Chapter 1007 High-quality soul-nurturing wood

Ji An took out a blank jade slip, entered the recipe for Biyue Mulberry Wine into it, and then used his object control technique to send the jade slip to the other party.

"I have recorded every step of the brewing process in detail as much as possible. Since you are so confident, you may give it a try."

Let me make this clear first: I do not sell raw materials.

The same items produced in the gourd world are of significantly better quality, and Xuan Shuang Sanren is the most qualified to speak on this point.

The quality of the Biyue Ziling Cedar seeds wasn't significantly better than those from the outside world, but the quality of the mulberries was definitely superior; he was using mulberries from the lightning-struck Feiye Mulberry.

The Hermit of the Crescent Moon needed to read the information in the jade slip, and about two-thirds of the spiritual herbs were produced in his small world.

As for the spiritual water he needed, he also had ways to obtain some.

Satisfied, he put the jade slip away and said confidently:

"Tomorrow I will go out to buy the necessary spiritual herbs and water. After a few years, I will invite you to come and taste the brewed product."

Having immersed himself in the art of winemaking for thousands of years, he has considerable expertise in it.

Ji An remained noncommittal; the quality of the spirit wine was not something that could be boasted about.

He took out his spoils from the hunt one by one. "I was very lucky. I managed to get the two kinds of top-grade fifth-level spiritual materials that you mentioned were missing last time. Although I didn't get many, it's enough for me."

After discussing with Yunmiao Sanren, he obtained two kinds of spiritual materials, for which he paid more than a dozen fifth-grade high-quality Panyun Fruits.

The Panyun tree has only been bearing fruit for a little over ten years and is still far from ripe. Therefore, he paid an extra Panyun fruit and several fifth-grade mid-quality tea leaves.

The Recluse of the Crescent Moon inspected the quality of the materials and nodded in approval.

"That's great, we can start working on upgrading the Plain Cloud Banner for you now."

Including this spiritual treasure, you now possess three top-grade fifth-tier spiritual treasures. I truly wonder what it will look like when you upgrade all five Five Banners to the top-grade fifth-tier level!

His words were tinged with envy. As an excellent weapon refiner, he himself only possessed one top-grade third-tier spiritual treasure.

The opponent's spiritual treasure is a complete set of replicas of the Five Innate Banners, which can reach the level of the fifth-order top grade. These replicas are equivalent to a weakened version of the innate spiritual treasure.

Ji An's eyes lit up. Now that his natal spiritual treasure had been upgraded to the fifth-tier high-grade level, his weakness had been improved. He asked with delight:

"How long do you expect it to take to upgrade the spirit treasure to the fifth-tier top-grade?"

"It will take eight to nine years. It's best if you don't leave Starfish City during this time."

Ji An nodded, "Understood. I will inform Fellow Daoist Yunmiao of this information, and we will conduct the next hunt in ten years."

In his combat system, each of the five flags is a crucial component, and the absence of any one of them will affect his combat effectiveness.

Although his hunting career was quite successful, he was always cautious when hunting and would not go out in a way that would affect his fighting ability. There was no need to rush those years.

After returning to his cave, Ji An entered the small world, rested for a while, then sat cross-legged on a futon under the Gathering Yuan Tree, and began to cultivate by activating the Yin Yang Cave True Technique.

A stone tortoise appeared beneath his prayer mat, and the Tai Chi symbol on its shell began to rotate.

His spiritual senses extended outward through the stone tortoise, allowing him to perceive changes in the atmosphere in every corner of the small world.

With the help of the stone turtle, the spiritual energy of the entire small world was drawn to it, and he only needed to focus on refining the spiritual energy.

At this time, his tamed beasts would leave their original areas and spontaneously converge at the edge of the small world.

To be honest, it wasn't entirely spontaneous. When Ji An was cultivating, the beasts' ability to absorb and expel spiritual energy became extremely inefficient, forcing them to flee to the edge of the world.

A massive vortex of spiritual energy, reaching to the heavens and the earth, spun rapidly, and the five elements of spiritual light of various colors, like countless fireflies, painted this space into a beautiful picture.

Ji An used his spiritual vision to examine the body, but at this moment, all the flesh and blood were invisible. What he saw was a completely different scene.

The immortal veins resembled pale white tunnels of light, while the Five Elements Divine Palaces were like planets of different colors.

The five colors of galaxy—blue, red, yellow, white, and black—are like a colorful spectacle. Each star is rotating, and its brightness changes periodically in the process, repeating endlessly.

The lower dantian is depicted as a burning black and white flame, which looks very illusory; it is the manifestation of life force.

The Qi and Blood Inner Elixir is like a golden planet, with a golden network woven around it.

The blood flowing in this network has long since turned golden. If it flows out of the body, it can be seen to emit a luster similar to the midday sun, fiery and unrestrained.

What appeared at the upper dantian was a fairy palace shrouded in clouds and mist, the style of which was exactly the same as the Guanghan Palace.

As soon as the spiritual energy entered Ji An's body, it was instantly transported to the Five Elements Divine Palace. The color of the spiritual energy would change each time it was refined. This area had the richest colors, like a brilliant galaxy.

After several cycles of tempering, the spiritual energy will no longer be divided into Yin and Yang energies. The Yang energy will split into two parts and enter the middle and lower Dantian, while the Yin energy will flow upwards into the 'Heavenly Palace'.

He felt neither joy nor sorrow, quietly enjoying the pleasure that cultivation brought him.

Cultivation is now an instinct; it runs smoothly without needing to be deliberately activated.

Ji An focused on the moment when spiritual energy was refined into yin and yang energies. At this moment, the two energies had not yet separated, and one could glimpse the opportunity for yin and yang to unite.

During his cultivation, the stone tortoise would also absorb and refine a portion of the spiritual energy, with most of the gains being retained and a small amount dissipating into the earth.

Two hundred years have passed like smoke and clouds, and now the snow is falling heavily.

The snow in the gourd world has been falling for two days and two nights, and shows no sign of stopping.

Ji An stayed in the attic, where various spiritual foods, all produced in the small world, were laid out on the table.

Ayun poured the spirit wine from the wine jar into a silver wine pot, and then placed the pot in hot water to warm the wine.

A moment later, she took out the wine pot, filled a cup, and presented it to her host.

Ji An tapped the table with his finger. "Stop busying yourself, sit down and have a few drinks."

After the master and servant had drunk a few cups together, he asked:

Have you sensed any unusual aura brewing deep underground in the last six months?

Based on past experience, this is a sign that the spiritual veins are about to be enhanced.

Ji An couldn't believe his surprise. It was too fast. He had initially estimated that it would take at least four or five hundred years for the spiritual veins to improve, but he never expected the efficiency to double.

Ayun put down her wine glass, thought carefully for a moment, and replied:

"My spiritual perception is far less acute than Your Majesty's, and I did not notice anything unusual."

In the past six months, many spirit trees have shown signs of improvement in grade, which may be evidence of positive changes in the underground spiritual veins.

Currently, there are nine Soul-Nourishing Trees in the Calabash World. The first one planted has been upgraded to the fifth-grade superior level, making it the first spiritual tree besides the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Root to reach the superior level.

In addition, there are two Soul Nourishing Trees that have reached the middle grade of the fifth rank, two that have reached the lower grade of the fifth rank, and the rest are in the fourth rank.

All the fifth-tier Soul-Nourishing Trees are capable of flowering and bearing fruit, and there are enough Soul-Nourishing Trees available, but Ji An still plans to continue expanding the planting scale.

High-grade soul incense is a good thing second only to elixirs; it wouldn't be a bad idea to sell the soul-nourishing wood directly in the future.

As the two were talking, a sudden gust of wind arose outside, and snowflakes pounded against the windowpanes, making a "bang bang" sound.

Ji An extended his divine sense and felt the spiritual energy of heaven and earth stirring, with spiritual energy constantly surging from the earth.

He suddenly stood up. "Haha, the spiritual vein's grade has officially started to improve. I'll go take a look."

Without going through the door, he directly activated the golden light that propelled him out.

The wind in the gourd world is very regular; normally, the wind flows in the order of the five elements' mutual generation.

It circles from north to east, and then endlessly cycles in the order of east, south, center, west, and north.

Now the wind in the gourd world has become violent and disorderly, the wind direction is changing rapidly, and the wind force has increased a lot, stirring up snowflakes all over the sky.

He flew away in the gale, circling the small world once.

Bubbling water rose from the lake on the black soil, its surface normally as smooth as a mirror, but now it looked like boiling water.

The once clear lake water appeared unusually murky, and the silt at the bottom of the lake was stirred up.

The situation is similar in the lava lakes in the red earth, with lava rolling and crashing against the island in the middle of the lake, stirring up red 'waves'.

These 'waves' landed on the island and quickly turned into stones upon cooling.

About three hours later, the turbulent spiritual energy became tamed again, and the spiritual vein upgrade was officially completed. Ah Yun flattered:

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, you are one step closer to breaking through to the Cave Heaven level."

The enhancement of spiritual veins can nurture more fifth-tier spiritual trees, allowing the small world to produce more high-level resources, and the ruler can quickly transform these gains into a foundation.

"Haha, the Cave Heaven level seems as easy to you as taking candy from a baby. I really hope that everything you say comes true."

Ji An's face was beaming as he gave his instructions:

"Over the past two hundred years, we have obtained a large amount of flesh and blood of fifth-grade and above demon beasts, and we have accumulated a large amount of ashes, all of which will be used to cultivate the Gathering Yuan Tree."

During the spiritual vein enhancement, he did not use the fertilizer obtained from burning, all for today.

The Gathering Yuan Tree has the highest priority among all plants. If it can be upgraded to the fifth-tier top-grade as soon as possible, the growth of all spiritual plants will be accelerated.

Ayun answered loudly, "Yes, sir! Now that we've accumulated so much fertilizer, is it possible to upgrade it to the fifth-tier top-grade level in one go?"

More than two hundred years of waiting have been for this splendid moment. Her gaze is fixed on her master's eyes, hoping to get an answer from him.

Ji An stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, then said:

"Theoretically, it's possible; I think there's about a 70% chance."

When you bury the ashes, you don't need to bury them too deep, about four feet is enough.

Before I begin my daily practice, I carefully sense the residual aura of the fertilizer. If the spiritual substances it contains have been absorbed, it will remind me to continue burying it.

This conclusion is based on the fact that he has a complete record of the Juyuan Tree's evolution from the third level to its current level, which allowed him to make the estimate.

Saying 70% is already a conservative estimate. The reason he didn't say it was complete is because he wasn't sure if there would be a bottleneck in the improvement of the spirit wood.

All living beings have limits, including cultivators and spirit trees.

Some cultivators, even with abundant resources, are unable to break through to the Nascent Soul realm because they are unsure of the limits of the Gathering Yuan Tree.

If he could confirm that the Gathering Yuan Tree could be upgraded to the fifth-tier top-grade, then he would be 99% certain that the spirit wood could be upgraded quickly.

A pale-faced guest arrived at Xuan Shuang Sanren's cave, saying that his nascent soul had been damaged and he specifically requested to purchase elixirs to nourish his spirit.

The guest and his family had a connection, she said after a careful examination:

"Senior, your timing is unfortunate. I used up all the Soul Nourishing Pills I had a few years ago. Why don't you wait a moment while I go and ask a friend if he has any left?"

However, your nascent soul is damaged, and the chances of it recovering solely through elixirs are slim.

"Is there a better treatment option? As far as I know, the heartwood of the Soul-Nourishing Wood can be used as a habitat for the Nascent Soul, which can help restore the damage to the Nascent Soul."

The guest said urgently that he had discovered a world left behind after the fall of a celestial lord, a world full of dangers, and that he had suffered his injuries during the exploration.

Damage to his nascent soul would greatly reduce his combat power, and he did not want to give up the opportunity to search for the world left behind by the Star Lord.

Xuan Shuang Sanren smiled bitterly and said:

"The heartwood of the Soul-Nourishing Wood does indeed have such effects, but no cultivator is willing to cut down the Soul-Nourishing Wood."

The Soul-Nourishing Wood is like a hen that lays golden eggs every day. No one would choose to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs unless the Soul-Nourishing Wood is about to reach its end.

Do you have any Soul-Nourishing Wood? If so, are you willing to part with it?

"You won't have wasted your money. I've discovered something extremely valuable in a secret place; if we can obtain it, it can make up for the loss of the Soul-Nourishing Wood."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Shuang Sanren's eyes widened suddenly. She recognized the senior's character, and it was highly likely that the other party was not lying when he said he could make amends.

However, all of this is based on past behavior. The other party is currently injured and may be lying to avoid any lingering consequences.

If the nascent soul is damaged and not treated in time, it will affect one's path to enlightenment. Therefore, it is quite possible that the other party is lying.

She forced a smile. "Senior, I don't have any Soul-Nourishing Wood, but I'm going to ask a friend of mine who does."

"Could you please introduce me? I am confident I can persuade the other party."

"Alright then, if the other party is unwilling, you can't continue to harass them, otherwise it will put me in a difficult position."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. No one will be willing to refuse the information I provide."

Xuan Shuang Sanren was somewhat skeptical, but outwardly showed no sign of doubt:

"I hope so."

She stood up and said again:

"Please follow me, senior. This friend usually goes out to hunt in the deep sea and just returned to Starfish City last year."

The two arrived at Ji An's cave dwelling, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, Xuan Shuang Sanren said:

"Fellow Daoist Xuanqing, let me introduce you. This senior is the disciple of Xingyue Xingjun, my grandfather's close friend—Yuheng Sanren."

Ji An's gaze suddenly sharpened. He carefully sensed the aura emanating from the other party and tentatively asked:

"Did the Star Lord Xingyue come from a remote star region?"

(End of this chapter)