Chapter 154 Chaoyang Peak

Ji An strolled to the edge of the cold pool, made a water control incantation, and a ball of water leaped out, hovering above his palm.

As his mind changed, the water sphere took on various shapes, sometimes elongating like a snake, sometimes coalescing into a human form, complete with limbs and a head.

Just as he was about to refine the water elemental's features, the water sphere disintegrated; this level of water control technique was not yet capable of such precise manipulation.

He used all his magic to pull out another ball of water from the water, and found that this ball of water was only about half a bucket's worth.

The level of the technique is too low; it has magical power but cannot exert its maximum effect.

Ji An dispersed the water ball and dipped his hand into the pool. He then made a hand seal, and the water flow automatically bypassed it, keeping it about half a finger's width away from his skin.

There are descriptions in the records of cultivation, saying that some high-level cultivators can create roads by splitting the seawater simply by using water control techniques. He found this funny.

To achieve that effect, it is definitely not something that the Water Control Technique can achieve; it also requires the cultivator's extremely powerful magic.

Ji An used the Water Control Technique to create an undercurrent and used his divine sense to sense the intensity of the water flow.

The water flow resembles a transparent, nimble fish, creating small eddies on the surface as it sways.

He gathered the water into a rope and chased after the spirit fish, playing with it with great enjoyment.

After a quarter of an hour, the pool water churned, and Du Huaiyuan emerged from it with a smile on his face.

His share of the spirit wine hidden at the bottom of the pool remained untouched; my junior brother is still trustworthy and reliable.

When Ji An saw his senior brother come out, he focused his mind on his dantian and connected with the stone tortoise for a glance.

[Spell: Water Control Technique (Beginner 1% → 4%)]

The improvement was significant in a short time, and practicing low-level spells from a higher level was indeed much faster.

The Fire Control Technique has already reached 3% progress after just starting out, which is probably due to the bonus from the two Fire Path Seeds.

Du Huaiyuan walked across the cold pool, reached the shore, and laughed:

“I brought thirty jars of spirit wine for my junior brother, so that he will have more money to spend outside.”

"Thank you very much, senior brother. How much does a jar of spirit wine cost? I'll give you spirit stones."

"It's too formal to talk about spirit stones among fellow disciples."

Du Huaiyuan waved his hand and said with great pride:

"A jar of spirit wine costs only ten spirit stones, junior brother, take it and use it!"

"You're asking me to give you a price for using this?" Ji An said seriously.

"Gathering the raw materials and brewing them takes a lot of time and spirit stones. How can we let our senior brother suffer a loss!"

He took out three mid-grade spirit stones and stuffed them into the other person's hand without saying a word.

The opponent relies on water-based alchemy and winemaking skills to sustain their cultivation, but water-based alchemy takes a long time and is at a significant disadvantage compared to fire-based alchemy.

Aside from certain specific pills, the other party rarely gets a chance to receive a sect mission.

"Junior brother, you're being too polite."

As Du Huaiyuan spoke, he naturally put the spirit stones into his storage bag.

"Senior brother, please sit here."

Ji An invited the other person to sit down at the stone table, pointed to the mulberry fields rolling in the wind, and laughed:

"In a few months, it will be the season when the mulberry trees bloom again, and this time there will definitely be enough mulberries to make wine."

"Okay, now I have something to do."

However, the spirit wine brewed from mulberries grown in the mid-grade spirit mulberry trees can only be sold to cultivators in the Qi Refining stage.

Most Qi Refining stage cultivators live frugally, with relatively meager gains.

"Senior brother, please rest assured, there are at least forty or fifty acres of top-quality Emerald Leaf Mulberry available for use."

If you're lucky, you might even get some mulberries from the highest-grade spirit mulberry tree.

"These jasmine leaves are growing so fast?"

Du Huaiyuan found it hard to believe. Brewing wine inevitably involved dealing with spirit farmers and purchasing medicinal herbs, and he also had a good understanding of planting.

He was able to cultivate top-grade Jade Leaf Mulberry in just two years, something even the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators he knew couldn't achieve.

Ji An nodded slightly, smiling without saying a word.

This is a second-tier spiritual vein, and given that he is a diligent craftsman, such a result is not considered earth-shattering.

All three spells possess a strong magical intent. His cultivation ability should be among the top among Foundation Establishment cultivators, and he is not much weaker than his master.

Chaoyang Peak is the highest peak of the Jinling Sect, located at the core node of the spiritual vein, and is the place with the most abundant spiritual energy in the sect.

After the spiritual veins were upgraded, this place became a blessed land of the third rank, and all the spiritual herbs and trees growing on the mountain were much more abundant than in other areas.

As the sun rose, while other areas were still shrouded in mist, the sunlight shone on the summit of Chaoyang Peak.

Bathed in the warm sunshine, Ji An rode his flying shuttle ahead, followed closely by Wei Songnian and Zeng Rui, also riding their shuttles.

Looking down from the higher sky, thousands of flying shuttles, flying boats, beasts, and other flying magical artifacts converged on Chaoyang Peak from all directions and landed among the buildings on the mountainside.

As the place where the sect's patriarch cultivated in seclusion, Chaoyang Peak is usually shrouded in clouds and mist, making it difficult to see its true appearance.

Today, all one sees is the verdant mountain bathed in the mountain breeze, with streams winding through it like jade ribbons, and the glazed tiles on the roof of the palace shimmering with golden light. Under the eaves, the iron horses neigh, playing a tune of battle.

As the shuttle slowly descended, Ji An greedily inhaled the rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth, feeling every pore on his body relax.

The aura of the third-tier spiritual vein was much stronger than that of Crimson Flame Peak. He secretly guessed that if he could cultivate here, the stone tortoise would be able to absorb an immense amount of spiritual energy.

Wei Songnian looked around for a while, then said proudly:

"Normally, my senior brothers and sisters stay in their respective caves to cultivate. They have never seen such a gathering of heroes before!"

Although he was usually very sociable, he only knew about fifty or sixty Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Most of them were early Foundation Establishment cultivators like him. Today, upon seeing them, he realized that the spiritual pressure emanating from most of them far surpassed his own. Many of them possessed late Foundation Establishment strength, not to mention the senior uncles at the Chaoyuan stage and the patriarchs at the Golden Core stage above them.

As one of the three major sects in the Western Continent, its profound foundation is now fully revealed.

"Yes, today's gathering truly reveals the prosperity of the sect."

Zeng Rui echoed, his tone equally one of pride.

Seeing so many Foundation Establishment cultivators in the mid-to-late stages participating in the mission made him feel much more at ease.

His teammates are all good at playing, so he just needs to cheer them on.

"Thump..."

A long, resonant bell rang out, its sound waves spreading and echoing through the mountains.

More than a dozen streaks of light swept down from the mountaintop and quickly arrived at the mountainside.

Following the beam of light were ten giant flying boats, each about a hundred feet long. The bottoms of the boats were as black as ink, and the runes shimmered like stars.

A gaunt old man and a middle-aged monk who looked like a wealthy man stood before the crowd.

Along with it came a spiritual pressure as intense as the blazing sun, causing the spiritual herbs and trees on the mountainside to bend over.

The clanging of iron horses beneath the eaves of the palace grew even louder, the sounds of battle becoming even more brutal.

The Foundation Establishment disciples turned pale and their bodies swayed involuntarily. The Foundation Establishment cultivators also circulated their magic power to resist the intense pressure.

The spiritual pressure disappeared after a breath, and many cultivators felt a cold sweat break out on their backs.

The streak of light paused in mid-air, and Lin Jiuxiao flew to the forefront, his majestic voice like a howling wind atop a mountain:

"I am the head of the Law Enforcement Hall. Today, I am leading my disciples into the Ten Thousand Mountains to establish a base. We are accompanied by cultivators from Falling Maple Valley and Yuanhe Mountain."

This time, the three sects recruited a total of thirty cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage, nearly three thousand cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage, and more than fifteen thousand disciples in the late Qi Refining stage.

Each of the three sects was accompanied by a patriarch to ensure complete success.

"All disciples, listen up! Board the corresponding flying boat according to your assigned number. Your mission will be announced on the flying boat."

As his words fell, Foundation Establishment cultivators rode their qi upwards, while Qi Refining disciples boarded the flying boat in an orderly fashion, either riding flying beasts or using talisman birds.

Ji An boarded the flying boat and discovered that most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators in their group were in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, and they didn't have much bloodthirsty aura. It seemed that they were people who rarely fought.

He felt a slight sense of relief and greeted the people:

"My name is Ji An, and I cultivate spirit fields on Crimson Flame Peak. May I ask your name, Senior Brother?"

The cultivator opposite him was also at the third level of Foundation Establishment, with slightly dark skin, gentle eyes, and a kind face.

"Senior brother is also a spirit farmer? I am Han Qingshan, and I cultivate spirit fields in Canglan Mountain."

Han Qingshan quickly cupped his hands in greeting, his smile carrying a hint of friendliness.

The two greeted the other cultivators and, after asking around, discovered that everyone there was a spirit farmer.

Han Qingshan frowned, and said nervously.

"We are all Lingnong, what should we do in battle?"

In his eyes, none of these people were capable of fighting, so wouldn't they be overwhelmed by the monsters during the battle?

Ji An coughed lightly and smiled:

"If we were to deal with demonic beasts at the Qi Refining stage, would you find it difficult, Junior Brother?"

Although the monsters are tough and thick-skinned, cultivators have the advantage of their cultivation level.

Han Qingshan sighed bitterly.

"It is still difficult to deal with a demonic beast in the late stage of Qi Refining."

I only have one top-tier defensive magic artifact, and all the combat spells I've learned are defensive in nature.

After entering the sect, he was assigned to cultivate spirit fields. Later, he discovered that he had a talent for cultivation, so he has been working diligently on it for more than fifty years.

Although life was uneventful, it was peaceful and stable, and the foundation was successfully laid safely.

"ah?"

Ji An was stunned. Did you intend to exhaust the monsters to death so they would give up? If you don't have any offensive spells, at least get an offensive magic weapon!

The idea that a cultivator at the third level of Foundation Establishment cannot deal with a late-stage Qi Refining demon beast is rather abstract.

"I'm the same as Senior Brother Han, but I only have two high-grade defensive magic artifacts."

"I'm doing better. After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, I've mastered the Entangling Technique, which should be useful in combat in the mountains and forests."

The others said something that made Ji An speechless. He felt like he couldn't play the game with these teammates.

He knew the Lingnong were weak in combat, but he didn't know they were this weak.

As everyone was discussing this, a large, stout figure landed on the flying boat, emanating the spiritual pressure of a cultivator at the Chaoyuan stage.

Everyone immediately fell silent, and the room instantly became quiet.

Jia Yu, dressed in a yellow Taoist robe, his usually disheveled hair now neatly combed, glanced arrogantly at the crowd and said in a deep voice:

"All Foundation Establishment cultivators, follow me into the cabin to receive your missions."

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

(End of this chapter)