Immortality begins with raising apprentices

Chapter 6 First-Tier Spirit Herb: Silver Scale Flower
Passing by Li Dagen's house, and after walking for about half an incense stick's time, we left this muddy shantytown and arrived at Yunxifang.

This is what the cultivation world should be called!

The city wall is over ten zhang high, with dark gold array patterns floating on the gray bricks and stones, and occasionally a spiritual light moves like a snake.

At the entrance to the market stood two stone lions, each holding a large pearl in its mouth, which made the bluestone pavement gleam coldly.

Even the air seemed sweeter.

This wasn't Chen Ye's misperception; the market was built on a spiritual vein, so the spiritual energy was abundant and the air quality was naturally good.

Although it is only a first-order spiritual vein, it is enough to attract many cultivators.

Rainwater from the previous night seeped through the cracks in the bluestone slabs, making Chen Ye's straw sandals slippery when he stepped on them.

He tightened the silver-furred ball tucked under his arm and moved forward, blending into the flow of people entering the city.

The entrance to the market was filled with the steam of breakfast food, and the sizzling sound of fried dough sticks mixed with the sweet aroma of Linggu porridge, making Qingjun swallow hard.

"Fellow Daoist, are you about to enter the market?"

The blue-robed monk guarding the gate pinched the tip of his nose and took a half step back.

No wonder, Chen Ye was covered in mud and had a dirty little girl tucked under his arm, looking just like a refugee fleeing from the world.

Memories of the previous incarnation surfaced at the right time. Yunxifang was under the jurisdiction of the Lingyin Sect, and entering the market required paying five spirit sands as a dust tax.

The price sounds reasonable, but it's actually outrageous!
Five spirit sands at a time, and it would cost one and a half spirit stones a month!

Although the original owner was lazy and gluttonous, he was still a mid-stage Qi Refining plant master. He could only earn about five spirit stones a month, which was already considered middle class in the shantytown.

Of course, cultivators can also choose to rent a house in the market to avoid the dust tax, but renting a house costs at least three spirit stones a month and must be paid for at least six months.

Chen Ye felt his heart was bleeding. He grabbed a handful of spirit sand from his bag, counted out ten pieces, and handed them to the blue-robed cultivator.

Stepping into the main street of Fangchang, one is greeted by a bustling atmosphere.

The pavilions on both sides have flying eaves and brackets, and the alchemy furnace-shaped banners sway gently in the wind. The fragrance of medicine mixed with the sound of metal clashing wafts over, and there are even body cultivators carrying beast corpses that are more than ten feet long, parading through the market.

Chen Ye felt inexplicably uncomfortable. He looked down at his straw sandals with his toes sticking out and felt out of place.

But after blending into the crowd on the street, Chen Ye discovered that many people were not as good as him, and most of them were still at the early stage of Qi Refining.

Seeing this, Chen Ye straightened his back, tucked the white fur ball between his legs, and strode through the market, focusing on the free trade area.

Most of the independent cultivators exchanged goods and services here. As for those glamorous shops, Chen Ye was short of money and didn't want to embarrass himself by going there.

……

"Shinzai's Akame pheasant! It'll bleed you if you pluck its feathers!"

"The Lingyin Sect's internal supply of spirit rice is limited!"

"Bigu Pill, the finest Bigu Pill! One pill is equivalent to a day's worth of physical cultivation! One pill only costs ten spirit sands! One bottle contains eleven pills for one spirit stone!"

Chen Ye was intrigued and stepped closer to examine the legendary fasting pill.

The stall owner was a young rogue cultivator. His eyes lit up when he saw Chen Ye: "Fellow Daoist, how about one?"

"I just want to take a look, I just want to take a look..."

Chen Ye chuckled and waved his hand. He did want to try it, but the pills were simply not worth it.

He preferred to cook for himself; the ten spirit sands would feed him for several days.

The young rogue cultivator's smile remained fervent. He knew from the man's appearance that he was stingy, and was already prepared. His tone was gentle:
"Alright, seeing how hard it is for you to take care of the child, if you want to buy one, I can offer you a discount."

Qingjun huddled under Chen Ye's arm, her little nose turning bright red from the cold wind.

Is Master also going to be here soliciting and selling her?

Selling baby girls! Selling baby girls!
Qingjun shivered, then fiercely devoured the remaining taro in one bite, her little face puffed up like a hamster's.

But the little girl quickly regretted it; she wished she hadn't eaten so fast, she was so hungry...

"Here."

Chen Ye spent two spirit sands to buy a bag of osmanthus pastries and stuffed it into the little girl's arms.

This brittle is not in the same league as the taro from yesterday.

Qingjun had never eaten such beautiful food before. This... this is something I can eat?
The little thing froze completely.

She first pressed the oil paper package tightly to her chest like a cub guarding its food, then pulled back as if she had been electrocuted when she brought her nose close to the seam of the paper. She rubbed her dirty little hands on her clothes again and again before picking up half a crumb with her fingertips and putting it into her mouth.

The moment the sweetness exploded on her tongue, the little girl couldn't help but squint her eyes, a look of pure enjoyment on her face.

Qingjun was certain that this was the most delicious food in the world!
Her earlobes suddenly flushed red, and she glanced shyly at her tall master.

The little girl breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her master wasn't paying attention to her.

He clutched the oil paper package tightly to his chest, his mouth watering, but he couldn't bear to eat it anymore.

Chen Yeqiang suppressed the smile on his lips, but he had actually seen everything Qingjun was doing.

Indeed, this spirit sand flower is worth it.

The loneliness in his heart dissipated a little more.

Rather than being a burden, the little girl is more of a comfort...

Chen Ye observed the stalls around and studied the prices in the market.

He considered buying a few spirit herbs to practice his skills, but he had no choice but to give up when faced with their high prices.

For example, the old man's Green Luo Grass was priced at a whopping fourteen spirit stones!

However, many spiritual herbs have also seen price reductions due to illness or damage, but the price is mostly around ten spirit stones.

Once Chen Ye bought it, his meager savings would be gone, which made him hesitate.

Just as he was hesitating, Chen Ye suddenly noticed that the stall selling spiritual herbs not far away was bustling with activity.

A large crowd had gathered there, and the stall owner was arguing heatedly with other independent cultivators.

"Qingjun, hold on tight!"

Chen Ye carefully held the little girl, Qingjun, who was as light as a withered leaf, and it was effortless for him to hold her.

He hurried along, peering into the crowd.

A blood-stained animal hide lay on the ground, and the silver-leafed flowers, covered in mud, drooped listlessly, their dim silver light shimmering, their roots tinged with an ominous bluish-black.

"Ha, the cultivators of Yunxi Workshop are utterly unreasonable! Although the Silver Scale Flower has been afflicted by demonic energy, it is still a first-tier spiritual flower and a key ingredient in Qi-restoring pills. You just want it for seven spirit stones?"

The stall owner, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, walked in a hurry and spoke with dissatisfaction; he was actually a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The person confronting the stall owner was an old man.

The old man's hair and beard were all white, his beard almost reaching his chest, and there were many leaf fragments stuck in his hair, giving him a strong smell of herbs.

The old man with the goatee chuckled and stroked his beard: "What you say is true, young friend, but the Silver Scale Flower has been infected by demonic energy, and its roots have been damaged. To my naked eye, it has not touched the soil for three or four days, and it looks like it is about to die."

The man in the tight-fitting clothes choked for a moment, realizing that what the old man with the goatee had said was indeed true.

He picked this spiritual flower from the Three Thousand Mountains. To escape the demonic beasts, he stumbled and spent four days getting away.

But how could he accept that the Silver Scale Flower, originally worth eighteen spirit stones, was only being sold for seven spirit stones!
He went through countless hardships and risked his life to collect this!

"Not for sale!" the man in the tight-fitting clothes glared.

The old man with the goatee sighed deeply, "Once this opportunity is gone, it's gone forever! Your silver scale flower will wither and die in two days, and at that time I will only be willing to accept it for three spirit stones."

Having said that, the old man with the goatee left without looking back, showing no sign of lingering.

"I……"

The man in the tight-fitting clothes clenched his fists, as if trying to persuade him to stay, but after a long while he slumped down.

Snickers rippled through the onlookers, and the fat man in the brocade robe, rubbing his jade thumb ring, interjected:

"Fellow Daoist, your Silver Scale Flower is indeed beautiful, but once you bring it home, you'll have to find a spirit plant master to care for it countless times. Even then, there's no guarantee it will survive!"

Seeing that the excitement had died down, the surrounding cultivators left with a smug look on their faces.

Chen Ye was left alone, lost in thought.

(End of this chapter)