Looking at the shopkeeper, who still sat there looking unruffled and at ease, Chen Fan walked right up and said, "Shopkeeper, I heard you're looking to part with those few pill recipes?"
With his sharp eyes, Chen Fan noticed a small child standing beside the shopkeeper.
"Those pill recipes are of no real use just sitting where they are. Besides, selling them doesn't mean you're losing them forever—what's so hard about making a copy right now?"
Seeing that the shopkeeper still showed no sign of relenting, Chen Fan cast a lingering look at the recipes and turned to leave.
Just then, the little child beside the shopkeeper tugged at the man's sleeve and said in a childish voice, "Grandpa, this uncle is a good person."
Hearing this, Chen Fan stopped in his tracks, feeling a bit bewildered.
Seeing Chen Fan halt, the shopkeeper seemed to have made up his mind. He called out, "Come with me," and pulled the shop door shut.
Leading Chen Fan through the back door, the shopkeeper said to him, "I can sell these pill recipes to you, fellow Daoist, but I need you to do me a favor."
Hearing this made Chen Fan even more confused.
He replied to the shopkeeper, "Very well, as long as it's within my power."
Seeing that Chen Fan had agreed, the shopkeeper took a box out from his storage bag.
A pang of envy stirred in Chen Fan's heart as he looked at the storage bag by the shopkeeper's side. Although he could afford one himself, the Spirit Spring he was currently developing was a massive money pit, so naturally he couldn't bear to spend the spirit stones.
The shopkeeper opened the box and took out a jade slip.
Seeing this, Chen Fan formed a guess in his mind, and sure enough, the shopkeeper's next words confirmed it.
"Here is an Alchemist inheritance that can allow you to break through to a Tier 2 Alchemist."
Chen Fan asked, "I wonder what you need me to do?"
Heaven knows that when Chen Fan uttered these words, his heart was bleeding, because given the value of this inheritance, it might be something he couldn't fulfill.
Right at that moment, the shopkeeper spoke up, "It won't be very difficult, and it suits your background just right."
With that, he pulled out another pill recipe.
Chen Fan took it and looked it over, his pupils suddenly contracting. No wonder—this pill recipe was simply too precious.
The recipe was for the Nourishing Spirit Pill, but with a twist: this particular pill nourished and improved a person's Spirit Root.
"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you and seize the treasure?"
Seeing the shopkeeper smile without answering, Chen Fan recalled the words of the child beside him just a moment ago, and sudden understanding dawned on him.
Coupled with the rumor the shopkeeper had deliberately spread about having a few low-grade pill recipes on hand...
*Gasp!* This was truly terrifying.
Before Chen Fan could utter any more idle words, the shopkeeper said, "I believe you've seen the effects of this pill. I need you to brew five years' worth for me."
That's right—this pill could nourish a Spirit Root, though only the most basic kind, much like Chen Fan's wife's. Of course, Chen Fan's own Spirit Root wasn't anything special either, which made this pill recipe exceptionally precious to him.
However, the required course of treatment was quite lengthy: taking one pill every single week for five consecutive years to slowly cultivate and nourish the root.
"Well, this is going to be a major project. Good thing I told my wife before coming that it might take a little time."
After a brief, careful thought, Chen Fan nodded in agreement. Seeing this, the shopkeeper produced the ingredients he had already prepared in advance.
With a wry smile, Chen Fan headed to the back room designated for pill-making and set straight to work.
A few days later.
"I have fulfilled my mission without disgrace."
Dragging his exhausted body and holding his reward, Chen Fan walked out the front doors of the shop.
As he strolled through the town, he suddenly remembered the three brothers he had asked to gather up some tenant farmers before he left, and it hit him what else he was missing.
Stepping into a shop, Chen Fan looked straight at the shrewd, elderly shopkeeper and said, "Boss, this formation disk looks pretty good, but the grade is a bit low. It should only be lower Tier 2."
"Ah, correct. This is a lower Tier 2 Lesser Maze Formation. Well, customer, are you looking to buy?"
After a bout of bargaining, Chen Fan took it away for twenty low-grade spirit stones.
Well, this would provide a basic guarantee of safety at the foot of the mountain. Once he set it up, left a few designated exits, and had people take turns keeping watch, the safety of those farmers would be secured.
Without any delay after making his purchases, Chen Fan hurried back toward his family's domain.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, he happened to see the three brothers taking turns casting the Lesser Spirit Rain Spell on the newly reclaimed fields—the ambient spiritual Qi here was simply far too scarce.
Watching the three brothers cast the spell and then having to take turns sitting in meditation to recover their Qi, Chen Fan thought with a bitter ache in his heart, "It looks like this family still has a long way to go!"
He then instructed the leader of the group of farmers on where to dig several wells.
...
For the entire month, Chen Fan was either setting up the Lesser Spirit-Gathering Formation or digging up spirit herbs and trees from elsewhere to transplant them here. Only then did the spiritual Qi here slowly begin to catch up with other places.
Chen Fan's own cultivation also broke through to Level 6 Qi Condensation amidst the cycle of exhausting and recovering his true essence.
Every day he cast the Lesser Spirit Rain Spell to irrigate the farmland, and now two or three mu of fields were on the verge of transforming into spiritual fields. Looking at the houses being built nearby that were beginning to form a small village, an indescribable joy blossomed deep within Chen Fan's heart.
Next, Chen Fan inspected the wells that had been dug. Unhurriedly, he fetched two wooden buckets from a house, drew several consecutive buckets of water from the well, and took a sip to taste it.
Examining the well, Chen Fan said, "Through cultivation, this well has already turned into a spirit well."
He announced to the farmers gathered around, "This well is the foundation of these dozens of mu of land. Using the spiritual water from this well for irrigation will nourish the soil. Later on, you will need to occasionally draw water from this well and pour it over the cleared fields. You must remember to water them diligently. As long as you continuously irrigate the soil with the well water, your fields will grow larger and better by the day. Once the soil becomes fertile and crops are well-tended, they will thrive, and your harvests will be all the better for it. Although this is a world of immortal cultivation, what high-level cultivator ever cares about ordinary people? Therefore, mortals living under the rule of family clans and sects generally manage to live a little more comfortably. Once these are cultivated into spiritual fields, you cultivators of the land will have richer soil, allowing you to reap a far greater harvest of grain."
Hearing Chen Fan's words, the people who had been driven to the brink of starvation elsewhere immediately grew excited.
A few bolder ones even reached out, scooped a ladle of water from the bucket Chen Fan had drawn, and took a drink. Instantly, they felt a wave of sweetness.
"The water in this well is so sweet and delicious!" exclaimed those who had just drank.
"Indeed! The water from this well really is wonderful!"
"That's right, you can fetch water from this well to drink often. I won't go so far as to say it cures all ailments, but strengthening your bodies a bit will certainly be no problem."