You Cultivate, I Farm

Lu Xuan couldn't help but feel a burst of irritation at the sight of the Demon Ghost Vine's sly appearance and kicked it aside.

"Off you go, shoo."

Even with his thick skin, being caught by his own spirit pet imitating the seductive sounds from the bewitching pink miasma of the peach trees made him blush with embarrassment.

This Demon Ghost Vine, accustomed to lingering near the bewitching peach trees and listening to their tunes daily, had come over upon hearing a familiar sound, stumbling upon Lu Xuan in the process.

With a thought, the transparent pearl slowly seeped out from his throat and was stored in the Gluttonous Insect Pouch.

A fifth-grade treasure, not fully refined yet, could potentially be detected by fellow sect members or Core Formation True Immortals. For now, he chose to keep a low profile.

After a brief experimentation with the Mirage Sound Pearl, Lu Xuan took out the piece of Illusory Sound Bamboo.

Activated by his spiritual power, numerous cracks on the bamboo's roots simultaneously opened, unleashing a flood of chaotic and bizarre noises.

It had been planted near the bewitching peach trees, infused daily with their seductive sounds during its growth, naturally mastering this tune. With a bit of control, it could emit sounds of joy and pleasure, irresistibly enchanting, leading one into oblivion.

Additionally, after acquiring the Thunder Sound Sword from the Sword Pool, Lu Xuan often stimulated and nurtured the spiritual plants with sword qi and thunder sound.

This too was well mimicked by the Illusory Sound Bamboo, switching between two distinct sounds: one fierce and domineering, righteous and purifying, as if to cleanse the world of evil spirits; the other joyful and lascivious, pulling beings into a sea of desire, corrupting their minds.

"With a higher-grade, more powerful fifth-grade Mirage Sound Pearl now in hand, there's no need to keep the Illusory Sound Bamboo. I'll look for an opportunity to sell or exchange it for other treasures."

"Though it's not inherently malevolent, its growth under the influence of the bewitching peach trees has shaped it thus; it's best sold or traded outside the sect."

Lu Xuan silently pondered.

"Moreover, the free medicinal herbs previously obtained from the Pill Hall have all been used up, consuming quite a bit of my own resources. Fortunately, I've managed to produce a good amount of pills, which can be exchanged for spirit stones."

He planned to visit the Pill Hall to sell some of the increasingly abundant pills in exchange for spirit stones or Sword Seals.

For the Primordial Essence Pills and Spirit Nurturing Pills, with a near hundred percent success rate, he decided to release only about thirty percent of the produced pills, keeping the rest hidden to avoid the Pill Hall alchemists discovering his exceptional pill concoction skills.

Upon arriving at the Pill Hall, the gentle Guan Wan was waiting for him at the entrance.

"Sister Guan, sorry to have kept you waiting."

Lu Xuan hurried over to Guan Wan.

"It's fine, I just came out too. Hearing that Brother Lu intended to hand over some pills, I came over to guide you through the process and avoid any hassle."

Guan Wan spoke softly.

All the spiritual plants Lu Xuan was entrusted with by the Pill Hall had matured successfully, many of excellent quality. Guan Wan thus valued Lu Xuan highly and had come out to greet him as soon as she knew he was coming.

The two entered a spacious hall filled with alchemists and Pill Hall officials checking the quantity and quality of pills, the aroma of various pills filling the air.

Guan Wan led Lu Xuan to a beautiful female cultivator.

"Sister Liang, I've brought a junior brother to submit pills in exchange for spirit stones," Guan Wan greeted the female cultivator, indicating Lu Xuan to proceed.

Lu Xuan quickly presented several white jade bottles he had prepared.

The beautiful female cultivator showed a kind smile, taking the bottles. A thin layer of spiritual power covered her palm as she took out the pills for quality inspection.

"What's the current level of Brother Lu's pills?" Guan Wan asked, surprised. She hadn't expected Lu Xuan, who had only studied alchemy for a short period, to produce such a quantity of pills.

"Since learning the pill recipes, I've been practicing day and night, even neglecting the spiritual plants to some extent.

Currently, I've barely reached a proficient level, with a success rate of nearly thirty percent under optimal conditions," Lu Xuan replied.

"A thirty percent success rate?" Guan Wan inquired, astonished.

"I didn't expect Brother Lu, besides having exceptional talent in plant cultivation, to be equally gifted in alchemy."

"In just under three months, you've mastered the production methods for three kinds of first and second-grade pills

, even achieving a thirty percent success rate. Even within the Pill Hall, such talent is considered top-tier."

As they conversed, the beautiful female cultivator finished tallying the pill quantities.

"The quality of the pills is ordinary. According to Pill Hall pricing, the total is three thousand four hundred spirit stones. Please review, Brother."

Lu Xuan and Guan Wan's conversation wasn't hidden; she heard every word while inspecting the pills and took another look at Lu Xuan, learning of his rapid mastery of three low-grade pill recipes.

Taking the spirit stones, Lu Xuan inwardly marveled at the lucrative nature of pill-making.

Although the materials and medicinal herbs were mostly acquired for free from the Pill Hall, even accounting for the value of the herbs, those three thousand plus spirit stones likely netted him a profit of about a thousand or two.

This was under the premise that Lu Xuan only revealed about thirty percent of his alchemy skills. If he had revealed everything, it would have been even more astonishing.

"No, it's the highly skilled alchemists who make a killing; ordinary alchemists probably can't even recoup their costs."

Lu Xuan felt even more grateful for the existence of the light orbs.

Without the experience packs for pill recipes from the orbs, he might have been just like the most ordinary alchemists in the cultivation world, tirelessly gathering medicinal herbs only to produce batches of dregs.

"The Primordial Essence Pill and Spirit Nurturing Pill are only first and second-grade pills. If it were higher-grade, rarer Foundation Establishment Pills, it'd probably be no different from robbing spirit stones."

A smile crept onto Lu Xuan's lips, with only one thought in mind.

Cultivate Hidden essence plants, reap light orb pill recipes!

As he pondered, Guan Wan suddenly turned back, her tone gentle.

"Brother Lu, the Pill Hall happens to have several alchemy masters sharing their insights. Though they're unlikely to reveal their core secrets, some tips and experiences can be quite valuable."

"Would you like to join me and share some alchemy experiences?"

Having seen Lu Xuan's talent in alchemy, the already enthusiastic Guan Wan was even more supportive, willing to introduce Lu Xuan, still an ordinary alchemist, to the core circle of alchemists.

"Can I, with my level of alchemy, participate in an alchemy exchange meeting?"

Lu Xuan asked in surprise.

"With me leading, of course, it's no problem. Besides, Brother Lu, you've cultivated so many high-quality medicinal herbs for the Pill Hall, those master alchemists would be too eager to please you if they knew," Guan Wan said with a smile.

"Then I'll trouble Sister Guan. I'll just listen and hope to learn the basics of alchemy," Lu Xuan said, readily agreeing.

However, his mind harbored different thoughts.

Getting to know these core alchemists would undoubtedly make acquiring Hidden essence grass seeds much easier.

Moreover, each alchemist has strict requirements for spiritual plants, and he might even be able to scrounge some rare seeds from them or be privately commissioned to cultivate high-grade spiritual plants.