Cultivation Begins with Daily Intelligence Reports

15: There are also secrets in the underground chamber.Lin Jingyu did not offer much explanation and gestured for the two of them to start working.

First, wash the high-quality ordinary mountain sweet potatoes, steam them until cooked, peel them, and take only the sweet, soft, and fiberless part from the very center.

Put the steamed mountain sweet potato chunks, chopped Ningxiang grass powder, and a tiny bit of precious jade marrow powder into a clean stone mortar.

Add an appropriate amount of wild honey, a little white sugar, and a pinch of flour (to help it hold its shape).

Then came the most strenuous part—using a heavy stone pestle to repeatedly and patiently pound the mixture.

Until all the Materials were completely fused, turning into a ball of delicate, sticky, golden-yellow sweet potato puree that emitted a strange, refreshing, sweet, and spicy aroma!

Then, carefully cut the precious hundred-year mountain sweet potato flesh into tiny cubes smaller than half a fingernail—this was the ”Soul” that gave the sweet potato pill its special spiritual effect and texture, and it must not be added in excess.

Finally, pinch off a small piece of the sweet potato puree, press it into a small pancake in the palm of your hand, very carefully place one hundred-year mountain sweet potato cube inside, wrap it up, and roll it into a thumb-sized, round ball.

The firewood in the stove crackled, and the oil pan heated up.

Lin Jingyu took charge of the cooking himself, sliding the prepared balls one by one along the edge of the pan into the boiling oil.

With a ”Sizzle,” the golden-yellow balls tumbled and expanded happily in the oil pan, emitting an extremely enticing charred and sweet aroma that quickly filled the entire small courtyard.

Fry until golden and crispy all over, then remove and drain the oil.

The freshly fried sweet potato pill was piping hot, with a hard, crispy outer layer, while the inside remained soft and glutinous.

After letting it cool slightly, the surface would form a thin, enticing crispy shell, and the sweetness of the filling would perfectly fuse with the unique, cool, and gentle spiritual power of the hundred-year mountain sweet potato.

Busy until late at night, hundreds of golden balls with an enticing luster and aroma were piled up like a small mountain in the bamboo basket.

Tasting one, it was sweet, delicious, and incredibly tasty; what’s more, a gentle spiritual power rose from within the body, circulating through the Meridians and nourishing the limbs and bones.

If eaten long-term, it would definitely be of great benefit to cultivation.

...

Lin Jingyu woke up, and the sun was already high in the sky.

He lay lazily in the thin quilt, his whole body aching.

An inexplicable sense of irritability swirled in his throat, and he subconsciously smacked his lips.

”Tsk, I really want a cigarette...” This thought was abrupt and stubborn.

Having finally struck it lucky and Transmigrated to this Xianxia world, he should have been seeking the Dao and riding a Flying Sword freely.

But what about reality? Firewood, rice, oil, salt, debt weighing him down, and he still had to guard against the schemes of the Elders in his Family.

Yesterday, for the sake of those sweet potato pills, he had been busy at the stove with his little sister, Little Miss, until the middle of the night.

The oil smoke made his eyes sore, and his wrists were so sore he couldn’t lift them.

Is this what a Cultivator is? This is clearly a peddler in the marketplace shouting for a few pennies!

A heavy sense of grievance clogged his chest, making him stare blankly at the ceiling for a long while.

”Forget it!” He suddenly threw off the quilt and sat up, clenching his fists tightly.

”Today! I must sell these sweet potato pills for a good price! I’m going to make a fortune!”

With a slight movement of his mind, the familiar translucent light screen appeared before his eyes.

【Intelligence Refresh.】

【Seventy-five miles west of the Southeast Market Town, at the Wang Family of Xiaoye Peak, disaster has arrived in recent days.】

【Nearly one-third of the leaves in the hundreds of acres of bamboo forest that they rely on have developed strange white spots.】

【The Wang Family is filled with gloom, and despite exhausting all means, no Spirit Medicine or spirit water has been effective.】

【Even the Family head, Wang Qingcang, who is in the Foundation Establishment Stage, investigated personally, but was still helpless, his face turning pale with rage.】

【In desperation, the Wang Family gritted their teeth and spent a large sum of money to invite a Level 2 Medium Grade spirit plant Great Master from the Qinglan Sect to diagnose and treat it.】

【At noon today, a person with white hair, a youthful face, and the bearing of an immortal arrived, claiming to be an envoy from the Qinglan Sect.】

【The Wang Family treated him like a treasure, and the Family head, Wang Qingcang, personally greeted him, showing great respect and treating him as an honored guest.】

【This person took a cursory look at the bamboo forest, stroked his beard, and smiled, asserting: ”A mere minor ailment, easy to fix!”】

【The Wang Family was overjoyed and offered a large amount of Spirit Stone to seek the ”secret method.”】

【This person accepted the Spirit Stone, left behind a few ”words of wisdom,” and drifted away.】

【Just as the Wang Family was about to follow his instructions, another person arrived, dusty and tired, also claiming to be sent by the Qinglan Sect.】

【The Wang Family was currently immersed in the joy of being ”saved” and concluded that this person was a swindler trying to steal the credit.】

【The gatekeeper Disciple mocked and ridiculed him, rudely driving him away.】

【As a result... the Wang Family acted according to the ”secret method,” and the white spots not only did not disappear but spread even faster!】

【Only then did they realize that the one with the immortal bearing was a complete fraud!】

【And the one they had cursed away was the real spirit plant Great Master from the Qinglan Sect!】

【Upon learning the truth, Wang Qingcang was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of old blood on the spot.】

【Immediately terrified, he prepared generous gifts and rushed to the Qinglan Sect to offer an apology with a rod on his back...】

Lin Jingyu’s mouth twitched.

The Wang Family of the bamboo forest, that was a famous Foundation Establishment Family within a hundred miles of the Southeast Market Town!

They were famous for cultivating the second-order ”Iron-Thread Green Bamboo,” which was an excellent main material for refining Flying Swords, and they had immense wealth.

To think they had stumbled so badly; they had become the laughingstock of the area for a hundred miles.

”What a pity...” He shook his head, feeling a bit unsatisfied.

This intelligence panel only refreshed once a day; if there were more, it would be great to read them as a storybook for entertainment.

He subconsciously scrolled down and saw the intelligence about the Third Elder, Lin Chengyuan, from yesterday again.

【If this kid discovers the secret in his basement, it would be bad...】

His gaze suddenly froze on this line of text.

He widened his eyes in shock.

Yesterday, blinded by anger, he had ignored this crucial hint.

His gaze suddenly turned to the hidden entrance under the bed.

That underground secret chamber... actually held an even bigger secret?!

No wonder!

Lin Chengyuan, as the Third Elder at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, held a prestigious position in the Lin Family.

He had the right to cultivate in the core area of the Family’s Spiritual Vein and owned over ten acres of stable-yielding spirit fields.

A mere micro-node that only emitted Spiritual Qi equivalent to two Spirit Stones per month and was located in a corner...

It was simply not worth him going to such lengths and scheming so hard!

First, colluding with the Black Wind Stockade to play the villain and force a debt collection.

Then, hypocritically taking out fifty Spirit Stones to ”resolve the siege” and gain reputation.

Behind this chain of calculations...

There must be a secret hidden that was crucial to the Qi Refining Middle Stage, or even the Late Stage!

A huge secret that must never be exposed, one that might even be stained with blood!

”The death of the original owner’s parents...” A cold and terrifying thought surfaced in his mind uncontrollably.

Going out to seek treasure, never returning, and leaving no bones behind.

This matter... could it also be related to Lin Chengyuan?

How could he know the secret of this basement?

Lin Jingyu rolled off the bed, swiftly opened the entrance to the secret chamber, and jumped in without hesitation.

Inside the secret chamber, the Spiritual Qi was still lingering.

Like the most meticulous explorer, his eyes were like torches, scanning every inch of the stone walls, the floor, and the array patterns.

His fingers slowly traced the cold, rough stone surface, trying to perceive any possible abnormalities.

However...

Nothing.

The stone walls were hard and cold, the array patterns flowed normally, and the spiritual energy gathering effect was stable.

The secret seemed to have melted into the air, leaving no trace.

This did not exceed his expectations; he had spent most of his time in the secret chamber for the past month.

If it were easy to find, he would have seen it long ago.

His gaze fell on the vibrant hundred-year mountain sweet potato in the corner.

The emerald green branches and leaves stretched wantonly, the vines almost covering the reserved open space, growing extremely gratifyingly.

It seems that picking two fruits did not have much impact on it.

Hopefully, it would grow quickly, continue to bear fruit, and provide a long-term supply for the production of the special ingredients for the sweet potato pills.

Carrying a heart full of doubts and heavy thoughts, he left the secret chamber.

Lin Jingyu carried a full back basket covered with oilcloth, filled with sweet potato pills, and walked steadily toward the Southeast Market Town.

He did not go directly into the inner circle or the core area.

Instead, he turned into the shantytown on the outskirts of the market, where fish and dragons were mixed together and houses were low-lying.

This was the gathering place for bottom-level Loose Cultivators, bustling with noise, the air mixed with the smell of sweat, inferior spiritual Materials, and food.

Densely packed, dilapidated houses spread like vines, clinging to the periphery of the four main roads of the market town.

The people living here were the cornerstone of the market town’s operation, doing the dirtiest and most tiring work.

Under every dusty face, there was a humble dream of buying a property on the outskirts of the market and settling down.

Following his memory, Lin Jingyu found an inconspicuous stone shop that he had specifically asked old man Gong Changshou to take him to identify yesterday.

The shop door was tightly closed.

He raised his hand and, following the agreed-upon secret signal, tapped the door panel three times with force, making a dull ”thump, thump, thump” sound.

After a brief pause, he tapped three more times, lightly and quickly.

There was silence inside the door.

After about ten breaths, the door panel was pulled open a crack with a ”creak.”