Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

However, Zhang Chi didn’t sell all the Beauty Pills, instead keeping three in reserve.

For one, selling five would give him enough Spirit Stones for the time being.

For another, the ingredients for Beauty Pills were too hard to find. If he sold them all, it would be difficult to get more.

After all, these three Beauty Pills were highly attractive to female cultivators. In the future, he might be able to use them to trade directly with Foundation Establishment or even Golden Core female cultivators for greater benefits.

Besides, the market price for a Beauty Pill was about fifty thousand Spirit Stones, but due to their rarity, they would likely fetch an even higher price at auction.

Therefore, Zhang Chi instructed Lan Xuan to just give him fifty thousand Spirit Stones per pill. If she could sell them for more, the extra was hers to keep.

This would serve as her payment, as well as a reward for her consistently good performance.

Of course, if Lan Xuan wanted one for herself, she could also keep one at the price of fifty thousand Spirit Stones.

After that, Zhang Chi quietly returned to Azure Dragon Ridge.

And because he was sufficiently cautious, he used a Blood Escape Technique to fly a great distance the moment he left Shifang Immortal City.

As a direct result, no one managed to track or ambush him.

Of course, it was also possible that someone had tried to follow him but was simply too slow and got left in the dust.

After secretly returning to the medicinal garden, he immediately took out the Spirit Stones and poured one hundred thousand of them into the Eye of the Spirit Spring.

That’s right—he planned to take advantage of his wealth of Spirit Stones to upgrade the Eye of the Spirit Spring another level.

If the Eye of the Spirit Spring could reach Tier Two Middle Grade, it would undoubtedly be of even greater help to him.

However, after he put in a hundred thousand Spirit Stones, the Eye of the Spirit Spring improved noticeably but failed to break through.

So, Zhang Chi gritted his teeth and invested another hundred thousand Spirit Stones. This time, the Eye of the Spirit Spring was finally on the verge of a breakthrough.

Zhang Chi felt a surge of excitement and continued to pour in more, until he had only twenty thousand Spirit Stones left. At that point, the Eye of the Spirit Spring began to churn violently, causing a tremor in the space around it.

The quality of the Spiritual Spring underwent a fundamental transformation, and the Spiritual Qi gushing from it instantly became much denser.

"Haha, it finally upgraded! This is great!"

Zhang Chi was overjoyed.

’Good thing my previous haul was so large. Otherwise, even with my ability to earn Spirit Stones quickly, upgrading this Eye of the Spirit Spring would have been a distant dream.’

After all, every month he had to refine a portion of Ganlin Jade Marrow and Profound Crane Blood, not to mention consume Spirit Pills and Spirit Wine. Gathering two hundred seventy thousand Spirit Stones would have been exceedingly difficult.

’If all five Beauty Pills are sold, I’ll definitely have enough to upgrade the Corpse Puppet too!’

Zhang Chi closed his eyes in comfort, basking in the astonishing Spiritual Qi and filled with anticipation.

After reaching Tier Two, the Corpse Puppet’s bloodline advantage had diminished, meaning it would require more Spirit Stones to upgrade. Zhang Chi estimated it would need at least two to three hundred thousand.

However, compared to the Eye of the Spirit Spring, the Corpse Puppet was a lower priority. His own cultivation was paramount.

"Senior Brother, a letter has arrived from the Sect."

「Three days later.」

Hong Hu came from Azure Dragon City, bringing Zhang Chi a letter and some items from Qin Susu and the others.

"Good. Thank you for your trouble," Zhang Chi said as he took the items.

"Senior Brother, you’re too kind! It is my honor to be of service to you!"

Hong Hu waved his hands in dismissal and then respectfully withdrew.

After more than a year of cultivation, he was still at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer, but he was not far from a breakthrough.

At the same time, his Body Refining Cultivation had also improved significantly, and he was about to reach the Tier One Late Stage.

Of course, this was partly due to Zhang Chi’s occasional guidance, as well as the fact that Zhang Chi had them cultivating Tier One Spirit Medicine. Because of this, he and the many disciples from the Lower Sects had grown increasingly grateful and respectful toward Zhang Chi.

On the surface, he called Zhang Chi "Senior Brother," but in his heart, he had long since come to regard him as a master.

’So Qin Susu and the others have finally broken through to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer? In that case, I can reveal my Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer in a little while.’

Zhang Chi read the letter and found its contents to be simple, mainly conveying the good news of the breakthroughs by Qin Susu and the others.

The items were Spirit Stones, all income from the Spirit Fields, which included the portion Qin Susu and the others were using to repay their debt.

「Three months passed in this manner.」

It had been over a year since Zhang Chi had revealed his Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, so he once again feigned a breakthrough to the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer.

As expected, this didn’t arouse any suspicion. Instead, Hong Hu and the others rushed to congratulate him, even preparing a celebratory banquet. When Chen Ling’er heard the news, she also came personally to deliver a gift.

It was worth mentioning that ever since their last encounter, Chen Ling’er had been visiting Zhang Chi every month to buy some Spirit Pills and chat with him for a bit.

Zhang Chi was happy with this arrangement, as it gave him a chance to learn about the specific situation at the defensive line.

As a cultivator stationed at the front line, the news she brought was far more accurate than what Hong Hu and the others could gather.

The day after his "breakthrough," Zhang Chi once again made a quiet trip to Shifang Immortal City. He successfully picked up Lan Xuan’s reply and a large sum of Spirit Stones she had sent.

Zhang Chi counted the Spirit Stones and found there were exactly two thousand five hundred Middle Grade ones. Clearly, Lan Xuan had successfully completed her task.

Overjoyed, Zhang Chi read her reply and found it confirmed his guess.

Lan Xuan hadn’t just sold the Beauty Pills; she had sold them at auction. As a result, the prices were all higher than fifty thousand, and as per Zhang Chi’s instructions, she had kept the difference.

However, she hadn’t brought herself to buy one for herself. For one, she couldn’t bear to part with the money; for another, she felt she was still young and didn’t need it yet. It would be better to wait until her cultivation was higher and she was wealthier.

She also expressed her gratitude to Zhang Chi and begged him to come to her again if he had similar business, promising that she would handle it beautifully.

’This woman is so eager. Looks like she made quite a bit,’ Zhang Chi thought, shaking his head slightly.

Further on, Zhang Chi saw that Lan Xuan had mentioned the Demon Beast Eggs. She said they belonged to a type of Demon Beast called the Black Wind Winged Serpent Beast.

This Demon Beast was powerful, but it could only grow to the Tier Two Middle Stage at most. And while it was ferocious, its intelligence was not very high.

Furthermore, this Demon Beast was not very obedient. It consumed a great deal to grow, yet its growth was extremely slow—it would take at least two hundred years to reach the Tier Two Middle Stage.

Of course, if Zhang Chi used the Demon Snake Spine and the Eye of the Spirit Spring, he might be able to raise its upper limit and slightly accelerate its growth speed.

But Lan Xuan didn’t recommend it.

This was because very few cultivators from the Spirit Control Sect would choose this kind of Spirit Pet.

More importantly, those Spirit Beast Eggs were already under contract. Even if Zhang Chi wanted to raise this Demon Beast, it would be impossible, and there was nothing Lan Xuan could do about it.

However, Lan Xuan did have a remedial strategy: extract the special bloodline of the Black Wind Winged Serpent Beast and try to fuse it with a similar type of Demon Beast. If the fusion was successful, there might be a pleasant surprise.

However, this had to be done before the Black Wind Winged Serpent Beast hatched, and it required a special Secret Technique.

Fortunately, Lan Xuan knew this Secret Technique. She had learned it from a family elder and hadn’t signed a confidentiality Spirit Contract.

’You can do that? Doesn’t that mean the six Four-legged Spirit Snakes could also be fused with the bloodline of this Black Wind Winged Serpent Beast?’ Zhang Chi’s eyes lit up as he read this.

’If it’s really possible, the Four-legged Spirit Snakes could grow wings, making them not much different from the Black Wind Winged Serpent Beast, but it would save a huge amount of growth time. After all, the Four-legged Spirit Snakes are already at the Tier Two Early Stage!’