Chapter Forty Two Dan Completed
Zuo Mo held the fasting pill in front of him, his eyes filled with joy.
This was his fourth try and he finally succeeded!
The fasting pill was the size of a longan fruit, its color was an attractive blue-green, with a delicate fragrance being emitted. Just a look make one unable to resist wanting to eat it. Fasting pills were mostly prepared for those cultivators who were in seclusion and who had the money.
He didn’t immediately start making a second one. The success of this fasting pill meant that his direction was correct. With that in the front, what he needed to think about now was the success rate. There were only six portions of ingredients left. At the very least , he needed to make four fasting pills. In other words, he could only fail two more times.
In reality, on the third try, he had almost succeeded. However, he slipped up at a small place and everything failed. His consciousness could help him detect the changes of the herbs inside the cauldron and he could accordingly adjust his ling energy.
Spiritual power was really a good thing! Zuo Mo thought blissfully.
Other than dan-making, after he swept over the other spells with his consciousness and made adjustments, not only did his consumption of ling energy go down, the effects also greatly improved. He did have a few fractions of self-awareness. Even though spiritual power was amazing, but his own experience and knowledge was extremely limited. Even with the help of his spiritual power, the changes he could make were limited. But even those minor changes were very effective.
He mused that he should go to the records of the sect to take a look and see if he could find any jade sticks about this area. He was an inner sect disciple now, it would be dumb if he didn’t seek out some benefits for himself!
Ending up with a cold-faced master who couldn’t be relied upon. It was more realistic to rely on himself.
Sword cultivators might prioritize ling energy and not spiritual power, but Zuo Mo believed what Wu Kong Sword Sect had accumulated over the years definitely surpassed his aimless fumbles. Of course, that was for the future. Right now, he had many things to work on. Other than dan-making, taking care of the ling fields was also an important job.
Even more, for him who had no money at the moment, earning jingshi was the question he must consider at the present. It had been awhile since those ling grass and herbs had been planted. Some were nearing the harvest time. How to sell them off was also a headache for him. Before he entered zhuji, he didn’t want to go outside the gates of the mountain.
Suddenly remembering Master had said if he didn’t have enough materials, he had to use his own jingshi to buy, did that mean that the sect’s materials could be brought? Then did that mean he could sell them?
Zuo Mo walked out of his dan room. In the yard, a crowd of female disciples worked hard at preparing all kinds of herbs. Scanning around, Zuo Mo’s gaze landed on a female disciple. He remembered clearly that the first day he arrived, she was the first to greet him. She seemed to be quite authoritative among this group of female disciples.
She was dressed in cotton cloth and an apron, no makeup on, sweat beading her forehead.
“This Shimei,” Zuo Mo went to greet her. Even though his age was most likely smaller than the other, but due to the rules of the sect, he didn’t dare to overstep.
She saw Zuo Mo and hurriedly stood: “Zuo Shixiong.”
“I’ve just gotten here and do not know many of the rules in the yard. Master is focused on making dan, so I can only trouble Shimei.” Zuo Mo said warmly. But it was a pity that his face was frozen and it looked slightly frightening.
After the initial panic, the female disciples quickly calmed down and said: “Shixiong is too polite. What is Shixiong’s question?”
Zuo Mo asked her his question.
This female disciple brushed away the hair in front of her head and smiled: “Shixiong might not know but all the herbs in this yard belong to the sect. Other than a certain amount that can be withdrawn, all others need people to pay with jingshi. But the price is two tenths lower than the market price. Shixiong is a ling plant farmer. If you have ling plants and grasses, you can sell them to this yard. The purchase price of normal herbs are about two tenths lower than the market price but other than jingshi, Shixiong will receive contribution points to exchange for scriptures and other things. If it is rare and valuable ling herbs and grasses, our sect’s purchase price is the same as the market. In the future when Shixiong becomes accomplished at dan-making, the sect can help sell the dan that Shixiong makes. Our sect’s Yan Le Shishu is skilled at business and usually can sell them for a good price. He only takes two tenths as a commission. But like before, other than jingshi, Shixiong can receive contribution points.”
Finishing, she handed Zuo Mo a jade stick: “The price of ling grasses and herbs will change each month. Yan Le Shishu will order someone to make it into a jade stick. This is the inventory list of the prices for this month of ling herbs.”
Zuo Mo took it and gave his thanks.
“Shixiong doesn’t have to be too polite. Shimei is Xu Qing and the first seat of this yard’s outer sect disciples. In the future, Shixiong, please take care of me. If Shixiong has any questions, come find me. You can also find me if you need to purchase any materials.” Xu Qing said respectfully.
“Thanks, Shimei!” Zuo Mo said gratefully.
Taking the list, Zuo Mo went back to the dan room and studied the list. He calculated and found the cost of the raw materials for the fasting pill was about three pieces of second grade jingshi, and its price was only half a second grade jingshi over the cost of the materials. If the success rate was accounted for, there was basically no profit. As expected, it was basically impossible to rely on low level dan to make money. It really was just practise. But that was normal. If fasting pills were really that profitable, then countless people would be breaking their heads for a chance to learn how to make dan.
In the following days, Zuo Mo continued to make fasting pills. In the process, he had failed once, but as he became more familiar, it took a lot less effort.
Ten portions of materials, it made six fasting pills. This kind of result could only be called just passable. There was nothing that was worth being proud of. Other than leaving behind the five pills, the last one he sold to Xu Qing and received three pieces of second grade jingshi.
Adding on that he would have an allowance of twenty pieces of second grade jingshi, he finally wasn’t penniless.
In the ling fields of West Wind Valley, Zuo Mo carefully examined each stalk of ling herbs and grass. In the jade sticks of Elder Wei Nan, there had been detailed introductions of these herbs and the methods of cultivating them that he had found.
Like Snowy Foxtail Grass, it was snowy white and soft, named for its foxtail-like shape. It’s biggest use was to make a famous kind of paper [Snowy Fox Paper]. Snowy fox paper was soft and pure white, extremely well-suited for making paper seals. Paper was a kind of widespread material. Other than all kinds of paper cranes, it was an essential ingredient in making seal curses and seal soldiers.
But the cultivation of snowy foxtail grass wasn’t easy as its growth was slow. Especially for snowy foxtail grass which was above third grade. The price was never low. Only third grade snowy foxtail grass could be used to manufacture fourth grade snowy fox paper.
Elder Wei Nan had discovered a method for cultivating snowy foxtail grass. The most effective way was to plant it with butterfly grass.
Butterfly grass was an extremely common kind of ling grass. Only the most docile and hardy ling beasts would eat it. Basically, no one would plant it. But if butterfly grass and snowy foxtail grass were planted together, the growth speed of snowy foxtail grass would increase, and the blue-purple butterfly grass would become a rare sky blue.
This sky-blue butterfly grass was deeply favoured by all kinds of ling beasts, especially high grade ling beasts. The price wasn’t low.
Many times, Zuo Mo couldn’t help but be in awe of Elder Wei Nan who he had never met. In Elder Wei Nan’s jade sticks, there wasn’t any profound scriptures, but useful techniques like this one were countless. Like the method of growing butterfly grass and snowy foxtail grass together, he felt that even the most experienced and powerful ling plant farmers wouldn’t have thought of it.
Maybe, it was because Elder Wei Nan didn’t have very high cultivation so he would spend so much effort studying those things.
Every day, Zuo Mo would cast the spells of a ling plant farmer on the plants in the ling fields. The amount of work was much greater than he had imagined but he had endured. Over time, he had gotten used to it.
He kept on cultivating [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation] each day in the rock room. In the past, he hadn’t know the many uses of spiritual energy and had more or less been inattentive. Now that he had seen the effects, he was much more focused. In a reversal of the past, he actually was not in a hurry to enter zhuji anymore. His spiritual power was much stronger than before but there was a lot of room for him to improve.
With the help of the ling vein, the progress of the ling energy in his body was faster than his estimations.
Zhuji wasn’t far away – he had a premonition.
Dong Fu, Dong Fu Hall.
Dong Fu Hall was the residence of the master of Dong Fu. It had been constructed for Dong Fu xianren and had been used since then. It took up the biggest secret paradise in Dong Fu and it was Dong Fu’s one true secret paradise. The so-called secret paradises that were sold on the market were only places with slightly more abundant ling energy and couldn’t be really considered a secret paradise.
Yu Bai slowly woke up from his meditation, satisfaction gleaming in his warm eyes. The density of ling energy in Dong Fu Hall was multiple times what it was outside. The fact that he could become the leader of the younger generation of Dong Fu was in large part due to this point.
The effects of his daily meditation was two or three times what other people had. After accumulating over the years, this kind of advantage would increasingly become greater.
“Master.” Seeing Master, he hurriedly stood.
“How have you been feeling recently?” Tian Song Zi asked as he smiled harmoniously. Tian Song Zi was wearing the robes of a Daoist, a knot on his head, extremely carefree.
“Relatively stable, but still far from becoming jindan.”
“No hurry, no hurry.” Tian Song Zi waved his hand: “You are still young, don’t rush. Becoming jindan is a process. Did you hear the news about the Sword Test Conference?”
Yu Bai paused: “Does Master want this disciple to attend the Sword Test Conference?”
Even though he had a shining reputation in Dong Fu, but he really have didn’t much confidence in attending the Sword Test Conference which was a large scale completion for the entire Kun Lun Jing. And from what he had seen, Master never really cared about worldly rewards, so why would he suddenly become interested in the Sword Test Conference
Tian Song Zi smiled, answering: “Wait for me to finish. The internal happenings of the Sword Test Conference are layered but we don’t have to touch that dirty water.” His expression became sever, his gaze worried and said solemnly: “I received news that two thirds of Bloody Sky Metropolis has already landed in the hands of yaomo.”
“Ah!” Yu Bai paled in shock: “How could that be so?”
“Yaomo are starting to recover their strength.” Tian Song Zi sighed: “Three thousand years have passed. Yaomo recuperated and have adapted. Would they be satisfied being suppressed?”
Yu Bai’s expression was incomparably bad. He knew what this meant.
“The situation in the future is hard to predict. My Dong Fu needs to prepare early.” Tian Song Zi said heavily: “I will host a Dong Fu Sword Test Conference in hopes of finding some potential talents. When the nest is being attacked, will there be unharmed eggs? I will tell the other sects. Right now, it has to be a united front in order to fight for a chance at survival.”
Yu Bai was silent. A beat later, he said: “I’m afraid Master will put in the effort but not be thanked.”
“Do within the limits, and depend on the heavens.” Tian Song Zi sighed and waved his hand: “Go and create a list of youths that should be taken note of.”
“Yes.” Yu Bai bowed and retreated with a worried expression.