Chapter 116 Gengjin Dao Seed
Upon hearing the question, Wei Songnian gently shook his head and said:
"No, that won't happen. If we calculate the success rate of talisman makers at 60% out of 12,000 talismans, only 7,200 will actually be made."
The sect has never stopped its efforts to occupy strongholds in the wild. There are at least four or five thousand Qi Refining stage disciples who are actively hunting demons. It is common for each of these disciples to carry more than a dozen talismans.
The demand for talisman paper remains high. Although your previous talismans were good, they were relatively niche.
If it were something like Explosive Flame, there would be no need to worry about sales at all.
Talismans are consumables, and the amount consumed under the current circumstances is enormous.
Even with no significant increase in the number of spiritual farmers cultivating talismanic herbs within the sect, talismanic paper and talismanic seals remain in high demand.
Ji An was relieved, as long as it didn't affect the purchase of fish fry and the magic array:
"In order to cultivate better, I practice the Wood Element Technique."
When wood is abundant, fire flourishes. I've been practicing fire-based spells lately, and I'll set aside time each day to draw explosive flame talismans, which I'll then hand over to Fellow Daoist Wei for processing.”
He has mastered the Explosive Flame Technique to perfection. After several more months of arduous training, combined with refining spiritual energy, his spell will be able to break through to the perfect level in one fell swoop.
At that time, explosive flame symbols will be continuously drawn.
Wei Songnian's eyes lit up: "I really look forward to that day coming soon."
Mid-grade Explosive Flame Talismans are in high demand and short supply; as many as are produced, they can be sold. As sects occupy more strongholds, the shortage of talismans will become increasingly larger.
"I won't keep you waiting too long, fellow Daoist."
Ji An finished the spiritual tea in his cup and smiled:
"Fellow Daoists, you've had a long journey. Why don't you stay here tonight for a few drinks and experience the charm of Crimson Flame Peak at night?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking. Thank you for your hospitality, fellow Daoist."
Wei Songnian cupped his hands in greeting. The Wei clan of Xiaozhushan only occupied a first-grade high-quality spiritual vein, and he had never cultivated in a second-grade spiritual vein.
Ji An finished his cultivation and stepped out of the cave. He saw a full moon, clear and cold, reflecting his flying eyebrows and hair.
A gray lizard emerged from a crevice in the rock, beginning its hunt for the night.
The mountain is fiercely alive during the day, but only at night does a sliver of life appear on Crimson Flame Peak.
His gaze fell to the woods below the mountain, but his consciousness had already sunk into his dantian.
Within his dantian, the stone tortoise slowly circled and swam in the sea of magical power, just like a living being.
Ji An gazed at the increasingly spiritual stone tortoise, his thoughts wandering as he pondered the origins of this divine creature that had brought him to this world.
Now that he can travel through the world, could he possibly retrace his steps to return to his former homeland and see if anyone is still waiting for him there?
Thinking about these things now is too far off. After more than ten years of keeping watch over each other day and night, he only discovered three strange things about the stone tortoise.
He absorbed spiritual energy, refined spiritual energy, and once, when he was using all his strength to cast the Lesser Cloud and Rain Technique and his magic power was insufficient, the stone tortoise spat out a stream of spiritual energy to help him.
After a while, he gathered his thoughts and connected with the stone tortoise.
Like a drop of ink spreading in clear water, the ink forms lines of characters that appear in the mind.
[Master: Ji An]
[Taoist Rhyme: 0]
[Spiritual clues: Kan (坎) spirit 582.8, Gen (艮) spirit 557.6, Zhen (震) spirit 7.1, Xun (巽) spirit 43.2, Kun (坤) spirit 27.6, Qian (乾) spirit 38.7, Dui (兑) spirit 36.8, Li (离) spirit 46.4]
[Spell: Sharp Metal Technique (Perfect 92%)]
Golden Armor Technique (Minor Success Rate 94%)
After this period of accumulation, Gan Ling has been able to push the Sharp Metal Technique to the level of Great Perfection.
"Refine the spirit essence to enhance the Golden Armor Technique."
Good things should be saved for last, so he chose to refine the Spirit Exchange first.
The divine sense entered the mysterious space of the stone tortoise, transforming into a phantom image with its feet on the Dui position.
With each repetition of the spell, the dull golden light on the shadow flickered incessantly, and insights into the Golden Armor Technique flowed through his heart. When the Spirit Exchange was completely exhausted, the numbers for the Golden Armor Technique froze.
【Golden Armor Technique (Minor Success 94% → Major Success 5%)】
"Refine the dry spirit to enhance the Sharp Metal Technique."
The illusory image of the divine sense instantly moved to the Qian position, where the ground beneath its feet was much brighter than the Dui position.
Golden light flickered on Shadow's fingers, radiating a sharp aura. The last golden light surged from his fingertips and exploded in all directions.
That sharp and piercing aura vanished in an instant, but his world of consciousness was filled with golden light as bright as a galaxy, as if it had endured countless cuts from swords, and his senses had become numb.
[The Dao Seed - Sharp Edge Revealed (Unranked), hidden in the Taiyuan Cave, comprehends the true meaning of the Geng Metal Dao spell 'Indestructible,' slightly enhancing its comprehension of Geng Metal Dao spells.]
Ji An's consciousness returned to his body, and he instinctively gasped. This was the first time he had felt that refining spiritual energy was actually dangerous.
From this perspective, those cultivators who practice metal-element techniques are all ruthless individuals. The so-called "showing off one's sharpness" means having the spirit to go against thousands of people.
The nature of fire is also vigorous and domineering, and cultivators who practice fire-based techniques are not to be trifled with.
He raised his arm, golden light flashing at his fingertips. Upon looking at it, his divine sense immediately felt a cutting and piercing sensation.
The golden light, several times smaller than dust, was clearly made up of sharp blades.
With a "thud," the spirit lizard on the rock wall fell down, its body trembling as it crawled into a crevice in the rock.
Ji An chuckled. He himself was stung by the sharpness of the golden light. It was not shameful for a spirit lizard, which could barely be considered a demonic beast, to be frightened.
The spirit lizard was a harmless monster that was good at catching mosquitoes and keeping them clean, so he let it be and never drove it away or killed it.
With the fourth Dao Seed entering his body, Ji An felt a little more at ease.
The mysteries of the Five Elements are as deep as the sea, and they are mutually generating and restraining, but this simple sentence cannot express even a fraction of them.
Even cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage must comprehend its subtleties in order to combine the five elements with their own life force and forge an unparalleled golden elixir.
However, comprehending even one of the Five Elements takes a long time. According to records throughout history, cultivators who achieve the Golden Core often only comprehend two or three of the Five Elements. After achieving the Golden Core, they still need to spend a long time to complete and refine it to a perfect whole.
In a sense, what Ji An is doing now is preparing for the future, while also comprehending the path to indirectly confirm the divine meaning of the Way of Wood.
Crimson Flame Peak is a place where the five elements converge, and the time he needs to do so much is not much different from other cultivators who only specialize in one element.
Once ten Dao Seeds are condensed, one can try to experience the complete Dao of the Five Elements by harmonizing Yin and Yang.
Two months later, Crimson Flame Peak welcomed a group of guests.
Ji An invited all the familiar cultivators to attend his Foundation Establishment Ceremony, which was six months late.
When other cultivators in the sect successfully establish their foundation, they often hold a ceremony within a month to announce that they have entered the Foundation Establishment stage.
He was busy handling various matters at Crimson Flame Peak, and in addition, he attended Zhao Mengyao's ceremony a few days ago, so he wanted to avoid the time constraints and held his own ceremony only now.
Those attending the ceremony included four senior brothers and sisters from the Ningcui Cliff lineage, three disciples from the Qingsong Taoist Academy who had maintained contact with each other, including Zhang Yuanshan, Wei Songnian, Huang Feihu, and Liang Qiu.
The sky was like a white jade plate, and the ground seemed to be covered with a layer of frost.
Several luminous pearls hung on the bamboo, casting swaying shadows.
Du Huaiyuan raised his glass and laughed, "I've never participated in a Foundation Establishment Ceremony held at night before. It's truly a unique experience."
"Due to the limited conditions, we have no other choice."
Ji An shook his head and chuckled. During the day, his mind was sharp and intense, and even with the magic array blocking it, it wasn't a good time to entertain guests.
The foundation-building ceremony is a place to make connections. The air is filled with the aroma of wine and the table is laden with delicacies. More than ten people chat happily.
Zhang Yuanshan drank the wine in his cup and said:
"I have received a mandatory mission from the sect. In a few months, I will have to temporarily leave the sect and go to the newly established stronghold in the Hundred Thousand Mountains to oversee it for three years."
After the new stronghold is established, in order to maintain its operation, in addition to sending cultivators from the Law Enforcement Hall to guard it, the sect will also mobilize skilled talents such as weapon refiners, alchemists, and talisman makers to guard it.
Mu Qingwan nodded slightly and said:
“I also received a mandatory mission from the sect. I will be stationed in Redwood Ridge for three years in three months. I estimate that others will also receive similar mandatory missions one after another.”
Zhang Yuanshan laughed and said, "Haha, my mission location is also Redwood Ridge, so we can all look out for each other in the future."
If you know someone and move into the stronghold together, you can share resources. If the other person is an alchemist who cultivates fire-based techniques, it will be easier for you to buy pills to enhance your cultivation.
This is the significance of connections; it's easier to get things done when you know someone.
Li Lingyu blinked and said:
"Is it safe to move into the stronghold now? It is said that as we go deeper into the Ten Thousand Mountains, the stronghold is often attacked by the forces of monsters."
All eyes turned to Liu Yu, a cultivator from the Enforcement Hall who was familiar with the inside story.
Liu Yu coughed lightly and said:
"Let me first explain the sect's current basic strategy. We have been maintaining a pace of establishing strongholds in the wild, which requires a large number of cultivators to move in. Nearly half of the cave dwellings have been sold to independent cultivators."
We operate these outposts as marketplaces, with the sect only responsible for maintaining order.
The resistance encountered in establishing new strongholds is indeed getting greater and greater, and counterattacks from powerful monster organizations are also a frequent occurrence.
However, as long as a protective array is established at the new stronghold, safety can be guaranteed, especially for cultivators who do not need to participate in direct combat.
Without needing to be explicitly stated, everyone knew that the sect's strategy had changed, and they were now intentionally trying to bring more independent cultivators onto their side.
Once these independent cultivators have established their own businesses, their first thought when faced with a demonic calamity will not be to flee, but rather to fight for their own interests under the organization of their sects.
Liu Yu paused, then said:
"Just as Junior Sister Qingwan said, with the increase in new strongholds, a large number of tasks will be assigned to the new strongholds in the future, so everyone should prepare in advance."
“It’s over,” Ji An said, slapping his forehead in frustration.
Liu Yu smiled and said:
“Even if we are to establish a base, the sect will not send any spirit farmers there. Junior Brother Ji can stay in the sect with peace of mind.”
In order to attract more independent cultivators to their strongholds, the sects have very small spiritual fields, making it impossible to send Foundation Establishment stage spiritual farmers to manage them.
Ji An said:
"I am still a talisman maker, and I'm afraid I'll be receiving a lot of mandatory talisman-making tasks in the future."
For talisman makers who lack other ways to earn spirit stones, completing this kind of task is a cushy job, but for them, making a large number of talismans is a waste of time.
The magical power consumed in making talismans can be restored through meditation and cultivation, but it is much more difficult to make up for the physical energy consumed.
(End of this chapter)
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