Chapter 33: Chapter 33: The Spirit Vein Willow’s Condition, the Need for a Spirit Vein
"This... is truly a lot."
"Oh, Taoist Friend, these spiritual materials are quite interesting."
Su Ya inspected each item, the joy on his face becoming more and more apparent.
Although the materials were low-tier, almost every one of them was full of Spiritual Qi, with a natural quality unlike those cultivated by cultivators, more like they grew wild in the fields.
As an alchemist, he had come into contact with many different spiritual plant materials.
The methods of cultivation within the sect are numerous, yet those disciples always like to make the spiritual plants appear exactly the same.
It’s even like planting rice in the mortal world, all neat and orderly, with daily supplies of Spiritual Water and Qi strictly according to regulations.
This method is certainly good, but it lacks some meaning and loses some spirituality.
In his view, they are absolutely inferior to Li Ye’s spiritual plant materials, varied in Spiritual Qi but naturally formed.
For low-tier alchemists, it’s undoubtedly better to have stable spiritual plant materials since the range of Spiritual Qi isn’t large—this is how the sect has been mass-producing needed spirit pills.
However, for alchemists wanting to advance in alchemy, this isn’t ideal; they need to experience different spiritual powers from various materials and proficiently control and master them.
After all, the further one progresses in cultivation, the rarer the spiritual materials collected become, even unique, and without adaptability, one cannot succeed.
The spiritual materials before him made him instantly want to concoct pills.
He immediately began to classify them:
"These scales from the Golden Red Dragon Carp can be ground into powder and used as a beauty-enhancing pill material... Process all the lotus materials to concoct several lotus pills...
Oh! And this spiritual water phoenix eye lotus gourd, which has merged with the blood of the Golden Red Dragon Carp, it has abundant spiritual qi, so it can be used to concoct pills to nourish qi and blood!"
Su Ya quickly planned out how to handle these materials, his eyes shining brightly:
"Does Taoist Friend wish to sell all these spiritual materials to me directly, or wait for me to concoct pills and share in the profit?
If sharing, there’s a risk of concoction failure, if selling directly, these spiritual materials... I’ll offer Taoist Friend four hundred Spirit Stones."
—This price was truly generous.
It’s worth noting, how many Spirit Stones did Li Ye originally spend to buy these spiritual plants?
Now selling just the produced materials, with continuous future yields, the longer he cultivates them, the more their quality and spiritual qi will increase, becoming even more expensive.
So he directly said, "I trust Taoist Friend’s alchemical skills, and am confident in my excellent materials, awaiting good news from Taoist Friend."
"Haha, Taoist Friend’s spiritual materials are indeed good, I can’t fall behind... I must ask Taoist Friend to leave for now, I’m about to start a closed-door alchemy session!"
This Taoist Friend Su Ya was clearly the kind of person who acts immediately; he slammed his hand on the ground.
The originally translucent pill furnace instantly moved aside, and a smaller pill furnace appeared in its place.
Then various tools and materials like pestles, scales, yellow paper, and cinnabar appeared beside it, making Li Ye’s eyes spin.
"I’m truly not suited for learning alchemy."
Li Ye simply shook his head, saying to the already engrossed Su Ya, "Taoist Friend Su, I’ll take my leave!"
The latter merely waved his hand.
Seeing him so absorbed and focused, Li Ye couldn’t help feeling curious and anticipative about the spirit pills he’d make, and returned the same way.
This time he had gained quite a lot, the only problem being he didn’t have a chance to inquire about Huiya Grotto Heaven’s situation. If the Spirit Vein Willow was a specialty of Huiya’s marketplace, Su Ya should know.
’But there’s no urgency.’
’I can ask around elsewhere later.’
’Huiya Grotto Heaven should be quite famous.’
When he emerged from the underground, the shop was already crowded with cultivators, bustling and completely devoid of the usual quiet atmosphere.
"Shopkeeper, do you have Spiritual Liquid that enhances vitality?"
"An anti-cold array would work too!"
"Magical Artifact! I need something to resist the wind and snow!"
Many cultivators sought to buy something to enhance the vitality of their spiritual plants, resisting the harsh cold and snow with Spiritual Liquid or a Magical Artifact.
Surely this sudden turn of spring’s chill had caused many cultivators’ plants to suffer.
He felt fortunate his golden finger was helpful, preventing him from becoming like a headless fly seeking a solution.
Li Ye blended into the crowd and quietly left, then headed to the market outside, finding a small shop specialized in selling information.
He asked the female cultivator attending to him, "I’d like to know about the spiritual plants in Huiya Grotto Heaven."
The female cultivator looked ordinary, speaking briskly: "We have detailed, regular, and simple information; which would Taoist Friend like? They’re priced at one thousand, five hundred, and one hundred Spirit Stones respectively."
"Detailed ones come with an album and detailed information we collect, regular ones have just detailed information, and simple ones are just basic messages."
"I’ll take the one for one hundred Spirit Stones."
Quite honestly, Li Ye could only afford the cheapest booklet, handed over one hundred Spirit Stones, and the female cultivator handed him a yellowing book.
A thin booklet, which could be called a pamphlet.
"Farewell."
Li Ye took the pamphlet and left.
On the way home, the wind and snow seemed to intensify, but he felt the Spiritual Power in the snow was incredibly abundant, like they were snowflakes made of Spiritual Water.
The previous snowflakes he’d made for the Cold Ice Wheat using filtered Spiritual Water with Spirit Gathering Technique didn’t have such rich Spiritual Qi—of course, the cold enveloped by Spiritual Qi made the chill even more terrifying.
This return of spring’s cold seemed harsher than previous snows to him.
However, it was also an opportunity for him.
He hurried back to his home, planning to use the Mo Family’s mechanism mice to melt the ice and snow, then purify and store the melted snow water.
After activating the mechanism mice, he sat by the window, first preparing simple tea from lotus petals and Spiritual Water, then bringing out some pastries made from Spiritual Grain powder and Wheat Pill.
Leisurely eating, he started flipping through the small pamphlet.
Indeed, one hundred Spirit Stones’ worth of pamphlet had exceptionally simple content, only textual descriptions, but he soon found the record of the Spirit Vein Willow.
It was a second-tier spiritual plant.
According to the records, if cultivated successfully, it could accumulate spiritual power long-term, even transforming into a Spirit Vein!
"I see."
"Even if divided, it can recover... but it requires a Spirit Vein to nourish it, meaning I’ll need to obtain a Spirit Vein to revive the Spirit Vein Willow?"
Li Ye’s heart raced.
A Spirit Vein that could move freely! If he were to move homes in the future, he could take it directly.
What’s more, the Spirit Vein Willow should have spirituality, making planting or cultivation easier.
This clarified the situation.
He needs a Spirit Vein!
A genuine first-tier Spirit Vein costs roughly a thousand Spirit Stones monthly to rent.
To purchase one, it might cost around ten thousand Spirit Stones—the Spirit Vein is much more precious than Spiritual Wells and Springs; buying one is even more costly!
Moreover, the most important factor is the need to gain Four Seasons Sect’s permission and approval; Spirit Veins are precious, and renting and selling are entirely different.
Only those recognized by the Four Seasons Sect can purchase, with price differences being a means of attracting, preventing the outflow of resources.
His current approval level might still be lacking, and he doesn’t have enough money.
"Now it’s all up to the Peach Blossom Wine, wheat, and... Taoist Friend Su’s Spirit Pills."
He felt that once his grain ripens, he might gain enough approval to successfully purchase a Spirit Vein.
Li Ye closed the pamphlet, realizing things couldn’t be rushed, leisurely nibbling on pastries, sipping tea occasionally.
Watching the snowflakes outside and the busy mechanism mice.
It all seemed to have a unique charm.