Chapter 2: Enhanced Medicinal Herbs
"Enhance!"
A mysterious force surged in Yun Tianming's hands, covering the Blue Spirit Grass.
The branches and leaves of the Blue Spirit Grass grew rapidly at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, it grew a circle larger, and its color changed from light blue to deep blue. The sturdy branches and leaves emitted a rich medicinal fragrance.
[Enhancement successful!]
[Blue Spirit Grass of 1.1 quality upgraded to 1.4 quality!]
According to the system's calculation, a quality of 1 is passable for refining medicinal herbs for a First Grade Pill.
Yun Tianming put down the Blue Spirit Grass in his hand and then picked up a Condensation Fruit.
The quality of this Condensation Fruit was obviously much inferior, with mottled color, shriveled skin, and a strange smell.
The system prompt also confirmed this.
[Ding~]
[Discovered Condensation Fruit of 0.7 quality, enhancement can raise it to 1.1 quality. Do you want to use it?]
A quality of 0.7 for medicinal herbs in alchemy is undoubtedly insufficient.
"Enhance!"
Yun Tianming decisively used the system enhancement. Once again, a mysterious force appeared in his hand, covering the Condensation Fruit.
The originally mottled color quickly became crystal clear, and the fruit skin became plump and moist. It emitted a faint fresh fruity fragrance.
[Enhancement successful!]
[Condensation Fruit of 0.7 quality upgraded to 1.1 quality]
After system enhancement, the Condensation Fruit's quality has reached the standard for use in alchemy.
"Enhance!"
[Enhancement successful!]
[Red Beauty Mushroom of 0.9 quality upgraded to 1.2 quality!]
"Enhance!"
[Enhancement successful!]
[Five-Leaf Flower of 1.2 quality upgraded to 1.5 quality!]
[Enhancement successful!]
[Wind Chime Grass of 1.3 quality upgraded to 1.6 quality!]
[Enhancement successful!]
[Dark Crow Root of 1.4 quality upgraded to 1.7 quality!]
After some operations, Yun Tianming successfully cultivated eighteen qualified medicinal herbs.
He selected those of 1.5 quality and above to keep, leaving twelve other qualified medicinal herbs for submission.
The high-quality medicinal herbs retained were placed in a wooden box and hidden in a secret compartment under the bedroom bed.
Unable to rely on any family background and being of humble origin, he had to accumulate all his cultivation resources slowly on his own.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and Yun Tianming sensed someone approaching the back mountain. He immediately returned to the medicinal field, using Wood Attribute Dou Qi to skillfully nurture the medicinal seedlings.
Before long, a middle-aged person dressed in a moon-white robe arrived at the edge of the medicinal field.
Pretending not to notice, Yun Tianming focused entirely on working in the medicinal field.
After observing for a while, the middle-aged person couldn't help but emit a light cough as a reminder.
"Ah~ So it's Mr. Ge."
"Please forgive my ignorance."
Yun Tianming pretended to be startled, quickly raising his head to salute the newcomer.
The visitor was Ge Ye, an outer disciple manager from the Misty Cloud Sect. A silver crescent moon was embroidered on his moon-white robe, with a golden star, indicating the emblem of a 1 Star Dou Grandmaster, a strong expert in Movement!
Ge Ye glanced around at the flourishing various medicinal herbs in the medicinal field, a smile appearing on his face.
"Hmm~ Well done, Tianming."
Although he was not an Alchemist, with years of procurement experience, he could roughly judge the quality of medicinal herbs from their appearance. Clearly, the medicinal field managed by this young man was the best among all the outer disciples!
"Well, all of this is thanks to Mr. Ge's purchase of good-quality seedlings."
"I've just done a bit of farming."
Yun Tianming smiled slightly, giving all credit to the other person.
"Hehe~"
"You sure know how to talk, young man."
Ge Ye felt puzzled. When he made the purchases, he accepted some bribes and intentionally chose a supplier in the Imperial Capital with a mediocre reputation. Could it be that this supplier had a big conscience and provided Misty Cloud Sect with the highest quality seedlings?
After all, not being a professional Alchemist, Ge Ye didn't understand much about medicinal herbs.
In any case, he was only responsible for procuring the seedlings and handing them over to the outer disciples of the sect to take care of. As for the quality of the cultivated medicinal herbs, that was the responsibility of the outer disciples!
As expected, most of the medicinal herbs submitted by the outer disciples had mediocre quality. They received a harsh criticism from the sect's Alchemists, and afterward, they were subject to severe punishment. Quite a few outer disciples were even expelled from the Misty Cloud Sect for submitting subpar medicinal herbs multiple times, leading to the loss of their Dou Qi.
Only Yun Tianming, in front of them, not only managed the survival rate of the seedlings well but also cultivated medicinal herbs of above-average quality. He received unanimous praise from the sect's Alchemists.
Ge Ye's eyes subtly flickered, seemingly contemplating some ideas.
Yun Tianming keenly noticed the change in the other's demeanor. After a brief thought, he understood that the other was up to no good again and decided to take the initiative.
"I am deeply ashamed. This time, I have only cultivated nine qualified medicinal herbs."
"Please, Mr. Ge, inspect them."
Yun Tianming showed a look of embarrassment.
"."
Ge Ye glanced at the twelve mature medicinal herbs.
This young man is quite clever! He doesn't even need me to drop hints!
Ge Ye discreetly stowed three of the medicinal herbs into the personal Spatial Ring on his left sleeve, then put the remaining nine into the sect's Spatial Ring on his right sleeve.
"Yun Tianming, you are very clever."
"I have high hopes for you!"
Ge Ye patted his shoulder with a satisfied expression, showing no suspicion about his act of concealing some medicinal herbs.
Because Yun Tianming had cultivated the highest number of qualified medicinal herbs among all the outer disciples, there was no room for him to hide any.
Upon leaving, Ge Ye tossed a Spatial Ring to Yun Tianming.
[Ding~]
[Discovered Low-Level Spatial Ring, capable of holding 1 cubic space. After enhancement, it can be upgraded to 5 cubic spaces.]
Damn stingy!
After collecting so many medicinal herbs, he only gives me the cheapest Spatial Ring!
Yun Tianming inwardly complained but had to put on a pleasantly surprised look on the surface.
"Thank you for your generosity."
Ge Ye nodded in satisfaction. "In the next month's sect meeting, I will recommend you to participate."
Before leaving, he didn't forget to add that familiar phrase: "Work hard, and life will get sweeter!"
"Sweeter."
Yun Tianming answered skillfully, his eyes shining.
Watching Ge Ye leave, Yun Tianming calmly returned to the medicinal field and unleashed Wood Attribute Dou Qi.
One hour later.
Two hours later.
Ge Ye's figure emerged from the shadows on the back mountain after a while. His gaze fixed on Yun Tianming, who was still diligently working in the medicinal field, and he shook his head expressionlessly.
"It seems I was overly suspicious."
"This kid's method of cultivating medicinal herbs is nothing special."
The medicinal herbs cultivated by Yun Tianming were on average several grades higher than those of his fellow outer disciples, leading Ge Ye to doubt whether he possessed a special secret for cultivating herbs.
However, after multiple covert observations, the facts proved him wrong.
"Then again, how much cunning can a mere 10-year-old kid have?"
Ge Ye lightly chuckled and shook his head.
Three hours later.
Unable to discern anything special, Ge Ye silently left the back mountain.
"Finally gone, huh?"
"That annoying old schemer."
Yun Tianming stopped the action of using Dou Qi to nurture the medicinal herbs and wiped the sweat off his forehead.
The Ge Ye, who played a supporting role in the early part of the original novel, brought immense pressure to Yun Tianming in reality.
After all, a 1 Star Dou Grandmaster was truly terrifying for a Five-Rank Dou Disciple!
"Fortunately, my soul power is strong. Otherwise, even with the system, I would be exposed."
The soul realm is divided into Mortal Realm, Spiritual Realm, Heavenly Realm, and Di Realm, each further subdivided into Early, Middle, Late, and Great Perfection stages.
As a transmigrator, Yun Tianming, perhaps due to the fusion of two souls from different worlds, possessed naturally strong soul power. According to the system's detection, Yun Tianming's soul realm is currently at the Mid Spiritual Realm. That's why he can remotely sense Ge Ye.
For cultivators, soul power is as important as Dou Qi level, and in some sense, the soul realm is even more critical than the Dou Qi level!
Leaving aside other matters, in the Dou Qi Continent, the noblest profession, being an Alchemist, requires strong soul power as a necessary condition!
Unlike Dou Qi, which can be upgraded through practicing Dou Techniques, taking pills, and other methods, it is generally difficult to enhance soul realm. Soul techniques, capable of refining the soul, exist only among ancient races and a few superpowers.
"So, let's give it a try today."
Yun Tianming placed his palm on his forehead.
"Enhance!"