Verdant Pill Palace ranked second among the major immortal sects, and their techniques of Pill refining was unparalleled throughout the cultivation world. The chance of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill was highest at Verdant Pill Palace, making their required spiritual items even more sought-after than those of the top-ranked Ancient Sword Sect. Leo was only missing a few types of spiritual herbs to complete his collection, but after scouring almost every street and alley in Moonwatch Immortal City, he hadn't found anyone selling the ones he needed.

  Therefore, Leo quickly decided to aim for the Palace of the Heavenly Apex. Time was precious, and he couldn't afford to delay. He still had quite a few spiritual herbs required by Verdant Pill Palace, so he simply set up a stall and started selling them. Although his prices were high, the cultivators rushing to buy practically overcrowded the neighboring stalls.

  In a very short time, Leo had acquired all the spiritual herbs needed for the Palace of the Heavenly Apex task from cultivators who had flocked to his stall. He also obtained over a dozen Ice Silkworm eggs.

  To get their hands on the Verdant Pill Palace task items, the loose cultivators present almost descended into a state of frenzy. Some offered precious spiritual ores, others proposed trading third-grade spirit beast eggs.

  A few cultivators even tried to trade Foundation Establishment stage cultivation techniques. However, these weren't what Leo wanted. Foundation Establishment seemed distant and unattainable to most loose cultivators, and such techniques were rare. But once he entered the Palace of the Heavenly Apex, obtaining a Foundation Establishment technique wouldn't be difficult. He also didn't want to waste too much energy on beast taming. Capitalizing on the current scarcity of these herbs, Leo simply let the loose cultivators bid against each other and bought them directly with spirit stones.

  The crowd of cultivators coming to bid practically flooded the entire street, causing the city guards no small amount of tension.

  "Senior Brother Sam, this kid is utterly unreasonable! He's openly selling off our Verdant Pill Palace's task items while buying up those for the Palace of the Heavenly Apex. Our Verdant Pill Palace is at least the second-greatest sect in the Moonwatch cultivation world. Is he saying that a backwater sect like the Palace of the Heavenly Apex is better, that our sect isn't worth joining?" In a tavern overlooking the street, a young, hot-headed youth among a group of yellow-robed cultivators slammed the table. "I say we go down there and teach him a lesson!"

  "Junior Brother Jim, calm down. This is Moonwatch Immortal City. Every faction has an office here, not our Verdant Pill Palace's inner sect. Trading spiritual items is permitted. Do you want to start a dispute between our Verdant Pill Palace and the Loose Cultivator Alliance by causing trouble in the city? And let the other sects laugh at us?" The elder Foundation Establishment cultivator beside him scolded.

  "Yes, Senior Brother Sam." The youth named Jim, duly reprimanded, sat back down resentfully.

  "Indeed, young friend, your Verdant Pill Palace is vast and renowned, its fame widespread. Our Palace of the Heavenly Apex naturally cannot compare. But if someone prefers to join our sect, is that any of your business?"

  At that moment, three cultivators carrying weapons ascended the stairs. The leader, adorned with a golden crown and silver robes, a jeweled belt around his waist, cut an exceptionally flamboyant figure. He subtly mocked the youth named Jim. The scattered customers in the tavern quickly moved aside; they, as mere loose cultivators, dared not provoke disciples with sect backgrounds. Whether from Verdant Pill Palace or the Palace of the Heavenly Apex, even a single hair from them was thicker than a loose cultivator's thigh. Moreover, the people quarreling were Foundation Establishment seniors, rarely seen by the likes of them.

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  "Hmph, I might have known it was you, Houth. Healed so quickly and forgotten the pain? Forgotten being knocked off the arena stage by our Verdant Pill Palace's Senior Sister Linn at the last sect competition?" The youth named Jim retorted sarcastically.

  "You... Very well. At the next sect competition, you'd better hope our paths don't cross." The golden-crowned youth, his sore spot touched, his smile frozen, said menacingly.

  "Our Verdant Pill Palace has many disciples. Any senior brother or sister could deal with you then. You might not even last a few rounds." The youth named Jim sneered.

  "Uncle-Master Houth, should we still sit down?" The Qi Refining attendant beside him asked cautiously.

  "Sit? What for? Can't you see there are flies buzzing around here?" The golden-crowned youth snapped, then turned and left.

  At this moment, Leo was completely unaware that his necessary actions had sparked a dispute between two Foundation Establishment cultivators. He packed away the large amount of spirit stones and insect eggs he had acquired through trade. After selling the last of the Verdant Pill Palace herbs, the boundary space was piled with over five thousand low-grade spirit stones, and even five rare mid-grade spirit stones. Compared to most cultivators who had to sell everything they owned to gather the items for their sect tasks, Leo was now, without a doubt, exorbitantly wealthy.

  Returning to his small courtyard, Leo couldn't stop grinning. Not only had he collected all the spiritual herbs needed for Essence Energy Pills, but through his trades, he had also obtained the recipes for first, second, and third-grade Beast Spirit Pills, along with a large number of spiritual herb seeds. Even after entering the Palace of the Heavenly Apex, right up until the Foundation Establishment stage, he wouldn't have to worry about pills anymore.

  Leo briefly considered cultivating a batch of herbs within the boundary space to sell, potentially earning even more spirit stones. But the thought was dismissed as quickly as it arose. His actions at the market that day had already drawn considerable attention. If he started bulk selling sect-required spiritual herbs, he would soon be targeted by those with ulterior motives. At his current mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation, possessing tens of thousands of spirit stones might even attract the interest of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

  The only thing he truly lacked was a suitable spirit artifact. With his increased cultivation, his previous short sword was no longer adequate. But after joining a sect, there would surely be better options; there was no rush.

  The major immortal sects had two days for disciple recruitment. Arriving early offered no advantage. He decided to first take care of the spiritual herb seeds and spirit stones within the boundary space.

  "The Purple Spirit Grass has grown this much?"

  His spiritual sense entering the boundary space, Leo smiled wryly at the Purple Spirit Grass, which had spread into a small, light purple patch, several hundred plants in total. During his adventures in the mountains, he had consumed Qi Gathering Pills daily. The excess spiritual energy his meridians couldn't contain had all entered the boundary. Because he had prepared a large supply of pills and time was precious, needing to constantly tackle threats from demon beasts and other cultivators, he hadn't entered the boundary to absorb this drifting spiritual energy.

  Now, the spiritual energy within the boundary was extremely dense, several times richer than even in the Moonwatch Mountain Range. Just one breath made him feel refreshed and clear-minded. This was despite most of the energy still floating in the air. Only a small portion drifted down to nourish the herbs. Otherwise, even more Purple Spirit Grass would have grown.

  Purple Spirit Grass no longer held value for cultivation. Leo uprooted it all and stopped planting it. He had already obtained the recipe for "Qi Condensation Pills," used in the middle stage of Qi Refining. Using his now plentiful spirit stones over the past two days, he had acquired the necessary herbs and some seeds.

  Besides Purple Spirit Grass, the boundary now contained over a hundred types of spiritual herbs. The most flourishing among them was naturally the transplanted Scarlet-Ice Mulberry Tree. It had grown to nearly two meters tall, its crimson leaves thriving. Due to its height, the tree could more easily absorb the drifting spiritual energy. Judging by its size, it was about twenty years old.

  Taking advantage of the free time, Leo organized the spiritual herbs in the boundary. He set aside some seeds he wouldn't need immediately, storing them in jade boxes. He also removed any excess or unwanted herbs. After working for a while, the herbs within the boundary formed several distinct, separated garden plots. Beneath the towering Scarlet-Ice Mulberry Tree, the herbs in the plots thrived, filling Leo with a sense of accomplishment. These herbs were enough for him to refine pills for a very long time. In another area, a large pile of spirit stones, over eight small stacks in total, were neatly sorted by element and set apart.