Cultivation Starts from Farming

"Finally, here is this top-grade magical artifact -- the Heavenly Gold Ring!" With a flick of his Divine Sense, Xu Ping took out a golden ring and examined it closely in his hand.

He wasn't impressed by the ring's offensive power, but its defensive power was quite commendable.

At least it could withstand the attacks of a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator without issue.

His offensive power and escape techniques were already strong enough, but his defensive power was lacking a bit, and this Heavenly Gold Ring perfectly compensated for that shortcoming.

After fiddling with it for a while, Xu Ping stored it back into his Storage Ring.

Then he turned his gaze towards Bai Kun's corpse, and an idea suddenly popped into his mind: "Perhaps I can use Bai Kun to ransack the entire Celestial Water Island."

Not to mention the Spirit Stones, just the Spirit Medicine and Spirit Plants on the island would be worth quite a few Spirit Stones.

Moreover, currently, there was no one on Celestial Water Island who could see through his disguise.

As for why he suddenly wanted to harvest everything?

As the sole master of Celestial Water Island, Bai Kun had no need to explain to some servants.

...

...

Half an hour later.

A short-range Sound Transmission Talisman flew out from Bai Kun's room.

Only half a quarter of an hour passed before a young and beautiful female cultivator rushed over, respectfully inquiring, "Island Master, for what reason did you summon me?"

"You have half a day to gather all the Spirit Stones, Spirit Medicine, and Spirit Plants on the island for me!" 'Bai Kun' commanded coldly.

"Ah?"

The young and beautiful female cultivator was taken aback, about to ask why, but upon seeing the cold gleam in the Island Master's eyes, she swallowed any words she had.

"Yes, Island Master, I'll attend to it immediately!" The young and beautiful female cultivator bowed respectfully before hurrying out.

...

This female cultivator was quite efficient.

In less than half a day, she had gathered all the Spirit Stones, Spirit Medicine, and Spirit Plants on the island, filling up seven Storage Bags.

"Island Master, here are all the Spirit Stones, Spirit Medicines, and Spirit Plants from the island!" the female cultivator reported respectfully.

"Hmm!"

'Bai Kun' nodded, using his mana to levitate the seven Storage Bags before him, then probing them with his Divine Sense.

There weren't many Spirit Stones, only a few thousand.

But there was a large amount of Spirit Medicine and Spirit Plants; even with a rough estimate, they could sell for at least ten thousand Spirit Stones.

Xu Ping was overjoyed in his heart, but his face remained expressionless, his demeanor still cold: "You may leave."

"Yes!" The female cultivator bowed respectfully again and shut the door as she left.

Now, only Xu Ping remained in the room.

Seeing the Storage Bags floating before him, he finally couldn't suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth: "This time, it's quite a haul!"

Altogether, the items added up to at least thirty to forty thousand Spirit Stones, far more lucrative than robbing a single Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

It was definitely a case of striking it rich!

"Could this be the correct way to use the Thousand Illusion Mask?" Xu Ping couldn't help but wonder.

"Perhaps in the future, if I run out of Spirit Stones, being a thief with the Thousand Illusion Mask wouldn't be a bad idea!" he thought with a smile.

In the future, if he found anyone displeasing, he'd simply use the Thousand Illusion Mask to sneak into their residence and clean them out of everything.

Then, leave a note saying 'So-and-so was here,' guaranteed to make them furious.

After securing all the Storage Bags, Xu Ping gradually calmed his excitement, as he hadn't forgotten he still needed to purchase supplies on Dragon Lion Island.

"It's time to go!"

Without any hesitation, Xu Ping quietly left Celestial Water Island.

Given his cultivation level and his control of the array's Token, no one noticed that their 'Island Master' had already left.

...

...

Dragon Lion Island, Dragon Lion Marketplace.

The island's appearance was reminiscent of a dragon and lion, hence its name.

On the island, there was a Second-stage Spirit Vein that was later occupied by the Shuize Sect and turned into a marketplace. Surrounding the marketplace, there were terraced fields filled with Spirit Rice.

Xu Ping changed his appearance and traveled for more than ten days riding his Escape Light, finally arriving at Dragon Lion Island.

There were no flying bans over the island, so he flew over the uneven terraced fields, approaching the marketplace entrance.

Xu Ping didn't hide his Foundation Establishment aura and, under the envious eyes of everyone, swaggered into the marketplace via a special passageway.

After all, even in the resource-rich Wanzhe Waters, Foundation Establishment cultivators were considered the upper echelon.

"Greetings to this Foundation Establishment Senior, is this your first time visiting the marketplace?"

At the entrance of the marketplace, a Qi Cultivator at the eighth level, dressed in Shuize Sect robes, asked respectfully, "Would you like this junior to arrange a guide for you?"

"Yes, arrange one for me." Xu Ping agreed.

This was the difference in treatment brought by strength; if he were merely a Qi Cultivator, even the disciples of the Golden Core Sect wouldn't spare him a glance.

His visit to this marketplace wasn't only to purchase some daily necessities; he also needed to buy materials for crafting arrays and magical artifacts and to see if there were any Second-stage Upper Grade Spirit Woods for sale. Meanwhile, he would also sell off the Spirit Plants and Spirit Medicines he had looted from Celestial Water Island.

He had many things to buy and sell, but since the marketplace was shrouded by an array, extending his Divine Sense was not feasible. Not wanting to waste more time, he had to find a guide familiar with the marketplace.

"You, guide this Foundation Establishment Senior, and look after him well!"

The Shuize Sect cultivator assigned a Qi Cultivator at the third level with an honest face to be Xu Ping's guide.

"Yes!" The Qi Cultivator in blue nodded respectfully, then quickly approached Xu Ping with a flattering smile on his face:

"Senior, I am very familiar with the inside of the marketplace; I can find any corner..."

Xu Ping nodded: "Lead the way ahead; you'll be well rewarded... I'm planning to sell a large batch of Spirit Medicine and Spirit Plants while purchasing some materials for crafting arrays, materials for magical artifacts, and Second-stage Upper Grade Spirit Wood..."