Apart from trading at the exchange, beast materials could also be sold to the family. Although the price was lower, it was more convenient as it allowed for a one-time resolution, and in return, one could obtain spirit stones or other resources from the family.
Su Yu kept the flesh and essence blood of the mid-tier first-grade Earth Rock Rat for his own use to cultivate the Body Refining Technique.
The hide and the essence blood of the early-tier first-grade Earth Rock Rat were sold to the family, earning him six low-grade spirit stones.
Time passed slowly.
After arriving at the herb garden, Su Yu's cultivation resources had increased severalfold.
Moreover, he had forty-one drops of essence blood from the mid-tier first-grade Earth Rock Rat.
He could be described as 'wealthy and influential.'
In his daily cultivation, with the help of spirit stones and spirit rice, the Wutong Green Wood Technique now required less than three hours a day to reach its limit.
For the Body Refining Technique, he could now consume and refine two drops of beast essence blood a day, resulting in a qualitative leap in his cultivation speed.
As the stars shifted, a night passed.
The next day, Su Yu woke from his cultivation and focused on the lines of proficiency panel before him.
[Techniques: Wutong Green Wood Technique (Second Layer, Proficiency 4.5%), Crocodile Demon One Hundred and Eight Forms Body Refining Technique (Third Layer, Proficiency 21.4%).]
"In one day, the proficiency of the Wutong Green Wood Technique can increase by 0.18%, and the Body Refining Technique by 0.82%," Su Yu pondered.
This meant it would take about a year and a half for the Wutong Green Wood Technique to break through to the third layer.
The Body Refining Technique, however, would only need a little over two months to reach the fourth layer.
Consuming two drops of mid-tier first-grade beast essence blood a day, the speed of the Body Refining Technique was more than twice as fast as without resources.
Otherwise, the Body Refining Technique wouldn't have been able to break through so quickly.
Subsequently, Su Yu tried using low-grade spirit stones to assist in the cultivation of the Wutong Green Wood Technique, and indeed, the speed of cultivation greatly increased, with proficiency rising by 0.28% a day.
If he could use spirit stones for long-term cultivation, he would only need about a year to break through to the third layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
"If I could have Qi Refining Pills to assist, the cultivation speed would be even faster, but a bottle of ten Qi Refining Pills costs ten low-grade spirit stones, equivalent to one low-grade spirit stone per pill."
"For the early stages of the Qi Refining Realm, one pill only lasts for two to three hours, so compared to using spirit stones, it's more cost-effective to cultivate with spirit stones."
Unfortunately, Su Yu shook his head. Not only could he not afford the pills, but he could also only use one spirit stone every now and then to assist in his cultivation.
Any more would be beyond his means.
After calculating his cultivation resources, Su Yu followed a routine of cultivation every day, aside from his duties in the herb garden.
Half a month later, one night, Su Yu went out again to set up five beast lure powder traps, this time hunting three Earth Rock Rats, all of which were early-tier first-grade beasts.
Apart from keeping the beast flesh for daily consumption and a bit of early-tier first-grade beast essence blood, Su Yu sold all other materials to the family, earning another nine low-grade spirit stones.
Time passed slowly.
Su Yu had been at the herb garden for two months.
During these two months, the infestation of Earth Rock Rats in the herb garden had become increasingly severe, affecting the safety of the Su family's herb garden, with many spirit herbs being gnawed and destroyed by the rats.
Even more than a dozen ordinary family members had perished under the claws and teeth of the Earth Rock Rats.
This enraged the higher-ups of the Su family.
They were determined to eradicate the Earth Rock Rat demon horde.
The family head, Su Peng, soon visited the medicinal garden and announced a bounty mission: anyone who hunted a first-stage early-phase Earth Rock Rat would receive an additional reward of five low-grade spirit stones, apart from the value of the materials.
Hunting a first-stage mid-phase Earth Rock Rat would yield an extra twenty low-grade spirit stones!
And for a first-stage late-phase Earth Rock Rat, the reward was a hundred low-grade spirit stones!
The infestation of Earth Rock Rats in the medicinal garden had reached a critical point where failure to address it would lead to catastrophic consequences.
If the Earth Rock Rat population continued to grow unchecked, even without the influence of a first-grade spirit vein, the Su family's medicinal herb business would be doomed.
Whether for the sake of the medicinal garden or the first-grade spirit vein, the Earth Rock Rat demon horde had to be eradicated.
Su Yu was unclear about how the family's higher-ups viewed the potential emergence of a first-grade spirit vein in the medicinal garden or what preparations they had made behind the scenes. However, he was delighted after Su Peng announced the bounty mission.
Over the past month, he had only made two moves but had successfully hunted five first-stage early-phase Earth Rock Rat demons.
According to the family's current bounty, even without selling the materials, he could earn a total of twenty-five low-grade spirit stones.
That was enough to cover half the cost of a low-grade magical artifact!
"Next, I can hunt more," Su Yu decided, even if the family noticed his proficiency in hunting Earth Rock Rats, it didn't matter.
The family's bounty was sufficient for him to take the risk.
He checked his savings, which amounted to ten low-grade spirit stones.
He took them all out and purchased materials for fifty portions of Beast Lure Powder.
By evening.
When Su Yu wanted to grind a few portions of Beast Lure Powder to go hunting, several of his senior brothers invited him to join them in ambushing Earth Rock Rats in the medicinal fields.
"Junior brother, come with us. Many people have gone to the medicinal fields after dinner, and some even plan to stay there overnight," the eldest senior brother, Su Minghuai, warmly invited, while the other two senior brothers were also enthusiastic.
The family's bounty had made all the cultivators in the medicinal fields eager, and Su Yu wasn't the only one eyeing this opportunity.
Listening to his senior brothers, Su Yu was momentarily stunned, almost miscalculating.
If so many people were ambushing Earth Rock Rats, his chances of successfully luring and hunting them would be slim.
Moreover, there was a high risk of exposing the existence of the Beast Lure Powder.
Therefore, he decided to temporarily avoid hunting in the medicinal fields.
"No, I'll stay here and cultivate steadily. My strength isn't that great," Su Yu thought and decided to avoid the frenzy for now. The Earth Rock Rat demon horde wasn't easy to deal with.
So, he politely declined the invitation from his three senior brothers.
He turned back to continue his cultivation.
For the following period, the medicinal fields were bustling every night, with countless cultivators lying in wait for Earth Rock Rats to appear. Once they showed up, they could be surrounded and attacked by several, or even a dozen, cultivators.
This continued for over a month until nearly a hundred Earth Rock Rat demons had been hunted, and they rarely showed up anymore. Only then did the cultivators in the medicinal garden calm down a bit.
That night.
In his room.
"Hu! Hu! Hu!"
Su Yu's body radiated an intensely scorching aura, each breath he exhaled as hot and crimson as flames.
Inside him, his blood energy surged like a mighty river, with thunderous roars that could deafen the ears.
At a certain moment, the blood qi within Su Yu's body reached its peak.
"Boom!"
"Roar!"
In an instant, the room was filled with a blazing crimson light. Su Yu's entire body was enveloped in blood qi, which transformed into a massive crocodile, perched above his head, its claws bared and its scales shimmering with a terrifying, blood-red hue.
With a roar that shook Su Yu's spiritual sea and the platform of his consciousness, a faint figure sat cross-legged on the platform, calmly observing the arrogant and domineering beast before it.
Streaks of blood-red patterns, resembling scales, began to emerge on Su Yu's body. In a flash, his body swelled significantly.
Like a humanoid crocodile, his aura was wild and fearsome.
This time, Su Yu's body underwent a transformation that lasted nearly half an hour. Only then did the blood-red patterns on his surface and the violent blood qi gradually recede, returning his body to its original state.
When Su Yu opened his eyes and focused on the proficiency panel, the words on it had already changed.
[Technique: Crocodile Demon One Hundred and Eight Forms Body Refinement Art (Fourth Layer, Proficiency 0.01%).]
At the fourth layer of the Body Refinement Art, his body and strength were now no weaker than a mid-tier first-stage demon beast.