Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 159 – Launching the Alchemy Business

What the Xuan Shui swallowed wasn't just cultivators, mortals, or fruits and vegetables—he devoured rocks and chunks of wood alike.

The cultivators and mortals were taken into a special stomach, while all the miscellaneous debris was sent to his true stomach. At his cultivation level, not to mention rocks and wood—even gold and iron were digestible.

As for the two cherries hidden among the fruits and vegetables, they were simply too inconspicuous. Xuan Shui didn't notice them at all. Nor did the panicked cultivators of the Crimson Coral Archipelago.

Only Shi Yuwei, standing at the rear, wore a tense expression. But the moment she saw the monstrous fish swallow the cherries gifted by her senior, a wave of relief washed over her face.

Boom! Boom!

The instant the cherries entered Xuan Shui belly, the monstrous fish's stomach suddenly swelled and then burst open with a deafening tear.

Within the rupture was nothing but void—the creature's internal organs had been completely annihilated by the cherry bombs. Blood and viscera surged out from the massive gash, instantly painting the entire Red One Island red.

Only then did Xuan Shui wake from the pain, but before he could even let out a scream, an overwhelming sense of weakness hit him. It was obvious that this single blow had left him on the brink of death.

Had those two cherry bombs detonated outside his body, they might not have inflicted lethal damage on a third–stage sea monster like Xuan Shui. But inside his gut? The effect was utterly devastating.

Fortunately, those were just two second-tier top-grade cherry bombs. If they had been third-tier, Xuan Shui would be long dead by now.

Though still clinging to life, his condition was dire.

"Alliance Leader Shi, now's the time!"

Shi Yuwei brandished her magic treasure and called to the stunned Shi Yunjie, who was still gaping at the unbelievable scene before him. The monstrous fish was only gravely wounded—not truly dead. If they didn't seize this opportunity, once the creature recovered, they would all be doomed.

"Kill it!"

Finally understanding the situation, Shi Yunjie shouted to the cultivators of the Crimson Coral Archipelago. Moments ago, the monstrous fish had been so overwhelmingly powerful that everyone had fallen into despair. But now that it was gravely wounded, their will to survive reignited.

In an instant, countless flying swords and spells rained down on Xuan Shui body.

"You lowly ants… you dare!"

Enraged by the attacks, Xuan Shui lashed out. Even in his weakened state, he still managed to crush several cultivators with one blow, halting the momentum of the assault.

"Don't be afraid—he won't last much longer!" Shi Yunjie bellowed. This was a battle for the survival of their archipelago. Even if it meant laying down their lives, they had to take the creature down.

The fierce battle dragged on for nearly half an hour before Xuan Shui finally succumbed to his wounds. Though the Crimson Coral Archipelago lost nearly half of its cultivators, the victory—however bloody—was theirs.

What was once unthinkable—a victory over a third-tier sea monster—had now become a reality.

And the key to that victory? The method that had dealt the monster its initial crippling blow.

"This was a life-saving gift from my senior," Shi Yuwei explained, noticing the looks she was receiving.

"Our deepest thanks, Miss Yuwei."

The cultivators of the Crimson Coral Archipelago bowed to Shi Yuwei in gratitude. Without her intervention, they would have all perished inside the monstrous fish.

"Alliance Leader, look at this!"

With the beast slain, the work of gathering spoils began. Every part of a third-tier sea monster was valuable. While the most prized item—the demon core—rightfully went to Shi Yuwei for her pivotal contribution, the remaining materials were still worth a great deal.

But it seemed there was more.

Shi Yunjie was momentarily stunned as someone handed him a storage artifact. Sea monsters rarely carried storage items, and those that did were never ordinary.

Shi Yunjie took the artifact with a grave expression and began attempting to unlock the restrictions on it. Normally, restrictions on sea monster storage items were simple to crack.

But this time, he was met with surprisingly complex enchantments—well beyond his ability to unravel. This only confirmed that the monstrous fish had an even more formidable background than he'd imagined.

"What should we do now, Alliance Leader?"

Having narrowly survived one crisis, only to face another, the cultivators of the archipelago were once again filled with unease.

"Perhaps we should seek the protection of that Core Formation–stage immortal. I've heard many have already gone to Giant Crab Island to take refuge with him," one elder suggested.

The moment he said it, the others all voiced their agreement. Anyone capable of slaying a mighty sea monster like the Golden Claw General was clearly powerful enough to protect them. Moreover, Giant Crab Island had far better resources than the Crimson Coral Archipelago.

"Miss Yuwei, what do you think?"

Shi Yunjie didn't decide immediately. Instead, he turned to Shi Yuwei. Given her close connection to the immortal, her approval would essentially guarantee the move.

"Let's go see my senior," Shi Yuwei nodded. She, too, wished to serve at her senior's side.

"Excellent."

Shi Yunjie was overjoyed. He quickly began organizing manpower and preparing the treasure ships for their journey to Giant Crab Island.

However, there were still many mortals in the Red Coral Archipelago who couldn't be moved all at once. The cultivators would go first, find a suitable island, and then arrange to relocate the mortals later.

Giant Crab Island.

"Finally… success."

Gu Mo looked at the pill in his hand, thick with medicinal fragrance. After many days of effort—and with his Torch Stump upgraded to third-tier top grade—he had finally succeeded in refining a third-tier pill.

Though it wasn't a breakthrough pill like the Condensing Gold Pill, merely a common healing elixir, its quality signified that Gu Mo had officially stepped into the realm of third-tier alchemists.

All that remained was for him to keep practicing and improving his technique. Eventually, he would attempt to refine the Condensing Gold Pill and other difficult advancement elixirs.

But this period of practice had burned through most of his third-tier spiritual materials. He couldn't use the materials meant for the Condensing Gold Pill, which left him at a standstill.

"Looks like I'll need to start offering alchemy services."

Gu Mo smiled bitterly. No alchemist could rely solely on their own resources. The primary way to improve was to take commissions, refining pills from materials provided by other cultivators. This not only improved skill—it also made money.

Conveniently, many cultivators had recently come to Giant Crab Island, including numerous pseudo-Core and Core Formation cultivators.

As word of Gu Mo's defeat of the Golden Pincer General spread, more and more cultivators fleeing sea monster oppression came seeking shelter.

These cultivators from all corners of the seas—many carrying unused spiritual materials and lacking powerful alchemists—were his next customers.

"Time to bring that girl Yuwei over too."

Gu Mo needed someone to help manage these affairs, and he trusted Shi Yuwei—she was reliable and efficient.

But just as he was about to set off to retrieve her, he was surprised to see her already approaching the island. Not just her—there were treasure ships too, ones he recognized.

Outside the island.

"Another one come to seek audience with the great immortal."

As Gu Mo's cultivation grounds, the island was under constant surveillance. When Shi Yuwei arrived and stepped onto the island, she was quickly noticed by other cultivators.

Everyone waited to watch her get rejected—just like all the others before her.

So far, the Core Formation immortal had accepted no visitors—not even other Core cultivators. And now a mere Qi Refining girl wanted to get in? No matter how pretty she was, cultivation meant everything.

But just as they prepared to mock her… a path opened in the cloud-shrouded island.

Seeing this, Shi Yuwei quickly stepped into the misty corridor.

"Wha…?!"

The onlookers were stunned. This was the immortal's first time accepting an outsider—and a beautiful young woman at that.

In that moment, many cultivators had the same flash of insight:

So that's how to get an audience!

They'd simply been using the wrong approach.

Almost immediately, they dispersed—intent on finding beautiful female cultivators to present to the immortal in hopes of securing their own audience.

"Yuwei greets Senior!"

Upon seeing Gu Mo again, Shi Yuwei felt a surge of reassurance.

"What brings you here?"

Gu Mo was a little surprised. Though he'd planned to fetch her himself, she shouldn't have known that.

"Senior…"

Shi Yuwei recounted everything that had happened in the Crimson Coral Archipelago and presented the storage artifact and demon core.

"Hm? This aura…"

Gu Mo's gaze swept over the demon core. He instantly recognized the familiar aura—it belonged to the elusive third-tier sea monster he had sensed several times before.

He'd never managed to pinpoint the creature. And now it had become a demon core.

How quickly things change.

Turning to the storage artifact, Gu Mo sensed that this creature likely had powerful backing—like the offspring of the Golden Claw General, who also had a storage item.

But Gu Mo was no longer afraid of sea monsters on that level.

Not with his near-fourth-tier grand array—the Misty Illusion Formation—shrouding the island. Even a demon king would be slowed, giving him time to escape if necessary.

"I'll hold on to these for now."

Gu Mo said calmly. While he feared no retribution, Shi Yuwei and the other Crimson Coral cultivators wouldn't survive if the sea monster's backers came looking.

Of course, he wasn't taking them for free. Since she'd already used her two cherry bombs, he handed her a new one.

"Thank you for the gift, Senior!"

Shi Yuwei's eyes lit up at the sight of the cherry. She had seen its destructive power firsthand.

And this one was even larger than the last two—about the same size as the one that had killed the Golden Claw General.

Indeed, this was a third-tier cherry bomb.

With thirty third-tier mid-grade Sunflowers growing in his spiritual field, Gu Mo had accumulated a good supply of third-tier cherry bombs and potato mines—including mid-grade variants.

Those mid-grade bombs were powerful enough to threaten even peak third-tier sea monsters.

Gu Mo was even working on upgrading them to top-grade. Once complete, he could potentially one-shot such monsters.

His Peashooters had also evolved. The highest-grade one had reached third-tier top grade, and when paired with a Torch Stump of the same tier, could unleash damage at the peak of third-tier power.

Even the Golden Claw General wouldn't dare take that head-on.

Gu Mo's strength had soared—such was the benefit of owning a third-tier top-grade spiritual field.

"Alright, I've got a task for you next," Gu Mo said with a wave of his hand, then instructed Shi Yuwei to spread the word that he would now be accepting alchemy commissions.

As for what Shi Yuwei had mentioned earlier about sheltering the cultivators from the Crimson Coral Archipelago, Gu Mo silently agreed. There were already plenty of cultivators on the Giant Crab Islands—adding a few more didn't matter.

Compared to fighting alone, if the human cultivators in the sea region could band together, it wouldn't be impossible for them to stand against the sea monsters and carve out a territory of their own in the vast ocean.

As for the concern about the lack of combat power among human cultivators, Gu Mo didn't see that as a real issue. After all, he was about to launch his alchemy business, which would present a prime opportunity for many cultivators to improve their cultivation.

Once Shi Yuwei announced the news, the entire Giant Crab Island was instantly set ablaze with excitement. Were humans really weaker than sea monsters? Of course not. Otherwise, why would humans be the dominant force in the grand cultivation world instead of the demon beasts?

What allowed human cultivators to surpass demon beasts were exactly the skills they had mastered—alchemy, artifact refinement, formation arts, and talisman crafting. With these techniques, humans overcame their natural disadvantages in bloodline and rose to the pinnacle of the cultivation world.

The reason sea-region human cultivators were oppressed by sea monsters was precisely because they lacked powerful alchemists, artificers, formation masters, and talisman experts.

But now, all of that was about to change.

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