Here's Another One to Replenish You

Spiritual herbs will come, Dao herbs will come, everything will come. – Chen Xia.

The price of fifty spirit stones for two catties of top-grade spiritual herbs was indeed too tempting to refuse, so much so that even a Sea Inversing Realm cultivator wondered if this was some kind of scam—hand over the spirit stones upfront, only to be betrayed later.

But then again, what’s the big deal about fifty spirit stones? Even if it’s a loss, it’s just fifty spirit stones. It’s no more painful than losing them outright.

So he stopped hesitating, took out fifty spirit stones from his storage treasure, and handed them to Chen Xia, waiting for him to accept.

Chen Xia lightly tapped his finger, and a few mysterious patterns appeared on the cultivator’s chest. At the same time, he instructed the cultivator,

“This is the symbol of your status as a distinguished guest of the Heaven Pill Gate. From now on, you can use this mark to purchase pills on the fourth day of every month.”

The Sea Inversing Realm cultivator nodded, somewhat understanding but not entirely. He glanced down at the patterns on his chest and, upon closer inspection, realized they were actually three characters. He muttered in confusion,

“V…I…P?”

He shook his head, unable to make sense of it, but decided not to dwell on it. Instead, he pointed at the pile of top-grade spiritual herbs on the ground and asked with a flattering smile, “Can I take them now?”

“Yes, go ahead and choose,” Chen Xia replied, accepting the spirit stones. He could already feel the faint connection established between the Heaven Pill Gate and this Sea Inversing Realm cultivator, a small foothold in the immortal realm.

But this tiny foothold was far from enough for the Heaven Pill Gate to firmly root itself in the immortal realm. It was merely a beginning.

The Sea Inversing Realm cultivator excitedly picked out the herbs, but he didn’t dare take too much. Although it was supposed to be two catties, he only took a little over one catty.

He wanted to leave a good impression on Chen Xia, not wanting the senior to think of him as greedy.

Chen Xia nodded in approval. This young man knew his limits, even when picking through what seemed like scraps. He didn’t take too many herbs.

After taking the herbs, the cultivator felt both excited and uneasy. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had gotten an incredible deal—fifty spirit stones for so many herbs. Was his luck too good?

As the old saying goes, a cultivator’s luck is finite. Whoever uses it up first is the first to go.

So, before leaving, the Sea Inversing Realm cultivator kowtowed to Chen Xia, pouring out heartfelt words of gratitude before slowly taking his leave.

His heart was pounding, his excitement reaching its peak. With these herbs, he was certain he could break through to the next realm, maybe even take a crucial step further and enter the Heaven Mending stage!

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He engraved the name of the Heaven Pill Gate deeply in his heart, a memory he would never forget.

Chen Xia weighed the fifty spirit stones in his hand, a faint smile on his lips. With this first deal done, the Heaven Pill Gate had taken its first step toward stability. His identity as the Heaven Pill Ancestor was now solidified. All that was left was to wait for more customers.

He returned to the sect, planning to craft a three-tiered alchemy furnace. The first tier would refine spiritual herbs from residual materials, the second tier would refine Dao herbs from leftover ingredients, and the third tier would produce grand pills.

With these three tiers, he could cater to different groups, expanding his audience and spreading the reputation of the Heaven Pill Gate even faster.

The second customer didn’t take long to arrive. Three days later, a cultivator came prepared with three hundred thousand spirit stones to purchase one catty of Dao herbs.

The visitor was a dignified and solemn old man, his hands tucked into his sleeves. He spoke to Chen Xia in a serious tone,

“A disciple of mine recently came here and exchanged fifty spirit stones for two… two catties of spiritual herbs. He also mentioned that you sell one catty of Dao herbs for three hundred thousand spirit stones. Is this true?”

The old man clearly wasn’t used to measuring pills by the catty, so his words carried a hint of awkwardness.

“That’s correct, but you’ll need to pay fifty spirit stones first to become a distinguished guest before you can purchase the herbs,” Chen Xia replied with a nod.

“Very well,” the old man said without hesitation, handing over the fifty spirit stones. After registering with Chen Xia, he waved his hand, and three hundred thousand spirit stones materialized before them.

“Shall we proceed with the transaction?”

His eyes were half-doubtful as he looked at Chen Xia. Spending three hundred thousand spirit stones on one catty of Dao herbs seemed utterly absurd.

Even the cheapest low-grade Dao herbs would cost far more than three hundred thousand spirit stones just for the ingredients, not to mention the labor and effort required to refine them.

Without hesitation, Chen Xia casually tossed an ordinary pouch to the old man and added,

“Here’s a bit of extra herbs. I’ll throw in an extra half catty. It’s somewhat nutritious, but not too much. At your age, you should take care of yourself and eat more.”

The old man frowned, opening the pouch with a mix of skepticism and curiosity. The moment he did, he froze in place.

A rich, intoxicating aroma of pills filled his nostrils, and dazzling, multicolored lights shone from within the pouch, a clear indication of the preciousness of its contents.

Suddenly, he pointed at the pouch and stammered, “Th-this… there’s a top-grade Dao herb in here?”

The old man looked at Chen Xia with unease, not because he feared Chen Xia might charge him more, but because he was afraid Chen Xia might take back the top-grade Dao herb.

This was a top-grade Dao herb, an extremely rare treasure that even peak Heaven Mending cultivators would fight over. If he could obtain one, whether for his own breakthrough, to gift to someone, or to trade for other valuable items, it would be an incredible boon.

The old man’s heart was in his throat, hoping Chen Xia would sell him this top-grade Dao herb. He was even willing to pay an extra hundred thousand spirit stones if necessary.

Sweat dripped down his face as he anxiously awaited Chen Xia’s response.

Chen Xia waved his hand dismissively and said, “Look at you, so weak you’re sweating in this cold weather. Here, take another one. At your age, you should treat yourself better and nourish yourself more.”

Chen Xia pulled out another top-grade Dao herb and casually tossed it into the old man’s pouch, his demeanor calm and composed, embodying the virtues of respecting the elderly and caring for the young.

The old man was stunned. After a moment, tears streamed down his aged face. In his nearly twenty thousand years of cultivation, no one had ever treated him so kindly.

Dad… no, this is my real father!