Nine Yang Alchemy Emperor

Of course, a hastily set up pill furnace like this would definitely not have earth fire.

Because tapping into earth fire is a very complex and huge project. Not only does it require choosing a special terrain, but it also consumes a massive amount of money. A minor leader like this simply couldn't afford it.

If one really needs to refine elixirs that demand high furnace heat, one could completely rent an alchemy room from the sect.

That would be much more cost-effective.

This pill furnace is mounted on a stove, beneath which are the ashes left from burning charcoal.

If I'm not mistaken, it's probably not used for alchemy. It's more likely used to process some medicinal herbs for transport or preservation.

"I have Abnormal Fire, as long as I have enough medicinal herbs, it's absolutely no problem to refine some elixirs." Chu Feng urgently wanted to refine a batch of elixirs to make a breakthrough to the Late-Stage Great Sword Master realm.

Now that he's become a small leader as he wished, he also has some personal space.

He can plant some private medicinal herbs.

An idea to quietly make a fortune and rapidly increase his strength gradually took shape in Chu Feng's mind.

In the bedroom of the stone house, Chu Feng quickly made another discovery. Under the bed, there was a large copper-coated wooden chest.

Made from wood, the surface of the chest was covered with a layer of copper.

There was a lock on it.

Chu Feng dragged the chest out, and with a slice from the Demon Slaying Sword, he easily cut off the lock.

This is a Heavenly Divine Weapon, slicing through iron as if it's mud, and cutting off an ordinary copper lock is absolutely no problem. Upon opening the chest, Chu Feng was surprised to find that it stored quite a number of medicinal herb seeds.

There was also a stack of account books.

Flipping through them, he didn't expect to find that they contained records of the medicinal herb yield per Medicine Farmer under Ding Ku's leader each quarter, as well as the total annual objectives that needed to be met.

While being a small leader certainly comes with many privileges and a salary much higher than that of the Medicine Farmers below him, the responsibility on his shoulders is also substantial.

For each Mountain Area, there are clear production requirements.

Chu Feng glanced through briefly and found that as long as he could maintain the current situation for the Mountain Area he managed, meeting the target wouldn't be a problem.

If he wanted to exceed production, he'd need to work much harder.

The position of a small leader is not what Chu Feng aims for.

He must figure out how to make the production of the Mountain Area he manages far exceed the standard, only then would he have a chance to achieve great merit.

Chu Feng took the account book and examined it closely, and to his surprise, he found pages at the back densely packed with small characters. After reading carefully, he couldn't help but reveal a slight smile.

He exclaimed, "I really didn't expect that even being a small leader is so difficult. There's so much to it."

What were recorded on the last few pages of the account book?

They included methods to boost performance, such as planting some severely in-demand medicinal herbs by the sect, which could get a performance bonus when turned in.

One tael of medicinal herb is equivalent to one tael and two coins.

Another example is planting some extremely difficult-to-grow precious Medicinal Herbs, a single plant of which could equate to the production of an entire quarter.

However, these medicinal herbs are extremely hard to grow, and keeping them alive is too difficult.

So these are just some tips summarized by Ding Ku's leader. If there were difficulties in implementation, one would eventually find out they're not feasible at all.

This is also a major reason why Ding Ku's leader, despite everything, remains just a small leader and has never been promoted.

Always thinking of fawning and taking shortcuts, but not willing to focus on the basic business of how to cultivate medicinal herbs and improve their yield.

It's as futile as trying to catch fish by climbing a tree.

In the end, whenever the year-end performance evaluations roll around, the domain under Ding Ku's leader could only ever meet the standard.

And it was far from reaching an excellent performance.

Naturally, it was impossible for him to be promoted to Big Chief, and even if he managed to get a nomination by flattering others, he would likely be eliminated.

After all, to be promoted to a Big Chief, one certainly needs impressive achievements.

Only then would one receive approval from the higher-ups of the Sect.

"For Ding Ku, cultivating those precious Medicinal Herbs has all ended in failure. But I won't fail – I have rich experience in cultivating Medicinal Herbs, capable of growing some of the more difficult ones. Like this Black God Mushroom, it only takes four months to produce a harvest. One Black God Mushroom can be worth half a quarter's total performance."

"All I need to do is plant about ten of them, and I can unveil astonishing results at the end of the year."

Chu Feng carefully counted the Medicinal Herb seeds in the box and found it contained seeds for over a dozen precious Medicinal Herbs.

Without exception, Ding Ku's leader had failed in cultivating any of them.

"Using Ant Soldiers to cultivate the Medicine Field where I plant Cold Frost Grass and Bitter Cold Flower, which has been nearly completely destroyed. It is the perfect opportunity to use that special gloomy environment to try growing Black God Mushroom."

"However, I shouldn't put all my eggs in one basket. I need to figure out how to grow at least two other precious Medicinal Herbs."

The next day, Chu Feng got up early in the morning to inspect the Medicine Mountain under his jurisdiction.

He found that the area allocated to him was quite extensive. It was nearly thirty percent larger compared to the mountain domains of other small leaders.

This was probably the result of Ding Ku's leader being particularly good at flattery.

He surely received some favor from those above.

It's just that he himself lacked real ability, and in the end, he could not achieve great success.

"After reclaiming this wasteland, I can use it to grow Azure Dragon Moss! But the harvest cycle will be longer, needing at least half a year or more to see results." Chu Feng found a particularly damp, rocky area within his territory, covered in stones.

While the land is not extensive, and there is little soil, mostly rock formations.

But for Azure Dragon Moss, these are the most suitable conditions. Moss naturally has shallow roots and prefers gloomy and moist environments. This is the same reason why moss often grows on rocks beneath waterfalls.

The Azure Dragon Moss that Chu Feng intends to grow is even more challenging to cultivate.

He is full of confidence.

After surveying the entire Medicine Mountain, Chu Feng only found two places suitable for planting precious Medicinal Herbs. With his limited energy, he plans to first try planting Black God Mushroom and Azure Dragon Moss.

If successful, that would surely be a great achievement.

He would soon accumulate enough achievements to vie for the Big Chief position.

If not successful, that's alright; he can always continue trying. It won't damage the foundations.

In addition, Chu Feng plans to diligently guide his nine Medicine Farmers to properly cultivate ordinary Medicinal Herbs during this time.

By doing so, he could have double assurance.

...

Time flies, and everything is proceeding according to plan. Chu Feng's team has gotten a new Medicine Farmer, a young man who appears very honest.

At first, Chu Feng didn't care, but this seemingly honest young man often tried to peek at his secrets, which raised Chu Feng's vigilance.

Therefore, he began to keep a special watch on this young man named Bai Fei.

To keep him out of the way, Chu Feng directly used his authority to pile on more tasks for him, leaving him no spare time for other matters.