Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Next Plans

Chen Mo left.

Inside the Yi Er San Grain Station, only Song Yunxi and Mei Hua remained. As the steward of the grain shop, Mei Hua naturally knew what he should and shouldn’t ask. Even with a myriad of doubts in his heart at this moment, he chose to turn a blind eye. That was, until Song Yunxi broke the silence. "Do you believe what he said?"

Mei Hua looked at his shopkeeper, pondered for a moment, and shook his head.

"Oh? Why not?"

He walked forward, casually scooped a handful of Spirit Rice from a sack, and said, "These are all new grains. They should have been freshly harvested within the last year." Yi Er San Grain Station was in this exact line of business. They could naturally distinguish between new and old grain with ease; otherwise, they wouldn’t be in business.

Song Yunxi nodded, a wry smile surfacing on his face.

"Shopkeeper, why the smile?"

"This brother of mine is both accepting my favor and putting me in check!"

"I understand accepting the favor, but putting you in check?" Mei Hua didn’t quite understand.

Song Yunxi didn’t elaborate, though he had a vague guess about the origins of this grain. To think the other party had actually taken up the trade of a Tribulation Cultivator! No wonder! It made perfect sense! No wonder he had been so remarkably calm when killing and disposing of the corpse back then. After all, pillaging was always the fastest way to get rich quick.

Now, by directly selling six thousand catties of Spirit Rice to the Yi Er San Grain Station instead of secretly disposing of it in batches across different shops, this was his way of forcing Song Yunxi to make his stance clear!

Chen Mo never expected that his action, born of necessity, would provoke so much deep thought. He knew that six thousand catties of Spirit Rice was simply too unbelievable, but this was also an attempt to test whether Song Yunxi was worth cultivating a deeper relationship with. Clearly, the other man was smart.

Upon returning home, Chen Mo brushed the four Spiritual Birds as usual. By now, their egg-yolk-yellow fuzz had completely faded, gradually showing signs of maturity. Most importantly, their size had nearly doubled! They already reached Chen Mo’s knees!

While natural growth played a part, the key factor was the Talent bonus of [Sturdy] they received after their meridians were stimulated. Over the course of four months, he had become proficient in the Vitality Technique. The twenty percent individual growth boost had fully manifested in the four Spirit Chickens.

Of course, the most notable transformation belonged to Kang, the Spirit Chicken that was perpetually hyperactive except when sleeping. Its plumage was far more translucent; even when mixed into the flock, its uniqueness was evident at a glance.

Sure enough, Free-Range Chickens that ate well and abundantly yielded the finest feathers and meat!

On the fourth day, Chen Mo arrived as promised.

Song Yunxi had returned from Purple Cloud Peak the previous night and was waiting there early in the morning. The two entered the back room. Under the bright sunlight, a quaint, antique bronze ring was presented to Chen Mo.

"This is the Storage Ring?"

"Indeed!"

Three years! A full three years! When he first encountered a Storage Ring three years ago, Chen Mo had yearned for one. Now, three years had passed in a flash, and he had finally obtained this ring. He carefully picked it up from the table and slid it onto his index finger. The originally slightly oversized band suddenly shrank on its own, fitting his finger perfectly.

"Brother Song, how do I use this?"

"Below the Golden Core stage, there is only one way to bind all Magical Artifacts!"

"Dripping blood?"

"Correct! Before Foundation Establishment, Cultivators don’t possess Divine Sense, so naturally, they can only rely on the most primitive methods."

Hearing this, Chen Mo picked up the sharp blade prepared on the table and lightly nicked his finger. The moment his blood dripped onto the ring, a sense of control was instantly transmitted to him. With a shift in his thoughts, he suddenly sensed its Storage Space. Just as Song Yunxi had described, it was about a twenty-foot cube. It was basically the size of a standard bedroom.

No instruction was needed. Chen Mo quickly grasped how to store and retrieve items. He rubbed the quaint ring, feeling extremely elated.

"How is it?"

"I won’t have to push a cart here anymore!"

"Haha!"

Song Yunxi was momentarily taken aback before bursting into laughter. He hadn’t expected the other party’s first reaction to be about not needing a cart.

"Brother Chen! Here is a Low Grade Spirit Stone." He handed over the final Spirit Stone.

"Many thanks!"

Song Yunxi stood in place, hesitating for a moment before finally speaking up. "Brother Chen, I’ve thought about this over and over, and I feel I still need to tell you."

Chen Mo’s expression remained impassive, but his heart skipped a beat. "Please go ahead."

"If you play with fire long enough, you’re bound to get burned! It’s always safer to keep your feet firmly on solid ground!"

Chen Mo didn’t understand at first, but a moment later, it clicked. It seemed the other man had attributed the origins of those six thousand catties of Spirit Rice to pillaging! However, last year had been a famine year! Where would he even find that much grain to rob?

"I will keep that in mind!"

Without explaining or saying anything more, Chen Mo bid farewell to Song Yunxi and returned to his own little plot of land.

Back inside his house, he dumped all his belongings onto the floor in one go. One hundred and fifty catties of Spirit Yellow Rice, over three catties of Profound Soaring Spirit Rice, a handful of mysterious seeds, thirteen Fasting Pills, dozens of catties of Drunken Aphid corpses and husks, and finally, two Spirit Stones. This was his entire fortune!

It didn’t look like much, but it was a wealth that other Spirit Plant Cultivators could never amass in their entire lifetimes! The small wooden cabin, which had previously been cluttered with belongings, was finally cleared out. Now, whenever he needed anything, he could retrieve it at any time with a mere thought. It was more than just a little convenient!

Over the next few days, relying on the convenience of his Storage Ring, he took a trip to the mountain woods, chopped down some trees, and built a fence around his small wooden cabin. Every day, he let the Spiritual Birds roam freely within the fence, herding them back inside at night.

However, Chen Mo also knew this wasn’t a long-term solution. Other Spirit Nurturers who raised Spiritual Birds would hire a Spirit Array Master to set up a Defensive Array. This prevented evil entities from using the cover of a dark and windy night to steal and eat the Spirit Chickens and Spirit Ducks they had worked so hard to raise.

He had inquired about it, and the price wasn’t actually expensive. It generally ranged between ten and twenty taels. This was also a subsidized price from the Marketplace. After all, the ultimate profits from raising Spiritual Birds still ended up in the pockets of Purple Cloud Peak.

The reason Chen Mo hadn’t taken action yet was twofold: first, his breeding scale wasn’t large enough; second, he planned to wait until the end of the year to harvest another batch of Spirit Stones and Spiritual Sand before carrying out a comprehensive renovation! The space in this small wooden cabin was still a bit too cramped!

Inside the Memory Array, the newly sown Spirit Yellow Rice had not yet begun to sprout. However, with the previous batch of Spirit Rice harvested, the surrounding weeds no longer faced any competition. As it was the height of summer, they were growing wildly.

This forced Chen Mo to spend a chunk of time every day clearing out the weeds. This was the price of Rapid Maturation. Having two growing seasons in a single year invariably came with a few bumps in the road. Nevertheless, these bumps were still acceptable.

At the foot of Purple Cloud Peak, where it bordered Yellow Cloud Peak, a figure tore through the sky, speeding over from the horizon.

The Pavilion Masters, who had been chatting and laughing, instantly fell silent and turned to look at the newcomer. Once they saw who it was clearly, every single one of them dropped to one knee and chorused, "Greetings, Peak Master Li!"

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