Chapter 894 Breath of Earth

Fourteen Nascent Soul level cultivators lay neatly on the ground, though some had their limbs separated and others had been smashed into pieces.

Two are at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, one is at the seventh level, four are at the middle stage of the Nascent Soul stage, and the rest are at the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage.

Ji An looked around at everyone's condition and asked with concern:

"How are you? Are your injuries serious?"

He was unharmed, but everyone else was injured.

"Fortunately, it's just a superficial injury that I can bear. However, the damage caused by Shi Xiu will last for a long time. I need to bathe in moonlight many times to get rid of the aftereffects."

On Yue Ling'er's fair and jade-like skin were patches of charred black, like cracked earth, which were injuries caused by the Buddha's light.

Occasionally, golden light would flash through the crack, accompanied by gray smoke and a faint burnt smell.

Li Haoran's arm hung limply, a fracture caused by the Buddhist treasure striking his shoulder blade. Fortunately, his body was strong enough to be at the level of a Nascent Soul cultivator in the early stage; otherwise, the injury would have been more severe, and his entire arm might have been crippled.

Despite his severe injuries, there was no trace of fear in his eyes; instead, they shone with a sharp brilliance.

Combat is the best teacher for sword cultivators. The feeling of being on the brink of life and death is the best way to inspire creativity. This is an ultimate feeling that ordinary sparring cannot bring.

The ideas he had pondered over the years were validated in battle. After a few more exhilarating battles, the fourth level of sword intent would take root and sprout.

Zhenyue Zhenjun and Huayin Zhenjun were both exhausted. Their internal organs had suffered considerable damage, and there was still blood on the corners of their mouths.

In addition, they suffered greatly from Shi Xiu's soul attack and were now in a state of mental exhaustion.

Zhenyue Zhenjun tried to smile, but the movement aggravated his injuries, causing his lips to twitch.

"We can still fight, but we can't go all out."

Xuanfeng Zhenjun's wide left sleeve was shaved off by a crescent-shaped shovel, revealing a deep wound that exposed bone.

The golden Buddha light corroded the blood and qi, occasionally bursting out a patch of golden 'sparks,' which was the Buddha light being expelled from the body.

He raised his arm and smiled calmly:

"The injury looks scary, but it will scab over quickly once the Buddha's light is completely dispelled."

In the later battles, he was only injured when he faced the attack of the monks, while all the enemies who attacked him lost their lives.

Ji An looked at everyone and said, "I'll be in charge of guarding. You all should hurry up and heal your injuries and recover."

This spiritual vein is of the middle grade of the fourth rank. Judging from the concentration of spiritual energy, the grade of the spiritual vein should have been improved in the last few decades. The concentration of spiritual energy is just enough to restore everyone's magic power.

Several hours later, the group gathered together, destroyed the Sumeru Bag they had obtained, and released its contents.

These Buddhist monks have a wealth of resources, most of which cannot be used directly, but can be refined into high-level materials.

The most precious string of fourth-grade top-quality Buddhist beads has been identified as being made from the heartwood of a Bodhi tree through a special process.

Although they are Buddhist treasures, they can also be used to nourish the soul and accelerate the recovery of consciousness.

Xuanfeng Zhenjun played with the Buddhist beads for a moment, his eyes revealing a burning light. He could feel strands of spiritual light flowing into his upper dantian, which his nascent soul could directly absorb, with very good results.

If he could wear it for a long time, he was confident that he could hone his cultivation to the point of perfection.

Buddhist treasures can affect those at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, causing their value to skyrocket.

He reluctantly handed the Buddhist beads to Zhenyue Zhenjun. Since everyone could use this kind of auxiliary treasure, everyone would appraise it.

After a short while, everyone came up with a distribution plan.

Ji An made the greatest contribution in the battle, and with Yue Ling'er's contribution as well, he alone takes 40%, while Xuan Feng Zhenjun takes 20%.

Although Li Haoran was only a Nascent Soul cultivator in the early stage, his offensive power was comparable to that of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. He was able to obtain 10% of the spoils, while Zhenyue Zhenjun and his wife would take 30% together.

True Monarch Xuanfeng smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Xuanqing, you may choose first."

His eyes held a deep reluctance, and he sighed softly in his heart:

'The Buddhist prayer beads are probably not meant for me. I wonder if I can exchange them for other spiritual items from Fellow Daoist Xuanqing.'

He figured the other party would definitely be interested in such a treasure, but their role in the battle was too great, giving them the right of first choice.

Ji An nodded gently, pointing to the corpse lying quietly to the side and said:

"The ashes of high-level cultivators are excellent fertilizer for spiritual plants. Let's calculate their value. I want all of these corpses."

If my share isn't enough to take it all, I'll exchange it for some spiritual items.

He took the ashes and used them all to cultivate the spiritual roots of the gourd world, which was the most suitable path for his development.

Li Haoran immediately stated:

“If my senior’s share isn’t enough, I’ll contribute my own.”

He only needed fourth-tier metal-elemental spiritual items. His original plan was to take a few Buddhist treasures back with him and hand them over to his junior brother Qin for refinement when he returned to the sect.

Xuanfeng Zhenjun was overjoyed. "Haha, Fellow Daoist Xuanqing's share is sufficient. Let's calculate it."

The most valuable item among the spoils was the string of Buddhist prayer beads, followed by various fourth-tier resources, including many top-quality fourth-tier materials.

For spirit farmers or a faction, the corpses of high-level cultivators are quite valuable, but for personal development, the value of these corpses is much lower.

The value of the temple that the Buddhist treasure transformed into is immeasurable. In the eyes of Buddhist monks, it is a priceless treasure, but for cultivators, it can only be used as an item in a high-level space.

The group began to calculate the value of various resources. In the end, Ji An obtained all the corpses and a piece of fourth-tier earth elemental spiritual material the size of a broad bean—the Breath of Soil.

Such spiritual objects are rare in the cultivation world, and most are obtained from the outer heavens. They can be refined into one's natal spiritual treasure, greatly enhancing the treasure's repair capabilities. As long as the natal spiritual treasure is not shattered into dust, it can slowly recover.

Not only that, he also obtained a fourth-grade high-quality spiritual medicine, which is an auxiliary ingredient for refining the Five-Flower Pill.

Having achieved his goal, Ji An no longer cared about the distribution of spoils among the others. He activated the Azure Lotus Heart-Burning Flame to begin burning the corpses.

Two hours later, he placed the ashes into an urn and then placed it into the Cave Void Stone.

Zhenyue Zhenjun saw him finish his work and stepped forward, saying in a deep voice:

"Fellow Daoist said there is a Buddhist cultivator here at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage who has mastered the Divine Foot Technique. Now that the enemy is not here, where do you think he has gone?"

Such an enemy is incredibly fast; with such abilities, one can go anywhere in the world unless one is extremely unlucky.

Ji An pondered for a moment and said:

"I think there are only two options: either they hide in some unknown place to spy on us, or they return to Central Continent to get reinforcements."

He stared intently into Zhenyue Zhenjun's eyes and asked:

"Can the Central Continent launch an attack ahead of time? The main force is not ready, but we can send out our fellow cultivators at the late Nascent Soul stage to put pressure on the enemy first."

The Central Continent decided to wait more than a year before taking action. If the Buddhist monks learned of the crushing defeat in the Southern Continent, they would surely strengthen their defenses.

He was unwilling to linger in Zhongzhou for too long, so he decided to launch an attack sooner rather than later, which would at least deplete the energy accumulated by the Buddha Formation.

This also has another advantage: after the Buddhist cultivators were subjected to a fierce attack, they would not have the energy to send high-level cultivators to harass the Western Continent.

Their conversation was open to everyone, and Xuanfeng Zhenjun, who was not far away, came over after hearing it and chimed in:

“Fellow Daoist Xuanqing is right. The sooner we restrict the practice of Buddhism, the better it will be for us.”

The Buddhist sects can use ordinary people as 'resources', and their war potential is not low. Rather than getting bogged down in a war of attrition later, it's better to strike first.

"This suggestion is feasible, but we cannot make the decision on our own. We should return to Central Continent and report to the True Monarchs at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, and ask them to make the decision. What do you two True Monarchs think?"

Zhen Yue said that since the Taixu Sect does not have any top-level cultivators at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, its words carry less weight than those of sects such as the Shenmu Sect and the Shenxiang Sect.

In the Central Continent, several sects, including the Divine Wood Sect, Divine Elephant Sect, Taiyan Sect, Lingxu Sect, Piaomiao Sect, and Leiyin Pavilion, all possess cultivators at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, making them top-tier sects.

Ji An nodded and said:

"Then I'll trouble you two to convey our wishes. If you decide to take action immediately, I'm willing to join the war."

There is no easy way to attack a well-defended magic array; the only option is to wear it down over a long period of time.

This time, the enemy's manpower was directly eliminated through field battle. It would be difficult to achieve results if the attack were a Buddhist formation like the mountain-protecting formation.

Xuanfeng Zhenjun stroked the Buddhist beads on his wrist, "I am the same, but if the Central Continent decides to proceed according to the original plan, I will prepare to go into seclusion for cultivation. It is hard to say when I will be able to emerge from seclusion."

Zhenyue Zhenjun nodded solemnly and replied:

"I will convey the two fellow Daoists' suggestions to the other True Lords. Without further ado, we will return to Central Continent tomorrow."

The return journey will take about half a month, but it will take a month to inform all the major shareholders and gather people for discussions. In other words, it will take at least two months to get a result.

In fact, he also believed that the war with the Buddhist monks should be started sooner rather than later, otherwise the Western Continent might send reinforcements in a continuous stream.

After a moment's thought, Xuanfeng Zhenjun said:

"Just inform Fellow Daoist Xuanqing of the resolution. I will come to Xizhou as a guest in two months. I will wait for your news for half a month at a time."

Zhenyue Zhenjun nodded, "Alright."

The group flew north on clouds, and after crossing the Kuangsha River, they parted ways.

Zhenyue Zhenjun and his companion flew towards the passage to the Land of Absolute Spirits, while Xuanfeng Zhenjun sped northward.

Li Haoran asked, puzzled:

"Attack the protective array of the Buddhist monks is hard work. Why don't you let those guys from Central Continent launch the first round of attacks, Senior Brother?"

In his view, it was the Central Continent's reasons that allowed the Buddhist cultivators to gain a foothold, so they should contribute more to resolving the Buddhist cultivators' problems.

Ji An gazed into the distance and explained:

"It would be good for us to deal with the Buddhist cultivators sooner rather than later. What if there is a group of Buddhist cultivators at the late Nascent Soul stage wandering around the Western Continent?"

Li Haoran frowned and sighed:

"If only my cultivation level were higher, I could use Shi Xiu as a whetstone."

If he now possessed the cultivation level of the mid-Nascent Soul stage and comprehended the fourth level of sword intent, he would dare to fight against enemies at the late-Nascent Soul stage.

At this level, comprehending even one more layer of sword intent has a tremendous impact on combat power, and the speed of sword escape will also be greatly improved.

Ji An smiled slightly and said:

"Just as you said earlier, junior brother, besieging the mountain-protecting formation is hard work."

"It could take us many years to break through the enemy's Buddhist formation, giving Junior Brother ample time to improve his cultivation."

The Buddhist formation created by the monks resembles a blooming lotus flower. After the outer formation is breached, the formation's defenses become stronger as the area it covers shrinks.

Li Haoran raised his eyebrows slightly and said helplessly:

“I want to fight the Buddhist monks face to face, rather than be treated as laborers attacking Buddhist formations.”

Ji An laughed and scolded, "Even cultivators at the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage have to do hard labor, so why can you stand aside!"

The two sped back to their sect and parted ways. It was already the hour of Yin (3-5 AM). Ji An took out a golden communication sword, recorded the results of the battle, and activated it.

This was to inform Lin Lan of the current situation so that her disciple wouldn't worry.

Upon returning to Crimson Flame Peak and entering the Calabash World, the first thing he did was order A-Yun to brew a pot of Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea.

After drinking the spiritual tea and regaining some of his consciousness, he swallowed a mid-grade fourth-order Bodhi fruit, then sat down cross-legged to cultivate his technique and recover his mana.

Even within the sect, he habitually prioritizes improving his own condition.

After his magical power had mostly recovered, he lay down on the rattan chair and fell into a deep sleep.

Waking up refreshed, Ji An took out the Breath Soil and held it in his hand.

This is a lump of mud similar to loess, but it is very fine and has a jade-like luster. It has a moist feel and you can feel a very strong earthy aroma.

The Breath of Earth is said to be able to draw energy from the earth and grow indefinitely, making it a rare and precious earth-elemental spiritual object.

Fifth-tier spiritual items are only usable by cultivators at the Three Flowers Realm. In the entire cultivation world, there are no exceptions. Fourth-tier top-grade spiritual items are the most universally accepted currency.

However, Ji An has never been a miser. He summoned the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner, and his natal spirit treasure transformed into an earth unicorn, staring eagerly at the Breath Soil, conveying an extremely excited emotion.

He activated the primordial fire, and the Wuji Earth Dao Seeds shone brightly, emitting wisps of spiritual light that merged into the primordial fire.

Golden flames enveloped the Breath Soil. The next step was to imbue the spirit with its aura, which would help the Earth Qilin devour it.

It took him three whole days to refine the Breath Soil, and the Earth Qilin opened its mouth wide and swallowed it whole.

Ji An stored his natal spiritual treasure in his dantian and began cultivating. After recovering his magical power and divine sense, he activated the Five Directions Flags, forming a continuously circulating ring.

The five Dao Seeds emitted wisps of light that merged into the spiritual treasure, using the power of the Five Elements to accelerate the refining of the Breath Soil.

Inside the Moon Palace, the Nascent Soul performed a hand seal, sending the remaining Xuanhuang merit energy to the lower dantian and merging it into his natal spiritual treasure.

After seven days, the Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner finally completely refined the Breath Soil. Its aura surged, and the cycle formed by the five banners began to accelerate synchronously.

Ji An felt as if an electric current was surging through his body, and spiritual energy from the earth was flowing into his body through his feet.

His natal spirit treasure has advanced to the fourth-tier top-grade level. If his cultivation level has not reached the Three Flowers Realm, this grade of spirit treasure is the pinnacle.

The Wuji Apricot Yellow Flag flew out of the dantian, transformed into a Qilin, and landed on the ground. It bowed slightly to its master, and a deep roar resounded in all directions, causing the earth to tremble.

(End of this chapter)