Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 8: Cooking Medicine

"Anguo, why are you here?" Wang Dazhu was quite happy.

Li An said, "I came to buy something."

"Hanchun Grass? Li An, are you planning to use this to treat your spiritual roots?" Zhao Xianchuan glanced at the two large bundles of Hanchun Grass Li An was carrying on his shoulder and couldn't help but laugh.

A while ago, Wang Dazhu went to Lingzhi Mountain and came back to tell them that Li An had successfully Qi Refining. At that time, he was surprised, but later he found out that forcibly Qi Refining with damaged spiritual roots had great hidden dangers. Basically, he could only stay at the Qi Refining level for the rest of his life.

"Yes, I heard that this grass has some effect on spiritual roots." Li An remained composed.

"Li An, although this grass is effective, its effect is minimal." Mu Qingwan couldn't help but remind him.

When they entered the door, she had mentioned that she would help Li An treat his injuries through cultivation, but now she also knew that Li An's injuries were almost beyond saving.

Li An just sighed.

The few of them chatted casually by the trading market for a while. In the four months since they entered, Mu Qingwan had made the greatest progress, already reaching the peak of the second level of Qi Refining and was about to break through to the third level of Qi Refining. Her mid-grade yellow-level spiritual roots allowed her to cultivate at a much faster speed than others.

Wang Dazhu and Zhao Xianchuan had also entered the second level of Qi Refining.

They had all started together, but now, the gap between Li An and them was getting bigger and bigger.

Even their attire reminded each other of their status. Li An wore a menial servant's robe, which was dirty and worn out from long hours of labor. Mu Qingwan and the others, on the other hand, wore bright and beautiful robes.

Li An learned that the few of them had come to the trading market to buy spiritual rice.

"There was a small beast tide in the sect's spiritual beast mountain range recently, caused by the birth of powerful bloodline spiritual beasts..."

"The sect has issued a mission to capture the overflowing spiritual beasts in exchange for contribution points."

Li An's heart skipped a beat.

Spiritual beasts are similar to humans, and their bloodlines are also divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.

If it could cause a beast tide, then the bloodline of these spiritual beasts must be around the Profound level.

Even if a spiritual beast with a Profound-level bloodline grew normally, it could become a second-level spiritual beast in the future, comparable to a human Foundation Building cultivator. Moreover, there was a high chance of it growing into a third-level spiritual beast!

A third-level spiritual beast is equivalent to a human Golden Core stage cultivator.

Such spiritual beasts are extremely rare. It should be noted that the sect master of Xuan Yang Sect, Xuan Yang Zhenren, is only a True Dan stage cultivator.

"By the way, Li An, aren't you a spiritual plant cultivator? How about it, do you have any extra spiritual rice? We're all acquaintances, we can take care of your business..." Zhao Xianchuan asked, with a hint of superiority in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, just now Senior Sister Xu Qiuhui passed by and I sold all my spiritual rice."

Li An shrugged his shoulders.

"Xu Qiuhui is almost certain to become an inner disciple. Buying so much spiritual rice, she might be planning to lure and capture young beasts with profound bloodlines, preparing to exchange them for Foundation Building pills..." Mu Qingwan whispered.

"Ange, we're planning to attend a small gathering. It's said that some inner disciples will be there. Do you want to come?" Wang Dazhu warmly invited.

Li An felt a bit bitter. "No, I finally got time off. If I don't go back, I won't be able to finish my work."

With that, he bid farewell.

Watching his figure as he left with the spring grass, Mu Qingwan's eyes showed a hint of complexity, and she sighed softly.

...

After leaving the trading market, Li An didn't go straight back to Lingzhi Mountain.

He went to the sect's exchange center again and spent a spiritual stone to exchange for two books.

"Basic Pharmacology" and "Summary of Talismans."

Basic Pharmacology mainly explains the properties and uses of common herbs, as well as the identification of spiritual herbs.

The Summary of Talismans explains the basic principles of talisman-making, mainly for beginners.

These two books are basically standard items in the sect, so they are relatively cheap.

In his previous life, Li An reached the Foundation Building stage and had knowledge in alchemy, talisman-making, and medicine. He had already mastered this knowledge long ago.

Especially in the field of talisman-making, he was even more proficient in his previous life.

The reason he bought these books was for future development.

To prevent attracting attention from others when he suddenly reveals certain talents or abilities.

...

After returning to Lingzhi Mountain, Li An temporarily stopped stealing spiritual rice.

Because the pest problem had become more severe, it was on the verge of becoming a disaster. If he continued to steal, it would easily cause problems.

After completing the rain-spreading task every day, Li An would occasionally study basic pharmacology and the summary of talismans. Every night, he would boil water with spring grass to drink.

Occasionally, he would also find some wild grass in the nearby mountains and cook them.

Fan Jie would spend the night at Zhang Susu's place every few days, so he also knew about Li An's situation. He only sneered contemptuously, thinking that Li An was wasting his time.

...

On this day, Li An was hunting in a forest not far from the spiritual field.

His Cloud-Scattering Rain Technique became more and more proficient, so he had already completed the rain-spreading task in the morning.

"This forest is the only area where Stinky Rat Wolves grow."

Li An lurked behind a huge rock, circulating the Life-Nurturing Immortal Casting Technique. The aura of his life seed enveloped him, making him seem as if he had merged with the surrounding plants and trees.

A yellow shadow quickly flashed ahead.

In front of Li An, a water arrow instantly formed and shot out with a whoosh.

With a screech, the Stinky Rat Wolf ten meters away was instantly hit and fell to the ground. It struggled a few times and then stopped moving!

Li An walked out, satisfied.

His water arrow technique is already proficient, with a killing range of up to fifteen meters.

Thanks to the "Nourishing Life and Forging Immortality Technique," his spiritual energy is abundant and long-lasting, and his recovery speed is extremely fast. He can even shoot about twelve arrows continuously.

With this level of strength, he can even crush cultivators at the second level of Qi Refining.

"The first leaf of the life seed has completely unfolded, and the second leaf has also shown a small green dot, about to sprout..."

Li An is confident that he can break through to the second level of Qi Refining within a year!

Everything is filled with hope.

Picking up the corpse of the stinky rat wolf and returning to his residence, he used a knife to cut open the buttocks of the stinky rat wolf and took out the sticky scent gland.

A foul smell hit Li An, making him feel nauseous. He quickly activated the "Nourishing Life and Forging Immortality Technique," held his breath, and threw the scent gland into the pot.

"The evil grass is enough to kill the pests, and combined with the camphor root and the stinky smell of the rat wolf, no one will be able to guess."

He promised Xu Qiuhui to send another hundred kilograms of spirit rice next month. If the pest problem is not solved, not only will he lose the extra reward, but it might also ruin his relationship with Xu Qiuhui.

Having been born into a cultivation family in his previous life, with spiritual fields and more, he knew one or two secret methods to deal with pests.

The secret method is actually very simple, just boiling the evil grass in water, which is extremely effective in killing pests.

To cover up this secret method, he deliberately brought camphor root and stinky rat wolf to cook together, confusing the sight and avoiding the secret method from being guessed.

The dark soup in the pot emitted a strong foul smell, spreading far away.

"Li An, are you f***ing cooking?"

Fan Jie was having a meal at Zhang Susu's residence and was immediately overwhelmed by the smell. He kicked open Li An's door, pinched his nose, and cursed at him.

Li An hurriedly explained, "Reporting to the Immortal Elder, according to the medicinal book, I have been studying a soup medicine that can kill pests, and I am currently experimenting..."

"Experiment my ass! You're still studying soup medicine? Put out the fire immediately!"

Fan Jie couldn't stand the smell.

Li An quickly extinguished the fire.

...

The next day, Li An guided the pot of soup medicine into the rainwater during the cloud and rain formation.

After about an hour of rainfall, large numbers of pests in Li An's field died.

Moreover, the spirit rice was not affected at all!

"The effect is actually so good?!"

Fan Jie was somewhat surprised to see this. Li An, this guy, actually managed to research something from that basic medicinal book found on the street?

He couldn't help but feel delighted. During this period of time, he had been extremely worried about the pest disaster.

He immediately found Li An and asked him to help him cook a pot tonight. He had a use for it.

This surprised Li An.

He thought of the large array that stole the spiritual fields in the cultivation family.

Fan Jie had never allowed Li An to set foot on the spiritual plant mountain...

Could it be that Fan Jie had planted something on the mountain and encountered a pest disaster?

But he didn't say anything and agreed without hesitation.

"Li An, can you cook a pot of medicinal soup for me too?"

Zhang Susu also came to visit. Since leaving Fan Jie after dinner, her life has rapidly improved.

Now she looks radiant, with a rosy complexion, and no longer wears servant clothes. Instead, she wears her old dress, exuding a more mature charm.

Li An said, "Susu, you may have to wait. It will take me a lot of time to gather all the herbs..."

"Don't worry, I won't use your services for free. When my spiritual rice matures this month, I'll give you half as an extra reward. How about that?"

She smiled and spoke.

The main reason is that the recent pest infestation has become increasingly severe. Even Fan Jie can't solve it. If this continues, her spiritual field will probably have no extra harvest.

Li An readily agreed.

Even Wang Zilin hobbled over, looking at Li An with a hesitant expression, and said, "Ange, I..."

"Ninety and a half percent, I'll give you ninety and a half percent of your extra reward. I'll cook a pot for you."

Li An looked at him.

As soon as Wang Zilin heard this, his mentality almost collapsed. Damn it, he has to give him ninety and a half percent of his extra income for a pot of medicinal soup?!

Is this Li An a skinflint?

But if the pest problem isn't solved, let alone extra income, his monthly allowance will be deducted.

He had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.

...

In the following days, the Lingzhi Mountain became very fragrant.

Fan Jie didn't dare to stay at Zhang Susu's place these days because the smell of Li An's medicine was too strong.

...

Soon, the third batch of spiritual rice was harvested.

This time, there was no pest infestation, and all the spiritual fields had a bountiful harvest.

Li An became the big winner. His own spiritual field received an extra reward, and with the commission from Zhang Susu, his extra income reached 138 jin.

Li An couldn't help but feel delighted. He was enjoying the fruits of his labor. Indeed, it was the most satisfying.

On the last day of the month, he went to the trading market again to fulfill his agreement with Xu Qiuhui.

He learned that the small beast tide in the Ling Beast Mountain Range has been ongoing, so spiritual rice will continue to be in high demand for a long time to come.

Then he bought twenty jin of Spring Grass and brought it back.

...

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, eight months had passed.

"It's almost there."

Li An's condition was getting better and better. He had reached the first level of Qi Refining and finally cultivated to perfection!

He could now break through to the second level of Qi Refining.

...

(End of this chapter)