Chapter Twenty-Six: Encounter with the Ghost Mother Once More

The Su Family’s medicinal warehouse was vast. Within it, besides the rare herbs that Su Ye required, there was also an abundance of common medicinal ingredients used in daily life.

As Su Ye entered the warehouse, stroking the furry head of his little marten, a thick aroma of herbs greeted him, sweet and fragrant rather than harsh.

“Young master, these are the ginseng, lingzhi, and other herbs collected according to your instructions. Please see if they meet your requirements,” Zhou Quan said, smiling as he pointed to a row of wooden cabinets filled with herbs.

“Thank you for your efforts, Uncle Zhou. The quality of these herbs is excellent. I’ll need you to continue gathering more, and money is no concern,” Su Ye replied after quickly inspecting the herbs, finding their quality even higher than he had anticipated.

These herbs, grown wild in the mountains and nourished by the earth’s spiritual energy, possessed efficacy far superior to the mass-cultivated medicinal plants of his previous life.

He had already used up the twenty spirit stones he obtained from Zhao Huaisheng, and now that his cultivation had advanced to the first stage, he needed to refine more magical power to restore himself to the ninth rank.

These herbs would perfectly fill the gap left by the spirit stones. Once he refined them into talisman medicines, the distance to regaining his rank would not be far.

After calculating in his mind, Su Ye moved all the herbs suitable for refining talisman medicines from the warehouse to his own courtyard.

He wasted no time. Instructing the little marten to guard the courtyard, he entered his room to begin the refining process.

Now that he had regained his first-stage cultivation, his dantian brimmed with magical power. With the talisman brush, empowered by the spirit-gathering talisman pattern, now at the ninth rank, refining talisman medicines was much easier than before.

Time passed slowly, and seven days slipped by.

After nine days of ceaseless effort, Su Ye finally finished refining all the herbs into talisman medicines: thirteen to enhance cultivation, eight to dispel evil and darkness, five for healing and curing ailments, and seven for other uses—a total of thirty-three.

Aside from the cultivation-enhancing talisman medicines, which Su Ye could use immediately, the rest—such as those for dispelling evil—were temporarily stored away for future use.

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“Little marten, has anyone from the county office come these past few days?” Su Ye opened the door, picked up the marten lying on the spirit-gathering cushion, and casually slipped a cultivation-enhancing talisman medicine into its mouth.

Such medicines could be taken by monsters like the marten as well. Their bodies were stronger than human cultivators, and they refined the medicines’ power far more quickly.

The marten nestled softly in Su Ye’s arms, feeling the medicine’s strength swiftly convert to magical power within it, and let out a contented meow.

“No one from the county office has come. The guards heard that Master Bai Song has gone out to visit friends and is not in Jinhua County right now,” the marten replied after a brief pause.

Only Bai Song, a ninth-rank Daoist, held sway at the Jinhua County Office. The other Daoists, like Xu Daoist, were merely two in number and far weaker than Su Ye and the marten.

Without Bai Song’s presence, they dared not act against Su Ye, hence the silence.

Meanwhile, the wealthy families in Jinhua County, unaware of Su Ye’s strength, grew restless as the magistrate failed to act. Impatient, they not only pressured the magistrate but also began to employ underhanded tactics to sabotage the Su Family’s business.

The magistrate, intending to use these wealthy families as pawns, did not reveal the true extent of Su Ye’s power, offering only vague hints, thus encouraging their meddling.

None of these troubles reached Su Ye’s ears, for he had already instructed that any aggression against the Su Family should be met with direct retaliation.

The Su Family’s guards were many and skilled. Under Su Ye’s guidance, their abilities had greatly improved.

Whenever someone tried to damage the Su Family’s business, the managers responded not with indirect measures but by confronting the source head-on.

Such decisive counterattacks left their adversaries unsettled. Attempts to seek an explanation from the Su Family ended with them being beaten before even entering the gates.

They turned to the magistrate for help, but he refused to see them, and only then did they realize the truth.

All these affairs were handled entirely by Zhou Quan, leaving Su Ye undisturbed.

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“I’ve reserved these two talisman medicines for you. I’ll use this time to refine more talisman seals. When Bai Song returns, if he dares to provoke us, I’ll give him a most unforgettable greeting,” Su Ye said, taking two more cultivation-enhancing talisman medicines from his pocket and placing them in the marten’s paws. After giving its head another affectionate rub, he returned to his room.

The little marten pawed at its own head and rolled on the spirit-gathering cushion, torn inside. It had intended to ask Su Ye for leave, but after receiving the talisman medicine—so delicious—it found itself reluctant to depart.

Unaware of the marten’s inner turmoil, Su Ye began refining talisman seals in his room.

He had scavenged materials for talisman seals from Zhao Huaisheng’s belongings, and had been directing the Su Family to collect more. By now, he had accumulated a considerable batch.

Once he refined them all into talisman seals, should Bai Song truly seek trouble, their power would be enough to drive him away.

For Su Ye, refining talisman seals was easier than making talisman medicines. With the companion jade talisman in his sea of consciousness, not only was the process simpler, but the talisman’s power was also greatly enhanced.

Time passed swiftly; another seven days went by.

Though the talisman seals were not all finished, Su Ye was called out by the little marten.

Hearing the rhythmic knocking at the door, Su Ye’s expression remained calm. He quickened the pace of his talisman brush, and in moments, a complete talisman pattern emerged, glowing with a faint golden lightning. The talisman seal was instantly finished.

Setting down his brush, Su Ye quickly opened the door and found himself face to face with the long-absent Ghost Mother, Xie Jiaoniang.