After settling down in Hundred Flowers City, Fang Hao’s days became regular.

During the day, he would either wander around the city’s various medicine shops and markets, haggling with those shrewd shopkeepers and stall owners, inquiring about the main ingredients for forming golden core; or he would hole up in the small courtyard he rented, sitting in meditation to Cultivate, and studying that incomplete Pill Formula.

He really spent a lot of money.

That reserved five-hundred-year-old "Thick Earth Poria" cost him nearly 800,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, making his heart ache so much he twitched.

But there was no other way; this item was a main earth-type ingredient, which was especially important for his Seven Spiritual Roots, so he had to buy it no matter how expensive it was.

He also gritted his teeth and bought a small segment of decent-quality "Azure Dragon Ginseng" root, and a few well-preserved "Mystic Ice Lotus" petals, costing him another million or so Spirit Stones.

As for the "Sharp Metal Grass," he did see one, but it was too young, only about a hundred years old, and its medicinal efficacy was insufficient, so he didn’t want it.

But the remaining "earth core fire ganoderma," "sun flower," and "moon shadow grass" were truly priceless and unavailable.

He ran through all the famous large trading firms in Hundred Flowers City, but as soon as the shopkeepers heard about these three ingredients, they shook their heads like rattles.

"Customer, what you’re talking about are rare items! earth core fire ganoderma? That requires going deep into the earth core fire veins; even a Nascent Soul True Monarch would struggle down there! sun flower? I’ve heard they only exist in a few extreme Yang Secret Realms; it’s been many years since I’ve seen one. moon shadow grass? That’s even more mysterious, like something out of a legend." An old shopkeeper stroked his beard, helpless to assist.

Fang Hao felt disheartened listening to this.

Relying on buying was hopeless; did he really have to go to those deadly Secret Realms to try his luck? But were Secret Realms so easy to enter? Even if he got in, finding them was another matter entirely.

Because of this, he worried so much he hadn’t slept soundly for several days.

That night, he took out the chaos pill cauldron again and rubbed it in his hands.

This cauldron was very mysterious; it could perform Alchemy, act as a Grotto-Heaven for hiding, but were there any other uses?

He subconsciously let his Divine Sense sink into the gray, misty space inside the cauldron.

The space remained the same: gray, misty, and lifeless.

The phantom of the small cauldron in the center floated silently.

Fang Hao’s Divine Sense wandered around inside, and suddenly, he noticed that some low-grade healing herbs he had hurriedly collected last time to deal with the Gongming Family’s pursuit seemed... not dead?

With a thought, he took those few herbs out.

Upon looking, hey! Not only had they not wilted, the leaves were even greener, and they had faintly grown a little bit! Although the change was minimal, they were definitely growing!

Fang Hao’s eyes widened instantly! In this Chaos Grotto-Heaven, could he plant living things?! No, wait, could he plant Spirit Medicine?!

He hurriedly sensed that space carefully again.

Before, he had only been concerned with hiding and recovering his spiritual power, so he hadn’t paid much attention.

Now that he calmed down, he discovered that this gray mist seemed to... contain a very, very faint vitality? It was also mixed with pure Chaos Qi!

"Could it be... that this Chaos Qi can nourish Spirit Medicine?" A bold thought popped up.

Chaos gives birth to all things; theoretically, it making sense for it to nourish Spirit Medicine was plausible!

Fang Hao’s heart rate accelerated.

If this was true, then he had hit the jackpot!

It was equivalent to him carrying a mobile herb garden that could grow Spirit Medicine! 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

And it was inside the absolutely safe Chaos Grotto-Heaven!

Any hundred-year or thousand-year Spirit Medicine, he could completely wait for them to grow over time!

He acted immediately! Early the next morning, Fang Hao excitedly ran to the largest low-grade Spirit Medicine seed wholesale market in Hundred Flowers City.

This place was different from high-end medicine shops; it was messy, with stalls everywhere, selling all kinds of common first-tier and second-tier Spirit Medicine seeds, which were cheap and plentiful.

Fang Hao didn’t bother picking and choosing, specifically looking for those hardy, easy-to-grow varieties, like "Blood Coagulation Grass," "Qi Gathering Flower," and "Iron Bone Vine," buying several large bags in one go, costing less than a thousand Spirit Stones.

The stall owner looked at him like he was an idiot, having never seen anyone buy low-level seeds like that.

Returning to the small courtyard, he closed the door and activated the Formation. Fang Hao couldn’t wait to enter the Chaos Grotto-Heaven.

He marked out a small area, used his hands (there were no tools in the Grotto) to dig a few shallow pits, and carefully buried the different types of seeds separately.

Then, he attempted to mobilize that wisp of Chaos Qi in his Dantian, slowly guiding it above this "herb field," letting it sprinkle down finely like spring rain.

After doing all this, he exited the Grotto-Heaven, feeling both expectant and anxious.

Over the next few days, he entered the Grotto-Heaven several times a day to check.

For the first two days, there was no movement.

On the third day, he was pleasantly surprised to find that in a few of the small pits, needle-point-sized tender green sprouts had actually emerged!

"It’s alive! It’s really alive!" Fang Hao was so excited he almost jumped up! Although the germination was slow, it was definitely alive! In this dead, silent Chaos space, life was sprouting!

What surprised him even more was that he vaguely felt these tender sprouts slowly absorbing the meager Chaos Qi in the space; although the speed was agonizingly slow, they were indeed growing!

"It’s possible! It’s definitely possible!" Fang Hao’s confidence greatly increased.

Although the growth was slow, he had plenty of time! Moreover, would the quality of the Spirit Medicine nourished by this Chaos Qi be any different?

He immediately ran to the seed market again, this time with much clearer goals.

He was no longer limited to low-level herbs, starting to inquire about and purchase seeds of more precious third-tier, and even a small amount of fourth-tier Spirit Medicine, which were relatively easier to obtain!

Such as "jade marrow ganoderma," "purple monkey flower," "sky blue flower," etc. These seeds were much more expensive, but compared to finished Spirit Medicine, they were still as cheap as cabbage.

He also specifically inquired about the seeds of "earth core fire ganoderma," "sun flower," and "moon shadow grass," but the result was predictable; there wasn’t even a trace of them.

The reproduction methods of these top-tier Spirit Medicines were very special, basically not relying on seeds, and even if they did, they were Sect secrets that would never be released.

However, Fang Hao was not discouraged; he would first plant all the seeds he could get his hands on!

He cleared a larger "herb field" in the Chaos Grotto-Heaven, categorized them, and planted the purchased seeds one by one.

His daily routine was to go in and water them with Chaos Qi; although it was tiring, looking at that gradually expanding patch of green, he felt incredibly fulfilled.

In this way, his life in Hundred Flowers City became even more regular.

In the morning he would Cultivate, in the afternoon he would study Pill Formula and Formation, in the evening he would "tend to the herb garden," and occasionally go out to inquire about news and make purchases.

Although the main ingredients for forming golden core were still nowhere to be found, having the hope of the Chaos herb garden made him feel much more at ease.

The nine-plus months of waiting time didn’t seem so unbearable anymore.

He was like an old farmer, silently tilling his "one acre and three fen of land," waiting for the harvest season, and also waiting for the arrival of that huge opportunity or crisis of the Tianyan Secret Realm.