Storage artifacts were considered advanced equipment, generally becoming popular only among Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators.

While their quality varied between Inferior, High-Quality, and Top-Grade, their market price remained remarkably stable. Most standard units sold for around three hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones, rarely exceeding four hundred.

Jiang Chen ran the numbers in his head. The Jade Green Gourd in his hand had a total cost—cultivation of the raw gourd plus the refining fee—of roughly one hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones. However, due to its high-quality status and the abundance of spirit patterns Hong chui had managed to engrave, it could easily fetch three hundred and thirty stones on the open market.

That was a net profit of over two hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones per unit.

From a business perspective, the margins were terrifyingly good. The scarcity of the raw material—a mutated spirit plant product—guaranteed demand.

I still have forty-one of these little gourds sitting in my pouch, Jiang Chen thought, fighting to keep his expression neutral. If I have them all refined into storage artifacts and sell them off slowly… that’s nearly ten thousand Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

The sheer scale of the potential wealth made his heart skip a beat.

Hong chui interrupted his internal accounting. “Brother, keep in mind that since this is a Spirit Tool with valid spirit patterns, it can support additional enchantments. If you need more functionality, find a Formation Master to inlay a spatial array or a Talisman Master to engrave some utility scripts.”

Jiang Chen snapped back to reality and nodded earnestly. “Got it. Thanks, Sister Hong.”

Hong chui grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. She went easier on him this time, likely due to her fatigue from the refining process. “From now on, storing or retrieving items is simple. Just sweep over them with your spiritual sense and trigger the thought. It’s hands-free.”

Jiang Chen immediately put it to the test.

He pulled a Low-grade Spirit Stone from his old belt pouch and placed it in his open palm. He focused his mind, extending a tendril of spiritual sense toward the gourd.

Store.

Instantly, the stone vanished. There was no flicker, no sound—it was simply gone.

Jiang Chen projected his senses into the gourd’s internal space. There it was, floating quietly in the void.

Retrieve.

The stone materialized back in his palm as if it had never left.

The difference in efficiency was night and day. Previously, managing inventory meant physically opening bags, untying knots, and rummaging around. This was instantaneous.

Hong chui watched him with a knowing smile. She had seen this reaction countless times; the novelty of a cultivator’s first storage artifact was a universal experience. She didn’t mind his distraction in the slightest.

After playing with the transfer mechanic for a moment, Jiang Chen stopped and looked at her curiously. “Sister, is a Metal Spirit Root strictly required to refine Spirit Tools?”

Hong chui thought for a moment. “Not necessarily. Fire Peak has plenty of apprentices with Fire Spirit Roots. They’re quite skilled at the physical forging process—hammering and shaping.”

She paused, tapping the side of the bronze cauldron. “But for the actual refining of a Spirit Tool? A Metal Spirit Root is superior. Metal affinity allows you to sense the internal grain of the ore and the flow of the material. Fire Spirit Roots can control temperature perfectly, but they lack that sensory perception. Plus, their Spirit Qi tends to be explosive rather than enduring; they burn out faster.”

“That’s why most Fire Spirit Root cultivators end up in the Alchemy Hall,” she added.

Jiang Chen nodded slowly. It made sense. Fire could shape and melt, but Metal could understand the material. Items refined by a Fire cultivator would likely lack the structural perfection of those made by a Metal cultivator.

“Any other questions, brother?” Hong chui asked, her eyes crinkling with fatigue.

“No, get some rest, Sister.”

After being seen out by Hong chui, Jiang Chen summoned his Giant Leaf and flew straight back to his Spirit Farm.

Finding the farm exactly as he had left it, he entered his hut and locked the door. It was time for some spring cleaning.

He upended his collection of small storage bags onto the table. There were bags for Spirit Rice, bags for Spirit Wine, and bags filled with miscellaneous junk. While useful, carrying a bandolier of small pouches was cumbersome.

With the Jade Green Gourd, those days were over.

He began the transfer. Sickles, rakes, trade goods, pills, and jars of wine—everything went into the gourd. The twenty cubic meters of space was cavernous compared to his old bags. No matter how much he threw in, the gourd swallowed it effortlessly.

Efficient, he thought, satisfyingly patting the small jade gourd now hanging at his waist.

He made a mental note to follow up on Hong chui’s advice. He needed to ask Tie Xin, the female Formation Master, to inlay a preservation or stabilization array. As for talisman scripts, perhaps Lin Yu’s father could assist.

The next morning.

Jiang Chen was in the fields, his routine unchanged. He sat in his chair, the Green Lotus Domain active, accelerating the growth of the first acre’s crops.

Suddenly, a strange sensation rippled through his mind. The Jade Green Gourd projected an image directly into his consciousness.

It was a Communication Talisman, vibrating softly and emitting a faint spiritual glow from within the gourd’s storage space.

Jiang Chen blinked. That’s a useful feature. The gourd didn’t block signals; it alerted him.

Recognizing the talisman’s signature as belonging to Tie Zhu, Jiang Chen summoned it into his hand and injected a trace of Wood Spirit Qi.

“You’ve been missing for almost ten days, haven’t you?” Jiang Chen asked.

Tie Zhu’s voice came through, sounding weary but energetic. “Sorry, Brother Jiang. I’ve been cultivating on the 38th layer of the Earth Vein this whole time!”

“And?”

“I’m out. Can we meet?”

“Come over.”

Jiang Chen stored the talisman back into the gourd, his expression thoughtful.

The 38th layer of the Earth Vein was known for its density of attribute-less Spirit Qi and the crushing pressure of the ‘Yellow Earth Essence.’ If Tie Zhu had stayed down there for ten days, his strength must have improved significantly. He wouldn’t be reaching out immediately unless he had good news—or a problem.

About an hour later, Tie Zhu arrived.

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow. The man standing before him looked like he had been carved out of stone.

Tie Zhu’s skin had turned a distinct shade of yellow—not the sallow look of illness, but a crystalline, gem-like amber. A faint, earthy luster seemed to flow beneath his epidermis. He had also grown larger; his shoulders were broader, his muscles denser. He looked less like a cultivator and more like a human-shaped wild bull.

Tie Zhu stepped forward and bowed deeply, a full ninety degrees. “Senior Brother!”

Jiang Chen blinked. “What’s with the formality?”

Tie Zhu straightened, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears of excitement. “If not for your reminder about the Earth Vein, I never would have reached Qi Condensation Perfection. You are my benefactor, Brother Jiang.”

Jiang Chen nodded slightly, accepting the gratitude. “It is good that you found success.”

Tie Zhu began to recount his experience. The 38th layer had been dominated by Earth Spirit Root disciples and capable Formation Masters fighting over the pockets of pure Yellow Earth Essence. As a body cultivator with lesser means, Tie Zhu hadn’t been able to compete for the prime spots. Instead, he had focused on absorbing the dense, attribute-less Spirit Qi that saturated the environment.

Crucially, he had been sustaining himself on Top-quality Spirit Rice and Spirit Wine provided by Jiang Chen. The combination of high-grade dietary energy and the massive influx of environmental Qi had allowed him to smash through his bottleneck, propelling him from the late stage straight to Qi Condensation Perfection.

“But, Senior Brother,” Tie Zhu asked, his expression turning anxious, “what should I do now?”

Jiang Chen looked at him, confused. “About what?”

“About stabilizing the foundation! About preparing for the breakthrough! I feel like I’m bursting!”

Jiang Chen smiled, a dry, pragmatic expression that bordered on trolling.

“Ah, that.” He shrugged. “When I broke through to Foundation Establishment, I didn’t get stuck at Qi Condensation Perfection. I just sort of… went past it. So, honestly? I don’t really know what to tell you.”