For three days after the market delivery, Han Yue moved with quiet, focused paranoia. Lin Feng had tasked her with a high-risk assignment: to infiltrate the sect's tightly guarded import ledgers and expose the primary supply source for the powerful Yan Family Clan.
She used the administrative confusion caused by the success of The Stable Hand's Polish as cover. While the Outer Sect focused on counting their unexpected profits, Han Yue accessed the Foundation Material Allocation Records, a set of documents guarded by arrays meant for Foundation Establishment experts.
Her hands shook as she scrolled through the ancient, spiritual parchment. She found the entry for Yan Xia, Foundation Establishment Level Eight.
The Yan Family Clan wasn't buying finished Foundation Pills; they were cornering the market on a specific, crucial ingredient: Luminous Moss.
Luminous Moss was cheap, ubiquitous, and essential. It acted as a binding agent and catalyst, ensuring all other ingredients in a standard Foundation Pill mixture harmonized correctly. By buying up the majority of the Outer Sect's supply, Yan Xia ensured two things: first, no other competitor could produce pills at scale, and second, she controlled the starting price of every other pill component, as the moss was the non-negotiable bottleneck.
"A clever, resource-based strategy," Lin Feng had called it. "Yan Xia isn't competing on quality; she's competing on scarcity."
Han Yue quickly transcribed the procurement schedule and supplier name onto a talisman, then meticulously reversed her access protocols, her heart pounding against her ribs like a runaway drum.
She found Lin Feng in his usual spot—ostensibly scrubbing a trough, though his movements were more akin to light stretching than actual labor. She pulled him aside, directing him to a secluded, broken-down shed at the edge of the estate.
"I have it," she whispered, her voice tight with fear and exhilaration. "The Yan Family is buying Luminous Moss. They procure it from the Northern Ridge Foragers' Guild on the third day of every month, purchasing seventy percent of the total available harvest."
Lin Feng's eyes lit up—not with excitement, but with cold, calculated clarity. "Luminous Moss. Excellent. It's cheap, common, and absorbs Qi easily. She uses a basic ingredient to control the entire high-end market."
"But Lin Feng, there's a problem," Han Yue added, her gaze darting towards the stables. "I think I was seen. When I left the administrative archives, a young disciple—no older than eighteen, Level Four Qi Condensation, wearing the Yan Clan insignia—was waiting near the exit. He followed me almost all the way here."
Lin Feng straightened up, leaning against the shed wall, his face utterly calm. "What did he say?"
"He didn't need to speak. His expression said enough. He had the arrogant look of a disciple who knew I was poking around where I shouldn't be." Han Yue wrung her hands. "The Stable Hand's Polish is too successful. Yan Xia knows there's new money, and she knows I'm the one handling it. She is closing in."
Lin Feng looked out over the barren, dusty fields of the Mortal Estate. He needed to act instantly, before Yan Xia progressed from sending a juvenile scout to dispatching her Foundation Establishment bodyguards.
"Then we must pivot," Lin Feng stated simply. "The polish served its purpose: it gave us liquidity and gave you a respectable image. But selling cleaning supplies is a copper-coin game. We need to be selling the gold standard."
He took the talisman from her and studied the details of the Luminous Moss. The Yan Family paid a meager two Spirit Stones per jin (unit of weight) of moss.
"Yan Xia uses Luminous Moss as a catalyst because it's a natural Qi sponge," Lin Feng explained. "It absorbs Qi during the refining process, binding the other ingredients. The problem is, it's slow. My ring, however, is not."
Lin Feng pulled out a single, withered clump of Luminous Moss he had scavenged from the waste bin near the alchemy office weeks ago. He placed it in his palm and closed his eyes.
He activated his Primordial Chaos Art. Instead of directing the refined essence inwards, he channeled a tiny, focused thread of his pure, Level Six Foundation Wood Qi—the essence of life and growth—outwards, into the brittle moss.
The effect was instantaneous and stunning.
The withered moss clump, which had been dull grey and dry, began to shimmer. It swelled slightly, taking on a deep, emerald-green hue. Tiny, incandescent spores of light appeared in its fibers, making it look as though a miniature galaxy had been woven into the plant matter. It felt warm, vibrant, and pulsed with a concentrated, active vitality that far surpassed its natural state.
"This…" Han Yue breathed, leaning forward to inspect the glowing plant. "This isn't Luminous Moss. This is almost a finished spiritual component. The life energy—it's radiating."
"It's not finished, but it's accelerated," Lin Feng corrected, his voice tight with concentration. "The black ring purifies spiritual essence into its purest element—Wood, Fire, Water, etc. If I use my Wood Qi to accelerate the Luminous Moss, I can take a week of natural Qi absorption and compress it into an hour."
He retracted his Qi. The luminous moss retained its vibrant glow.
"I call this Vitality-Infused Moss," Lin Feng announced. "It has ten times the potency of Yan Xia's standard supply. It will cut refining time in half, and it will increase the success rate of Foundation Pill creation. Yan Xia uses scarcity. We will use overwhelming quality and speed."
Han Yue understood the gravity of this product. "If this works, we will control the market. But it means you can no longer just shovel dirt. You need a dedicated space for cultivation, and we need a way to move the product discreetly."
"Exactly," Lin Feng said, a triumphant, dangerous smile crossing his face. "We are no longer stable hands. We are alchemists. You will use the profits from the polish to purchase three small plots of barren land near the Mortal Estate walls—as far from the stables as possible. Register them under three different, anonymous shell names. We will call them our 'Herb Cultivation Experiments.' Then, we need to buy seeds—all the Luminous Moss seeds we can find."
He paused, the focus in his eyes hardening as he looked past the shed towards the main road.
"And there is one more thing we need to address immediately. The young Yan disciple that followed you."
"What about him?" Han Yue asked, looking alarmed.
"He is a liability. Yan Xia sent him to test the water. If he reports that the 'administrator girl' is scared, they will strike hard." Lin Feng looked at Han Yue, his expression intense. "I will wait here. You must walk to the main road, and walk past the spot where he saw you. You need to show that you are not scared, but focused and determined. Show no trace of the archives trip."
"And if he is still there?"
"He is," Lin Feng confirmed, his voice barely a breath. "Wait until you are within fifty paces of him. Then, stop. Turn around, and walk back to the shed. As you walk away, I will take care of the rest."
Han Yue swallowed hard, but the sight of the shimmering moss in his hand had filled her with courage. She nodded, fixed her robe, and walked out of the shed.
As she reached the main path, she saw him—the young Yan disciple, pretending to talk to another Outer Disciple, but his eyes were fixed on her. She held her head high, walked until she was almost past him, then, as planned, she turned with a decisive air and marched back toward the stables.
As she walked away, a bone-chilling sensation, like walking into a massive, invisible wave of spiritual pressure, slammed into the young Yan disciple. His entire body froze, and the air around him grew instantly heavy, as if an ancient mountain had descended. He felt a sudden, crushing, wordless warning from an unknown, terrifying power that had been watching him from the depths of the filthy Mortal Estate. The pressure was so immense, so purely focused, that his Qi Condensation core stuttered, and he nearly collapsed.
The pressure vanished as instantly as it arrived.
When Han Yue returned to the shed, Lin Feng was calmly scooping dirt with his shovel again.
"Did you see him?" she asked, breathless.
"He left immediately after you turned your back," Lin Feng said, not looking up. "He will report that you are a fearless, unpredictable administrator with powerful, hidden connections in the depths of the estate. He will tell Yan Xia that the stable has teeth."
He handed her the plan. "Now go. Buy the plots. We start growing tonight."