Chapter 202 is quite fortunate

The concept of destiny is ethereal and vague, but the higher the level of a cultivator, the more firmly they believe in it.

Because the higher you go, the more you need favorable timing, location, and people to break through your limits.

High-level cultivators must go out to seek opportunities. Cultivators with good fortune will always gain something, while those with bad luck will waste time and gain very little. Those with even worse luck will die and perish.

In Ge Ying's eyes, Ji An's cultivation path was becoming smoother and smoother. He had made many gains while staying in the sect, which meant he was quite lucky!

"No rush, Master can refine it slowly. I still have a batch of Azure Lotus Pills to use."

In a few months, I'll be able to get some more from the sect, enough to support my cultivation for the next six months without any problem.

Cultivation skills such as alchemy, weapon crafting, formation making, talisman making, and puppet making not only consume magical power but also greatly deplete spiritual consciousness.

For cultivators, replenishing their mana is easy; they can quickly recover by taking pills and meditating.

However, replenishing one's spiritual energy is much more difficult, and only a few spiritual objects can replenish it relatively quickly.

Even the Soul-Nourishing Wood's greater function is to nourish the soul, enhance the strength of the divine consciousness, and make the divine consciousness more resilient and durable.

Ji An then said:

"We need to refine so many batches of pills this time. We can't let Master work for nothing. We must pay him. Let's calculate it according to the rules for alchemists."

He would be perfectly justified in asking his master for help if he were refining one or two batches of pills, but refining over a hundred batches of pills was no joke.

Ge Ying nodded gently:

"Then let's do it according to the alchemist's rules. The success rate of each batch of pills will be 40%, and I'll give you another 50 spirit stones as payment."

In addition, I will sell you the extra pills I refine at market price.

When hiring an alchemist to refine elixirs, both parties will agree on a fixed fee and a variable fee.

Fixed compensation refers to how many spirit stones an alchemist receives for each batch of pills refined, while variable compensation refers to the agreed-upon success rate, with the alchemist taking the excess pills.

If the alchemist's skills are not good, sometimes it is necessary to compensate the client with spirit stones.

Of course, this only applies to formulas for which the alchemist has extensive experience in refining.

When faced with pills intended for breaking through cultivation levels but for which the alchemist lacks experience in refining, no alchemist can guarantee a success rate.

Ji An cupped his hands and said:

"Thank you, Master."

When refining pills of the Azure Lotus level, other alchemists would only offer a success rate of 30%, and charge a higher labor fee of at least sixty spirit stones.

He counted out the spirit stones and placed them on the table, grinning from ear to ear:

"Once this batch of Azure Lotus Pills is refined, it should be able to meet my needs in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

Including the annual distribution from the sect and the pills he purchased from other alchemists, the Azure Lotus Pill was enough to sustain him until he reached the peak of the sixth level of Foundation Establishment.

"I am very pleased to see that your cultivation level has improved so quickly."

Keep up the good work; the day when the demon calamity erupts won't be too far off.

A fleeting sadness flashed in Ge Ying's eyes.

She doesn't have much time left to live, and she's increasingly feeling less energetic than before.

As one's vital energy and blood begin to deplete, one's spirit and soul slowly wither away.

Theoretically, she has another twenty years to live, but she feels she probably won't last that long.

"Master, rest assured, although I have been staying at Crimson Flame Peak, I am also preparing for war at all times."

Ji An felt that he was capable of handling most situations unless he encountered a powerful demon at the Chaoyuan stage.

Three days later, Ji An boarded the spirit boat bound for the Immortal City of Mingfeng Mountain.

The ticket price is expensive, two mid-grade spirit stones.

This is still a perk for sect disciples; for independent cultivators departing from Qingyun Immortal City, the ticket price is three mid-grade spirit stones.

There were about four or five hundred people traveling on the spirit boat, but only thirty or forty were Foundation Establishment cultivators, and each of them had their own room.

The others were all Qi Refining stage disciples, all in the late stage of Qi Refining, with resolute faces, suggesting they had all been through many battles.

It is said that some disciples, after going through life-and-death trials, successfully established their foundations without taking foundation-building pills, which attracted more disciples to the front lines of battle.

Ji An had no intention of chatting with anyone and went to his room on his own.

He lit an incense burner and began to meditate.

Cultivating on the spirit boat was much less efficient than on Crimson Flame Peak, but he did not relax because of this.

Practicing martial arts in an area where the spiritual energy of the wood, water, and earth elements is scarce brought new insights.

For a fleeting moment, Ji An felt as if he had transformed into a plant rooted in the void, drawing nourishment from the air.

The feeling was subtle and fleeting; he didn't know if it was just his imagination.

Ji An stepped off the spirit boat and discovered that the Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City was unusually prosperous.

The streets were wide, crowded with pedestrians, and noisy.

Walking along the street, one sees magnificent buildings and lavishly decorated shops.

Passing by teahouses and restaurants, I smelled the enticing aroma wafting out.

From the gathering place of sound cultivators, ethereal and melodious sounds of zithers and flutes emanated, but due to the obstruction of the array, the sounds were intermittent and indistinct.

Ji An often heard Wei Songnian and others talk about the layout of the Immortal City. He stopped a Qi Refining disciple from a sect and asked:

How do I get to Suzaku Street?

Immortal City strictly forbids cultivators from flying away; only cultivators from the Enforcement Hall of the Three Sects and those in the Chaoyuan stage have this privilege.

Upon seeing that it was a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the sect, the disciple hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting:

"Reporting to my uncle, it's three blocks ahead along this street."

"Uncle-Master, are you looking for a shop? I can help you find it."

"No need for that. Have you ever heard of the Wei family's shop in Xiaozhushan?"

Ji An waved his hand and said that he was looking for Wei Songnian, who was very familiar with the place.

"Of course I've heard of it. The Wei family has several shops next to each other, among which the talisman shop and the spirit wine shop are quite famous."

"When my uncle arrived at Zhuque Street, he walked east for about thirty paces and then he saw their signboard."

Ji An took out two spirit stones:

"Thanks, this is a reward for you."

He strode forward and quickly found the place.

The talisman shop, the spirit wine shop, the rice shop, and the general store were four shops lined up together. Their signs were black with gold lettering and were free of dust, suggesting they should be wiped clean regularly.

As Ji An stepped into the talisman shop, a female cultivator immediately came to greet him.

"Senior, what do you need? We have a few talisman soldiers in our shop."

"I'm here to see my junior brother, Wei Songnian."

"May I ask your honorable name, senior?"

The female cultivator asked softly. She recognized the standard Taoist robe of the Golden Spirit Sect and knew that the cultivator in front of her was a fellow disciple of her elder.

“A certain Ji An.”

"Please wait a moment, senior. I will go and report right away."

The female cultivator walked briskly up to the second floor, and soon the sound of her footsteps echoed upstairs.

"Haha," Wei Songnian laughed before speaking, "It's an honor for my humble shop to have you here, Senior Brother. Please come upstairs quickly."

When his niece came in to report, he thought someone was impersonating him.

Based on his understanding of Senior Brother Ji, he rarely left Crimson Flame Peak unless absolutely necessary.

The two entered the guest room on the second floor, which was decorated very elegantly, with a painting of pine trees and cranes symbolizing longevity hanging on the wall.

A wisp of smoke curled from the bronze three-legged incense burner with animal-shaped handles, filling the room with a subtle fragrance.

After exchanging pleasantries, Ji An explained his purpose:

"I want to buy a young demon beast, either a tiger or a bear, the more aggressive the better, and preferably with a bloodline that reaches the Earth grade."

He now has plenty of spirit stones, and it will take him five or six years to cultivate a demon beast with earth-grade bloodline to the Foundation Establishment level.

Wei Songnian pondered for a moment and said:

“You can see high-grade demon beast cubs every day in the Immortal City, but cubs with earth-grade bloodlines are extremely rare. How long do you plan to stay in the Immortal City, Senior Brother?”

Regardless of the type of earth-grade bloodline, the competition among demonic beasts is extremely fierce, let alone the ferocious tiger-type demonic beasts.

Within the sect, some disciples of the Beast Taming Hall raise multi-headed demonic beasts, forming their own armies in battle, easily traversing several minor realms in combat.

"One month later, when the sect's spirit boat returns, we will leave."

"Junior brother has many connections, so please do your best to help search. If you really can't find a cub with an earth-grade bloodline, I'll just buy an excellent high-grade bloodline demon beast from the sect's shop."

For Ji An, beast taming was just a supplementary means; it was best to have it, but he could make do without it.

His Golden Light Technique has been practiced to the Great Perfection level, and he is not afraid of enemies in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Although the Golden Light Technique has no further advancement, its magical power is not static.

As a cultivator's cultivation level increases, the magical power within their body becomes more condensed, and the power of their spells also increases accordingly.

Wei Songnian nodded slightly, his expression becoming more relaxed:

"Yes, I understand. I will send people to keep an eye on those powerful beast-taming shops."

Senior brother, you'd better make a call to the sect's shops in the Immortal City.

"We are the most powerful beast-taming sect, and our prices are fair. A significant number of independent cultivators are willing to sell their purebred cubs to our sect's shops."

As a sect renowned for its beast taming in the Western Continent, the Golden Spirit Sect monopolizes 40% of the demon beast business in the Immortal City.

Ji Xiao shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry:

"I asked Senior Sister Li Minghui, the deputy hall master of the Beast Taming Hall, and she said that the sect's orders are booked for many years to come."

Unless the sect can acquire a large number of low-grade bloodline demon beast cubs in a short period of time, I can forget about it.

Because he couldn't get better cubs from the sect, he came to Mingfeng Immortal City to observe the situation in the surrounding area firsthand.

Some things, if only heard from others, won't have much impact.

Wei Songnian chuckled. A few years ago, the Wei family had also reserved a low-grade demon beast from the sect.

However, they ordered earth-type turtle-like demonic beasts, intending to cultivate them into guardian spirit beasts for the mountains.

"As for the young demon beasts, Junior Brother, do your best. I won't force you."

Ji An changed the subject and continued:

"Have you ever heard of Wei Qingshu, Junior Brother?"

Wei Songnian's eyes widened slightly, and he said suspiciously:

"He is indeed my uncle, but he has been missing for many years. How would you know his name, senior brother?"

Wei Qingshu was a person of superior talent, and his development was excellent after entering the sect. However, he was unlucky and once encountered a robbery while traveling. His physical body was damaged and his dantian was injured. From then on, he became a loner.

If this uncle is safe and sound, these disciples will receive more care and support once they enter the Golden Spirit Sect.

"Strange things are happening at Junior Brother Liangqiu's Black Dragon Pool training ground; the number of spirit fish he's raising has inexplicably decreased significantly. He's investigating."

Ji An recounted the whole story.

After hearing this, Wei Songnian sighed deeply and said:

"It's all fate. After my uncle's dantian was damaged, his hope of breaking through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment is slim. He must be very unwilling to accept it."

(End of this chapter)