Record of a Demon's Cultivation

Chapter 42: Purchasing Spiritual Herbs

Translator: Cinder Translations

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At the stall, a fair-faced, plainly dressed woman looked up, her expression uncertain.

"Are you... Senior Ji Yin?"

This woman's name was Chen Yi, the only female among the four mortals who entered the sect at the same time as Song Wen.

Initially, she and three other men chose to become Spirit Planters, which posed less risk.

To Song Wen's surprise, in just over two months, Chen Yi was already setting up a stall in the market.

It was worth noting that setting up a stall here required paying five spirit stones daily. In other words, one needed to earn at least five spirit stones a day to avoid operating at a loss.

The monthly salary for a Spirit Planter was only ten spirit stones. Chen Yi's courage to set up a stall in the market impressed Song Wen to some extent.

As Song Wen focused on her stall, he noticed that she was selling various spirit herbs.

He had little knowledge of spirit herbs and couldn't recognize their names or effects. However, he figured these spirit herbs shouldn't be too valuable; otherwise, they wouldn't be openly displayed at a roadside stall.

Although Song Wen and Chen Yi hadn't communicated before, they entered the sect together, which naturally created a certain closeness compared to other fellow disciples.

Moreover, during their initial interactions, Song Wen appeared somewhat aloof but not as overbearing as Wu Xiu, who looked down on others.

A smile appeared on Chen Yi's face.

"It really is you, Senior Ji Yin. I didn't expect to meet again so soon."

"Senior Ji Yin, has everything been going smoothly for you at the Corpse Dissecting Cave?"

After a brief exchange, both had a certain understanding of each other's recent situations.

Of course, Song Wen couldn't reveal everything, nor would Chen Yi disclose every detail.

From Chen Yi, Song Wen learned that after they entered the Spirit Planting Garden together, Zhang Xiaofan quickly displayed extraordinary talent in alchemy. He was fortunate to be taken as a personal disciple by an elder in the Golden Core stage.

Originally an average disciple, Zhang Xiaofan transformed and became the direct disciple of an elder in the Corpse Demon Sect's alchemy hall, dramatically altering his status.

One person's success uplifted all around him!

The three companions who entered with Zhang Xiaofan had a good relationship in private, thus reaping significant benefits.

Zhang Xiaofan, being generous by nature, allocated thirty percent of the profits from his spiritual field to them as their hard-earned share.

The spiritual herbs that Chen Yi sold daily were the first batch of spiritual herbs produced from the spiritual field. These herbs were mostly low-level spirit herbs commonly used by lower-level disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect for healing, refining, or creating corpse puppets, among other uses.

The proceeds from selling spiritual herbs were not solely Chen Yi's; they were shared according to a predetermined ratio among the other three.

"Sister Chen, do you have any 'Green Spirit Grass'?"

Green Spirit Grass was a commonly used auxiliary herb in refining low-level pills and a staple material for crafting corpse puppets.

"Naturally, I have Green Spirit Grass. There are exactly two on my stall. I'll give them to Senior Ji Yin."

She picked up two plants of Green Spirit Grass from her stall and handed them to Song Wen.

The quality of these two Green Spirit Grass plants was excellent, vividly green as if they could still continue to grow if planted again.

She assumed Song Wen needed the Green Spirit Grass for crafting corpse puppets, which only required one or two plants of Green Spirit Grass. Since the price of Green Spirit Grass was extremely low, she intended to give them to him directly.

Facing Chen Yi's kindness, Song Wen did not accept.

Firstly, just two plants of Green Spirit Grass are completely insufficient. The appetite of the beetle larvae is enormous, especially during their growth period. They require a large amount of food to grow, and the spiritual energy in a single plant of Green Spirit Grass is not concentrated enough, leading to a significantly increased demand.

Secondly, Song Wen does not like owing favors, especially just for two cheap Green Spirit Grass plants.

"Thank you for your offer, Senior Sister Chen, but I need a larger quantity. I'll buy them for 120 spirit stones," said Song Wen.

"Oh? Senior Brother Ji Yin wants to buy how much Green Spirit Grass?" Chen Yi became interested upon hearing Song Wen's words. She had quite a few Green Spirit Grass plants on hand but wasn't eager to sell them.

"Start with a hundred plants," Song Wen replied.

According to the records in the "Blood Gu Technique," a young beetle larva can eat about one Green Spirit Grass plant per day. If he could successfully hatch all the larvae in his possession, a hundred Green Spirit Grass plants would only last them a little over ten days.

Chen Yi's eyes brightened. "Senior Brother Ji Yin, do you really need so much Green Spirit Grass? Please wait a moment; let me see how many plants I have."

As she spoke, Chen Yi used her spiritual power to probe into her storage bag.

Soon after, she looked somewhat regretful and said, "Senior Brother Ji Yin, I only have eighty-eight Green Spirit Grass plants left. Will that be enough for you?"

Chen Yi spoke with a hint of disappointment, fearing she might lose Song Wen's large order.

"Eighty-eight plants? That'll do," nodded Song Wen.

Chen Yi quickly took out a large jade box from her storage bag, where she had stored all her Green Spirit Grass.

"It's a total of 11 spirit stones. Senior Brother Ji Yin, just give me 10 spirit stones," Chen Yi said.

The usual price for Green Spirit Grass was eight plants for one spirit stone. Chen Yi's Green Spirit Grass was of excellent quality, and she was selling it at this price, which was considered quite favorable.

Song Wen took the jade box and handed over ten spirit stones to Chen Yi.

"Senior Brother Ji Yin, why do you need so much Green Spirit Grass?" Chen Yi asked curiously. Seeing Song Wen's puzzled look, she hurriedly added, "Senior Brother Ji Yin, please don't misunderstand. I'm not prying into your privacy. If Senior Brother has a long-term need for Green Spirit Grass, I can supply you."

"I'm not entirely sure myself," Song Wen replied. "If I need more in the future, I'll definitely come to Senior Sister Chen first. Please give me a communication jade slip."

Chen Yi smiled and said, "Sure."

Afterward, they exchanged communication jade slips.

Song Wen wanted Chen Yi's communication jade slip not just to buy Green Spirit Grass. Chen Yi usually worked in the spiritual medicine garden and had access to various herbs. Moreover, she had a direct disciple of the Alchemy Hall behind her.

Rather than just making a purchase, it provided another channel for seeking rare spiritual and medicinal herbs in the future.

After bidding farewell to Chen Yi, Song Wen went straight back to his cave residence.

He took out the Gu cauldron and placed all eight beetle eggs inside, then took out a spirit stone, crushed it, and sprinkled the powder inside.

The spiritual energy slowly released from the powdered spirit stone would enhance the concentration of spiritual energy in the cauldron, aiding in the hatching of the beetle eggs.

Afterward, Song Wen began cultivating with the purchased Qi-gathering pills.

To his surprise, combining the Qi-gathering pills with the corpse aura and the inexhaustible essence blood in his body allowed him to cultivate much faster than when he used to consume corpse blood pills.

The price of these Qi-gathering pills was quite high. If Song Wen hadn't been able to exchange blood for spirit stones stolen from the corpse cave, relying solely on his monthly salary, he would never have been able to afford them.

(End of the Chapter)