Seven days passed in a flash.
On Hundred Refinements Peak,
Yin Xianwen greeted Li Mu with a beaming smile.
"Elder Li, you've come to submit the Artifact Refining task so quickly. Young people are truly efficient!" Yin Xianwen praised with a smile.
"Elder Yin, the four Spiritual Artifacts are inside. Please inspect them!" Li Mu smiled humbly and presented four Storage Pouches.
Li Mu had refined four High Grade Fourth Order Spiritual Artifacts without Spirit Souls in just one day. He also took the opportunity to refine four top-grade Fourth Order Spiritual Artifacts with Spirit Souls for himself. The Divine Refinement Spirit Fusion Method, Five Elements Spiritual Fire, and the cooperation of Little White made his efficiency this high.
However, Li Mu did not plan to sell these Spiritual Artifacts with Spirit Souls externally. Instead, he intended to use them for cultivation, pairing them with Five Elements unit Formations to provide suitable growth environments for the Spiritual Plants.
To avoid attracting too much attention, these Spirit Soul-infused Spiritual Artifacts were also inconvenient to sell externally!
Li Mu's mind drifted, thinking about something.
Regarding the Cultivation Technique that affected his cultivation, Li Mu had found some clues on how to increase the Yin and Yang Qi of the Yin Yang Five Elements Scripture - Foundation Establishment Chapter. He urgently needed Contribution Points to exchange for the corresponding Materials.
"Good! Good! All are Fourth Order High Grade Spiritual Artifacts. The refining technique for this Fire Dragon Spiritual Artifact is truly remarkable; it even has the ability to transform into a dragon, achieving what supplementary cultivation should! And this Mother-Child Twin Spiritual Sword is refined so exquisitely! ...Good! Good! Those true Disciples will surely be satisfied!" While Li Mu was distracted, Yin Xianwen took out the four Spiritual Artifacts and inspected them one by one, continuously praising them with satisfaction.
"It's good that I could complete the Artifact Refining task. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to deliver and would let down Elder Yin's trust!" Li Mu smiled slightly and said humbly.
"Elder Li, you worry too much! Your Artifact Refining skill surpasses that of several Artifact Crafting Elders in the Sect. As long as you perform normally, there's no Artifact Refining task you can't complete. Would you like to take on a few more? I still have quite a few Artifact Refining tasks that haven't been assigned." Yin Xianwen affirmed, encouraging Li Mu, and asked with concern.
"No problem, I just happen to need Contribution Points to exchange for some auxiliary cultivation resources!" Li Mu nodded with a smile, quickly handing over his identity token.
"Haha, that's good! I'll settle these four Artifact Refining tasks for you first, then give you six more... Young man, you need this kind of drive!" Yin Xianwen laughed heartily, encouraging Li Mu.
After speaking, Yin Xianwen took Li Mu's identity token and began to operate it.
Soon, Li Mu got his identity token back, earning 20,000 Contribution Points, along with six Storage Pouches filled with Artifact Refining Materials. This time, he also took on Artifact Refining tasks to refine six Fourth Order Spiritual Artifacts.
Refining one Spiritual Artifact yields one set of Artifact Refining Materials. If he continued to accumulate at this rate, Yue Qiong Peak would soon become a treasure mountain filled with Spirit Soul-infused Spiritual Artifacts!
Bidding farewell to Yin Xianwen and leaving Hundred Refinements Peak, Li Mu flew on his sword towards Tai Xuan Peak, heading to the Contribution Hall to exchange for supplies.
These past few days, besides Artifact Refining and setting up Formations on Yue Qiong Peak, Li Mu's main task was to identify Spiritual Plants related to Yin and Yang Qi.
Li Mu had already found clues on how to obtain Yin and Yang Qi.
This passage, abstracted from the "southern spirit annals," describes Yin and Yang Qi. In short, Yin and Yang Qi exist between heaven and earth, omnipresent.
The time when Yang Qi is most concentrated occurs during the first ray of morning light at sunrise. Inhaling at this time makes it easy to capture Yang Qi. Yin Qi is most concentrated during the fullest moon, and as Yin-attributed Spiritual Qi sinks, it is easy to capture.
Therefore, to Cultivate the Yin Yang Five Elements Scripture - Foundation Establishment Chapter most effectively, Li Mu needed to rise early and stay up late, diligently absorbing Yin and Yang Qi for cultivation.
However, Li Mu, still accustomed to relying on farming to solve his cultivation Realm problems, was unwilling to Cultivate by rising early and staying up late. Instead, he just needed to find Spiritual Plants that grew by gathering Yin and Yang Qi, Cultivate them to maturity, and when harvested, he would most likely obtain the attributes of Yin and Yang Qi.
Heaven rewards the diligent.
After exchanging for a large number of High Order Spiritual Plant seeds, Li Mu found several types of Spiritual Plants among the 39 Fourth Order Spiritual Plants that required a Yin and Yang Qi growth environment.
After some screening, Li Mu decided to select two of these Spiritual Plants.
Next, he needed to exchange for a large quantity of plant seeds and High Order spiritual items to create and Cultivate their growth environment.
Li Mu flew on his sword and arrived at Tai Xuan Peak.
This time, Li Mu learned from his previous lesson and did not wear the conspicuous Elder's robe. Instead, he changed into ordinary clothing and quietly queued up to enter the secret room for resource exchange.
"What cultivation Materials do you want to exchange for? Show me your Disciple token!" The Managing Disciple sitting at the table exchanging Materials saw Li Mu and unceremoniously demanded, not even bothering to stand up.
Encountering two vastly different attitudes one after another, Li Mu didn't take it to heart at all and understood perfectly.
People judge by appearance first; no one is exempt.
Li Mu smiled, walked forward, handed over his identity token, and asked, "How many Contribution Points are needed to exchange for one mu of Fourth Order Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom and one mu of Fourth Order Yin Soul Fruit Spiritual Seeds?"
Hearing the two High Order Spiritual Seeds Li Mu mentioned, the Managing Disciple looked at him in surprise. After taking the Disciple token, he quickly scanned it with his Divine Sense, and his expression immediately changed drastically.
"I didn't know it was an Elder arriving. This Disciple was disrespectful, please forgive me, Elder!" The Managing Disciple quickly stood up and apologized to Li Mu.
"It's nothing, just tell me how many Contribution Points are needed quickly!" Li Mu waved his hand, urging him.
"One mu of Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom Spiritual Seeds requires 12,000 Contribution Points, and one mu of Yin Soul Fruit Spiritual Seeds requires 9,000 Contribution Points!" The Managing Disciple breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied.
Upon hearing this, Li Mu frowned. After exchanging for two mu of Spiritual Seeds, his Contribution Points would not be enough to exchange for other Materials.
Noticing Elder Li's expression and grateful for his magnanimity, the Managing Disciple kindly reminded, "Elder Li, Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom and Yin Soul Fruit are the main ingredients for refining purple yang pill and huantian pill. The Sect has always been quite short of them. If you are willing to Cultivate these two Spiritual Plants for the Sect, you can first take on the Sect's Spiritual Plant task. The Contribution Points required to exchange for these two types of Spiritual Seeds will only be one-twentieth of the original price. At the same time, you can also receive a batch of Materials for cultivating Spiritual Plants for free. However, if you fail to complete the Spiritual Plant task at that time, the Contribution Points for exchanging Spiritual Seeds and receiving Materials will be deducted at the original price, and you will also have to pay a portion of interest."
Li Mu's eyes lit up. He hadn't even noticed that the Sect had such preferential measures. This was truly excellent!
Li Mu only needed to harvest the fallen Spirit Plant Light Clusters after planting, and he didn't need the mature Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom or Yin Soul Fruit. If he could sell them to the Sect, that would be even better, and he could earn another sum of Contribution Points this way.
"Good! Help me take on these two Spiritual Plant tasks. I want to plant ten mu of each. No, make it fifteen mu!" Li Mu looked at the Managing Disciple with delight, signaling.
"Uh! Elder Li, this is your first time planting Spiritual Plants, isn't it? The growth requirements for Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom and Yin Soul Fruit are extremely strict, with a cultivation period of over ten years. Problems can easily arise. If you plant so many at once and problems occur midway, you'll have to compensate a lot of Contribution Points! Would you like to plant less?" The Managing Disciple kindly reminded Li Mu.
"No need, just do as I say. If it really fails, I can afford this amount of Contribution Points. Quickly help me take on the task!" Li Mu waved his hand indifferently, signaling.
The Managing Disciple's Divine Sense entered the token, and after glancing at Li Mu's Contribution Point record, he immediately stopped persuading.
Good heavens!
A Fourth Order Artifact Refining Elder, who had just taken on four Artifact Refining tasks a few days ago, completed the delivery today and instantly earned 20,000 Contribution Points.
Looking at his task record, there were still six uncompleted Artifact Refining tasks, each worth 5,000 Contribution Points.
A Spiritual Plant task lasting over ten years. If it really failed then, this loss of Contribution Points wouldn't really amount to anything for him!
He worked as a Managing Disciple in the Contribution Hall all year round and only earned seven or eight thousand Contribution Points. His income for a few days didn't even compare. He was truly worrying for nothing!
The Managing Disciple sighed silently in his heart, a professional smile appearing on his face, and he respectfully accepted the order from Li Mu, saying, "Alright, Elder Li, I will now claim the Spiritual Plant tasks and exchange for the Spiritual Seeds for you!"
Soon, under the Managing Disciple's operation, he helped Li Mu claim two long-term Spiritual Plant tasks.
The small teleportation Formation glowed, and two jade boxes, one black iron box, and one Spiritual Artifact bottle appeared.
"Elder Li, these two large jade boxes contain fifteen mu of Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom and fifteen mu of Yin Soul Fruit Spiritual Seeds, respectively. The black iron box contains fifty purple yang jade, and this Spirit Absorption Bottle contains one thousand drops of Tai Xuan Moon Dew. They are crucial spiritual items required for the growth of these two Spiritual Plants. However, they can probably only meet their growth conditions for about a year. Next, you will need to continue collecting these two resources for the growth of these two Spiritual Plants!" The Managing Disciple looked at Li Mu and explained.
"The two Spiritual Plant tasks have been claimed for you. You are to deliver 70,000 Yin Soul Fruit to the Sect in twenty-one years, and 100,000 Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom in twenty-five years. At that time, you will receive 470,000 Contribution Points."
"The Materials have been exchanged for you! A total of 15,750 Contribution Points were used. Please check and confirm!" The Managing Disciple returned the token to Li Mu and explained.
Li Mu accepted the token, scanned it with his Divine Sense, confirmed the tasks and remaining Contribution Points, and asked with concern, "Are the Sect's reserves of purple yang jade and Tai Xuan Moon Dew abundant? How are they exchanged?"
"purple yang jade is a Fourth Order Spiritual Ore, the main spiritual item for auxiliary cultivation of the Purple Yang Heart Sutra. One purple yang jade is 1,200 Contribution Points, and the inventory is relatively low. Tai Xuan Moon Dew is also a Fourth Order spiritual item, the main spiritual item for auxiliary cultivation of the Tai Xuan Gazing Dust Sutra. One drop of Tai Xuan Moon Dew is 500 Contribution Points, and the quantity is also not much. These two resources have always been frequently exchanged auxiliary resources by several true Disciples. This time, so much was exchanged by you, Elder, the inventory will probably run out very quickly." The Managing Disciple looked at Li Mu and replied with a wry smile.
...
Li Mu nodded, put the items into his nine storage spiritual pearl, and then looked at the Managing Disciple, continuing, "Understood! I know. With the remaining Contribution Points, help me exchange for a Formation book, 'Yin Yang Heavenly Evolution Formation.'"
"Understood, Elder!" The Managing Disciple looked at Li Mu strangely, then put his Divine Sense into the token and indicated, "Exchanging for this Formation Art requires 30,000 Contribution Points, Elder. Can I exchange for the upper part of the Formation Art for you?"
"Does the upper part of the Formation Art contain the Yin and Yang Primordial Great Formation diagram?" Li Mu asked with concern.
"Yes!" The Managing Disciple confirmed.
"If it does, then exchange it for me. I'll come back another day for the rest." Li Mu smiled and nodded.
The Formation diagram, like that Fifth Order Azure Profound Talisman Scroll, requires all the Spiritual Runes to be exchanged before the Formation diagram is complete. It cannot be upgraded by adding points or cleverly obtaining subsequent content like other incomplete Cultivation Techniques. This is probably due to the less tight connection between different Spiritual Talisman patterns and different Formation diagrams.
After exchanging for the Materials and learning the Formation Jade Slip Legacy, Li Mu used his remaining Contribution Points to exchange for a batch of Second Order Yao Beast meat. Only then was he satisfied and left the Contribution Hall completely broke.
Soon, Li Mu flew back to Yue Qiong Peak on his sword.
Little Gold abandoned the Crimson Wolf it was playing with, and with a few leaps and bounds, flew to Li Mu, chirping to greet him, but its gaze was fixed on the Storage Bracelet on Li Mu's hand.
Good heavens, he's addicted to taking pills!
Looking at Little Gold, who had grown a size, and was cutely begging for Spirit Pills with its eyes like a greedy child, yet not rushing, Li Mu couldn't help but laugh and cry.
Li Mu put away his sword, landed in front of Little Gold, and casually took out a pill bottle from his bracelet, pouring out a Gold Vein Pill and tossing it to him.
"Squeak!" Little Gold, having received the Gold Vein Pill, bared its teeth and chirped at Li Mu in thanks, shoving it into its mouth. With a pained yet excited expression, it closed its eyes and savored it.
"Woof woof!" The Crimson Wolf arrived late, anxiously barking at Li Mu.
Li Mu didn't neglect it, tossing a Spirit Nurturing Pill to the Crimson Wolf. Then, he began to inspect the three hundred mu of Spiritual Fields.
At the very bottom, 180 mu of First Order Wind Spirit Grass, 20 mu of Emerald Spirit Fruit, 20 mu of Second Order Yellow Tooth spirit rice, and 20 mu of Second Order Sky Green Seeds—these less demanding Spiritual Plants had all been planted.
Seven days passed in a blink of an eye, and the Wind Spirit Grass had already grown tender shoots, while the others showed no movement yet.
One mu of cloud mist spiritual tea had recovered its growth, but it lacked a mist shroud. Even when planted in a Superior Spiritual Field, it looked listless. Next to it, one mu of Superior Spiritual Field was planted with several hundred various First, Second, and Third Order Spiritual Plant saplings, with uneven growth, most of them looking malnourished. Without a special growth environment, the Spiritual Plants planted in these experimental fields grew extremely slowly.
Besides that, there was a special Spiritual Field, ten mu of Superior Spiritual Field, enveloped within a faint golden Formation. Two Fourth Order top-grade Gold-element Spiritual Swords swam and chased within the Formation like fish, utterly at ease.
These ten mu of Superior Spiritual Field were separated by Li Mu, who set up a Gold Essence Formation to create a unique environment for the growth of Three-Tier Golden Sword Grass, with abundant Gold-element Spiritual Qi and Sword Qi.
However, plans couldn't keep up with changes!
Li Mu had originally planned to plant four more types of Third Order Spiritual Plants with lower demands. With the early planting of Fourth Order Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom and Fourth Order Yin Soul Fruit, the planting plan changed.
Besides the Third Order Heavenly Vein Fruit, which Li Mu intended to continue planting, the other three types of Third Order Spiritual Plants were canceled, freeing up thirty mu of Superior Spiritual Field for planting Fourth Order Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom and Fourth Order Yin Soul Fruit.
However, before planting these two types of Fourth Order Spiritual Plants, Li Mu had to expend a great deal of effort to set up unique growth environments for them.