Chapter 196: Chapter 196

"Ning-jie, look, I just bought these spirit fruits from the foot of the mountain. They're said to be really good for beginners..."

"Ning... Ning-jie, this is new fabric from the cloth shop below. I noticed you've been so busy cultivating lately that you haven't gone out much..."

"Oh, Ning-jie, I heard there'll be a market at the mountain's base soon with lots of interesting trinkets. Would you like to go?"

Early in the morning, the small house halfway up the mountain was already filled with the chattering voices of Chen Ping and another. As Chen Ping had mentioned earlier, among their group, only An Ning was assigned as an outer sect disciple while the rest became servants upon entering the mountain.

Unlike An Ning who only needed to read and cultivate daily, servant disciples had low status and endured hard labor, often facing scolding from supervisors for minor mistakes. Perhaps recognizing their differing statuses or seeking comfort in unfamiliar surroundings, aside from the frequently attentive Chen Ping, Zhang Baozhu also began visiting more often.

They usually just shared gossip or helped clean the house.

Closing the bamboo scroll in her hands, An Ning finally looked up. She instinctively touched the spirit stones she'd saved over the past months in her pocket, only to find it still depressingly empty. This pocket was truly flat.

As an outer sect disciple, An Ning now received a monthly allowance - though meager, just two low-grade spirit stones and a small bag of spiritual rice. The dozen or so stones in her pocket represented months of careful saving.

The only thing An Ning possessed was the marrow-cleansing pill given to all outer sect disciples upon entry. As for quality? Mediocre at best - not even mid-grade by her limited pill knowledge. Fortunately, system analysis showed minimal residual pill toxicity.

Given these circumstances, An Ning wasn't picky. As for her space or system store? Until safety was certain, better not use them.

"Ning-jie, do you want to buy something?" After spending time together, Zhang Baozhu had come to understand An Ning's personality. Someone so dedicated to cultivation must have specific needs for venturing out.

"Right, Ning-mei, our procurement team goes down the mountain regularly. Just tell us what you need!" Seeing it wasn't anything major, An Ning nodded frankly:

"I want to find some spiritual herb seeds to try growing. Selling the harvest could help save some spirit stones."

Seeds... Chen Ping fell silent at this, having no knowledge about medicinal seeds.

"But Ning-mei, I heard growing spiritual herbs requires cultivation level too. You... you're not..." At least early Qi Refining stage!

An Ning nodded slightly. While this body's constitution had its drawbacks, it was indeed remarkable. A pure yin body combined with sufficiently pure spiritual roots meant cultivation speed remained fast despite having triple spiritual roots.

Add An Ning's accumulated experience from multiple lifetimes, and in less than a year she'd reached Qi Refining third layer - much faster than the original owner. She estimated crossing into mid Qi Refining within half a year.

"So impressive..." Zhang Baozhu couldn't hide her envy. After all these months, she hadn't even touched the threshold of Qi Refining! Just one additional spiritual root made such a huge difference?

Chen Ping looked equally dejected. Comparing people really could kill with frustration! But at least... at least he'd latched onto this thick thigh. Thinking this, Chen Ping couldn't help showing a smug expression.

The monthly market day at the mountain's base bustled with activity. Not just outer sect disciples but even some inner sect elites came out to join the excitement.

Walking through, An Ning's group frequently passed clusters of graceful, robe-fluttering sect members. The cultivation world truly didn't lack beauty - aside from genetically unfortunate cases, An Ning barely saw any ugly faces. Even street vendors looked exceptionally clear-featured.

Despite the variety of tools and spiritual items, An Ning didn't browse aimlessly but headed straight for the herb seed stall. After bargaining, she spent five precious low-grade spirit stones on twenty-some Spirit Nurturing Grass seeds plus some small pots.

No choice - her current dwelling was just a simple hut without even a proper yard. Spirit Nurturing Grass, as the name suggested, was a main ingredient for Spirit Nurturing Pills. With her current spiritual power, pill refining was still difficult, but successfully growing these valuable herbs could earn some coins... Enough to maybe buy a shabby little pill cauldron before Foundation Establishment.

That evening, carefully channeling wood-element spiritual energy into the seeds, An Ning watched as sprouts emerged with tender green buds. Of twenty seeds, only twelve survived - most failures due to initial imperfect energy control. Still, An Ning sighed in relief, touching her empty pocket. Good, nearly half her savings hadn't gone to waste.

In her consciousness sea, the system twitched its nonexistent lips. Was its host's current life too pitiful?

Ignoring the system's nagging - obviously! This was the cultivation world! Without strength yet still not laying low? Asking to be eaten?

Thus began An Ning's quiet life of tending plants, cultivating, and earning spirit stones. Years passed in the blink of an eye.

The Xuqing Sect had few affairs requiring newly entered outer sect disciples with minimal combat ability - perfect for a natural homebody like An Ning. Focusing solely on cultivation meant not only rapid progress but also reading through most jade slips in her space.

Medicine and cultivation shared origins - her past medical knowledge provided unexpected help across worlds.

Until one day in the earth fire room... Carefully controlling the underground flames beneath the pill cauldron, An Ning processed and added herbs in sequence... The earth fire room stayed oppressively hot year-round. Soon, sweat beaded on An Ning's forehead.

Hours later, catching the familiar medicinal fragrance, An Ning slowly withdrew her energy. Spiritual light? Pill patterns? Sorry, none existed - far beyond her current level!

Yet this was enough to delight An Ning. This wasn't her first time here. Before true Foundation Establishment or even Core Formation, her mid Qi Refining spiritual power couldn't sustain refining a full cauldron of pills alone - hence borrowing the earth fire's strength.

And this opportunity came only after bribing the supervisor with spirit stones. Another failure would have wiped out years of herb-selling savings.

Carefully storing the cauldron and restoring everything, An Ning prepared to leave. Outside, Chen Ping had been waiting as usual. Seeing her unusually pleased expression, Chen Ping froze momentarily before his face exploded with joy.

"No way... you... you actually succeeded?"

Perhaps from shock, Chen Ping's lips trembled. Seeing her nod, he immediately took out all his saved spirit stones upon reaching safety, gritting his teeth: "Ning-mei, see if this is enough!"

Over the years, through selling herbs and occasional rewards for clever service, Chen Ping had accumulated savings. Forty-plus low-grade and three mid-grade spirit stones - offered without hesitation.

These were pills! Normally unavailable to servant disciples and even outer sect disciples like An Ning unless completing missions for exchange points. Buying from pill shops? Forget quality - the prices were prohibitive.

Five years later, while An Ning approached late Qi Refining's threshold, Chen Ping - with his inferior five-element roots of uneven purity - still hadn't touched mid-stage, remaining at Qi Refining third layer.

But what excited Chen Ping wasn't just the pills - but An Ning herself. Some Qi Refining cultivators could refine pills, but those were proper inner sect elites with family knowledge or master guidance. Yet here was someone achieving it alone through sheer effort!

Heaven! This thigh was worth clinging to! Chen Ping now regretted not being obsequious enough earlier.

Especially when An Ning produced six plump, glossy pills... "These... these are mid-grade Spirit Nurturing Pills!" Chen Ping's eyes nearly popped out. Lowly as he was, he had some discernment.

Though An Ning considered these barely mid-low grade - not something she'd use much. But seeing his reaction, she didn't spoil the mood. Even mid-low grade could help diligent Chen Ping reach mid-stage within half a year.

Sure enough, Chen Ping immediately pounded his chest: "Ning-mei, just tell me whatever you need from now on!" Then he cautiously checked her expression. If earlier was mere flattery, now his gaze held genuine awe: "Ning-mei, if you don't want to reveal the pills' origin, leave it to me! No one will know."

How refreshing to deal with smart people! An Ning smiled: "For Spirit Nurturing Pills, I have enough materials. Next I want to try Marrow-Cleansing Pills."

Marrow-Cleansing Pills! Chen Ping's eyes shone brighter. Without asking about success chances, he vowed: "Leave the materials to me!"

Only after Chen Ping disappeared did the system emerge, watching his nearly skipping figure with rare hesitation: "Host, is letting him know so much wise? He's clearly self-interested. What if he leaks information for benefits?"

An Ning stretched lazily: "Precisely because he's shrewd and ambitious, he'll keep silent and work harder, no?" In this cultivation world, servant disciples - especially weak ones - lived like weeds. Without breaking through to Foundation Establishment by forty or fifty, their lifespans equaled mortals'. For Chen Ping, her pills represented his last chance. Given this path, who'd choose death when survival was possible?

"On the contrary, without tangible benefits, he'd truly become dangerous to me!" After bathing, An Ning cast a spell, instantly tidying the room and drying her hair. Feeling spiritual energy cleanse her meridians brought indescribable comfort as she lay down contentedly. The cultivation world had its perks despite dangers.

The system nodded vaguely - that sounded logical. With initial success, things progressed smoothly. Breaking through to late Qi Refining improved An Ning's flame control dramatically. Within months, high-grade Spirit Nurturing Pills became achievable.

Witnessing this "miracle," Chen Ping redoubled his efforts, soon gathering most materials she needed. Counting her small treasury, even An Ning marveled - finished pills indeed surpassed herbs in value. One high-grade Spirit Nurturing Pill fetched three mid-grade spirit stones - equal to mid-grade Marrow-Cleansing Pills.

Now her newly acquired qiankun bag peacefully held over a hundred mid-grade stones plus countless low-grade ones. In under a year, her savings multiplied severalfold, recouping all initial losses with the first successful pill batch. Given her current success rate, profits were astronomical - and this was just Qi Refining, with many pills still beyond reach.

Sipping premium spirit tea "respectfully offered" by Chen Ping, An Ning enjoyed fresh spirit fruits at her small table, with Zhang Baozhu delivering daily meals. Even the system was stunned by her rapid lifestyle upgrade.

"Ah, if only the original owner hadn't been so unlucky, host, our lives would be perfect!" But no use dwelling on what-ifs.

After revising the pill formula all night, exceptionally refreshing fragrance eventually wafted from the violet-gold cauldron. Examining the pills carefully, An Ning finally asked: "System, what about that matter I asked you to check?"

"Ah... host, you're really doing this? Isn't it... too dangerous?"