The valley where Lei Dong and his wife resided, the Wenxiang Cottage complex, occupied merely a corner. The larger portion behind it was planted with all sorts of flowers and herbs. The back of the valley, extending into the rear mountain, followed the winding spiritual veins, allowing for the cultivation of nearly four hundred mu of spiritual fields, which could be developed into medicinal gardens. This was something any sect or family would undertake. Although Lei Dong had not formally established a family yet, he could certainly begin building one externally. The spiritual herbs currently planted were not valuable, but in a hundred years, when a large batch matured, they would yield a considerable fortune. Suitable land for cultivating spiritual herbs must be situated atop spiritual veins, usually requiring a high degree of spiritual energy concentration—the higher, the better.

The current spiritual energy level within the valley was barely sufficient for the normal growth of spiritual herbs. Without one or two centuries, there was no hope of maturation. This constituted very inferior spiritual farmland, which almost no one was willing to cultivate due to its low value and unfavorable returns.

However, in time, because of the relocation of the (Cui Ping) and the Great Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array, the increasingly abundant spiritual energy would allow the spiritual herbs to grow more rapidly. Many spiritual herbs, such as those requiring a "hundred-year fire," or "thousand-year fire," merely referred to the herb’s quality and grade upon reaching a certain stage, not that it had literally lived for one hundred or one thousand years. In places rich with spiritual energy, the growth rate of spiritual herbs would increase exponentially; some outstanding spiritual lands could yield a harvest in thirty years, with better ones maturing in twenty.

The Heavenly Demon also helped estimate that, based on the speed of spiritual energy accumulation after setting up the array, the first batch would mature in fifty years at the latest. It was for this reason that Lei Dong considered planting spiritual herbs and was willing to invest in this venture.

Cultivating spiritual herbs is a task few mortals can manage, as mortals cannot discern the degree of spiritual energy abundance, nor can they temporarily infuse zhenqi to save an herb if it encounters problems. Therefore, the art of cultivating spiritual herbs is usually mastered only by cultivators. Assigning mortals to this task often results in more loss than gain.

In a single ling mu (spiritual acre), if cultivated well, herbs reaching the hundred-year grade could often yield a harvest worth over one hundred thousand ling. With three to four hundred mu of spiritual fields combined, this sum would be quite substantial. Thus, opening up spiritual fields and planting spiritual herbs is a very profitable endeavor. Many major sects possess countless spiritual fields across various grades. Even the Myriad Ghost Cave perhaps has several hundred mu of spiritual fields, though Lei Dong had never paid attention to it and didn't know if they had already been harvested.

Consequently, Lei Dong needed to recruit a batch of Qi Refining stage cultivators proficient in planting. Such cultivators specializing in cultivation are common in various sects.

For example, among the disciples who entered the Yin Sha Sect in the same cohort as Lei Dong, many had already begun focusing their primary efforts on various side professions due to their aptitude—such as artifact refining, pill concocting, planting, talisman crafting, mechanism construction, array formations, and so on. Some of them might have already achieved minor success.

Some pursued these skills out of interest, [Original text note: Big Devil Head Novel, small beauty update] but those who considered their own cultivation aptitude decent often sought to follow a path of indirect success. If one possessed exceptionally outstanding talent in a certain skill, they would be noticed by the sect, which would invest massive resources to push them into the Foundation Establishment stage and assign them to various halls within the sect. From then on, while perhaps not enjoying limitless glory, they would at least be secure in food and clothing with a respectable status.

However, among rogue cultivators or smaller families, highly specialized talent tends to be scarcer. Take planting, for instance; the vast majority of rogue cultivators and small family members dabble in it to some extent. Unlike sect disciples who possess ample resources to spend lavishly, rogue cultivators will attempt pill concocting when they feel elixirs are too expensive, and try planting when they find medicinal herbs costly. They will also dabble somewhat in artifact refining, talisman crafting, mechanisms, and so on.

Thus, what they learn is varied, and they understand a little of everything, but the issue is a lack of professionalism. They learn a bit here and a bit there, none of it having undergone systematic study. Finding rogue cultivators who are genuinely skilled at planting proved very difficult for Lei Dong.

After discussing with Ding Wanyan, Lei Dong decided that opening up his spiritual fields was not an urgent matter. He preferred to recruit younger rogue cultivators who were willing to work hard and had good character, training them slowly. Within a few years, they could roughly reach an introductory level. Maintaining several hundred mu of spiritual land would require hiring about thirty to forty Qi Refining stage cultivators dedicated solely to planting.

But even among Qi Refining stage cultivators, the cost of employment varied. Among all Qi Refining cultivators, those specializing only in combat without a specific secondary skill are the least valuable, unless they achieve a heaven-defying level like Lei Dong or Dongfang Fu, or if they possess a high cultivation level within the Qi Refining stage, such as late-stage Qi Refining. But sadly, most do not. Of course, handsome men and beautiful women also command a better price, as various shops require such personnel.

So, the remaining side professions, such as planting or raising spirit beasts, do not command high prices unless one shows exceptional talent. Otherwise, a skilled Qi Refining level planter might earn an average of four to five thousand spirit stones per year. Calculating this, Lei Dong’s thirty to forty planters would cost around 150,000 spirit stones annually to maintain. If the spiritual fields took over a hundred years to mature, the cost per mu would approach 50,000 spirit stones. In that case, planting would lose all meaning, as such massive upfront investment and annual expenditures would only double the cost after a century—a very poor return.

But if maturation could be achieved in about fifty years, the net profit from these few hundred mu of spiritual fields could reach around thirty million spirit stones. The shorter the maturation time, the greater Lei Dong's returns would increase, as both costs decrease and growth accelerates. Calculating: fifteen thousand spirit stones invested annually for fifty years amounts to 7.5 million spirit stones. After fifty years, Lei Dong could net a clean profit of 30 million spirit stones, perhaps even more if the growth is excellent. Compared to investing in an elixir shop on a hands-off management basis, this is not worse, and it doesn't require such a large initial capital outlay. The only drawback is that it takes longer to see results. But Lei Dong didn't mind; he could allocate half of the yearly earnings from the elixir shops to the spiritual fields. He wasn't short on spirit stones for now.

Fifty years is nearly a lifetime for a mortal, but for cultivators, especially those like Lei Dong and Ding Wanyan who were determined to reach the Core Formation stage even in death, fifty years was hardly an issue.

Lei Dong's current plan was to continuously invest his surplus spirit stones, allowing them to grow over time rather than letting them gather dust in his storage pouches and bracelets.

Of course, Lei Dong's ability to potentially harvest from these hundreds of mu was largely due to the Heavenly Demon's help. If she hadn't pointed out that the (Cui Ping) blocked the monsoon winds, affecting the concentration of the spirit aperture vortex, and hadn't assisted in setting up the Great Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array, Lei Dong would not have this investment opportunity. It should be noted that spiritual fields capable of yielding a harvest in fifty years are rare even among mid-tier powers, let alone small families.

The Great Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array was indeed incredibly potent. Naturally, this also related to the small valley itself being a spiritual convergence point; otherwise, no matter how powerful the array, it couldn't achieve such efficacy in a short time. When Lei Dong expressed admiration for Ding Wanyan's foresight, he received a lighthearted retort: "Husband, I only bought the place because it was beautiful."

Just as Lei Dong was beginning to fret over how to recruit young rogue cultivators and how to train them in planting, along with a host of other messy affairs bogging him down, some good news arrived serenely. Chen Ge, Wei Hua, and Zuo Chao arrived together at Lei Dong's small Wenxiang Cottage, claiming they were acting under their master's orders to come freeload.

"Under master's orders?" Lei Dong was stunned, until Chen Ge chimed in with a smile, "The old master knows you're setting up some ventures outside, but he thinks it’s a waste of someone of your caliber to deal with these trivial matters. So, he sent the three of us to take over for you. Any messy chores—just assign them, and the three of us will handle them. However, Master wants you to return; there are some things he needs you to arrange. As for Senior Sister, Master says she should rest at home for now; as long as her cultivation isn't delayed, it's fine."

Lei Dong was overjoyed. He quickly pulled the three of them in and outlined everything that needed to be done: straightening out the procurement channels for the elixir shop, handling decorations, planning and hosting the opening activities, developing the medicinal garden, recruiting various personnel, planting, alchemy, and more. This caused Chen Ge to repeatedly roll his eyes, confirming it was indeed a pile of messy affairs. Lei Dong, however, was quite carefree. He dropped off one million spirit stones, bid farewell to his wife, and left with a flourish, heading straight to report at the Myriad Ghost Cave.

Riding the Evil Ghost Banner, he traveled at high speed towards the Myriad Ghost Cave. When tired, he would find a safe place to meditate and recover briefly. Covering over a hundred thousand li, he reached the skies above the Myriad Ghost Cave in less than ten days. Upon landing at the main entrance, many of the younger disciples who joined later were startled upon seeing Lei Dong, quickly showing expressions of both shock and awe.

Lei Dong ignored them and went directly into his master's imposing yet eerie and ghost-filled abode. A ghost servant was sent to invite the Old Ancestor, while the servant himself hosted Lei Dong for tea.

"Uncle Ghost, please don't be so formal with this junior," Lei Dong could now discern Gui Nu's cultivation level: late-stage Foundation Establishment, truly a powerhouse. Currently, in the Myriad Ghost Cave, no one had reached the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment. There were two at the eighth layer: Lei Dong's wife, Ding Wanyan, and Second Senior Brother, Wang Kang. Wang Kang also had some chance of advancing to Core Formation, and now that their master was striking it rich and dispersing a lot of spirit stones downwards, his chances seemed to be growing.

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