Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Price of Spirit Rice Falls

Inside the alchemy chamber.

Su Yuqing stared blankly into the pill furnace, where six azure pills tumbled within, nearly ready to emerge!

What baffled him even more was that one of the six Condensing Qi Pills actually exuded a faint, delicate aura on its surface.

“A superior-grade Condensing Qi Pill?!”

Before Qin Ming could move, Su Yuqing raised his hand and summoned the pills. The six pills instantly flew into his palm.

He examined each one carefully, scrutinizing them with furrowed brows, double- and triple-checking their quality.

“Brother Su, could you please take a look and judge them for me? Do you think this batch of Condensing Qi Pills is up to standard? Is there anything I should pay particular attention to?” Qin Ming, elated by his successful refinement, wore a sincere smile and humbly sought Su Yuqing’s guidance.

After all, the man before him was a true superior-grade alchemist. Within the entire region surrounding Qingyang Market, such individuals were exceedingly rare. If he could receive even a few words of advice, it would be of immense benefit.

A long silence passed.

Finally, Su Yuqing returned the pills to Qin Ming. His expression was complicated; he forced out a faint smile and said, “Heh... not... not bad... barely passable.”

Outwardly, he appeared indifferent, but inside, his heart was in turmoil.

“Isn’t this pill-refining talent almost catching up to my own?!”

“Wasn’t this kid failing repeatedly not long ago?”

“How strange—how did he suddenly have such an epiphany?”

“Could it be that he’s truly mastered my unique pill-refining methods simply by observing me?”

“Does he really possess such remarkable comprehension?”

“No, no, next time I’ll have to be more cautious.”

Qin Ming, delighted, admired his first true work with a strong sense of accomplishment welling up inside. He was deeply grateful to Su Yuqing. If it weren’t for him allowing Qin Ming to observe every pill-refining session, letting him learn by ear and sight, he would never have gained so much real knowledge. Even with his recently strengthened spirit, he couldn’t have reached the threshold of a lower-grade alchemist so quickly.

At dinner, Qin Ming cooked personally, preparing a table full of delicious dishes with Beast Fang Rice. He and Su Yuqing ate with great gusto.

“Brother Qin, this Beast Fang Rice you’ve cultivated is truly excellent,” Su Yuqing exclaimed, downing two large bowls in a row and, even as he spoke, ladling out more from the pot.

“If you’d like, I can sell you some at the market price,” Qin Ming replied with a smile.

The last time he’d bought Gathering Spirit Pills from Su Yuqing, the man had given him superior-grade ones. Now, it was a perfect opportunity to return the favor.

Su Yuqing’s eyes lit up at Qin Ming’s words. “Really?! However much you can offer, I’ll take it all.”

Qin Ming immediately took a sack of Beast Fang Rice from his storage pouch and set it in front of Su Yuqing. “This is all I have at the moment—about a hundred pounds.”

“At the market price, seven spirit stones per pound.”

Overjoyed, Su Yuqing didn’t even bother to check; he simply waved his hand, storing the rice away, and handed over seven hundred spirit stones to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming accepted the payment, his little treasury instantly swelling to over sixteen hundred spirit stones. Raising his cup, he toasted Su Yuqing. “Come, let’s drink to our hearts’ content tonight!”

Su Yuqing, rarely in such high spirits, grinned and drained his cup in one go.

...

After dinner, Qin Ming took his leave.

During the meal, Su Yuqing had asked Qin Ming to help him plant spirit herbs for the final year—once again, auxiliary alchemical ingredients. This time, however, the task was far more challenging. One was a first-tier superior spirit herb, Demonflame Grass; the other, a first-tier supreme spirit herb, Seven-Leaf Yellow Bell.

Both required exactly one year to mature.

Qin Ming looked troubled, but ultimately couldn’t refuse Su Yuqing’s repeated requests. Su Yuqing now had more confidence in Qin Ming’s planting abilities than in his own.

Qin Ming also realized he still needed to benefit from Su Yuqing’s pill-refining expertise and, in time, inherit his alchemy room, so he quickly agreed.

One requirement for advancing to a superior spirit herb cultivator was to successfully grow at least two varieties of first-tier superior spirit herbs.

This time, Su Yuqing provided only twenty seeds of each herb. At this level, even the seeds had become exceptionally rare.

Qin Ming went up to the spirit fields on the hillside, turned the soil, and planted the precious seeds separately. He then performed the Advanced Spirit Rain Technique, summoning a gentle rain to nourish them.

Afterward, he checked on his three acres of Beast Fang Rice. This year, the rice was thriving, promising a bountiful harvest.

Satisfied, he departed.

Back in Qingyang Market, Qin Ming returned to his own "Cool Breeze Cottage." He glanced at the corner of the courtyard, where the Blood-Drained Poison Vine he’d transplanted now grew.

He had observed it for a long time. Without using the "Accelerate Growth" attribute, this spirit plant grew exceedingly slowly and had shown almost no change since being moved.

He had few acceleration tags left in his sea of consciousness, so for now, he could only let it grow on its own.

Just as he was about to enter his meditation chamber, his message talisman vibrated.

“Fellow Daoist Qin, come quickly—there’s new information.”

Qin Ming frowned as he checked the talisman. It was from Manager Liao.

‘What now?’ he thought, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

Within the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, Qin Ming arrived at Gathering Pavilion.

When Manager Liao saw him, he greeted him warmly and led him to a private room on the fourth floor. After casting a soundproofing charm, Liao’s expression turned grave.

“Fellow Daoist Qin, I have some rather troubling news.”

“The price of spirit rice in the market is about to drop—likely within the next two days. Not only that, but other resources such as artifacts and pills will also decrease in price.”

Qin Ming’s brows knitted tightly. He asked, almost instinctively, “Has the Lingyu Sect’s teleportation array been repaired?”

“Indeed, just a few days ago, Lingyu Sect finished repairs, and logistical supplies have resumed,” Manager Liao nodded.

“Furthermore, both Lingyu Sect and Golden Cloud Valley are constructing two new teleportation arrays directly to Cloud Marsh Immortal City. In the future, these two sects will center their activities around Cloud Marsh Immortal City, gradually supplanting Qingyang Market’s status.”

“The Pavilion Master intends to relocate all our main operations to the new city once construction is complete, leaving only a few insignificant branches in Qingyang Market.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming fell silent, pondering deeply.

After a long while, he sipped his tea and then asked, “Will the rental prices for housing in the market drop as well?”

Manager Liao seemed to have anticipated this question and answered directly, “Housing rents will not decrease.”

“After all, there are so many itinerant cultivators now, and demand outstrips supply. Even when Cloud Marsh Immortal City opens, only a select group of cultivators will be allowed to settle there, subject to certain requirements.”

Qin Ming was left somewhat dazed.

He hadn’t expected the price of spirit rice to fall while rent remained high—especially just days after he’d moved in...

“If you have any extra spirit rice on hand, you’d best sell it within the next two days,” Manager Liao advised, pouring tea with a meaningful smile.

Qin Ming couldn’t help but curl his lip, thinking, ‘So this old fox has his eye on my rice.’

“Ah, Manager Liao, if you’d told me sooner! I did have a little over a hundred pounds of Beast Fang Rice left, but I just sold it all to Brother Su,” Qin Ming replied with a sigh, shaking his head in feigned regret.

Disappointment flickered in Manager Liao’s eyes.

“Well... it’s alright. After all, your next harvest is just around the corner.”

After their conversation ended, Manager Liao courteously saw Qin Ming out.

Once outside, Qin Ming pondered for a moment, then immediately sent a message to Old Cai the Ninth.

“Old Ninth, if you’re still holding onto any spirit rice, sell it within the next two days. Keep this to yourself.”