A Recipe for Retribution

Shortly after, Chen Jinshu traded twenty taels of Qingning Tea for a recipe of Five-Flavored Spirit Wine from Senior Brother Sun, along with fifty lower-grade spirit stones.

"Senior Brother, now that I have the wine recipe, I plan to visit the Shuiyue Pavilion to sell some spirit herbs. What are your plans next?" Chen Jinshu asked as she packed up her things and turned to Du Yi.

"You go ahead, Junior Sister! I'll catch up and chat with Senior Brother Sun a little longer."

"Then I'll take my leave first."

Chen Jinshu nodded to the two and headed off toward the Shuiyue Pavilion. Aside from selling the freshly harvested spirit herbs, she had another purpose in mind: to gather information from the pavilion's disciples about that bug cultivator. Though more than two years had passed since their last encounter, she still remembered that face vividly.

A short while later, she arrived at the Shuiyue Pavilion. The disciple who greeted her was the same as before, though he now seemed somewhat dejected—perhaps still affected by the punishment from the spirit feed incident, or perhaps due to the recent matter involving demonic cultivators.

"You seem troubled, Senior Brother."

"You've come to sell herbs, Junior Sister? If only you had come a few days earlier—you might have gotten the old price. It's dropped a bit since then," he said with a soft sigh.

"Is it because of the demonic cultivators within the sect?"

"You're sharp, Junior Sister. Ever since demonic cultivators appeared in the sect, traffic to and from the marketplace has plummeted. Business at Shuiyue Pavilion is no longer what it used to be."

"How are spirit herb prices now?" she asked, worried about how many spirit stones she could earn from the batch.

"They're about five percent lower, but still slightly better than what the sect's affairs hall offers. The other shops offer even less. You won't lose out selling here."

"Then I'll sell them here." Chen Jinshu nodded. She still had questions to ask this Senior Brother later, so she agreed readily.

After the transaction, her earnings were a few hundred spirit stones lower than usual, but not enough to bother her.

After spending a third of her earnings on purchasing more herbs, she asked, "Have you heard any recent news about the Insect Valley?"

"Insect Valley? Why are you so interested in that place?"

"You might not know, but I was nearly killed by a cultivator from Insect Valley back then. If not for a family elder arriving in time, the consequences would've been unimaginable." Her expression darkened with resentment, a faint chill emanating from her.

"That bad? Last year, a dishonest disciple from Insect Valley brought in spirit fertilizer containing insect eggs. I got fined several months' worth of spirit stones because of it. Those cultivators really are loathsome!" His eyes flashed with anger.

"Exactly. I almost walked away empty-handed that year. Now it's personal—old grudges and new combined."

"But ever since last year, trade from Insect Valley has dropped significantly. Every delivery is inspected thoroughly. The last one was three months ago."

"Three months already... Have you heard anything about Li Chenliang from Insect Valley?" Chen Jinshu asked as she passed over ten spirit stones.

"You're too kind. Li Chenliang's made several visits. He doesn't look too well—still stuck at the late stage of Qi Refining. Probably still planning to acquire a Foundation Establishment Pill." His face brightened as he accepted the spirit stones. He liked juniors who understood how the world worked.

Upon hearing that Li Chenliang hadn't reached Foundation Establishment yet, Chen Jinshu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he remained in the Qi Refining stage, she had a chance to strike.

"Do you know of any upcoming Foundation Establishment Pill auctions in the market?" she asked.

She remembered that the sect only distributed a few of those pills every few years, usually five or six at a time. If Li Chenliang wanted to establish his foundation, he'd surely show up at the auction—giving her an opportunity to follow and make her move.

"The sect should be distributing them again this year—probably in half a year. As for marketplace auctions, those are even less likely."

"If you hear anything about Li Chenliang again, please send me a message." Chen Jinshu handed over fifty spirit stones and a messaging talisman infused with her spiritual aura.

"Don't worry, Junior Sister! If he comes by again, I'll notify you immediately!"

After chatting briefly, Chen Jinshu didn't linger. She left the marketplace while it was still busy and returned to the sect. Upon reaching the sect gates, she noticed four more guards than usual—all Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Above the entrance floated a Demonic Mirror, scanning every disciple who entered.

"The sect must be really shaken by the recent demonic cultivator trouble," she muttered.

After undergoing inspection, she summoned her Gale Gourd and flew toward the Ink Plum Courtyard.

This time, she planned to focus on alchemy, aiming to quickly pass the exam for a Grade-One High-Rank Alchemist Certification. Once she had that, she could sell her high-grade pills directly to the affairs hall instead of relying on the marketplace.

Ink Plum Courtyard

After placing the red berry fruit she'd bought for Xiao Yin near its nest, Chen Jinshu entered her spirit plant space.

"Five spirit fruits, each with a different attribute... these must be Five-Element Spirit Fruits. This wine recipe might be more valuable than I thought."

She had a hunch that brewing this spirit wine might bring a pleasant surprise.

"The wood-attribute Jade Lamp Fruit—only one left. Fire-attribute Fire Dragon Fruit—still unripe. Water-attributed fruits? Plenty."

These water-attribute fruits came from a shrub she'd acquired from her master—high-yield, like the Waterberry: pale blue in color, sweet like blueberries, but even tastier.

She had also bought some Red Gold Fruits (metal element) and Blackstone Fruits (earth element) from the market.

"I'll use the market-bought Flame Spirit Fruit and Wood Kernel Fruit instead. The Jade Lamp Fruit is too rare to risk on my first attempt."

This was her first time brewing wine—she was a complete novice. Using rare fruit could end up wasting it. She took out some Moon Spirit Honey, consumed it, and began studying the recipe in earnest. The lotus birthmark on her forehead quickly absorbed the honey, releasing a soft aura of enlightenment that helped her slowly grasp the essence of brewing Five-Flavored Spirit Wine.

"Take five spirit fruits, pound with stone, do not knead to avoid damaging the original flavor. Rinse with spirit water…"

Half an hour later, she had fully understood the process. She selected a small jar usually used for pickling, then followed the instructions exactly, mixing the spirit fruit juices and spirit herbs accordingly. After verifying every step, she sealed the jar using a three-finger-thick layer of damp spirit soil and buried it beneath three Wood Spirit Peach Trees.

"In ninety-nine days, I'll be able to taste the wine!"

Excited, she made ten more batches, thinking of the many senior brothers and sisters she owed favors to. And with that, she brewed ten more jars.