Moreover, judging from the situation, my behavior of keeping a low profile was the right call—wherever you go, the tall tree catches the wind.

Thinking this, I glanced at my panel again.

The fastest way to boost my strength right now is still the [Pigsty]. A Level 3 [Pigsty] produces Quenching Acupoint Pearls. When the time comes, I'll just raise a whole bunch of Spirit Pigs—ideally, the entire Mist Island becomes a [Pigsty], all of it for raising Spirit Pigs.

By then, each Spirit Pig would produce one Quenching Acupoint Pearl.

That would be enough for me to temper all my acupoints to perfection.

Once my body reaches Foundation Establishment-level strength, no matter what happens, at least I'll have a much better chance at protecting myself.

Given that, about that Nine Nether Cave Heaven… if a bunch of Qi Cultivators squeeze in and I'm the only one with Foundation Establishment strength, wouldn't I just crush it?

The moment the thought came up, my heart started to race a little faster.

But before that idea could take shape, an even bigger thought squashed it.

Talisman Treasure!

Talisman Treasures can kill Foundation Establishment cultivators, after all. Who knows if any of those prodigies from the major sects have one? If I trip up even once…

I might just die in there.

Yao Jingfeng's example is still fresh in my mind.

Three daily self-reminders: No risks, no risks, absolutely no risks.

"Whew—"

Reining in my crazy thoughts, I felt my whole body relax.

Tomorrow morning, set out for All Things Island!

Oh, right, I need to swing by Thousand Mechanism Island first to see whether the task I submitted last time was successfully completed.

That was the plan, but before dawn, I'd already summoned the Scarlet Skies Skiff and set off.

First, it takes a while to travel from Chulong Island to Thousand Mechanism Island.

Second, I was worried Du Wanyi would come looking for me again early in the morning... Not that I don't want to see her, but today I have to buy materials for upgrading buildings.

It's just not something I want her to know about.

By the time I arrived at Thousand Mechanism Hall, it was barely dawn, and there were hardly any people inside.

I first checked the wall; the alcohol-collection task I'd taken before was still there. Then, I went to the attendant cultivator and asked him to help check my merit points.

"Number Eighteen Ding, Ji Yuan, right?"

"That's me."

"You currently have... 200 merit points."

Hearing this, my eyes lit up. It worked?!

"Eh, Senior Brother Ji, wait a sec…"

The attendant seemed to notice something and hurried off to the back hall with his Jade Scroll.

"Hmm?"

I found his behavior odd, but I wasn't worried.

Whether it's how I joined the Water Dragon Sect or how I earned my merit points, everything's aboveboard. I can stand any investigation, not afraid at all.

So, after a short wait, I saw the attendant bring out a square-faced man in a dark robe.

As soon as he appeared, a bunch of Water Dragon Sect disciples inside bowed to him, calling him "Junior Martial Uncle."

He must be the Foundation Establishment cultivator in charge of Thousand Mechanism Island… Seeing him come straight to me, I cupped my fists and greeted, "Greetings, Martial Uncle."

"No need for such courtesy, Nephew."

The man in the dark robe held one hand at his chest, the other behind his back, and smiled gently.

Right after, his voice echoed in my mind.

"May I ask if Nephew Ji took a Ding-level task to provide alcohol?"

So that's what this is about… could he be that boozehound? I didn't answer immediately, so the man sent another voice transmission:

"No need to worry, Nephew. This is a good thing, not a bad one. Just nod or shake your head."

I nodded.

"Excellent. Please follow me inside so we can talk further."

The man entered the back hall first. I looked at the attendant next to me, who gestured for me to go in.

I could only follow him into a room in the back hall.

The man in the dark robe was already seated at the head. He pointed, "Have a seat, Nephew."

"Thank you, Martial Uncle."

The moment I sat down, a cup of tea appeared on the table next to me.

"Here's how it is: I am the Isle Master of Qinghe Island, and I'm currently in charge of things at Thousand Mechanism Island."

"Greetings, Junior Martial Uncle Qinghe."

"Mm, you took the alcohol delivery task, and the alcohol you supplied… made the person who posted the task quite satisfied. So they specifically asked whether you might have more of that kind of alcohol. If you do, they're willing to buy it at 200 merit points per jug."

So that's what this is about.

A wave of relief washed over me. Looks like the [Wine Cellar] really works—nabbed that old drunkard's taste buds in one go.

200 merit points per jug... that's basically 400 low-grade Spirit Stones per jug.

As for the original cost, it was Spirit Wine, yes, but the ones I bought weren't even the cheapest ones—just five low-grade Spirit Stones a jug.

This profit margin...

Even though I was excited inside, I said out loud, "I do have more, but not a lot—just two jugs left."

"How about this, I'll give these two jugs to Martial Uncle first, and I'll see if I can get my hands on a bit more…"

"Good, good, good."

The Isle Master Qinghe nodded repeatedly. "If you get more Spirit Wine next time, just notify me directly with this Communication Talisman."

As he spoke, he handed over a Golden Communication Talisman.

I quickly accepted it.

This Communication Talisman was the same quality as the one Li Changhe gave me. It should work well.

After that, things were simple. I handed over two jugs of Spirit Wine, and my "account" gained 400 merit points.

In this way, I didn't take any dangerous missions, but my balance jumped to 600 merit points… As expected, base-building is the way to go.

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