My Portable Spirit Farm: Rise of the Humble Servant

Chapter 231: How to Make Money?

Wang Li collected his thoughts, a warm smile settling on his face.

“A few days ago, while on leave, I returned to my family estate. Having some free time, I wandered into a Marketplace run by the local Li family, hoping to stumble across a hidden gem. I didn’t find any bargains, but I did spot this on their auction block.”

As he spoke, Wang Li retrieved a pristine jade box from his Storage Bag. He popped the lid. Resting inside was a fist-sized fruit, radiating a pale, golden luster and etched with natural spiral patterns. A uniquely rich, sweet fragrance instantly spilled into the air.

It was the Mystic Primordial Fruit!

“I remembered Elder Chen posting a high-priority bounty in the Sect. Knowing you must be in urgent need, I casually placed a bid and won it. I hope this resolves Elder Chen’s pressing emergency.”

Wang Li slid the jade box across the table.

A surge of wild joy erupted in Chen Ping’s chest. He accepted the box and meticulously inspected the prize. The fruit was perfectly fresh, practically overflowing with pure Qi, and undeniably High-grade!

“Thank you, Elder Wang! This item is absolutely critical to my plans. How much did this cost you? I will immediately—”

“Elder Chen, there is no need for that,” Wang Li interrupted, waving his hand dismissively with a bright laugh. “It was a mere 2,200 Spirit Stones. If a sum that trivial can aid Elder Chen and allow me to call you a friend, then Wang considers it a magnificent bargain. Keep your Spirit Stones. Consider this a token of my goodwill.”

Chen Ping froze slightly, his eyes narrowing in assessment.

Two thousand two hundred Spirit Stones was no pocket change, yet Wang Li was handing it over for free?

He studied Wang Li’s face. The man’s eyes were clear, his smile genuine. He wasn’t plotting; he was simply building a bridge. In the current political landscape of the Qingyun Sect, Chen Ping was an ascendant star with limitless Potential. The line of people desperate to curry favor with him wrapped around the mountain.

Viewed through that lens, Wang Li’s generous “gift” was a calculated, highly pragmatic move.

Chen Ping wasn’t one to waste time on false modesty. After a brief pause, he closed the jade box, stored it away, and solemnly cupped his fists.

“I will etch Elder Wang’s great kindness into my heart. If there is ever a day you require my aid, so long as it falls within my capabilities, I will not refuse.”

It was an ironclad promise. Wang Li had chosen to Invest in his future, and Chen Ping accepted the debt.

The smile on Wang Li’s face deepened, radiating genuine satisfaction. “Elder Chen, you take this too seriously! Come, an invitation is never as good as a chance encounter. I know a teahouse near the plaza that brews an exceptional spirit tea. Shall we?”

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

The two men relocated to a high-end teahouse, settling into a private booth where Chen Ping ordered a spread of premium pastries.

As they chatted, Wang Li finally voiced his curiosity.

“Brother Chen, there is one thing I don’t quite understand. The Mystic Primordial Fruit is primarily used as the core ingredient for the Rank Advancement Pill—a supplement fed to spirit pets to force a breakthrough in their realm. Could it be… Brother Chen has acquired an exceptional spirit beast?”

Ah. The true Mystic Primordial Pill formula is lost. He thinks I’m brewing pet food, Chen Ping realized.

He smoothly played along, letting out a heavy, exasperated sigh. “Indeed. I’m raising a rather disappointing Cloud-Treading Leopard. It’s been hopelessly stuck at the peak of Tier 2 Low-grade for years. I figured I would try brewing a batch of Rank Advancement Pills to forcefully shove it over the edge.”

The excuse was flawless. Wang Li nodded in sudden understanding.

While the Cloud-Treading Leopard wasn’t an apex predator, its innate talent and Potential were widely respected among beast tamers. Going to such expensive lengths for a loyal mount was perfectly justifiable.

The more Wang Li thought about it, the more impressed he became. Chen Ping wasn’t just a ruthless prodigy; he was fiercely loyal and dedicated, even to his spirit pets. The rumors of his reliable character were clearly true. Wang Li felt an immense wave of reassurance, entirely convinced his investment had been a masterstroke.

After finishing their tea, the two men bid a polite farewell.

Clutching the jade box, Chen Ping didn’t waste a single second. He rode his flying sword straight back to his cave dwelling on Green Mountain.

With this, the trinity of materials required for the Mystic Primordial Pill—the Mystic Primordial Fruit, Mystic Yellow Grass, and Chaotic Star Sand—was finally complete!

Sealing himself inside his quiet room, Chen Ping activated his Jade Pendant and vanished into its internal dimension.

He Gingerly extracted the seed core of the Mystic Primordial Fruit. He then took the stalk of Mystic Yellow Grass he had acquired earlier and carefully separated a viable cutting. He planted both securely into the rich, dark loam of the Black Earth, heavily drenching the soil with pure spirit spring water.

Staring at the freshly turned dirt, Chen Ping’s chest swelled with anticipation.

Now, he just had to wait.

He had to wait for the seeds to crack, for the roots to take hold, and for the medicinal properties to accumulate to a potent, harvestable threshold. But with the Black Earth providing a terrifying fifty-fold temporal acceleration, this agonizing wait would be a fraction of what any outside alchemist would endure.

The moment these herbs matured, his cultivation speed would detonate into a violent new phase!

With his first objective—securing and cultivating the Mystic Primordial Pill ingredients—completed, Chen Ping ruthlessly pivoted all his mental energy to his second goal: stockpiling a mountain of Spirit Stones to upgrade the Jade Pendant space.

However, the reality of capital generation was a brutal, thorny problem.

The alchemy shop managed by Wang Fa enjoyed a rock-solid reputation and steady foot traffic, but its revenue ceiling was hard-capped. It was limited by the physical size of the storefront, the regional customer base, and the sheer production output of his workforce.

Even if his three apprentices worked their fingers to the bone, brewing Pills non-stop from dawn to dusk…

By the end of the fiscal year, after deducting the cost of raw materials, operational overhead, and bribes, the pure net profit landing in Chen Ping’s pocket would barely break 100,000 Spirit Stones.

For a normal Foundation Establishment cultivator, an annual net profit of 100,000 Spirit Stones was a windfall that would wake them up laughing from their sleep. It was enough to buy premium Pills, acquire a High-grade Dharma Artifact, or even purchase a luxurious, Qi-dense cave dwelling after a few years of saving.

But for Chen Ping?

Compared to the apocalyptic 3 million Low-grade Spirit Stones (or 30,000 Middle Grade Spirit Stones) required to trigger the Jade Pendant’s next evolution, 100,000 was a pathetic drop in the ocean. It wasn’t even enough to cover the interest on his ambitions!

Worse still, Chen Ping had a sinking, paranoid suspicion that 3 million might just be the baseline. He might need even more.

“Sigh…”

Sitting in the dim light of his quiet room, Chen Ping aggressively massaged his throbbing temples. Irritation crawled through his chest like a swarm of biting ants.

“It’s too slow. It’s agonizingly slow.”

His frustrated voice echoed off the cold stone walls.

Wang Fa was a highly competent manager, completely reliable and sharp. But the operational Bottleneck of a single storefront was an immovable boulder blocking his path to absolute wealth.

Three apprentices simply weren’t enough manpower.

The thought of expanding his workforce—taking on a small army of alchemy apprentices—flashed through Chen Ping’s mind.

He instantly crushed the idea.

More personnel meant more variables, more leaks, and an administrative nightmare. It was far safer and more efficient to forge his three current disciples into elite, independent alchemists who could handle high-margin, complex brews.

Chen Ping stood up, pacing the confined space of his room. His boots struck the stone floor in a rhythmic, agitated cadence.

Do I need to be more aggressive? Take a bigger swing?

What about opening branch stores in other Marketplaces across the region? What about diversifying his inventory to sell the massive stockpile of raw, high-tier spirit medicines rotting in his Jade Pendant?

The moment the idea of expansion materialized, his ruthless, calculating logic tore it apart.

To open a branch store, he needed a manager. Not just a warm body, but someone utterly trustworthy, ruthlessly competent, and capable of operating entirely independent of his oversight.

In the Cultivation world, finding a loyal, competent subordinate was infinitely harder than digging up a Top Grade spirit herb!

If a manager hadn’t been personally groomed by him—if Chen Ping didn’t hold their life and absolute loyalty in the palm of his hand—deploying them would be suicidal. A bad manager wouldn’t just fail; they would actively bleed his capital, steal his formulas, and invite disaster upon his head.

Among the hundreds of cultivators Chen Ping had interacted with, Wang Fa was the singular, shining exception of competence and loyalty.

He paced faster, his jaw locked tight. It all boiled down to one fundamental, agonizing flaw in his empire.

A severe deficit of elite talent.

If he wanted to sit back as a shadow boss and rake in millions of Spirit Stones, he needed an army of hyper-competent operatives. Only top-tier talent could anchor a shop, dominate a local market, and aggressively expand his brand.

If he expanded his business blindly, driven by desperation, the entire house of cards would collapse, leaving him with absolutely nothing.