My Portable Spirit Farm: Rise of the Humble Servant

Chapter 235: Gathering Enough Spirit Stones

Li Lingfeng violently choked, spraying a mouthful of premium spirit tea across his pristine robes.

He coughed hysterically, his face flushing a bright, embarrassing crimson. In a single heartbeat, the untouchable, serene aura of the Qingyun Sect’s Headmaster entirely evaporated.

His eyes bulged as he stared at Chen Ping, his voice cracking like a panicked youth.

“How… how many?! Thirty-five?! And they’re Foundation Establishment Pills?! Elder Chen, this is not a matter to joke about!”

Thirty-five Foundation Establishment Pills.

The concept was literally staggering.

The Qingyun Sect’s absolute maximum annual output—assuming perfect conditions and a flawless harvest cycle—was roughly ten pills.

Thirty-five pills… was equivalent to three years of the Sect’s total, unadulterated output, dumped onto a table in an instant!

Li Lingfeng’s instinct was to reject reality. He assumed Chen Ping was either playing a deeply inappropriate prank or that he had completely misheard him.

Chen Ping blinked, genuinely taken aback by the Headmaster’s violent reaction. Isn’t he the Headmaster? A Violet Palace expert? Why is he acting like a country bumpkin who just saw gold for the first time?

Wordlessly, Chen Ping reached into his Storage Bag. He withdrew five jade bottles and lined them up neatly on the table.

“Headmaster, please see for yourself. The inventory is all here. One Low-grade, twenty-four Middle Grade, and ten High-grade.”

Seeing that Chen Ping’s expression was dead serious, Li Lingfeng forced himself to swallow the rising storm of shock. His hands literally trembled as he reached for the first bottle.

He popped the cork.

A hyper-concentrated wave of medicinal fragrance and pure, violent Qi fluctuations washed over him. His heart gave a sickening lurch.

He opened the second. Then the third.

With every bottle he verified, Li Lingfeng’s expression morphed from initial, paralyzed shock, to absolute astonishment, and finally, to a profound, suffocating gravity.

The pills were real. And their quality was terrifyingly high!

There was absolutely no way Chen Ping had refined these himself. At least, that was Li Lingfeng’s immediate conclusion. Chen Ping was a registered Tier 2 Alchemist. It was fundamentally impossible for him to consistently brew Middle Grade Foundation Establishment Pills, let alone High-grade. Even Li Lingfeng’s own Martial Uncle, Li Xingyi—a veteran Tier 3 Alchemist—had to pray to the heavens just to squeeze out a Middle Grade pill.

For Chen Ping to produce this volume of elite pills in a single go… his claim of a “fortuitous encounter” had to be absolutely true.

Had the boy stumbled into the untouched armory of an ancient cultivator? Did he crack the burial vault of a legendary Senior? Or had he unearthed the lost ruins of a mythic alchemy Sect?

Suddenly, none of that speculation mattered.

What mattered was the reality sitting on the table between them: thirty-five high-quality Foundation Establishment Pills.

The initial euphoria rapidly gave way to a crushing political weight.

Li Lingfeng took a long, deep breath and slowly sank back into his chair. He stared at Chen Ping with a profoundly complex gaze. When he finally spoke, his throat was audibly dry.

“Elder Chen… you have just handed the Sect a heaven-defying miracle. And, simultaneously, an apocalyptic headache.”

He paused, his tone shifting into the cold, calculated cadence of a ruler.

“This inventory is priceless, and its mere existence is violently sensitive. The fact that you chose to bring this directly to the Sect, rather than liquidating it through private, illicit channels, speaks volumes of your absolute loyalty. The Sect will not forget this. Tell me… what price are you asking?”

He validated Chen Ping’s political maneuvering first, then immediately cut to the negotiation.

Chen Ping offered a slight, knowing smile. He quoted the exact market baseline.

“How about the standard market rate? Fifty thousand for the Low-grade, seventy thousand for the Middle Grade, and one hundred thousand for the High-grade. A total of two million, seven hundred and thirty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.”

It was a highly equitable quote. On the black market auction block, those pills would easily fetch a twenty percent premium.

Li Lingfeng smiled wryly and shook his head.

“Elder Chen, determining how to distribute these internally without sparking a civil war between the factions is going to be a nightmare for me.” He tapped the desk slowly. “Let’s streamline this. I will offer a flat buyout: two million, six hundred thousand. I can authorize the immediate transfer of funds from the Sect’s secret treasury. Furthermore, the Sect will permanently classify the origin of these pills. You will not face a single inquiry or reprisal from anyone.”

He countered with a brutal, one-hundred-and-thirty-thousand stone price cut, but sweetened the deal with an ironclad promise of absolute political immunity.

Chen Ping’s brow furrowed. The cut was steep. “Headmaster… isn’t that a bit aggressive? How about two million, seven hundred thousand? This Junior fully understands the Sect’s logistical difficulties.”

“Ah, Elder Chen.” Li Lingfeng leaned forward, his voice dropping into a conspiratorial register. “Think rationally. If you attempted to move this volume of pills on the outside… assuming you could even find a buyer who wouldn’t just assassinate you, the sheer risk to your life is incalculable.”

He leaned back, conceding slightly. “Very well. I will bump it up. Two million, six hundred and twenty thousand! That is the Sect’s absolute ceiling. However, I will authorize the payment entirely in Middle Grade Spirit Stones. You and I both know the practical utility and purchasing power of Middle Grade stones far eclipse the Low-grade equivalent.”

Li Lingfeng had played a masterstroke.

Chen Ping’s mind raced. Two million, six hundred and twenty thousand Low-grade stones converted perfectly to twenty-six thousand, two hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones.

More importantly, accepting the payout in Middle Grade currency completely eliminated the lethal risk of trying to exchange millions of low-tier stones at a public bank, which would have painted a massive target on his back.

It was one hundred and ten thousand stones below his asking price, but the flawless security, the instant liquidity, and the Headmaster’s personal guarantee of silence made it an undeniable win.

Just as Li Lingfeng had pointed out, the Sect was absorbing one hundred percent of the risk and the internal political fallout.

“Agreed,” Chen Ping nodded decisively. “Thank you, Headmaster.”

A massive, genuine smile broke across Li Lingfeng’s face. He let out an audible sigh of relief. Securing this cache was an unprecedented strategic victory for the Qingyun Sect.

He didn’t waste a second. He produced a heavily encrypted Storage Ring and, right in front of Chen Ping, sank his Divine Sense into it. Utilizing his Headmaster token, he bypassed the physical locks of the Sect’s secret treasury.

Blinding streams of spiritual light flashed across the room as an avalanche of crystal-clear, hyper-dense Middle Grade Spirit Stones materialized and funneled into the ring.

It took a full Incense Stick’s Time to complete the transfer. Twenty-six thousand, two hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones were neatly stacked inside the spatial dimension, their combined spiritual light so intense it practically threatened to rupture the ring.

“Elder Chen. Verify the count,” Li Lingfeng said, handing the ring over.

Chen Ping swept his Divine Sense through the hoard. The numbers were flawless. He pocketed the ring.

“The count is accurate. Thank you, Headmaster.”

With the transaction finalized, a colossal weight lifted off Chen Ping’s chest. He finally had the capital required to trigger the Jade Pendant’s next evolution!

As Chen Ping moved to leave, Li Lingfeng personally escorted him to the massive doors of the hall. He stopped, looking at Chen Ping with a profoundly meaningful gaze.

“Elder Chen, remember this: the Sect is, and always will be, your ultimate shield. If you ever stumble upon another… ‘fortuitous harvest’ in the future, bring it to us first. I guarantee the Sect will never shortchange you.”

The words were a warm embrace, but the subtext was a chillingly precise warning.

A cold spike of adrenaline shot down Chen Ping’s spine.

He knows. He’s known about my illicit alchemy ring with Wang San this whole time. He’s just been looking the other way.

Chen Ping maintained a flawless, easy smile and cupped his hands.

“This Junior understands perfectly. The Sect has always treated me with absolute grace. If I am blessed by fortune again, the Sect will be my first and only stop. Thank you, Headmaster. I will take my leave.”

Stepping out of the grand hall, the freezing mountain wind hit Chen Ping’s face. The horizon seemed infinitely wider.

With twenty-six thousand, two hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones burning a hole in his pocket, combined with his prior savings, the agonizing grind was finally over. He was ready to ascend.