sufficient. Once the three-year term is up and your cultivation reaches the mid-stage, it won't be too late to rent a high-grade one."
Lin Donglai waved his hand. "There was no other way. Senior Brother Liu Jinyang acted as the intermediary for this; he facilitated everything here at Tianquan Manor. I could not offend him. There are gains and losses; it is only right that I make some concessions, even if it means a heavier burden on my shoulders."
"So that was the reason." The group realized his intentions and were quite moved by his thoughtfulness.
"Ning Feng, I asked you previously to look into suitable handyman disciples. Have you found any?"
"I have. They are all diligent and honest, though their comprehension is somewhat dull," Ning Feng replied. "We can go directly to the Handyman Hall to sign spiritual leases and hire them. We will have sixteen workers by then."
"That will do. We can begin preparations. There is still about half a year before next spring. We need to carefully inspect the condition of these spiritual fields—the fertility, the spiritual energy, and whether there are any insect eggs or diseases. It would be best to condition them, plow them deeply, and let the soil be exposed to the sun for a period of time."
"I will leave this task to Niu Fusheng and Li Gensheng. Follow the previous rules: record it as a favor first."
"Zhang Baiyi, Hou Wenhua, Ma Quanyong, and He Wuxuan—you all go prepare and check what tools are needed, and calculate how much spiritual fertilizer and spiritual stone powder is required. Additionally, inspect how these spiritual fields should be irrigated. The medicinal pool is in the center of the fields; relying solely on manual labor will likely not suffice."
"I took first place in the Spiritual Planting Competition this time, and the Spiritual Planting Hall rewarded me with a set of mid-grade spiritual planting artifacts. I will bring them later so everyone can take turns using them."
"We must strive to complete the planning for these fifty acres within a month. Before next spring, we will plant a season of spiritual yellow soybeans to nourish the soil. Besides nourishing the land, these beans can be sold to Spirit Beast Peak as fodder to earn some merit points."
"Understood! We will follow the Chief's orders!"
Just as Lin Donglai was giving his instructions, his outer disciple token vibrated. Checking the message, he saw that Xiao Yi had emerged from seclusion. Having become a low-grade first-tier alchemist, Xiao Yi wanted to celebrate with him.
Thus, Lin Donglai told Xiao Yi to come directly to Tianquan Manor.
A short while later, a beaming Xiao Yi arrived, his bald head having become his trademark look.
"As soon as I emerged from seclusion, I contacted my clan uncle, who is a shopkeeper. They were overjoyed to see that I had indeed mastered the Pill of Universal Wonders. They provided three more sets of materials for me to demonstrate. All three batches were successful, with an eighty percent success rate per batch, yet the pill toxicity was less than ten percent. They are now willing to sponsor my further studies in alchemy."
"However, I did not forget my promise to you. After exchanging for spiritual stones, I heard that you took first place in the Spiritual Planting Competition and were publicly praised by an Elder of the Spiritual Planting Hall, so I rushed here to congratulate you."
"This is what I earned from refining the Pill of Universal Wonders. According to our agreement, I will give half to you."
In reality, refining the Pill of Universal Wonders had consumed many materials—one hundred and twenty portions, of which at least eighty were wasted before he mastered the formula. The remaining portion would certainly not fetch many spiritual stones.
These spiritual stones were provided by his clansmen, who had also gathered another hundred portions of materials for him to refine and sell, having already paid a deposit.
The spiritual stones he was giving Lin Donglai now totaled fifty, which was actually nearly all he had left after paying off the debts he had incurred while borrowing from various places before.
Lin Donglai shook his head. "Whether it is the Universal Wonder Flower or those inferior to the Flowing Spirit Herb, they are only sold as spiritual herbs. The Merit Hall only buys back Xia Sheng Flowers at two stalks per merit point; even with one hundred and twenty stalks, it is only worth sixty spiritual stones. Most of the value comes from your alchemy."
"As the saying goes, 'even close brothers keep clear accounts.' We both benefit; it is a win-win. We must not lose the big picture for the sake of small gains."
He immediately returned thirty spiritual stones. "I will not be impolite and take these."
Seeing this, Xiao Yi also took back the thirty stones and then said, "I came this time hoping to cooperate with you again."
"Firstly, regarding the Universal Wonder Flower, I hope we can grow more so I can refine pills to earn spiritual stones. Secondly, this Pill of Universal Wonders is ultimately a minor external pill; it can provide a boost, but it cannot increase one's cultivation level."
"Therefore, I plan to refine a new type of pill called the Yellow Bud Pill. The main ingredient, the Yellow Bud, is the small sprout that grows overnight after the spiritual rice has been harvested in the autumn wind, before it sees the sunlight. The other main ingredient is a low-grade first-tier Spiritual Qi Flower."
"This pill can slightly increase the cultivation of early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators. The sect has higher-quality versions and will not collect this pill, but once it flows into the outside world, the price can be much higher, precisely because it originates from the Azure Wood Sect."
"The sect exchanges this pill for five merit points per bottle, with twelve pills per bottle. Outside, it sells for eight spiritual stones per bottle."
Hearing that it involved low-grade first-tier spiritual herbs, Lin Donglai did not refuse, nor did he look down on it. After all, there were several acres of low-grade spiritual fields in Tianquan Valley opened by predecessors, which could serve as training grounds for the people of the valley to hone their skills.
"Agreed," Lin Donglai responded. "You will provide the seeds for the Spiritual Qi Flowers and the required spiritual fertilizer. I will provide the spiritual fields and the labor."
"As for the Yellow Buds, the main difficulty is the collection. How many Yellow Buds do you need for one batch of pills?"
"I need one tael."
"Will sprouts newly grown from mid-grade first-tier rice or high-grade first-tier rice both work? Is there one price or two?"
"The 'Yellow Bud' takes its name from the essence of its emergence, so grade does not matter. However, mid-grade can be given two spiritual stones per jin, and high-grade can be given four spiritual stones per jin."
"One acre of spiritual field should yield about two jin of Yellow Buds. But take note: the essence of the Yellow Bud lies in its yellowness. If it turns green, it is useless."
"Fine, let's sign a spiritual lease." Lin Donglai felt this was a business worth doing.
After signing the lease, Lin Donglai remarked, "It's a pity this doesn't earn merit points. Spiritual stones cannot be exchanged for the treasures in the Merit Hall within the sect."
Xiao Yi replied, "Merit points in the sect are extremely precious; they can even be exchanged for Foundation Establishment spiritual items. Therefore, everyone saves them to use when they reach the peak of Qi Refinement. For non-essential items, people do not use the Merit Hall for exchanges; instead, there are many private transactions among disciples, which are primarily conducted with spiritual stones."
"On the eleventh of next month, there is an outer disciple gathering I attend. I can bring you along to join us."