Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

Two hours later, Zhang Li slowly opened his eyes and took out two storage bags.

These two storage bags belonged to the dark-skinned, thin stall owner and the alluring female cultivator. After their deaths, the magical seals left on them naturally dissipated.

Zhang Li used his magic to empty all the contents of the two storage bags.

Splash! Splash!

Items of various colors were instantly spread across the entire ground.

Zhang Li glanced at the contents of the storage bag and saw that it contained a wide variety of items. Apart from some miscellaneous items, he gathered the valuable items into a pile.

The two of them had a total of over four hundred spirit stones in their storage bags, which was quite a lot.

After all, survival is difficult for rogue cultivators. The dark-skinned, thin stall owner and the charming female cultivator were considered relatively wealthy among rogue cultivators, both possessing defensive magical artifacts.

However, when Zhang Li saw some of the standardized magical artifacts inside that clearly bore the insignia of families and sects, he understood the origin of their wealth.

Judging from the number of these magical artifacts, at least five or six family or sect cultivators died at the hands of these two. The magical artifacts in their hands that did not have any special markings were probably disposed of by them long ago.

They dared not handle these marked ritual implements carelessly, fearing it would bring trouble later.

Aside from these magical artifacts, only the yellow longsword and the red hairpin-shaped magic sword have any value.

The defensive magical artifacts the two used to protect themselves, the blue shield and the red silk, had been severely damaged in the fierce battle and were completely unusable. In particular, the blue shield was beyond repair, which made Zhang Li feel a little regretful.

After putting away the magical artifacts, Zhang Li began to count the bottles of pills. The first few bottles were normal, all being common mid-grade pills available on the market.

Until he opened the last white jade bottle, which contained a white powder, accompanied by a strong, humid aroma that wafted out.

He only inhaled a little, but his body immediately reacted strangely. It seemed as if a surge of heat was rising in his abdomen. Zhang Li smiled bitterly, quickly sealed the jade bottle, and then picked up the kettle on the table and drank several mouthfuls of water to suppress the rising heat.

"These two are certainly playing a fancy game."

The white powder in the jade bottle was called Hehuan Powder. In his previous life's words, it was an aphrodisiac that could prolong intercourse when used properly. However, since this powder appeared in the world, it has hardly been used for anything proper.

After placing the bottle of Hehuan Powder together with the marked magical artifacts, Zhang Li looked at the spiritual mud placed in the very center.

What interested him most in their storage bags were the spirit mud, there were three pieces in total.

The smallest piece was larger than the one Zhang Li bought from the skinny, dark-skinned stall owner, and the largest piece was more than twice the price.

Even Zhang Li, who was usually calm, couldn't help but feel a surge of nausea.

This spiritual mud contains countless of those blue particles; it might even double the size of Kuroda.

With this thought in mind, Zhang Li appeared in the cave.

Just like before, the three pieces of spirit mud floated up and slowly melted, revealing the blue particles hidden inside. After being absorbed by Kuroda, Kuroda once again expanded outwards.

However, the area that Kuroda expanded this time was not as much as Zhang Li had expected. Including the area that had been expanded before, Kuroda expanded his territory by about half an acre in total.

The original one mu of black field has now been expanded to one and a half mu.

"Never mind, we can't be too greedy." Zhang Li shook his head, suppressing the slight disappointment in his heart.

With one and a half acres of black field, the cultivated area is already half again as large as it was initially, and the amount of spiritual herbs that can be planted has increased by 50%. What more could one ask for?

The only pity is that he doesn't know what those blue particles are. If Kuroda wants to expand it again, he can only try his luck or find another way.

After thinking it through, Zhang Li had a sudden thought, returned to the house, got up and slowly walked out of the courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, Wang Mu and Li He had been waiting for quite some time.

"Senior brother!"

When the two saw Zhang Li come out, they bowed to each other.

Zhang Li nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the two of them, and asked, "During the days I was away, were there any unusual occurrences at the spirit fields and fishing grounds?"

Wang Mu stepped forward, bowed, and replied, "Reporting to Senior Brother, everything is fine. The spiritual rice is growing well, and there have been no unexplained deaths or injuries among the spiritual fish in the lake."

Li He, standing to the side, added, "The spiritual fertilizer and spiritual grains stored in the warehouse are almost gone; there's only enough for two or three days at most."

"It's alright. I've already applied to the sect for a batch of spirit fertilizer and spirit grain, enough for the next year."

As he spoke, Zhang Li took out a storage bag and handed it to the two of them.

He then added, "For the next period of time, I will be in seclusion to cultivate. I will leave the spiritual field to you two to manage. If there are any problems you cannot solve, come and find me."

After saying that, Zhang Li took out two bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills and some spirit stones. "You two can divide these among yourselves. Remember, as long as you do your job well, you two will definitely get your share."

Wang Mu and Li He's eyes lit up instantly. They quickly stepped forward, accepted the pills and spirit stones with both hands, bowed repeatedly to express their gratitude, and assured Zhang Li that they would definitely take good care of the spirit field.

Zhang Li nodded lightly, gave the two a few more instructions, and then turned and went back into the courtyard.

The purpose of this seclusion is twofold: first, to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining; and second, to attempt to refine Qi Condensation Pills.

Based on Zhang Li's original cultivation progress, even with sufficient resources, it would take at least another year, nearly two years, for him to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

However, with the Harmony Pill given to him by Wu Feng, he was confident that he could break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining within two months.

In fact, if it weren't for the need to open up a spiritual field and manage Crescent Lake, he could have taken the Harmony Pill long ago to break through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Clearing his mind of distractions, Zhang Li closed the door and began his secluded cultivation to break through to a higher realm.

……

Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

"It's time."

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Li opened his mouth and swallowed the He Yun Dan.

The pill melted upon entering the throat, transforming into a warm and lingering pure medicinal power that flowed slowly down the throat, instantly filling the entire body.

Zhang Li closed his eyes tightly, his mind completely focused on his dantian, and circulated the Azure Profound Breathing Technique at full speed to transform the pure medicinal power into magical power.

The medicinal power gradually condensed into pure magical power, layer upon layer, filling the dantian and gradually moving towards the limit that the dantian could contain.

After an unknown amount of time, the last wisp of medicinal power was completely transformed into the mana in the dantian.

hum!

A soft yet clear tremor resounded throughout my body.

Once the shackles were broken, the accumulated magical power surged out instantly, expanding the dantian, cleansing and nourishing the meridians throughout the body, and a faint red light surrounded the whole body.

After a while, he slowly exhaled a long breath of turbid air, and his realm had been completely stabilized.

Having successfully completed the first goal of the seclusion, the next step is the second task—to start refining pills and attempt to create Qi Condensation Pills.