Chapter 97 Purple Gold Copper, Meteorite Iron

The fluffy white clouds, like clusters of brocade flowers, drifted across the clear blue sky.

Two mythical beasts soared side by side: one was a slender and elegant black-and-white crane, and the other was a lithe and agile sand goose with gray feathers and horizontal stripes.

The crane's cry was clear and bright, the wild goose's call was deep and resonant, like the harmonious playing of a zither and a lute.

Seeing that the beast tamer had left the disciples riding the talisman birds behind, and looking down at the rapidly approaching mountains and forests below, Li Lingyu shook her head almost imperceptibly.

The beast landed in the Qi Refining Hall area of ​​Crimson Copper Mountain. Ji An and his companion walked along a mountain path and stopped at the entrance to the forbidden area.

He took out the communication talisman sword, used his divine sense to record the information, and gently tossed a silver spiritual light into the magic restriction.

"Senior sister, please be patient, let's wait a moment."

"No rush," Li Lingyu gently stroked the white feathers on the back of the Qingyu Crane and sighed softly.

"I've gotten used to riding the beast these past few days, so I'll definitely feel uncomfortable using the talisman bird for transportation again."

"The sect's expansion into the rental business should help sell more tamed beasts."

Having experienced the faster mode of travel, most disciples would probably choose to purchase flying beasts if they had enough crystals.

"I imagine that once Senior Sister reaches Foundation Establishment, she will immediately purchase Beast Taming and Flying Boats."

Although Foundation Establishment cultivators can travel by riding the wind, their speed is not as fast as that of flying beasts, and they still need to rely on external objects when traveling.

Besides specialized flying artifacts, Foundation Establishment cultivators can also ride artifacts to fly. If they don't pursue extreme speed, the mana consumption is much less than riding the wind.

It is said that after sword cultivators reach the point where their body and sword become one, they can use flying swords to fly through the sky and escape into the earth. This is called sword escape, and their escape speed is faster than that of people who are several minor realms higher than themselves. They are also unmatched among those of the same level.

"We need to buy the beast taming equipment, but we can skip the flying boat."

For Foundation Establishment cultivators, unless traveling with multiple people, using a flying shuttle is still better.

Li Lingyu smiled and said that the shuttle could only carry two people at most, but it was more focused on speed and was more practical.

As the two chatted, a streak of fiery light flew in from afar.

"Junior brothers and sisters, thank you for waiting."

Zhang Yuanshan's hearty laughter rang out. He had learned from Zhao Mengyao that Ji An had actually joined the Ningcui Cliff lineage, and he knew in his heart that the other party must be able to establish his foundation.

According to seniority, Ge Ying of Ningcui Cliff is his senior master, who is famous in the sect for alchemy and planting.

Therefore, he directly addressed the two as junior brothers and sisters, revealing a clearer sense of intimacy.

Ji An cupped his hands and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you today, Senior Brother."

He then introduced the two to each other, and after exchanging greetings, the three flew to Zhang Yuanshan's cave.

Upon arriving at the cave dwelling, Zhang Yuanshan instructed his attendants:

"Brew a pot of Silver Needle Tea."

"I apologize for bothering you, senior brother. I have come today to ask you for a favor."

My senior sister and I have stumbled upon some materials for refining weapons, but we don't know what they are. Could you please help us identify them, senior brother?

As Ji An spoke, he took everything out of his storage bag.

Two blanks for ritual implements, and more than a dozen pieces of ore.

Zhang Yuanshan picked up the unfinished artifact and wondered to himself where it came from.

The magical artifact is half-finished, only lacking the inscription of runes and the addition of magical restrictions. No artifact refiner would sell a half-finished product, because it would be difficult to fetch a good price, and all their efforts would be wasted.

He made a hand seal, and a yellow flame emerged from his fingertip to roast the unfinished artifact, verifying what materials were inside.

After a while, he put down the clay model and shook his head slightly:

"Both of these are defensive magical artifacts. The main material is Red Mountain Copper, with the addition of Wind-milled Copper and Mysterious Iron Essence. However, the refining technique is somewhat rough, and the material ratio is not quite right, which wastes some decent raw materials."

Zhang Yuanshan picked up the ore again to examine it, carefully weighed it, and smiled:

"This black piece is purple gold copper ore, these gray pieces are meteorite iron ore, and this pale yellow metal is windmilled copper."

These are all materials for refining high-grade magic weapons. Purple-gold copper and meteorite iron can also be used to refine second-tier spiritual weapons, making them quite valuable.

A hint of joy appeared in Li Lingyu's eyes. The materials for the spiritual weapon were much more valuable. She looked at Ji An.

After their eyes met, Ji An said:

"Senior brother, what is the value of these items? Please help me estimate their price."

"Neither the unfinished artifact nor the raw materials are of any use to us. We want to get rid of them and exchange them for some spirit stones."

A servant served the spirit tea, and Zhang Yuanshan smiled and said:

"Have a sip of tea first."

Several people picked up their teacups and took a few sips. Zhang Yuanshan pondered for a moment and said:

"If sold within the sect, the cost of the material for a magic weapon blank is only enough to buy it. I estimate that two blanks would be worth around 180 spirit stones."

"The purple-gold copper ore can sell for 120 spirit stones. Junior brothers and sisters can go elsewhere to have it appraised; it should be roughly the same price."

Li Lingyu's eyes lit up as she listened to the quote, and she nodded slightly.

Seeing his senior sister's expression, Ji An understood:

"Senior brother, would you be willing to take over these materials?"

"If my junior brothers and sisters trust me, I am certainly willing to buy it. Second-tier materials are still very attractive to me."

"Senior brother is joking. Of course I can trust you."

"If I don't trust you, I won't come looking for you," Ji Anxin said.

Before coming, he had intended to ask the other party for a jade slip containing information about common mineral materials, but now he was not mentioning it at all, as it would have created an awkward silence.

"There are a total of four hundred and ninety spirit stones. To round it up, I'll offer five hundred."

However, I can only provide three hundred spirit stones right now. The rest will be available in a month.

Zhang Yuanshan was a little embarrassed. The expenses after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage would be even greater, and he also had a batch of refining materials tied up in his hands. Three hundred spirit stones would be his limit.

Ji An took out the Stone Turtle Shield and the Heavenly Net Umbrella, and said:

"Alright, we have another request. We would like to trouble you, senior brother, to repair these two magical artifacts."

Zhang Yuanshan picked up the ritual implement and examined it, his eyes narrowing slightly:

"Have you gotten into a conflict with cultivators?"

Both the shield and the umbrella bore numerous marks from being stabbed by sharp objects, with the Heavenly Net Umbrella even having several large holes pierced through it.

"It was just our bad luck that we encountered a raiding cultivator outside the sect."

There was no need to keep this a secret, so Ji An briefly recounted the events, omitting the location of the incident and the level of the enemy.

"They actually attacked a disciple of the sect. Junior brother, have you reported this to the Enforcement Hall?"

Zhang Yuanshan said angrily, "The sect has an unwritten rule that everyone must unite against external forces when it comes to external conflicts."

"It has been reported to the Enforcement Hall."

"Senior brother, storage bags are also crafted by weapon refiners. I'd like to ask if there's any way to check certain specific items inside them?"

Ji An thought of the medicinal powder that had been smeared on the spirit stone.

"Some spiritual objects of heaven and earth form their own spaces, on which Dao patterns are generated. Those great cultivators study the Dao patterns and draw spatial restrictions."

Storage bags are crafted by weapon refiners using low-grade spatial materials combined with spatial restrictions. There are indeed secret techniques that can detect the contents of these bags.

Zhang Yuanshan briefly explained the refining principle of the storage bag, and sighed:

"High-level storage bags are somewhat better, as they are heavily protected by magic and difficult to detect. However, if a high-level cultivator is proficient in this kind of detection technique, the storage bags of low-level disciples will have nowhere to hide in their eyes."

After a while, Ji An and the other man got up to take their leave. Zhang Yuanshan took out three hundred spirit stones and said:

"Junior brother, take this first. The cost of materials for repairing the magic artifact will be deducted later."

Outside Mount Red Copper, Li Lingyu slowed down his beast-riding speed and said:

"Junior brother, I'm going to Mount Luoxia to return the beast. Farewell."

She plans to go into seclusion after returning home to prepare for foundation building as soon as possible.

"Okay, the captured flying boat won't be easy to sell for the time being, so Senior Sister can keep it for transportation for now."

After the two parted ways, Ji An flew to the General Affairs Hall to buy some talisman grass seeds.

The talisman grass has reached harvest time and should have already been harvested by Huang Feihu and others, so it needs to be replanted.

With extra contribution points in hand, he bought enough talisman grass seeds to plant 100 acres and green corn seeds to plant 20 acres, saving himself the trouble of traveling back and forth later.

After leaving the General Affairs Hall, Ji An went to the Biyue Market and found Wei Songnian.

His master restricted his travels, so he would have to ask the other party for help with the sale of talismans from now on.

"Don't worry, junior brother, I can take care of this little thing easily."

Wei Songnian memorized the list of suppliers and confidently agreed.

He thought to himself that the treatment he received after becoming a disciple was different, and that the other party would most likely achieve Foundation Establishment earlier than him in the future.

"If I am able to open a shop in Qingyun Immortal City in the future, I will ask my junior brother to supply the goods."

"No problem, I might be able to draw some best-selling talismans by then."

Ji An was silent for a moment, then said:

"Senior brother, my spirit-seeking rat discovered a special powder on a spirit stone given out by a certain shop."

He didn't continue, but Wei Songnian already understood what he meant.

When did this happen?

"It first appeared two months ago, and then it appeared a few days ago for the second time."

Wei Songnian's eyes darted around a few times before he said in a deep voice:

"What are you planning to do, junior brother?"

"We'll keep quiet for now and settle accounts later. So, there's a certain degree of danger in my senior brother helping me sell talismans."

Ji An said that this matter only proves that the other party is a suspect. Unless concrete evidence can be obtained, it will be difficult to get results even if it is reported to the sect.

Those who open shops in Qingyun Immortal City all have some connections and relationships.

"I will be careful, but don't worry. When I went to the Immortal City, I took the sect's flying boat. When I came back, I traveled with a dozen or so fellow disciples who were in the late stage of Qi Refining."

"As for my junior brother, he'll have to be more careful in the future."

As Wei Songnian spoke, he slapped his forehead:

Senior Master Ge has given the order: when Junior Brother leaves the sect again, he will be a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so he shouldn't be bothered by this matter.

After discussing the matter, Ji An flew back to Biyue Lake and Lingtian.

The talisman grass had indeed been harvested. After casting a spell to plant it, he returned to the courtyard, took out two wood element beads to activate the wood element spiritual energy and disperse it into the courtyard, and then released the Flame Fire Spell and the Thick Earth Spell in turn.

Wood generates fire. Appropriately supplementing the wood element with spiritual energy can enhance the medicinal properties of fire-attribute spiritual plants. This is a little trick I learned in my master's medicine garden.

After half an hour, most of the fire elemental energy had been absorbed by the spiritual plant, and he used hand seals to release the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique.

Clouds and mist rolled in the sky above the courtyard, and the spiritual plants stretched their branches and leaves in the light rain.

Ji An left the courtyard, closed the ban, and rode a gray-feathered sand goose to Huang Feihu's courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, several wooden sheds were set up, with bundles of golden-yellow talisman grass stacked on them. Inside the courtyard, several people were busily making talisman paper.

(End of this chapter)