These agricultural products weren’t limited to spring bamboo shoots; they also included many other crops, livestock, poultry, aquatic products, and even wild boars.

And when tourists visited the Dark Saint Realm, didn’t they want to bring back some local souvenirs?

Therefore, the shipping fees, after-sales service costs, commission (5%), and so on, generated from selling goods for the villagers were all factored into the cost and would be deducted from the year-end dividends.

This had been decided and publicly announced after a meeting of the Li Family Village committee. The villagers were very understanding—after all, it didn’t require them to pay anything out of pocket. They just had to supply the goods and collect their payment.

Some of the shrewder villagers had done the math privately. Even though their earnings were a tiny bit less, they still kept the lion’s share, making it far more profitable than taking the produce to town themselves. If they went to sell it, they would work themselves to death with no guarantee of a sale, and the prices they could get would be much lower than what Li Xiang offered. Now, it was so much easier—they just had to haul their goods to Li Xiang’s house and they were done.

The village committee even organized a few hands to help move goods and ship packages.

The main reason was that Li Xiang sold to out-of-towners, whereas they could only sell to locals. This was the source region, and with a massive influx of spring bamboo shoots flooding the market, it was impossible to get a good price locally.

Especially in the countryside, what family didn’t have a few hundred kilograms of them? Many were worried sick about the piles they had at home. They couldn’t sell much, the price was low, and they couldn’t possibly eat it all.

Some families couldn’t even be bothered to dig them up. If they did, they’d only unearth enough for their own meals and to give some to relatives in the city.

Zhao Xueqing, Yao Yao, and Lei Xiaohui’s families also had plenty of spring bamboo shoots, so Li Xiang had them bring theirs over for him to sell as well. They weren’t from Li Family Village, but they were his signed artists. ’Why shouldn’t they enjoy some employee perks?’ The fees he charged them were the same as for the Li Family Village residents.

...

Even though Li Xiang picked the smallest cardboard box for the spring bamboo shoots, it was still a bit too large. He trimmed it down, stuffed some foam inside for padding, and sealed it with tape.

When he had gone to the county town to buy gold foil, Li Xiang had called Xu Xuan about it. Xu Xuan told him to send it over anytime; he’d find a channel to get it into an auction or see if anyone was privately interested and make an introduction.

Xu Xuan was astounded. ’What on earth did he find on that mountain to be selling it for so much? Twenty million for a single piece? And that’s just the starting price?’

For something so valuable, Li Xiang certainly wasn’t going to ship it via a standard courier. He gave Lei Jiaming a call and asked if he was free to make a trip to the provincial capital to deliver a small package for two thousand yuan.

When Lei Jiaming heard the offer, he was ecstatic. ’Damn, a deal this good?’ Once he understood he was just delivering a valuable auction item—and to an "old acquaintance" like Xu Xuan, no less—he immediately puffed out his chest and agreed.

The provincial capital was only two or three hundred kilometers away, a same-day round trip. After deducting expenses for gas and food, he could easily clear well over a thousand yuan. Where else could he find such a great gig?

Lei Jiaming was actually quite envious of his sister working for Li Xiang and becoming a signed artist. He wanted to shamelessly try and snag a contract for himself, but Li Xiang wasn’t interested.

Lei Jiaming figured that once the tourist site was finished, he’d apply to be a security guard for Li Xiang. ’We’re all from the same area, after all,’ he thought. ’He could at least make me the head of security, right?’

"It’s too late today. Come to my house early tomorrow to pick up the package," Li Xiang said.

"You got it! From now on, you’re the boss!" Lei Jiaming joked. In fact, he was several years older than Li Xiang.

At two-thirty in the morning, Li Xiang set out once again to continue his treasure hunt in the Hailuogou Primeval Forest.

As an Extraordinary Being, he was brimming with energy and had no particular outlet for it, so he didn’t really need much sleep.

’Isn’t sleep just the body’s way of demanding rest after fatigue? Yet, I haven’t encountered anything that makes me feel particularly exhausted.’

Going for a run in the middle of the night at over three hundred kilometers per hour helped him blow off some excess steam, which was good for his physical and mental health.

It was early spring in Hailuogou. The spring rain had just ceased, and the "gorge" was shrouded in a hazy mist, resembling an earthly paradise.

Though called a "gorge," it actually spanned over seventy square kilometers. Furthermore, its elevation varied dramatically, with a difference of six thousand meters between its highest and lowest points. Exploring the entire area would take considerable effort.

Li Xiang didn’t have any obsessive need to search every single inch of the land. He would just "wander" for a few days, and once he had gathered enough Spiritual Medicine to last about half a year, he planned to stop.

The treasure hunt was just a means to an end, not the goal itself. The real purpose was to gather enough Spiritual Medicine for his Cultivation and personal enjoyment.

System: "Detected Tier Five Mutated Creature: Three-Eared Macaque."

SWISH—

A white light flashed. The macaque, which had been sleeping in a tree, never knew what hit it. It met Buddha in its dreams and tumbled from the branch. The commotion startled the other nearby macaques, which screeched in alarm as they fled.

System: "Congratulations, Host, on killing the Tier Five Mutated Creature, Three-Eared Macaque. Reward: 100 Achievement Points and three Tier Four Mutated Spirit Fruit, Crystal Kiwis."

"The rewards have been delivered to the System Warehouse. Please check your inventory."

"Achievement Points balance: 1980."

Li Xiang retrieved his White Fang Dagger and inspected the three kiwis. Their sweet fragrance was overwhelming. A Spirit Fruit like this was best eaten raw. He removed his Face Armor, ducked behind a large tree, and polished off two of them on the spot.

A short while later, Li Xiang came across a sturdy takin, another creature with Extraordinary potential. He killed it on the spot, gaining 80 Achievement Points and three strands of a Tier Three Mutated Spiritual Medicine: Silver Thread Snow Pine Lichen.

Pine Lichen was a unique plant in Hailuogou that grew in tangled, thread-like masses, often hanging from old trees or rocks. The entire ordinary Pine Lichen plant was used in medicine for its anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties, and for clearing the liver and improving vision. Naturally, the three strands of Mutated Spiritual Medicine Li Xiang had obtained were vastly more potent.

Li Xiang stored the takin’s corpse in his System Warehouse. Later, back at his secret base, he could butcher it with expert skill, taking out a few cuts at a time for an excellent meal.

But he would have to eat it in secret; he couldn’t let anyone know what kind of meat it was.

This was because the takin, along with the giant panda and the golden snub-nosed monkey, was known as one of the three great treasures of the high-mountain forests.

Not long after, Li Xiang killed three more wild macaques—one with three eyes and another with iron feet. They were all Tier Five, earning him 200 Achievement Points and six Tier Four Mutated Spirit Fruit: Crystal Kiwis.

’I have to admit, these kiwis are delicious,’ he thought. They were as translucent as green crystals, their sweet scent filled the air, and they were all perfectly ripe and soft to the touch. After peeling one and taking a bite, the flavor filled his mouth and the fruit practically melted on his tongue.

’Something this good... I should save some for Jiang Cai’er.’ Li Xiang mused. He figured she was due for her monthly vacation soon.

’Then again, Jiang Cai’er’s Realm is still low. She can’t eat too many. It would probably take her a long time to ’digest’ even a single Tier Four Spirit Fruit.’

After eating a few of the Spirit Fruits, Li Xiang felt he was on the verge of a breakthrough. However, he discreetly circulated his Spiritual Power to suppress the advancement. ’It’s better to polish my foundation a bit more, let it settle. It’ll be beneficial for my future Cultivation.’

’It’s a time of peace, after all. I haven’t faced any major crises, so I have time to solidify my foundation—the firmer, the better. There are still over nine years to go. I’m confident I can break through to the Saint Tier before the Apocalypse arrives.’

"Huh? Is that a bamboo grove, and... a little black-and-white furball?" Li Xiang was delighted. Several hundred meters away, he could faintly make out a highly treasured beast—the kind revered as a national treasure.

With a flash, he vanished, silently sneaking closer.

Sure enough, when he drew near, he saw an adorable giant panda. It was already awake and holding a large bamboo shoot, eating it with loud, happy CRUNCHES.

Li Xiang crept silently to within ten meters when the System’s notification popped up: "Detected Tier Fifteen Mutated Creature: Taiji Iron-Eating Beast."