Cultivating Immortality Starts with Planting Techniques

[You have skillfully tended to a Tier-1 spirit plant, Blood Grain Rice, promoting its healthy growth. Experience +0.1...] 

[...] 

As the final notification flashed across his panel, Li Ye completed his hand seal and shook off the bloodied mud from his body before leaping into the air. 

Whoosh 

His now subtly sturdier frame erupted with force, launching him from the furrows below directly up to the slope. 

Looking down at the four plots of thriving spirit fields now stretching taller and appearing densely packed Li Ye's eyes shone with satisfaction. 

"It's been over half a month, and I've finally started receiving experience feedback. At last, all three spirit fields are tuned to their optimal state and fully under my control… I just didn't expect it would take this long to establish a link between the system and these spirit plants inherited from others!" 

"Judging by the condition of these seedlings, I should soon be able to harvest Blood Grain Rice Essence from them…" 

"I've still barely used half of the hundred strands I gathered earlier, and now another three hundred are about to come in… My alchemy skills can advance again. Time to attempt refining Qi and Blood Pills! With some luck, it might even be enough to push Elephant Armor Strength to the second level…" 

Back at his residence, Li Ye descended into his underground cultivation chamber and opened the system panel. 

[Name: Li Ye] 

[Spirit Root: Low-grade Earth-Wood Root] 

[Remaining Lifespan: 73 years (3 years deducted due to vitality overdraw)] 

[Skills: 

• Planting – Tier-1, Superior (341/3000) 

• Alchemy – Tier-1, Inferior (165/3000) 

• Artifact Crafting – Beginner (12/2000) 

• Talismans – Tier-1, Inferior (177/2000) 

• Gu Arts – Beginner (178/1800)] 

[Herbal Essence: Emerald Bud Essence ×186, Blood Grain Rice Essence ×58] 

[Essence Trait: Vitality, Level 1] 

[Experience: 5890] 

By any standard, this was a substantial stockpile. 

And this didn't even account for the Sunfire Flowers, which had yet to yield anything at all! 

To them, this brief period was probably just the beginning of their growth phase. 

Plus, he had only assisted Elder Ji in planting them he wasn't yet trusted to care for them alone. That likely affected their output. 

"Well, no rush…" 

He muttered quietly, showing surprising patience. 

First, he had more immediate goals. 

With a thought, Li Ye instantly maxed out the experience for both [Alchemy] and [Talismans]! 

With Alchemy upgraded to intermediate, he could now attempt refining Qi and Blood Pills and other mid-stage cultivation-enhancing pills. Talismans could now include more complex ones like the Golden Bell Talisman. 

Compared to upgrading other paths, these two offered the most value for his current situation. 

He had been carefully rationing his Emerald Bud Essence to push toward Qi Refining Level 5, but it still wasn't quite enough. His hunger for progress had long reached its limit. 

And talismans when used aggressively during the Qi Refining stage were incredibly devastating. Most cultivators had little way to defend against them. 

He intended to lean into this approach fully! 

That now-familiar sensation returned his soul ascended and drifted, flooded with endless streams of insight and inspiration. 

Within moments, his awareness returned, and both his alchemical and talisman crafting skills had improved significantly. 

[Talismans – Tier-1, Intermediate (0/3000)] 

[Alchemy – Tier-1, Intermediate (0/5000)] 

"Alchemy is absurdly tough…" 

Li Ye's eyelid twitched as he glanced at the staggering experience required for the next upgrade. 

"Good thing I've got four whole plots of spirit fields to feed this bottomless beast!" 

He murmured with a trace of relief, seeing that his remaining 1000+ experience wouldn't be enough to upgrade anything else. So, he stood up and headed straight for the alchemy room. 

With practiced ease, he lit the firewood and began heating the cauldron. 

At the same time, he started prepping several low-grade spirit herbs for the upcoming session. 

Once the temperature inside the furnace was just right and all herbs were properly prepared 

Li Ye, now visibly more relaxed, scooped up a handful of Green Sprout Rice and tossed it into the cauldron. As it reacted to the heat, gentle spiritual energy began to rise. 

He followed up with the rest of the ingredients in sequence, adjusting his techniques accordingly. 

Using his spiritual power, he merged the refined medicinal energies into a liquid mixture. 

Time passed slowly as he monitored the changes within the cauldron. At the critical moment, Li Ye's expression turned serious as he unleashed a series of precise hand seals. 

"Open!" 

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! 

The thick medicinal liquid inside the furnace suddenly divided and condensed into ten pills, which shot out into a prepared container. 

At that moment, two of the pills turned pitch black, one dulled noticeably in color, and the remaining seven were light red and glossy. 

"Two failed pills, one substandard, and seven quality ones… An 80% success rate. These Qi-Gathering Pills pose no challenge to me anymore." 

Li Ye collected the pills with a satisfied smile. 

Qi-Gathering Pills used to boost spiritual energy during the early Qi Refining stage were like Fasting Pills, both using spirit rice as the primary ingredient. The only difference was that the former required much more. 

In terms of cost, they were relatively cheap but highly in demand. 

The predecessor consumed quite a lot of it! 

Back then, Li Ye's success rate when refining Qi-Gathering Pills was under 40% barely enough to break even, maybe make a small profit at best. 

But now… this pill could finally become a stable source of income! 

After finishing one batch of Qi-Gathering Pills, with the furnace still hot, Li Ye grew visibly more serious. 

He took out another set of herbs some overlapping with those used for the previous pill, while others were more valuable, exuding a rich medicinal fragrance laced with fresh wood-type spiritual energy. 

The main herb, Jadeheart Grass, was especially vibrant, its lush green leaves releasing a refreshing scent that seemed to clear the mind. 

Despite his current resources, acquiring this small collection of materials had still cost Li Ye several dozen spirit stones… 

If he weren't confident about turning a profit, this purchase alone would've left him strapped for cash! 

He began preparing the herbs: grinding some into powder, extracting juice from others, slicing the rest each step meticulous and deliberate. 

This time, he was attempting to refine the Wood Origin Pill a pill suited for wood-attribute cultivators at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. It could also assist low-stage cultivators in breaking through to the mid-stage. 

It was one of the few pill recipes recorded in the incomplete inheritance of the Li Clan far more valuable and potent than common pills like the Qi Condensing Pill. 

Li Ye had tried it in the past, but most attempts had ended in total failure. Even when he managed to form pills, they were either defective or barely usable he wouldn't even take them himself, let alone sell them for a decent price. 

A net loss, every time. 

Now, he fired up the furnace once more. 

With a solemn expression, Li Ye carefully controlled the heat, gradually adding the prepared herbs one by one. He refined away the impurities, extracting the purest medicinal essence he could. 

Thanks to his newly improved skills, he now had a much clearer understanding of the key considerations involved in refining this pill. 

Though he still felt a touch of nervousness, his mastery over the flame had improved. Most of the herbs' potency was preserved, and as they fused, a slightly mixed purple liquid formed within the cauldron. 

The color hinted at incomplete fusion, but it was still within acceptable limits and could continue. 

Taking a deep breath, Li Ye focused all his attention and added the Jadeheart Grass to the furnace. 

He maintained a steady flame as the plant's leaves slowly shriveled, releasing drop after drop of glowing green spiritual liquid, which began merging with the purplish mixture from before. 

One drop… two drops… 

With each infusion of Jadeheart essence, the mixture gradually shifted in hue from purple to a shade of green. 

In this critical phase, if the initial fusion hadn't been adequate, the entire mixture could've turned volatile and ruined the batch. 

Li Ye had failed at exactly this step many times before. 

But this time, he was much better prepared. From start to finish, even as the Jadeheart Grass burned to ash and its essence fully blended into the now greenish-purple liquid, nothing went wrong. 

All that remained was to maintain the flame until the fusion completed and the liquid turned fully green then the pill could form. 

At this stage, Li Ye became even more cautious, closely monitoring the liquid's transformation… 

When the final hint of purple vanished, he instantly switched hand seals and slightly increased the heat to begin the final phase of essence extraction and pill formation. 

But the flame flared too intensely, and in a flash, nearly half the liquid evaporated and burned away! 

Li Ye winced but didn't panic. He immediately stabilized the flame and waited for the remaining liquid to condense. Then, he activated the pill-collection technique. 

Whoosh 

The remaining liquid condensed just enough to form six pills. 

As they shot out of the furnace and landed in the prepared vessel, three turned pitch black, two had slightly dulled colors. 

And one shone with a soft, pale green glow a fully formed, high-quality pill! 

Two defective, and one genuine. And just that one Wood Origin Pill was enough to recoup the full cost of this entire batch of ingredients! 

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