Chapter 375 The Second Plan
After a moment, Ji An calmed his excited emotions and gave the order again:
"Refine all the earth-elemental Daoist essences to enhance your own earth-elemental Daoist seed."
He wanted to see if he could obtain another high-grade Dao seed.
His inspiration rapidly diminished, and he gained a deeper understanding of the Dao of Earth, but his Earth Dao Seed did not advance to the superior grade.
"Oh, so close!"
Ji An shook his head. He guessed that it was just a little bit lacking in Daoist essence. If he could obtain a high-grade Ji Earth Daoist seed, it would be of greater help to the planting.
Unfortunately, bad luck struck.
He strode out of the cave, which was heavily protected by magic, making it impossible to pass through using earth-遁 (earth-遁术, a type of magic that allows one to escape through the cave).
He rode a cloud to the top of Crimson Flame Peak, intending to thoroughly test the differences brought about by the superior-grade Dao Seed.
The moon hangs like a hook at this moment, and the mountain wind is chilly.
Ji An changed the hand seals in his hands, releasing a golden light technique.
The moon's blade reflected a clear light, and the silvery radiance silently disappeared into the black stone, without uttering a sound or dissipating any magical intent; all the meaning was contained within.
The speed is 20% faster than before, and the original golden light has now become as cold and beautiful as the moonlight in cold water.
"I prefer gold to silver!"
He couldn't help but grin, feeling even more imposing as the gold shone brightly.
He walked to the spot where the magic had penetrated the rocks, and extended his divine sense to sense its depth, his eyes revealing horror.
It was over seven feet tall! Moreover, the Dharma of withering away of all things lingered over the entire cut.
The cut may appear smooth, but the internal structure has actually been damaged.
Such attack power would be as easy as cutting through melons and vegetables to deal with Yuan-stage demonic beasts! The same goes for cultivators!
Most importantly, the increased speed makes it less likely for enemies to dodge.
Ji An stood up with renewed vigor, pinching the Gengjin Spirit-Slaying Sword with two fingers together.
Countless silver flying swords gleamed in the moonlight, their flight resembling the shimmering surface of water.
A glint flashed in his eyes as the flying swords plunged into the rocks, spreading a dense aura of deathly stillness.
He had accepted the fact that the golden flying sword had turned silver, and in the Five Elements, the metal element is also represented by white.
Ji An extended his divine sense and was overjoyed to find that the flying sword had penetrated a foot into the rocks.
When a crossbow is at its strongest, it can no longer pierce even the finest silk. It may seem like it has only increased by three feet, but the destructive power it contains has more than doubled!
He was confident he could win if he were to fight Li Haoran again.
During the last battle, the speed of his Gengjin Zhanling Sword was not much different from the speed of his opponent's sword escape. Now, his magical flying sword will definitely be able to catch up with his opponent.
With the current attack power of magic, even a glancing blow will result in death, or at least a broken arm or leg.
A dog that bites doesn't bark, and the divine intent of a spell doesn't leak out. Unless a cultivator's spiritual sense perceives the hidden danger, it can still become a weapon for scheming!
"good!"
Under the moonlight, Ji An stood with his hands on his hips, laughing wildly like a night owl, giving him a villainous air.
When he goes out to gather qi, he is fearless unless he encounters a Golden Core cultivator who tries to rob him.
Even if three or five cultivators at the Chaoyuan stage attacked him at once, he would not be afraid.
I laughed triumphantly, and laughed triumphantly again, raising my cup and singing to seize the day!
Ji An hummed a tune from the depths of his memory, rode on a fiery cloud, and returned to his cave as if drunk.
The night wind was chilly, but it couldn't extinguish the burning passion in my heart.
The next day at dawn, Ji An stepped out of the cave.
The waning moon faded in the sky, and the distant mountains lay prostrate like black behemoths.
He was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night, but there wasn't even a trace of fatigue on his face.
If one possesses a weapon, the desire to kill will naturally arise.
He now wants to travel around and encounter some cultivators who will jump out and let him display the divine power of the metal element magic!
Ji An shook his head abruptly and muttered:
"No, this mindset won't work, it's a bit chaotic!"
At this moment, he was in a state of false arrogance and couldn't calm down at all.
Fiery clouds rose from beneath his feet, and he rode the clouds down the mountain to the stone house where he had previously drawn talismans.
He pushed open the door and stepped inside. He removed the cover from the luminous pearl on the wall, took out the Autumn Toad Leaf Jade Brush Washer from the cabinet, and filled it with water using the Little Cloud Rain Technique.
He then took out a very ordinary, half-worn talisman brush, leaned over the table, and dipped it in water to draw talismans.
He recalled the methods of drawing talismans, including the Geng Metal Talisman, Water Curtain Talisman, Golden Armor Talisman, Exploding Flame Talisman, and Exploding Talisman, and continued to draw them on the table.
After more than half an hour, Ji An finally felt his mind calm down.
He exhaled and placed the talisman brush on the brush washer, only to realize that the water inside was almost dry.
It is said that Golden Core cultivators who wish to break through to the Nascent Soul stage must refine their hearts amidst the mortal world; however, it is unclear what they are refining.
Ji An pondered for a moment, then walked out of the stone house with his hands behind his back.
Zhang Cuihua was guarding the door. Upon seeing him come out, she immediately said:
"Grandmaster, I saw you were busy and didn't dare to disturb you. Breakfast is ready, shall I serve you some?"
She got up early this morning and went to the kitchen. She saw light in the house and saw her master drawing talismans inside. So she prepared his meal.
"Alright, I'm hungry today since I haven't had any appetite. Take your breakfast to the stone table by the pool."
Ji Anmei savored the last sip of wine, and as he looked up, he caught a glimpse of a flash of light in the sky, and three cultivators descended gracefully from the heavens.
"Hurry up and get ready," he ordered, then stepped forward hastily, cupping his hands in greeting.
"Greetings, three senior brothers!"
Jia Yu sniffed and said:
"What a rich aroma of wine! Junior brother, give me five hundred catties of mid-grade pine nut wine, and put it on the tab!"
As he spoke, he uncorked the gourd and handed it out.
The two reached an agreement to settle the drinking debts once a year.
"Senior brother's nose is really sharp!"
Ji An took the gourd and called his disciple over, saying:
"Songtao, five hundred catties of second-grade pine nut wine, hurry back."
"Yes, sir," Wei Songtao said and quickly left.
Zhang Zizhao laughed:
"Looking down from the sky, the density of second-tier spiritual plants in Crimson Flame Peak has increased significantly. One day, Junior Brother's training ground will surely become the richest area in the sect!"
The ancestor has now indicated his intention to upgrade the spiritual veins here, so Junior Brother Ji will surely be able to cultivate top-grade spiritual trees in the future.
Spiritual plants of this caliber can be considered part of a sect's foundation.
Jia Yu grinned, "Crimson Flame Peak is already the most prosperous area. It has more high-grade spirit trees than Sunrise Peak."
After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Chu Huaige said:
"Junior brother, we'll need you to accompany us on a trip to investigate the current state of the spiritual vein nodes in this area."
With the master by his side, he can better understand the future arrangements and make targeted adjustments to the magic array.
"It is only right, please, senior brother."
Ji An said, then turned and added:
"Senior Brother Jia, please excuse me. If you need anything, please feel free to ask your disciples."
"With the Spirit Wine, I have no other needs."
Six hours later, Ji An and the others returned to the living room by the cold pool.
Chu Huaige found a quiet place by himself and studied how to use magic arrays to improve the grade of spiritual veins.
Half an hour later, Chu Huaige entered the living room and said in a deep voice:
“I have two plans. The first is to incorporate the newly added spirit fields into the magic array. However, there is a downside to doing this: as the area expands, it will be several times more difficult to upgrade the grade of the spirit veins.”
The second option is to maintain the area size before Crimson Peak, which would make the upgrade much simpler.
What's your choice, junior brother?
Ji An pondered for a moment and said:
"I choose the second option, but we'll expand the area to its proper size after the spiritual veins are upgraded. What do you think, Senior Brother?"
Only children make choices; he wants it all.
By upgrading the spiritual vein to the highest level as quickly as possible, the stone turtle can absorb more spiritual energy.
Chu Huaige shook his head and said in a muffled voice:
"There is no compromise between these two options. Choosing the first option means enduring a long wait, while choosing the second option means giving up a larger area."
If my junior brother chooses the second option, I will use a magic array to bind the spiritual energy and cut off the extension of the spiritual vein.
The ley lines of the newly added spirit fields on the outskirts will slowly wither and eventually disappear completely.
You can't have your cake and eat it too; there are very few things in the world that are perfect in every way.
Ji An scratched his head, pondered for a moment, looked at Zhang Zizhao, and said:
"Senior Brother Zhang, what do you think? I still prefer the second option."
He couldn't tolerate waiting any longer.
However, he also knew that his idea needed the sect's approval.
The dojo belongs to him, that's true. The other spiritual fields are rented by the sect. He doesn't have the final say; he can only express his demands for the sect's reference.
Zhang Zizhao thought for a moment and then asked:
"If we choose the second option, how long will it take to upgrade the spiritual vein to the top grade?"
Chu Huaige silently calculated for a moment before replying:
"Under the best-case scenario, I expect it to take at least thirty-five or thirty-six years."
If the first option is chosen, the timeframe will be over two hundred years.
"How can there be such a big difference?"
Zhang Zizhao was very surprised, as were the others; the difference was too great.
Chu Huaige sighed, a look of helplessness on his face:
"Sometimes it may seem like the distance is only a few feet, but the spiritual energy that the ley line node needs to transport can be several times greater."
"There's no other choice, let's go with the second option."
Zhang Zizhao made a decision: if the interests of the sect were to be maximized, the first option would be the best.
But if you choose the first option, Junior Brother Ji will be over three hundred years old in two hundred years.
Last night, the patriarch sent him a message via a golden sword, revealing his desire to upgrade Crimson Flame Peak to a third-tier spiritual vein. It turned out that Junior Brother Ji had cultivated a second-tier top-grade spiritual peach.
If the first option is chosen, the ancestor will not live to see the day when Crimson Flame Peak is cultivated into a second-tier top-grade spiritual vein.
If Junior Brother Ji hadn't broken through to the Golden Core stage, he wouldn't have lived to see the day when Crimson Flame Peak was cultivated into a third-tier spiritual vein.
Jia Yu took a sip of wine and echoed:
"The second option is better. By cultivating higher-level spiritual plants sooner, the sect can benefit sooner."
The first method is too greedy. Although it's the best in the long run, the impact of human factors on the plan still needs to be considered.
In his view, if not many Spirit Farmers at the Chaoyuan stage are born in the sect, choosing the first option would result in the embarrassing situation of getting nothing in the end.
No matter how vast the spiritual fields are, without Junior Brother Ji's participation, it is impossible to cultivate more high-level spiritual plants.
Otherwise, the sect's accumulated wealth over so many years wouldn't be so meager.
(End of this chapter)
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