Five days later.
At the bottom of the cliff, in the small storage room of Pill Treasure Pavilion.
Chen Mu handed over two hundred jin of Yellow Bud Rice and received sixty White Jade Coins.
Thirty of them were the salary for the Alchemist Apprentice, and the other thirty were the reward for two hundred jin of Essence of the Five Grains.
Chen Mu then returned twenty White Jade Coins to exchange for a wooden token.
The wooden token was as wide as two fingers and as long as a palm, one side carved with a mountain pattern and the other side inscribed with the words “Two thousand jin of Yellow Bud Rice.”
With this wooden token, he could go to the Administrative Affairs Institute’s main storage room to claim two thousand jin of Yellow Bud Rice.
…
The main storage room of the Administrative Affairs Institute was not far away, also carved out of the hollow of a mountain.
Compared to the Pill Treasure Pavilion’s small storage room, which was only as large as a basketball court, the main storage room was much more spacious.
The ceiling was as high as seven or eight stories.
Standing at the entrance, Chen Mu looked inside. Perhaps due to insufficient lighting, he couldn’t see the end at a glance.
As he looked, a strange sense of dislocation washed over him.
It was as if the inside and outside of the door were two different worlds.
After thinking for a while, Chen Mu finally noticed something unusual.
The lowest location of Pill Treasure Pavilion’s cave dwellings was just five or six meters above the main storage room.
Yet the height of this main storage room was more than ten meters.
This…
“Haven’t seen it before?” The short, plump storeroom manager glanced askance at Chen Mu.
“This is the ‘Thousand-Mile Household: Miniaturization Method.'”
“The original cave wasn’t this big.”
“Similar to the Mustard Seed Talisman?” Even though he had seen many wonders, this still left Chen Mu quite shocked.
“More or less,” said the plump manager nonchalantly.
If I used this Secret Technique in my own cave dwelling, my small three-bedroom would instantly turn into a large flat!
“May I ask which High Cultivator performed such a Secret Technique?” Chen Mu couldn’t help but ask.
“Want to learn it? Or want to set it up in your own cave dwelling?” The plump Prefect glanced at Chen Mu.
“You’ll talk about it when you become an Alchemist.”
Chen Mu paused and couldn’t help but laugh, the chubby man’s remark was unpleasant but also made sense.
This kind of Secret Technique, whether to learn or to hire someone to perform it, cannot be done without Daoist Cultivation.
I should just honestly go practice my Elixir Pills.
He then picked up two huge hemp bags and left the main storage room directly.
…
Not far from the small archway of the small storage room, Bai Xiuwen squinted as he watched Chen Mu’s retreating figure.
Turning his head to ask the storeroom manager behind the long desk: “That new guy, how much Essence of the Five Grains did he turn in?”
A storeroom manager, over sixty years old with white hair and beard, raised his head and looked outside through the white jade window.
“Two hundred jin.”
“So little? He’s really doing the bare minimum.” Bai Xiuwen shook his head in disappointment.
Two hundred jin is just enough to meet the basic requirement for submitting the task.
He really doesn’t know the Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique?
What a pity…
“How do you know he isn’t pretending?” The old storeroom manager said indifferently.
Bai Xiuwei’s mind stirred, and three White Jade Coins suddenly appeared on the long desk.
The white-haired old storeroom manager’s sleeve brushed over the desk, and he discreetly picked them up.
“If one wants to absorb a large quantity of Essence of the Five Grains, they need a lot of Yellow Bud Rice.”
“And to get Yellow Bud Rice from the main storage room, one must exchange for a wooden token at my place.”
“This month, I will keep an eye out for you.”
This month?
Bai Xiuwen’s mouth twitched—old but greedy.
Forget it, finding personnel for Master Qi is more important.
Even if this man doesn’t know the Qi Absorption Technique, there will come a day when he learns it. It’s better to take control early and plan ahead.
A backer, huh, who doesn’t have one?
“If you willingly join, who can say anything?” Bai Xiuwen thought with a smug smile.
…
At the entrance of Chen Mu’s cave dwelling.
Just as he returned, he saw two figures standing in front of the cave dwelling.
Next to them, there were four large bamboo baskets as tall as a person’s chest.
Old Hao, Shang Huan?
Chen Mu narrowed his eyes.
“Is something the matter?” he unconsciously asked as he walked up.
“Something the matter?” Shang Huan chuckled, “Does Old Hao getting a wife count as something?”
Chen Mu immediately laughed, teasing, “Weren’t you going to the mortal world to marry two or three dozen concubines? What happened, given up?”
Before Old Hao could answer, Shang Huan spoke up first, “It’s not my fault Uncle Hao, whoever falls into my future aunt’s hands won’t be able to escape.”
“My aunt, oh, she looks, tsk tsk…” Shang Huan shook his head and wagged it.
“What? As beautiful as a fairy?” Chen Mu raised his eyebrow. Did the old man really have such charm?
“No, more like a burly man!” Shang Huan snickered, “That’s what you call broad and sturdy!”
“Go away, what do you all know!” Old Hao blew his beard and glared, then immediately said with a satisfied face, “That’s called healthy, good for bearing children!”
Heh, such a… unique taste!
…
“What’s this?” Chen Mu pointed at the four large bamboo baskets.
“Daily necessities, vegetables, meat, salt, and oil,” Old Hao lifted the gray cloth covering the baskets.
“This saves me the trouble.” Chen Mu smiled as he looked through them.
He had been planning to purchase a batch of supplies in preparation for a training retreat.
“Why not hire a few servants and maids to handle the miscellaneous affairs?” Old Hao asked with puzzlement while moving things into the room.
Chen Mu, carrying a bamboo basket into the house, replied casually upon hearing this, “I’m used to being alone.”
He had many secrets and did not dare to let strangers stay by his side.
“Then I’ll have Shang Huan deliver a batch of supplies to you regularly,” Old Hao suggested.
“That saves you the trouble of running up and down the mountain and wasting time.”
Chen Mu glanced at Shang Huan.
Seeing the latter’s smug smile, he immediately understood that this was probably the same as the last furniture delivery, still a tactic to intimidate others.
“Okay,” Chen Mu shrugged and agreed.
This was good too; he could ignore worldly matters and focus on secluded alchemy.
…
Inside the cave abode, at the square table.
The three of them gathered for a meal and chat.
“The identity of an alchemist apprentice from Pill Treasure Pavilion is really useful,” Shang Huan remarked.
“The unruly warriors I’ve hired recently wouldn’t dare to resist.”
Chen Mu crunched down a sparerib from an exotic beast, chewing it bones and all.
An identity? What they’re probably afraid of is my cultivation.
These warriors from Da Qian must have been intimidated before coming here, knowing just how formidable the Illusion Breaking Realm is.
“Even a little prince from Da Qian is now obediently working with me as a peddler to make money,” Shang Huan boasted with pride.
A little prince?
“Why would such a person not enjoy wealth and honor in the secular world, but instead come here to break new ground, farming and enduring hardships?” Chen Mu wondered.
“I heard it’s because Da Qian has been suffering from continuous natural disasters and the whole country is in turmoil.”
“Their Jia Family Dynasty is unstable and in danger of collapsing, so they fled here to avoid disaster.”
Natural disaster? Chen Mu suddenly realized.
Unstable may be true, but collapsing is unlikely.
After all, they still have the support of Jilong Road behind them.
…
After the meal.
Shang Huan handed Chen Mu a small cloth bag containing over six hundred White Jade Coins.
“This is this month’s revenue. How is it, not bad right?” Shang Huan said with a smug smile.
“The Insect Repellent Incense is selling that well?” Chen Mu was surprised.
“Jade Spring Mountain is deep in the East Ridge, particularly plagued by poisonous insects and miasma. That’s why…” Shang Huan spread his hands.
Chen Mu understood.
It was all about the right timing.
…
Early the next day, after washing up and eating, Chen Mu plunged into the alchemy chamber.
An incense burner the size of a fist was placed on the windowsill. A wisp of black smoke snaked in, igniting the charcoal.
Heat roasted the Calming Pill, and the fragrance that focused the mind and calmed the qi slowly diffused.
Chen Mu raised his hand, and two large bags of Yellow Bud Rice flew in front of the couch.
“Absorb!”
The talisman drilled into the Primordial Talisman, and an exotic force enveloped the Yellow Bud Rice.
Hum!
The grains of Yellow Bud Rice vibrated and tumbled, as specks of white powder-like dust rose and gathered into a sphere.
After a long while, Chen Mu placed the Essence of the Five Grains into a brown wooden box and sealed it away.
“It seems more can be extracted,” he mused, looking at the Yellow Bud Rice reduced to something like bran.
Chen Mu summoned a grey wall and reviewed the alchemy-related entries.
Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique: 3243/10000/Third Rank;
Five Qi Primordial Technique: 2896/10000/Second Rank;
Alchemy (Fasting Pill): 1325/10000;
Wind Fire Pivot Charm: Limit;
Golden Bead Talisman: Limit;
Five Grains Talisman: Limit;
“If the rank of the Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique continues to rise, can more Essence of the Five Grains be extracted from the same Yellow Bud Rice?”
“Heh…” Chen Mu’s lips curled up slightly: “There’s no hurry. I’ll have plenty of chances to accumulate experience in the Qi Absorption Technique later.”
“Daoist cultivation matters more. I should focus on alchemy first.”
Without delay, he took out a pitch-black pill furnace.
Five Ghosts Black Smoke cleansed. A small amount of ingredients entered. The Wind Fire Pivot Charm controlled the furnace and the Primordial Five Qi condensed the Elixir Pill.
…
Over half a month later, within the alchemy chamber of Chen Mu’s cave abode.
Chen Mu placed his hands on either side of the pill furnace.
Click!
With a light sound, the lid of the furnace rose into the air.
Heat ascended, and the air above the furnace twisted slightly, with a faint burnt fragrance wafting about.
Qi Forbidden Hundred Miles extended into the furnace, and a longan-sized milky-white Elixir Pill flew out, twirling before Chen Mu’s eyes.
He examined it closely for a moment, then his right index finger reached out, grazing the Elixir Pill.
A clump the size of a green bean was scraped off.
Placing it into his mouth, it immediately melted, turning into a warm current that slid down his throat into his stomach.
“Haha, that’s the right taste!” Chen Mu couldn’t help but grin.
He checked the gray wall.
Alchemy (Fasting Pill): 6095/10000;
Although not yet perfected, he was already capable of making Fasting Pills.
Being able to concoct Elixir Pills meant he could exchange for Daoist Cultivation.
He was one step closer to the Condense Aperture Secret Method.