9: Chapter 9 The Deal with the Ghost Mushroom and the Secret Conspiracy

This opportunity arrived two days later.

In those two days, Lin Chen did not go out. He silently regulated his breath in the small courtyard, while treating the non-lethal but conspicuous external wounds on his body with the crudest herbal remedies.

He needed to make his condition appear normal, rather than looking like the disheveled mess who had just escaped death from the mountains.

On the morning of the third day, the sunlight was just right.

Lin Chen changed into his cleanest old clothes, hid the Ghost-Face Mushrooms, which were wrapped layer by layer in oil paper, close to his body, and walked alone toward Huichun Hall.

Huichun Hall remained as lukewarm as ever, with a few townspeople queuing up to get medicine, and a rich medicinal fragrance permeated the air.

Lin Chen ignored the others and walked straight to the tall mahogany counter.

Pharmacist Wang was looking down, weighing a golden medicinal herb with a small scale. He did not even lift his eyelids, just asked indifferently: "Are you here for a consultation or to get medicine?"

"I have something, and I would like to ask Shopkeeper Wang to take a look." Lin Chen's voice was not loud, but clear enough.

Pharmacist Wang's hand weighing the medicine paused slightly.

He looked up, his shrewd eyes sweeping over Lin Chen. Seeing that although his clothes were old, his complexion was steady, and the bloody smell and Evil Qi on his body had been restrained, he calmly said to the medicine boy beside him: "You come and watch."

Then, he signaled to Lin Chen, turned around, lifted a curtain behind the counter, and walked in.

Lin Chen followed behind him, passing through a short, dark corridor, and arrived at a back hall filled with medicinal herbs.

The medicinal fragrance here was ten times stronger than outside, mixed with the scent of vegetation, Ore, and a faint smell of dust.

Pharmacist Wang did not waste words; he closed the door and asked directly: "What is it?"

Lin Chen did not drag things out either. He took the oil-paper package from his bosom, carefully placed it on an Eight Immortals table covered with bottles and jars, and then opened it layer by layer.

When those seven or eight gray-black Ghost-Face Mushrooms, with surfaces wrinkled like twisted human Faces, were exposed to the air, a cold breath instantly filled the space.

Pharmacist Wang's eyes suddenly lit up.

He did not reach out immediately, but first took a pair of silk gloves as thin as cicada wings from the shelf nearby, put them on, and then picked up a Ghost-Face Mushroom to examine it carefully.

He brought the mushroom under his nose and sniffed gently. A trace of imperceptible satisfaction flashed across his shrewd eyes.

"Not bad." Pharmacist Wang put down the mushroom and took off his gloves. "It is indeed a Ghost-Face Mushroom, about five years old. The quality is complete, and the picking and preservation methods are correct; the Yin Qi has hardly leaked. Better than I imagined."

He looked at Lin Chen, his expression having returned to the calmness of a businessman: "How do you want to trade?"

"Spirit Stone." Lin Chen's reply was crisp and clear. "Low-Grade Spirit Stone, complete ones."

Pharmacist Wang stroked his goatee and pondered for a moment: "Although the Ghost-Face Mushroom is niche, it is an excellent main ingredient for refining 'Yin-Sha Pill' and 'Rotten Bone Powder.' I happen to have an old regular customer who needs it. For these seven, I will give you three complete Low-Grade Spirit Stones, plus the fangs and heart of that Iron-Bristled Boar, which counts as one. A total of four Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

This price was far beyond Lin Chen's expectations.

He had thought he would get at most two.

It seemed that Pharmacist Wang was not just doing business, but also showing goodwill and investing in this "herb picker" who had the ability to go deep into Black Stone Mountain.

Lin Chen did not agree immediately, but continued: "That's fine. But I also want to trade for something else—seeds of 'Warming Yang Flower' and 'Red Essence Grass,' ten of each."

Pharmacist Wang looked at him with some surprise: "You want seeds? The Warming Yang Flower likes the sun and needs Spiritual Qi to nourish it; the Red Essence Grass has a fierce nature and has harsh requirements for soil. Both of these are hard to grow, and in this Black Stone Town, it is even more difficult."

"I just want to try." Lin Chen's reply was concise.

He had seen the [First-Order Spirit Field (Not Opened)] option unlocked in the System's "Family Infrastructure" module, and the condition for opening it was that the host possessed spiritual plant seeds.

This was for the future.

Pharmacist Wang did not ask any more questions; every Cultivator had their own secrets.

He took four Low-Grade Spirit Stones with lustrous surfaces and abundant Spiritual Qi from a locked drawer behind the counter.

The quality of these Spirit Stones was like heaven and earth compared to the fragments he had given before.

He turned around and found two small porcelain bottles from a row of medicine cabinets on the wall labeled with dense tags, poured out some tiny seeds, wrapped them in two clean pieces of paper, and pushed them to Lin Chen.

"Take them. If you have such good things in the future, you can come to me anytime." Pharmacist Wang's tone carried a hint of genuine familiarity.

The transaction was completed. Lin Chen did not linger, tucked the items close to his body, and quickly left Huichun Hall.

In the dilapidated small courtyard, Su Qingyao looked at the lustrous Low-Grade Spirit Stone on the table, and for the first time, a clear ripple appeared in her cold eyes.

She looked up at Lin Chen: "You... are giving it all to me?"

"Your Foundation is injured, you need it more than I do to nourish your Meridians." Lin Chen held the other Spirit Stone in his hand. "I will use this one first to try and break through the Bottleneck."

He also took out the pair of Iron-Bristled Boar fangs and the heart: "You see how to handle these, they should be worth some money or can be used as medicine."

Su Qingyao did not refuse again.

She knew that recovering her strength as soon as possible was the greatest help to Lin Chen.

She silently put away the Spirit Stone, watching Lin Chen sit cross-legged and begin to close his eyes to break through the barrier.

Watching Lin Chen's furrowed brows and the sweat beads constantly seeping from his forehead, she did not just focus on her own Cultivation.

Her gaze swept over the worthless ordinary herbs Lin Chen brought back, and she suddenly remembered something.

She stood up, sorted out the herbs, including the Night-Crossing Vine for calming the mind, the Mind-Bewitching Grass for sleep aid, and a few stalks of licorice that could neutralize medicinal properties.

She found a stone mortar, followed a recipe for the simplest "Cleansing Heart Powder" from her memory of the Alchemy Classics, put the herbs in according to a specific ratio, and ground them finely with a pestle.

The stone mortar made a dull and rhythmic "thump, thump" sound.

She was fully absorbed, her expression focused as never before.

This medicinal powder could not increase Cultivation, but it could slightly calm the mind and soothe the restlessness during the circulation of spiritual power, which might be of slight help to Lin Chen's current state.

Half an hour later, a handful of pale green, fine powder was carefully scraped out, mixed into warm water, and brought to Lin Chen.

"Drink it." Her voice remained cold, but with an unquestionable tone.

Lin Chen opened his eyes. He was at a critical moment of the breakthrough, his internal spiritual power surging wildly, making him extremely irritable.

He did not ask any more questions, took the bowl, and drank it in one gulp.

A cool medicinal liquid went down his throat, like a clear spring, instantly extinguishing the nameless fire in his heart.

The Meridians that were swollen and painful due to the collision of spiritual power also felt a sense of relief.

He looked at Su Qingyao gratefully, closed his eyes again, and sank his mind into his Dantian.

Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous small tavern at the east end of the town, several plates of braised pig head meat and peanuts were placed on a greasy table.

Patrol Squad Captain Liu Wu was drinking inferior distilled spirits with two of his trusted subordinates, the smell of alcohol and meat mixed together.

"Captain, it's all been checked out." A scarred subordinate lowered his voice and leaned into Liu Wu's ear, "That kid entered the vicinity of Wild Boar Valley the day before yesterday, and our people lost track of him. But when he came back, he was covered in blood. Later, Pharmacist Wang of Huichun Hall personally admitted that he had accepted a pair of fangs from a First-Order Yao Beast, an Iron-Bristled Boar, from him. That kid killed an Iron-Bristled Boar by himself; his skills are not weak, at least at the Peak of Qi Refining Stage 3."

"Bang!" Liu Wu slammed his wine bowl onto the table, splashing wine everywhere.

He poured himself a drink, the flesh on his Face twitching, and sneered: "Peak of Qi Refining Stage 3? Hmph, in front of my cultivation at Qi Refining Stage 5, he's nothing! A cast-off disciple kicked out of the Qingmu Sect, don't know what kind of dog-shit luck he had to be able to trade for Spirit Stones. Does he think his wings are hard now?"

Another monkey-like subordinate rolled his eyes and suggested: "Captain, since he has money, then next month's tribute... Why don't we just find an excuse and arrest him on the charges of 'privately mining forbidden medicine, poaching Yao Beasts, and refusing to pay tribute'? Once he's in our Patrol Squad's dungeon, won't he be at your mercy? As for that woman..." He said, revealing a lewd smile.

"Idiot!" Liu Wu slapped the back of the thin monkey's head, "Arrest him directly? Wang the Lame (Pharmacist Wang) just finished business with him, and I arrest him right after? Where would I put Wang the Lame's Face? Who would dare to deal with me in the future?"

He narrowed his eyes, flashing with a vicious light: "To deal with such people, you must use the rules. That woman... even more so, you have to use the 'rules' to handle her to be interesting."

He rolled his eyes, and a poisonous plan came to his mind, "Doesn't he have to hand in ten blood-vein roots every month? Go tell him the rules have changed. Next month, the tribute will be doubled, requiring twenty, and they must be over five years old!"

"Twenty that are five years old?" Both confidants gasped.

blood-vein roots were already scarce on the outskirts of Black Stone Mountain, and five-year-old ones were even harder to find. Gathering twenty in a month was an impossible task.

Liu Wu grinned: "Yes! If he can't pay... make him use his wife, who looks like a fairy, to pay off the debt! By then, we are 'acting according to the law,' reasonable and fair. If he dares to resist, it's defying the rules of the town. I will kill him on the spot, and even Wang the Lame won't be able to say half a 'No'."

"Captain is brilliant!" The two confidants immediately caught on, and flattery flowed like a tide.

In the dilapidated courtyard, the Low-Grade Spirit Stone in Lin Chen's hand had dimmed by more than half, turning from a piece of fine jade into an ordinary stone.

His internal spiritual power, with the help of the Cleansing Heart Powder, was like a stream converging into a river, hitting the invisible barrier between Qi Refining Stage 3 and Stage 4 with unprecedented force, again and again.

The barrier was even tougher than he had imagined. Every collision brought a swelling pain as if his Meridians were about to tear.

But he gritted his teeth and persisted, turning the sense of peace from having Su Qingyao by his side and the pressure brought by Liu Wu into the driving force for the breakthrough.

Just as the Spirit Stone in his hand was about to turn completely into dust, and the last trace of spiritual power in his Dantian was about to be exhausted, he finally felt that a tiny crack had appeared on the impenetrable barrier!

Lin Chen was overjoyed and was about to gather his final strength to make this last push—

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The courtyard gate was suddenly struck violently, accompanied by an arrogant shout: "Lin Chen! Open the door! Patrol Squad official business!"

This sudden interruption caused the spiritual power Lin Chen was gathering to stagnate, his blood and Qi surged, a sweetness rose in his throat, and he almost spat out blood.

He forcibly suppressed the turbulent spiritual power, and his Face instantly turned pale.

Su Qingyao was also startled and stood up, the color drained from her Face, looking at him nervously.

Lin Chen shook his head at her, signaling her to stay in the room, then took a deep breath and walked over to open the courtyard gate.

Outside the gate, Liu Wu stood in the center with his arms crossed, a fake smile on his Face, followed by three team members with their hands on their sword hilts.

"Lin Chen," Liu Wu said lazily, in a tone of a cat playing with a mouse, "The Town Guardian has issued an order. Recently, the banditry of the Black Wind Stronghold has been rampant, and our Patrol Squad's expenses have increased. So, all residents in the town, especially those of you who have just settled in, must double your tribute."

He paused deliberately, enjoying Lin Chen's increasingly icy gaze, before slowly announcing: "From next month, the medicinal herbs you hand in every month will be changed to twenty blood-vein roots, and they must be over five years old. Do you hear me clearly?"

Lin Chen's pupils shrank, looking at Liu Wu's Face filled with triumph: "The previous agreement was for ten, and there was no age requirement."

Liu Wu's Face sank instantly, and his tone became grim: "That was the rule before! Now, what I say is the new rule! What, you want to disobey orders?"

The team member behind him drew his saber halfway with a "clank," and cold light flashed.

The air in the courtyard instantly dropped to freezing point.

Lin Chen looked at him silently, one breath, two breaths, three breaths.

His fists hanging by his sides were clenched until his knuckles turned white.

Finally, he slowly unclenched his fists and squeezed three words through his teeth: "Understood."

"That's right." Seeing him concede, Liu Wu snorted with satisfaction.

His gaze greedily swept over the courtyard and the room, passing Lin Chen. Not seeing Su Qingyao, he curled his lips with slight regret and waved his hand: "Let's go!"

The group turned and left arrogantly.

The courtyard gate closed with a creak. Lin Chen leaned against the cold door panel, his chest heaving violently.

The humiliation and monstrous anger he had forcibly suppressed were like a bucket of hot oil poured onto the flame of spiritual power already at its critical point in his body.

He turned and walked back to the room, not even having time to explain to the worried Su Qingyao, and sat down cross-legged again, closing his eyes.

Screw forbearance! Screw waiting!

He gathered the suffocating anger and killing intent in his heart that almost burned his reason to ashes, along with the last trace of Spiritual Qi squeezed from the Spirit Stone, into an unprecedented torrent, and slammed it ruthlessly and recklessly against the barrier that already had cracks!

"Crack—"

A crisp shattering sound that seemed to exist only in his Divine Soul rang out.

The barrier that had troubled him for days shattered!

A surge of spiritual power, more than twice as strong as before, surged out from his Dantian like a tiger escaping its cage, instantly penetrating his four limbs and hundred bones!

Meridians were widened, bones groaned, and every cell was cheering!

Qi Refining Stage 4, success!

Lin Chen opened his eyes abruptly and let out a long breath of turbid air mixed with a faint gray color.

The fatigue and forbearance in his eyes were swept away, replaced by a sharpness and chill after tempering.

"Success?" Su Qingyao had been guarding him, asking softly, her voice filled with a hint of relief.

Lin Chen nodded, clenched his fists, feeling the surging, far more powerful strength in his body than before.

Then, he looked up at Su Qingyao.

His gaze fell on her still pale but concerned Face, on her cold eyes that reflected his own figure.

Just then, the rough stone ring on his right thumb suddenly transmitted an unprecedented, clear, and lasting warmth, like a lover's hand gently wrapping around his knuckle.

In the lower-left corner of his vision, on the pale golden panel that only he could see, the originally gray [Conclusion of Contract] option had somehow turned into a bright, flickering, triggerable state.

And that long-term task he had been looking forward to was finally lit up with the first line of golden text.

[Long-term task "Spreading Branches and Leaves" Phase 1, officially started.]