The Path of Survivor begins with obtaining titles

As Jin Qiao Peak was too far away from the main peak, there weren’t many people visiting it, other than Spirit Farmers who own cultivation cave mansions or work in the fields here.

Lin Yi had explored this matter. Very few Inner Sect Disciples chose to farm, regardless of whether the Spiritual Fields were of superior quality. Therefore, the Sinong Palace had to transfer some Spirit Farmers from the Outer Sect who cultivated in middle-grade Spiritual Fields, to come cultivate in the superior-grade Spiritual Fields of the Inner Sect.

However, these Spirit Farmers continue to be Outer Sect Disciples, deprived of the benefits of the Inner Sect. They don’t have their own cave mansions, and they live in houses provided by the Sinong Palace.

Even so, there were many Spirit Farmers who were willing to come in. Although they didn’t have cave mansions, just wandering in the Inner Sect and absorbing the Spiritual Energy was enough to cater to the daily cultivation needs of a cultivator at the Qi Refining Three Layers stage.

Lin Yi had previously anticipated this path. He figured that after this harvest, he would likely receive a reward to upgrade the grade of his Spiritual Field and there was a high chance he would start cultivating superior-grade Spiritual Fields.

Unexpectedly, Master Zhou converted his deserved credit into a reward, enabling him to Dromote directly to the Inner Sect.

On the top of Jin Qiao Peak, apart from a few cave mansions, it was desolate.

Like other peaks, it hosted no Sect institutions. Disciples from the Golden

Sword Lineage who wanted to conduct some affairs had to go to the Golden Sword Peak.

However, this peak was so remote that there were no Flying Boats for commuting, one had to wait for a Passing Flying Boat like waiting for a bus.

Lin Yi looked around, the entire peak was nearly devoid of cultivators, however, he liked this kind of environment. He laughed and stepped onto the stairway down the mountain.

On his way, he tapped his pocket in his clothes and said, “Zhi Ling, wake up, there’s no one around now, you can come out.”

Zhi Ling, the little guy, had hidden in his pocket as soon as they entered the Inner Sect because there were too many people around, behaving entirely like a little introverted beast.

On hearing his voice, Zhi Ling quietly crawled out of his pocket. Finding no one around, it happily jumped onto his shoulder, took a deep breath of fresh air, and appeared comfortable.

Lin Yi chuckled, patted its little head, activated Wind Law, and swiftly headed towards the middle of the mountain. Along the way, he only encountered two or three cultivators who seemed to be at the Qi Refining Sixth or Seventh Layer.

The cave mansions in remote locations were primarily cheap. If it were a high-level Qi Refinement mansion close to the main peak, the price would have been doubled.

After all, being closer to the main peak meant more opportunities to see Gold Sword Zen Ren and other Foundation Building Cultivators. If one encountered them on the road and greeted them with a fist salute, asking for guidance on cultivation confusion, those high-level cultivators would mostly be too embarrassed to refuse.

Upon reaching the middle of the mountain and following the Token’s guidance, he walked through the footpath crossing a grove of trees, and it seems like another small grove of trees appeared before him.

When he came closer to take a look, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Good lord! This wasn’t a small grove of trees but tall weeds that had grown to the height of a person.

He didn’t know how long it had been deserted, but he estimated a tough battle ahead, which also testified to the fertility of the medicinal field.

Lin Yi arrived at the front of this medicinal field, lightly touched it with his hand, and realized there was a transparent barrier. It was very weak, a cultivator at the Qi Refining Fifth Level could break it.

This should be the Defensive Array within the cave mansion. Judging from the weak barrier, it hadn’t been powered by Spirit Stones, and it only absorbed the free-floating Spiritual Energy to supplement its energy, which explained its weakness.

He held the Token, activated it with Spiritual Power, a beam of light flashed, and the barrier was subsequently deactivated.

Looking at the weed-infested Spiritual Field. Lin Yi shook his head and smiled.

He figured that this place was too remote, and not many cultivators were willing to come here to take care of the medicinal field.

Moreover, with countless peaks within the Inner Sect of Liu Yun Sect, there would be ample medicinal fields to cultivate Spirit Grass. This remote lower-grade medicinal field would certainly be overlooked.

Lin Yi passed through the medicinal field, arrived at the entrance of the house, which was built close to the mountain. He pushed the door to enter. Aside from a little dust, the yard was quite clean, with five fully-furnished rooms.

The interior of the house, built near the mountain, was hollowed out to create a Cultivation cave mansion. It was also equipped with a Spirit Gathering Array, but of course, one would have to use their own Spirit Stones to activate the array.

He sensed the Spiritual Energy nearby. Without using the Spirit Gathering Array, it could only satisfy the cultivation of lower or middle-level Qi Refinement.

He was about to break through to the Qi Refining Eighth Stage soon. He certainly needed to activate the Spirit Gathering Array to ensure a rapid improvement in Cultivation Levels. Spirit Stones indeed seemed to be needed everywhere.

Lin Yi couldn’t help but smile, no wonder that plump senior brother at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer decided to drive the Black Flying Car. With the few dozens of Spirit Stones each month, it doesn’t really suffice.

He used the Cleaning Technique, swiftly cleaning the entire courtyard. He had learned this minor spell when he was idle, spending over a dozen Spirit Stones. It was especially useful to clean himself, a practical spell that evolved with random upgrades.

Zhi Ling was excitedly darting around the large mansion, chirping and scampering back and forth, pleased by the sight.

He took a seat in the courtyard, pulling out the Storage Symbol that Su Qi Hong had given to him. Along with eighty Spirit Stones in it, it contained a set of clothing for a Golden Sword Peak Disciple, the Inner Sect Handbook, and several bottles of Gathering Qi Pills.

The clothing was quite fitting and in line with his aesthetic sensibility. It wasn’t gaudy gold but a white Robe of Mage adorned with golden embroideries. It was rather appealing.

Lin Yi pulled out the Inner Sect Handbook and roughly skimmed through it. It was mentioned that Inner Sect Disciples needed to acquire varying amounts of Merit Points, based on their cultivation levels, within a year.

If unachieved without exceptional reasons, a warning would be given for the first failure, while a second failure would lead to expulsion from the sect.

The annual accomplishment target was 500 points for mid-stage Qi Refinement and 1,000 points for high-level Qi Refinement. His real cultivation level was at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, but he had shown himself to be at mid-stage Four Floors. Therefore, he only needed to secure 500 points in a year to meet the requirement.

However, there was a piece of good news. Newly-inducted disciples were automatically given 100 Merit Points, which counted towards the yearly accomplishment target. In other words, he only needed to complete tasks worth 400 points.

The 100 points were a privilege for newcomer disciples and could be used for learning cultivation techniques and such.

After a simple sweep through the handbook, Lin Yi took it upon himself to venture out into his ten-acre medicinal field. Standing before the tall weeds, he felt a hint of helplessness. The Spirit Rice and Spirit Grass needed careful nurturing, whereas these weeds, even without care, flourished all too well.

By using his Great Perfect Level Metal Finger, he could easily cut down these weeds, but if the roots were not eradicated, they would continue to grow like Chinese leeks. Fortunately, he had already mastered the Decay Technique. With continued practice, he had already reached the Grandmaster realm, allowing him to decay the weeds along with their roots, turning them into nutrients for the field.

The reason he practiced this spell was to verify his conjectures. Before it had been mastered, the Decay Technique could only decay plants. But once he had achieved the Great Achievement Realm, he could already decay corpses. This would be conducive to the disposal of bodies…ahem, the practice of after-death rituals.

Lin Yi activated his Spiritual Power and started using his Decay Technique at the Grandmaster Level. A glow spread over the weeds, causing them to gradually decay, including their inner roots. They automatically crumbled into debris, falling onto the ground.

Once the weeds were completely decayed, he picked up a tool, turned the soil around so that the rotting weed nutrients could be fully integrated.

Having done all this, he pulled out the booklet given to him by Elder Brother Wu from Pill Hall, skimming through. There was not much difference between cultivating medicinal fields and spiritual fields – he could grow the same crops. He turned to the page instructing on basic pill refinement and checked the materials required for Gathering Qi Pills.

The main ingredient for Gathering Qi Pills was an herb called “Lingying Grass,” or “Qi Gathering Grass,” which took up more than half of the materials for the pill. Among all the medicinal herbs, it was relatively easier to cultivate.

Lingying Grass takes one year to mature in a lower-grade medicinal field. After deducting the cost of seeds, each acre could earn two hundred Spirit Stones. Hence, ten acres could yield about two thousand Spirit Stones.

An acre could hold around two thousand stalks of Lingying Grass. The market price for each stalk was approximately ten Spiritual Pearls, which seemed slightly economical, possibly due to its high cultivation rate.

Checking other material prices, given the average weight of each stalk and the assumption that one pound of Lingying Grass accounted for half, adding the weight of other materials, their total weight would be about two pounds.

Even if half of it was written off as loss, he could make two bottles of pills. The cost price for these two pounds of ingredients was just three Spirit Stones. Still, the price for two bottles of Gathering Qi Pills can reach up to sixteen

Spirit Stones.

Of course, this isn’t how the price is calculated, since Alchemists were precious resources. Their learning and improvement at the early stages were built on countless resources and failures. Even after their successful apprenticeship, the failure rate of pill refining remained considerably high.

A failure in pill refining would not just waste a Talisman template – it would mean wasting all the pill’s ingredients in the furnace.

So, if an Alchemist can earn money, it is not at all jealousy-provoking. This also explains why a mature Alchemist never lacks resources for cultivation.

However, Lin Yi wasn’t focusing on the prices of Spirit Grass. The reason he chose to cultivate medicinal fields was not to make money, but to prepare for studying Alchemy.

According to the handbook, three of the five materials needed for Gathering Qi Pills could be grown in the medicinal field.

Therefore, he decided to grow six acres of Lingying Grass and use the other four acres for the other two materials. The next step was to learn a more advanced farming technique..