White Marrow Grass

Although Zhou Ping felt a stir of excitement, he knew the Pingyun Huang Clan could not possibly be acting out of sheer goodwill.

After all, for a Qi Condensation immortal clan, any variety of first-grade spirit plant could serve as a vital pillar of their foundation. To maintain a monopoly on their resources, immortal clans would often tamper with the spirit plants they sold to prevent rival factions from propagating them.

For the Huang Clan to offer a first-grade spirit plant right from the start meant one of two things: either the plant itself was defective, or they harbored ulterior motives.

Noting the suspicion flickering in Zhou Ping's eyes, Huang Zhengqi hurriedly drew a scroll from his robes. "Senior, if you harbor any doubts, our two clans can swear a Dao Covenant."

Zhou Ping was genuinely surprised. A Dao Covenant was an oath sworn upon the Great Dao; to violate it was to invite heavenly tribulation. If the Huang Clan dared to sign such a binding contract, the catch had to lie with the spirit plant itself.

Zhou Minghu asked, "May I ask what spirit plant you are referring to?"

Huang Zhengqi offered an awkward smile. "It is the White Marrow Grass."

The moment the name was spoken, the main hall fell completely silent, leaving only the faint, muffled sobs of Madam Huang and Huang Zhenghua.

Zhou Changhe glanced at Zhou Minghu in confusion. He was, after all, a mortal. Having never closely studied the Spirit Treasure Illustrated Manual, he naturally had no idea what use the White Marrow Grass possessed.

But while he did not know, Zhou Minghu and his father certainly did.

White Marrow Grass was one of the primary ingredients required to refine the Green Jade Pill. A mere ten stalks could fetch the price of a single Spirit Stone. Furthermore, its growth cycle was remarkably brief, reaching full maturity in just a year. Its demands for Spiritual Qi were also relatively low, making it an excellent first-grade spirit grass.

However, it carried a fatal flaw: it was completely incapable of reproduction.

The vast majority of the White Marrow Grass circulating in the market were daughter plants, propagated directly from the root system of a mother plant. Only upon the death of a mother plant would it gestate one or two new mother seeds.

Because the space surrounding a mother plant was strictly limited, it naturally could not sprout many daughter plants at once. To maximize yield, cultivators had to transplant the daughter plants elsewhere to grow, thereby freeing up space for new shoots to emerge.

But once these daughter plants were severed from their mother's nourishment, they would viciously absorb the nutrients from the soil to survive. This aggressive plundering ensured that not a single blade of ordinary grass could grow within a three-Zhang radius of the plant.

Now the picture was clear. The Huang Clan had likely discovered a White Marrow Grass mother plant. But Pingyun Mountain was densely forested with ancient pines, leaving no spare land to cultivate such a demanding crop. Seeing the empty slopes of the Zhou Clan's estate, they had come to strike a deal.

Huang Zhengqi bowed deeply. "Senior, our two clans are both immortal clans of the Clearwater region. We should naturally stand united and seek a prosperous future together."

"My clan is willing to provide the daughter seedlings to be planted upon your treasured land. As for the mature White Marrow Grass, my clan is willing to purchase them back at a rate of twenty stalks per Spirit Stone. What does Senior think of this arrangement?"

Zhou Ping fell silent, his mind weighing the proposal as he swiftly made a decision.

Although he had planted numerous flowers and trees across their four peaks, Baixi Mountain's Spiritual Qi was inherently thin. Slightly improving its overall quality was already the limit. Only Ming Peak fared somewhat better, entirely thanks to the presence of the Purple Gold Vine. Even then, the hope of ordinary vegetation naturally transforming into graded spirit grasses or woods remained incredibly slim.

Since his four peaks were largely empty anyway, he might as well dedicate Qing Peak entirely to cultivating White Marrow Grass. With a spacing of three Zhang per plant, and discounting the scattered spirit fields, the sheer surface area of Qing Peak could easily accommodate several hundred stalks. That would amount to over a dozen Spirit Stones in pure profit.

The only question was whether the Huang Clan could supply enough daughter plants each year. It would be a shame to have the land prepared, only to lack the seedlings.

"Seventeen stalks for one Spirit Stone."

Huang Zhengqi had been keeping his head bowed. Under the oppressive silence of the hall, his spirits had gradually sunk. Just as he was certain the Zhou Clan was going to refuse, those words suddenly drifted into his ears. He felt as if a warm spring breeze had washed over him, and he immediately bowed in profound respect.

"As you say, Senior."

He let out a heavy sigh of relief inward. As long as the Zhou Clan agreed, earning a little less was perfectly fine. As for the quantity of daughter plants, he had absolutely no worries.

Because the Huang Clan possessed not one, but two White Marrow Grass mother plants!

A few days prior, a junior of the Huang Clan had been clearing out demon beasts when he stumbled upon a hidden cave dwelling. Not only did they harvest White Marrow Grass from within, but they also uncovered the refinement recipe for the Green Jade Pill!

It was precisely because the Huang Clan lacked the vast, empty territory required to cultivate the grass that they remembered the Zhou Clan situated to the west.

Otherwise, separated by over a hundred Li-a distance even greater than that of the Zhang Clan in Fuyang County-and sharing no conflicting interests, the Huang Clan would not have bothered to interact with the Zhou Clan at all.

As long as the Zhou Clan could produce a massive yield of mature White Marrow Grass, the Huang Clan only needed to gather the auxiliary ingredients. Once they successfully refined the Green Jade Pill, their family might very well produce several new Qi Condensation cultivators, allowing them to thoroughly dominate the region!

In the cultivation world, cultivators with slightly inferior aptitudes who wished to break through had to rely on the assistance of precious spiritual items.

Take Zhou Ping for example; he had only managed a lucky breakthrough by relying on a potent medicinal wine brewed from demon bear blood. And that was only possible because his foundation was already solid at fifteen strands of Spiritual Qi, merely a hair's breadth away from the required sixteen.

Although the Green Jade Pill was only a first-grade pill, it could temporarily inject nearly an entire strand of Spiritual Qi into the user's meridians. This vastly increased the breakthrough success rate for Spirit Awakening cultivators hovering at fifteen strands, making it an exceptionally prized commodity among first-grade pills. On the Daoist establishment's exchange list, the Green Jade Pill was priced at a staggering eighty-five contribution points-far more expensive than the inheritances of most common cultivation arts.

Many immortal clans, even if they possessed the requisite contribution points, would never exchange them for a Green Jade Pill.

After all, a breakthrough still carried the risk of failure. Gambling several years' worth of a clan's hard-earned savings on a single attempt was an act of sheer folly.

Huang Zhengqi drew his brush across the scroll, leaving behind characters that shimmered with spiritual light. A faint, majestic aura slowly began to permeate the air.

"Senior, I have drafted the Dao Covenant. Please look it over."

He then respectfully presented the scroll with both hands.

Zhou Ping accepted it and carefully swept his gaze over the text. The terms were exceedingly concise and clear, devoid of any ambiguity. The Huang Clan would provide the White Marrow Grass seedlings, the Zhou Clan would handle the cultivation, and the entire yield would be sold back to the Huang Clan at a fixed rate of seventeen stalks per Spirit Stone.

At the bottom right corner lay the spiritual seal of a Huang Clan Qi Condensation cultivator, proving their absolute sincerity in this partnership. Only then did Zhou Ping feel sufficiently reassured to imprint his own spiritual seal beside it.

Instantly, a vast ray of iridescent light descended from the void, transforming into an ethereal shackle that settled deep within Zhou Ping's Sea of Consciousness. Two similar rays of light shot off toward the east. Through the dark, Zhou Ping could vaguely sense those streaks binding themselves to two other Qi Condensation cultivators.

An oath sworn to the Great Dao. Should anyone violate its terms, they would face the merciless backlash of heavenly retribution.

Watching the Dao Covenant take effect, Huang Zhengqi's heart finally settled. Huang Zhenghua, who had been softly conversing with Madam Huang on the side, naturally noticed the spiritual fluctuation and took the cue to bid his aunt farewell.

The two men stepped before Zhou Ping and bowed deeply. "Senior, we juniors shall return immediately to report this to our clan."

Huang Zhenghua did not forget to offer a respectful parting word to Madam Huang. "Aunt, your nephew will take his leave now. Please, you must take good care of your health."

This moved Madam Huang to tearful sobs. The older one grew, the deeper the yearning became to surround oneself with kin and descendants.

Zhou Ping spoke up, "Minghu, see them off."

"Yes, Father."

Zhou Minghu acknowledged the order and escorted Huang Zhengqi and his companion down the mountain.

The Huang Clan moved with astonishing efficiency. A mere three days later, a streak of spiritual light descended upon Baixi Mountain. It was none other than Huang Bailin, one of the Huang Clan's Qi Condensation cultivators.

Alongside him, he brought exactly one hundred and thirty-two daughter seedlings. If these were cultivated to maturity, they represented a fortune of thirteen Spirit Stones.

However, a significant number of the seedlings appeared wilted and listless. It was obvious the Huang Clan had eagerly dug them up to maximize their daughter plant yield, but their lack of proper care had left the fragile sprouts in this sickly state.

Fortunately, as spirit plants, their innate vitality far exceeded that of mundane vegetation. They would not wither and die so easily.

Huang Bailin magnanimously declared that if three or five stalks failed to survive the transplant, it was perfectly understandable, and the Huang Clan would not hold the Zhou Clan accountable for the loss.

Zhou Ping felt a twinge of envy. If his own clan could only produce a second Qi Condensation cultivator, they too could roam the land so freely. They would even be able to personally deliver their annual tribute without constantly fearing a deadly ambush along the road.

After Huang Bailin departed, Zhou Ping summoned the other four cultivators of the family. To ensure the highest possible survival rate for the White Marrow Grass, they pooled their efforts to carefully plant every single stalk across Qing Peak.

After all, as cultivators, they could gently channel traces of Spiritual Qi into the fragile roots. If the entire batch survived, the clan stood to earn a greater profit.

However, as the White Marrow Grass took root stalk by stalk, the once lush and verdant Qing Peak began to turn bleak and barren. Viewed from a distance, it looked as though the emerald mountain had been marred by hundreds of sickly, yellow-gray blemishes.

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