Chapter 56 Two Years

Time flies, like a white horse flashing past a crack, and two years have passed in a flash.

Zhang Fan stood with his hands behind his back, his wide-sleeved robe swaying in the wind:

“My junior nephew has been in the sect for five years, has reached the eighth level of Qi Refining, and also owns several acres of first-grade spirit fields. I have been in charge of the eastern district of Biyue Lake for decades, and I have never seen such an outstanding spirit farmer as you.”

Looking at the rolling green waves and the slightly withered spiritual field of talisman grass beside him, he roughly calculated how many crystals this disciple could earn, and sighed inwardly.

If I had been half as good as the other person back then, I wouldn't have wasted so many years to successfully build my foundation.

The most important things during the Qi Refining stage are nourishing the immortal veins and accumulating magical power. If resources are plentiful, why waste too much time!

Ji An smiled with a hint of pride and restraint:

"It's all thanks to my uncle's excellent teaching."

This senior brother would come by every few months to share his cultivation experiences and interesting stories, from which he benefited greatly and broadened his horizons.

Under his careful cultivation, five acres of spiritual fields were transformed into first-grade low-level spiritual fields a year ago, and all of them were planted with green corn.

The green corn matures every six months. With the combined blessing of the Perfected Level of the Minor Cloud Rain Technique and the Thick Soil Technique, the average yield is 30% higher than when Lao Huang planted it, and the maturity time is about 20 days shorter.

Now his diet has been entirely changed to green corn, and the spirit-seeking rat has gotten quite plump, currently reaching the fifth level of Qi Refining.

When the corn had not yet sprouted ears, he practiced magic every day, drawing water curtain talismans and Geng metal talismans, and during the busy farming season, he would cast rain and regulate the earth's energy.

Although cultivation is very expensive, seeing one's cultivation level constantly improving brings unparalleled satisfaction.

Stop flattering me; it's all the result of your own hard work.

Zhang Fan smiled kindly, then his expression turned serious:

"Although my junior disciple has reaped considerable rewards on a daily basis, he should still accumulate more crystals to prepare for exchanging them for Foundation Establishment Pills."

"Thank you for the reminder, Uncle-Master. I plan to prepare for this when I break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining."

Zhang Fan shook his head, his gray hair disheveled by the wind.

"I have also heard of your talisman-making skills. If it were ten years ago, with my nephew's talisman-making ability and spiritual farming ability, it would not have been difficult to accumulate enough contribution points to exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills. But things are different now."

The sect has repeatedly expanded its outposts, resulting in a significant increase in the number of disciples whose storage bags have become bulging, and many more disciples now have the ability to exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills.

In addition, the proportion of Foundation Establishment Pills exchanged by family disciples has increased significantly. Even though the sect is refining more Foundation Establishment Pills than before, there are still too many wolves and not enough meat to go around.

This year is the day the sect refines Foundation Establishment Pills, and I heard from a senior brother I know that the distribution of Foundation Establishment Pills is already scheduled for ten years from now! Time waits for no one.

Ji An's pupils suddenly contracted; how did the competition suddenly become so fierce!

The sect refines a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills every five years. He had inquired about this before and knew that once he exchanged for a Foundation Establishment Pill, he could usually get one in the next round of refining.

He's already gone through two rounds of waiting. How long will it take for him to get the Foundation Establishment Pill after he's able to exchange for it?

"Nephew, make plans early, I'm leaving now."

Seeing the other person's expression, Zhang Fan knew that the other person had realized the seriousness of the situation, so he didn't say anything more.

"Thank you for the reminder, Martial Uncle. I respectfully see you off."

Ji An watched the other person leave, recalling what Zhao Mengyao had said during their conversation a few days ago.

The family has issued a new rule, agreeing to provide more crystals for sect disciples under the age of forty who are at the ninth level of Qi Refining in order to purchase Foundation Establishment Pills.

If this regulation had been issued earlier, wouldn't I have been able to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pills years sooner?

He hadn't paid much attention to those words at the time, but now, with Uncle Zhang's explicit instruction, he suddenly realized the truth.

When you live a leisurely life for too long, you lose your keen insight into things.

Before the autumn wind blows, the cicadas sense it first. In recent years, the three sects have been seizing more territory, and other families should also be aware of the sects' intentions.

Contrary to usual practice, each sect designated a market area in the new stronghold for everyone to replenish supplies and trade. A large number of independent cultivators also flooded into the stronghold, which was quite unusual.

Even if they don't know what the sect is planning, they should be able to foresee the impact of the sect's actions: the number of independent cultivators who can establish their foundation will inevitably increase!

Ji An carefully considered the matter. Even with a reduction in the supply of pills during cultivation, given his current rate of earning spirit stones, it would still take him several years to accumulate enough contribution points to exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills.

At the current rate, it will take him at least fifteen years to exchange for the Foundation Establishment Pill.

A few days later, Ji An finished using up the blank talisman paper in his hand, took out the dozens of talismans he had accumulated, stuffed them into his pocket, and rode the talisman bird to fly towards the Biyue Market.

As Ji An approached the market, he saw a familiar figure flying in from the horizon. He went to greet it and smiled.

"Senior brother, you look radiant! What happy thing happened?"

Even from a distance, he could sense the smug aura emanating from the other person.

"Haha, it's my treat today. Let's go to Baiweilou for a couple of drinks and talk slowly."

Wei Songnian patted his chest, his fat undulating like waves.

The two arrived at Baiweilou Restaurant, found a private room, and ordered two bottles of spirit wine and a few side dishes.

Ji An got up and poured a full glass of wine. After the two drank two cups together, Wei Songnian started talking.

"Just now, I went to the General Affairs Hall and paid a sum of crystals. I finally have enough for 60,000 contribution points. In ten years, I will be able to get the Foundation Establishment Pill."

He leaned forward and lowered his voice:

"Junior brother, there's news that the sect is preparing to attack another demon beast territory."

Each new stronghold established will generate high profits for a group of disciples and independent cultivators.

I think the competition for Foundation Establishment Pills will become increasingly fierce in the future. Junior Brother, you need to accumulate crystals as soon as possible; time waits for no one.

"I heard similar news a few days ago and I'm currently troubled by this."

I now need to improve my cultivation to break through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, and I also need to accumulate crystals, which is quite difficult.

"No one gets rich without unexpected windfalls; I also want to travel to the Ten Thousand Mountains."

As Ji An spoke, he pulled out a talisman and slammed it on the table.

He has consumed a lot of talismans in the past two years. He has earned a lot of crystals by making talismans, but he has invested them all in his daily cultivation and raising spirit-seeking rats. He still doesn't have many crystals left.

Without such relentless effort to improve his cultivation, given his mid-grade aptitude and the stone tortoise's tendency to pluck feathers from passing geese, it would have been impossible for him to break through to the eighth rank so quickly.

Due to limitations in his magical power and a shortage of raw materials, he could not draw that many talismans each month.

Hoping to quickly accumulate a large amount of crystals using talismans is unrealistic, unless he stops cultivating and plants more talisman herbs, but doing so would be putting the cart before the horse.

Wei Songnian shifted his gaze from the talisman shimmering with blue and golden spiritual light and cautiously said:

"Junior brother, have you thought this through? Although hunting demons may yield great rewards, the safety is far inferior to staying in the sect and accumulating contribution points."

This is especially true for you.

(End of this chapter)