15: Chapter 15 The Hidden Spirit Stone and the Roots Underground

That warm and pure power, like a timely spring rain, fell upon the parched and cracked earth of the Dantian.

Lin Chen could clearly "see" his Meridians, which had been torn and twisted while resisting Hong Biao's strike, being repaired, nourished, and widened by this power's gentle soothing at a speed that defied common sense.

The sharp pain remained, but a tingling, newborn itch was spreading from deep within his bones and Meridians.

Su Qingyao's care was meticulous.

She helped Lin Chen into the house and, using the remaining cloth strips and two shaved wooden boards, clumsily but carefully set his broken left arm.

She boiled the thickest herbal soup, blowing on it spoonful by spoonful before feeding it to him.

Lin Chen did not refuse; he knew that recovery was what he needed most right now.

Ten days later, the courtyard gate was pushed open again.

Old Zhou and A-Tu poked their heads in cautiously, seeing that although the courtyard was still a mess, Lin Chen was leaning against the doorway, basking in the not-so-warm autumn sun.

His left arm was still in a splint, and his complexion was as pale as paper, looking so frail that a gust of wind seemed capable of knocking him over.

"Boss!" Old Zhou hurried forward, his voice filled with concern and a trace of lingering fear.

A-Tu ran to Lin Chen's side without a word, squatted down, and looked up at him with his small face, his large, distinct black-and-white eyes full of worry.

Lin Chen smiled weakly at them, his voice hoarse: "I'm fine. It's good that you're back."

Only he knew what earth-shaking changes had occurred within his body over these ten days.

That warm energy originating from his Bloodline, combined with the "Cultivation Feedback Acceleration" temporarily activated by the System, allowed his injuries to heal far faster than expected.

More importantly, after his spiritual energy had been exhausted and then rebuilt, the Qi Refining Stage 4 Bottleneck that had troubled him for so long had quietly opened like thin paper on the night of the third day.

He was now at Qi Refining Stage 5.

But he did not tell anyone, including Su Qingyao, who took care of him day and night.

He strictly ordered Old Zhou and A-Tu never to leak a single word to the outside world.

Not only that, from the eleventh day onward, Lin Chen began to drag his "unhealed" left arm, hunched over, and appeared on the streets of Black Stone Town every day.

He no longer went to the wasteland; instead, like a desperate herb gatherer, he held a few of the most common herbs and asked everyone he met, trying to exchange them for a few copper coins at prices far below market value.

That miserable appearance of being severely injured, financially exhausted, and nearly reduced to a beggar quickly became a topic of conversation for the idlers in town, and naturally, it reached the ears of the Black Stone Gang.

This afternoon, as Lin Chen was "happening" to peddle herbs at the entrance of a small alley, a familiar, scarred figure blocked his path.

Scarface looked down at him, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt and schadenfreude.

Lin Chen was like a frightened rabbit, instinctively shrinking back, squeezing out a fawning smile that was uglier than crying.

Tremblingly, he took out a small, patched cloth bag he had prepared long ago from his bosom and offered it with both hands.

"Brother Scarface," his voice was weary and hoarse, carrying a trace of near-servile humility, "Before... before it was my ignorance that offended you and Master Hong. These five Low-Grade Spirit Stones, please... consider them this month's rent, and also my apology to you and the Master. Please... put in a good word for me in front of Master Hong, and allow me some time. The herbs in the field... have just been planted and haven't yielded a harvest yet..."

Scarface took the bag and weighed it; the Spirit Stones clinked crisply.

He untied the bag and confirmed that there were five Low-Grade Spirit Stones of decent quality inside, and the contempt on his face grew even stronger.

In his eyes, this must be Lin Chen's last bit of savings.

"Hmph, you're sensible." Scarface sneered, stuffed the bag into his own bosom, and said in a tone of charity, "Master Hong said, if you still want to plant that land, it will be ten Spirit Stones every month. If you are one short, I will make you and the courtyard disappear from Black Stone Town together! Seeing you in this half-dead state, I pity you, so I'll take five for now. Next month, make up for what you owe this month! Do you understand?"

"Understood, understood!" Lin Chen nodded repeatedly, his hunched back bending even lower, "I will definitely make it up next month, definitely!"

Seeing Lin Chen's dejected state, the last trace of doubt in Scarface's heart dissipated.

He spat at Lin Chen's feet before turning and leaving with satisfaction.

Not until Scarface's figure completely disappeared around the street corner did Lin Chen slowly straighten his back; the humility and panic on his face faded instantly, leaving only a calmness as deep as a pool.

He turned and walked into the depths of the alley, disappearing into the shadows.

Inside the Black Stone Gang's stronghold, Hong Biao played with the five Spirit Stones, listening to Scarface's embellished description, a cruel sneer appearing on his face.

"It seems he was really scared out of his wits; his backbone is broken." He tossed the Spirit Stones onto the table with a crisp "clink," "Ten stones a month... Heh, I want to see how many months his meager savings can last. Keep an eye on him, just don't let him run away."

To Hong Biao, a crippled Qi Refining Stage 4 Cultivator was no longer worth his time or energy.

This land was already in his pocket; it was merely a matter of when to harvest it once Lin Chen was completely squeezed dry.

Another half month passed, and the autumn chill in Black Stone Town grew stronger.

In the center of the wasteland, on the first half-acre of Spiritual Field to be cultivated, a faint layer of white radiance, like frost and mist, finally condensed on the leaves of the cloud mist grass.

Although the miasma had not been completely cleared and the Spiritual Vein was only just stabilized at the first-grade Low Grade, causing the quality of this batch of cloud mist grass to be barely acceptable, when Lin Chen personally harvested the first plant—

Most of the cloud mist grass was sent to Su Qingyao.

She no longer spent her days merely resting as she had before.

Now, her fingertips were also stained with the juices of herbs and the fragrance of soil.

She carefully crushed, dried, and ground the cloud mist grass leaves into powder, then processed them using a unique technique of hers that preserved the medicinal properties to the greatest extent.

In the end, packets of "Spirit-Calming Powder" emitting an elegant fragrance were packaged in small oil-paper bags.

The effect of these Spirit-Calming Powders was far superior to the previous Heart-Clearing Powder. Although they were far inferior to true Medicinal Pills, they had a miraculous effect in calming the restless Qi of low-level Cultivators during cultivation.

A small portion was left for Lin Chen.

Whenever it was late at night and he was consolidating his Qi Refining Stage 5 cultivation, he would take a small amount; the cool medicinal power allowed him to enter a state of self-forgetfulness faster, greatly increasing his cultivation efficiency.

A larger portion, through Pharmacist Wang's channels, flowed silently into the market.

Pharmacist Wang's Huichun Hall was already an important trading and supply point for Loose Cultivators and passing caravan guards in Black Stone Town.

He only needed to mix these "unknown" but effective Spirit-Calming Powders into his own goods to easily sell them and exchange them for Spirit Stones.

He took a twenty percent profit, but in return, he provided Lin Chen with the most critical secure channel and absolute confidentiality.

The Lin family finally had its first stable, albeit meager, income of Spirit Stones.

As the pregnancy entered its fourth month, Su Qingyao's morning sickness finally eased, and color gradually returned to her pale face.

She no longer just passively accepted care but truly began to manage this little "home" with the demeanor of a mistress.

She would stand by the field, directing A-Tu to use branches and charcoal pencils to crookedly record the daily humidity, sunlight, and the condition of weeds and pests in the spiritual field.

She would sit under the lamp, watching Old Zhou move the abacus, clearly recording every transaction of Spirit Stones and every consumption of supplies in the account book.

She even began to study medicinal diets, using the most common ingredients combined with a few inexpensive, mild herbs to brew soups for Lin Chen to restore his body and to provide nutrition for herself and the fetus in her womb.

That dilapidated, drafty little courtyard truly felt like a home for the first time.

In the early morning, there was the young boy's naive report; in the afternoon, the crisp clicking of abacus beads; and in the evening, the smoke of cooking mixed with the scent of rice and herbs drifted out.

Lin Chen would often stand in the courtyard, watching that cold, elegant silhouette busy inside and outside the house. She was still not talkative, but the focus when her fingertips brushed over the account book and the slight upturn of her mouth when instructing A-Tu all revealed a kind of unprecedented, vivid vitality.

The string in his heart, which had been taut due to the life-and-death crisis, quietly relaxed a little in such a scene.

In the corner of his vision, on the System panel, Su Qingyao's status had quietly changed from [Early Pregnancy (Weak)] to [Pregnancy (Stable Period), Good Health].

A-Tu seemed to have a natural, special affinity for the land.

Every day, weeding and watering in the spiritual field, his sensitivity became increasingly sharp.

This evening, he ran back from the wasteland covered in sweat, his face full of irrepressible excitement, grabbing Lin Chen's sleeve and pointing in a direction at the edge of the spiritual field.

"Master, Master! There! That soil feels... feels more and more like the best one in the middle!" He was so excited he was a bit incoherent, "I lay on the ground and listened; there seems to be a very, very weak heat rising from underneath!"

Lin Chen's heart stirred, and he immediately followed him to the wasteland.

He squatted down and pressed his palm onto the land A-Tu pointed to.

Sure enough, a faint, warm, and moist sensation was coming from deep underground.

[Resource Log] popped up a prompt at the right time: [Influenced by the life-force feedback from first-grade spiritual plants and the continuous purification of miasma, the activity of the micro-Spiritual Vein branch has increased and is slowly spreading to the periphery...]

Lin Chen immediately decided to include another acre of the remaining two and a half acres of wasteland, which was adjacent to the already cultivated area, into the cultivation plan.

He used the Spirit Stones exchanged from selling Spirit-Calming Powder to purchase another batch of medicinal materials from Pharmacist Wang, which he handed over to Su Qingyao to prepare into powder for purifying the miasma.

As for the heavy work of scattering this powder, plowing, and guiding the earth's energy, Lin Chen, after simple guidance, safely left it to A-Tu to lead.

The boy was full of energy, as if he possessed his own kingdom.

As for Lin Chen himself, he poured all his energy into two things: during the day, continuing to play the role of that "severely injured and recuperating" wretch to numb Hong Biao's gaze; at night, with the help of the Spirit-Calming Powder, frantically attacking the barriers of his cultivation.

Time flew, and another two months passed.

Every month, Lin Chen "punctually" handed ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones to Scarface.

These Spirit Stones were almost all the income from the spiritual field and Pharmacist Wang's channels, just enough to pay, with no surplus, perfectly maintaining the illusion of being "squeezed to the limit."

Hong Biao initially sent people to the wasteland to check every now and then, but later, seeing that Lin Chen did nothing but farm and heal, and that his half-dead state showed no anomalies, he completely relaxed his vigilance and shifted his attention to territorial friction with other small factions outside the town.

No one knew that in the earthen house of that dilapidated little courtyard, Lin Chen's cultivation had long been consolidated at the peak of Qi Refining Stage 5 and was steadily advancing toward the sixth stage.

More importantly, as Su Qingyao's pregnancy entered the latter half, he had to follow the System's prompts every day to separate a portion of pure spiritual energy to carefully warm the fetus through the belly.

Although this process was quite consuming, it allowed his control over spiritual energy to reach an unprecedented level of precision, far beyond that of ordinary Qi Refining Cultivators.

The rough stone ring on his right thumb seemed to have a slightly higher temperature than before.

Inside the ring surface, the faint progress bar representing the [Spreading Branches and Leaves] task had already crossed more than half.

Lin Chen knew very well that the moment the first child was born, the System would inevitably provide the most generous reward.

That, perhaps, was the only opportunity for him to completely reverse this seemingly unsolvable dead end.

He silently calculated the maturity time of the second batch of cloud mist grass in the spiritual field, calculated the remaining Spirit Stones on hand, and even more so, calculated Su Qingyao's increasingly approaching due date.

The late autumn wind was getting colder day by day.

This night, Lin Chen had just finished his cultivation and was preparing to tuck in the quilt for Su Qingyao, when he saw her suddenly frown in her sleep, fine cold sweat oozing from her forehead, one hand gripping the wooden edge of the bed tightly.

A muffled groan, filled with pain, escaped from her lips.

Lin Chen's heart sank sharply.

He looked out the window; in the pitch-black night sky, not a single star could be seen.

The only midwife in town lived at the far east end of town; it would be too late to go and ask for her now.