Chapter 220 When the Spirit Peach Ripens

"A late-stage Foundation Establishment pill? Junior brother, are you already planning for your future cultivation?"

Liu Suyun's eyes widened involuntarily. The other party cultivated the wood element technique, possessed dozens of second-tier spiritual plants, and had no shortage of spirit stones and other resources. This was the only possibility.

"Junior brother, you are only at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment. Isn't it too early for you to seek late-stage Foundation Establishment pills?"

Breaking through to the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, and then breaking through to the seventh level, will take quite a while.

"I broke through to the sixth level of Foundation Establishment half a year ago, so it's not too early to start planning now."

Ji An said that if he hadn't obtained some Azure Lotus seeds from Liangqiu's Daoist temple, he would still be worrying about the Azure Lotus Pill. This time, he must make preparations as early as possible.

Pills for the late Foundation Establishment stage are part of the sect's strategic reserves; those who haven't reached a certain cultivation level are not allowed to exchange for them and can only seek help from others.

"I see. When you broke through to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment, I thought you were definitely capable of competing for the treatment of a first-class disciple."

Now it seems there was no need to argue at all; it was a natural outcome.

Liu Suyun's words were tinged with admiration and envy.

Being treated as a top-tier disciple means that the sect will nurture them as a potential candidate for the early cultivation stage, and resources will be allocated accordingly.

In the thousands of years of the sect's history, there have only been two instances of non-first-class disciples breaking through to the Chaoyuan realm.

She pondered for a moment and said:

"I've agreed to the terms. There are restrictions on exchanging late-stage Foundation Establishment pills in the secret vault; large-scale exchanges are not allowed in a short period. I will exchange them over seven or eight years."

The suitable pills for Wood-based cultivation techniques are the Profound Wood Gathering Spirit Pill and the Purple Ganoderma Lucidum Condensing Essence Pill. The Purple Ganoderma Lucidum Condensing Essence Pill is for Foundation Establishment level nine cultivators, and I cannot exchange for it; I can only exchange for some Profound Wood Gathering Spirit Pills.

Cultivators who practice fire-based techniques cannot exchange for Foundation Establishment Level 9 pills suitable for other techniques, and the same applies to other cultivators.

Ji An cupped his hands and bowed slightly:

"The Mysterious Wood Gathering Spirit Pill will do. Thank you for your help, Senior Sister."

"You're welcome. If anyone should be thanking you, it's me."

Liu Suyun smiled, revealing a shallow dimple on her left cheek.

Feeding the Golden-spotted Spider with second-tier Earth Spirit Fruits regularly allows the Beast Tamer to produce more second-tier Spirit Silk.

If we could borrow a little more luck from Heaven, we might have a slim chance of breaking through to the Chaoyuan stage.

After the banquet, Liu Suyun took out twenty-five mid-grade spirit stones and said:

"I'm a bit flush with cash lately, so I'll settle the 50,000 contribution points in spirit stones first."

Ji An put away the spirit stones and took out a jade box with a spirit-sealing talisman affixed to it:

"Senior sister, three spirit fruits ripened in the past two days."

Liu Suyun opened the box with a happy expression. Inside lay three yellow fruits, each the size of a child's fist.

The surface is crystal clear and smooth, with occasional glints of light.

"The fruit is a whole size bigger than a first-grade top-quality one. The quality has improved and the weight has also increased. Very good!"

Her eyes sparkled with laughter, and she was in a very pleasant mood.

"Junior brother, how many fruits has the second-tier spirit tree borne?"

According to the agreement, she was entitled to take thirty.

Thirty-six.

Ji An replied that it was exactly the number of the Heavenly Gang.

Liu Suyun's eyes revealed anticipation:

"How many can Junior Brother contribute?"

For her, the more spiritual fruits, the better.

"I'll keep two, and I can trade the rest with my senior sister. But what will you offer in exchange?"

Second-tier resources cannot be entirely settled with spirit stones.

"Most of the demonic beasts I raise are spiders, and they have a wealth of spiritual silk, but my junior brother doesn't seem interested in these resources."

Liu Suyun was in a dilemma. She had relatively few resources and couldn't think of any worthwhile resources to exchange for in a short time.

"Junior brother, what resource do you like best?"

"Of course, I'll accept all kinds of rare seeds, or various second-tier spirit soils, planting secrets, etc., as long as it's related to planting."

Second-tier refining spirit items are acceptable. If your spirit item is exceptionally valuable, I can offer a discount.

Ji An paused for a moment, then said:

"How about this, Senior Sister can use spirit stones to buy the four fruits this year, but in the future, we'll have to use related resources."

"If Senior Sister can find rare tree species, then using spirit stones exclusively from now on wouldn't be out of the question."

He was willing to make huge concessions if the other party could find a spirit seed of the level of the Azure Jade Tree of the Nether Moon.

A single spirit tree can produce resources continuously for hundreds of years, so he owes Wei Songnian and Liu Yu a great debt of gratitude.

"Thank you very much, junior brother. When will the second-tier Earth Spirit Fruit tree bear fruit again?"

Liu Suyun asked, wanting to calculate how much preparation time she had left.

Her mother was a collateral descendant of a large family in the Fallen Maple Valley region. After meeting her father, she married into the Golden Spirit Sect region.

Her mother's clan was quite skilled in planting, and the two sides frequently interacted after she achieved foundation building.

After her parents passed away, the bond between them faded, and her relationship with her maternal clan became a normal transactional one.

Every year, her mother's clan would exchange various spiritual fruits and herbs for high-grade spiritual silk from her. She decided to ask if they were willing to trade high-grade spiritual seeds.

"Uh, my senior sister asked me. At the very least, there should be a gap of three years."

A clear light shone in Ji An's eyes; he didn't know either.

"I almost forgot, this is also the first time that Junior Brother has cultivated a second-tier Earth Spirit Fruit Tree."

Liu Suyun covered her mouth and laughed. When she was with him, she would subconsciously regard him as a veteran spirit farmer.

"More than ten years ago, I bought a second-tier Earth Spirit Fruit from a cultivator in Falling Maple Valley. It cost me 200 spirit stones at the time. How about I give you 210 spirit stones per fruit, junior brother?"

"Can."

Earth-element spiritual plants are rare, produce few fruits, and are therefore much more expensive.

A second-tier Biluo fruit would only be worth a few dozen spirit stones if purchased with them.

"Junior brother, here are some spirit stones for you."

Liu Suyun took out the spirit stones from her storage bag and immediately handed them over.

"Senior sister, are you afraid I'll change my mind?"

Ji An accepted the spirit stone, stood up, and said:

"Let me take my senior sister to see what the spirit tree looks like now. I guarantee you'll be amazed."

The two walked side by side into the underground cave.

The stone floor in the passageway, worn smooth by frequent passage, has a subtle sheen.

The second-tier Earth Spirit Fruit shed its original gray stone skin, revealing a crystal-clear topaz color, like an ugly duckling turning into a swan.

The bark of the spirit tree has delicate black textures that emit a lustrous glow, reflecting the golden fur of the spirit-seeking rats beneath it.

Beside the golden retriever was a white jade box, inside which lay several fruits quietly.

Ji An glanced at the box, counted the items, and exclaimed in surprise:

"So many fruits have ripened today!"

There were eight fruits in the box. He had come by at midnight last night, only six or seven hours ago.

As he was speaking, another fruit ripened and fell from the tree.

The golden retriever dodged past, the fruit snatched away by an invisible force, and it angrily looked in the direction the fruit had gone.

Liu Suyun used her object manipulation technique to send the fruit to her hand, and then raised an eyebrow at the golden-haired man.

"Squeak squeak".

The spirit-seeking mouse squeaked in annoyance, feeling that its joy had been stolen.

Due to the vast disparity in strength, they could only bare their teeth in a show of defiance.

"Junior brother, I'm going to release the Golden-spotted Spider."

Liu Suyun greeted them softly; her strength as an eighth-level Beast Taming Foundation Establishment cultivator was even greater than Liu Suyun's.

“Okay,” Ji An nodded slightly. This senior sister wasn’t usually this polite; she released her beast right away.

A giant golden-spotted spider, the size of a millstone, suddenly appeared, with eight long, hairy, segmented legs and a ferocious appearance.

The blazing demonic aura startled the golden-haired man, who immediately used earth magic to flee.

It emerged from its owner's feet, stood up, and peeked out to observe secretly. It remembered this fierce-looking creature.

Ji An remained calm. He was currently at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, and with his mutated and resilient soul, he had no problem withstanding the pressure from a late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast.

The golden-spotted spider happily ate a spirit fruit, which was then put back into the spirit beast pouch by Liu Suyun.

"Thirty-four fruits are enough for it to eat for more than two years. I wonder when it will be able to enjoy the days when it can eat second-tier spirit fruits whenever it wants."

Three days later, all the second-tier Earth Spirit Fruits were ripe, with the ripening period of the fruits being very concentrated.

"Having troubled you for several days, it's time to say goodbye."

Liu Suyun summoned her flying shuttle and said:

"I still have things to attend to in the Spider Cave, junior brother, farewell!"

"After I return, I will do my best to search for all kinds of spiritual seeds and spiritual objects."

"Wait a minute," Ji An said, "the spirit peaches are about to ripen. I have already sent people to pick them so that my senior sister can have a taste."

The second-tier spirit peaches ripened, and the other party happened to be there at the right time.

"It looks like the Earth Spirit Fruit is ripe at the perfect time, hehe."

Looking at this vibrant land, Liu Suyun was filled with emotion. This is a treasure trove!

Xia Yuhan emerged from the woods carrying a tray covered with red silk, on which two fist-sized, fiery red spirit peaches stood out.

Ji An took out a box made of Xuan Yang wood from his storage bag and put the spirit fruit inside:

"A gift for my senior sister."

Liu Suyun cupped her hands and said:

"Thank you, junior brother. I will remember this kindness."

She took the box and leaped onto the flying shuttle:

"Until we meet again."

After watching the other person leave, Ji An said:

"Yuhan, pick all the ripe spirit peaches, find a large gift box, and put twelve of them in."

The sky was like a furnace, burning red on Liu Suyun's face.

The sunset was magnificent, making the mountains look like they were made of flames.

Chaoyang Peak stands tall under the magnificent sky. It is the first place in the Jinling Sect to see the sunlight, and also the mountain ridge that basks in the last rays of the sun.

Liu Suyun's shuttle descended, followed the designed route, and landed on the mountainside after crossing the magic array.

The gold paint on the three large characters "Treasure Pavilion" has peeled off, revealing a dark base, barely clinging to life in the glow of the sunset.

Liu Suyun glanced at the plaque and shook her head slightly.

She strode into the hall and called out in a clear, crisp voice:

"Uncle-Master, our signboard needs repairing; the lettering is so blurry it's almost illegible."

Jia Yu glanced at it, then put down the wine gourd:

"Little Liu, what do you know? This is what proves the sect has a long history."

He was able to recognize all four hundred or so Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect.

"Alright, let it bear witness to the sect's profound heritage!"

Liu Suyun pouted slightly, "If you're too lazy to do it, just say so!"

She took out the jade pendant and said:

"Uncle-Master, I've come to exchange for the Mysterious Wood Gathering Spirit Pill."

"You, a cultivator who practices earth-elemental techniques, are exchanging wood-elemental spirit pills? Have you taken the wrong medicine?"

(End of this chapter)