My Portable Spirit Farm: Rise of the Humble Servant

Chapter 169: Bestowing Immortal Fate

To a cultivator, a year passes as quickly as the snap of a finger. Yet, on Green Mountain, a single year was enough to rewrite everything.

With an unlimited supply of pills fueling them, everyone’s cultivation had surged.

Chen Ping’s father, Chen Dashan, was a man of steady focus. With a solid foundation and an endless stream of Qi Gathering Pills, he had finally shattered his bottleneck.

He was now at the sixth level of Qi Condensation.

Not only had he broken through, but he had also spent the year stabilizing his realm and expelling the accumulated toxins from years of eating mortal food. His foundation was rock solid.

Chen Ping’s mother, Lady Lin, was a step behind. She had also reached the sixth level, but her breakthrough had been rushed. Her cultivation was slightly unstable compared to her husband’s.

At this rate, barring any accidents, Chen Dashan would likely attempt Foundation Establishment before she did.

Then there was Yuan Jingtian.

The man had become even more silent. Despite looking like a hardened bandit who would sooner slit a throat than read a book, he had become obsessively devoted to the Dao of Talismans.

Ironically, his cultivation speed was the slowest of the group.

Two years had passed, and he was still stuck at the eighth level of Qi Condensation.

However, he wasn’t stagnant. Thanks to the high-grade pills and the rich Qi environment of Green Mountain, he had reached the absolute peak of the eighth level. According to him, the barrier to the ninth level was now as thin as paper. He could break through at any moment.

Given his aptitude, if he didn’t hit a major bottleneck, he would likely be ready to attempt Foundation Establishment within two or three years.

To aim for Foundation Establishment before the age of fifty was a respectable achievement for any loose cultivator.

As for Chen Ping’s registered disciples, Shan Yu and Yao Min, their progress was steady but less explosive, as they didn’t have unlimited pill access.

Shan Yu had broken through to the eighth level last month. Yao Min had reached the seventh level six months ago.

At this pace, both would be ready to attempt Foundation Establishment before they turned forty.

They carried the heavy burden of managing the sixty acres of auxiliary spirit herbs on Green Mountain. Weeding, irrigation, monitoring growth cycles, and pest control consumed several hours of their day.

Yet, despite the labor cutting into their cultivation time, they worked with joy.

Why? Because Chen Ping paid well.

His rewards were generous—High-grade Qi Gathering Pills or High-grade Foundation Consolidation Pills. A single one of these pills saved months of bitter meditation. For Shan Yu and Yao Min, this was a golden age. They were utterly devoted to their Master.

The three younger apprentices—Wang Lijing, Wang Liqian, and Xiao Feng—were a different story.

Their cultivation progress was slow. They spent too much time staring into furnace fires.

Wang Lijing, the most talented of the trio, had managed to reach the fourth level of Qi Condensation. The other two, Wang Liqian and Xiao Feng, were still stuck at the third level.

However, their Alchemy skills had improved by leaps and bounds.

A year ago, their success with Qi Gathering Pills was entirely dependent on luck. Now? They had a stable success rate of around 30%.

Limited by their low cultivation and weak Divine Sense, they could each only run the furnace once a day. But they made up for it with sheer diligence.

Working in shifts, day and night, the three of them functioned as a living factory. They provided a steady stream of low-grade pills for Chen Ping’s shop, generating a continuous river of Spirit Stones.

And speaking of Spirit Stones…

The shop Chen Ping owned in the depths of the Qingyun Sect Marketplace had become a legend in its own right.

A year ago, it was a remote, deserted storefront that gathered more dust than customers. Now, it was a thriving business.

The returns were staggering.

After deducting all operating costs and overhead, the shop had generated a net profit of over 50,000 Spirit Stones.

This figure far exceeded Chen Ping’s initial projections. It even surprised him.

Chen Ping’s personal burn rate was terrifying. Between the new “Five Elements Child-Mother Swords” and other cultivation necessities, he had spent nearly 70,000 Spirit Stones this year alone.

To have a shop that could almost cover such exorbitant spending was a massive strategic victory.

Reflecting on this success, Chen Ping knew the turning point had been a single decision he made at the start of the year:

The bold appointment of Wang Fa.

Wang Fa was a former subordinate from Chen Ping’s days as a manager in the Hundred Herb Garden. He was a prematurely aged laborer with no cultivation talent.

When Chen Ping first decided to revitalize the shop, he knew he couldn’t run it himself. He needed a proxy—someone reliable, capable, and loyal.

Before consuming the Tree Heart, he had been at a loss. He had wasted a whole year letting the shop sit idle because he couldn’t find the right person.

But after the wisdom enhancement? The solution had appeared instantly.

His mind had pulled up a file from his memories: Wang Fa.

The Tree Heart’s enhanced assessment ability allowed Chen Ping to re-evaluate the man’s data points. Wang Fa was efficient, organized, and possessed high emotional intelligence. He knew how to read people, how to flatter, and how to negotiate.

Back in the Hundred Herb Garden, Wang Fa had managed his assigned area and coordinated the other laborers with effortless skill. He had management talent.

The only problem was that Wang Fa was a mortal.

In the brutal, “strong eat the weak” environment of a cultivator marketplace, a mortal shopkeeper was a liability. He wouldn’t be respected, and he wouldn’t be safe.

Chen Ping knew that to make this work—and to ensure Wang Fa’s absolute loyalty—he had to offer something more than money. He had to offer a miracle.

He had to bestow Immortal Fate.

Chen Ping didn’t hesitate. He personally traveled to the Hundred Herb Garden and summoned his old subordinate.

When Wang Fa stood before the man who was once his supervisor and was now a lofty Immortal Master, he was trembling with apprehension.

But when Chen Ping offered to take him away and grant him a chance at cultivation, Wang Fa thought he was dreaming.

Chen Ping took him to a secluded chamber and revealed the Five Elements Yin Spirit Vine.

He had over three hundred of these vines in his storage. He selected the one with the weakest medicinal potency—roughly 150 years old—to minimize the shock to Wang Fa’s mortal body.

Even then, it was a dangerous procedure.

Chen Ping didn’t dare be careless. He circulated his Qi, gingerly wrapping it around Wang Fa’s heart and major meridians to act as a protective barrier.

Then, he began the graft.

He guided the Five Elements power from the vine, forcing it to permeate and reconstruct the mortal’s body.

The pain was excruciating. Wang Fa shook violently, sweat pouring off him like rain, but he clenched his teeth and didn’t utter a single sound. He knew this was his only chance to change his destiny.

Finally, under Chen Ping’s precise control, the procedure succeeded.

A faint but undeniable sensation of Qi bloomed within Wang Fa’s body.

He had acquired an artificial Five Elements Spirit Root. With Chen Ping’s guidance, he successfully performed the rite of Drawing Qi into the Body.

He had stepped through the Dragon Gate.

At the advanced age of forty-nine, Wang Fa had become a cultivator.

Overwhelmed by ecstasy and gratitude, Wang Fa struggled up from the floor. Ignoring his weakened state, he fell to his knees and slammed his forehead against the hard stone with a dull thud.

“My Lord has given me a second life! Even if I were crushed to powder, I could not repay a ten-thousandth of this grace! In this life and the next, I will follow only Your Lordship’s lead!”

His voice choked with emotion, his eyes burning with a fanaticism that bordered on worship.

Chen Ping helped him up and gave him a single order: Go to the Sect Marketplace and run my shop.

Driven by endless gratitude and the fire of a new life, Wang Fa arrived at the remote storefront.

Reality immediately gave him a harsh blow to the head.

The location was terrible. The storefront was shabby. Aside from the square footage, the place had almost no redeeming qualities.

Anyone else might have thrown up their hands in despair.

But Wang Fa? He looked at the empty street, and he had an idea.