Several days had passed since the hunt inside the Cloud Mist Forest.
Yet the disturbance caused by the mature Clear Spring Grass had still not settled completely.
Rumors spread throughout Cloud Mist Market continuously.
Some claimed a Rank-2 spirit herb had appeared.
Others insisted it was a soul-type medicinal plant over sixty years old.
There were even rumors that several cultivators had already died fighting over it deeper within the forest.
Naturally—
Many people started investigating.
Numerous rogue cultivators and black market informants quietly searched for traces of whoever obtained the spirit herb.
After all—
Spirit medicines of that level rarely appeared within the outer region.
Anyone capable of obtaining such treasure was either extremely lucky…
Or extremely dangerous.
Unfortunately for them—
Zhao Feng had already sold everything through his own hidden channels before the rumors fully exploded.
Inside Lin Sheng's room, the five newly advanced Innate martial artists gathered quietly around a table.
Several storage pouches rested on the wooden surface.
Zhao Feng opened one calmly.
A dense spiritual fluctuation spread outward instantly.
Low grade spirit stones.
A large amount.
"The black python corpse sold for seven hundred and fifty."
"The metal attribute tiger corpse sold for five hundred."
"The remaining low-grade yao beast corpses totaled another five hundred."
He then paused slightly before tapping the final pouch.
"As for the nearly fifty-year Clear Spring Grass…"
"Three thousand seven hundred low grade spirit stones."
Even though everyone already expected a large amount—
Hearing the final number still made their expressions change slightly.
Zhao Feng leaned back slightly.
"Total profit."
"Five thousand four hundred and fifty low grade spirit stones."
Even for Innate martial artists—
That amount of wealth was enormous.
Especially for people who had only recently entered the cultivation world properly.
Zhao Feng then casually picked up one pouch.
"Lou Han will take—"
"Share it equally."
The interruption came suddenly.
Everyone turned toward Lin Sheng.
Even Zhao Feng looked confused.
After all—
The two strongest beasts had both been killed primarily by Lin Sheng.
Especially the black python.
Without Lin Sheng's overwhelming combat strength, the group might have suffered casualties already.
By contribution standards—
Lin Sheng should receive the largest portion.
But Lin Sheng merely spoke calmly.
"Just share it equally."
The room fell briefly silent.
Lin Xiaolu glanced at him quietly.
Lou Han frowned slightly.
Even Lin Shou looked somewhat surprised.
Zhao Feng stared at Lin Sheng for several moments before suddenly grinning.
"Fine."
"If you're willing, I definitely won't complain."
Without wasting more time, Zhao Feng quickly divided the spirit stones evenly.
Each person received a storage pouch containing their share.
Slightly over one thousand low grade spirit stones each.
This was the first time several of them had ever possessed such wealth personally.
After the distribution ended, the others gradually left the room.
Before Zhao Feng could leave—
Lin Sheng suddenly spoke.
"What about the pills?"
Zhao Feng paused briefly before smiling mysteriously.
"Don't worry."
"I already have arrangements."
Then he waved casually before leaving the room.
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly.
The more he interacted with Zhao Feng—
The more suspicious the fellow became.
Connections.
Resources.
Information.
Hidden channels.
Special artifacts.
Even knowledge regarding yao beast tides.
No matter how Lin Sheng analyzed it—
Zhao Feng definitely did not possess an ordinary background.
Still—
Since the other party showed no hostility, Lin Sheng currently had no intention of probing deeper.
After activating the room's isolation formation fully, Lin Sheng sat quietly inside.
The formation patterns glowed faintly across the walls.
Immediately—
His spiritual senses became completely isolated from the outside world.
Only then did Lin Sheng wave his hand.
A dark furnace artifact appeared heavily before him.
Dong!
The furnace landed firmly onto the ground.
Beside it appeared numerous medicinal ingredients.
Among them—
Crimson Blood Ginseng.
Several auxiliary herbs.
And a container filled with fresh black python blood.
Lin Sheng's gaze sharpened slightly.
Today—
He planned to refine the Golden Grain Pill again.
Previously, he had already experimented several times using the chip's guidance.
The results were acceptable.
But the mental strain remained enormous.
Especially because martial artists lacked proper spiritual sense manipulation methods like immortal cultivators.
Everything depended entirely on precision control and mental strength.
Still—
After repeated optimization, Lin Sheng had already refined the process considerably.
Sitting cross-legged before the furnace—
Lin Sheng slowly extended one finger.
A strand of pale white flame appeared above his fingertip.
The flame looked weak initially.
But the moment true qi poured into it—
Whoosh!
The flame instantly expanded beneath the furnace.
The surrounding temperature rose rapidly.
This was Lin Sheng's self-created Innate Flame.
Although far inferior to true fires used by Foundation Establishment cultivators—
It was still sufficient for low-level alchemy.
Inside his consciousness, the chip interface flickered continuously.
•[Temperature Stabilized]•
•[Material Fusion Sequence Prepared]•
•[Beginning Alchemy Assistance]•
Lin Sheng slowly inhaled.
Then—
The first ingredient entered the furnace.
Shing!
The Crimson Blood Ginseng floated inward first.
Immediately afterward—
Several supplementary herbs followed.
Inside the furnace, the ingredients rapidly melted under the intense heat.
The medicinal essences gradually fused together.
At the same time—
Lin Sheng poured in several strands of black python blood carefully.
Boom!
The blood reacted violently the moment it entered.
A powerful medicinal fragrance spread outward instantly.
Inside the furnace—
The various medicinal essences began rotating continuously.
Slowly forming rough pill embryos.
Lin Sheng's expression remained calm throughout.
His mental energy spread carefully into the furnace interior.
Every movement became crystal clear within his perception.
The medicinal impurities.
The conflicting energies.
The unstable fusion points.
Everything was analyzed rapidly by the chip.
•[Identifying Impurity Nodes...]•
•[Correction Path Generated]•
At the critical moment—
Lin Sheng suddenly increased the furnace temperature.
Whoosh!
The Innate Flame intensified instantly.
The medicinal liquid inside the furnace compressed rapidly.
The rough pill shapes gradually became rounder.
Denser.
More stable.
Then—
The chip identified the final impurities precisely.
Lin Sheng's eyes sharpened.
Using mental force carefully—
He extracted several tiny strands of black residue from the forming pills before complete solidification occurred.
Puchi!
Small wisps of black smoke rose from the furnace interior.
Moments later—
The medicinal fragrance suddenly intensified dramatically.
Success.
Lin Sheng slowly lowered the furnace temperature.
Then opened the lid carefully.
Creak—
Inside the furnace rested twelve medicinal pills quietly.
Each pill emitted faint golden luster.
However—
The quality differences were obvious.
Three pills possessed dull coloration.
Common quality.
Six pills emitted stable medicinal aura.
Fine quality.
And finally—
Three pills glowed with rich spiritual light.
Premium quality.
Lin Sheng exhaled slowly.
Not perfect.
But already extremely impressive.
Among ranked medicinal pills, quality divisions were extremely strict.
Inferior.
Common.
Fine.
Premium.
Perfect.
The higher the quality—
The fewer impurities remained inside the pill.
Premium pills especially were already considered highly sought after even among immortal cultivators.
Lin Sheng frowned slightly.
"I still need better impurity extraction control…"
The common-grade pills clearly formed because several impurities remained during final condensation.
His technique still lacked enough refinement.
Still—
For a martial artist performing alchemy without proper immortal cultivation spiritual sense methods—
This achievement was already terrifying.
After resting briefly, Lin Sheng continued refining additional batches.
Hours passed quietly.
The room temperature continuously fluctuated.
Whoosh!
Boom!
Puchi!
Various sounds echoed repeatedly from the furnace.
Several times, unstable pill embryos nearly exploded completely.
Fortunately—
The chip's calculations continuously corrected the process.
Finally—
Six hours later—
Lin Sheng stopped completely.
Sweat covered his forehead.
His mental exhaustion had reached its limit.
Continuing further would become dangerous.
Pill explosions were not uncommon during alchemy.
Especially for inexperienced alchemists.
If unprepared—
Even a low-grade furnace explosion could severely injure someone.
Lin Sheng slowly calmed his breathing before examining the results.
Several pill containers rested neatly before him.
Six containers filled with Golden Grain Pills.
Nine pills per container.
A total of fifty-four pills.
Besides them—
Four additional containers rested nearby.
Inside were True Qi Condensation Pills.
These pills were specifically useful for Innate martial artists.
Especially those within the Innate Inner Strength Realm.
Currently—
The Innate Realm divisions among martial artists roughly corresponded directly to immortal cultivator Qi Refinement stages.
Innate Inner Energy Realm—
Equivalent to Qi Refinement Early Stage.
One to three opened acupoints.
Innate Inner Strength Realm—
Equivalent to Qi Refinement Mid Stage.
Four to six opened acupoints.
Innate Outer Strength Realm—
Equivalent to Qi Refinement Late Stage.
Seven to nine opened acupoints.
Once martial artists reached Innate Inner Strength—
They could officially apply for promotion into the Core Courtyard.
And Core Courtyard disciples received significantly increased resource allocations.
Including—
Three True Qi Condensation Pills every month.
Each pill could increase true qi reserves by roughly one to three mouthfuls depending on compatibility and refinement quality.
Lin Sheng looked quietly at the pills before him.
His gaze gradually deepened.
With these resources—
His cultivation speed would rise tremendously again.