Whatever consequences might be triggered by failing to repay the one hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones to Song Qiaoqiao on time, Fang Yun wasn't foolish enough to find out.
Under normal circumstances, he would have the debt cleared by October or November of this year.
Upon arriving at Dan Cloud Peak, Fang Yun headed straight for the place where Alchemy Rooms were rented.
As soon as he arrived, Fang Yun heard Steward Zhou speak.
"Fang Yun, you really did reach the Qi Refining Fourth Layer."
Given the long time since Fang Yun's last visit and his condition back then, it wasn't hard for Steward Zhou to guess that Fang Yun had gone to attempt a breakthrough.
"I got lucky. It's thanks to your good fortune, Steward Zhou."
"Hahaha, what good fortune could I possibly have?" Steward Zhou laughed, dismissing the notion.
Before Fang Yun could even speak, a Token was tossed into his hand.
"You're in luck today. Lower-Grade Alchemy Room Number One is available."
With a knowing look, Fang Yun placed a Lower Grade Spirit Stone on the desk, then entered the Alchemy Room with a smile.
Although they were all lower-grade Alchemy Rooms, there were subtle differences, something Fang Yun had only learned later on.
Number One was the Lower-Grade Alchemy Room closest to the Earth Fire Vein.
This minor difference would help further stabilize the results of his Qi Nourishing Pill refining.
Now that he was at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, the improved quality of his Spiritual Power also helped stabilize the outcome of his pill refining.
He refined three batches of Qi Nourishing Pills in a single, continuous session.
There were no breaks in between to review his experience or rest and recover Spiritual Power.
At the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, his Spiritual Power was abundant. He could have refined another two batches of Qi Nourishing Pills without issue, though he would have been extremely exhausted afterward.
As it was, his condition was still quite good.
Breaking through from the early to the middle stage of the Qi Refining Realm also brought a certain boost to his stamina.
This boost in stamina was especially noticeable after a breakthrough in one's life essence. A major Realm breakthrough, where one's lifespan multiplied, was precisely such a breakthrough.
The results of this alchemy session.
Six Upper Grade Qi Nourishing Pills and nine Lower Grade Qi Nourishing Pills.
A perfect session!
After returning to his residence and eating three taels of cooked Purple Corn, Fang Yun still had some energy left.
He used his remaining energy to open the book, *Spirit Plant Compendium*.
Beneath the title, the words "Tier One, Lower Grade (Category)" were also written.
The *Spirit Plant Compendium* primarily introduced the characteristics of various cultivable Spirit Plants, as well as the most suitable methods for caring for them.
Fang Yun had realized that self-study suited him better, so he rarely attended the lectures.
At first, he worried that skipping the lectures would make people think he was too arrogant. But he later realized, with so many disciples attending the Spirit Plant Master's lectures, who would even notice he was gone?
'Don't think too highly of yourself.'
He had long ago returned *Introduction to Alchemy* to the Library Pavilion. Once he had completely finished and understood a book, it could no longer provide him with any Talent Points.
This was a result Fang Yun had already confirmed through experimentation.
He read through the *Spirit Plant Compendium* until his mind grew hazy, at which point he immediately went to bed.
This was a sign that his stamina had been pushed to its limit.
「It was the last day of March.」
Today was the day for Fang Yun to harvest his Purple Corn.
The small yellow basket he had obtained from Steward Song now came in handy.
The Purple Corn harvest went very quickly.
First acre, one hundred fourteen jin and seven taels.
Second acre, one hundred thirteen jin and five taels.
Third acre, one hundred sixteen jin and four taels.
Total: three hundred forty-four jin and six taels!
With his two-star Planting Talent, if he had been able to care for the Purple Corn once a day on average, each acre would have definitely yielded over one hundred twenty-five jin.
As things stood, Fang Yun was already very satisfied with this result.
「At the Spirit Field Institute.」
"Steward, Disciple Fang Yun is here to turn in a task."
The task was to plant three acres of Purple Corn and turn in three hundred jin of it after six months. The reward was twenty-one Lower Grade Spirit Stones and twenty-one Sect Contribution Points.
Thankfully, injecting Spiritual Power into his Storage Pouch had a weight-reducing effect. Otherwise, it would have been truly difficult to carry over three hundred jin of Purple Corn.
"Three hundred jin of Purple Corn. Very good. Give me your Token."
After the Steward performed a few actions, the number twenty-one appeared on Fang Yun's Token, representing his twenty-one Sect Contribution Points.
When the Steward handed the Token back, the number displayed on it vanished.
This was how Sect Contribution Points were recorded, a process that involved one of the sect's auxiliary Spiritual Artifacts.
"And here are the twenty-one Lower Grade Spirit Stones. Take them."
"Thank you, Steward." After retrieving his Token and placing the Spirit Stones in his Storage Pouch, Fang Yun asked, "Steward, are there any other planting tasks requested by the sect?"
'It's best to prioritize tasks assigned by the sect.'
"Not at the moment."
"Then I'll continue planting Purple Corn."
"How many acres will you take?"
Now that Fang Yun was at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, if he continued with the Purple Corn task, he would have to plant a minimum of four acres.
"Five acres," Fang Yun replied.
With his current abilities, taking care of five acres of Purple Corn would be easy.
The sect had set a minimum requirement for disciples like him who possessed Planting Talent. Since it wouldn't negatively impact him and would even earn him more Talent Points, he naturally wouldn't stick to the bare minimum of four acres.
Despite having Alchemy Talent, he was, after all, recruited into the Celestial Cloud Sect for his Planting Talent.
He wasn't an Inner Sect Disciple yet; he had to at least put on a decent show when it came to planting.
"Alright, I'll register it for you."
The new task: plant five acres of Purple Corn, turn in five hundred jin after six months, for a reward of thirty-five Lower Grade Spirit Stones and thirty-five Sect Contribution Points.
After accepting the task for the next six months, Fang Yun didn't go to the Alchemy Room on Dan Cloud Peak.
Midnight would be when this month's Talent Points were settled.
For him, the monthly talent settlement needed to happen in a quiet environment while he wasn't occupied with other tasks.
If the settlement occurred while he was in the middle of Alchemy, he would easily get distracted.
Back in his residence, Fang Yun began reading the *Spirit Plant Compendium* while waiting for the monthly settlement to arrive.
'It's almost time.'
Fang Yun closed his copy of the *Spirit Plant Compendium*, the Tier One, Lower Grade edition, and opened the light screen.
Half a breath later, the settlement results appeared.
——
Detailed Reading · Planting, Talent Points +37.
Refining Lower Grade Qi Nourishing Pills x143, Talent Points +143.
Refining Middle Grade Qi Nourishing Pills x16, Talent Points +24.
Refining Upper Grade Qi Nourishing Pills x96, Talent Points +192.
Harvesting Purple Corn x344 (jin), Talent Points +860.
Perfect Watering x18, Talent Points +54.
Perfect Pest Removal x17, Talent Points +51.
Perfect Weeding x2, Talent Points +6.
Standard Weeding x20, Talent Points +20.
Affiliated Faction: [Celestial Cloud Sect]
Sect Level: 3
Sect Position: Outer Sect Disciple +20%
Sect Influence: 2%
Regional Influence: [Not Unlocked]
Talent Point Bonus: 66%
Total Settlement: Talent Points +2303.
——
"So satisfying."
A smile spread across Fang Yun's face as he looked at the month's settlement.
This was the first time his Talent Point settlement had broken a thousand—in fact, it had broken two thousand.
The Talent Points he'd settled this month were enough for him to make twenty-three draws.
Fang Yun rubbed his hands together, ready to begin this month's talent draws.