Chen Jingzhai passed the information on the cultivation method of spiritual herbs and the maintenance of spirit plants to the female generals.

To the male generals, he taught them the way of battle formation so they would be specialized in killing and could practice among themselves.

This was the arrangement Chen Jingzhai had for the 12 spirit deities and their subordinates.

In fact, Chen Jingzhai did not have to go out of his way to give them information regarding the spiritual herbs.

After all, as spirit deities conferred by the Grotto-heavens Master, they would naturally know how to grow the spiritual herbs and spirit plants.

Still, Chen Jingzhai had taught them to expedite their mastery of the cultivation method.

Chen Jingzhai nodded with satisfaction after the spirit deities went to their designated places and saw them perform their duties.

With that, he shifted his divine mind to the location of the Pure White Lotus.

After sensing Chen Jingzhai’s arrival, the Pure White Lotus nodded respectfully to him.

It was a sign of sentience. It communicated with him telepathically.

Staring at the lotus pod of the Pure White Lotus, Chen Jingzhai raised a faint smile on his face.

He could pluck the Pure White Lotus at that moment after looking at its growth.

But if he did that, it would cause incurable damage to the Pure White Lotus.

After absorbing the innate essence power, it was going through a stage of transformation.

Should the white lotus be plucked, it would be equivalent to losing the essence power.

Although the action would not damage its core, it would destroy its future growth. So, Chen Jingzhai would rather not have that happen.

He had high hopes for the Pure White Lotus since there was no fifth grade of it in the cultivation world.

Once it was done with the evolution, it would reach great heights.

At that time, both the Grotto-heavens and Chen Jingzhai would gain a lot of benefits.

As the thought crossed his mind, Chen Jingzhai turned his eyes to look at the Seven Stars Moon Pool.

This damaged grade six treasure was also nourished by the Grotto-heavens.

Although it had not fully recovered yet, it had made a substantial improvement.

Apart from the lakes and ponds, the pond water had also been purified and contained rich essence power.

Furthermore, the Essence Power Pearl was formed at the bottom of the Seven Stars Moon Pool.

Although the Essence Power Pearl was incomparable to the loot Chen Jingzhai had gotten his hands on from the secret zone, they would become valuables waiting to be picked after some time.

In fact, this was just one of the most basic functions the Seven Stars Moon Pool could offer.

Its greatest capability was to form the star power and the moon essence power.

It was a pity that the Grotto-heavens did not grow to the point of being capable of attracting the star power from the outside world yet.

While this ability remained unavailable at the moment, it was still possible to produce spiritual water to help grow and nurture the spirit plants excellently.

Chen Jingzhai instructed the spirit deities that they could take the water from the Seven Stars Moon Pool to water the spiritual herbs and spirit plants on a regular basis.

After watching the spirit deities water the flora, Chen Jingzhai left the Grotto-heavens satisfied.

The moment Chen Jingzhai’s divine mind returned to his body, he was surprised by a change within his body before he even managed to open his eyes.

His spiritual power was surging from within, and all major acupoints of his body were quivering at a random pace as if they were twinkling stars.

The dragon and phoenix seal patterns appeared on his spine indistinctly.

He noticed that he had reached the completion of the Beginning Foundation Plane.

He was just one step away from reaching the Intermediate Foundation Plane.

The reason was that he still had not sorted out the spells and techniques completely.

Once he was done with the Foundation Establishment chapter, he could use the divine stone’s spatial-related function to gain an opportunity to break through the bottleneck and reach the Advanced Foundation Plane.

Nevertheless, he wanted to go slow and steady with the Intermediate Foundation Plane first.

“This isn’t bad at all!” Chen Jingzhai opened his eyes and smiled.

The Foundation Establishment Plane played a huge role in shaping his future path in cultivation.

So, he would not be so reckless with the breakthrough of his cultivation level.

Moreover, he still had not yet obtained any proper Foundation Establishment cultivation methods. Therefore, it would be troublesome if he were to break through the Intermediate Foundation Plane at the moment.

Needless to say, he did own a few cultivation methods for the Foundation Establishment Plane.

Save for the Dragon and Phoenix Consummation Seal Script, the Daoxuan Peak inheritance, the Fire Raven Burning Sky Celestial Code, and the Jade Toad Swallowing Moon Celestial Code were enough throughout his Foundation Establishment Plane.

However, he had to create a personalized cultivation method that could fit him.

Even his Meditation Plane cultivation method was created with him as the blueprint.

So, the same would be true for the Foundation Establishment Plane.

Only by creating a new path by himself could he create a cultivation method that was made for him alone.

By laying a solid foundation, he could one day reach the next level that every cultivator had ever dreamed of.

Such thoughts had never existed in Chen Jingzhai’s mind in the past.

To him, he would be grateful and burn incense as a prayer if he could enter an immortal sect and receive the inheritance of the sky scripture.

But things had changed ever since his innate ability was awakened. He had grown to become more ambitious.

“Speaking of which, after the divine stone recognized me as the master, my innate ability cannot be appraised anymore for some reason.” Chen Jingzhai thought to himself.

What was the origin of the divine stone? The only thing he knew was that it was something that had fallen from the sky.

What did the outer firmament look like?

The power the Grotto-heavens produced was named the primordial essence. It was not something to be thought lightly of.

Since he could figure out what it was, Chen Jingzhai put his thoughts aside for the time being and left the room.

Not much had changed in the courtyard.

However, the two cranes had grown up a bit. Their bodies were already full of feathers.

They looked nothing like their ugly selves when they were still young. On the contrary, they had become good-looking.

The first snow arrived on the third day after he got out from his cultivation.

It was on the very same day that Commander Wang Tong came to the courtyard.

“Master Chen, do you still need more sea beasts?” Commander Wang Tong asked.

“It is enough.” Chen Jingzhai nodded. “From now on, you’ll need to prepare the medicinal herbs by yourself.”

“No problem.” Commander Wang Tong nodded, saying, “We need more elixirs for healing.”

“I’m good with any second-grade pills, and below that can be refined.” Chen Jingzhai bowed his head casually. “The pill refining success rate will remain the same as before. And if you come across any spiritual herb seeds or spirit plant seeds, do procure them by all means.”

“Roger that!” Wang Tong nodded and left after delivering the new batch of medicinal herbs.

“Young Master, are we not leaving Donglai County?” Hong Fu asked.

“What do you think of the Eastern Ocean Ruler?” Chen Jingzhai asked without answering her question.

“I haven’t seen him before,” replied Hong Xiu. “But he seems to have a great reputation. People in the city only acknowledge the Eastern Ocean Ruler. Even some of the rogue cultivators submit to him.”

“The Eastern Ocean Ruler has already established influence. It’d be a bit exaggerated to say that he is a hidden dragon. I’d say that he is actually a Kraken.” Chen Jingzhai fixed his eyes on the falling snowflakes outside the window. “I wish to see if he has the opportunity to soar above the Ninth Heaven. Besides, staying here in Donglai County is rather comfortable. No one bothers us, and there’s no shortage of resources.”

“I’m afraid some people may misunderstand,” Hong Chan stated.

“I have not expressed my intentions, and I have not made a choice yet. Thus, I am not afraid of anyone’s misunderstanding.” Chen Jingzhai raised the corners of his lips. “Spread the news saying that I want to collect Foundation Establishment cultivation methods. Those who wish to request me to refine pills must let me read their Foundation Establishment cultivation methods. They must prepare the medicinal herbs themselves. Any elixirs below the third grade will be accepted.”

“Understood!” Hong Fu responded.

That night, Chen Jingzhai brought his four beautiful maids to watch the snow in the air with the Bamboo Boat.

Hong Yu and Hong Chan took care of the silkworms in the bamboo shed. Weather changes had little effect on the silkworms, anyway.

They were just ensuring the quality of silk was maintained at the same level. The things they needed to do were to activate the Restriction and replace the mulberry leaves.

On the other hand, Hong Fu and Hong Xiu sat beside Chen Jingzhai. One was strumming the zither, and the other was playing the vertical bamboo flute.

The two of them were originally from the celestial family. So they were proficient in musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

As they spent most of their daily lives in cultivation, they rarely had a chance to perform.

Since it was the first snow that day, and Chen Jingzhai was in a good mood, they thought it would be nice to play some music in the background.

The sounds of the zither and flute were in harmony. It caused the listeners to spiral deep into thought. Snowflakes falling from the sky complemented the silence and tranquillity of nature well.

Holding the wine gourd from the Wine Celestial lineage, Chen Jingzhai enjoyed its content while following the beat.

He felt relaxed as he allowed his mind to run wild. There was a sense of peace in his heart, and he was happy about it.

He had always been intelligent since he was young. He had been planning for his future, aiming to attain longevity long ago.

After enrolling in the Aspirant Cultivators Academy, he worked hard to rise above the competition.

After joining the Luo Sheng Sword School, he fought to gain a firm foothold there.

Worries, fears, battles, killings, and all kinds of emotions were his companions along his journey.

This was the only moment he was totally relaxed and did not need to feel tense.

There were no schemes and no anxieties at all. He had peace of mind and not a single hint of fright in his heart.

He let out a chuckle as the sound of the zither and flute continued to play in the background, as though he had let go of a huge burden, looking a little relieved.

As the snow fell in the mortal realm, he moved toward the Ninth Heaven. It was not to grab the moon but to catch some stars.

There was none but the thought of attaining immortality in his mind.