Cultivating Immortality Starts with Planting Techniques

After that little incident, Li Ye completely lost any interest in browsing the marketplace. 

What if he ran into Li Zongyin again? What a hassle that would be. 

That guy's words were never truly for Li Ye's benefit he only wanted to use him to gain favor with Cai Shiwei and conveniently add another obedient lackey to his entourage. 

Li Ye had no interest in associating with Cai Shiwei, so there was even less reason to deal with a follower like Li Zongyin who blindly followed his lead. 

With a clear goal in mind, Li Ye visited several shops and finished buying everything he needed: alchemical ingredients, body-tempering materials, talisman paper, and so on. He was just about to leave when 

"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment..." 

The shopkeeper from Grasswood Pavilion suddenly called out. The elderly man wore a harmless smile as he approached. 

"I noticed the herbs you purchased to cover a rather wide range of pill formulas..." 

"What, does your shop interrogate customers about what they're buying now?" 

Li Ye's face was expressionless, but a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. 

"No, no, you misunderstand!" 

The old shopkeeper quickly waved his hands, bowing respectfully. 

"I mean no offense! I merely wish to say that our Grasswood Pavilion also purchases a variety of pills. If you ever have extras, we'd be happy to buy them from you at prices I assure you will find fair!" 

"And if you can provide a steady supply, we could even offer you discounts on future herb purchases." 

Hearing this, the tension in Li Ye's expression eased slightly. 

"Discounts, huh… I'll consider it if the opportunity arises." 

With that, he walked out of the shop and headed straight for the edge of the marketplace. 

The old man's unexpected approach did give Li Ye a valuable reminder in the future, it'd be wiser to buy ingredients and sell pills across several stores, each belonging to different factions. 

As long as he kept the total amount reasonable and didn't make his success rate look too suspicious, there wouldn't be any problems. 

That way, even if political shifts or unforeseen issues caused trouble for a particular store, he wouldn't end up getting burned. 

Thinking this far, Li Ye sighed softly. 

He still needed a spiritual field of his own. 

Only then could he plant the herbs he needed according to his plans, achieving true self-sufficiency and maximizing his profits. 

The Wood Origin Pill, thanks to the balancing effect of Emerald Bud Essence, already had an impressive pill formation rate and quality. 

If he could add in the true main ingredient Jade Heart Grass with its powerful spiritual essence, how shocking would the result be? 

"If the chance comes... I must not let it slip by," 

Li Ye murmured to himself. 

.... 

Aaaah

With the final punch thrown, Li Ye let out a forceful exhale, his voice resonating faintly like the trumpet of an elephant. 

As he slowly drew back his stance, his qi and blood remained surging and vigorous, flowing endlessly. His shirtless body was muscular and powerful, and his skin toughened through intense training faintly shimmered with a grayish hue. Bruises of various sizes covered his entire body. 

Compared to his formerly frail and sickly appearance, he was now a completely different person! 

With a leap, he plunged into a large wooden tub sitting above a burning charcoal fire, filled with a thick, dark-brown medicinal brew that was still steaming. 

Splash! 

Water splashed as Li Ye let out a satisfied groan of relief. 

Striking while the iron was hot, he immediately absorbed two strands of Blood Grain Rice Essence, circulating his qi and blood as described in his cultivation technique to draw in the medicinal energy. 

His blood surged. With the help of the medicinal bath, the many bruises across his body faded rapidly, and his skin, tendons, and muscles gradually became tougher and more resilient. 

Together with the internal refinement of the Blood Grain Rice Essence, the internal and external efforts worked in harmony, pushing his physical strength to new heights. 

Ever since he'd found success in alchemy, Li Ye's wealth had been growing rapidly. 

Even though the ingredients for this medicinal soak were extremely valuable, he could easily afford them now and never hesitated to invest in his cultivation. 

"This feeling..." 

Suddenly, Li Ye's expression shifted with a hint of excitement. 

The energy surging through his body seemed to have reached a critical point, approaching some kind of threshold. He felt a restless stirring throughout his body. 

He immediately jumped out of the now diluted medicinal bath and began to practice his combat techniques again in the courtyard, fists and kicks flying. 

As his strikes landed, the phantom sound of an elephant's trumpet grew louder and more distinct. His qi and blood surged violently, and the faint gray hue on his skin rapidly condensed. 

"Hup!" 

With a sudden shout, Li Ye's entire frame seemed to crackle with energy. 

His qi and blood underwent a qualitative transformation, his bones ringing in harmony. 

His body bulked up visibly, and his skin transformed into a solid dark gray, thick and tough like the hide of an elephant! 

The First Layer of Elephant Armor Strength Grayhide Stage! 

With a gentle step, the solid ground beneath him caved in slightly, cracks spiderwebbing outward. 

Li Ye looked down at his now gray-covered arms and legs in awe and murmured, 

"I thought I'd need to take a Qi-Blood Pill to break through... I didn't expect it to happen like this." 

With a flick of his wrist, the Blackwood Sword appeared in his hand. 

Channeling his full qi and blood, pushing the simulated elephant hide to its limits, he brought the sword down on his arm. 

There was a heavy resistance. Li Ye looked at the shallow cut it left on his left arm, blood oozing from the gray hide, and nodded in satisfaction. 

"Though the Blackwood Sword is damaged, its sharpness still surpasses most low-grade magical tools. Even without infusing it with spiritual power, this is all the damage it could do... that's pretty impressive." 

"I may not be able to catch a low-grade weapon barehanded just yet, but for someone with just a low-grade weapon to seriously injure me in one blow? Practically impossible!" 

This first stage of Elephant Armor Strength corresponded to the early stage of Qi Refining. 

But to Li Ye, with its sheer defensive power and overwhelming physical strength, anyone at the same stage would struggle to stand against him! 

Even mid-stage cultivators without a proper magical weapon might have a hard time defending themselves. 

And once they were pulled into close combat, they risked being beaten to death on the spot! 

The security brought by having such a powerful body was unlike anything else. 

"With this kind of strength, even if the cost is high, it's worth it!" 

Li Ye's eyes gleamed with excitement. 

… 

Time passed quickly. His work in the spiritual fields began to pay off, boosting his alchemical path and propelling his cultivation forward at a rapid pace. 

He became increasingly absorbed in tending to his small patch of spiritual farmland. 

His daily routine was simple and steady traveling between the fields and his residence, with occasional trips to the marketplace to sell pills and restock his supplies. 

Along the way, he managed to establish stable sales channels with several different shops in the market. 

He'd also meet occasionally with Old Luo, and with Yao, Gu, and Zhang to exchange information and techniques. 

As for various sect-related affairs, they barely affected him at all. 

Aside from a vague rumor that alchemical supplies were becoming more abundant in the market, no one had even mentioned anything directly related to him. 

Instead, people like Cai Shiwei and Li Zongyin were becoming increasingly active within the sect. There were even reports that Cai Shiwei had recently broken through again and begun preparing for the Foundation Establishment, sparking a wave of gossip among disciples. 

And that wind-element genius, Li Qiushuang, had also started making waves within the sect like a rising star. Rumors even said her techniques were eerily similar to those of the Golden Core elder, Master Zixuan! 

But no matter how turbulent things were for others, Li Ye simply focused on tending his fields. 

On this particular day, he started, as usual, by tending to his four plots of Blood Grain Rice, then moved on to carefully nurture every Sunfire Flower. 

By now, his skills had earned Elder Ji's full trust. The elder no longer hovered over him cautiously he had fully delegated the care of these plants to Li Ye. 

And under Li Ye's meticulous care, the long-dormant Sunfire Flower seedlings finally began to show signs of growth. A panel of notifications began to appear before him: 

[You tended to Tier-2 Spirit Plant: Sunfire Flower with expert technique, aiding its healthy growth. Experience +0.5…] 

[…] 

[Tier-2 Spirit Plant: Sunfire Flower is thriving. You have gained: Sunfire Essence (1%)…] 

-support me on Patreon for more chapters, 65+ chapters in there

patreon.com/LordoftheReader