Chapter 2: Wild Ginseng

The next day, as dawn broke, Li Xuan had already finished washing up and was walking towards the Lingxu Tianchi (Lingxu Celestial Pond).

This Celestial Pond was located in a basin about a hundred steps from the small courtyard, appearing deep blue. If the house in the courtyard had been a multi-story building, he might have been able to see the lake view.

“Without a spirit boat and unable to afford a Flying Sword, I can’t even patrol the lake right now.”

The volcanic lake was surrounded by rock walls, with only one narrow outlet.

Li Xuan looked at the water below, feeling troubled. Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators could only achieve aerial movement through sword control or flying Magical Artifacts. Since he didn't have these things, he could only stare.

In fact, this place was initially equipped with a spirit boat, but because it was so remote, the spirit boat was gradually sold off in secret. Those who guarded this place were all Cultivators from prominent Families, and Flying Swords were standard equipment.

“Never mind, patrolling the lake isn’t urgent. Let’s do what’s important first.”

Li Xuan no longer hesitated and focused his gaze on the Celestial Pond. A transparent panel appeared above the Celestial Pond:

【Supernatural Volcanic Lake (Upgradable): A volcanic lake that has produced a hint of the supernatural, capable of giving birth to Spirit Fish, with a probability of one in ten thousand.】

【Can be upgraded to a Tier 1 Spirit Lake】

【Upgrade Effect: The probability of ordinary fish evolving into Spirit Fish increases by 10 times, Spirit Fish growth speed +10%, and there is a very small chance of producing breedable Spirit Fish.】

【Upgrade Requirements: Host’s strength reaches Foundation Establishment, 1000 Spirit Stones, 5 Spirit Fish of different species.】

【Upgrade Time: One month】

“As expected, the upgrade conditions for this Spirit Lake are quite demanding for my current self. However, based on the current Spirit Fish yield of this Celestial Pond, if it’s upgraded to a Spirit Lake, it would produce at least 100 Spirit Fish per year. It would only take a little over a year to break even. This business isn’t a loss.”

“It’s just that this isn't my territory after all. If I painstakingly upgrade it, and someone discovers the anomaly, it won’t be as simple as just reaping the benefits. I need to consider this carefully.”

Li Xuan analyzed, toying with the bronze fragment in his hand.

The sky gradually brightened. Immortal mist lingered on the lake surface, and the sunlight shone on Li Xuan, but he felt little warmth.

“This place can be considered a scenic spot. If I didn’t have the System, living a stable and reclusive life here for the rest of my days would be acceptable. Unfortunately, a man with a System is destined to be a Child of the Plane. At the very least, according to the script in novels, I should first get revenge.”

He muttered to himself, a smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with icy coldness.

“In this world, demons run rampant, and Immortals and Buddhas are without Dao. The demons, led by the Devouring Heaven Beast, turned this continent into Lion Camel Ridge. Billions of commoners died tragically. An Immortal Venerable descended to the Lower Realm to punish them, severely punishing many minor demons, but allowed the chief culprit to become a Buddha on the spot. What a clever trick.”

He only dared to keep these words in his heart. The names of some existences, even if merely uttered, would cause the other party to sense it. This was something he had learned from years of cautious living.

With thoughts on his mind, he walked towards the nearby mountain. What he called a mountain was actually just a small hill.

The mountain was covered in pine and cypress trees, their needles blanketed by snow. Stepping on them produced a snapping sound.

“Hmm?”

After a few steps, he discovered some messy footprints covered by shallow snow.

These footprints were not from one person; they varied in size.

After a brief thought, he understood something.

“Although this place is the territory of the Bingxuan Sect, it has always been controlled by the large Families on the island. Exploitation is inevitable. I just don’t know how many fish are left in the Celestial Pond.”

He pushed aside the obstructing branches and continued his patrol, but a worry arose in his heart. Through the System, he also learned that the probability of Spirit Fish evolving was one in ten thousand. This prerequisite was that the base number of ordinary fish in the Celestial Pond had to keep up. If overfished, then there would be a problem.

But he had no spirit boat or Flying Sword at this time, so worrying was useless. He could only wander in the mountains, seeing if he could find some mountain treasures.

Fortunately, he was lucky. Not long after, he found a wild ginseng under the snow.

He found it using the System. Whenever he reached a suspicious spot, he would focus his gaze. If there was something, the System would display a panel prompt; if not, the System would not react.

【Wild Ginseng (Upgradable): A wild ginseng with an age of 10 years.】

【Can be upgraded to a 100-year-old wild ginseng. After upgrading, its potential will be exhausted and it cannot be upgraded again.】

【Upgrade Conditions: 5 Spirit Stones, must be upgraded in situ, cannot be pulled out.】

【Upgrade Time: Half an hour.】

“Upgrade.”

Li Xuan dug away the snow. After the ginseng slightly emerged, he stopped. He took out Spirit Stones and a Fireball Talisman from his in arms and guarded the spot.

It was rather interesting; he only had those 5 Spirit Stones left on him.

The Spirit Stones instantly disappeared into his sleeve, and the ginseng emitted a faint glow, already beginning to change.

Li Xuan thought for a moment, then covered the ginseng with snow again to avoid causing too much commotion. He was still unfamiliar with this place, and if any large ferocious beasts or Yao Beasts came, it would be troublesome.

“A ten-year-old ginseng can only be used as medicine for Mortals, but this hundred-year-old ginseng is a Tier 1 Spirit Medicine, just like ordinary carp and Spirit Carp.”

“More importantly, a hundred-year-old ginseng is much more expensive than Spirit Fish. You can tell from its age. Spirit Fish have specially cultivated Spirit Seeds and are born as such, but ginseng, no matter how it’s cultivated, still needs to wait a hundred years. Only in some blessed lands will the growth rate of spiritual plants be faster, but in such spiritual lands, planting ginseng would be a waste.”

He clutched the Fireball Talisman in his hand, alert to his surroundings, but his mind was recalling some knowledge about ginseng and Spirit Fish.

When he was a handyman, he had learned how to cultivate spiritual plants, taken care of Spirit Beasts, raised Spirit Fish, assisted Talisman Makers, and stoked fires for Artifact Refiners. He was a jack-of-all-trades, but even so, he failed to enter the Outer Sect and become an Outer Sect Disciple.

Nothing else, his Aptitude of Low Grade Five Spiritual Roots limited everything.

Low Grade Five Spiritual Roots meant that he possessed all five Spiritual Roots—gold, wood, water, fire, and earth—and all were very mediocre. Cultivating any attribute’s Cultivation Technique would be very slow.

The Cultivation Technique he chose was called Evergreen Skill, famously weak in combat, but it had one advantage: longevity. The lifespan of an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator was about two sexagenary cycles, or 120 years, but cultivating Evergreen Skill allowed one to live to 140 years.

“Perhaps this is also one of the reasons why Holy Maiden Su Qinghan exiled me to this place. In her eyes, I am destined to have fate without a share with her, after all, she had already reached Foundation Establishment those few days, and her lifespan reached 240 years.”

“But that’s fine. Laying low here and slowly developing can save a lot of trouble. Even with Low Grade Five Spiritual Roots, there might be a way to Breakthrough. It’s said that after the Foundation Establishment Realm, Divine Sense can be used to detect the location of Spiritual Roots, and I wonder if those Spiritual Roots can be upgraded...”

The anticipated beast attack did not come. Half an hour later, he harvested the wild ginseng. To prevent the medicinal properties from dissipating, he quickly returned to the small courtyard and sealed it in a jade box.

“In the Sect’s market at the foot of the mountain, this hundred-year-old wild ginseng is worth 30 Spirit Stones. I wonder how much it can sell for here... That spirit boat isn’t cheap.”

He headed towards the market at the foot of the mountain.

And at the place where he had collected the ginseng, not long after he left, a fluffy-tailed Snow Sable came hopping from a distance. She had a small satchel around her neck. Seeing that the ginseng had been harvested, she squeaked in anger, her two front paws kicking up snow. After a while, as if resigned to her fate, she hopped towards another spot. Seeing the undisturbed snow covering the ginseng there, her mood brightened. She happily rolled in the snow, then darted into the depths of the forest.