Mortal Alchemy

Third-order tea tree leaves would definitely be more effective.

But currently, Chen Ping doesn't need third-order spiritual objects yet.

"If I let this tea tree drop all its leaves, that would be a huge loss..."

These tea tree leaves are at least two to three hundred years old.

If the spiritual liquid within them is sucked dry, turning them into useless waste, it would be of no use to Chen Ping.

These tea tree leaves can also be used as the main ingredient for the Cultivation Enhancement Pill, but that would require changing some of the medicinal herbs on the pill formula.

And the second-order tiger demon in front of him has powerful demon power.

Chen Ping didn't rush to attack. He wasn't sure if this peak second-order Zisha tea tree only had one guardian beast.

He needs to observe first.

He also needs to draw away the spiritual energy from this area, causing the Zisha tea tree to lose the spiritual energy environment for advancing to the third-order, forcing the Zisha tea tree to temporarily delay its advancement and redistribute its spiritual power to the leaves.

Only in this way can Chen Ping maximize his benefits.

This Zisha tea tree is not the work of the four major families.

"It seems they haven't finished developing Dongyue Mountain yet."

"Brother Diao, are there any other good things in Dongyue Mountain?" Chen Ping asked.

The Treasure Hunting Marten shook its head.

Chen Ping wasn't disappointed. It's already pretty good to have two second-order spiritual plants with considerable age in a third-order spiritual vein, especially in this remote location on the edge of the Eastern Wilderness. If it were near the Eastern Xuan Sect, how could Chen Ping enjoy such good things? No way.

However, he still had doubts in his mind, but he couldn't find the source of the clues for the time being, so he didn't continue to think deeply.

"To deal with this tiger demon, I'd better enter the first realm of Sword Intent. This will further enhance my combat power, allowing me to deal with the tiger demon with more certainty and without alarming the four Foundation Establishment families."

His mana is more profound than that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, and he also has a second-order spiritual weapon bestowed by his master, as well as the Azure Lotus Swordplay.

However, he has not yet condensed a sword crystal, which means that Chen Ping's combat power is still mediocre. His potential after advancing to Foundation Establishment has not yet been realized.

And he has Ji Changsheng's divine soul, so it will be faster to enter the first realm of Sword Intent.

In another two to three months, he will be able to enter the first realm of Sword Intent, Sword Qi Condensing Silk!

Chen Ping comprehends the methods of a third-order spiritual planter and has the second-order restriction formation left behind from before.

However, to extract third-order spiritual energy, a third-order formation is needed.

"I need Senior Sister Jianjia's help with this matter."

Chen Ping didn't suspect anything and chose to let Golden Core Senior Sister Bai Jianjia help.

Having Senior Sister Jianjia buy a third-order small formation on his behalf would not arouse anyone's suspicion and could be done silently.

Chen Ping returned to Fuguang Square City to continue refining pills and practicing swordsmanship.

He asked Madam Guo to send a message.

Chen Ping was also paying attention to the movements of the four major families: "...I took their Golden Spirit Leaves, and they have no reaction at all?"

Logically speaking, they should have.

Chen Ping stroked his chin with one hand and pondered: "Could it be that they think I can't use the Golden Spirit Leaves after taking them? Hehe..."

He looked at the dozen or so bottles of three-hundred-year-old Cultivation Enhancement Pills in front of him and chuckled a few times.

If he had stayed in the sect to cultivate, where would he find such good things?

Chen Ping felt fortunate about his decision to leave the sect and come outside.

Two and a half months later, Mu Luofei arrived at Fuguang Square City and found Chen Ping.

At this time, she no longer had the desolation she felt when she first entered Foundation Establishment. Her clothes were woven from Ice Silk.

The White Jade Flying Boat that had accompanied her for more than twenty years had also been replaced by a White Jade Airship that could fly three thousand miles a day.

When she arrived at Fuguang Square City in the early morning, the sunlight shone on her, making her look like a fairy.

Bright, charming, and inviolable.

Chen Ping was a little surprised: "Senior Sister Luofei, you came so quickly?"

Mu Luofei smiled gently:

"I originally wanted to stay in Donghuang Immortal City for a few days, but Martial Uncle Bai ordered me to send something to Junior Brother. How dare Senior Sister delay Junior Brother's important matter?"

Chen Ping laughed: "Thank you for your hard work, Senior Sister."

Mu Luofei's round trip was forty thousand miles.

She first took out 35,000 spiritual stones from her spatial ring: "Junior Brother, this is the money from selling ten bottles of Beauty Preservation Pills."

Chen Ping's eyes lit up. It had been a long time since he had earned any spiritual stones.

He had been in Fuguang Square City for more than a year, and because he had not completed the assessment, he could not even get the 1,000 spiritual stone salary as the head of the square city.

He had also considered paying the sect's 5,000 spiritual stone tax out of his own pocket, but that would only get him 1,000 spiritual stones and a little contribution, which was not cost-effective.

Chen Ping accepted the spiritual stones. His wallet reached an unprecedented 40,000 spiritual stones.

This made Chen Ping's heart surge. It's still more profitable to be a wild alchemist.

Moreover, Madam Guo hasn't given him the money yet. If Madam Guo settles the bill, Chen Ping's wallet could reach 80,000 spiritual stones!

If he were refining pills for the sect, hehe, his annual salary would only be 2,000 to 5,000 spiritual stones.

Chen Ping smiled and said, "It seems that Senior Sister's sales of Beauty Preservation Pills are quite good."

Mu Luofei didn't hide anything from Chen Ping:

"First-order Beauty Preservation Pills are in short supply. I just wandered around the Mu family and sold almost all of them."

When she was not yet at Foundation Establishment, she had to borrow money to buy a Beauty Preservation Pill. This was very useful, allowing her to maintain her appearance after her first Foundation Establishment failure.

Chen Ping nodded slowly and took out another ten bottles of Beauty Preservation Pills for Mu Luofei: "Then Senior Sister, please continue to work hard."

Then Mu Luofei said, "Junior Brother, I have some leads on the medicinal herbs you asked me to look out for. I also have a general understanding of the prices of second-order medicinal herbs."

Chen Ping's eyes lit up:

"Senior Sister, for example, how much do one-hundred-year-old, two-hundred-year-old, and three-hundred-year-old Golden Spirit Leaves cost?"

Mu Luofei said, "According to market prices, one-hundred-year-old costs one hundred spiritual stones, two-hundred-year-old costs five hundred spiritual stones, and three-hundred-year-old costs two thousand spiritual stones."

"Hiss!" Chen Ping gasped.

Three-hundred-year-old costs two thousand spiritual stones, which means that the three-hundred-year-old Cultivation Enhancement Pill that Chen Ping is currently taking costs as much as 2,050 spiritual stones per furnace.

He spends 6,150 spiritual stones a month just on Cultivation Enhancement Pills.

That's 73,800 spiritual stones a year. Accumulating this over decades or centuries is an astronomical amount of resources.

So, if he wants a constant flow of resources, does it seem like there's not much left of the 30,000 spiritual stones he's earned in the past few months?

It's normal for three-hundred-year-old medicinal herbs to be so expensive because resources are scarce and things are valued for their rarity.

Chen Ping said, "What about sect exchanges? Are there such good things?"

Mu Luofei said, "Yes, exchanging for three-hundred-year-old Golden Spirit Leaves requires a little contribution."

"The sect plants many of these high-year medicinal herbs internally, and the Mu family also planted a few for the sect."

Chen Ping shook his head, gritted his teeth, and gave another 20,000 spiritual stones to Mu Luofei:

"Senior Sister, please try your best to help me acquire three-hundred-year-old medicinal herbs, mainly Golden Spirit Leaves."

"Also, please help me inquire about second-order body cultivation techniques."