“`
Heavenly River Water Mansion, Geng District, the ninth entrance on the east side of Dragon Gate, a series of continuous warehouses was located here.
An old man in his fifties, short and plump, strolled along with his hands clasped behind him, casually glancing at Chen Mu, “What goods are you storing that require protection from the light?”
“A batch of medicinal herbs,” Chen Mu replied calmly, his appearance altered.
“Ah, there are indeed some herbs that need to be kept in cool places,” the fat old man nodded in realization.
Chatting casually, it didn’t take long before they arrived at a small warehouse in the southeast corner.
After unlocking the copper lock and removing the chain, the old man pushed open the grey wooden door, revealing a warehouse the size of a basketball court.
A strong musty scent gushed out.
“I need to be clear with you. This place is indeed cool but also damp. If your herbs get ruined, you can’t come back and blame me,” the fat old man said.
“This place is very good,” Chen Mu, looking at the five or six small translucent windows on both sides of the warehouse, nodded in satisfaction.
As long as these few windows were sealed and the Five Ghosts kept watch outside, it would block almost ninety percent of prying eyes.
It was exactly suitable for hoarding Yellow Bud Rice and refining the Essence of the Five Grains.
“Warehouse number sixty-seven, this will do.”
“The fee is honest, twelve White Jade Coins a month,” the fat old man immediately said with a smile.
Chen Mu couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.
“Don’t think it’s too expensive. Prices are going up all over the Water Mansion, I can’t help it,” the fat old man shrugged his shoulders.
Alright then.
…
Two days later, warehouse number sixty-seven.
Black smoke, like a flood tide, billowed within the warehouse, and wherever it passed, the soil and moss instantly vanished.
Then the black smoke surged up the walls to the roof.
The accumulated dust and cobwebs on the wooden triangular roof beams also disappeared without a trace.
In just over twenty breaths, the warehouse was spotlessly clean.
After scattering quicklime to absorb moisture and lighting insect repellent incense to eliminate bugs and ants, the dilapidated warehouse was instantly transformed.
Chen Mu, taking out several Glowing Algae Lamps, hung them on the roof beams and habitually released the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit, then stood quietly inside, waiting.
Before long, the six siblings from Wu Mountain and Shang Huan each carrying a huge hemp sack, walked into the warehouse.
“Mr. Gongsun, a total of eight thousand jin of Yellow Bud Rice.”
“As per your instructions, we bought them from separate shops, and no one followed or investigated,” Lu Ku said with a bowed fist.
“Very good,” Chen Mu, wearing a white mask, nodded calmly. He then waved his hand, signaling for the group to leave.
Shang Huan, however, was in a hurry and did not leave. Instead, he stepped forward, took out a small wooden box from a Mustard Seed Talisman, and presented it to Chen Mu with a sycophantic smile.
“Mr. Gongsun, these are the earnings from the baiting operation, totaling three hundred and thirty-seven White Jade Coins,” he said.
Chen Mu’s brows rose involuntarily.
It hadn’t been long, less than two months, and yet they had managed to divide over three hundred White Jade Coins?!
“You didn’t mix in anything fake with the bait, did you?” Chen Mu asked suspiciously, looking at Shang Huan.
“Absolutely not!” Shang Huan affirmed confidently.
Well, at least not for now.
Chen Mu breathed a sigh of relief; the bait was low-cost with high profits, there indeed was no need to adulterate it.
“Has anyone given you trouble?”
If he could get over three hundred White Jade, the profits per month would be at least a thousand White Jade Coins. If someone were to become envious…
“With Minor Supervision Court’s Liang backing us, ordinary people dare not trouble us,” Shang Huan said with a smirk, and then he winked and added, “Besides, even if they don’t respect Liang from the Minor Supervision Court, they must give face to Director Song.”
Wow!
This chubby fellow not only used Liang’s name, but he also dared to pull Song Wujie’s rank to intimidate people?!
Impressive… Nicely done!
“Liang from the Minor Supervision Court’s share…”
“I delivered it this morning,” Shang Huan said with a smile.
That settled it.
“The Water Mansion is in turmoil lately, be more cautious,” Chen Mu still couldn’t help but say, “If anything seems off, pull out and leave immediately.”
The soaring prices had caught many off guard.
Several people with malicious intentions couldn’t help but take desperate risks.
Even with the Water Mansion’s strongmen maintaining order, significant chaos ensued. Thefts and robberies occurred one after another.
“You lot should also stay out of trouble,” Chen Mu said, glaring at the six siblings from Wu Mountain.
Knowing the sextuplets’ lawless nature, it wouldn’t be surprising if they took advantage of the chaos to loot.
The siblings looked at each other and, somewhat disappointed, nodded in agreement.
“`
Chen Mu’s face twitched.
“You guys really do want to rob someone, huh?!”
Looking at Ai Ji’s expression, Chen Mu wouldn’t be surprised if he had already picked out a target!
Get lost at once!
Chen Mu immediately waved his hand to shoo these people away.
Each one of them was restless.
…
After sending away his companions,
Chen Mu put on the Truthful Listening Technique and let the Five Ghosts Yin Spirit leap onto the warehouse rooftop.
Making sure no one was around, Chen Mu opened a bag of Yellow Bud Rice and activated the Five Elements Vital Energy Talisman.
A surge of Exotic Force immediately appeared in his hand.
He raised his hand towards the brown burlap filled with Yellow Bud Rice.
Soon, a stream of white powder rose into the air from the bag and flew into his palm, coalescing into a ball.
After a quarter of an hour,
Chen Mu weighed what was about the size of a basketball in his right hand, the Essence of the Five Grains: “At most about fifty pounds.”
Hundreds of pounds of Yellow Bud Rice, yet only a little over five extracted?
Something was off with that weight.
He had once inquired with Mo Wuzhou.
A hundred pounds of Yellow Bud Rice could yield at most fifty Fasting Pills.
An Elixir Pill weighed about two taels, fifty pills would be roughly ten pounds.
“The extraction efficiency is only half?” Chen Mu looked at the gray wall and realized, “The Qi Absorbing Technique at Second Rank is still somewhat lacking.”
The Five Grains Talisman determined the purity of the absorption of the Essence of the Five Grains.
The Proficiency of the Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique, on the other hand, determined the efficiency of the extraction.
With only a tenth of his Mana expended, recovery would take a day and a half. To maintain full Mana, it’s best to process about seven or eight hundred pounds each day.
With a batch of eight thousand pounds, processing three batches a month, even with just half the extraction efficiency, one could profit nearly four hundred White Jade Coins each month.
If the extraction efficiency could be improved even further, not hesitating to use more Mana to refine more, up to nearly a thousand White Jade Coins could be harvested monthly!
“Alchemy really does make money!” Chen Mu’s eyes sparkled.
With this skill, once he followed Song Wujie to a new territory, just staying put for a decade, with Daoist Jade at his fingertips, one could obtain the Condense Aperture Secret Method without fighting or scrambling, living peacefully.
“The future looks promising!” Chen Mu thought to himself, feeling pleased.
…
The Heavenly River District is located right next to the banks closest to the Heavenly River Water Mansion.
It’s a market district, as well as a large city without city walls.
Nine broad streets crisscrossing the entire district section it off like a checkerboard.
Due to the soaring prices at the Heavenly River Water Mansion, many people had to reside here, making the already bustling Heavenly River District even livelier.
East of the City, within a residential complex with five entrances,
Zhongshan Path Elder Yang Huan sat at the head of the inner hall.
A robust man with a height of two meters, dark skin, a round face framed by thick facial hair, bowed and said respectfully, “Under the watchful eyes of Song Wujie, it’s not good for us to make a move.”
“This turbulence at the Heavenly River Water Mansion forced many disciples from the Jilong Road Lower Courtyard to come to the Heavenly River District. It gives us an opportunity.”
The robust man chuckled.
“What? Have you found something?” Yang Huan glanced at the strong man.
“Found something! A big discovery!” the dark-faced strong man said, grinning: “An Earth Vein Spiritual Spring, and it’s one occupied by the snow demon Qing Liu.”
“Snow demon Qing Liu?!” Yang Huan was startled, then elated: “Are you sure of the information?”
“After interrogating five Lower Courtyard disciples consecutively, I’m at least ninety percent sure!”
“The exact location!”
“It’s roughly to the south of the original Jilong Road Lower Courtyard. Those disciples couldn’t give a precise location,” said the robust man, scratching his head.
“Keep capturing people!” Yang Huan said earnestly.
“If you can find that snow demon Qing Liu, I guarantee you will get the Condense Aperture Secret Method!”
“Just you watch!” The robust man grinned, turned and left the hall.
Yang Huan watched the man’s retreating figure with an expression that changed.
A Qing Liu Demon Puppet could be used to extract bloodlines and refine the Heavenly Demon Rebirth Pill.
But that wasn’t the most important thing.
If they could capture Qing Liu and employ the Six Desires Primordial Spirit Secret Technique to seize the demon’s body…
Yang Huan clenched his fist: “Then I will become the next True Person of the White Tower!”