On the desk lay a storage pouch and three jade slips neatly arranged.
Li Ye picked up the storage pouch and carefully inspected the various spirit stones inside once more.
After confirming the amount was correct, he let out a long sigh.
"Should I thank that cheap old man for being so thorough, or blame him for ruining my get-rich plan?"
According to Li Ye's original plan, even if the spiritual field only covered a few plots and selling it within the clan would likely be heavily underpriced,
he could still squeeze nearly a thousand spirit stones out of those relatives!
If he managed to pull it off, most of the limitations and worries he had would become irrelevant.
With that kind of capital and the aid of his system panel, he could quickly master at least one cultivation craft, giving him a steady source of income.
With that income, he could then feed it back into improving other skills and everything would become so much easier!
Even his combat strength would rise significantly as a result.
By then, he'd truly be free soaring like a bird under the vast sky, swimming like a fish in the open sea.
But no matter how he thought about it, he never expected things to turn out like this…
After all, his predecessor never once considered selling or profiting off any of the items left to him by his father.
It was only Li Ye, a modern man from Blue Star with more flexible moral boundaries, who would've even thought of it.
"A modern man's flexible ethics, defeated by the heartfelt bond between a father and son in the cultivation world… What can I do?"
Li Ye shook his head, "Guess I'll just have to accept the good intentions."
Still, with only these two hundred spirit stones now, he'd have to budget carefully and spend them wisely.
If he wanted to pursue either alchemy or artifact crafting, just the tools required for either would likely cost dozens if not close to a hundred spirit stones.
And that's not even counting the materials he'd burn through just trying to get started, especially since his experience points were still far from sufficient.
On top of that, considering his Blackwood Sword was more of a flashy prop with a scary name than a real weapon, he needed to set aside some funds to repair it and ensure he had actual combat strength.
Add in miscellaneous expenses, and realistically, the two hundred spirit stones would only allow him to pursue one of the two: alchemy or Artifact Crafting.
Talisman Crating, on the other hand, had always been known as the most accessible and least costly among the Four Great Crafts.
That would likely be reflected in the system as well requiring fewer experience points to level up.
So maybe, by focusing on talisman crafting, he could still afford to dabble in one of the other two crafts at the same time.
"No rush. I've only briefly inspected the three inheritances. I'll decide after studying them a bit more…"
Thinking this, he set aside fifty spirit stones into his regular storage pouch.
As for the remaining one hundred and fifty
Li Ye casually moved aside his bed, and with a slight lift of his hand, a seemingly seamless section of the floor revealed a hidden passage leading underground.
He stepped down carefully, arriving in a spacious and surprisingly tidy underground chamber.
The area was divided into several rooms of varying sizes and was well-ventilated and dry.
Most rooms were still empty, with only one small chamber containing a simple meditation cushion and some incense nothing else.
This underground space had been slowly dug out by Li Ye himself during his free time since his transmigration, built for privacy and safety.
Up to now, he'd used it solely as a secluded place for sitting in meditation and cultivating.
Later, once he began learning cultivation arts, he planned to furnish it further with specialized rooms and tools.
After hiding the 150 spirit stones in a secure spot, Li Ye returned to the surface and sat back at his desk.
He looked at the three jade slips, a flame of anticipation flickering in his eyes.
"Back then, the original owner gave up just from learning a bit about herbs… but I've survived the legendary college entrance exam, you know? This is just memorization it's not gonna stop me!"
Without hesitation, Li Ye reached for the jade slip containing the fragmented Tier-One Alchemy inheritance.
....
The Next Day
"Eh?"
"Junior Brother, you don't look so good your eyes are all dark and sunken!"
Zhang Liangfu immediately noticed the weariness still lingering on Li Ye's face and asked out of habit.
Then, as if something suddenly clicked in his mind, he grinned teasingly.
"Junior Brother, I know you haven't left the sect much lately, but you really shouldn't overindulge like that. Gotta take care of your body, you know?"
Faced with his sleazy grin, Li Ye's expression didn't even twitch.
"Senior Brother, you've got it all wrong. I just made a bit of progress yesterday and got so absorbed that I lost track of time…"
Though, to be fair, he had been tempted for a moment.
But with barely a few spirit stones in his pocket on his first trip out, going to a brothel to listen to music would've probably gotten him thrown out on the spot.
Later, he did get two hundred spirit stones from his Third Uncle.
But carrying that much money and three valuable technique inheritances? He didn't have the time or the mindset for those kinds of distractions.
As for the dark circles under his eyes…
Li Ye could only admit he had severely underestimated how deep and complex the path of alchemy was!
After spending almost an entire day studying with the system panel assisting him his progress wasn't much better than his predecessor's.
[Alchemy: Not Yet Initiated (5/2000)]
Five points!
If he only earned five points a day, that meant it'd take him over 600 days of non-stop study just to reach entry-level!
And yesterday, he'd gone straight home from the market after meeting Third Uncle and immediately started researching.
On top of that, he still had spirit fields to tend to, regular cultivation, and spell practice...
And right now, he was only at the stage of memorizing basic medicinal knowledge. After rote memorization came the real challenge: understanding medicinal theory, combining ingredients, and deciphering pill recipes.
Once he started trying to make pills, progress might even slow down further.
Who knew how long it would take before he could successfully refine his first low-grade pill and truly be considered initiated in alchemy?
"With the system panel, I can steadily improve through self-study, but it's just too much of a drain on both time and resources…"
"I might as well just spend experience points to directly level up my skills!"
Li Ye thought to himself.
"Guess I've figured out where I stand when it comes to talent in alchemy. I'll spend the next couple of days checking out the artifact crafting inheritance instead…"
He pulled himself out of his thoughts and casually dealt with a few nosy spirit farmers who'd been drawn in by Zhang Liangfu's remarks. Then he rolled up his sleeves and got ready to head down to the fields.
Harvest time was drawing near. The spirit rice seedlings had already grown over two meters tall, with plump grains slowly shifting from pale green to a rich emerald hue.
A fragrant scent began to fill the air across the spiritual fields.
Even Xiao Qiang, who had been overseeing things on behalf of their master, had recently inspected the fields and praised the crop growth across the board.
"Hey! Not so fast, Junior Brother…"
After everyone had dispersed, Hu Zhiquan suddenly appeared, slinging an arm around Li Ye's shoulders.
He moved quickly.
With a swift glance around to make sure no one was watching, he slipped a small booklet into Li Ye's robes its cover illustrated with what looked like a portrait of a person.
Hu Zhiquan gave Li Ye a meaningful look.
"That kind of thing may be enjoyable at the moment, but without moderation, it'll only harm your cultivation in the long run…"
"I don't have much to offer, but I'll gift this technique to you. Consider it a token of thanks for all the help you've given me these past days."
"Hey! Senior Brother Hu"
Li Ye tried to stop him, but before he could say anything, he instinctively pulled out the booklet from his robes and glanced at the cover only to freeze in place, stunned.