Yuan Jingtian spat a chewed stalk of dogtail grass into the dirt and jogged over, bowing low.

“My Lord, you called?”

Chen Ping tossed a jade vial through the air.

Yuan Jingtian fumbled to catch it, looking confused.

“Take it. That is your allocation of pills for the year.”

Chen Ping’s voice was flat, devoid of warmth.

“Cultivate well. Protect my parents. If you are diligent, there will be more next year. If you are negligent… be careful.”

He didn’t finish the threat. He didn’t have to.

Yuan Jingtian froze. He stared at the bottle, then nodded vigorously.

Instinctively, he popped the cork.

A wave of pure, dense Qi mixed with the rich fragrance of medicinal herbs washed over his face.

Thirty pills. A full count.

This… this was several times more wealth than he had managed to scrape together in a year of backbreaking, life-threatening labor in the mines.

Joy exploded in his chest, instantly washing away the lingering bitterness of his demotion to a servant.

The scar on his face stretched as he grinned, his eyes widening into circles. He looked like a man who had just won a kingdom.

“Thank you, my Lord! Thank you for your heavy bestowal!!”

Yuan Jingtian clutched the jade vial with both hands, his voice trembling.

“Rest assured, my Lord! This subordinate will spare no effort! I will work until my liver bursts and my brains spill! I will never fail your nurturing! I will cultivate diligently and break through as soon as possible!”

He thumped his chest, desperate to prove his loyalty.

Who cared if the quarters were small? Who cared if he had to serve Mortals?

For thirty Qi Gathering Pills a year, he would happily sleep in a pigsty. Following this young master was a genuine Immortal opportunity.

He could practically see the seventh layer of Qi Condensation waving at him.

Chen Ping watched him coldly. He flicked his wrist, tossing a single, different pill to the large man.

“This is the antidote. It will suppress the poison in your system for six months. Remember to come to me for the next dose when the time comes.”

Yuan Jingtian’s face stiffened.

The ecstasy of wealth had made him momentarily forget the leash around his neck. The reminder left a sour taste in his mouth.

But he knew his place. He had not yet earned Chen Ping’s trust.

He caught the antidote and forced a stiff smile to hide his fear.

Without another word, Chen Ping turned and walked back to the Pill Hall.

The carrot and the stick. Simple pills were enough to chain Yuan Jingtian’s heart. For now, his parents’ safety was secured.

Time flowed quietly in the tranquility of the Hundred Herb Garden.

Between instructing his subordinates on garden maintenance and fulfilling his Sect duties, Chen Ping spent his days locked in the Pill Hall.

Three months passed in a blur.

Chen Ping’s stockpile of Qi Gathering Pills reached two hundred and twenty. Even for a wealthy disciple, this was a significant fortune.

During these months, he kept a constant watch on the five segments of the Five Elements Yin Spirit Vine within the Jade Pendant space.

Their condition was stable. Nourished by the miraculous vitality of the Black Earth, the originally dim glow of the roots had become clear and solid.

Each segment had sprouted dense, fine root hairs that gripped the black soil greedily. Above the surface, they had broken through the earth, each sprouting a tender bud of a different color.

Five tiny, tenacious sparks of life.

They were alive. They were recovering.

Based on their current growth rate, Chen Ping calculated the timeline.

To regrow to maturity—to the point where they could be harvested to “bestow a Five Elements Spirit Root”—would require the equivalent of twenty years of natural growth.

Normally, this would be a lifetime of waiting.

But the Black Earth possessed a powerful time-dilation effect on plant growth.

Chen Ping had crunched the numbers: one month of real time resulted in roughly a year’s worth of growth within the Black Earth.

That meant he only needed to wait about a year and a half in the outside world for the vines to achieve twenty years of medicinal potency.

By then, the five new vines would be mature.

Of course, he had a plan to optimize them.

In one year—when the vines had twelve years of potency—he would perform Division Propagation on three of them to expand his crop.

The remaining two would be left to grow for another six months. These would be harvested for his parents.

One and a half years, Chen Ping thought, calculating silently.

His parents were old, and their physical foundations were essentially ruins. This year and a half was actually necessary. He needed to spend this time using Marrow Cleansing Pills to slowly repair their bodies and prepare them for the shock of gaining a Spirit Root.

The Immortal Path could not be rushed.

He suppressed his impatience. He would wait.

In the meantime, the massive stockpile of Qi Gathering Pills in his storage bag needed to be addressed.

They were useless to him now. His body had developed a strong Drug Resistance to them. Eating them was like eating candy beans; the effect on his Cultivation was negligible.

He needed resources. He needed better pill formulas.

Specifically, he needed formulas for High-grade pills that could replace the Qi Gathering Pill and push his Cultivation forward.

To get them, he would have to liquidate his stock into Spirit Stones.

Early morning.

Chen Ping donned his disguise and vanished into the Black Market.

He had visited the Qingyun Sect’s official Marketplace a few times, but each visit had been a disappointment.

Not only were rare pill formulas nonexistent, but the bureaucracy was suffocating. Buying or selling anything of value required registration and reporting.

It was absurd.

Here, in the murky, lawless shadows of the Black Market, Chen Ping felt a sense of freedom. He felt like a fish in water.

He navigated the winding alleys with practiced ease, arriving at a familiar medicinal shop.

This was where he had offloaded his previous batches.

“Shopkeeper. I have goods,” Chen Ping said, his voice disguised.

The old shopkeeper looked up. A glint of recognition flashed in his cloudy eyes. He remembered this big spender.

He piled on a sycophantic smile. “Fellow Daoist, please. Let us speak inside.”

In the secure back room, Chen Ping first emptied a bag of miscellaneous loot from his trip to the mines.

There were several Low-grade and Mid-grade Dharma Artifacts, scattered rare ores, spirit herbs, and a few bottles of average pills.

The old shopkeeper examined them with a jeweler’s eye and offered a fair bulk price: five hundred and thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Then, Chen Ping brought out the main course.

Two hundred and twenty Qi Gathering Pills.

He lined the jade vials up on the table. The rich medicinal fragrance instantly filled the small room, thick enough to taste.

The shopkeeper’s eyes widened.

Such a large bulk supply of high-quality pills was rare.

He quickly recalibrated his assessment of the man before him. This was either a prolific Alchemist or the trusted agent of one. Either way, he was a VIP.

After inspecting a random sample and confirming the quality was flawless, the shopkeeper stroked his beard.

“Fellow Daoist, the quality is excellent. The market rate for a Qi Gathering Pill fluctuates between ten and twelve Spirit Stones. Given the volume, I will offer you the same sincere price as last time.”

He held up ten fingers.

“Ten Spirit Stones per pill. I will take them all.”

Ten stones per pill. Two hundred and twenty pills. Two thousand two hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Combined with the loot money, Chen Ping’s reserves instantly skyrocketed to over two thousand seven hundred Spirit Stones.

For a Qi Condensation cultivator, this was an astronomical sum.

Chen Ping nodded, satisfied. “Agreed.”

The shopkeeper beamed, his face wrinkling like a dried chrysanthemum. He hurriedly counted out the stones.

Moments later, a heavy storage pouch was placed in front of Chen Ping.

Chen Ping verified the count and stowed the wealth away. He didn’t leave.

“Shopkeeper. I asked you last time about pill formulas. Do you have any leads?”

The shopkeeper paused, stroking his goat-like beard. A shrewd light entered his eyes.

“You ask at the right time, Fellow Daoist. High-grade pill formulas are incredibly rare, especially those superior to the Qi Gathering Pill. However…”

He leaned in, lowering his voice.

“The ‘Shadow Society’ that controls this market is hosting a high-specification auction this month. Rumor has it that one of the lots is a formula for the ‘Origin Nourishing Pill’.”

“Origin Nourishing Pill?”

Chen Ping’s heart skipped a beat.

He knew the name. It was a High-grade pill, far superior to the Qi Gathering Pill. It was designed for late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators to consolidate their foundation and nourish their primal Qi. It was also known to assist in breaking through Bottlenecks.

It was exactly what he needed.

“Indeed,” the shopkeeper whispered. “The formula is precious. If you wish to bid, you will need a qualification token.”

“The requirements?”

“Asset verification of two thousand Spirit Stones, or a guarantee from a reputable merchant. Since your transaction today exceeded that amount, this old man can vouch for you and secure you a token.”

Chen Ping didn’t hesitate.

“I will trouble you then, Shopkeeper.”

This was his target. He would not let it slip away.