Chapter 225 The Gift

Xuanhuang soil can be used to upgrade a first-grade top-quality spirit field, and it is also an essential ingredient for refining earth-elemental spirit weapons.

It is used by craftsmen such as spirit farmers and weapon refiners, and also by cultivators who practice earth and wood element techniques.

It can be said that it is the second-tier low-grade earth elemental spirit item with the highest consumption.

Xuanhuang soil is a byproduct of the earth's veins, mostly hidden deep underground or near swamps rich in spiritual energy.

Within the territory of the Golden Spirit Sect, the production of such spiritual objects is relatively rare. Most of the sect's reserves are obtained by exchanging various ores or magical artifacts with the other two sects.

“Junior brother, the consumption of Xuanhuang Soil will likely increase further after the outbreak of the demon calamity. I originally wanted to conserve as much as possible.”

Zhao Lei feigned a sigh, looking as if he were in pain:

"Okay, let's do it your way."

After the demonic calamity breaks out, there will definitely be more work repairing magical artifacts than usual, and the price of second-tier refining materials will inevitably increase significantly.

Ji Anwei shook her head almost imperceptibly. The other party was being hypocritical, having gotten a good deal. A second-tier purple fire gourd was even rarer than Xuanhuang soil.

Aside from what they use themselves, the Xuanhuang soil produced in Luofeng Valley is exchanged with the other two sects. Most of the Xuanhuang soil in the various immortal cities comes from the collection of independent cultivators and the scattered sales by various families.

Wei Songnian is not qualified to interfere in the buying and selling of second-tier spiritual items. He does not have a stable channel to obtain Xuanhuang Soil, otherwise he would not be so concerned about half a pound of spiritual items.

Ji An took out ten mid-grade spirit stones and said:

"If any other fellow disciples also want to refine the Purple Fire Spirit Gourd, you can inform them that I only accept Xuanhuang Soil for my materials."

Water-based spiritual items are produced in relatively small quantities in the Western Continent, but there are even fewer places where they are needed, so the reserves in the sect's secret vault are relatively abundant.

As long as he has enough Xuanhuang Soil, Ji An's cultivation will not be affected.

After the two agreed on the terms, they began the transaction for the first-tier gourd.

Zhao Lei didn't bother with further selection and quickly took some:

"I want half of the goods. Currently, each top-grade gourd costs 800 spirit stones, and each high-grade gourd costs 150 spirit stones. I need to pay 16,350 spirit stones."

Wow! My junior brother is reaping huge rewards every year now.

Now, Crimson Flame Peak produces spirit gourds every year, and with other spirit plants, it's practically a small spirit stone mine.

“Senior brother always only sees the benefits and doesn’t talk about the costs. In order to grow better spirit gourds, I invest about 12,000 spirit stones of fire element essence in the spirit gourd field every year.”

Ji An secretly curled his lip. After the second-tier spirit field was successfully constructed, the operation of the magic array would consume spirit stones from time to time, which was also a considerable expense.

The earth vein spiritual energy is only of the second-tier low grade. In order not to damage the foundation of the earth vein, the spiritual energy obtained by the spiritual field must be kept higher than that consumed by the spiritual plants.

Fortunately, there are only fifty acres of such spiritual fields; if there were too many, he would not be able to handle it in a short time.

"Senior brother, could you also refine these two spirit gourds into spirit weapons for me? Is the refining fee still two thousand spirit stones?"

Holding a second-tier gourd in your hand is meaningless; it's better to refine it into a spiritual weapon, which would be more convenient for both personal use and sale.

No matter how large the Purple Fire Spirit Gourd's capacity is, the flame inside will eventually run out. However, if you have two or three spirit gourds, it's a different story.

Zhao Lei nodded slightly:

"Yes, the refining cost is still two thousand spirit stones."

In that case, I only need to pay my junior brother another 12,350 spirit stones.

I'll give you a round number: 124 mid-grade spirit stones.

Refining materials into magical artifacts makes them more valuable, and the other party might even make more money.

After the transaction was completed, Ji An smiled and said:

"After you finish crafting the spiritual weapon, please send a disciple to deliver it to me."

It used to take up most of the day to go out, so now I feel I have the right to ask for home delivery.

"Haha, I'll bring it myself."

Since it involved the trading of magical artifacts, Zhao Lei didn't trust his disciples to deliver the goods; he felt more at ease having to do it himself.

Zhang Yuanshan also completed the transaction, and Ji An pocketed nearly 30,000 spirit stones, with a profit of nearly 20,000 spirit stones.

"My two senior brothers, I have prepared a little wine. We haven't seen each other for a long time. Please sit down and have a few drinks."

Ji An turned his head and said:

"Yuhan, bring wine and dishes, and a bamboo tube of wine."

Once the transaction is completed, it's always good to treat the client to some food and drinks; it makes others feel very comfortable.

These two were friends he acknowledged, so he treated them with great hospitality.

Occasionally, there would be fellow disciples who came to Crimson Flame Peak under the guise of trading to freeload, but after a few interactions, they would be blacklisted by him.

Zhao Lei smiled sincerely:

"Junior brother's invitation is too kind; I shall gladly accept!"

However, Junior Brother definitely needs gourd seeds. I'll go to your cave to take care of some important business first, and we'll drink later.

Crimson Flame Peak is famous for its fine wines, and when my junior brother entertains people, he is sure to be able to taste second-tier spirit wines, which is why he always comes to trade in person.

"Haha, senior brother is very thoughtful."

Junior Brother Zhang, please wait a moment.

Yu Han, first bring out some second-grade pine nuts for your martial uncle to pass the time.

"Since you have some free time now, you two should prepare two more dishes."

Zhao Lei processed the spirit gourds much faster than last time, taking less than an hour to process the three gourds, and Ji An obtained twenty-three high-quality spirit seeds.

They returned to the dining table beside the cold pool, and everyone sat down. Zhang Yuanshan pointed to the rolling blue waves and exclaimed:

"I've heard that small groups of demonic beasts have started appearing in the Mingfeng Mountain Immortal City area, and news of an impending demonic calamity has already spread in a small area."

The shadow of war has already fallen. If the demonic calamity breaks out, we weapon refiners will inevitably be conscripted to do some logistical work.

"It's so peaceful here with my junior brother; I envy him."

With all these spiritual plants covering the mountains and plains, the sect would not conscript Junior Brother Ji to fight on the front lines unless he was on his last legs.

"I hope so."

Ji An pursed his lips slightly, hoping that the demonic disaster would break out later.

If he can break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he will be able to handle being summoned to the front lines more easily.

In the later stages of Foundation Establishment, the quality of mana will be higher, the power of spells will increase, the cost of casting spells will decrease again, and the ability to sustain in combat will increase.

At this moment, the two sisters set out dishes and bowls of wine and food, two meat dishes and four vegetable dishes, with each of them having a plate of fennel beans to accompany their wine.

Zhao Lei smelled the unique aroma of the wine, carefully picked up the glass, afraid of spilling it:

"Hey, let's drink! Why talk about such unpleasant things? Fine wine is the only thing we should never miss!"

Drink today's wine and be merry, lest you run out of wine and have nothing left to drink but cold water.

In his view, these weapon refiners would not be on the front lines until the war reached its later stages.

As the sun began to set, a bright band of light shone through the cracks in the stone house, casting large patches of golden dappled light on the swaying branches of the Tianyuan pear tree.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the three of them raised their glasses together, enjoying the wine in the breeze. Ji An felt a strange sense of exhilaration.

The feathers on the golden eagle's crest stood up, and the wind flowed automatically from both sides.

It flapped its wings a few times quickly, then spread them to maintain its gliding motion.

Li Minghui stroked the metallic-looking feathers on the beast's neck, her eyes filled with tenderness.

As she grows older, the passion of her youth fades, but riding her steed at full speed brings back the exhilarating feeling of her younger days.

Golden-red mist billowed and rose from the distant mountains as she gently patted her beast.

The golden eagle, understanding her intent, immediately began to reduce its flight speed and altitude.

It let out a joyful hiss, its clear cry carrying an arrogant and domineering air.

The mountains responded, making the golden eagle even more smug. While maintaining steady flight, it also started to perform some fancy maneuvers.

Li Minghui chuckled, a wave of reminiscence washing over her eyes. Back then, she loved having her beasts do that.

I vaguely recall that when I was a child, my beast tamer was still small and reluctant to do such actions because the burden was too heavy.

Now she is growing old, but her beast tamers are still in their prime.

When she regained her senses, she had already landed on Crimson Flame Peak.

"Senior sister, are you alright?"

Ji An looked concerned. He had called out to the other person several times, but had not received any response.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly thought of the past and got lost in thought."

Li Minghui leaped down from the beast, and the golden-feathered eagle let out a low cry, nuzzling its master affectionately with its head.

"Junior brother, may I have my tamed beast circle around Crimson Flame Peak?"

"Don't worry, I've tamed it for many years; it's very intelligent and won't attack cultivators without my command."

"Of course, I'd also like to see the wind-type beast flying at full speed."

The golden eagle understood his words, raised its neck, and let out a clear cry.

"Haha, it really is very intelligent."

Ji An smiled; he sensed an emotion in his voice, something like, "Please wait and see."

Li Minghui smiled indulgently and patted the beast's back:

"Let your performance begin!"

The moment she removed her hand, the golden eagle lowered its head slightly, then suddenly pushed off with its legs, soaring into the air like an arrow and spiraling upwards.

It quickly turned into a black dot, howling through the heavens.

Ji An sighed softly, "This speed is several times faster than when I fly at full speed in my flying shuttle. How long can it be maintained?"

"It only lasted two hours at most; it was deliberately showing off. On ordinary days, it spends most of its time gliding."

In the living room, the two guests, host and guest, took their seats, and Xia Yuhan served them spiritual tea.

Li Minghui took out a wooden box and solemnly said:

"I came uninvited this time mainly to express my gratitude to my junior brother."

The Five-Colored Deer successfully broke through to the Chaoyuan stage, and Junior Brother deserves the greatest credit!

"My master has important matters to attend to at the sect and cannot come in person, so he specifically instructed me to deliver this gift of gratitude."

Congratulations! This is truly a joyous occasion.

However, as for the reward, I merely offered a transaction.

Ji An cupped his hands in congratulations. It was indeed a joyous occasion that the sect had gained another Chaoyuan-stage fighter before the outbreak of the demon calamity.

“A transaction is a transaction, and a favor is a favor; we can tell the difference.”

This is a gift that Master chose for you, Junior Brother; please don't refuse.

Without saying a word, Li Minghui shoved the item into the other person's hand.

The Yunhe Mountain lineage intends to strengthen cooperation with the other party, which will allow them to reliably obtain second-tier spirit fruit resources in the future.

This incident made them acknowledge the potential of Crimson Flame Peak. They provided an ample supply of second-tier Jade Fruit and also offered thirty Spirit Peaches.

In the future, more varieties of spiritual fruits will be cultivated, and powerful spiritual farmers will be very stable logistical support cultivators.

Ji An slightly declined, then took the item.

"I cannot refuse such a generous gift from an elder, so I humbly accept it."

He placed the box on the table, whispered a few words to Xia Yuhan, and she quietly left.

I went back to my hometown today, and I wasted a lot of time on the way, so the update will be late.

(End of this chapter)