Chapter 182 Earth Spirit Fruit Tree

The midday meal was plentiful, but no banquet was held.

Huang Feihu failed to establish his foundation, and everyone lost their appetite for drinking.

After lunch, three Foundation Establishment cultivators came to the stone house. Ji An said:

"Junior Brother Liang, let me give you a brief explanation of the cultivation process during the Foundation Establishment stage. Once you have some understanding, you will be able to choose the cultivation method that best suits you."

Liang Qiu cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

He did not have a teacher and lacked basic knowledge of this subject.

Ji An nodded slightly and said:

"The magical power cultivated through Foundation Establishment stage techniques begins to possess the characteristics of the five elements, or wind, thunder, ice, etc."

He recounted the knowledge his master had once imparted to him, combined with his own understanding, in a detailed and engaging manner, with Du Huaiyuan occasionally interjecting to add a few words.

Half an hour later, Liang Qiu stood up and bowed respectfully:

"Thank you both for your guidance. I have made my decision and will choose the Water Element Technique. I will go to the Transmission Hall tomorrow."

He has been raising spirit fish, and all his skills are in this area. When choosing a cave dwelling, he will choose a place that is close to the mountains and water, as practicing water-based techniques will be more beneficial for his future development.

Du Huaiyuan said:

"You need to go to the Hall of Diligent Work first to obtain a new identity jade token before you can go to the Hall of Skill Transmission to choose a cultivation method."

The two main halls are not far apart, both located on the mountainside of Lingxiao Mountain.

Senior Brother Ye Changqing is the deputy hall master of the Diligent Work Hall, and you are quite familiar with him. If you have any questions about any details, you can ask him.

Ji An took out a flying shuttle and ten mid-grade spirit stones, and said:

"Junior brother, use my flying shuttle for now. After you reach Foundation Establishment, you'll inevitably need to purchase a lot of supplies. Take these spirit stones and use them. If you need more, come find me."

Liang Qiu remained silent for a moment, then reached out and took the item:

"Thank you, senior brother. I won't stand on ceremony. I will return the spirit stones to you as soon as possible."

Moving into the new cave dwelling requires spirit stones for so many things: purchasing magic arrays, flying boats, spirit fish fry, and bait flying boats, plus adding various utensils. The spirit stones I have are definitely not enough.

"Take it and use it. We'll talk about it when you're really financially well-off."

Ji An and Du Huaiyuan each shared their insights on cultivation for a while, and before they knew it, an hour had passed.

Du Huaiyuan stood up, cupped his hands, and said:

"I have to go see some friends, so I'll take my leave now and come back to bother you another day."

The atmosphere at Crimson Flame Peak wasn't suitable for drinking and merrymaking, so he decided to find some drinking buddies to have a good time.

No sooner had Du Huaiyuan left than Wei Songnian piloted his flying boat to land on the cold pool.

When he saw Liang Qiu, his face lit up with joy, and a beckoning smile spread across his slightly chubby face. He said sincerely:

"Junior Brother Liang, congratulations!"

The two had known each other for over twenty years and had a very deep friendship.

After the other party settled in Crimson Flame Peak, they were able to store up some high-grade fish maw glue every year, which was very popular among puppeteers, and they all bought it up.

Once the other party has established their foundation, he can gain another partner.

Congratulations!

Liang Qiu responded with a smile, his tone much more relaxed than usual.

Although he didn't show it on his face before, he always felt somewhat inferior.

At first, he secretly compared himself to Ji An and Wei Songnian, thinking that he couldn't fall too far behind them.

After Ji An broke through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, his comparison point became Wei Songnian.

A few months ago, Wei Nian broke through to the second level of Foundation Establishment, and his sense of inferiority intensified.

He felt much better now, although there was still a gap. But at least he was a cultivator of the same level.

"I'll be staying at the sect recently. Junior brother, please let me know as soon as you confirm the date of the Foundation Establishment Ceremony so I can make the necessary arrangements."

"must."

Wei Songnian turned his head, beaming with a smile:

"I've been visiting friends these past few days and just returned to my cave when I learned of your summons, so I came immediately. What are your instructions, Senior Brother?"

Ji An smiled:

“Indeed, I have something to ask for your help, Junior Brother. As you know, Crimson Flame Peak has been brewing spirit wine for several years, and the spirit wine brewed in previous years has been aged for a sufficient period of time.”

"Now that we're facing a sales problem, I immediately thought of my junior colleague. I wonder if you'd be willing to take on the responsibility?"

"Of course I'm willing! To be honest, even if you hadn't brought it up, I was prepared to swallow my pride and tell you about it."

"Senior brother, how much of your share are you planning to give me?"

Wei Songnian's eyes gleamed. After the Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City was built, it attracted a large number of sect disciples and independent cultivators. Hunting demons or searching for spiritual herbs in that undeveloped land yielded great rewards.

With more spirit stones in their possession, all kinds of shops are thriving.

There is a shortage of spirit wine in the spirit food shop, and getting a supply now could earn you a lot of money.

Ji An said in a deep voice:

"Give me a quote, and if the price is right, I'll give you the entire share to manage."

We sell premium and high-quality mulberry wine, as well as premium pine nut wine. This year, there is relatively little premium mulberry wine available.

In a few years, what I mainly produce here will be top-grade first-tier spirit wine and low-grade second-tier spirit wine.

He casually drew a big picture, or rather, a realistic goal that could actually be achieved.

In the future, any Emerald Mulberry trees planted in Crimson Flame Peak that do not reach the highest grade will be directly cut down.

Wei Songnian took out a thick ledger from his storage bag, quickly flipped to a certain page, and handed it over:

"Senior brother, please look at this information I have compiled. It contains the selling prices of spirit wine at more than a hundred spirit food shops."

Next is my contingency plan, which includes the purchase price.

He had been preparing ever since he started brewing wine at Crimson Flame Peak.

Ji An took the photo album, gave the other person a meaningful look, and smiled:

"Junior brother is a born businessman, I admire him."

Opportunity favors the prepared mind. Putting aside everything else, just based on this keen insight, the other party will surely go further.

"Just following my senior brother to make a living."

Wei Songnian smiled, secretly pleased with himself. He had sponsored three cultivators during the Qi Refining stage, and now two of them had reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Senior Brother Ji was his biggest partner.

The two sides established a stable and frequent transaction, from which he obtained talismans, talisman plates, talisman soldiers, roasted top-grade pine nuts, top-quality spirit charcoal, and high-grade fish maw glue. He also acted as a purchasing agent for the other party, greatly expanding his network of contacts.

If he could control the trading rights of the spirit wine, he would be able to develop new channels.

Ji An took out a blank jade slip, copied what the other party had collected, and said:

"I will check the price and get back to you in two months."

"Okay, senior brother will definitely be able to see my sincerity."

Wei Songnian smiled confidently; he had offered a significant discount.

He knew that as long as he maintained this connection, he could earn more money continuously.

Underground cave.

Ji An made a hand seal and released the Thick Earth Returning to Origin Spell, and yellow spiritual light covered the area around several Earth Spirit Fruit Trees.

He tossed a Spirit-Feeding Pill to the golden retriever and then threw out a Spirit Fruit.

The golden retriever swallowed the Spirit-Feeding Pill in one gulp, quickly ate the spirit fruit, and then held the seed in its two paws, barking ingratiatingly:

"Squeak squeak".

The fruit was delicious and very beneficial to it.

Ji An squatted down to catch the seed and stroked it a few times from head to tail. The golden retriever squinted its eyes and made a soft purring sound.

The Spirit-Seeking Mouse's fur is now increasingly glossy and extremely fluffy, making it very pleasant to touch.

The seeds of the Earth Spirit Fruit Tree are only the size of a finger bone, are entirely yellow, and have grooves on them, somewhat resembling peach seeds.

Ji An now has six of the best quality spiritual fruit seeds. He chooses a suitable spot, makes a hand seal, and releases the golden light spell.

The golden crescent moon, with its sharp and intimidating aura, left cracks in the rocks.

The golden retriever darted into the rock and poked its head out in the distance. The aura of the magic was so strong that it stung its eyes, leaving two tears.

That's too cruel! I need to stay away from that.

Ji An used another method to release the Golden Light Technique, covering his right hand with a layer of golden light.

He raised his golden right hand and dug two small holes, about a foot deep, into the rock, placing the fruit in the middle of the rock dust.

Then, he released the Thick Earth Returning to Origin Mantra, and after the spiritual light and the nourishing and profound Dharma intent disappeared, he then activated the Spring Breeze Transforming into Rain Mantra.

A white mist, about ten feet in diameter, rose up. Moist and refreshing, it permeated the dark underground with the falling spiritual rain, hydrating the dry air.

Ji An probed the stone dust with his divine sense and felt the seed cracking open, its roots taking hold in the cracks of the rock.

Soon, seedlings emerged from the stone dust; the seedlings of the Earth Spirit Fruit Tree were all slightly yellow.

Using the same method, Ji An planted four spirit trees at another spiritual vein node.

Hope has been sown; all that remains is to cast the spell every few days and wait.

Now that Crimson Flame Peak could trade in one more type of spiritual item, he left the cave with light steps.

Huang Feihu gave a wry smile and sighed:

"I originally planned to visit my grandfather at Xiaozhushan after achieving Foundation Establishment, to tell him that I had fulfilled his long-cherished wish, but...//"

He felt a lump in his throat and didn't continue. One Foundation Establishment Pill had emptied his savings, and he was now in debt.

It's unknown how many years it will take to obtain the second Foundation Establishment Pill; time waits for no one.

Ji An did not attempt to comfort him, but said:

"From another perspective, although you failed to establish your foundation, you did gain something."

You are still young. If you take another Foundation Establishment Pill, you should be almost certain to break through.

At that time, you can simply take the Foundation Establishment Pill, which is made primarily from demon cores, thus saving you some spirit stones.

Ji An paused for a moment, then said:

"Don't worry about the spirit stones. I can lend you some more, and you can repay them slowly after you reach the Foundation Establishment stage."

In his view, the opponent's magical power had already reached perfection, and after the healing of the soul injury, his spiritual consciousness would also increase slightly. The last hurdle of foundation building had disappeared.

The other person has followed me for many years and has been dedicated to their work; they deserve a helping hand.

A few thousand spirit stones is hard to earn for a Qi Refining stage disciple, but it's much easier for a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator; it's impossible for them not to be able to repay the debt.

Huang Feihu stood up and bowed deeply:

"I will forever remember your great kindness, Uncle-Master, and I will repay you with my life."

Ji An hurriedly stepped forward to help him up:

"Please rise quickly. Once you have established your foundation, we, your fellow disciples, will look out for each other and help each other."

The two sat down again, and Ji An took out ten mid-grade spirit stones, saying:

"Take these spirit stones and use them to buy some spiritual items and medicines that are beneficial to the soul, so that you can recover as soon as possible."

The earlier you reach Foundation Establishment, the better the benefits you can enjoy from the sect.

From a utilitarian perspective, the better the other party develops, the more help they will receive in the future, so it's best to play it safe as a temporary move.

In the future, he will have more and more spirit stones. Keeping them in his hands will not be of any use. It would be better to use them to do favors.

(End of this chapter)