Lin Xiaofei looked at the herbs planted inside the space bead. In addition to a large patch of common herbs, there were also more than ten low-grade spiritual herbs.

Previously, he had consumed low-grade spiritual herbs to accelerate his cultivation, and he discovered that the heat emitted by the low-grade spiritual herbs he had swallowed was different from that of ordinary herbs.

The effect of consuming a low-grade spiritual herb is a hundred times that of ordinary herbs.

"There is only a little over an acre of black soil inside the space bead, so the number of herbs that can be planted is ultimately limited. I estimate that this black soil can accommodate at most a little over 100,000 herbs."

As my cultivation level increases, I will need to consume more herbs. Relying solely on ordinary herbs to accelerate my cultivation will not be enough. It seems I will need to collect low-grade spiritual herbs.

Looking at the few low-level spiritual herbs inside the spatial bead, Lin Xiaofei thought to himself.

He knew that if the space bead contained low-grade spiritual herbs, and these herbs were used to accelerate cultivation, the effect would be far greater than consuming ordinary herbs.

The next morning, Lin Xiaofei, with a storage bag hanging from his waist, headed towards the only place in Canyon County where the loose cultivators sold items—the black market.

He had spent a whole day in the black market before, where he saw some independent cultivators selling low-level spiritual herbs.

"Um!"

As Lin Xiaofei entered a bamboo forest in the black market, he stopped as soon as he stepped onto the bluestone path, glanced around, and smiled slightly.

Unexpectedly, upon arriving at the black market street, I saw more than a hundred people setting up stalls. Apart from more than fifty top-tier martial artists, the rest were all cultivators.

Among them, three or four cultivators each had several spiritual herbs placed in front of them.

He secretly calculated in his mind that even if he collected all the low-level spiritual herbs from those cultivators, there would only be ten in total.

At this moment, an elderly cultivator with a ruddy complexion and long black and white hair, who was sitting cross-legged on the bluestone pavement, saw Lin Xiaofei stop in front of him. After hesitating slightly, he said:

Young man, what do you want to buy?

I have three items here: a Flame Blade, a Black Iron Shield, and three Plum Blossom Grasses, all of which are of high quality.

These Flame Blade and Black Iron Shield are both mid-grade magic weapons, perfect for a young cultivator like you. And this Plum Blossom Grass can quickly heal the damage left by spells.

"Crouch down and take a closer look,"

"Okay, I'll take a look first."

Lin Xiaofei smiled, said softly, and squatted down.

The other party assumed that Lin Xiaofei was a cultivator at the early stage of the sixth level of Qi Refining, so they introduced him to a mid-grade magic weapon. In fact, Lin Xiaofei was wearing a Qi-locking robe, which only revealed his cultivation level at the early stage of the sixth level of Qi Refining.

"Stadium owner, how much are these three plum blossom grass stalks?"

Lin Xiaofei picked up the Flame Blade and the Black Iron Shield and examined them. They were indeed decent mid-grade magic weapons. However, he already had top-grade and high-grade magic weapons, so he naturally didn't need them. He then pointed to the three plum-red grasses and said...

"These three plum blossom grass plants were brought back from the mountains yesterday. They are very fresh, and their medicinal effects will not be lost within seven days."

Buying one Plum Blossom Grass costs twelve low-grade spirit stones, two costs twenty-two low-grade spirit stones, and if you want all three, it will cost you thirty low-grade spirit stones.

"Young man, how many plants would you like?"

The stall owner hesitated for a moment before speaking directly.

"These are thirty low-grade spirit stones."

Lin Xiaofei took out spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them over. Then he picked up three low-grade spirit herbs. Just as he stood up to leave, the old man spoke again:

"Young man, wait a minute."

"Is there anything else?" Lin Xiaofei asked.

"I saw that you took the three plum blossom grasses without any hesitation. Do you still want to collect more plum blossom grasses?"

The stall owner quickly replied.

"How did you know I was going to collect plum blossom grass?" Lin Xiaofei asked, half-jokingly.

“A young cultivator like you, if injured by magic, can usually be cured by taking a single Plum Blossom Grass.”

However, you took three without hesitation. I suspect that one of your elders suffered severe magical damage, which is why they need more Plum Blossom Grass.

The stall owner smiled slightly, as if he thought he had guessed correctly, and said.

How many of these low-grade spiritual herbs do you have left?

Lin Xiaofei smiled, ignoring the stall owner's guess, and asked directly.

"Seven plants!" the stall owner said.

Soon, the two bargained for a while, and Lin Xiaofei finally bought all the remaining low-grade spirit herbs at a price of nine low-grade spirit stones per herb.

"Shopkeeper, besides this plum-red grass, do you have any other spiritual herbs on you?"

Lin Xiaofei was overjoyed and casually asked a question.

He hadn't expected to collect ten low-grade spiritual herbs so quickly. If he were to search for low-grade spiritual herbs deep in the mountains, it would take at least seven or eight days to find them.

"I have no more spiritual herbs left."

The old man said something, paused, and then continued:

However, the fellow cultivators I know each have two or three low-grade spiritual herbs on them, totaling eleven spiritual herbs. If you were to collect all of their spiritual herbs...

"I can make the decision for them. I'll sell it to you for nine low-grade spirit stones per plant, how about that?"

"Then thank you very much, senior."

Lin Xiaofei smiled and thanked him.

"Okay, you wait here and watch the stall for me while I go get you the spirit herbs."

As he spoke, the old stall owner stood up and walked toward the other three stall owners who were selling low-grade spiritual herbs not far away.

After a short while, the stall owner and his three fellow Daoists negotiated and then returned.

"A good harvest, a total of twenty-one spiritual herbs were collected."

After wandering around the black market, Lin Xiaofei walked out of the black market with a happy expression and planted all the low-level spiritual herbs he had collected in his spatial bead.

Seeing that the space bead had suddenly gained twenty-one low-level spiritual herbs, he felt very pleased.

Once these low-grade spiritual herbs mature and produce seeds, he will definitely plant them all in the space bead. He will then use the spiritual herbs to accelerate his cultivation, which will greatly increase his strength. This gave him a glimmer of hope.

After leaving the black market and turning into three or four alleys, Lin Xiaofei suddenly sensed someone following him not far behind. He quickly turned around and saw a figure walking towards him.

"It was him?"

Lin Xiaofei's pupils contracted as he recognized the figure's face.

More than two months ago, in the back mountain of Red Tea Manor, this figure fought a great battle with Elder Jianghe. This person was Zhou Qing, who was at the early stage of the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Why was he following me?

Lin Xiaofei muttered something to himself, then used his Illusionary Eye Technique to take a look and found that Zhou Qing's aura was noticeably weaker than it had been two months ago.

He immediately understood that Zhou Qing must have been seriously injured in the last battle and had not yet recovered.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Xiaofei thought to himself:

Last time, although I didn't directly help Old Jiang deal with him, in terms of our actions, Zhou Qing and I were already enemies.

"Is this guy trying to attack me?"