Chapter 26: The Fruits Within the Spirit Tower

Li Mu smiled lightly and said, “I wonder what kind of benefit Senior Wang expects.”

Madam Wang frowned deeply. “It is a benefit for the Jade Iron Sect, not for myself.”

“Aren’t they the same?” Li Mu bowed his head slightly, his sleeve brushing gently. “Senior Wang must have already seen it.”

Madam Wang sighed softly. “Come in.”

As if guided by a gentle breeze, Li Mu was unconsciously led into the courtyard before the building.

The courtyard was suffused with spiritual energy; a fine mist of rain hung in the air, a clean fragrance drifting about, reminiscent of the south after rain—a beauty distinct and rare.

“How could you possibly have two top-grade Five-Colored Stones? Did you also mine them from that same vein? Such a thing is nearly impossible.” With a wave of her hand, Madam Wang caused a Five-Colored Stone to float out from Li Mu’s sleeve and land in her palm.

Li Mu had not intended to hide it; as soon as he arrived, he had placed a top-grade Five-Colored Stone within his sleeve.

Some months earlier, in idle conversation, Madam Wang had unintentionally mentioned that her son, Zhao Shui, had just entered the Qi Condensation phase and was in urgent need of a top-grade Five-Colored Stone to aid his cultivation. However, it was clear that the Jade Iron Sect’s branch would not reserve such a stone solely for Zhao Shui’s use, but would let it circulate among many talented disciples. Li Mie, for instance, had also been allowed to use it. Thus, Zhao Shui’s time with the stone would be limited, leaving Madam Wang less than satisfied, though she was not the city lord and had little recourse.

Li Mu had deduced this and brought a top-grade Five-Colored Stone as a gift, hoping to win Madam Wang’s favor.

It was indeed a risk, but he had no other means at his disposal.

Madam Wang stroked the stone, her expression caught between bewilderment and delight, though joy soon prevailed. For a mother, all other concerns could be set aside if it meant her son could use such a treasure.

Li Mu spoke solemnly, “I too find it hard to believe, but I did indeed mine two.”

Madam Wang smiled, nodding. Her gaze flickered toward Li Mu. “Then, could you have found three? I am very curious.”

Li Mu shook his head quickly. “How could that be? Two was already an incredible stroke of luck.”

“Who can say?”

Madam Wang’s brows furrowed slightly as she gazed at the Five-Colored Stone in her hand, her expression unreadable.

Li Mu said nothing more, simply waiting in calm silence.

Madam Wang looked up at him, a hint of mockery on her face. “Do you realize that, at this moment, I could kill you and take the stone, with nothing to lose? You are but a lowly Qi Condensation cultivator, with no sect to back you. Killing you would bring me no trouble at all.”

Li Mu nodded sincerely. “You are right, Senior Wang. But I trust you are not the kind of person who would kill for gain, which is why I am at ease.”

Though his words were calm, Li Mu’s heart was not without trepidation. After several months in Deyang City, he knew there were four individuals here who were above the city’s rules: Master Yu Da, Qian Yudi, Madam Wang herself, and the rarely seen City Lord Ye Yibai.

But he also knew the Jade Iron Sect had a good reputation, widely praised by many cultivators, which was why it was expanding so rapidly in a new realm such as Yunshan. Such a sect would seldom commit acts that would earn the fierce enmity of other cultivators. The loss of its hard-won reputation would be too high a price for a single Five-Colored Stone.

Moreover, Li Mu considered his relationship with the Jade Iron Sect cordial; in gifting them the stone, he gained little in return.

Madam Wang regarded him for a long time before finally smiling. “Come here tomorrow.”

Li Mu bowed respectfully. “Thank you, Madam Wang, for your favor.”

She said nothing more, turning and heading back into the building.

The courtyard’s spiritual energy was so abundant that it was nearly on par with a second-grade gathering array. Li Mu looked around in admiration before making his way to the gate. For such an environment, he would have to spend fifty low-grade spirit crystals for a single day, yet here one could stay as long as wished. The difference between Qi Condensation and Vein Refinement was indeed like that between clouds and mud.

Li Mu returned to the Jade Wood Hall, where Sun Qi was tidying up the shop.

“Brother Mu, you’re back!” Sun Qi hurried forward to greet him.

“How are the herbs prepared?” Li Mu asked, raising a hand. He noticed that the title “Brother Mu” seemed an unbreakable habit for Sun Qi; though he was like this, there was nothing to be done.

Sun Qi produced several storage bags from behind the counter. “All here. By the way, today a cultivator named Mu Da ordered fifty Pan Pills. We didn’t have enough in stock, so I told him to come back tomorrow. He told me himself that he’d come all the way from a sect thousands of miles away just to buy our pills.”

“Excellent! We’re attracting buyers from other regions now,” Li Mu nodded with satisfaction. “From tomorrow, increase the number of Pan Pills to one hundred, and prepare more herbs accordingly.”

Sun Qi’s face was alight with joy. “Oh, Brother Mu. I reckon we could raise it to two hundred and still sell them all—many people are waiting.”

“We mustn’t rush. Selling too many will drive down the price. Where is Ying’er?”

Sun Qi pointed to the back courtyard. “She’s just out back. According to Sanjiu, Ying’er is very clever and learns the herbs quickly. If she cultivates, she might become an alchemist.”

There was perhaps a hint of regret in his words.

Li Mu laughed boldly. “Ying’er is indeed clever, and when she begins cultivation, she will surely succeed.”

“Indeed, with your skills, Brother Mu, you’ll surely get hold of a Pure Qi Elixir,” Sun Qi replied with a laugh.

“I’m off to refine pills. Wait for me to return before you begin your own cultivation,” Li Mu instructed quietly.

Sun Qi readily agreed, “Understood, Brother Mu.”

Li Mu gathered the storage bags and made his way to an alchemy chamber in the city.

Since the visit from Apothecary Shen, he no longer refined pills at home—his own inferior furnace was simply not up to the task. In these public alchemy chambers available to all, no one would know what pills he was concocting, leaving him free of worry.

Deyang City had specially designated alchemy rooms for rent to low-level alchemists, at a modest price. However, each session required him to hand over one pill as a fee.

Li Mu entered one of the rooms, carefully examined the surrounding wards, and began tossing herbs into the furnace. Yet most of the herbs lingered only briefly before he swept them into the Mythic Spirit Tower.

“Fuse, fuse.”

“Identified: fusion of materials will produce second-grade pills. Maximum yield: twelve; minimum yield: seven.”

The familiar voice sounded repeatedly, and soon seventy Pan Pills were complete, with the herbs nearly exhausted.

Li Mu nodded, tossing the remaining herbs into the spirit tower. “Transform.”

This had become his habit—most results were low- to mid-grade second-level materials, but he took them all. Sun Qi would help him identify and categorize them.

He could also collect materials for fusion, but rarely did he obtain anything truly valuable. At best, first-grade bronze could be refined into second-grade fine iron. Transforming Five-Colored Clay into a Five-Colored Stone had never happened again.

Herbal materials, it seemed, could not be transformed.

Suddenly—

A flash of light, and before the spirit tower appeared a crimson fruit, fresh and brilliant as vermilion.

“Oh?” Li Mu’s interest was instantly piqued, excitement brightening his face.

This was the first time he had transformed such an item—could it be a fruit that boosted spiritual power when consumed?