Chapter 173 Invitation

There are not many high-level spirit farmers in the sect. Many spirit trees grow by absorbing spiritual energy from the spirit fields over many years.

The cultivation of high-grade spirit trees is greatly affected by the grade of the spirit veins, which is something that cannot be avoided.

The reason why Fallen Maple Valley has become the leader of the three sects is because their spiritual agricultural foundation is stronger and can stably provide more cultivation resources.

Li Minghui sighed softly and said:

"If the sect has a more complete cultivation tradition, I wonder how much more useful my junior brother could be."

Whether it's a sect or a family, the most important thing is inheritance.

The inheritance is something that generations of disciples have summarized through trial and error. It can be a formula, a technique, or various secret skills.

The stronger a power is, the less likely it is to decline, because it has a rich and profound heritage.

"I have witnessed the hardships of independent cultivators, and the sect has already provided us with tremendous help."

If there's no road ahead, we can try to forge one.

Ji An said that the sect provided a stable environment and various secret techniques, which was of utmost importance.

If he were a rogue cultivator, even possessing a stone tortoise wouldn't allow it to function properly.

Ye Changqing hummed in agreement and said:

"That's right. Only by passing down the tradition from generation to generation can a sect prosper. The great sects in the Central Continent that have remained unchanged for thousands of years also started from humble beginnings."

There were no roads in the world to begin with; but as more people walked on them, they became roads.

Many hands make light work; if everyone contributes their own strength, the sect will get better and better, and there will be more resources to train disciples.

Ji An grinned, "Why does that sound so familiar?! Could it be that Senior Brother Ye is..."

He shook his head, dismissing the thought, and coughed as he said:

"I feel that relying solely on the Thick Earth Returning to Origin Mantra to nourish the Earth Spirit Fruit Tree is too simplistic. I plan to cut down some top-grade Xuan Yang Wood branches and leave them here to rot slowly."

Since ordinary people have no magic to use when planting crops, they will come up with various ways to increase the fertility of the soil.

I want to test this most basic method and see how effective it is.

Fire generates earth, and fire-elemental wood decays, which should further enhance the earth-elemental energy contained in the soil.

This is Ji An's conjecture, and he plans to conduct a long-term tracking experiment.

Furthermore, he plans to burn some mulberry leaves in the Jade Leaf Mulberry Field and the Green Ivy Forest every year, and place ore powder in the Copper Pattern Mulberry Field in preparation for improving the quality of the spiritual field.

The contribution points and spirit stones you earn should be used when necessary; keeping them won't create any value.

Ye Changqing nodded, saying that being willing to try new things is a good quality.

It was noon when the three left the underground cave. Ji An treated them to a warm welcome, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely.

Ye Changqing piloted his flying boat away from Crimson Flame Peak and asked:

"Senior sister, where are we going next? Back to the Beast Taming Hall?"

Having eaten and drunk his fill, he now felt pleasantly tipsy.

"No rush. Let's take a look around the neighborhood and see where we should choose a site if we want to set up a branch temple."

A suitable spiritual vein node must be found; otherwise, it's unsuitable for raising spirit silkworms and demonic beasts in large numbers.

"Haha, it seems that Senior Sister is very confident in setting up a branch hall here."

Li Minghui chuckled lightly:

"It's a sure thing. The sect has recruited more disciples, and the number of Qi Refining disciples in the Beast Taming Hall has also increased dramatically, but the spiritual veins of Emerald Bamboo Peak have not improved."

The temple master has long intended to set up a branch temple to alleviate the pressure. I have already inspected seven or eight locations, but none of them are satisfactory.

Crimson Flame Peak can reliably produce resources for raising demonic beasts, saving a lot of trouble.

The areas she inspected required the transportation of supplies from multiple resource points, which were quite far apart and wasted manpower and resources.

They had initially thought that since there was no better place, they would just close their eyes and pick one. Now that there is a better option, the temple master has no reason to disagree.

"Okay, I remember there are three branches nearby, not far apart, two of them are top-grade and one is high-grade."

Ye Changqing recalled that he remembered every spiritual vein in the sect, and he even remembered who the cultivators who lived on the spiritual veins were.

He is very dedicated to his job.

“The superior ones can be eliminated directly. Let me tell you about these two top-grade spiritual veins.”

Li Minghui said, "If there are good options, there's no reason to choose the bad ones."

“A spiritual vein is a valley, covering an area of ​​more than 700 acres, and is about 7 or 8 miles away from Crimson Flame Peak.”

The other spiritual vein is a low mountain, about ten miles away from here.

I remember the cultivator who checked in was named Jiang Wanrong; she was a disciple of your Beast Taming Hall.

"It's Wanrong. I know her. She's a very talented junior sister who's also good at weaving robes."

She's very lucky; being so close to Crimson Flame Peak gives her an advantage, and she's bound to be able to raise higher-level spirit silkworms.

"Junior brother, let's go check it out in person."

"Okay."

Ye Changqing agreed, and controlled the flying boat to change direction, heading towards Green Bamboo Valley.

After the guests left, Ji An gave the instructions:

"Huang Xuan, Li Cheng, you two go into the Xuan Yang Wood Forest and cut down some branches as thick as your arms."

Some of them were chopped into small pieces and placed near the roots of the Earth Spirit Fruit Tree in the underground cave, except for the two spirit trees on the north side.

The other part was dried, ground into powder, and mixed with the red sand next to the fire crystal ant nest to serve as fertilizer for the purple fire gourd, which was only used on the three plants in the south.

In addition, purchase a batch of low-quality windmill copper ore and pyrite ore, about 2,000 jin each, break them into small pieces and store them in the warehouse; I need them.

The experiment to enhance the growth of spirit trees can now begin.

Both of them have a background in spiritual farming, so these trivial matters can be carried out well once they are given instructions.

"Okay, let's go cut down the Xuan Yang wood now."

Eight months later.

By the cold pool, Ji An was practicing the Green Wood Everlasting Technique, and the range of his influence was much larger than before.

Feiye Sang rhythmically fell towards him, countless fluorescent points disappearing into his body.

Ji An finished his cultivation and opened his eyes, only to see a turquoise light flashing in his pupils.

A smile appeared on his lips. Now his immortal meridians were even thicker and stronger, with more than twenty branches spreading out in his chest and abdomen.

Now his speed of refining spiritual energy has increased by another half percent, and he has a deeper understanding of the cultivation technique.

The world is a perfect cycle; nothing exists in isolation.

The Green Wood Everlasting Spring Technique displays absolute wood element characteristics, but it still needs to absorb earth and water element spiritual energy to more efficiently improve its cultivation.

What made him even happier was that he had already sensed that he had hit a bottleneck!

This means he is already facing the breakthrough to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, but it has only been three years and six months since he broke through to the third level of Foundation Establishment.

"Could it be that I can break through to the fourth level of Foundation Establishment in a shorter time than I can break through to the third level? It doesn't seem impossible!"

Ji An chuckled and focused his consciousness into his dantian, connecting with the stone tortoise.

"Refine the spiritual energy to enhance the Azure Wood Transformation Technique."

Ji An's consciousness was pulled into the mysterious space of the stone tortoise, forming a shadow. One foot was placed on the Zhen position, spreading emerald green, while the other foot was placed on the Xun position, extending dark green.

Previously, the shadow's face was a single, seamless piece, like a faceless person, but now the shadow's face has more details.

The eyebrows and nose are slightly raised, while the eyes are slightly recessed.

As the number of Zhen and Xun spirits decreased, Ji An's understanding of the magic techniques continued to increase.

[Spell: Azure Wood Transformation Technique (Perfect 94% → 96%)]

"Soon, in just a few years, another Foundation Establishment stage technique will be upgraded to the Great Perfection level."

Ji An smiled and stood up. If the Jade Wood Transformation Technique were to reach its peak, it should further deepen his understanding of the technique.

The buzzing of white jade bees flying by could be heard from time to time. He looked at the lush green spiritual fields and his eyes were full of longing.

Currently, the number of top-grade Jade Leaf Mulberry trees in Crimson Flame Peak has reached 1,200, the number of top-grade Copper Pattern Mulberry trees has reached over 700, and the number of top-grade Jade Vine Trees has reached 1,000.

The Ling Sang and Biluo trees have already blossomed, and this year's Crimson Flame Summit will usher in a new chapter.

Ji An returned to the stone table to prepare breakfast. Xia Yuhan presented him with a red invitation card and smiled, saying:

"Uncle-Master, this was sent by Uncle-Master Zeng."

Ji An took the invitation, opened it, and quickly scanned it.

"To my senior brother Ji, we hereby announce that the betrothal ceremony will be held on the fifth day of the fifteenth month of midsummer at Yulong Ridge. We have prepared a small feast and hope that you will take time out of your busy schedule to attend."

Your presence would surely bring honor to my humble abode and add to the auspicious atmosphere of the New Year; I earnestly hope you will not refuse.

Zeng Rui bowed.

Ji An grinned and chuckled:

"What a Zeng Rui! Is this the third one in the last six months?!"

"Even in old age, a youthful exuberance arises; one is not afraid to grind an iron rod into a needle!"

Maintaining virginity before the Chaoyuan stage makes it easier to ignite the primordial fire. For over twenty years, Ji An has remained chaste and has never even sought out the Fifth Sister, which has made Ji An somewhat envious.

However, this envy was fleeting; becoming a cultivator in the Chaoyuan stage was far more tempting to him.

Unless a miracle occurs, Zeng Rui has no hope of reaching the Yuan Dynasty, so it's normal for the other party to have many desires to establish their own family.

Xia Yuhan blushed and looked down at the ground, unable to respond to what he was saying.

The metaphor of grinding an iron pestle into a needle is too...

Liang Qiu and the others standing nearby were struggling to hold back their laughter. If Zeng Rui weren't an elder, they would have teased him a bit too.

Ji An put away the invitation and said seriously:

"Flying Tiger, you prepare the gift."

Also, remember to remind me to go to Jade Dragon Ridge next month on the 5th of the lunar calendar.

Huang Feihu cupped his hands and said:

"Understood, I will certainly prepare enough nourishing foods for Uncle Zeng."

After breakfast, Ji Anji flew to the top of Crimson Flame Peak, extracted the essence of the five elements, and then returned to the Cold Pool to draw talismans.

Through years of practice, his success rate in drawing Explosive Flame Talismans has reached 90%, and his success rate in drawing Explosive Burst Talismans is close to 70%.

Most satisfyingly, the success rate of drawing the talisman soldiers reached 30%.

He can now submit eight or nine early-stage Foundation Establishment talisman soldiers to the sect every month. He has already drawn two mid-stage Foundation Establishment talisman soldiers and nurtures them with his magic power for a quarter of an hour every day.

The golden retriever emerged from the stone slab and tugged at the hem of its owner's Taoist robe.

"Squeak squeak".

Its voice was urgent and excited, and it was gesturing with its little paws.

Ji An understood its meaning, put down the talisman brush, stroked his chin, and said:

"The Earth Spirit Fruit Tree has blossomed again, six months earlier than expected."

It seems that the Great Perfection level of the Thick Earth Returning to Origin Mantra has a greater effect than he predicted.

"Let's go see how much fruit it can produce."

"Squeak squeak".

The golden retriever didn't let go, barking as if trying to express something.

Ji An grabbed it by the neck and lifted it up, saying:

"I know, I'll definitely share some of the best fruits with you this year!"

After Golden Fur established its foundation, its bloodline evolved further. Perhaps the Earth Spirit Fruit Tree had a mysterious promoting effect on it, and its demonic power has reached the standard of the second level of foundation establishment.

Ji An wouldn't mind sharing some of it.

(End of this chapter)