Chapter 175 Countermeasures

The next day.

A gentle afternoon breeze rustled through the bamboo grove.

Ji An lay half-reclined in the chair and took out the seeds of the Purple Fire Gourd, placing them on a wooden tray.

He roughly counted them, and found over a hundred top-quality gourd seeds and several other superior varieties.

The imperfect seeds were removed, and the divine sense was used to sense the life force contained within each gourd seed. In the end, exactly eighty top-quality gourd seeds were obtained.

These seeds looked much better than the ones Zhong Yue had given them; their dark red outer skins shimmered with a spiritual light, and their aura was much more vibrant.

The gourd is a fire-elemental plant, and its seeds contain a considerable amount of wood-elemental energy.

Ji An stared at a seed between his fingers, lost in thought.

None of the spiritual plants he encountered exhibited only a single characteristic of the five elements. Even the Earth Spirit Fruit Tree, which resembled a stone tree, had sap flowing within it.

He used to think that spiritual plants had only one of the five elements, but now he realizes that was a superficial view.

Ji An slowly came to his senses. He divided the top-grade gourd seed into two equal parts and then released the Withering and Flourishing Technique.

The secret formula envelops both superior and inferior seeds, drawing upon their vitality.

Green and red light flew out from the seed, eventually converging into a deep, dark green wood elemental bead.

He activated the Wood Element Pearl, nourishing one of the seeds with the life force of the same origin.

Once the light emitted by the Wood Element Pearl was fully absorbed by the seeds, Ji An released the Azure Wood Transformation Technique, and emerald green light spots sprinkled down, enveloping all the top-grade seeds.

The seeds that did not absorb the light of the Wood Element Pearl absorbed more light spots.

Ji An then cast a Flame Spell, making the seed's outer skin, already enveloped in orange-red light, even brighter, as fiery red as magma.

He felt that the seed's vitality had been greatly stimulated, and nodded in satisfaction.

"quack!"

Grey-feathered sand geese took off from the cold pool and landed near their master.

It first shook the water off its feathers, then affectionately rubbed against its owner's arm.

Ji An chuckled and said:

"I will give you the pill tonight."

Several months ago, Sha Yan's demonic power had increased slightly, so he had not allowed her to take the Blood Refining Pill.

It seems that the demonic power of the beast tamer has reached its limit, and it's time for it to break through.

"Gah."

Having received a satisfactory reply, the grey-feathered sand goose let out a fawning cry, turned around, and flew away to frolic in the cold pool.

"You bastard."

Ji An shook his head. After all, it was a demon beast, and even if it had intelligence, it was limited.

He stood up, waved, and shouted:

"Huang Xuan, where is Li Cheng?"

Huang Xuan jogged over and said with a smile:

"Uncle-Master, today's work was finished this morning. Li Cheng and Senior Brother Huang went outside to tend to the spirit fields."

"Just tell me if you need anything, or I can go and call them back."

Life on Crimson Flame Peak was very comfortable. As long as you did your work diligently, you had free time to do as you pleased, and you only needed someone to take care of you.

"No need. Just take a bundle of dried Xuan Yang wood branches and a bag of powder, and come with me to plant the Purple Fire Gourd."

From now on, you and Li Cheng will still be responsible for fertilizing these gourds, at the same frequency as before.

"Understood, Uncle-Master, please rest assured."

Ji Anji launched a flying shuttle, carrying Huang Xuan to the place where the gourds were originally planted, and gave the following instructions:

"Bring over some red sand."

Huang Xuan filled several bags with red sand and poured them on the ground, mixing the Xuan Yang wood powder with the red sand.

Ji An released the Thick Earth Returning to Origin Mantra to plant the seed, and then released the Spring Breeze Transforming Rain Technique.

The nourishing rain poured down, and the purple fire gourd took root and sprouted, stretching its branches and leaves in the rain.

When the fog cleared and the rain stopped, the gourd vines had grown to more than four inches tall.

After Huang Xuan quickly set up the wooden frame, Ji An inserted several wooden poles into the ground and said:

"The seeds were divided into four portions. The middle two portions were supplemented with Xuan Yang wood powder and red sand as fertilizer, while the two outer portions were fertilized with Chi Yun pine powder and red sand."

I need to test how effective these fertilizers really are, so I don't make a mistake.

"Uncle-Master, I've got it all figured out. There's no mistake."

The moon rises over the eastern mountains, still half-concealing its face as if holding a pipa.

The night was cool and still, and the evening breeze carried a chill.

Ji An placed several water-attribute spiritual herbs and a Blood Refining Pill on the ground. The spiritual herbs shimmered with a water-blue spiritual light, and the pill's patterns shimmered with a water-like luster under the moonlight.

These spiritual herbs can help demonic beasts break through their limits. Although their effect is not significant, Ji An will prepare them as long as he has even the slightest chance and the means to obtain them.

After swallowing the spiritual herb in a few gulps, the gray-feathered sand goose also swallowed the pill.

After a few breaths, its demonic power began to rise rapidly, and its body slowly expanded as if it were an inflated balloon.

"Gah"

The cries of the sand geese were filled with pain, and the breakthrough of the demon beast was like a pupa breaking out of its cocoon to become a butterfly.

Although the result was wonderful, the process was full of hardships.

Ji An watched quietly; now, the only person the Beast Tamer could rely on was himself.

As the moon slowly rose, the demonic aura of the Grey-feathered Sand Goose suddenly surged, its bones cracking and its body swelling even more.

"Gah!"

The sand geese emitted a hoarse yet penetrating cry, their voices carrying a hint of arrogance.

It stretched out its long neck, its eyes reflecting the moon's serene, cold light.

Having learned from Jinmao's breakthrough, Ji An unleashed the full pressure of a Foundation Establishment Level 3 cultivator, pressing down on Sha Yan.

He wanted to make his beast understand that there was a reason why he was the master, thus nipping any potential disloyalty in the bud.

"Gah!"

The sand goose immediately cried out and lowered its neck, its behavior both ingratiating and obedient.

"Hehe, much better than the Golden Retriever's performance."

Ji An smiled and took out his Beast Taming Token to communicate with Sha Yan telepathically:

"From now on, we will feed them enough spirit rice and spirit vegetables every day. We will do less hunting of spirit fish, but they can eat more ordinary fish."

Sha Yan nodded repeatedly.

Jade Dragon Ridge.

At the banquet, Zeng Rui's face was flushed, making his skin appear even more oily.

"Thank you all for coming. I would like to propose a toast to everyone."

Beside him stood a petite female disciple, dressed in a light blue silk dress, with a graceful figure and a shy, coy expression on her face.

Many female disciples in the sect with poor aptitude choose to attach themselves to Foundation Establishment cultivators in order to obtain the resources needed to break through to Foundation Establishment.

Similarly, there are also male disciples who are not particularly talented but have good looks who choose to attach themselves to female cultivators who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

After everyone drank a full cup, Zeng Rui, along with his concubine, offered a separate toast to several Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After he left, Jiang Wanrong's cheeks flushed slightly, and she transmitted her voice:

"Seeing Junior Brother Zeng surrounded by women on both sides, does Senior Brother Ji have similar thoughts?"

"Heh, I am a cultivator who aspires to break through to the Chaoyuan stage, and I am not interested in women."

Ji An transmitted his voice, adopting an arrogant and haughty posture.

Jiang Wanrong raised an eyebrow slightly and wrinkled her nose as she said:

"I hope I can live to see that day!"

She thought to herself:

'He has no sense of romance; his talk of breaking through to the Yuan Dynasty is just an excuse.'

If breakthroughs were so easy, the sect wouldn't only have a dozen or so senior uncles at the Chaoyuan stage.

Many people seem to break through easily in the early and middle stages of Foundation Establishment, but when they break through to the later stages, they lack the stamina and waste their time.

Ji An said in a joking tone:

"I try not to keep my junior sister waiting too long."

He changed the subject and asked softly:

"Junior sister, how much money did you give as a gift?"

"I don't have many spirit stones, so I gave them a robe that I wove myself."

That despicable Zeng Rui, he's taken three concubines in six months.

Jiang Wanrong bit her lip lightly; she knew she had no chance of getting the gift money back.

She paused, then asked:

"Senior Brother Ji, a friend of mine heard that your top-quality Biluo trees are bearing fruit and wants to order some."

But she's a bit short on cash lately, so she asked me to inquire if she could pay a smaller deposit.

Upon hearing that business had arrived, Ji An spoke gently:

"I should give my junior sister this much face. I can forgo the deposit, as long as the payment is settled when I receive the Biluo Fruit."

I once promised my junior colleague that she would receive a reward for referring clients, which she would honor once a transaction was completed.

Unlike fruits from my previous life, spiritual fruits do not have a very short shelf life. After being sealed with magic, they can be preserved for three to five years or even decades without any problems.

There is a high demand for Pycnogenol fruit, and there is no worry about selling it. It's just a small favor, so of course I should lend a hand.

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother!"

Jiang Wanrong beamed with joy. Her senior brother's generosity made her feel even more respected in front of her friends.

"You're welcome. I'll reserve as many fruits as my junior sister's friend wants in advance."

"Five hundred fruits will suffice."

Mingfeng Mountain, Patrol Hall.

This is the law enforcement department established by the three sects. They have drawn cultivators skilled in combat from each sect, and also recruited many independent cultivators with decent abilities to be responsible for the defense of the Immortal City and the surrounding area.

The three sects agreed that each would send one cultivator at the Chaoyuan stage to jointly oversee the area before the demonic calamity arrives.

Musongde walked into the deepest part of the Patrol Hall, glanced around, and his expression turned solemn before he quickly sat down.

The main hall is a place for deliberation, but elders in the Chaoyuan stage rarely take charge; it is usually late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators from various sects who participate.

Today is the day for the routine meeting, but the fact that cultivators at the Chaoyuan stage from the three sects have come to attend means something must have happened, otherwise they wouldn't have been alerted.

As more and more people arrived, they all felt a sense of unease upon seeing a cultivator at the Chaoyuan stage in charge.

Zheng Yuan, a high-level cultivator in the Chaoyuan stage from Yuanhe Mountain, coughed softly and said:

"Everyone's here, so I'll get straight to the point."

Yesterday, a patrol team passed by a gathering point 300 miles northeast of Mingfeng Mountain and found it deserted.

I went to investigate in person and could only deduce that the incident occurred the night before last, and that the attacker was a ghost cultivator.

This is the second similar incident; the enemy must be found as soon as possible, otherwise it will greatly affect the Immortal City.

Ghost cultivators, as the name suggests, are cultivators who raise spirits to fight. Their cultivation methods are evil, and they often feed the spirits with the souls of humans.

Lin Qiubai, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them, a cold light flashing in his phoenix eyes:

"How many cultivators are there at the gathering point, and what is the strongest cultivator's cultivation level?"

Zheng Yuan replied:

"That is a branch settlement established by several families, with more than two hundred cultivators in total."

It has four Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, the strongest of whom is at the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Cen Gaoyuan, a cultivator from Yuanhe Mountain, said:

"Ghost cultivators are just rats that can't be seen in the light. As long as we can find where they are hiding, things will be much easier."

However, can you be sure that this incident and the previous one were committed by the same group of people?

"That's the crux of the matter, so we've gathered everyone together to discuss a solution."

(End of this chapter)