Chapter 199 Black Dragon Pool

The two quickly ate breakfast and entered the underground cave together, with Ji An almost chasing after his senior sister.

The shadows cast on the rock wall moved quickly and soon reached the bottom of the cave.

A spirit tree radiating a crystal-clear light came into view. Liu Suyun quickened her pace and stepped forward, reaching out to touch the tree.

There were some stone fragments scattered under the tree, and some stone fragments on the bare branches were about to fall off.

The parts of the spirit tree that have shed their bark reveal a faint jade-like luster.

Ji An said softly:

“Once the original outer bark of the Earth Spirit Fruit Tree has completely fallen off, revealing its jade color, it will truly transform into a second-tier spirit plant. I estimate it will take six months to a year.”

"When will the transformed spirit tree be able to blossom and bear fruit?"

Liu Suyun's tone was somewhat hurried; this was what she cared about most.

"I don't know. Maybe it will blossom and bear fruit after it completes its transformation, or maybe it will take a few more years."

"Senior sister, this is also the first time I've successfully cultivated a second-tier Earth Spirit Fruit Tree."

Ji An laughed and said, "There are some things that I haven't experienced firsthand, so I don't know the details."

"Oh dear, I was too hasty."

In my eyes, your skill in cultivating spirit trees is second to none in the sect; I subconsciously overlooked your age and experience.

Liu Suyun regained her composure and asked:

"How many Earth Spirit Fruit trees did Junior Brother plant? How are they doing?"

"I planted six plants, four of which are of superior quality and two of the best quality."

Ji An believed that these two top-grade spirit trees had the potential to be cultivated to the second tier, with the one that was the first to be raised to the top-grade level being the most likely.

"When the spirit tree blossoms and bears fruit, remember to sell me some of the fruit."

"must."

The two talked and then left the cave.

After returning to the cold pool, Ji An asked:

"Senior sister, I want to buy a battle beast that can fight head-on. Do you have any recommendations?"

Due to their size, the Spirit-Seeking Rat can only ambush and cannot attack, while the Gray-feathered Sand Goose's attack power is even more pitiful. Its role is to be used for transportation and taming beasts, and it needs to raise a few more war beasts.

With his spirit stones accumulating more and more, he needed to find a way to spend them and transform them into strength and resources.

"There are many ways to control beasts. Junior brother, do you intend to use them for ground combat or aerial combat? Do you focus on defense or offense?"

"Focusing on offense, primarily used for ground combat."

The demonic calamity has resulted in an abundance of beasts, making them the best choice for ground combat.

Ji An felt his defense was sufficient and wanted to intensify his attack.

He paused, then said:

"If possible, I hope that the Beast Tamers will also have aerial combat capabilities."

Only children make choices; he wants it all, and the ideal configuration is a three-dimensional combat monster that can fight on land, sea, and air.

"Junior brother's idea is a bit greedy. Let me think about it carefully."

Liu Suyun pondered for a moment, then said:

"The only ones that meet the requirements are those beast-like monsters with wings, such as the Cloud-Stepping Leopard and the Winged Tiger. However, these kinds of beasts are quite rare, and the Beast Taming Hall does not sell cubs."

I know a junior brother who owns a Cloud-Stepping Leopard, but if he wants to get a cub, he'll have to wait for an opportunity.

The junior brother she mentioned was named Li Hu, who had managed to subdue a female leopard and was now selling her cubs.

Every few years, Li Hu would release his tamed beasts back into the area where the Cloud-Treading Leopards roamed, luring male leopards to mate.

Many cultivators in the sect have reserved cubs from the other party, but they don't know how long they will have to wait to be eligible to purchase them.

Liu Suyun gave a general account of Li Hu's situation, saying:

"I can introduce you to Junior Brother Li. After he pays the deposit, he can wait."

However, the Cloud-Stepping Leopard only gives birth to two to three cubs at a time, and it's said that there are twenty to thirty people waiting in line.

Ji An grinned. It seemed that by the time they bought the Cloud-Stepping Leopard, the demonic calamity would have already broken out. Getting a cub would be useless then.

He shook his head, laughing at his own greed, and then said:

"Let's change our choice. I want a large monster, preferably a tiger or a bear."

"Junior brother, you'd better go to Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City. That's where you're most likely to find monster cubs."

Combat-type monsters are best trained from a young age; otherwise, relying solely on Beast Taming Tokens isn't always reliable, as you won't always have the tokens in your hand.

Liu Suyun suggested that there have been many serious incidents of people being ambushed by tamed beasts.

Ji An nodded slightly, "Once I'm done with my work recently, I'll make a trip to Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City."

After the mulberry wine is brewed, the busiest time is six months later when pine nuts are produced, at which time large-scale production of spirit charcoal is also required.

The fire in the distillery went out, and the chimney fell silent.

At the stone table, Ji An and Du Huaiyuan toasted each other and enjoyed their meal.

The aroma of wine and sacred food filled the air, irresistibly whetting one's appetite.

Du Huaiyuan let out a burp, quickly drank another glass of wine to calm himself down, and said:

"Junior brother, this year we brewed 70 catties of second-grade spirit wine, 6,000 catties of top-grade spirit wine, and 50,000 catties of superior-grade spirit wine."

The production of second-tier spirit wine was ten catties more than expected, so he could get an extra catty, which was excellent!

Mulberry production is far lower than pine nut production, resulting in a much smaller quantity of spirit wine made from mulberries.

Fortunately, no spiritual spring water is added when brewing mulberry wine. It is much more expensive than pine nut wine, and its flavor is fruity, which is why many female cultivators also like to drink it.

"Fortunately, the spirit wine is now being sold normally, otherwise we would have had to expand our warehouse storage."

Ji An smiled and said that he would not sell his own portion of second-tier spirit wine, but would keep it for drinking or to exchange for spirit items.

In addition, two thousand catties of top-grade spirit wine will be reserved to entertain guests, and the rest will be sold.

"Lingjiu is not afraid of being stockpiled; the longer it is aged in the cellar, the higher the price it can fetch."

Ji Anwei shook her head almost imperceptibly, explaining that spirit wine aged for a long time did not command a high premium.

Furthermore, business requires a turnover process, and Chiyan Peak, being a "manufacturing enterprise," is even more averse to stockpiling large amounts of inventory.

After the demonic calamity breaks out, the prices of pills and magical artifacts will rise, but the price of spirit wine will most likely fall, so he should keep as little stock as possible.

Crimson Flame Peak returned to its tranquility. Ji An sent Huang Xuan out to inquire about the time it would take for the sect's spirit boat to travel to and from Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City. There were still half a month until the next departure.

He stayed quietly, extracting essences, making talismans, and practicing spells during the day, and casting spells on the spirit field at night. Watching the Youyue Cangyu Tree and the second-tier purple fire gourd grow day by day, he felt content.

As the sun and moon revolve, life is peaceful and serene.

Ten days later, Ji An was drawing talisman soldiers in the stone house.

Recently, he has been able to obtain fewer animal hides from the sect, making his daily talisman-making tasks easier.

He was too lazy to add any more tasks to himself, so he spent more time each day practicing spells and studying cultivation techniques.

Liang Qiu rushed in, but when he saw that Liang Qiu was busy, he immediately shut his mouth, stood beside him and waited, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his Taoist robe, panting heavily.

Ji An caught a glimpse of the other party's arrival, and after crafting the talisman in his hand, asked:

"Junior brother, why did you come in such a hurry? Did something happen?"

"Something has happened at the fishpond. I need your help, senior brother. It's very urgent."

"Tell me what it is so I can prepare."

Liang Qiu reduced the speed of the shuttle and said:

"Senior brother, Black Dragon Pool is just ahead."

Black Dragon Pool is thirty acres in size and is his sacred site.

This is a mid-grade first-order spiritual vein, so the competition is relatively small, which is why he was able to snatch this body of water.

Because of the low-lying terrain, the pool is very deep, with the deepest part being about twenty zhang (approximately 33 meters). When viewed from the sky, it looks like a giant bucket.

Because the water was too deep, it was impossible to see what was happening at the bottom.

The shuttle landed by the pool, and Liang Qiu gritted his teeth and said:

“Senior brother, the demonic beast is in a stone cave near the bottom of the deep pool. The dense aquatic plants there obstruct the view, and I overlooked it when I first came here to check the pool.”

A wave of fear washed over him. Luckily, he hadn't discovered the cave entrance; otherwise, if he had rashly gone in to investigate, he might have been torn to pieces by the monster.

He discovered that the number of spirit fish he was raising did not match the number of large fish he had caught, but he did not raise carnivorous spirit fish, so he became suspicious and went deep into the pool to search.

After more than ten days of careful searching, they finally found a clue and located the cave hidden by aquatic plants.

He was attacked by a monster, but luckily he had purchased defensive magical artifacts, otherwise he might have perished there.

Ji An nodded slightly. He learned that the troublemakers were turtle-like demonic beasts, only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, so he agreed to help.

Reporting such matters to the sect's law enforcement hall will allow the sect to handle the situation, but Liang Qiu will not receive any benefits after killing the demonic beast.

So the other party approached him, intending to work together to kill the monster and also share some materials to make up for their losses.

"Junior Brother Liang, can we lure the monster ashore?"

If it were a land-based monster, things would be easy, but fighting in water would be more difficult.

His signature Explosive Fireball spell is difficult to execute underwater, as water resistance is much greater than air resistance, and accuracy is also an issue.

What we can rely on is the Entangling Technique, since there are plenty of aquatic plants in the pool.

"I'm afraid that won't work. Turtle-type monsters can stay still for days after a full meal, and we don't have any bait to lure them."

"Senior brother, I have a water-repelling bead. I can use it to create space for attacks."

"That's good. Let's get ready and go into the water."

Ji An nodded slightly; he couldn't maintain the water control spell while casting other spells.

This incident also served as a reminder to him that it's best to keep a water-repelling bead or a fire-repelling bead on hand.

He unleashed the Rock Mountain Technique, took out the Apricot Yellow Flag, and infused it with magical power. A yellow protective aura enveloped his body, and the magical artifact swirled around him.

Ji An took out the Purple Fire Gourd, intending to roast the whole turtle over a fire.

The most valuable part of a turtle-type monster is its shell. He was worried that the monster wouldn't be able to withstand the power of the exploding fireball, and if the shell were to explode, its value would be diminished.

Liang Qiu slapped a golden armor talisman on himself, then took out the Xuan Shui Shield and infused it with magical power, its azure light protecting his entire body.

He took out the water-repelling pearl and activated it. Ji An felt an invisible membrane brush past him.

The two entered the Black Dragon Pool side by side. The pool water parted automatically, and as they were fully submerged, several huge bubbles formed around their bodies.

"Senior brother, the Water-Repelling Pearl can activate a space with a radius of two zhang at most."

Ji An nodded slightly and said:

"The space is a bit cramped, so stay alert."

Liang Qiu chuckled, "This time we're prepared; the monsters won't be able to cause any trouble."

Turtle-type monsters are relatively slow-moving; what they are known for is their defensive capabilities, and they rely on counter-attacks.

"Better safe than sorry."

Ji An gave them a word of advice, and the two of them dived deeper into the depths.

(End of this chapter)