Chapter 135 Industrial Chain

In the early morning, Ji An woke up from his sleep, sat up, and took a few moments to recover his energy.

He stretched lazily, stepped out of the cave, and rode his flying shuttle towards the cold pool. He disappeared into the Qingling Bamboo Forest, which was shrouded in a light mist, and sat cross-legged on a round stone slab to begin cultivating the Green Wood Everlasting Technique.

Since breaking through to the third level of Foundation Establishment, he has vaguely felt that something is missing when cultivating in his cave.

Recently, he tried cultivating in the mountains and forests. After a round of trials, he found that the cultivation effect was best in the Qingling Bamboo Forest.

Although the concentration of spiritual energy here is only at the second-tier low-grade level, the cultivation effect is not much different from staying in the cave, and it is more comfortable.

If the stone tortoise hadn't absorbed more spiritual energy while staying in its cave at night, it would have returned to the cave far less often.

He only stays in his cave during the day when he takes pills to cultivate, in order to use the golden fire spiritual energy to eliminate any impurities in the pills.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is absorbed into the body and flows through the immortal meridians, like rivers surging across the earth.

The Dao seeds within the acupoints shimmered with various eerie lights, subtly nourishing the immortal veins.

The spiritual energy either gathers or disperses, eventually condensing into magical power in the dantian and entering the qihai acupoint.

Ji An's skin had a jade-like luster, with a faint hint of green, and his hair also had strands of radiance, as if it were being illuminated by sunlight.

With his breathing, the nearby Qingling bamboo rustled automatically without wind, producing a melodious tune.

A red sun leaps over the mountains, the mist near the cold pool dissipates, and sunlight filters through the gaps, casting dappled gold through the bamboo forest.

The young animals rustled through the bamboo leaves, and birds chirped and called to each other as they began to forage for food; a beautiful day had truly begun.

When Ji An reached the edge of the bamboo forest, he smelled the aroma of food and unconsciously swallowed.

On the stone table were stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork, stewed rabbit with lingzhi mushrooms, two kinds of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and a bowl of jasmine rice for each person. This was today's breakfast.

After years of getting to know each other, Liangqiu has mastered the art of timing, and everything is just right.

"Tsk tsk," Ji An sighed after sitting down and said:

"I wonder how much of your skill your successor will possess after you leave."

Liang Qiu laughed and said:

"Cooking is a minor skill; I have already found two candidates for you."

They are relatives of a good friend I met while raising spirit fish at Azure Lake. They are skillful and have a talent for spirit cooking. I'll bring them over in a few days so you can meet them.

Ji An nodded slightly:

“Very good. It’s time to start cultivating them as soon as possible. After they arrive, you will also be responsible for raising the spirit fish. Don’t forget that.”

"clear."

Huang Feihu scratched his head and said:

"I need to speed up the search for suitable candidates. The local Lingnong people I know well are all quite old, and even if I hire them, they won't last more than a few years."

Many young disciples have moved here this year, and I am currently evaluating them. I will select a few who are quick-witted and efficient so that fellow Daoists can make their own selections.

Ji An swallowed the bamboo shoot and said:

"There are still three or four years left, there's plenty of time. We should carefully examine each candidate and be selective rather than accept inferior ones."

His greatest advantage is possessing a second-tier spiritual vein; if he were to recruit disciples, the line of applicants would stretch from Crimson Flame Peak to Azure Water Lake.

After the three finished their breakfast, Liang Qiu began to clear away the dishes.

"Fellow Daoists, I have to go out for a few days. Please guard the mountain gate."

Ji An gave a shout and launched his flying shuttle away.

Outside Crimson Flame Peak, large tracts of spiritual fields have been cultivated, and cultivators have already settled in both the eastern and western spiritual mountains.

Ji An piloted the flying shuttle around the mountains, planning to invite his neighbors over after Wei Songnian returned.

If nothing unexpected happens, these people will be together for at least a hundred years.

Visiting other places might allow you to find more fellow practitioners to work with, or at the very least, provide you with more channels to get information.

He hurried toward the rising sun and landed half a day later on the mountainside of Lingxiao Mountain.

Ji An used a hand seal to put away the flying shuttle and stepped into the Hall of Diligent Work.

Inside the main hall, Ye Changqing sat in a chair, basking in the sunlight with his eyes closed, trying to rest. The shadow of someone entering blocked the sunlight, making him feel impatient.

His eyes narrowed to slits, gleaming with a cold light.

Upon seeing who it was, his serious expression softened.

"Wait a minute, junior brother, you've been so active lately?"

The stone tortoise cultivator, who was said to have not left his cave for years, came to the Diligent Work Hall twice in a few months, which made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"I just wanted to chat with my senior brother!"

Ji An took out a bag of pine nuts and placed it on the table.

"Just say what you have to say. I know you too well. You'd rather lie down than sit up!"

Ye Changqing grabbed a handful of pine nuts, his withered hands deftly peeling off the shells, and the pine nuts flew into his mouth.

"I was just passing by on my way to run errands!"

Ji An corrected him sternly and righteously, taking out a talisman paper with characters written in cinnabar:

"My senior brother knows that I have more than a thousand acres of spirit fields. He has been thinking about what to plant recently, and now he has finally figured it out."

We need a lot of seeds and saplings; let's ask my senior for advice.

He didn't have ordinary paper, and the amount of information was too little to warrant using jade slips, so he could only luxuriously use talisman paper to write.

Ye Changqing took the talisman and softly recited:

"50,000 copper-patterned mulberry trees, 100,000 jade-leaf mulberry trees, 2,000 catties of green ivy tree seeds, and 500 catties of iron wire grass seeds."

Iron wire grass is an excellent food source for some earth and metal element monsters. It grows even better when intercropped with copper-patterned mulberry, and it can also promote the growth of copper-patterned mulberry, achieving two benefits at once.

The Biluo tree produces Biluo fruit, which, like the Feiye mulberry, is highly favored by monsters.

These are the types of spirit trees that Ji An selected as most suitable for planting on Crimson Flame Peak. Moreover, spirit bees can be released into the Emerald Leaf Mulberry and the Green Vine Tree after they enter their flowering period.

Royal jelly can enhance cultivation, nourish the body, and can also be used as an auxiliary ingredient in many elixirs, making it very versatile.

In this way, the industrial chain of Chiyan Peak can be considered to have been established.

Once he establishes a significant presence here, sects will have to think twice before sending him on long-term overseas missions.

'That's damn extravagant! This is the kind of style a high-level spirit farmer should have.'

Ye Changqing suddenly felt that the sect was underutilizing high-level spirit farmers. He put down the talisman and pondered:

"The seeds you need are in the warehouse, but the seedlings need to be propagated by cutting branches from the spirit tree. There are too many, so we need to allocate them."

"Once it's all allocated, I'll send someone to deliver it to you. Let me calculate how many contribution points it will cost."

He took out his counting rods and began to calculate, "Two copper-patterned mulberry and jade-leaf mulberry branches, one contribution point for every two branches, totaling 89,000 contribution points."

Ji An handed over his jade token and said:

"I'll personally select the branches when they're being cut down; I don't really trust other people's spellcasting abilities."

His current skills should place him among the top among the sect's many spiritual farmers.

After cutting down the branches for seedling cultivation, it is necessary to use magic to maintain their vitality. The sect would not send a spirit farmer of his level to do such a trivial task.

“How about this, Junior Brother, you stay here with me tonight, and I’ll go with you to the forest where these two kinds of spiritual trees are planted first thing tomorrow morning.”

Ye Changqing understood his actions and readily agreed.

"Junior Brother still has 243,000 contribution points."

Ye Changqing thought for a moment, then took out his communication talisman sword, entered the information, activated it, and said:

"I have already informed my junior brother who manages Ling Sang, and asked him to find more disciples to help tomorrow."

"I'll try to get the saplings ready within a day, and then I'll prepare a large enough airship to transport them back that same day."

"Thank you for your help, senior brother."

Ji An cupped his hands in greeting and said sincerely that with the other party's help, things could be handled much more quickly.

Ye Changqing waved his hand:

"It's my duty, no need for thanks."

The sect doesn't have many high-level spirit farmers, so your actions, junior brother, are very beneficial to the Beast Taming Hall, allowing the sect to cultivate more mid- to low-level demonic beasts.

Having spent many years in the Diligent Work Hall, he was well-informed and could see the impact these spiritual trees would have on the sect once they grew.

He sighed inwardly, realizing that the lack of high-level spirit farmers was already affecting the development of the Beast Taming Hall.

Fallen Maple Valley possesses a more complete spiritual farming heritage system, and they have surpassed sects in the cultivation of various spirit silkworms, spirit spiders, and other demonic beasts.

The following night.

The moonlight was hazy and the stars were like a sea. The two stood side by side at the front of the flying boat, their clothes fluttering and the evening breeze caressing their sleeves.

Ahead, the outline of Crimson Flame Peak could be vaguely seen, resembling a crouching toad.

Ji An looked back at the mountain of saplings piled up on the deck behind him and said with satisfaction:

"I estimate it's almost 9 PM now. Senior brother has had a long and tiring journey today, so I'll treat you to a feast tomorrow."

Planting the spirit seedlings is best done at night, as he can cast the spell twice in a row, ensuring a higher survival rate.

Ye Changqing nodded slightly and smiled:

"We've been waiting for you to say that, junior brother. Let's drink to our hearts' content tomorrow."

Upon arriving at Crimson Flame Peak, Ji An activated the magic seal by performing a hand gesture. After the flying boat landed, he called Huang Feihu and another person for help and summoned Golden Hair as well.

Several people and a beast dug several large pits and put branches into them. Ji An used the Azure Wood Transformation Technique, and thousands of points of emerald green light fell from the sky like a rain of stars.

The vibrant energy of the wood element bursts forth, covering the branches and slowly merging into them.

Then he changed his spell to the Spring Breeze and Rain Technique, and the clouds and mist that shimmered with faint spiritual light rolled under the starry sea, spreading a refreshing spiritual aura.

Huang Feihu opened his arms, feeling the moist air, and sighed inwardly, wondering when he would be able to reach this level.

Five days later.

The bright moon hangs high in the sky, and Ji An rides the wind, overlooking the earth.

He looked at the other farmers and the fruits of his labor, and breathed a sigh of relief.

All the spirit seedlings have been planted, and the spirit seeds have been sown.

The wiregrass has already sprouted dark buds, and the saplings that were propagated a few days ago have begun to take root.

Even with the help of magic, planting so many spirit trees left him physically and mentally exhausted; sowing hope was always accompanied by hardship.

However, he has already received his first reward, as the stone turtle absorbed more than thirty points of spiritual energy.

The next two weeks will be his most demanding time.

Apart from Copper-patterned Mulberry and Iron-wire Grass, other spiritual plants must be given Rain and Green Wood Transformation Techniques once a day to ensure that the branches can truly survive.

With his cultivation at the third level of Foundation Establishment, his magical power was insufficient; he needed to refine pills and absorb spirit stones.

He also ordered Huang Feihu to take out the wood element beads he had previously refined and to activate the wood element spiritual energy within them every morning to focus on cultivating the dozens of acres of jade-leaf mulberry trees near the cold pool.

This area is exceptionally blessed, and he wants to cultivate these Emerald Mulberry leaves to the highest grade as soon as possible.

In the future, I must cultivate some second-tier spirit mulberry trees, otherwise I will be letting down my skills and this second-tier spirit vein.

(End of this chapter)