Starting from the scattered cultivator family, daily intelligence

Chapter 111, Earth-Ringing Pill, the Salary System of Aristocratic Families
"What do you think of Yun Sheng? Is this place in Taiya Mountain, where yin energy gathers and poison accumulates, feasible?"

In the early morning, before the rising sun had evaporated the dew clinging to the weeds in the mountains, a shady, poorly ventilated, and perpetually sunless valley in Taiya Mountain was discovered.

Mu Kehua threw a burning torch into the mountain hollow. There was no sound or anything unusual; the torch went out instantly.

In this seemingly ordinary, unremarkable mountain hollow, a highly poisonous miasma is lurking.

Mu Yunsheng channeled his true energy throughout his body and walked into the mountain hollow. He stretched out his hand to feel it carefully, and a chilling aura spread from his hand to every inch of his flesh and blood.

This wasn't the cold of a drop in temperature or the dead of winter, but rather a chilling, malevolent aura that seemed to emanate from the very marrow of one's bones.

"Sure, but Uncle, isn't this place where yin energy gathers and poison accumulates used as a corpse-raising ground for someone?"

Mu Yunsheng nodded and looked at the barren, sunken area in the center of the mountain, where several pieces of dark red coffins were scattered in the withered yellow sand.

"No, this is the coffin of a wealthy ordinary family at the foot of Taiya Mountain. They believed the words of a wandering Taoist priest and buried their immortal here to ensure their wealth and prosperity."

"As a result, a Yin Corpse was bred, which harmed many ordinary people in Taiya Mountain. It was later destroyed by the cultivators of Qingmu Temple, who ordered that no ordinary people around Taiya Mountain be allowed to go to Taiya Mountain again."

Mu Kehua replied, glancing at the black coffins scattered in the mountain hollow, and then spoke to Mu Yunsheng.

“This happened more than 30 years ago, before you were even born. After the order to seal off Taiya Mountain was given, the cultivators of Qingmu Temple never came to Taiya Mountain, which was just a mortal place, again.”

"Heavenly Dragon." After hearing the rest of Mu Kehua's words, Mu Yunsheng felt relieved. As long as this place wasn't some cultivator's corpse-raising ground, it was fine. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned the Heavenly Dragon from his sleeve.

"Shh~ shh~" The red-headed, black-backed, yellow-legged insect body of the Heavenly Dragon crawled on Mu Yunsheng's right hand, and then burrowed into a Gu dish that he took out.

"Tianlong, you can undergo your transformation inside now," Mu Yunsheng said with a smile, taking out a mid-grade first-tier spiritual material, the Heavenly Centipede Fruit, and a mid-grade first-tier spiritual material, the Black Heart Grass.

In addition, the spiritual materials needed for making spiritual dishes purchased in the past few days, including the first-grade mid-level spiritual material Earth Wind Root, were placed in the bone dish.

"Out!" Then Mu Yunsheng circulated his true essence and sent out a drop of his own blood essence into the mouth of the Heavenly Dragon.

"Whoosh~ Whoosh~" The Heavenly Dragon consumed Mu Yun Sheng's essence and blood. Its red-headed, black-backed, and yellow-legged insect body became restless in the Gu dish, but it still controlled itself and did not crawl out of the Gu dish.

"Tianlong, calm down," Mu Yunsheng said to the restless Tianlong, then sealed the Gu vessel and buried it in the central area of ​​the mountain hollow where Yin and Poison gather.

What follows is a 49-day wait, during which the dragon is fed with its essence and blood every day. During this time, the dragon will be fed the Heavenly Centipede Fruit in the Gu Vessel, which will activate the bloodline of the centipede-like venomous insects.

Then, absorbing the spiritual essence of Blackheart Grass and Earth Wind Root, and exhaling the yin poisonous energy in the mountain hollow, it became a first-tier mid-grade poisonous insect, Poison Sand Flying Centipede.

Throughout this journey, Mu Yun Sheng continuously nourished the dragon with his own blood essence and strengthened his connection with it to prevent the dragon from transforming into a Poisonous Sand Flying Centipede, which would then devour its master after its bloodline had changed.

"Grand Uncle, Yun Sheng has finished her work. Let's go." Mu Yun Sheng said as she walked to Mu Ke Hua's side after finishing everything.

"Yes, your second uncle and the others should already be leading the mortal members of our Mu family and the mortal members of the Yun family to begin repairing our Mu family's sacred land of Mangshan."

Mu Kehua nodded and looked back towards the direction of Mangshan Spiritual Land. A smile appeared on his aged face, and he and Mu Yunsheng quickly returned to Mangshan Spiritual Land.

"One bowl of meat porridge, one steamed bun, and one egg per person. No more than that."

At this moment, the foot of Mangshan Spiritual Land was indeed unusually noisy, with ordinary members of the Mu family or ordinary people from surrounding towns coming to help the Mu family repair Mangshan Spiritual Land.

At first glance, there were no fewer than three hundred people. At the foot of Mangshan, a sacred place, a long queue had formed. Five large pots were simmering meat porridge, emitting a rich and fragrant aroma. The porridge was so thick that chopsticks could stand upright in it.

There was also a long cutting board on the side, with flatbreads the size of palm leaves and cooked chickens stacked on it.

This is the daily breakfast standard that Mu Yunsheng and Mu Yunying agreed upon yesterday after Mu Yunying returned to the Mangshan Spiritual Land, for the mortals who were repairing the Mangshan Spiritual Land.

"What do you mean, one chicken per person? If outsiders knew, they would think that the Mu family of Caoyang couldn't afford chicken."

"Three pieces per person, meat porridge and steamed buns are unlimited, take as much as you can eat."

Wearing a golden brocade robe, Mu Yunying inspected the various arrangements and preparations for the restoration of the sacred site at the foot of the mountain, and spoke loudly with laughter.

The Mu family's accumulated worldly wealth was more than enough to feed the mortals repairing the sacred land of Mangshan. The golden silk brocade robe he wore was enough to sustain the mortals' food needs for several days of repairing the sacred land of Mangshan.

"Elder brother." Mu Yunsheng and Mu Kehua also returned to join the repair work on Mangshan Spiritual Land.

In the days that followed, the two large merchant ships of the Mu family traveled daily between Liujia Wharf and the Mu family's territory in Caoyang, bringing a large amount of supplies for repairing the sacred land of Mangshan, as well as ordinary members of the Mu family.

Meanwhile, the mortal towns around Mangshan Spiritual Land, which the Mu family has already taken over, are also sending a large number of people, supplies, and various kinds of food to repair Mangshan Spiritual Land every day.

The abandoned and ruined pavilions and courtyards where the Yun family members and cultivators lived on Mangshan Spiritual Land were quickly demolished, and new pavilions and courtyards rose up.

The damaged or engraved bluestone roads, pavilions and terraces were all removed and new bluestone roads and pavilions were paved in their place.

Even the official roads leading to all directions at the foot of Mangshan Lingdi Mountain have been repaired and maintained.

In early July, the various repairs to the Mangshan Spiritual Land were still in full swing, and at the same time, news of the Mu family's acquisition of the Mangshan Spiritual Land spread among the cultivators of Qianyuan Prefecture.

“Young Yun Sheng, a first-grade low-level spiritual land in Qian Yuan Prefecture, a third-rate cultivator force, only pays our seven families five hundred low-grade spirit stones every year…”

In the sacred land of Mangshan, in the council hall of the Mu family, which had only recently been renovated.

Liu Jiangyue sat high in the main seat of the hall and said, word by word, that the Mu family should pay the Lingdan Liu family the amount of salary they would have to pay each year.

In the main hall, Mu Yunsheng, Mu Kehua, Shui Lin'er and other cultivators from the Mu family were all present, except for Mu Qinghu, who had returned to the Chensha Gang a few days earlier.

"However, the Mu family of Caoyang, young friend Mu, is only a low-level cultivator force in Qianyuan Prefecture, and there are no late-stage Qi Refining cultivators in the family."

"Therefore, the patriarch of the Liu family of Lingdan, and all the elders, considering the hardships of Yun Sheng and your Caoyang Mu family, have exempted you from this year's salary."

"And your annual salary will be reduced to three hundred low-grade spirit stones, until five years later, when it will be restored to five hundred low-grade spirit stones per year."

"Young Yun Sheng, is there anything you don't understand and want to ask?"

Liu Jiangyue said, taking a sip of the tea he was holding, and smiled as he looked at Mu Yunsheng, Mu Kehua, and Mu Huilan, who were sitting on the side seats in the hall.

"Reporting to Steward Liu, Yun Sheng and the elders of my Mu family have no questions. We are grateful for the care of the Shangjia Lingdan Liu family and are willing to follow their arrangements."

Mu Yunsheng glanced at Mu Kehua and the others, then bowed respectfully to Liu Jiangyue with his hands clasped in front of him.

A salary of 500 low-grade spirit stones per year is not easy to come by for a first-grade low-grade spirit land; it is not a small amount.

On the sacred land of Mangshan, the five low-grade first-level spiritual fields that the Yun family had previously cultivated only produced about five hundred low-grade spirit stones per year at most.

This also requires the spirit rice plants grown in the spirit field to be well cared for, so that there is no damage.

However, this was the salary payment rule set by the seven families, and the various cultivators and forces in Qian Yuan Prefecture had no power to resist it, unless they wanted to become low-level rogue cultivators who had their entire families wiped out and had no spiritual land to assist their cultivation. "The good thing is that the Liu family of Lingdan has exempted us from this year's salary payment, and for the next five years, we will only need to pay 300 low-grade spirit stones per year."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't know where to look. This would require a salary of five hundred low-grade spirit stones to the Liu family of Lingdan."

Mu Yunsheng sighed inwardly and muttered to himself that although he could now be considered a first-level low-grade spiritual chef, the special nature of spiritual food and its essence being difficult to preserve, as well as the limitations on the conditions for selling it, made him hesitant.

Earning five hundred low-grade spirit stones is no easy feat, as it also includes the cost of preparing spirit food.

"Okay." Liu Jiangyue nodded with a smile, as if he could also see the dilemma in Mu Yunsheng's heart, and then said.

"This annual stipend of three hundred low-grade spirit stones does not mean that your Caoyang Mu family will have to pay the Lingdan Liu family three hundred low-grade spirit stones every year from now on."

"Instead, three hundred low-grade spirit stones, or three hundred low-grade spirit stone resources would also be acceptable, or you could work for my Lingdan Liu family, planting spirit rice, tending the medicinal fields, feeding spirit beasts and other mundane tasks."

"To offset the annual salary that I give to the Liu family for the elixir."

"May I ask Steward Liu, where do I collect the salary I receive from the Liu family of the Upper Spirit Pill Sect, which is equivalent to my Mu family's annual salary?"

Upon hearing Liu Jiangyue's words, Mu Kehua and Mu Mengshu's aged eyes lit up, and they hurriedly bowed to Liu Jiangyue excitedly, asking questions.

Even Mu Huilan, who was standing to the side, showed interest. She was thinking about whether she could go to work for the Liu family of Lingdan after she had finished cultivating the Ling Silk making skills in the Cen family.

This will reduce the annual stipend for pastors.

"When my Liu family needs this spiritual pill, we will issue decrees to your subordinate cultivator forces."

Liu Jiangyue spoke to Mu Kehua and the others with a smile, his tone calm. Then he looked at Mu Yunsheng, his tone becoming much warmer, and continued with a smile.

“Yun Sheng, don’t think that paying salaries to the Liu family of Lingdan will bring you no benefits.”

"After paying salaries to my Lingdan Liu family, it means that your Caoyang Mu family is a cultivator force under my Lingdan Liu family. From now on, all cultivator forces in Qianyuan Prefecture will absolutely not dare to openly make a move against your Mu family's Mangshan spiritual land."

"That's only one point. The second point is that the annual salary paid by your respective cultivation forces is recorded by my Lingdan Liu family and serves as a contribution point for your respective cultivation forces."

"Once you reach a certain grade, Class B, your Mu family can purchase some special elixirs from our Lingdan Liu family, which are not sold to the public in the Qihefang Market."

"The Earth-Ringing Pill can help cultivators at the third level of Qi Refining break through the bottleneck of the mid-stage Qi Refining stage."

At this point, Liu Jiangyue paused briefly, looked back at Mu Huilan, Mu Mengshu, and Ke Hua, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Earth-Ringing Pill!" A hint of surprise appeared in Mu Yunsheng's eyes, and the expressions on the faces of Mu Kehua and Shui Lin'er beside him also changed.

The Earth-Ringing Pill is a special elixir that is known to most low-level cultivators and independent cultivators in Qian Yuan Prefecture.

A cultivator's progress is not always guaranteed. During cultivation, one will encounter various bottlenecks and obstacles, and no matter how much one cultivates and refines spiritual energy, one's cultivation level will remain stagnant.

The bottlenecks and obstacles encountered in cultivation vary depending on the individual's natural talent and spiritual roots.

Some cultivators with poor natural talent and low spiritual roots may encounter a bottleneck in their cultivation after reaching the first level of Qi Refining. No matter how they cultivate, their cultivation will not make any progress.

Some cultivators with poor natural talent but good spiritual roots may only reach the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining, or even become Foundation Establishment cultivators.

You won't encounter any so-called obstacles to spiritual practice, and you won't know what obstacles to spiritual practice are.
Take Mu Yunsheng, for example. He has never encountered any obstacles in his cultivation journey. He cultivates every day and his cultivation level increases. The reason he is only at the third level of Qi Refining is simply because the Mu family could not afford to support his cultivation in the past.

However, no matter how different the obstacles encountered by cultivators are, most Qi Refining stage cultivators in the cultivation world will encounter obstacles when they reach the third, sixth, or ninth level of Qi Refining.

Everyone encounters a bottleneck in their cultivation, which is also the most difficult to overcome. Many Qi Refining stage cultivators spend decades, or even their entire lives, without being able to break through it.

The three major barriers to Qi Refining stage cultivators are said to open up a whole new world once one breaks through them.

Cultivators are people who seize the heavens, and in order to break through these three heavenly barriers, they have researched many mysterious methods and secret techniques.

The Earth-Ringing Pill is one such example, which can help early-stage Qi Refining cultivators break through cultivation bottlenecks and become mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

Mu Kehua and Mu Mengshu broke through to the fourth level of Qi Refining by consuming the Earth-Ringing Pill. There are many other Qi Refining fourth-level rogue cultivators and low-level cultivators in Qianyuan Prefecture.

To break through the final level of cultivation in this body and become a Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator.

Although the Liu family of Lingdan is no longer present, the pill shops in Qihefang City still sell Diming Pills to the public, but some Diming Pills are also being sold outside the market. It is unknown whether they were secretly taken out by the Liu family of Lingdan.

The price they sell for is not cheap.

Mu Yunsheng then heard Shui Lin'er say that the Peach Blossom Fairy had prepared a dowry for Shui Lin'er, using all her life savings, and that was a Earth-Ringing Pill.

"Manager Liu, our Mu family of Caoyang pays the Liu family, the superior elixir supplier, a salary. Once the salary reaches Grade B, how many low-grade spirit stones are needed to purchase one Earth-Ringing Pill?"

With an excited expression on his aged face, Mu Kehua asked Liu Jiangyue if he and Mu Mengshu, although already Qi Refining Level 4 cultivators, no longer needed to take the Earth-Ringing Pill.

However, future cultivators of the Mu family will need it. Not to mention Mu Huilan's cultivation aptitude, she will need the help of the Earth-Ringing Pill to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining and become a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

"Thirty low-grade spirit stones," Liu Jiangyue replied with a smile, taking another sip of tea. The tea he held in his hand resembled that of an old man who had seen a fish take the bait.

"Thank you for informing me, Steward Liu." Mu Kehua bowed in reply, and Mu Mengshu's aged face twitched. He remembered when he and Mu Mengshu bought the Earth-Ringing Pill and broke through to become Qi Refining Level 4 cultivators.

One person spent fifty low-grade spirit stones, and the other spent sixty low-grade spirit stones, which can be said to have swept away all the savings that the two of them had worked hard for their entire lives.

However, not buying was not an option. At that time, the Mu family of Caoyang needed a cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining to be in charge. Lower-level cultivators also had their own circles. Only after becoming a cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining could they have a voice.

Otherwise, the Mu family of Caoyang would be torn apart and devoured by those jackals among the lower-level cultivators.

"Besides the Earth-Ringing Pill, subordinate cultivators with a second-class salary can also purchase Azure Cloud Spirit Rice and first-grade low-level spiritual herbs from my Spirit Pill Liu family to enhance their cultivation techniques."

"Those with a Class C salary can purchase intermediate-level magical cultivation techniques or profound cultivation techniques from my Lingdan Liu family."

"For a second-class salary, you can even ask the alchemists of the Liu family of spirit pills to help you contact spirit pill masters, spirit plant masters to cultivate spirit fields, and spirit array masters to set up magic arrays."

"Those with a first-class salary can be arranged to enter my Lingdan Liu family to cultivate alchemy skills, or other cultivation arts."

Liu Jiangyue continued with a laugh.

With each word spoken, the expressions in Mu Kehua and Mu Mengshu's aged eyes brightened, their hearts pounding with excitement, and they no longer felt that paying a salary to the Lingdan Liu family every year was a bad thing.

If the Mu family weren't truly short of spirit stones, they might already be eagerly handing over their stipend spirit stones to Liu Jiangyue.

Raise the rank of the herdsmen's salary.

(End of this chapter)