Chapter 16: Selling Medicinal Herbs, Hunting Sheep and Deer on Yanglu Mountain

Boom!...

Almost the moment Xu Taiping began circulating the Cangxia Breathing Technique, a gust of fresh wind swept through the small courtyard, and threads of spiritual energy from the heavens and earth entered his body through the open acupoints.

In the past, Xu Taiping had never been able to sense his meridians or acupoints, but this time, he easily sensed them. Even the process of guiding the spiritual energy into his meridians and refining it was smooth.

After about half an incense stick's worth of time, Xu Taiping successfully sent the refined true energy into his dantian.

"Half an incense stick for refining just one strand of true energy. Compared to the geniuses Master Ziyang spoke of, this is nothing, but for me, it means I've truly stepped onto the path of cultivation."

Xu Taiping wasn't too discouraged by the slow pace of his refining.

"My grandfather said that diligence can make up for lack of talent. If they practiced for two hours a day, I would practice four. If they practiced four hours, I would practice eight. Eventually, I will catch up!" Xu Taiping silently made up his mind.

"That's right, I still have the soybean spiritual crystal. Master Lingyue said that holding it while cultivating can double the results with half the effort."

He suddenly remembered the few soybean spiritual crystals from the Earth Tomb Fruit and took one out, immediately beginning his cultivation again.

With the help of the soybean spiritual crystal, his speed of refining the spiritual energy was more than three times faster than before.

"Master Lingyue wasn't lying, this spiritual crystal is incredibly useful. With this, maybe I really will break through the Opening Gate stage within six months!"

Xu Taiping's face brightened with joy as he felt his cultivation speed increase.

With the aid of the soybean spiritual crystal, his cultivation speed was now on par with that of ordinary cultivators.

For the next few days, aside from spending two hours each day tending to the medicinal field, Xu Taiping didn't waste a single moment, focusing all his time on cultivating.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

In these three months, Xu Taiping could clearly feel his dantian filling up with true energy, and he vaguely sensed that he was close to breaking through the Condensing Dew stage.

The Condensing Dew stage, according to Cangxia Gong, described the deepening of a cultivator's true energy before breaking through the Opening Gate stage. Before reaching the Opening Gate, the stages of true energy were classified into Condensing Dew, Freezing Frost, and Frozen Ice.

Only when a cultivator's true energy surpassed the Frozen Ice stage could they attempt to break through to the Opening Gate.

However, even before breaking through the Condensing Dew stage, Xu Taiping had already started to experience physical changes as his dantian filled with more true energy.

For example, his vision and hearing were much stronger than they had been three months ago.

In terms of vision, Xu Taiping could now clearly see a sparrow standing 500 meters away in a tree. As for hearing, he could tell what wild animals were within a one-mile radius of the forest just by listening.

In addition, his physical strength and leg strength had greatly improved. Although he still appeared thin, Xu Taiping could easily lift a 200-jin stone mill with one hand. As for his leg strength, he had once chased a wild deer in the nearby mountains and managed to keep up with it without losing ground.

Furthermore, due to his past hunting experience with his grandfather in Niujia Village, where they used bows and arrows and set traps, Xu Taiping had been able to enjoy wild game every day in the past month.

Basil leaves paired with roasted venison or rabbit meat—he never grew tired of it.

"Speaking of which, the traps I set in the back mountains a few days ago should be checked. Maybe I can catch a yellow sheep to eat."

It was noon, and Xu Taiping had just completed three hours of cultivation. He patted his stomach and stood up, ready to check the traps in the back mountains.

Since he had little time for hunting due to his cultivation, he had set several traps in the nearby mountains over the past three months. Now, he only needed to check them occasionally to harvest the results.

Before doing that, however, he had something more important to do—selling medicinal herbs.

It had been three months since he sowed the first batch of Nine-Leaf Purple Basil seeds. Xu Taiping had harvested over 300 pounds of basil roots and more than 60 pounds of basil seeds—exactly three times the average yield of a regular medicinal field.

"By weight, these Nine-Leaf Purple Basil herbs can at least sell for 96 merit coins. This is three times what I originally expected."

After arranging all the medicinal herbs to be sold outside the door, Xu Taiping took out the bone flute provided by Xifeng Pavilion and blew it forcefully.

"Chirp!"

In no time, a white-headed eagle, with wings spread wide enough to reach a span of ten feet, arrived at the courtyard door.

"Uncle White Eagle, please help deliver these herbs to the Baicao Hall for sale. You may take three merit coins as your fee after the transaction," Xu Taiping bowed to the white-headed eagle.

Using a spiritual bird to sell herbs was a method he learned from the transmission jade slip. Ordinary herbs could be sold this way, saving time and effort, though a fee of three merit coins was required in exchange.

"I will bring the money tomorrow," the white-headed eagle said, nodding slightly before using its claws to grasp the herbs and flying off into the sky.

"By tomorrow, I'll have money to buy martial techniques and skills," Xu Taiping thought as he watched the eagle leave.

Stretching his fingers and yawning, he thought, "Although I still need to save for the True Fire Talisman, buying a martial technique for self-defense is necessary. The last time I hunted in the mountains, I almost got injured by a wild boar."

At present, his dantian was full of true energy, but he had no idea how to wield it.

For cultivators, it was better to purchase a technique for cultivation, but he couldn't afford one yet, so he would need to save more money before making the purchase. Moreover, even if he practiced Cangxia Gong, his true energy wasn't enough to cast any spells until he broke through to the Opening Gate stage.

"This bow, arrow, and hunting knife also need to be replaced."

With that, Xu Taiping retrieved his bow and hunting knife from the small house, preparing to head to the back mountains.

The bow and knife were left behind by the previous owner of the Qingzhu Residence. The blade of the hunting knife had many chips, and the bowstring had broken once, but Xu Taiping had painstakingly repaired it.

Living on the mountain, with many wild animals around, these basic self-defense weapons were necessary.

Half an incense stick later.

Back in the mountains.

Although Xu Taiping referred to it as the back mountain, according to the map in the jade slip, this mountain was actually called Yanglu Mountain because it was home to many yellow sheep and elk.

However, after a few trips into the mountains, Xu Taiping discovered that yellow sheep and elk were relatively rare, while wild boars were quite abundant.

"If I could hunt a wild boar, that would be great. At least I wouldn't have to worry about food for the next half month."

As Xu Taiping moved cautiously through the mountain, he kept a close eye on his surroundings and muttered to himself, "Although cultivators can cultivate without eating, they need to have at least broken through to the Opening Gate stage first. Right now, not only can I not fast, but I also need plenty of meat to replenish the energy I lose while cultivating."