Chapter 120: Rising Steadily

Tong Yin and Hong Gu, master and apprentice, found a spot beneath the courtyard wall and sat cross-legged, circulating their cultivation techniques to absorb spiritual energy.

Chen Xian retrieved a large parcel from the commercial vehicle and entered the courtyard with Xiao Mei. As for Xiao Yi, Xiao Er, and Xiao San, since they were still unable to absorb the spiritual energy at the mountaintop, the charm cat had instructed them to remain at the mid-mountain level to continue their cultivation.

Upon entering the courtyard, Chen Xian noticed that the age of the precious medicinal herbs—the glossy ganoderma and ginseng—had increased significantly.

"In a month at most, some of the ganoderma and ginseng will be ready to be refined into Spirit Gathering Powder," he muttered.

Once a large quantity of Spirit Gathering Powder was refined, Chen Xian felt that his cultivation would have the potential to increase rapidly once again.

Afterward, Chen Xian opened the large parcel. Inside lay centuries-old ginseng, glossy ganoderma, and other rare medicinal herbs. Among them was a plant that was entirely silver-white, with tiny holes distributed along its stems—this was the Silver Flute Profound Grass, the primary ingredient for refining Spirit Opening Pills.

After a brief glance, Chen Xian rewrapped the parcel and entered the secret chamber.

Arriving at the heart of the formation, he opened the parcel again, took out the Silver Flute Profound Grass, and carefully planted it within the chamber.

Immediately, the Silver Flute Profound Grass absorbed the dense spiritual energy. Its stems began to tremble as if in joyful excitement, drawing airflow through the tiny holes and emitting a melodious, echoing musical sound, reminiscent of a beautiful maiden playing a jade flute.

"Meow~~~"

Xiao Mei widened her ocean-blue eyes, watching the gently swaying Silver Flute Profound Grass with curiosity.

The reason Chen Xian planted the Silver Flute Profound Grass was that it had not yet fully matured, and its medicinal efficacy had not reached its peak. He wanted it to continue growing until it reached the optimal state before harvesting it, as this would ensure the best results for refining the Spirit Opening Pills.

As for the other centuries-old glossy ganoderma and ginseng, Chen Xian stored them directly into his storage ring, intending to refine them into Spirit Gathering Powder and absorb their medicinal power to boost his cultivation when he had spare time.

"Meow~~~ Master, can you take me to buy snacks now?" the charm cat asked, looking at her master with a milky voice.

Seeing this, Chen Xian reached out to pick up the little creature, stroked her head affectionately, and said, "You little glutton, let's go to the big shopping mall right now to get some treats."

"Meow, I knew Master was the best to me!" Upon hearing this, the charm cat wagged her tail happily.

An hour later, Chen Xian took the charm cat to the largest shopping mall in the center of M City and purchased a wide variety of snacks.

After finishing this, Chen Xian and the charm cat went to the Ma Group headquarters; he wanted to check on the group's recent operational status.

Chen Xian sat in the spacious, soft leather executive chair in the president's office, sipping a cup of premium fragrant tea while listening to the reports from Ma Tian and Ma He.

Xiao Mei lay on his shoulder, munching on her snacks.

Ever since the destruction of the Xiong family and the unification of the martial arts forces in M City, coupled with the development of spiritual water, the Ma Group's growth had been steadily climbing.

With the precedent set by the Xiong family, other martial arts families in neighboring cities dared not provoke the Ma family in the slightest.

Recently, everything from spiritual water sales to real estate and factories had been developing well, with monthly revenues reaching nearly one billion. The spiritual water accounted for half of this, and since it had almost no production cost, the five hundred million could be considered pure income, or profit.

The other projects also achieved profit margins of around 40% of their revenue.

Thus, the Ma Group's monthly net profit reached approximately 700 million.

As Chen Xian held an 80% stake in the Ma Group, he could currently secure 560 million from the company based on its current growth trajectory.

Ma Tian and Ma He were very satisfied with the current progress.

However, Chen Xian felt it was merely average. After all, having seen the vast ocean, he knew that his trip to Country T had yielded jade worth nearly ten billion.

Additionally, Chen Xian noticed that both Ma Tian and Ma He had made significant progress in their cultivation, both reaching the Perfection of Dark Force.

He was not surprised by this. After all, both had been stuck at the peak of Dark Force for years. Now that he had gifted them True Qi Pills and provided them the opportunity to cultivate at the foot of the Spirit Mountain, it would have been truly pathetic if they hadn't broken through their bottlenecks to reach the Perfection of Dark Force within a month or two.

Even a pig could fly if it were caught in a strong enough wind, let alone people like Ma Tian and Ma He.

However, it would be difficult for them to take another step forward to reach the Grandmaster level; that was not something they could achieve in a few short months.

Becoming a martial arts grandmaster required more than just external resources; personal enlightenment was paramount. Unless a heaven-defying treasure appeared, even a pig couldn't become a grandmaster; otherwise, everything depended on one's own realization.

"Grandmaster Chen, if there is nothing else, we shall take our leave. There are still many matters waiting for our attention," Ma Tian and Ma He said respectfully.

Chen Xian set down his tea and said, "Wait."

"Grandmaster Chen, please feel free to command us."

Chen Xian pondered for a moment and said, "Ten days from now, I will hold a large-scale jade auction in M City. Prepare the auction venue, handle the publicity, and invite jade merchants from H Province and nearby provinces to attend."

"Grandmaster Chen, do you have many jade pieces to sell?" Ma He asked curiously.

Chen Xian’s lips curled into a faint smile. "A while ago, I visited Country T and acquired hundreds of high-quality jade pieces, worth at least 8 billion USD. I want to hold an auction to maximize the profit from these jades."

Chen Xian was stating a fact. The experts at the jade gambling festival had valued the high-quality jade at at least 8 billion USD. As for the jade obtained from the lair of the Hungry Wolf Mercenary Group, while the quality was average, the sheer volume made them worth at least several hundred million USD.

Upon hearing this, both Ma Tian and Ma He showed expressions of disbelief. Over 8 billion USD—that was equivalent to over 64 billion in Hualong Federation currency!

Grandmaster Chen truly lived up to his title; the value of the jade he obtained in one trip to Country T exceeded the combined assets of the Ma and Xiong families.

"Grandmaster Chen, could you provide a few pieces of jade for us to photograph and create a brochure? It would help with the promotion and make it easier to persuade jade merchants to attend the auction," Ma He asked respectfully after regaining his composure.

Chen Xian nodded. "Of course. I will take out a few pieces for you to photograph later."

Chen Xian continued, "I also need many precious materials. You must help me find them; I will provide you with a list."

"Understood, Grandmaster Chen," Ma Tian and Ma He replied.

Shortly after, Chen Xian left the Ma Group building with Xiao Mei, taking a Rolls-Royce toward Spirit Mountain.

Before leaving, he took five pieces of jade that were not the absolute best from the ninety precious pieces he had obtained at the festival for the pair to use in their promotional materials.

Furthermore, Chen Xian compiled a list of primary and secondary materials needed for setting up various formations and refining useful pills, handing it over to them with instructions to search for them with all their effort.

The right path was to use the money earned to cultivate and rapidly increase his strength.

Sitting in the car, Chen Xian took out his phone to call Mr. Mo Baishan. His intention was twofold: to invite the old man to the jade auction in ten days and to have him help contact big clients within the jade industry.

Although Chen Xian had already delegated the auction arrangements to Ma Tian and Ma He, he was still somewhat uneasy. After all, the Ma family were outsiders to the jade industry and might not be able to attract the industry's heavyweights.

Mr. Mo Baishan was different; with his reputation, it would be easy to draw a large crowd of industry moguls.

However, just then, his phone rang.

Chen Xian saw that it was a call from Zhang Xin.