My Portable Spirit Farm: Rise of the Humble Servant

Chapter 236: Jade Pendant Upgrade

As the streak of light marking Chen Ping’s departure faded into the horizon, the smile on Li Lingfeng’s face slowly vanished, replaced by a gaze of profound complexity.

He turned abruptly, striding back into the main hall. With a wave of his hand, he sent out a transmission, summoning every core member of the Li family’s high command.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping returned to his Green Mountain cave dwelling, his heart swelling with satisfaction and the weight of his newfound fortune.

He had no idea that at this very moment, in the Li family’s secret council hall deep within the Back Mountain of Qingyun Peak, a storm of unprecedented magnitude was brewing.

Li Lingfeng placed the porcelain bottle containing 35 Foundation Establishment Pills onto the jade table at the head of the room. He spoke concisely, explaining the transaction process and the origin of the pills—though he prudently omitted Chen Ping’s name, attributing the acquisition to a “secret Sect channel.”

The council hall exploded instantly.

“35?! Heavens above!”

“1 Low-grade? 24 Middle Grade? And 10 High-grade?! This… this quality is unheard of!”

“2,620,000 Spirit Stones? Worth it! It’s a steal!”

“With this stockpile of Foundation Establishment Pills, the Li family is destined to rise!”

“Let’s see how those whelps from the Bai family act arrogant now! The Qingyun Sect will ultimately belong to the Li family!”

After the initial wave of ecstasy came the fierce debate. The question of how to allocate this destiny-altering resource sparked intense friction.

“We should use them all on the family’s core geniuses! We must ensure their success in reaching Foundation Establishment, creating an unstoppable new force!”

“Imprudent! That is too conspicuous! We should secretly cultivate a unit of death warriors as a hidden reserve. They will be the blade that turns the tide in a crisis!”

“The Li family currently lacks visible strength. We must elevate our public standing immediately! We need to openly raise a generation of Foundation Establishment cultivators to stand as equals against the Bai family’s geniuses!”

“Agreed! We must remind the Bai family that the Li foundation remains unshakable!”

Arguments rose and fell One After Another, with every elder fighting to secure more resources for their own lineage.

Eventually, the room fell silent as every gaze turned toward the head seat. They looked to Li Lingfeng and the figure sitting beside him—an old man with eyes closed in meditation, his aura as deep and vast as an abyssal ocean.

This was the Li family’s Ancestor, Li Xingyi.

Together, they were the Li family’s only Violet Palace realm cultivators.

Li Lingfeng and Li Xingyi exchanged a glance. A subtle nod passed between them.

Li Xingyi slowly opened his eyes. An invisible, crushing Pressure instantly suffocated the noise in the hall.

“Enough.”

Li Xingyi’s voice was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable weight.

“Lingfeng’s earlier judgment was correct. On the surface, we will maintain the Sect’s normal operations. The share allocated to the Bai family must not be shorted by even a single coin. The distribution of these Foundation Establishment Pills must also consider the Sect’s overall stability. We cannot blatantly favor the Li family, lest we hand our enemies a weapon to use against us and trigger a civil war.”

His gaze swept across the room, cold and calculating.

“But in the shadows… the Li family must seize this opportunity. Select a group of clansmen who are loyal, reliable, and possess superior aptitude. They will use these Foundation Establishment Pills in secret. We must ensure a high success rate at all costs. I do not seek quantity; I seek quality. We will forge a unit of true elites to serve as the future pillars of the Li family.”

“For the Sect to endure, the Li and Bai families must exist in a state of mutual restraint and healthy competition. Total dominance by one family is not a blessing for the Qingyun Sect. Lingfeng will handle this matter personally. Proceed with the utmost caution.”

“We respectfully obey the Ancestor’s decree!”

The core members of the Li family responded in unison, their faces glowing with renewed hope and ambition.

35 Foundation Establishment Pills. It was enough leverage to arm-wrestle the Bai family for the future of the sect.

A secret operation that would shift the tectonic plates of the Qingyun Sect had quietly begun.

Inside the Green Mountain cave dwelling, Chen Ping remained blissfully ignorant of the political machinations he had set in motion.

He was immersed in pure, unadulterated joy.

26,200 Middle Grade Spirit Stones secured. Adding his original savings of over 3,000—having converted nearly all his Low-grade stones—his total now approached 29,500 Middle Grade Spirit Stones!

He was only 500 stones short of the 30,000 required for his initial plan.

“Finally… I have enough!”

Chen Ping could barely suppress his excitement.

Sitting cross-legged in the center of his cave, he held the warm Jade Pendant in his hand. His emotions were a mix of agitation, anticipation, and a trace of reverence.

He piled the Middle Grade Spirit Stones around him, forming a glittering, crystalline hill. Taking a deep breath to steady his racing heart, he guided the Jade Pendant to begin the absorption.

The Qi within Middle Grade Spirit Stones was incomparably pure. Unlike the scattered, misty light of Low-grade stones, this energy manifested as solid, milky-white ribbons of liquid light. It flowed like a river, pouring continuously into the artifact.

The Jade Pendant drank it in like parched earth meeting sweet rain. Its surface grew brighter, the ancient, natural patterns seemingly coming to life. They flickered rhythmically, like a heartbeat, the light flowing and deepening into complex, profound sigils.

This time, the absorption was different. It was not a ravenous gulp, but a slow, deliberate assimilation.

The process lasted a full day and night.

When the final Middle Grade Spirit Stone crumbled into dust, the Jade Pendant seemed to reach saturation. It trembled slightly, then erupted with an intense—yet strangely soft—cyan light.

The light did not scatter. Instead, it wrapped around the pendant like a living silkworm cocoon, forming a pulsating chrysalis of light that contained terrifyingly dense spiritual energy.

Chen Ping could clearly sense a metamorphosis occurring within that shell of light. The fluctuations of spiritual essence were violent yet ordered, like the beating of a drum.

He waited patiently by its side, meditating to regulate his breathing, daring not to disturb the process. His heart was filled with expectation for the unknown changes to come.

Several days later, the cyan light began to recede, dissolving back into the body of the Jade Pendant.

The transformation was revealed.

Previously, the pendant had been a piece of decent-quality spirit jade. Now, it was entirely different. The jade was a deep, translucent, vibrant green…

It looked like a pool of spring water containing infinite life force. Light flowed beneath its surface, the treasure’s glow contained and heavy. Holding it, Chen Ping felt a peculiar, reassuring warmth and a surge of vigorous vitality.

Just by looking at it, anyone could tell this was no ordinary item.

“Excellent!”

Chen Ping couldn’t help but shout a word of praise. He wasted no time.

With a thought, he vanished from the cave.

Inside the space of the Jade Pendant, the changes were nothing short of earth-shaking.

The Black Earth, originally only 4 acres in size, had expanded to 16 acres!

A fourfold increase!

The vast land was neat and flat, emitting a deep, fertile black-purple luster, quietly awaiting his planning and cultivation. Standing at the edge of the field, the boundary seemed distant, giving him a sense of openness and exhilaration.

The soil itself had undergone a qualitative change.

Before, the black soil had held a faint, barely noticeable purple hue. Now, the purple had deepened, merging perfectly with the black to create a mysterious, rich violet-black color. One look was enough to tell that this land was extraordinary.

Even the “moon” in the sky had changed.

Its light was no longer the soft, cold glow of before. It had become significantly brighter, carrying a hint of warmth. It felt like a celestial body suspended between the nature of a sun and a moon, casting abundant, even light that banished the dimness of the dimension.

“This change is massive! Expanded area, upgraded land, improved lighting! I wonder if this new light will bring any surprises?”

Chen Ping stroked his chin happily. He squatted down and grabbed a handful of the violet-black soil.

To his naked eye, it still looked like dirt. He couldn’t physically see the difference between this and the soil of the mortal world.

“Forget it, forget it…”

Chen Ping took a deep breath.

He decided to immediately test the most crucial function: the Black Earth’s acceleration effect on spirit herbs.