Chapter 106 Successive Breakthroughs

Zhu Qinghao's face flushed red, feeling a burning sensation as if he had been slapped.

Chen Xingyun brought generous gifts to ask him to act as a middleman, including a rare medicinal herb that he had been searching for for years. After inquiring about the general situation, he patted his chest and agreed.

Crimson Flame Peak is nothing special. Although its spiritual energy is abundant, it is too domineering, and the time suitable for cultivation each day is half that of other caves.

If Ji An were to agree, not only would he be able to make friends with fellow disciples, but he would also receive a large amount of spirit stones for free. If he were in Ji An's shoes, he would definitely agree.

He thought he had it all figured out, but even after all that, the other party remained unmoved, making him lose face as the senior student.

What pained him even more was that if the matter couldn't be resolved, the gifts he had received would have to be returned, which he could not accept.

Suppressing his nameless anger, Zhu Qinghao slowly spoke:

"Junior brother, you should be aware that the demonic calamity is about to erupt. Because of the direction of the spiritual veins, Crimson Flame Peak is suspended on the outskirts of the sect."

If a demonic calamity breaks out, both sects and other families will inevitably have to shrink their power. Sects will probably have no time to take care of you, who are staying at Crimson Flame Peak. How can you guard the spiritual vein cave all by yourself?

Those who understand the times are wise; it's better to gain the immediate benefits and exchange them for a cave dwelling located deep within the sect's territory.

He couldn't figure out why the other party had been refusing, so he brought up the danger of the demonic calamity, hoping that the other party would back down.

Chen Xingyun interjected:

"After the demonic calamity broke out, sects and families chose to defend their core territory to the death in order to protect their foundations."

However, the largest group of people in the Western Continent are independent cultivators. These people have no family business to worry about, so they inevitably engage in activities such as taking advantage of others' misfortunes and robbing others.

The location of Crimson Flame Peak is awkward. If the sect contracts its defenses, the defense of this branch of the spiritual vein can only rely on the owner of the cave.

Having lost the support of the sect, how can my junior brother hold on?

"Junior Brother Zhu is right. Changing our cave dwelling has brought us many benefits. We are all indebted to him; it's a win-win situation."

Hearing the implicit threat in her words, Ji An's tone turned cold:

“My choice of cave dwelling is in accordance with the sect’s rules, so please don’t bring it up again, senior brothers.”

The full-scale outbreak of the demonic calamity will take at least several more decades. With sufficient spiritual energy to help him, he should be able to grow to the point where he can protect his own interests. Crimson Flame Peak must not be abandoned.

He follows the rules and stays within the territory of the sect's landscape map. As long as he is careful, he doesn't need to worry too much about others causing trouble.

Since they couldn't see eye to eye, the meeting ended unhappily, and Zhu Qinghao and his companion left in a huff.

Ji An grinned, thinking to himself that he should be more wary of these two people in the future, and also be more vigilant against the Chen family of Puyun Mountain.

In Chen's eyes, he might be seen as someone who blocked his path to wealth, and such hatred was quite deep.

He boiled a kettle of water, took a porcelain bowl, brewed some spiritual tea, and his mood gradually calmed down.

What's meant to happen will happen, so there's no need to dwell on it. Instead, use that time to study cultivation techniques and spells, or read more jade slips to broaden your knowledge.

Ji An took a small sip, savored it carefully, and then shook his head slightly.

The taste was indeed inferior to that of Senior Brother Ye's tea. I should also get a tea set when I move to Crimson Flame Peak.

Drinking a cup of spiritual tea during a break from spiritual practice is also a great way to relax.

He sat cross-legged on the futon and circulated his cultivation technique to refine the spiritual energy contained in the spiritual tea.

Ji An was somewhat disappointed. The effects of first-grade spiritual tea were relatively weak for him. After his cultivation level increased by one or two minor realms, he could only use it to satisfy his appetite.

Sipping his spiritual tea, he picked up a jade slip containing various cultivation notes to broaden his horizons.

After studying it for half an hour, Ji An picked up the jade slip containing the Thick Earth Returning to Origin Mantra and began to study the spell.

This spell is an evolved version of the Thick Earth Technique, and it also belongs to the Earthly Way. He didn't find it too difficult to understand.

He believed that this was partly due to his own powerful spirit, and partly due to the merit of Houtu Zengyuan Dao Seed.

Through studying magic, he gained some understanding of the Way of Earth.

Earth (己土) is moist soil that nourishes all things, and its effects of generating metal and dissipating fire are more pronounced.

The time spent studying the Thick Earth Returning to Origin Mantra was significantly less than that spent studying the Jade Wood Transformation Technique, and Ji An felt that he had already grasped the secrets of casting the spell.

He picked up the porcelain bowl and drank it down in one gulp. By then, the spiritual tea had gone cold and was bland and tasteless, like plain water.

Stepping out of the bamboo house, Ji An went to the vegetable garden behind it to cast a spell. When the magic power passed through the Chongmen acupoint, the Dao seed lit up with a faint spiritual light.

After the spell was completed, an earthy yellow aura spread out, and a rich, warm aura seeped into the earth.

Ji An's eyes flashed as he focused his mind on his dantian, connecting with the stone tortoise.

[Spell: Earth Return to Origin Spell (Beginner 1%)]

"Refine the spiritual energy and enhance the Earth Returning to Origin Mantra."

His spiritual image stood on the Kun position, which had turned into an earth-yellow area. He felt a mysterious spiritual energy lurking beneath his feet.

After years of accumulation, today I'm all in, my spirits are plummeting like a waterfall, and countless insights are flooding my heart like a continuous stream of dazzling fireworks in the night sky.

Everything in the world eventually comes to an end; the moment the spirit of Kun returns to nothingness, all splendor fades into desolation.

[Spell: Earth Returning to Origin Spell (Beginner 1% → Mastery 3%)]

When Ji An's consciousness returned to his body, he felt dazed and it took him half a breath to recover.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he lost track of time; the thrill of the instant upgrade was too intense for him to handle.

He decided that even if he stored up a large amount of spiritual energy in the future, he would upgrade it in several stages, taking a few breaths in between to avoid impacting his mind.

Ji An cast the spell again, and the magical light became even gentler, covering an area of ​​more than ten acres, and the aura became even more profound and warm.

If he continues to progress at this pace, once he breaks through to the Chaoyuan stage, he will be able to cultivate the sect's high-level medicinal garden all by himself.

The Thick Earth Returning to Origin Mantra is a Foundation Establishment stage spell. Its function of nourishing the earth's veins should be much stronger than the Thick Earth Technique, not to mention increasing the production of spiritual herbs.

In the future, he can choose from a series of sect tasks related to planting, such as handing over spiritual herbs and making spiritual charcoal. He won't have to spend much time on these tasks while practicing his spells.

Thinking of this, Ji An felt even more excited. He rested for a while, then took out the jade slip containing the Spring Breeze and Rain Technique and stuck it to his forehead.

There are more Kanlings than Kunlings, and since they can't lay eggs if kept, it's better to convert them into productivity.

With the Azure Wood Transformation Technique, the Thick Earth Returning to Origin Mantra, and the Spring Breeze Transforming into Rain Technique, all three spells will help the spiritual medicine accumulate its medicinal age faster, making him the wealthiest Foundation Establishment cultivator in the entire sect in the future.

After practicing spells and refining spiritual energy, when he raised the Spring Breeze and Rain Technique to perfection in two separate sessions, he still had more than 480 points of spiritual energy left.

The clouds that enveloped more than 20 acres of land were gilded by the setting sun, and the raindrops fell on the leaves and grass, playing an ethereal melody.

As the clouds and mist dissipated and the rain stopped, a rainbow appeared above the bamboo house.

Upon seeing his cousin return, Chen Xingzhou immediately went to greet him. He noticed that the other man's expression was not good, and his heart sank slightly.

"Myna, is something not going well?"

Chen Xingyun sat down in the carved chair, his eyes filled with malice, and said:

"No agreement has been reached. The price has been increased to two thousand spirit stones, but Ji An still hasn't budged."

I dare not and cannot increase the stakes further, otherwise not only will it arouse Ji An's suspicion, but Zhu Qinghao will also become suspicious.

Nobody's a fool. Paying an unreasonable price will only attract more attention and make it harder for them to cover things up.

The Chen family has been renting Crimson Flame Peak for seventy or eighty years. Through years of management, they have been able to generate thousands of spirit stones in revenue for the family each year.

If that were all, it wouldn't have caused them to become enemies with the disciples of other sects. Who knows what kind of future awaits them?

Starting about twenty years ago, Crimson Flame Peak began to undergo a strange change, with the Earth's Lung Fire Vein erupting violently once a year at a fixed time.

The duration is very short, and many fire and metal elemental spirits will scatter around the mountain peak as the fire vein erupts.

Among them were quite a few mid-grade second-tier spiritual items, and the number of spiritual items gushing up was not only increasing, but their quality was also getting better and better.

In recent years, just selling the spiritual materials picked up after the fire vein eruption can yield at least four or five thousand spirit stones.

The Chen family started out refining weapons and has accumulated a very good weapon-refining tradition over the years. Using these materials to refine weapons can create more value.

"If we give up Crimson Flame Peak, the family will suffer a great loss. We have to make a decision."

Chen Xingzhou didn't continue speaking, but made a cutting gesture.

The artifacts crafted by weapon refiners can be further categorized into magical artifacts, spiritual artifacts, magical treasures, and so on. There are also even higher-level treasures, which are beyond the knowledge of ordinary cultivators.

The quality of magical artifacts mainly depends on the materials used in their crafting and the restrictions imposed by them. Only cultivators in the Qi Refining stage and the early Foundation Establishment stage can use them. Some mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators who are short of money may also use high-grade magical artifacts.

Ordinary magical artifacts have lower requirements for materials. Even iron essence refined from ordinary iron can be used as a material for refining artifacts. Iron essence is the main material for many magical artifacts made by rogue cultivators.

Magical artifacts can only be used by cultivators, and their attack and defense methods are relatively simple and lack variety.

The crafting of spiritual artifacts has strict requirements for materials, and requires the addition of sufficient spiritual elements. After successful crafting, they must be nurtured with a large amount of spiritual essence to cultivate their spirituality.

In the mid-to-late stages of Foundation Establishment, cultivators use low-grade second-tier spiritual artifacts, while cultivators in the Origin Stage use spiritual artifacts of mid-grade or higher second-tier.

Spiritual artifacts have a certain growth potential and can be nurtured in a cultivator's dantian. If they are lucky enough to cultivate a weak consciousness and form an artifact spirit, they can automatically protect and warn their master.

The value of a second-tier high-grade spiritual item cannot be bought with spirit stones. Whether it is used to refine spiritual weapons for sale or to make connections with cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage, it will benefit the Chen clan.

If a cultivator in the Chen clan reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, they could use these second-tier high-grade spiritual items to exchange for Qi Cultivation Pills. Perhaps then, the Chen clan could become a large-scale cultivation family with a cultivator at the Chaoyuan stage.

A fierce glint flashed in Chen Xingzhou's eyes as he said menacingly:

"The interests involved in Crimson Flame Peak are too great for us to give up."

The other party is just a spiritual farmer; given the right opportunity, we can take him down without anyone noticing.

The opportunity for family prosperity is right in front of us; anyone who blocks our path to wealth is an enemy.

"Xingzhou, you haven't entered the sect, so you don't know how strong the sect's control over its territory is."

If the other side keeps hiding in their sect, we won't find a suitable opportunity; the only way to take action is from outside.

We need to devise a foolproof plan that, once we strike, leaves the enemy no chance and completely conceals all traces.

Foundation Establishment cultivators can use jade tablets to call for help. The location of the distress call can be pinpointed in the landscape map, and it can even rewind to the scene when the cultivator called for help.

Chen Xingzhou nodded:

"The eruption cycle of Crimson Flame Peak will be reached next month, giving us a year to make preparations at our leisure."

Upon returning to my family, I will have some common birds and falcons raised as tamed beasts to monitor their every move from afar.

The other chapter will be posted later. I was planning to write more over the weekend, but I had to go out and be busy all day, so I didn't write as much as I did during my breaks at work.

(End of this chapter)