Chapter 368 Second-Tier Mid-Grade Longevity Peach
Ji An frowned slightly. Based on this probability estimate, there would be a maximum of 150 Foundation Establishment cultivators in two years.
He glanced around the hall and saw seven people with white hair, who would gradually be taken away by time over the next twenty or thirty years.
The goal of having two hundred Foundation Establishment stage spirit farmers in the Ministry of Agriculture will be delayed beyond what was originally planned.
With ten years left until the project's deadline, the shortage of Foundation Building Pills is quite significant, so we can only try to find a solution based on the existing resources.
Ji An stroked his chin, his gaze deep and unfathomable. After a moment, he had made up his mind and said in a deep voice:
"Pass down the order that the top fifty disciples in each month's assessment will receive additional rewards."
I will bestow upon them Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea, five cups per month for the first ten, four cups per month for those 20th to 30th, and three cups per month for the rest.
By nourishing the spiritual consciousness of these Foundation Establishment Seeds to make them stronger, the success rate of Foundation Establishment can naturally be increased.
The more capable subordinates he has, the easier his job as the temple master becomes.
Kong Yunyi was slightly startled. The Palace Master's tea was a mid-grade second-tier spiritual tea, and these disciples probably wouldn't be able to enjoy it.
If its effect of nourishing the soul is too strong, then it is a kind of soul poison.
However, after thinking about it more deeply, he understood what the Palace Master meant: he could add more water to dilute it!
No wonder the rewards are calculated by the cup; that way, a small amount of tea leaves can supply so many disciples.
"Your Highness, the Palace of Agriculture does not have any Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea stored there. If you were to bestow it upon someone, we would have to use your personal belongings."
I think we can use the resources of the Ministry of Agriculture or minor merits to exchange for spiritual tea from you, and then bestow it upon the disciples.
In this way, if they need help from other fellow disciples in the future, everyone will be willing to contribute generously.
"Palace Master Kong's idea is very thoughtful. We will do as you say."
Ji An immediately understood what the other party meant: he was willing to do things for free, which would in some ways hinder others.
By adopting the other party's suggestion, he suffered no loss; it was equivalent to handing over the spiritual tea to the treasure pavilion.
He paused, then asked:
"Once the main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill are ready, the two Palace Masters will personally make a trip to the Pill Refining Academy to invite the best alchemists to make the pills."
"We must retrieve as many Foundation Establishment Pills as possible. I will also mention this to Senior Sister Han Yan."
If an alchemist is skilled enough, they can refine higher quality pills in greater quantities.
As the sect's most powerful alchemist, Han Yan is the head of the Pill Cauldron Academy. Just like him, he doesn't usually concern himself with trivial matters.
"Yes, sir!" Kong Yunyi and Lin Mao responded in unison.
afternoon.
Ji An was in the process of opening the Water Element Divine Palace when he heard someone calling from outside the palace.
He walked to the door, made a hand seal to open the magical barrier, and greeted the doorman with a gentle smile on his face:
"I was just thinking about you this morning, Senior Sister. I didn't expect you to be at the Ministry of Agriculture this afternoon. Please come in and have a seat."
Han Yan blinked gently and said jokingly:
"Knowing my junior brother as I do, he only thinks of people when he needs something!"
This junior brother was dedicated to his cultivation. She often heard Jia Yu mention that he was the kind of person who could stay in one place and continue cultivating indefinitely.
Ji An chuckled and said self-deprecatingly:
"Senior sister, don't I have any pride?"
After exchanging pleasantries, the two sat down, and Ji An recounted the story of refining the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Han Yan nodded seriously and said:
"The sect has a strict system for all pills that help one break through to a higher realm. The number of pills that an alchemist can refine will be recorded and stored in the database."
"Junior brother, if you want to take all of these pills, that's fine. I'll keep a record, and the Diligent Work Hall will verify it."
The Qin Gong Hall has an inspectorate that verifies the actual condition of each hall every year.
Ji An said softly, "Should I say hello to Senior Brother Zhang?"
"No need for that. We're following the normal procedures; it's not a special case."
Han Yan smiled brightly, her eyebrows slightly raised:
“The Foundation Establishment Pill involves a lot of matters. Although I don’t usually concern myself with trivial matters, I do know that the timing of this batch of spiritual herbs is different from usual. Did my junior brother plant them himself?”
"Yes, I took over the herb garden that Palace Master Kong was in charge of. Normally, it should take more than 20 years for it to mature."
Because it was frequently nurtured using spells at the Chaoyuan stage, the medicinal age of the elixir accumulated much faster, reaching two hundred years of medicinal age in just twenty-three or four years.
If Kong Yunyi were in charge, the training would take more than forty years.
Han Yan leaned forward slightly and asked anxiously:
"Can the time be moved forward any further?"
If it could be brought forward even further, the sect could support even more Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.
Ji An shook his head and said:
"It's probably impossible now; the efficiency of the elixir in absorbing spiritual energy has reached its limit."
Even when planted in a third-tier spirit field and cultivated using planting techniques at the Golden Core stage, the cultivation time of the spiritual herb will not be accelerated.
This is the limitation of species. When he was in the Foundation Establishment stage, he could cultivate the spirit grain to a yield of 400 catties per mu, and it is still the same now.
No matter how powerful a spell is, there are limits to its effectiveness.
Han Yan pursed her lips and said:
"Human strength has its limits, and the spiritual veins and land have their limits. A few days ago, Senior Sister He and I discussed how many cultivators the sect could support."
We roughly concluded that we could support about 1,200 Foundation Establishment cultivators, 100 Yuan Stage cultivators, and three to four Golden Core cultivators.
If Ling Nong's abilities could reach his junior brother's level, this number would probably double.
A bright light flashed in her dark eyes.
Ji An said in a deep voice:
"Senior sister thinks too highly of me. The number of cultivators I support cannot possibly double. There is a reason why high-grade spiritual herbs require spiritual fields."
Based on my observations and comparisons over the years, I have come to a conclusion.
Even if a spell is of a high level or great power, if the spiritual field's grade is not high enough, the spell's effect will still not last ideally.
When the same type of third-tier spiritual herbs are planted in second-tier top-grade and third-tier low-grade spiritual fields respectively, and cultivated by the same spiritual farmer using the same methods, the rate at which the herbs age will differ significantly.
Since cultivators in the Western Continent do not occupy high-level spiritual veins, the upper limit for each force is limited to the Golden Core level, or even lower.
Taking the Golden Spirit Sect as an example, Chaoyang Peak has numerous spiritual vein nodes, which should theoretically be able to support the cultivation needs of many cultivators.
To accommodate the cultivation needs of the two Golden Core Ancestors, the spiritual energy from many spiritual vein nodes was drawn away by the formation and gathered in the Ancestors' cave dwellings.
Even if a cultivator obtains a heaven-defying opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, a third-grade low-level spiritual vein cannot meet the needs of daily cultivation.
Deep within the Ten Thousand Mountains, there is said to be a spiritual vein of four levels, the territory of a great demon in human form.
"The situation in the sect is much better than before. Originally, the main spiritual vein was only of the second-tier top grade, which limited the cultivation time of many fellow disciples in the Chaoyuan stage."
A look of reminiscence crossed Han Yan's eyes. Not only was the cultivation of cultivators insufficient, but the growth of spiritual herbs was also completely unable to sustain the sect's disciples.
Many of the products from the Refining Hall and the Beast Taming Hall are traded with Fallen Maple Valley in exchange for pills that can enhance cultivation.
The sect's treasure vault is mostly empty.
She changed the subject and chuckled:
"After saying so much, I've forgotten the important matter. I wanted to ask, junior brother, are the longevity peaches in the dojo ripe yet?"
She was aware that second-tier longevity peaches had been cultivated in Crimson Flame Peak.
"Not yet. The fruit only started to grow two years ago, and it will take another three years for it to mature."
Last time the longevity peaches ripened, I handed them over to the sect in exchange for minor merit points. Didn't Senior Sister get any?
The second-grade medium-quality longevity peach has a fruiting period of five years, and each tree only produces about twenty fruits to ensure sufficient medicinal efficacy.
Han Yan waved her hand and said:
"The sect directly commissioned me to refine all the longevity peaches into longevity pills. I don't have any need for these kinds of pills for the time being, so I didn't exchange them."
A few days ago, an old friend asked me for a longevity pill. I owed her a lot of favors, so I readily agreed.
Unexpectedly, after going to the treasure pavilion, I learned that the longevity pills had already been exchanged by my fellow disciples.
"Junior brother, do you have any extra longevity peaches left? If so, I'd like to ask you to trade one for me; I'll owe you a favor."
It's hard to repay favors, and her old friend urgently needed the money, so she could only do her best to help.
“Yes,” Ji An said, taking out a wooden box with a spirit-sealing talisman affixed to it and handing it over.
Since obtaining the Void Stone pendant, he has taken out a portion of all the supplies he had from the warehouse and carried them with him.
The void space is so vast; it would be a waste to leave it empty.
Han Yan reached out her slender, jade-like hand to take the box, tore off the sealing talisman, and opened it. Inside, a pink peach, as big as two of her fists, lay quietly.
Like a jade carving, it has a warm luster and a faint fruity fragrance that invigorates the spirit.
After inspecting it, she reattached the sealing talisman to the box, a smile spreading across her face, revealing her pearly white teeth:
"Thank you, junior brother. If you ever need any help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."
With the main ingredient of the Longevity Pill in hand, it will be much easier to gather the other spiritual herbs.
"Senior sister has a wide network of connections. In the future, you can ask your friends to help me collect all kinds of rare spiritual seeds, preferably spiritual tree seeds."
Ji An didn't care about this small favor and casually suggested a solution for the other party to repay the favor.
When a favor is transferred from one person to another, it has already lost much of its value.
Han Yan covered her mouth and laughed, "Hehe, Junior Brother is going to make Crimson Flame Peak the training ground with the most complete variety of spiritual wood in the sect!"
She stopped smiling, and her expression turned serious:
“Junior brother’s actions will benefit all disciples in the sect. I will mobilize friends outside the sect to help.”
I'll use elixirs to pay off this debt later, is that alright?
"sure."
At dusk, at the stone house at the foot of Chiyan Peak.
The light on the teleportation array distorted for a moment, and after a flash of light, Ji An appeared on it. He activated the magic restriction and stepped out of the stone house.
As was his habit, he flew towards the cold pool on a cloud. Suddenly, he noticed that the air was different from usual, and the sky was brighter than before.
Looking back with suspicion, he saw that half of the setting sun had already sunk behind the distant mountains, but the golden-red mist above Crimson Flame Peak was still billowing.
After a brief moment of surprise, he burst into laughter. Normally, the vigorous metal and fire energy from half an hour ago should have subsided.
This is a sign that the enhancement of the Crimson Flame Peak's spiritual veins is nearing completion, four or five years earlier than Senior Brother Chu Huaige had predicted.
After the spiritual veins are upgraded, those spiritual plants with the potential to be upgraded to the second-tier top-grade level should be able to be cultivated one after another.
He immediately took out several golden communication swords, recorded the good news into them, and then activated them to notify Zhu Xiangrong, Jia Yu, several senior brothers including Zhang Zizhao, as well as senior sister Ge Luoying and Ancestor Zhengyang.
If Crimson Flame Peak erupts, Zhu Xiangrong and Jia Yu will be present. After the spiritual veins are upgraded, the spiritual items submitted for renting the sect's spiritual fields will need to be recalculated, so the Diligent Work Hall needs to be informed.
Two weeks later.
The golden-red mist atop Crimson Flame Peak reached a height of twenty feet, accompanied by billowing black smoke and sparks flying everywhere.
At the foot of the mountain, the sound of bubbling in the cold pool was incessant, with bubbles rising in strings, as if the water were boiling.
The normally clear water was now murky, with black mud and various decaying substances churning at the bottom of the pool, giving it a foul stench.
Ji An sighed inwardly, wondering what kind of filth might be hidden beneath the surface of some prosperity.
A spirit boat landed, and Zhu Xiangrong and Jia Yu were the first to leap out, followed by more than a dozen disciples.
A complex look flashed in Zhao Lei's eyes. When he first came to Crimson Flame Peak, Ji An's cultivation level was far lower than his.
He has only just broken through to the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, while the other party is already a cultivator in the Chaoyuan stage, and is on equal footing with his master.
After exchanging pleasantries with everyone, Ji An began to speak:
"Senior brothers, let's move to the bamboo grove over there. The smell here is a bit bothersome."
The stench wasn't strong, but its persistent odor was quite unpleasant.
Jia Yu nodded, holding up his wine gourd, and said:
"Let's go quickly, this is ruining the drinking mood!"
Zhu Xiangrong waved his hand and instructed his disciples:
"Spread out along the mountain peaks and wait for the volcano to erupt."
This morning, Chu Huaige came to check the condition of the earth veins and informed him that the eruption of Crimson Flame Peak would occur between midnight tonight and tomorrow morning.
He arrived early with his disciples, preferring to be there sooner rather than later.
"Yes, sir," the disciples responded, manipulating the magical artifacts to disperse.
The three arrived at the bamboo forest, where the air was much fresher and carried the unique fragrance of the Qingling bamboo.
Jia Yu took a swig of wine and said with a smug look:
"After the spiritual veins of Crimson Flame Peak are upgraded, the earth vein nodes within a radius of dozens of miles will also benefit, and the concentration of spiritual energy will increase significantly."
He lowered his voice and said mysteriously:
"Junior brother, the ancestor has already given the order that after the spiritual veins here are upgraded, the Diligent Work Hall will send people to survey the condition of the spiritual vein nodes and proceed directly to the next round of upgrades."
The ancestor's intention is to upgrade the ley line grade of the main spiritual vein node and several secondary nodes of Crimson Flame Peak to the highest level of the second tier!
The thriving scene at Crimson Flame Peak convinced the patriarch to upgrade the grade of the spiritual vein, and he did not rule out the possibility of upgrading it to the third grade in the future.
Ji An's eyes lit up, and he laughed excitedly:
"I will certainly not let down the ancestor's kindness."
A second-tier top-grade spiritual vein node can barely support the daily cultivation of a Golden Core cultivator in the early stage!
Zhu Xiangrong sighed enviously and said:
"The patriarch has high expectations for his junior brother, no less than for junior brother Li Haoran."
Jia Yu tilted his head back and took another sip of wine:
"Why are you sighing, Senior Brother? You should be happy. With the eruption of Crimson Flame Peak this time, Junior Brother Lin won't have time to come and grab resources."
Lin Qiubai was busy expanding his divine palace and rarely went out, so he was unaware of the impending eruption of Crimson Flame Peak.
Zhu Xiangrong grinned and said:
"Haha, that's really good news!"
Before he could finish speaking, Ji An saw a silver line appear from the clouds on the horizon, followed by the sound of a sword's cry that seemed to explode with thunder.
(End of this chapter)
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