Previously, staying in the inn made it inconvenient to explore the various wonders of the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell due to the presence of so many eyes and ears. Now that she had her own private courtyard with no one to disturb her, she could test it thoroughly.
Submerging her consciousness inside the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell, Shi Yu took a look. Half a month had passed since she last drew a drop of water from the Life Spring, and now another new drop had just formed, ready for use.
Inside the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell, there was only a patch of land roughly three feet in diameter. Its core consisted of two bowl-sized spring outlets—one black, one white.
Beside the Life Spring was a small plot of spiritual soil with a sparse few spiritual plants growing on it, all of which were still merely sprouts. The only mature Scarlet Glass Flower had already been used by Shi Yu previously to alter her appearance.
She closely observed the remaining spiritual plants. At first glance, each appeared utterly ordinary, resembling the most common and inconspicuous spiritual grass. Yet upon closer inspection, even with Shi Yu's knowledge, she could not identify their specific forms or tell what kind of spiritual plants they were.
Pondering for a moment, Shi Yu murmured, “Restraining their elegance, hiding their divine brilliance.”
These spiritual plants were certainly extraordinary. Protecting themselves in this manner before reaching maturity meant that one would likely only discover their true identities once they fully matured.
This patch of spiritual soil was small, and planting these few plants left no remaining space.
Shi Yu had originally wondered if she could transplant a few spiritual plants from the outside world inside to see if it would yield extraordinary effects. However, doing so now might interfere with the plants already growing there, so she had no choice but to drop the idea to avoid backfiring.
She then tried to see if she could store external items inside the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell. As the thought arose, with a shift of her divine sense, the pack at her side was stowed inside.
Placing food inside seemed to prevent it from spoiling, which was quite convenient.
As for living creatures, Shi Yu caught a rhinoceros beetle from the plum tree in the courtyard and tried to put it inside, but was unable to do so.
However, because her consciousness was connected to the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell, Shi Yu vaguely understood that once her realm reached a certain level in the future and she further refined the bell, she would be able to store living things.
Right now, she had not even drawn Qi into her body and possessed merely a mortal frame, so naturally she had no realm or cultivation to speak of.
Although the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell resided within her Purple Mansion and was bound to her soul, it had not been refined yet, making it difficult to unleash more of its functions at present.
Once her cultivation grew in the future and her refinement deepened, she would surely be able to discover more uses for the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell. The internal space could also expand further, at which point storing living creatures or planting spiritual herbs inside would no longer be a problem.
Unsurprisingly, the spring water available from the Life and Slaughter Springs would also increase. A single drop every half-month was truly far from enough.
Taking out the newly generated drop of Life Spring water, Shi Yu examined it carefully again.
The perfectly round drop of spring water was milky white, condensed without dispersing, resembling a pearl. A mist of the same color lingered around it, radiating a dense and vibrant vitality.
Following her previous method, she placed the drop into her gourd and filled it with water to dilute it. Shi Yu took a sip, feeling the familiar warm and gentle vitality spread into her flesh and meridians, slowly mending her damaged body.
She drank several sips in succession until her body was filled with vitality and could not digest any more for the moment, after which she stopped.
Properly repairing her body and promoting the growth of her spiritual meridians was the top priority. Aside from that, she could save a bit and test other effects of the Life Spring water.
After a moment's thought, Shi Yu went to a shop that sold food.
She was still dressed as a young man for her outing, wearing a green straight-cut robe with her hair styled in a male topknot. Although her facial features transformed by the Scarlet Glass Flower could only be described as delicate, she still exuded a refined and handsome air.
The shop bore a plaque reading “Spiritual Food Pavilion,” and the display cabinets inside were filled with a dazzling array of goods.
What was sold inside was no ordinary food, but spiritual rice, spiritual vegetables, spiritual tea, spiritual beast meat, and the like.
Cultivators with low cultivation could not yet abstain from grain and still required food to fill their bellies or needed to ingest Fasting Pills.
Consuming too much mortal food would inevitably accumulate impurities and filth, which was detrimental to cultivation. Fasting Pills were better than mortal food, satisfying hunger while leaving fewer impurities, but not everyone had the means to afford them regularly.
In fact, the best choice was these spiritual grains and vegetables.
Cultivation families and sects with deep foundations often maintained dedicated spiritual fields to grow spiritual grains and vegetables for their members and disciples to enjoy. Consuming these grains and vegetables not only avoided the accumulation of impurities, but also provided spiritual energy. Consuming them over the years benefited one's constitution and cultivation.
Therefore, even cultivators who had already abstained from grain would still enjoy delicacies made from spiritual grains and vegetables if they had the means.
Of course, with the prefix “Spiritual” attached to these grains and vegetables, the price was naturally steep. Ordinary cultivators might indulge in a meal occasionally as a reward, but they certainly could not afford to eat them daily.
Moreover, most spiritual beasts were dangerous and difficult to hunt. Not all spiritual beast meat was edible, often requiring special processing techniques before it could be consumed, which also made it quite expensive.
Furthermore, whether it was spiritual grain or spiritual beast meat, the effect of a meal or two was negligible. It had to be consumed over years to show results.
Thus, when Shi Yu arrived at the Spiritual Food Pavilion, there were only a few customers browsing inside. Judging by their attire and the aura they emitted, they were either family stewards purchasing supplies in the market town or cultivators with decent strength.
Inside the shop, seeing an unfamiliar young master enter, the manager stepped forward with a smile: “What would this young master like to buy?”
The manager was at the third layer of the Qi Refining Realm. Although he sensed no cultivation from Shi Yu, seeing her graceful posture and distinct air, he did not look down on her just because she lacked cultivation.
Shi Yu glanced inside and asked, “What spiritual grains does your shop have?”
Hearing her question, the manager led her toward the section where spiritual grains were displayed, explaining as they walked: “What luck, young master! A batch of fresh rice arrived just this morning. We have Tier-1 Pearl Rice and Tier-2 White Jade Rice. Which one are you interested in?”
Spiritual grains were also divided into tiers. The higher the tier, the stricter the planting requirements and the longer the maturation cycle. Naturally, the benefits to cultivation were also greater.
Shi Yu walked up to the jars of spiritual grains. Items containing spiritual energy always had to be held in vessels made of jade or precious wood, or sealed with restrictions on the containers to prevent the leakage of spiritual energy. The jars before her were made of unrefined jade, each containing only about three pounds of spiritual rice.
Shi Yu looked at the Tier-2 White Jade Rice.
Inside the jar, every grain of rice was as translucent as jade, slightly larger than mortal rice, plump, and round. It smelled fragrantly fresh and radiated spiritual energy; it was easy to imagine how delicious it would taste.
She remembered that during the three months after she was taken in as a disciple by Xuanqing Immortal Venerable, she had eaten Tier-5 Marrow Rice in the sect, which was a privilege reserved for core disciples.
“Are there no higher tiers?” she asked.
The manager chuckled. “Ah, we really don't have any. Across the thousands of miles around our Yuxu Sect, Tier-3 Heavenly Scent Rice is already a rarity. It's too difficult to cultivate. If someone had that kind of effort, why wouldn't they use it to grow spiritual herbs instead, don't you agree?”
This area was located in a remote part of the Origin Realm, so various resources could naturally not compare to the immortal sect where Xuanqing Immortal Venerable and Eldest Senior Sister Yan Xiao were located.
Shi Yu nodded, pointed to the Tier-2 White Jade Rice, and asked, “Does this jar contain three pounds? How much is it?”
“You have good eyes, young master. This jar happens to be exactly three pounds. One jar costs one hundred taels of silver, and you must bring your own container. If you want this jade jar, you'll need an additional ten taels of silver.”
Shi Yu clicked her tongue in surprise. One hundred taels of silver for three pounds of rice was equal to her monthly rent—certainly not something ordinary cultivators could afford to eat.
However, her trip here was not actually to buy rice.
Raising her eyelashes, she looked at the manager before her and asked with a beam, “Do you sell spiritual grain seeds?”
The manager froze for a moment, unable to refrain from asking, “Young master wants seeds... could it be that you plan to grow them yourself?”
Shi Yu neither confirmed nor denied it.
The manager chuckled and shook his head. “Growing spiritual grain is no easy feat. It takes time, effort, and meticulous care, and most importantly, it must be planted in spiritual fields...”
It wasn't as if rogue cultivators hadn't thought about growing spiritual grain to be self-sufficient, but it was usually a thankless task that wasted seeds and time for nothing.
However, in business, one should leave some things unsaid. Why reject business delivered to one's doorstep?
He said no more on the topic and simply stated, “Our shop doesn't normally sell spiritual grain seeds, but when the batch of fresh rice arrived this morning, an extra small casket of seeds was sent along with it. If you want them, young master, I can sell them to you.”
After all, leaving the seeds sitting there was a waste anyway.
The manager turned back to search around the counter, pulling out a small jade casket: “Here they are—one tael of White Jade Rice seeds, also priced at one hundred taels of silver. If you genuinely want them, I'll throw in this jade casket for free.”
Shi Yu took it, opened it for a look, and nodded in agreement. “I'll take them.”
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