Chapter 30

During the test, the stone was also golden, but it only flashed once.

Now, because of He Pingsheng’s magic power infused into it, the stone remained golden continuously, not just a fleeting flash.

After ensuring sufficient energy supply, He Pingsheng observed beside it for half a day before returning to the room to learn techniques for collecting and grinding pollen.

Not easy!

Of course, not difficult either.

Since one infusion of spiritual energy lasted seven days, He Pingsheng had ample time for cultivation.

He chose a time when no one was around, then took out a supreme-grade Qi Gathering Elixir.

The fragrance quickly spread outward.

But no major issue.

First, although the scent was strong, few people lived in the valley, and they were far away.

Beyond twenty zhang, it was nearly impossible to smell the fragrance of this supreme-grade elixir.

Second, this place was already a cultivation plant nursery, where various spiritual herbs and flowers bloomed in competition, filling the valley with countless herbal scents.

Through this layer of masking fragrance, the scent of He Pingsheng’s supreme-grade elixir was diluted by half.

He picked up the black little axe and split the elixir into four portions.

Because He Pingsheng had calculated that pollen needed collecting roughly every three days.

So every three days, cultivation had to be interrupted.

Exactly one-quarter of an elixir was sufficient for three days of cultivation.

Once everything was prepared, He Pingsheng put away the other three fragments and took only one piece into his mouth to begin cultivation.

As his cultivation base improved, his ability to refine this elixir grew faster.

Previously, it took him over ten days to fully digest one-quarter of an elixir; now he could finish it in less than three days.

One day!

Two days!

Three days!

After three days, He Pingsheng completely absorbed the energy from that fragment.

Then he picked up his bottle and tools and went to the Sunfire Blossom spiritual field.

It was time to collect pollen.

He Pingsheng arrived at the Sunfire Blossom field with his tools and saw that the stone’s color had changed.

From golden, it had turned yellow.

That meant the fire spiritual energy within still had enough to sustain the Sunfire Blossoms for three or four more days.

This plot contained only three hundred Sunfire Blossoms—not many.

He Pingsheng spent about an hour collecting all of it, gathering more than one bottle of pollen.

All this pollen was red.

Clearly, this was merely inferior-grade material.

Collecting pollen was not the end of the task—it still needed grinding.

Next, he ground the pollen into finer powder, since it would be mixed into talisman ink and needed to flow smoothly during writing.

After grinding, he sealed it in jade bottles.

Originally, He Pingsheng had wanted to test whether his own basin could enhance it, but he ultimately abandoned the idea.

Because the risk of exposure was too great.

Thus, every three days he collected pollen, and after roughly ten collections, he would deliver all ten bottles of ground pollen to the entrance of Ku Mu’s cave.

He Pingsheng worked carefully, committing no mistakes.

Mediocre, neither meritorious nor faulty.

In a flash, two months passed.

The last two supreme-grade Qi Gathering Elixirs he had were fully consumed.

His cultivation resources were completely cut off, though he was still far from reaching Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

One day, Ku Mu emerged from his cave and summoned He Pingsheng and Wang Dun before him.

“He Pingsheng has done well these past two months!” Ku Mu said, looking at He Pingsheng with approval, then reached out and tossed two spirit stones through the air to him: “This is my reward for you!”

He Pingsheng was overjoyed: “Thank you, Elder!”

Wang Dun beside him looked envious.

“Hmm…” Ku Mu nodded again: “Carefully counting, the Sunfire Blossoms still have one month left in bloom, but I must leave the sect for a while. During this time, you must watch over them.”

“After one month, the flowers will wither—you need not bother with them anymore!”

“Yes!” He Pingsheng bowed.

Ku Mu added: “But this material is not easy to preserve—over time, its fire attribute will leak away. If too much fire spiritual energy is lost, it cannot be used to draw Fire Talismans.”

“And I don’t know when I’ll return!”

“So—Wang Dun, when the time comes, take He Pingsheng to Mount Matou and bring the pollen collected during this final month to the marketplace. Find a shop called ‘Fenghe Zhuang’ and hand it over to Shopkeeper Shi.”

“Yes…” Wang Dun and He Pingsheng bowed.

Ku Mu then handed Wang Dun a paper crane.

After that, Ku Mu left the Spirit Herb Valley.

The vast valley now held only He Pingsheng and Wang Dun.

Next!

He Pingsheng continued his work as before.

Outputting spiritual power, collecting pollen, grinding pollen.

During this time, Wang Dun occasionally came to supervise, as if fearing He Pingsheng might steal something.

He Pingsheng found it amusing.

As Ku Mu had predicted, the three hundred-plus Sunfire Blossoms withered overnight after the final month.

The pollen He Pingsheng collected during this last month totaled eleven bottles and a bit more.

He had worked for three months.

The first month, he gathered more than ten bottles of pollen.

The second month, the same—more than ten bottles.

But this month, for some reason, he got one extra bottle—eleven bottles and a bit more.

This couldn’t help but make him think.

After all, during bloom season, the daily amount of pollen collected had no precise standard—he only had a rough range.

A little more or less—no one knew.

Should he embezzle some?

He Pingsheng was certain that even if he stole a bit, neither Ku Mu nor Wang Dun would ever notice.

“Huh…”

Facing the eleven bottles of pollen, He Pingsheng didn’t hesitate—he took one bottle and poured it into his own jade bottle!

“Forgive me, Elder Ku Mu!”

“Your disciple truly lacks cultivation resources!”

“I borrow one bottle of pollen today!”

“When I have the chance later, I will repay this karmic debt!”

“One must be flexible in life—not a stubborn block of wood, right?”

As He Pingsheng thought this, he took one bottle without changing expression, bundled the remaining pollen, and went to find Wang Dun.

“Senior Brother Wang!” He Pingsheng said: “The Sunfire Blossoms have all withered. The remaining pollen has been collected and fully ground!”

“Here it all is—please check!”

Wang Dun opened the cloth bundle He Pingsheng brought and looked at the eleven bottles: “Brother He, didn’t you think of keeping some for yourself?”

He Pingsheng immediately wore a serious expression: “Elder Ku Mu has treated me well—I would never do such a thing!”

“Hehe…” Wang Dun chuckled: “How about this—we hide half a bottle. Elder Ku Mu might never know. We just say the bloom period ended two days earlier—who’d know?”

“The spirit stones from selling this half-bottle—we split it fifty-fifty, how about that?”