Du Yue moved on to sorting the spirit herbs and pills, her movements becoming methodical and precise, like those of an experienced production labourer, as she worked through the piles one by one.
She placed the sorted herbs onto the other table, arranging them into neat rows according to their grade.
Spirit Herbs:
5 Peak Grade 3 spirit herbs (+3) 8 Mid-Grade 3 spirit herbs (+6) 6 Low-Grade 3 spirit herbs (+6) 10 Peak Grade 2 spirit herbs (+8) 7 Mid-Grade 2 spirit herbs (+3)
Spirit Pills:
9 Low-Grade 3 spirit pills (+6) 12 Peak Grade 2 spirit pills (+6)
Su Wen looked at the neatly arranged Grade 3 herbs and spoke with a light, satisfied smile.
"We've gained enough Grade 3 herbs for you to last quite some time."
His gaze then shifted to the Grade 2 herbs.
"As for these, they'll give my cultivation a good boost over the next few days. I have a feeling I'll be able to complete the third refinement of Mid Foundation Establishment tonight."
He separated the Peak Grade 3 spirit herbs from the rest, his expression turning a little serious.
"Wife, store these away. You shouldn't use Peak Grade 3 herbs for cultivation until you reach the Mid-stage Golden Core Realm... otherwise, they may affect your spirit absorption."
After a short pause, he took out another storage ring containing several spirit pills, his brows knitting ever so slightly.
"And these..."
He clicked his tongue softly, eyes scanning the pills.
"They're full of impurities."
He set them aside in a separate ring and spoke slowly,
"I don't want my wife taking such poor-quality pills. We'll sell these instead."
Then, in a gentler tone, he added, "I'll refine new ones for you myself."
Du Yue nodded, not particularly interested in such tedious matters, leaving everything to him.
But when she heard his last words, a blooming smile unknowingly appeared on her face, warmth rising to her cheeks.
To her, being cared for by him was like a slow-acting poison… sweet, addictive, and impossible to resist.
She didn't notice it, but she was already getting addicted to it.
All she wanted… every minute, every second, every moment of her life… was to be filled by him.
She glanced at his handsome profile… and before she even noticed, a sly, predatory grin crept across her face.
She barely managed to restrain herself as she stared at her food.
On the other side, Su Wen suddenly felt goosebumps crawl across his body.
He knew very well the source of that danger.
Not daring to take any chances, he acted immediately.
He shoved a messy pile of treasures and materials into her arms, speaking in a serious, urging tone.
"Wife, these materials are extremely important to the future of the cultivation world," Su Wen said solemnly. "Be careful when sorting them."
Du Yue subconsciously gathered the items, her expression slightly dumbfounded.
Realizing what he was doing, she shot him a resentful glance… but in the end, she chose not to pursue him.
Lowering her head, she looked at the items and, with a snort, continued working.
Just like that, Su Wen had successfully diverted her attention to work… and, once again, saved his own life.
Su Wen turned his attention to the rest of the loot.
After giving the pile a quick appraisal, he shook his head lightly and said,
"All these Grade 3 and Grade 2 treasures together might fetch around fifty mid-grade spirit stones. Everything else is worthless junk."
Just then, his gaze fell upon a pitch-black page radiating a dark, ominous aura. Crooked lines of text crawled across its surface like living worms.
Yin Devouring Technique
Su Wen read only the first few lines before his expression darkened in disgust.
'What a corrupted technique...'
Without the slightest hesitation, he released a thread of Grade 3 Sword Intent, shredding the page to pieces before burning the remnants into ash.
He didn't even spare it another glance.
While he was occupied, Du Yue's attention was drawn elsewhere.
A tiny blue-black stone rolled out from the pile.
It resembled a black diamond, its crystalline surface reflecting faint glimmers of light.
The moment she picked it up, the yin qi within her body surged violently.
A rare trace of surprise flickered across her face as she inwardly frowned.
'This is…? How could it appear in this world… and in such a backward place?'
"Husband," she called softly, turning toward Su Wen.
He looked up, having just finished destroying the dark cultivation technique.
"What is it, my wife?"
She raised the stone before him.
"This is… a Primordial Yin Stone."
She continued calmly,
"It's extremely rare and precious. It shouldn't even exist here. Such stones are only formed in places saturated with Yin Essence Qi, and nurtured over countless years."
Su Wen studied the stone with mild surprise.
"Is that so… Then how do you know so much about it, my wife?"
Du Yue froze for a brief moment.
She had no intention of revealing anything about her previous life.
Averting her gaze, she looked up at the ceiling and replied with forced confidence,
"Hm… I know these things because… I'm your wife."
Su Wen gave her a strange look, sensing she was hiding something.
But seeing her deliberately avoid his eyes, he chose not to press further.
He knew that when the time came, she would tell him herself.
"Alright, alright," he said with a light smile. "My wife is an enlightened sage who knows everything in this world."
Then his expression turned serious again as he asked the real question,
"So, is this stone useful?"
"Hmph." She snorted softly, a little embarrassed, then looked at him with sparkling eyes.
"I can use it as a core material to upgrade my sword. This stone is an excellent conductor for my yin-aligned spiritual qi."
She added, her tone growing slightly excited, "The essence within it will also greatly nourish the sword spirit."
Su Wen nodded, clearly impressed.
"Then we'll continue gathering materials for your sword before we reach the Central Continent… and before you break through to the next major realm."
Finally, after some time, they finished sorting all the materials from the storage rings and stored everything separately according to type and grade.
Once everything was cleared away, Su Wen walked up beside Du Yue, gently pinched her hand, and spoke softly,
"Alright, wifey. Time to do some real work…"
He smiled and continued,
"I'll refine pills for both of us first. After that, I'll focus on breaking through in both body cultivation and spiritual cultivation."
Du Yue nodded, her lips curving into a gentle smile.
"Alright, husband. I also need to train the sword technique Little Suzume gave me… the Eternal Snow Severing-Heaven Sword Art."
She paused briefly before adding,
"This sword art isn't simple. Even though my Sword Intent has already reached Grade 4, I'm still far from perfecting this technique."
A faint, embarrassed smile tugged at her lips.
"I've only managed to reach the Second Level of the technique so far."
As she spoke, she playfully pinched his hand, and the next instant, her figure blurred and vanished, teleporting toward the training grounds… leaving behind only the faint words,
"I'll perfect the sword art first…"
Su Wen chuckled, shaking his head slightly, and teleported straight to the alchemy room.
Taking a deep breath, he settled down and began carefully sorting the required spirit herbs.
His gaze fell upon the Mid-Grade 2 spirit herbs, and he muttered to himself,
"I should refine pills using all seven Mid-Grade 2 herbs. Once I reach the peak stage, they won't be nearly as effective."
"These should be enough for my final refinement of Mid Foundation Establishment."
He then glanced at the remaining herbs.
"I still have ten Peak Grade 2 herbs. I'll refine those later."
"Judging by my current breakthrough speed…" he murmured thoughtfully,
"…I should be able to complete the next three refinements of the Peak Foundation Establishment realm within the next few weeks."
His eyes then shifted to the Low-Grade 3 spirit herbs.
"I have six Low-Grade 3 herbs… but her foundation is simply too solid, and her spiritual qi far too abundant. A single herb wouldn't even make a noticeable difference."
"I'll need to refine all six into pills for them to be effective… and even then, I'll have to ensure there are no side effects."
"With her cultivation speed, it won't be long before she reaches the Mid-stage Golden Core Realm," he sighed softly.
"By then, even Mid-Grade 3 spirit herbs won't be enough anymore."
He felt a hole opening in his pocket… yet a faint, proud smile still touched his lips.