37. The Art of Forging

“Boss, what kind of seeds are these?” Chen Fengyun nodded, then pointed to some seeds nearby and asked, for he had also discovered two or three among them with faint spiritual energy.

“These are seeds from the ancient tea trees famous in Xishuangbanna,” the shopkeeper replied with a smile.

“How much are these seeds?” Chen Fengyun inquired.

“Dear customer, although we are in business, I must remind you: these medicinal herbs are local specialties. They require the right land and climate to grow. That’s why we display some seeds here for visitors to see, but they’re not actually for sale,” the shopkeeper said, shaking her head.

“Sister, to be honest, I’m a student at the Agricultural University and I’d like to buy a few seeds for research. Whether they grow or not, I won’t blame you. Please, could you make an exception?” Chen Fengyun changed his address from “boss” to “sister” to show sincerity.

“If you insist on buying them, don’t blame me if you can’t get them to sprout. How many do you want?” The shopkeeper smiled and asked.

“Sister, apart from these, do you have any other seeds in the shop?” Chen Fengyun asked quickly.

“There are a few more. Let me bring them out for you to choose from.” The shopkeeper soon returned from the back room with several boxes, all filled with various seeds.

Chen Fengyun used his spiritual sense to select all the seeds with faint spiritual energy. Mostly, they were seeds of storax, Paris polyphylla, and ancient tea, each about half a pound.

“One hundred yuan will be enough for all these seeds,” the shopkeeper calculated.

“Alright, here’s the money. By the way, sister, do any other shops around here sell seeds like these?” Chen Fengyun asked hopefully.

“Hardly any. Only my pharmacy has some seeds on display, and they’re not really for sale. The surrounding shops don’t have any seeds,” the shopkeeper answered, shaking her head.

Though a little disappointed, Chen Fengyun felt more delight than regret. These seeds should be able to grow within the miniature paradise, and those with faint spiritual energy might even yield spiritual herbs.

After several days of observation, Chen Fengyun discovered that the spiritual energy within the miniature paradise was about three times that of the outside world, and the spiritual spring produced about one cup’s worth of water each day.

According to the information he had obtained, the miniature paradise could continuously absorb spiritual energy from the outside. Although the amount wasn’t large, within the paradise it was quite significant.

The miniature paradise contained about one square kilometer of land, enough for Chen Fengyun to plant many medicinal herbs. He believed that even if these herbs didn’t reach the level of true spiritual medicine, they would still surpass any herbs found on the market.

After leaving the pharmacy, Chen Fengyun took out his phone and searched for information on storax and Paris polyphylla. Gaining a basic understanding, he realized their uses went beyond what the shopkeeper had mentioned.

Storax, also known as white-flowered nutmeg or turpentine benzoin, is firm and brittle at room temperature, softening when heated; it has a fragrant aroma and a slightly pungent taste. It can open the orifices, treat sudden fainting and locked jaws, and promote circulation of qi and blood, being used for abdominal pain and postpartum fainting.

Paris polyphylla, a traditional Chinese medicine, is the dried rhizome of a lily family plant known as Yunnan Paris or “seven-leaf one-flower.” It is bitter and slightly cold, with mild toxicity. It clears heat and detoxifies, reduces swelling and pain, cools the liver, and calms convulsions. It is commonly used for sores and abscesses, sore throat, snake and insect bites, trauma, and convulsions.

As for ancient tea trees, as the name suggests, they are old tea trees that have grown for many years. Their seeds, naturally, yield tea leaves. There was no need to look up more information; Chen Fengyun would know more once he planted them in the miniature paradise.

That evening, Chen Fengyun began planting the three types of seeds in his room. He first selected those with faint spiritual energy: seven storax seeds, six Paris polyphylla seeds, and three ancient tea seeds.

With his spiritual sense, he transported the seeds into the miniature paradise and marked out three separate plots of land for them, each covering ten acres and spaced far apart.

He planted the seeds with faint spiritual energy first, spacing each about ten meters apart and designating several dozen square meters for each.

Next, he chose the plumpest among the ordinary seeds and planted them densely around each plot, discarding the shriveled ones.

“Let’s water them with some spiritual spring,” Chen Fengyun thought. After planting, he realized the seeds would need watering, so he decided to give them some spiritual spring water.

The seeds with spiritual energy were watered directly with pure spring water, while the ordinary seeds received spring water diluted in tap water.

In a corner of the miniature paradise, Chen Fengyun used his spiritual sense to carve out a small pond and filled it with tap water, finding that it could be stored there. So, for several nights, he stayed up, studying the art of artifact refinement while running the hotel’s tap water into the miniature paradise.

“We’re heading back to the capital this afternoon. Come visit us if you have time,” Four days later, Geng Chunming and Xu Dalin had to return to their university and had booked high-speed rail tickets.

“I’ll be coming when the semester starts. Will you come welcome me?” Chen Fengyun asked with a smile.

“Of course,” Geng Chunming replied, patting him on the shoulder.

“How about coming to the capital with me?” On the other side, Xu Dalin and Zeng Yiyue seemed reluctant to part. Over the past few days, they had grown fond of each other.

“I can’t go. There are still things at school in a few days. Let’s wait until we’re really on holiday.” Zeng Yiyue replied with a touch of sadness.

“That’s alright. After all, we have almost two months of vacation. If you don’t come to the capital, I’ll go to Rongcheng to see you,” Xu Dalin said, looking at her.

“Miss Zeng, what’s on your mind? Honestly, I think you and Xu Dalin get along well,” After seeing the two off, Chen Fengyun noticed Zeng Yiyue frowning, as if something weighed on her.

“I think Dalin is very good to me, but I’m three years older than him. I don’t know if his family would approve of us,” Zeng Yiyue sighed.

“Miss Zeng, in this day and age, age differences aren’t so important. What’s three years? Isn’t there an old saying that a woman three years older is a treasure? As long as you two feel right for each other, that’s all that matters.” Chen Fengyun shook his head inwardly. Indeed, people in love always become foolish.

“You’re right. Besides, we haven’t even defined our relationship yet, so it’s a little early to worry about that.” Zeng Yiyue nodded, regaining her composure.

Neither had much interest in sightseeing anymore, so the next day they took the high-speed train back to Rongcheng. Over these days, Chen Fengyun had also thoroughly studied the jade slip’s contents on artifact refinement, reaching the third level of the mortal rank.