Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Controlling the Medicinal Garden, the Spirit Snake’s Advancement
"Alright, I’m a bit tired, so let’s wrap up the introduction here. This place is all yours now. Just send me a message if anything comes up. For minor matters, however, feel free to handle them as you see fit. As long as you meet the Sect’s minimum requirements, you’re free to do as you please with everything else."
"Moreover, there’s a Tier Two Upper Grade Grand Array here, connected to the underground Spiritual Vein, so it can be kept active all year round without consuming any Spirit Stones. Even if I’m not here, no one can just barge into the Medicinal Garden."
"However, I don’t think it’s necessary to activate the Purification Array, as it consumes a massive amount of Spirit Stones. Besides, with no Foundation Establishment Cultivator here, activating it would be a waste. With that many Spirit Stones, it would be better to use them directly for cultivation, don’t you think?" Junior Martial Uncle Hong said.
"I think you’re right, Junior Martial Uncle," Zhang Chi replied with a slight smile.
The Purification Array was, in fact, an array designed to purify Demonic Qi.
Since its function was to purify Demonic Qi, it naturally couldn’t use a Demonized Spiritual Vein, which itself contained Demonic Qi, as its power source.
Junior Martial Uncle Hong usually lived in Azure Dragon City and had long since given up on cultivation, so he naturally wasn’t going to spend Spirit Stones to activate the array.
The Lower Sect disciples had no objections either, as Junior Martial Uncle Hong would just give them some Spirit Stones instead.
Furthermore, these disciples all had residences in the city and worked in rotating day and night shifts. They could simply cultivate while in the city, so activating the Purification Array had very little effect on them.
They just needed to stop absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi whenever they were here.
In Fu Hongchang’s view, Zhang Chi could obviously do the same.
And Zhang Chi did indeed plan to do just that; in fact, he couldn’t have asked for anything better.
This wasn’t just because he would get a share of the Spirit Stones. It was because without the Purification Array active, no one else could absorb the Spiritual Qi from the Spiritual Vein—but he could.
This way, he could easily monopolize the entire Tier Two Middle Grade Spiritual Vein for himself.
Of course, since they were all in the same Medicinal Garden, he still needed to make some specific arrangements to ensure his plan was truly foolproof.
—
"Very good. Here are some of my notes on Spirit Plant cultivation. Take them. Consider it a welcome gift."
"From now on, I’ll have to trouble you to guide my grandson. As for me, I no longer have the energy for it. Besides, I never specialized in Body Refining, so I can’t help him in that area even if I wanted to," Junior Martial Uncle Hong said finally.
Saying this, he took out a white Jade Scroll and handed it to Zhang Chi.
"Don’t worry, Junior Martial Uncle. You can leave it to me," Zhang Chi immediately promised, accepting the Jade Scroll.
Then, Junior Martial Uncle Hong chatted privately with Hong Hu for a short while before transforming into an Escape Light and departing.
"Congratulations, Senior Brother!"
Then, the Lower Sect disciples all came forward to congratulate him.
Afterward, everyone prepared a feast, holding a welcome ceremony of Washing Dust for Zhang Chi.
Zhang Chi did not refuse.
But as soon as the meal was over, he immediately began to reorganize the Medicinal Garden.
The Medicinal Garden still had large empty areas. Since the Sect had no minimum quota for Tier One Herbs in a Tier Two Medicinal Garden, Junior Martial Uncle Hong had simply been too lazy to plant them.
Hong Hu and the others were all amateurs as well. After trying and failing to plant anything a few times, they had also given up.
But Zhang Chi now intended to make use of this empty land by planting Tier One Spirit Medicine.
Furthermore, these Tier One Spirit Medicines would be primarily managed by Hong Hu and the others. Zhang Chi would only take sixty percent of the profits, with the remainder to be divided amongst them.
He, in turn, would provide the complete legacy of a Tier One Spirit Plant Master to Hong Hu and the others, and occasionally guide and assist them in planting the Spirit Medicine.
"Thank you, Senior Brother!"
"We promise we’ll do a good job."
This decision immediately won the enthusiastic support of Hong Hu and the others.
They had wanted to learn a skill, but Junior Martial Uncle Hong lacked the energy to teach them, and his knowledge was a Sect legacy that could not be casually passed on.
But now that Zhang Chi was providing the legacy and technical support, which also came with a decent income, they were naturally extremely motivated.
Hearing their response, Zhang Chi nodded in satisfaction. His income would increase, while his own investment was negligible.
However, this was just the first step of his plan.
Next, he announced the second step: dividing the Medicinal Garden into two sections, to be called the Inner and Outer Gardens.
The prime medicinal fields of the Inner Garden would be dedicated to growing Tier Two Medicinal Materials, which he would personally manage.
At the same time, to prevent the Medicinal Materials from being damaged, no one else—including Hong Hu—was allowed to set foot in the Inner Garden without his permission.
In the Outer Garden, however, Hong Hu and the others could move about freely.
To enforce this decision, he would use walls and an array to physically partition the Medicinal Garden.
Hong Hu and the others had no objections to this; they were even relieved to not have to look after the Tier Two Spirit Medicine.
After all, Tier Two Spirit Medicine was far more precious. If they accidentally killed a single plant, they would have to bear significant responsibility.
They didn’t suspect Zhang Chi of having any ulterior motives. They just thought he wanted to imitate the other Foundation Establishment Junior Martial Uncles and enjoy some special privileges, grow more medicinal materials in his Inner Garden, and prevent his Body Refining and Alchemy from being disturbed.
And they were right, in a way. The other Tier Two Medicinal Gardens were all divided into Inner and Outer Gardens.
This was because the Foundation Establishment guardians of those other gardens weren’t just slacking off. They all wanted to grow more medicinal materials and continue to advance their own cultivation.
After that, everyone immediately got busy under Zhang Chi’s supervision.
Since they were all Cultivators who had undergone Body Refining, and some could even use Earth Element Techniques, their efficiency was extremely high.
Coupled with the fact that the Medicinal Garden already had some basic structures—which had just been neglected by Junior Martial Uncle Hong—their work progressed rapidly.
Thus, in less than three days, Zhang Chi’s plan was complete. He then successfully moved into the Inner Garden, turning it into his own private domain.
SWISH! SWISH!
He first took out the Thousand Illusions Locking Array’s Array Flags and arranged them within the Inner Garden. Only then did he place the Eye of the Spirit Spring next to the Tier Two Middle Grade Spiritual Vein.
This Tier Two Middle Grade Spiritual Vein was constantly emitting an astonishing amount of Spiritual Qi, but it also contained wisps of black, fog-like Demonic Qi.
Otherwise, Foundation Establishment Cultivators would have fought to the death over it.
Now, paired with the Eye of the Spirit Spring, it immediately made the Spiritual Qi deep within the Inner Garden incredibly dense.
As expected, when Zhang Chi absorbed the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi here, the Jade Pendant and the Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique ensured he had no problems whatsoever.
Zhang Chi’s Thousand Illusions Locking Array also divided the Inner Garden into two layers. The outer layer was shrouded by an Illusion Array, while the inner part was blocked by a Protective Array.
Therefore, even if Hong Hu and the others were to enter, they could not possibly disturb Zhang Chi’s cultivation, much less discover the Eye of the Spirit Spring.
’Good. This Spiritual Vein is excellent, enough to support my cultivation through the Foundation Establishment Early and Middle Stages.’
After finishing his cultivation, Zhang Chi couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.
With the help of this Spiritual Vein, the Eye of the Spirit Spring, and his other methods, he could break through to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage in four or five years at most.
Of course, this was only because the Earth Milk Spirit Liquid had already been completely consumed during his journey here; otherwise, his progress would be even faster.
But Zhang Chi wasn’t concerned. There were surely similar Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to be found here in the Demon Abyss.
Then, Zhang Chi slapped his Spirit Beast Bag, and the Four-legged Spirit Snakes were finally released.
BOOM!
As soon as the Four-legged Spirit Snakes appeared, a powerful pressure erupted from their bodies. They violently absorbed the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, breaking through on the spot.
Because their breakthrough relied mainly on the Blood Spirit Pills they had devoured earlier, it was unlike a Cultivator’s Foundation Establishment and didn’t cause a major commotion.
Their coercive pressure and Spiritual Power fluctuations were also perfectly blocked by the array. Hong Hu and the others outside had low cultivation, so they didn’t notice anything unusual.
After advancing to Tier Two, the Spirit Snakes had grown larger once again, stretching from roughly seven feet to over ten feet in length, and they looked quite ferocious.
Comments