Chapter 102 Crimson Flame Peak

General Affairs Hall.

Ji An came to issue a recruitment task. This kind of task is a lucrative job, and it will only take a few days to recruit a satisfactory candidate.

The disciples on duty, seeing that it was their Foundation Establishment stage senior uncle, dared not neglect him and invited him to the second floor.

The room was filled with the aroma of tea. Tian Qingbai smiled and said:

"Since it's Senior Sister Ge's herb garden that's recruiting disciples to manage it daily, I'll help oversee the next stage and select the most suitable people from among the best."

"Thank you for your trouble, senior brother."

Ji An nodded slightly, picked up the teacup, and took a sip.

"Good tea has a color like leaves dyed in autumn, with a slight amber luster. It has a mellow taste that is smooth and gentle on the throat, and a long aftertaste."

Feeling the spiritual energy within his body becoming more vibrant, Ji An began to plan how to cultivate several tea trees with different flavors after selecting a suitable cave dwelling.

Imagine brewing a pot of spiritual tea during a break from cultivation, lying in a chair, letting your mind wander amidst the aroma of the tea, quietly watching the sunset paint the mountains and fields into two worlds of light and darkness, listening to the birds chirping as they flit across the sky overhead—wouldn't that be a delightful experience?

"Junior brother is also a connoisseur of tea, so take some with you when you leave."

Haha, let's get closer in the future.

Tian Qingbai's smile squeezed his eyes so small they were only the size of soybeans, completely black with no white showing, and they darted around like a field mouse.

"I hope you don't mind me bothering you, senior brother."

Ji An responded warmly, saying that he would feel bad if he didn't come back a few more times, as he had previously paid five spirit stones.

The two chatted about all sorts of things. Tian Qingbai was at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment, so he had a lot of knowledge.

After a quarter of an hour, Ji An let out a barely perceptible sigh. He had gained something from the conversation and broadened his horizons. He thought to himself that he should not underestimate anyone.

"Senior brother, farewell, I have some things to take care of."

"I had a very pleasant chat with my junior brother today. Come chat with me when you have time."

Tian Qingbai no longer pinned his hopes on making further progress on the path to immortality, as he had plenty of free time.

As he spoke, he took a celadon porcelain jar with a landscape painting from the wooden shelf behind him and handed it to Ji An:

"This tea is called 'New Rain in the Empty Mountains,' and it is a top-grade first-level spiritual tea. I'm giving it to my junior brother."

"I can't accept this, senior brother. I can't accept a reward without having done anything right."

Ji An grabbed the porcelain jar and waved his hand.

"Don't be so formal. We're like old friends from the start. Let's keep in touch and help each other out."

"I shall obey your command, senior brother. Farewell."

"Take care, junior brother," Tian Qingbai said, stroking his chin and narrowing his eyes.

'His Foundation Establishment Pill would have taken five years to obtain, but he has already successfully established his foundation. It seems that Senior Sister Ge values ​​him highly.'

Another Foundation Establishment cultivator under thirty years old. The sect seems to be thriving even more these past few years.

The cry of the grey-feathered sand goose rang out. He paced to the window, watching the departing figure, and smiled bitterly:

"I just bought some spirit tea, it cost over thirty spirit stones, I made a bad deal!"

The mount slowed down and gently landed on the mountainside. This was Lingxiao Mountain, located within the inner perimeter of the sect, close to the core area.

Ji An stepped into the Hall of Diligent Work and bowed to an old cultivator who was resting with his eyes closed, saying:

"Senior brother, my name is Ji An. I have been fortunate enough to successfully establish my foundation and have come to exchange my sect's jade token."

The Hall of Diligent Work, as the name suggests, is a place for diligent work; it is the general affairs hall for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After disciples reach the Foundation Establishment stage, they become the backbone of the sect and truly begin to enjoy the sect's benefits.

Of course, one must also bear obligations.

The good thing is that, unlike the Qi Refining stage, most of the time it's just obligations.

"Strange, isn't it not the day the Foundation Establishment Pills are distributed yet? How did you achieve Foundation Establishment?"

Old Xiu opened his cloudy eyes, glanced at the person standing in front of him, and stretched out his hand:

"Give it to me."

Ji An handed over the jade tablet.

"I am twenty-eight years old and a disciple of Ge Ying. My surname is Ye and my given name is Changqing. You can just call me Lao Ye."

"Junior brother, you're quite impressive. Reaching Foundation Establishment before thirty means you can enjoy Class B treatment; your future is limitless."

"Senior Brother Ye!"

Ji An cupped his hands and called you "Old Ye," what are you thinking? You're clearly trying to take advantage of me.

Ye Changqing took out a palm-sized cyan jade tablet, with crisscrossing patterns faintly visible inside, clearly indicating that it was covered with magical restrictions.

"Junior brother, just force out a drop of your essence blood and let it drip onto it."

As he spoke, Ye Changqing handed over a silver needle magic tool.

Ji An took the jade pendant and silver needle, pricked his finger, and forced out a drop of blood essence under the other party's guidance.

The essence and blood were like lead and mercury, with a bright and clear color. When it dripped onto the jade pendant, it quickly seeped into the inside of the jade pendant.

“Each Foundation Establishment cultivator’s jade tablet is unique and connected to the sect’s landscape map.”

Within a radius of five thousand miles centered on the sect's Chaoyang Peak, the location of every jade tablet can be displayed on the landscape map.

The jade pendant should be kept close to the body, not placed in a storage bag, otherwise it will affect its tracking.

"Through the jade tablet, you can also send emergency messages. If you encounter an insurmountable danger, you can immediately ask the sect for help, and the Enforcement Hall will quickly come to your aid."

The Enforcement Hall is equipped with a Cloud-Piercing Shuttle, which is even faster than a sword cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage.

But junior brother, remember, messages only work within the sect's territory.

Under the other party's guidance, Ji An learned how to activate the communication function and felt that he finally felt the sense of security that joining the sect brought.

If I had encountered a cultivator with such a jade tablet back then, would I have needed to waste so many talismans?

No, that's not right. Having such a jade tablet means I've already reached the Foundation Establishment stage. I don't need to ask the sect for help to accomplish the feat of tearing apart a Tribulation Cultivator with my bare hands.

"Please follow me, hehe, we've reached the most exciting part: choosing a cultivation cave."

Ye Changqing walked ahead and went up to the second floor, with Ji An following closely behind. They found a round table with a diameter of about ten feet in the center, with a few chairs scattered around it.

On the table is a round piece of white jade. Various images can be seen inside the jade, including towering mountain peaks and secluded valleys, as well as streams and deep pools.

"This is the magic artifact, the Mountain and River Map. The sect should have several of them, and they can all locate the position of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators."

I know there's one in the Enforcement Hall, guarded by disciples day and night. If a cultivator calls for help, the Mountain and River Map can even emit a sound to alert them.

"Junior brother, look, the different colored dots in the landscape map represent the nodes of spiritual veins, which are the locations of the cave dwellings."

Green dots indicate that the cave is empty, while red dots indicate that it has been occupied.

The scattered yellow dots at the edges indicate that the space was rented to cultivators or families outside the sect.

In the landscape painting, red dots make up the vast majority, green dots number only about a hundred, and yellow dots number seven or eight.

Ji An was surprised: "The sect even runs a rental business?"

Ye Changqing grinned and said:

"Junior brother, you may not know this, but although these cave dwellings are located at good spiritual vein nodes, they have all sorts of problems and are not ideal places for cultivation."

Foundation Establishment cultivators are unwilling to use it, and Qi Refining disciples cannot withstand the spiritual energy there.

Besides, these spiritual vein nodes are all branches, located on the outskirts of the sect. Renting them out could earn them some spirit stones; keeping them would only make them decorations.

"Tell me, junior brother, what are your requirements? I'll help you decide."

Having a specific goal makes the selection process much faster; otherwise, you have to compare them one by one, which will keep him from sleeping.

Ji An thought for a moment, then said jokingly:

"Are there any places where the earth's fires erupt, the autumn winds are fierce, the mountains are beautiful, and streams and lakes converge?"

If the power of the five elements manifests in a place, then the stone turtle can absorb eight kinds of spiritual energy.

Ye Changqing lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

After a while, he suddenly looked up:

"You know what, there really is such a cave dwelling."

There really is one? This time it was Ji An's turn to be stunned.

Ye Changqing pointed to a yellow dot in the northwest of the landscape map and said in a deep voice:

"This place is called Crimson Flame Peak, which perfectly meets Junior Brother's requirements, and it is also a second-grade low-level spiritual vein."

However, every morning at sunrise, with the golden wind and blazing fire, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth becomes too domineering when it is tainted by this explosive and sharp energy, making it unsuitable for cultivation.

Forcing oneself to cultivate will inevitably damage one's immortal veins and foundation; only the nights and dawns after the sun sets are suitable for cultivation.

Ji An's eyes lit up. If he could really get the stone turtle to absorb a variety of spiritual energy, he could simply continue cultivating with the Spirit Absorption Array during the day.

Spending a few spirit stones is nothing; the real goal is to quickly grasp the essence of the law to aid in comprehending the cultivation technique.

"Senior brother, now that the sect has been rented out, how long will it take if I choose to move in?"

"If our own people have needs, the sect will naturally side with us. At most, we'll wait three months."

There was an agreement when the rental was made that if a sect cultivator chose these cave dwellings, the spirit stones of the tenants would be refunded according to the agreement, but the tenants had to move out within three months.

The cultivators who can rent these training grounds all have some complicated connections, and the sects can't just kick them out directly.

Ji Anlue pondered for a moment and said:

"Senior brother, could you recommend a few more places with abundant wood element spiritual energy? I'll personally go and investigate, and choose the cave dwelling that best meets my requirements."

"Of course you can. The proper procedure is that once a cultivator has chosen a cave dwelling, they can inspect it themselves and then move in without having to go back on their word."

Ye Changqing then pointed out two more green dots, explained their locations in detail, and smiled:

“Junior brother, go and investigate. Get back to me in a few days. Now we’ll go to the Soul Hall to light the Soul Lamp.”

The Soul Lamp can monitor a cultivator's condition. A bright light indicates that everything is fine, a dim light means that the cultivator is either seriously injured or has exhausted their lifespan, and an extinguished light means death.

The two walked out of the Qin Gong Hall through the back door, and Ji An immediately saw a tall and solemn hall in front of them.

The plaque with gold lettering on a black background reads "Hall of Souls," the characters of which have a subtle, feminine quality.

Upon entering the main hall, Ji An immediately felt a faint, chilly aura swirling around him.

On the table in the main hall stood a series of memorial tablets, which were the spirit tablets of the patriarchs and the Golden Elixir Ancestors of all generations.

On both sides of the hall, rows of identical bronze oil lamps are lit, their surfaces mottled, indicating that they have been around for a long time.

Ye Changqing took out three golden incense sticks and handed them to Ji An:

"Let's pay homage to the ancestral master."

Ji An lit incense, bowed, and kowtowed, his expression solemn.

The fragrance was like mist, and the lights flickered, making one feel as if they were being watched by a group of cultivators, which inspired awe in them.

Ye Changqing took out a bronze lamp of the same style, and activated the magical restriction on the bronze lamp by performing a hand seal. This lamp was also a magical artifact.

Following the other party's instructions, Ji An forced out a drop of essence blood and collected a few wisps of energy, sending them into the bronze lamp.

After a moment, the wick spontaneously combusted, and a bright flame, about an inch long, flickered gently. He immediately felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity emanating from the bronze lamp.

(End of this chapter)