This was a piece of white Spirit Grass, shaped like the leaf of a gourd.

The veins on the Spirit Grass were clearly visible.

At first glance, it looked nearly identical to the ’Moon White Ginger Flower,’ one of the ingredients for the Qi Gathering Pill. But on closer inspection, there were subtle differences. The edges of its leaf were slightly rounder than those of a ’Moon White Ginger Flower.’

Suppressing his elation, he quickly returned to the Earth Element Star and immediately used the All-Encompassing Search to look up information:

The first result was from the All-Encompassing Encyclopedia.

[Yingyue Flower]

[A Tier One High Grade Spirit Grass. It gets its name from its flower clusters, which turn to follow the moon. It is a perennial herb. Its appearance is extremely similar to the Moon White Ginger Flower. It is odorless, but after refining, it produces a sweet fragrance similar to osmanthus.]

[Properties: Having absorbed the essence of the moon, its medicinal properties are gentle. It is the primary ingredient for ’Concentration Incense.’]

[Due to the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall, the Star of the Moon was severely damaged. Fifty years after the calamity, the yield of Yingyue Flowers had dropped to less than a tenth of its original volume. By the Immortal Sect’s first centennial, it was on the brink of extinction. Later, through cultivation by the Immortal Sect’s Spirit Plant Masters, its production gradually recovered... but due to the lack of light from the Star of the Moon, the cultivated Yingyue Flowers possessed no medicinal properties whatsoever.]

The webpage was filled with links and related news articles.

Chen Che casually clicked on a recent interview:

"Recently, the renowned Level 4 Spiritual Plant Master and Nascent Soul Cultivator, Senior Dai Suwen, took time out of his busy schedule to grant our station an interview."

"In the interview, the Senior stated that in his efforts to revive the Yingyue Flower, he has led a team dedicated to the project for a total of two hundred and seven years."

"He mentioned a bold new idea: since the Yingyue Flower has lost its necessary growing environment, why not alter it to absorb sunlight instead? If successful, the Immortal Sect could revive the ’Concentration Incense’ Pill Formula, which would drastically increase the number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators!"

The rest of the article described the potential impact this method would have on the Immortal Sect if successful.

Chen Che scrolled straight to the comments section.

Sure enough, everyone was roasting him:

"Pah! I’ve heard him say that six times already!"

"Bullshit! If it doesn’t need moonlight and grows by relying on the sun, you still call that a Yingyue Flower? That’s a goddamn sunflower!"

"I agree with the user above. I think this old coot has been at it for two hundred years, just scamming the Immortal Sect for grant money!"

...

After that, Chen Che continued his search.

An hour later, after reading through article after article, his excitement had not subsided. In fact, it had only grown.

After the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall, although the Immortal Sect had implemented various solutions, the loss of certain legacies was unavoidable. ’Concentration Incense’ was one such casualty. The incense’s greatest effect was aiding in the condensation of one’s Divine Sense.

One must understand that developing Divine Sense is one of the three major hurdles a Cultivator faces on the path to Foundation Establishment.

However, awakening one’s Divine Sense is no easy task.

This is because Divine Sense is an extension of the five senses.

The traditional method for condensing Divine Sense is to treat the five senses like pig iron, tempering them through a thousand trials. Only after reaching a certain level of refinement can the five senses break free from their cocoon, like a butterfly emerging or a seed sprouting, to finally form Divine Sense. However, this method is extremely time-consuming and has a very low success rate.

Later on, the Immortal Sect discovered that the success rate for condensing Divine Sense increased dramatically when using ’Concentration Incense.’ So much so that in the fifty years following the ’Calamity of Heaven’s Fall,’ the various academies of the Immortal Sect saw a massive surge in the number of new Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Although the Immortal Sect found various substitutes, none were as effective as ’Concentration Incense’.

’What if I hand this over to the Immortal Sect and claim I’ve discovered a way to revive the Yingyue Flower!’

Chen Che toyed with the leaf in his hand as a wild thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

For him, it was a path to maximizing his own benefit:

If his claim was accepted, it would cause a massive sensation. He would surely be fast-tracked into one of the Four Top Daoist Schools, and the Nascent Soul powerhouses from each school would be fighting to take him as a Direct Disciple. He might even be listed as one of the ’Immortal Sect’s People of the Century.’

However, the thought was fleeting and he quickly dismissed it.

’The risk is too great. If I’m exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable! It could even reveal the existence of the ’Two Realms Seal’...’

It was like an ordinary person finding the Heirloom Seal of the Realm.

Even if you truly were ’Mandated by Heaven, blessed with longevity and prosperity,’ would the state acknowledge you?

"It’s better to play it safe!"

Chen Che couldn’t help but mutter.

He arrived at the Market again.

In just a few short days, the Market’s population had surged again, and many new faces could be seen.

CREAK~

A donkey cart creaked slowly forward, the crowd parting to let it pass.

Chen Che glanced up and saw several corpses being hauled in the cart.

"What a tragedy!"

"I know, right? These outsider Loose Cultivators are ruthless!"

"Big Hammer’s family... they were honest, decent folk who never bothered anyone. Wiped out, just like that!"

Chen Che frowned slightly.

The influx of Loose Cultivators had boosted business in the Market, but it also brought chaos. Even with Jinyun Valley presiding over the area, such incidents couldn’t be completely stopped. This was the fifth time something like this had happened this month.

’These Overseas Dragons truly have no scruples whatsoever!’

Sighing to himself, he pushed through the crowd and arrived at the Pill Shop.

It was a bit noisy inside the shop.

A man with a vertical scar over his right eye was arguing with Ding Fei, who was waving his hands, repeatedly refusing.

"I’m sorry, I really don’t have the authority!"

"Then get someone who does! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Our boss isn’t always here..."

"What’s going on here?"

Chen Che walked over, eyeing the unfamiliar Loose Cultivator with suspicion.

"It’s like this, Boss!"

Seeing Chen Che, Ding Fei hurried over and pointed at the man. "This Loose Cultivator says he has a treasure he wants to sell to our shop..."

The scar-faced man sized up Chen Che, a look of surprise in his eyes. "You’re the owner of this shop?"

"That’s right."

"Greetings, Owner. I’m from Chi State. My brothers and I came here seeking refuge."

The scar-faced man smiled and clasped his hands in a fist-and-palm salute. Chen Che glanced up and noticed two other men standing outside the shop. The man continued, "We’re new to this fine place and don’t know our way around. Out of necessity, I’ve had to make a decision that would dishonor my ancestors and sell off some family heirlooms."

"What sort of heirlooms?"

Chen Che noted the man’s common clothes; he didn’t look like someone from a wealthy background.

Still, since an offer had come to his doorstep, there was no harm in looking.

Seeing this, the man’s face lit up. He glanced around furtively.

Chen Che understood. He led the man and his companions to the backyard. Once he saw they were alone, the man took an object from within his robes and handed it over. Chen Che glanced at it and was immediately disappointed. It was a Secret Manual.

"This technique is called the ’Bright Moon Heart Nourishing Scripture.’ It’s a Cultivation Technique. If you’re interested, Owner, it’s yours for just fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

"That’s enough..."

Chen Che cut him off. "I’m not interested in Cultivation Techniques."

He truly looked down on the man.

The ’Energy-Introducing Technique’ he practiced had been created by two Divinity Transformation Ancestors and hundreds of Nascent Soul Cultivators.

He’d have to be insane to switch to a Cultivation Technique from this realm.

Seeing Chen Che’s attitude, the scar-faced man grew anxious. He said with a fawning smile, "Owner, don’t be so quick to refuse. There’s no harm in taking a look. If you’re not satisfied, we can talk again. As for the price... that’s negotiable..."

Chen Che frowned and flipped through it casually. He couldn’t help but laugh after reading just two pages.

Although this Cultivation Technique was far more complete than the likes of the ’Kaiyuan Scripture’ or the ’Earth Skill,’ he still wasn’t impressed.

He shook his head and handed the manual back.

"Owner, what’s this?" the man asked, stunned.

"My apologies."

Chen Che shook his head without another word. "Please leave."

"Owner!"

"Owner!"

The scar-faced man called out several times, but Chen Che ignored him. The man’s expression darkened, and his tone turned hostile.

"Owner, you think you can just look at our Secret Manual, say nothing, and send us away?"