Chapter 111 Immortal City Transaction
When we left Zizhu Mountain, half of the setting sun had already disappeared into the distant mountains.
The mountains resembled gilded Buddha statues, reflected in Ji An's eyes.
The brilliance was as fleeting as fireworks. As the last glimmer of light disappeared and the world merged into the night, the undulating mountains and forests seemed to transform into menacing demons.
The world hasn't changed, but with the alternation of light and darkness, it has become completely different in people's hearts.
The moonlight was slightly obscured by floating clouds, but the stars shone brightly. Ji An returned to Ningcui Cliff under the dim moonlight.
The banquet lasted from noon to dusk, so there was no need to prepare any more food. He used hand seals to break the magical barrier, returned to the bamboo house, and then sat on the futon to begin circulating his cultivation technique.
Cultivation is accumulated little by little through diligent practice day and night; there are no shortcuts.
Those cultivators with high aptitude refine spiritual energy much faster and rarely encounter bottlenecks, which is something to be envied.
The spiritual food and wine consumed were quickly refined, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was drawn in, slowly converging towards the bamboo building.
Spiritual energy flows through the immortal veins, and the Dao seed flickers with a faint light as the spiritual energy passes through, creating a wonderful sensation that flows through the body.
I learned from today's exchange that the Water and Wood element techniques are good at nourishing the immortal veins, and each meditation session takes a little longer than those using other techniques.
When Ji An opened his eyes again, it was already midnight.
At this moment, the moon hangs high in the sky, the clouds part and the moon shines brightly, and the clear, cold light seeps into the bamboo house through the window lattice, leaving silvery white spots on the wall.
The light was not strong, but it appeared extremely bright in the darkness.
Why does it feel like there's never enough time?
Ji An sighed softly. Seriously speaking, a day would pass in just a few meditation sessions.
After moving into the cave, we'll need to plant and maintain the spirit trees every day, and time will probably become increasingly tight.
He wondered when he could stop worrying about all these trivial matters and enjoy the sect's support so he could focus on improving his cultivation.
One must at least become a cultivator in the Chaoyuan stage to have any chance, or become a Golden Core ancestor of a sect to truly be free and unrestrained.
Shaking his head gently to dispel this unrealistic idea, Ji An took out the jade slip containing the Spirit Sealing Technique, placed it on his forehead, and silently recited the incantation several times.
He hadn't quite mastered the spell yet, but he wasn't in a hurry. There were still several months before transplanting the spirit fruit tree; he could take it slowly.
Now he spends 25 minutes on it every morning and evening, reciting the incantation several times before practicing. Although he has never succeeded in casting the spell, he makes some progress every day.
The difficulty of the spell lies in the need to sequentially activate the five elements of spiritual energy, and the connection between the spiritual energy cannot be flawed in the slightest, which places high demands on spiritual sense.
Ji An remained calm, continuously casting spells and correcting his mistakes. When the faint spiritual light containing five colors gathered in his hand and finally condensed into a form in the void, he finally awoke as if from a dream, and the Spirit Sealing Technique was complete!
The light slowly dissipated, as if it had never existed.
He closed his eyes, carefully recalling the spiritual energy fluctuations when he cast the spell. After a moment, his right hand formed a hand seal, his fingers flying and changing the magic seal, drawing mysterious trajectories.
The five colors of light—blue, red, yellow, white, and black—form a ring, their colors so light that they are like glass placed in clear water, almost imperceptible unless you look closely.
Ji An smiled, explaining that his mastery of basic magic relied entirely on his own comprehension and knowledge.
He focused his mind on his dantian, and the stone tortoise's shell shimmered with a blue light.
[Spell: Spirit Sealing Technique (Beginner 1%)]
He tried to give orders:
"Refine the spiritual energy to enhance the Spirit Sealing Technique."
"Without the dry spirit and the exchange spirit, one cannot improve one's understanding of magic."
Ji An felt relieved. As long as he could refine the spiritual energy to improve, he could make a big leap forward once he had accumulated enough spiritual energy.
Master once said that a basic level of spirit sealing technique is enough, so there is no need to improve it; one should use one's talents where they are most needed.
Ji An practiced the Sharp Metal Technique, Golden Armor Technique, and Explosive Flame Technique for a while longer before stopping and going to sleep after midnight.
He practiced his cultivation techniques to improve his skills, practiced spells, and visited the herb garden and spirit field every day. Half a month passed in a flash.
The talisman grass and green corn in the spirit field have been harvested. Under the care of the Foundation Establishment level planting spells, the growth cycle of these low-level spirit plants has been shortened by more than ten days.
The quality of the talisman grass has not improved compared to before, which means it has probably reached the limit of the species.
The yield of green corn has increased by 30%, the spiritual energy it contains has increased slightly, and the taste is even better than before.
Tomorrow is the day the sect's flying boat will depart for Qingyun Immortal City. After practicing his spells, Ji An sent a message via a communication talisman to Li Lingyu.
He moved a deck chair over and sat in the evening breeze, enjoying a moment of peace.
Ji An and his companion arrived at Qingyun Immortal City by flying boat. Now they enjoyed different treatment than before. They did not need to pay spirit stones and sat in the cabin chatting with the senior brother on duty.
The two first went to a weapon-refining shop to dispose of the first-grade high-quality flying sword, obtaining 180 spirit stones.
They split the spirit stones in half and walked out of the weapon-refining shop.
Li Lingyu weighed the storage bag in her hand and sighed softly:
"It's not that the practice of robbing cultivators is impossible to stop; look how much profit that cultivator from the weapon-refining shop has brought us!"
If all of them were sold for spirit stones, each person could get seven or eight hundred.
Once they've tasted the benefits, who would still be willing to honestly accumulate resources?
Ji An shook his head slightly:
"The feeling of getting something for nothing is addictive. Those who are good at swimming can drown, and those who are good at fighting can die. There will always be times when you make a mistake."
If all cultivators thought like that, the cultivation world would be in chaos.
Being able to uphold one's bottom line is, in my opinion, a process of self-cultivation.
We are the masters of power, not its slaves.
Only a stable order can ensure the world continues to move forward. Otherwise, if you kill me today and I kill you tomorrow, where will there be time to cultivate, let alone attain immortality?
"Hmph, they've even learned to preach now. I'm just making a comment."
If the cultivation world truly becomes a nakedly brutal world of survival of the fittest, then we will become sustenance for those in power. How would we be any different from demonic cultivators then?
Ji An chewed on the words 'demonic cultivator' and sighed inwardly.
Demonic cultivators are the common enemy of all living beings, including humans, demons, and ghost cultivators. They plunder the life force and soul of living beings, and in their eyes, all flesh and soul are resources.
The cultivation world has experienced several demonic calamities, causing far greater upheavals than the demonic disasters.
Faced with the demonic calamity, all forces put aside their hatred and joined forces to fight it, which shows the demonic calamity's infamous reputation.
"Come on, what are you daydreaming about? Come with me to buy some medicinal herbs."
“Let’s go, I’ll also buy some medicinal herbs to make a Lingzhi pill.”
Now that they've reached the Foundation Establishment stage, the level of their two Beast Taming skills also needs to be raised, otherwise they won't be able to keep up with my pace and will gradually be phased out.
The two browsed through the medicinal herb section and each bought some of the spiritual herbs they needed.
Then he went to the formation area and bought a set of the Inverted Five Elements Formation to protect his cave.
It was getting late, so the two went back to rest.
The next day, Ji An and his companion went to the talisman area, greeted the shops they were cooperating with, and suspended their cooperation.
Upon seeing him become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the shop owners offered their congratulations and expressed their hope for broader cooperation in the future.
"Congratulations! Brother Ji, you have successfully established your foundation at such a young age. Your future is limitless. We old folks are truly ashamed."
The disappointment in Pang Mingde's eyes flashed by. Although the other party was selling relatively obscure talismans, their craftsmanship was good, and they seemed to be selling in large quantities. They had cooperation with many shops and even had dealings with Baofu Pavilion.
He had once coveted this talisman maker, adding a little something extra to the spirit stones he provided, enabling him to pinpoint their location using a secret technique.
However, the other party never acted alone. When leaving, they always took the Jinling Sect's flying boat and never went to the small markets around the Immortal City, leaving him with no opportunity.
Later, when the other party entrusted someone else to handle the transaction, he thought the other party had noticed something, but when the monk who handled the transaction said that the other party was under house arrest because he had become a disciple, he was relieved.
When the cultivator who helped with the transaction left the immortal city, he rode a talisman bird. He thought it was an opportunity, but when he saw twenty or thirty disciples from the late Qi Refining stage traveling together, he realized that even if he wanted to help, he was powerless to do so.
Now that the opponent has reached the Foundation Establishment stage, while I am only at the second level, there will be no more opportunities.
“There will be opportunities to cooperate in the future,” Ji An smiled, then took his leave.
After walking quite a distance, Li Lingyu said:
"I always felt that the owner of this Ponzi scheme shop had a sinister air about him, and didn't seem like a good person."
Bao Fu Pavilion.
A maidservant served three cups of spiritual tea, and Yin Lingsu raised her hand in invitation:
"The presence of two fellow Daoists is an honor to our humble establishment. Please enjoy this cup of 'Green Snail Spring' tea."
"So, I was wondering why Fellow Daoist Ji has always had others handle his transactions these past few years. It turns out he's preparing for Foundation Establishment."
Her gaze lingered on the two people opposite her, and she nodded slightly.
In recent years, she has seen many young Foundation Establishment cultivators appear in the Golden Spirit Sect, and she secretly thought that the Golden Spirit Sect was showing signs of prosperity.
For major powers in the Western Continent, it's good to have strong allies, but too much strength is not a good thing.
The Golden Spirit Sect is now at a critical juncture in cultivating its spiritual veins. If they cultivate their spiritual veins to the third tier, they will certainly pose a threat to the status of Falling Maple Valley after the demonic calamity.
Li Lingyu picked up the teacup. The spiritual tea inside was as green and clear as jade, and a faint fragrance permeated the room.
She took a small sip and nodded, saying:
"The tea has a delicate aroma with a sweet aftertaste, making it a top-grade tea."
Ji An also picked up his teacup, took a sip, and echoed:
"Good tea."
He didn't receive this kind of treatment when he came to trade before.
After exchanging pleasantries, Yin Lingsu smiled and said:
"Fellow Daoist Ji just said that the trading is suspended, but you shouldn't have given up your talisman-making skills. I wonder when the trading will resume?"
Foundation Establishment cultivators can create first-grade and top-grade talismans. Due to the decrease in the number of talisman makers, high-quality talismans are even more scarce.
"The timing is uncertain. Even if trading resumes, I will likely continue selling mid-grade talismans."
Ji An shook his head slightly and said:
“Practicing magic takes time. If you cannot comprehend magic to a high level, the talismans you draw will have little power.”
No matter the time, if the quality of the talisman is poor, it will be difficult to make a profit, and may even result in a loss.
“That’s true,” Yin Lingsu agreed.
No matter how profitable an industry is, if a craftsman's skills are lacking, they won't be able to make a living and will face serious difficulties.
After chatting for a while, Ji An and the other person said goodbye.
He then went to the sect's weapon-refining shop and bought a flying shuttle magic weapon, two spirit beast bags, and a larger storage bag. Zhang Yuanshan didn't know how to refine these things, so he had to buy them from the sect's shop.
However, since we are from the same clan, I gave them a 5% discount.
(End of this chapter)
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