Chapter 62: Floating Silk Grass

"Spiritual beast dung? Yes, spiritual beast dung would definitely benefit the cultivation of spiritual herbs, but sigh, never mind, I won't mention it. If Uncle Xucheng found out, he'd surely throw these herbs away!" Hong Le sighed.

"What do you mean, are these medicinal herbs bad?" Wei Yuning asked curiously.

"They're not bad; Uncle Xucheng of the Pill Hall has a cleanliness obsession, and he forbids us from using dung to fertilize the herbs!" Hong Le said.

"How could that be? Has Elder Xucheng never seen a farmer till the soil?" Wei Yuning laughed.

"He has certainly seen it, but Xucheng comes from a noble lineage, a royal prince of the mortal world, so he instinctively dislikes such filthy things!" Hong Le shook his head helplessly. Xucheng is not only the overseer of the Alchemy Chamber but also the overseer of the entire Pill Hall, and no one dares to defy his decisions there.

"Indeed… he doesn't partake in mortal smoke and fire!" Wei Yuning said sarcastically.

After hearing Qing Mo's assessment, Hong Le also laughed, feeling as if he'd found a kindred spirit. Though he appears outwardly as a frivolous, whimsical, unrestrained youth, in conduct he is a rare, down‑to‑earth, diligent and steady cultivator, and his fondness for Qing Mo grew ever stronger.

"Qing Mo, breeding moon beetles isn't hard; I know a bit about their habits—they don't demand high‑quality spiritual herbs and don't need such vast fields of them. I can teach you how to raise moon beetles, but on one condition: I want priority purchase of the spiritual herbs from this Hundred Flower Garden. What do you think?" Unwittingly, Hong Le had already begun treating Wei Yuning as an equal.

"Of course, but Uncle Le, where do you intend to use the spiritual herbs you purchase?" Wei Yuning asked curiously. If Ancestor Xucheng learned of the herbs' source, it would surely be trouble.

"Hehe, it's not only Xucheng who can refine pills; if these spiritual herbs bypass the Pill Hall, he can't control them. Moreover, besides pill refinement, spiritual herbs have many wonderful uses—brewing tea, bathing, aromatherapy—all viable. A bit of processing can earn more spiritual stones than selling refined pills." Hong Le laughed.

Wei Yuning looked at Hong Le with astonished eyes, never having imagined that the perpetually sorrowful Hong Le was actually a business prodigy.

"Uncle Le, how exactly should one properly raise moon beetles?" Though Wei Yuning was interested in earning spiritual stones, it wasn't his immediate priority. What he cared about most now was the beetle cultivation; a group of big shots were eyeing this breeding base, and failing at it would inadvertently offend many.

"Hehe, breeding moon beetles is truly easy; you just need to plant a bit more Floating Silk Grass in the garden!" Hong Le gave the answer without holding back.

After Hong Le's explanation, Wei Yuning finally understood that Floating Silk Grass was the key to moon beetle cultivation.

Floating Silk Grass is an auxiliary herb used in pill refinement, applicable to many pills; its sole function is to raise the success rate of refinement, increasing it by ten to fifty percent depending on the pill's complexity. According to Wei Yuning's understanding, this spiritual herb is akin to a catalyst or a fusion agent.

The seeds of Floating Silk Grass come from Ancient Immortal City, brought by the first patriarch of the Cloud Hidden Sect. In the spiritual beast realm, its rarity stems not only from its origin but also from its stringent environmental demands. Its growth consumes vast amounts of spiritual energy, and ordinary small sects simply lack the conditions to cultivate it.

Across the entire Bishi Island, the Cloud Hidden Sect has the densest spiritual energy, and among its nine peaks, Pill Peak ranks among the top three in spiritual energy density—first is Lotus Peak, second is Secluded Valley Peak.

Within Pill Peak there are three spiritual crystal veins, and Floating Silk Grass grows on one near the surface. With Floating Silk Grass comes the moon beetle; Hong Le isn't clear on their relationship—he suspects the beetle's emergence is linked to the grass but lacks proof. Nevertheless, wherever Floating Silk Grass exists, moon beetle numbers are noticeably higher.

Floating Silk Grass requires massive spiritual energy to grow and cannot be planted densely; thus it is sparsely sown on the veins. At first glance it seems the entire herb garden hosts moon beetles, but in fact they merely survive by clinging to the Floating Silk Grass.

"Your Hundred Flower Garden has plenty of spiritual herbs; they can serve as food for moon beetles but won't increase their numbers. Below Spiritual Beast Peak there's also a large spiritual crystal vein, its location…" Hong Le's body rose slowly into the air, pointing afar, "Hmm, not bad, it also passes by the Hundred Flower Garden, right in that mountain hollow, stretching east to west. This vein is relatively deep, at least three zhang below the surface; you need to remove the top soil, leaving about a forearm's depth…"

"Uncle Le, if there's no vein, does that mean we can't plant Floating Silk Grass?" Wei Yuning asked.

"Of course you can; just place three to five low‑grade spiritual stones at its roots each day, and that will at least keep it alive." Hong Le laughed.

Wei Yuning, startled, quickly waved his hand and said, "I really can't afford to raise it!"

Five spiritual stones constitute the standard monthly salary for a menial disciple within the sect, yet they can only sustain this thing for a day—far too extravagant. Without a vein that continuously generates spiritual energy, even small and medium sects, despite having Floating Silk Grass, likely wouldn't cultivate it.

Hong Le stayed until the afternoon before leaving.

Both were pleased with their respective gains. Hong Le secured a stable source of high‑quality spiritual herbs, and Wei Yuning's moon beetle breeding base finally got on track. Setting aside beetle profits, the herb income alone could keep the farm running, with additional earnings as well; after all, it had been agreed that the Spiritual Beast Hall wouldn't meddle in anything beyond moon beetles.

Leaving the Hundred Flower Garden, Wei Yuning headed to Guest Arrival Peak. The snow fell even heavier.

Accustomed to the rarely changing clear weather above the clouds of Nine Clouds Peak, the sudden snowfall gave Wei Yuning the feeling of returning to Earth once more.

It made him yearn to go home. Yet in this world he has no home; his only Dao companion is a deceitful spirit immortal, and recalling that makes him somewhat melancholy.

On the surface, Qiu Hu still treats him with mutual respect, and the house in Wind Lotus Garden is an occasional place for him to unwind, though he can't stay overnight.

Upon arriving at Wind Lotus Garden, he didn't see Qiu Hu but found Ye Ying staring blankly in the pavilion. Ye Ying seemed in a bad mood, with half‑dried tear tracks on her face.

Although Ye Ying has always been like a 500‑watt light bulb, after spending time together, Wei Yuning has grown a bit of a familial affection for this loli‑faced girl, as if she were a pretend sister‑in‑law of a pretend wife.

"What's wrong, little Nightingale? Did Qin Fei bully you?" Wei Yuning said with a grin.

Ye Ying glanced at Wei Yuning, hummed, unusually not retorting. Then she wiped the tear tracks from her face with a handkerchief and stared blankly at the swirling snow, as if Wei Yuning didn't exist.

"So it's real! That's too much! Three days without breaking the house's roof—when my wife returns, I'll definitely give her a good reprimand."

The once fiery little girl now suddenly exuded a pitiful aura. Though she didn't speak, Wei Yuning guessed that a senior brother from the Divine Martial Sect was pressuring her into marriage; from her expression this time, the matter seemed complicated.

"Could it be a marriage snatch?" Wei Yuning thought maliciously.