Chapter 9: Cooperation

Old Sun unscrewed the cap and poured out a dragon-eye-sized pill with a flick of his wrist.

He used mana to levitate it to Wang Chen's face.

Wang Chen exclaimed in surprise, "Old Sun, what is this?"

The pill was jade-like all over, emitting a strong medicinal fragrance.

Even the smell quickened the flow of mana within his body.

"Qi Recovery Pill."

Old Sun said irritably, "Hurry up and eat it so you can get back to work!"

Wang Chen laughed, "This isn't part of the reward, is it?"

Old Sun gritted his teeth, "It isn't!"

It pained his heart!

Such a lower-tier, first-grade Qi Recovery Pill was priced at one Low Spirit in the Cloud Mountain City Pill Shops.

The effects of the Qi Recovery Pill were to hasten the recovery of mana.

Its true purpose was not for cultivation but for rapidly replenishing mana during battle.

Old Sun had saved up a few in case of emergencies.

Under normal circumstances, he would never dream of giving away a Qi Recovery Pill to Wang Chen for free.

But he really had no other option now.

If he didn't rush to eliminate the Earth Rhinoceros Beetles from the Spirit Fields, his loss could not be compensated by just one or two Spirit Stones.

Since he had already knelt down, it wouldn't hurt to bow down again!

As Wang Chen happily snatched the pill and popped it into his mouth, Old Sun felt as if his heartbreak was flowing backward into a river.

Wang Chen, with the Qi Recovery Pill in his mouth, allowed his saliva to dissolve the pill before swallowing the medicinal liquid bit by bit.

The medicinal power rapidly transformed into pure Spiritual Energy, which then condensed into mana under the drive of the Five Elements Skill.

Wang Chen leapt up from the ground and threw himself back into the grand task of exterminating pests in the Spirit Fields!

The speed of mana replenishment from the Qi Recovery Pill was a hundred times faster than meditating.

Without a doubt, a Qi Recovery Pill could greatly extend his battle endurance.

It turned out the original owner was also pitiable.

Having lived to seventeen, after more than a decade of practice, the number of pills he had taken could be counted on one hand.

Many of the "Immortal Second Generation" in the Inner Sect of the Cloud Sun Sect would consume pills like snacks on a regular basis.

Even a pig could be turned into a high-level Qi Cultivator with that method!

With the continual support of the Qi Recovery Pill's medicinal power, Wang Chen sped up his pace of clearing the Spirit Fields.

His pest extermination skills became more and more proficient.

Although he was limited by his Innate Root Bone and Comprehension.

Wang Chen's intelligence and emotional quotient were incomparable to the obtuse original owner.

After breaking through to the Mastery Level of the Geng Metal Finger, his mastery of this Spell had deepened significantly.

Moreover, Wang Chen was adept at summarizing his experiences.

With his strong Perception and the ability to resonate with plants,

he could easily locate the Earth Rhinoceros Beetles hiding in the Spiritual Rice, then approach them unnoticed.

And with one finger, they were annihilated.

As the number of Earth Rhinoceros Beetles that died by Wang Chen's hand grew, his proficiency with the Mastery Level Geng Metal Finger steadily improved.

The mana he expended, in fact, began to decrease.

That was because Wang Chen discovered that to deal with ordinary Earth Rhinoceros Beetles, he didn't need to use his full finger strength.

If he was close enough, a mere ten percent of his finger strength could easily take out an Earth Rhinoceros Beetle.

But if he got too close, the Earth Rhinoceros Beetles would become aware and flee.

Wang Chen quickly found the optimal distance.

Thereafter, the accuracy of his Geng Metal Finger increased accordingly.

By the end, any Earth Rhinoceros Beetle that Wang Chen locked on with his Spiritual Sense had no chance of escape.

The success rate of killing on the first strike was nearly one hundred percent!

Under such circumstances, Wang Chen pressed on and cleared all thirty mu of Old Sun's Spirit Fields in one go.

He only rested once in between, consuming a second Qi Recovery Pill.

Old Sun was all in.

On the other hand, he was truly stunned by Wang Chen's efficiency at pest extermination.

As a result, the Spirit Stones in his Storage Bag flew away one by one, and he became numb to the loss!

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Wang Chen cheerfully tallied up his earnings for the day.

Old Sun's thirty mu of Spirit Fields had yielded him fifty-seven Earth Rhinoceros Beetles.

The "mu yield" of Earth Rhinoceros Beetles was nearly double that of Wang Chen's own Spirit Fields!

He couldn't help wondering what kind of wrongdoing the old man had committed.

According to the price of twenty Fragmented Spirit Stones per beetle, Wang Chen had earned a total of eleven Low Spirits and forty Fragmented Spirit Stones from Old Sun.

Paid in full on the spot, not a single Fragmented Spirit Stone was owed.

Additionally, he had obtained loot worth nearly three Fragmented Spirit Stones.

As for the edible insect flesh that could still be dug up,

that was nothing!

Today, Wang Chen had earned Spirit Stones amounting to twice the savings of the original owner!

He felt his Storage Bag bulging like never before.

"Wang Chen..."

Old Sun handed a water gourd to Wang Chen, "Have a sip of water."

The cultivator no longer called Wang Chen by his nickname and looked at him with complex eyes.

"Thank you."

Wang Chen took off the gourd hanging at his waist, "I have water myself."

Noticing the other's look, he smiled and asked, "Old Sun, what do you think of my skill in exterminating pests?"

Old Sun was silent for a moment, then raised his thumb, "Impressive!"

Impressive indeed, as shady as it gets!

Thinking of the "vanished" Spirit Stones in his Storage Bag, Old Sun nearly broke down in tears.

He never dreamt that there would be so many Earth Rhinoceros Beetles in his fields!

He had lost a fortune.

"Old Sun."

Putting down the gourd, Wang Chen said, "Seeing as my pest removal skills are so impressive, there must be others with infested fields too, right? How about you introduce some business to me, and I give you a commission?"

In the Path of Cultivation to Immortality, wealth leads companions, spells, and land.

Wealth is the priority!

The original owner failed to break through his bottlenecks because he was too poor to spend resources, resulting in his soul scattering.

It was a windfall for the transmigrated Wang Chen.

Wang Chen had no intention of following in the footsteps of the original owner.

With both his Root Bone and Comprehension being low, splurging on cultivation was undoubtedly the way to go!

That's why Wang Chen was eager to earn Spirit Stones, even more Spirit Stones.

Currently, he was just a minor Spiritual Plant Farmer in the Outer Sect of the Cloud Sun Sect, a low-level Qi Cultivator at the bottom of the hierarchy.

No matter how loudly he spoke, nobody would listen.

He wasn't trustworthy either.

But Old Sun was different.

Although Old Sun was also a lowly Spiritual Plant Farmer,

he had cultivated Spirit Fields for decades; his connections and reputation were not something Wang Chen could compare with.

With the guarantee of this old cultivator,

Wang Chen's pest control business was bound to take off smoothly.

"Ten percent."

Wang Chen held up a finger, "I'll give you a ten percent commission for every household!"

A commission?

Old Sun suddenly wasn't sleepy anymore.

He swallowed hard, and his dim, old eyes glinted, "Twenty percent, I want twenty percent!"

"Deal!"

Wang Chen didn't haggle and agreed immediately.

An outbreak of Earth Rhinoceros Beetles was very rare.

At least, in the original owner's memories, it had never happened before.

There were many Spiritual Plant Farmers in the Outer Sect of the Cloud Sun Sect, and many were adept with the Geng Metal Finger.

Moreover, if the situation worsened, the higher-ups at Spirit Planting Hall couldn't remain indifferent and would inevitably send masters down to deal with it.

If a Purple Mansion Superior personally took action, then what were mere Earth Rhinoceros Beetles worth?

So, Wang Chen's plan to make money had a really short window of opportunity.

To ensure Old Sun's enthusiasm in securing business, it was only right to give him a bit more incentive.

On the other hand, Wang Chen wanted to dissolve any grievances Old Sun had against him.

After all, the man was a neighbor.

Better a near neighbor than a distant relative!

"I'll go ask around right now!"

Old Sun took off running, moving faster than a rabbit.

Wang Chen chuckled to himself.

He pondered one question.

Why hadn't he seen a single demonized creature among the Earth Rhinoceros Beetles in Old Sun's fields?

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