Chapter 274 Preferential Treatment
Ji An knew what the earth dragon beast was talking about. Just now, the strange object hanging around his neck had emitted a spiritual energy and was absorbed by the stone turtle.
'Should we show the item to this great demon?'
He hesitated for a moment, but then dismissed the idea.
This wondrous object can generate Kunling energy for over a hundred years each year, which, over time, will amount to a huge harvest.
"How could I, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, possibly possess a treasure that Ancestor Yan would covet?"
"That's true, maybe I made a mistake."
The earth dragon shook its head, walked back to its original spot, and lay down again, pretending to sleep. "Keep your voices down!"
The aura it had just sensed was fleeting, and it wasn't entirely certain; it had encountered similar situations before.
Jia Yu suppressed a laugh and said softly:
"What brings you here today? Are you here to exchange for refined spiritual items again?"
"Yes, I'd like to exchange for some water-elemental spiritual items. Do you have a lot in stock?"
Ji An replied that there was Azure Dragon Wood in Crimson Flame Peak, and he had enough Xuanhuang Soil he had accumulated; he was only missing a water-elemental spiritual item.
“The inventory is sufficient,” Jia Yu said with a hint of melancholy.
This is a negative impact of the Azure Mist Secret Realm; suddenly there are nearly a hundred fewer cultivators who need to exchange for spiritual items, and the inventory has become plentiful.
If possible, sects would rather not have such abundant resources.
"Can I exchange more?"
"Can."
“Then I’ll exchange for three times the amount from last time,” Ji An handed over his identity jade token.
Jia Yu entered the secret vault and retrieved the spiritual item, deducting a small merit from the spiritual plate:
"24,916 minor merits remain."
Ji An checked the weight of the spiritual object and then said:
"Uncle-Master, what preferential treatment do top-tier disciples receive when exchanging Qi Cultivation Pills?"
Sects always give preferential treatment to outstanding disciples; even if they don't, they should try to find a way to earn it.
Rules are inanimate, but the monks who make them are alive.
“No,” Jia Yu shook his head. “The pills for breaking through to a higher realm involve too many things, and even top-tier disciples won’t get any discounts.”
Fifty thousand small merits, not a single one can be missing.
Unless you have exceptional talent, you must honestly and diligently submit the full amount of minor merit points to be eligible for the exchange.
"I heard that submitting the main medicine can reduce the need for minor treatments."
"Yes, what kind of main medicine do you have?"
Jia Yu's eyes showed suspicion. This disciple had not entered the Canglan Secret Realm, so how could he have obtained a way to get spiritual herbs?
Could it be the product of Ge Ying's private medicinal herb garden?
"Yes, I have some. I planted some in the medicinal herb garden on Crimson Flame Peak, and they are now a hundred years old."
Uncle-Master, think about it, I've only been cultivating these medicinal herbs for thirty years, but they're already a hundred years old.
"So, you want to use something from a hundred years from now to pay off this year's debt? No way!"
Kid, don't think you can talk nonsense just because we're close. I'm not senile yet.
Besides, it's still a long time before you need the Qi-Nourishing Pill; you have plenty of time to accumulate basic skills.
"Time is running out, Martial Uncle. I've already reached the eighth level of Foundation Establishment. At this rate..."
Jia Yu released his divine sense and swept it over Ji An, immediately understanding the other party's current cultivation level.
"How can you improve so quickly? Your current rate of improvement is not much weaker than that of a top-grade talent!"
He was very surprised; this was completely abnormal.
It's already a great fortune that the sect has produced one Li Haoran; how could it possibly produce another similar figure?
"I just cultivated normally, and the breakthrough happened naturally."
"Yes, while I was at Mingfeng Mountain, I comprehended the second level of the 'Transformation of Dharma Intent' realm, and my understanding of the cultivation technique also seems to have improved."
Ji An recounted what had happened at Lin Qiubai's cave.
Jia Yu pressed for details, finally looking at him with an expression as if he were a monster:
"Your understanding of the Green Wood Everlasting Spring Technique, which allows you to manifest the divine intent of the technique, surpasses the level expected of someone in the Foundation Establishment stage."
He frowned and pondered for a moment, then said:
"The Peiyuan Pill involves breaking through to the Chaoyuan stage, and I have no right to change the rules."
I will inform the Ancestor of your situation, and he will decide whether to grant you any additional preferential treatment.
"Thank you, Uncle-Master," Ji An bowed respectfully. "Man proposes, God disposes; whether it succeeds or not is up to fate."
By saying a few more words, I actually managed to secure an opportunity.
Jia Yu nodded and offered her suggestions:
“I see that your jade pendant has 100 major merits, which translates to 35,000 minor merits, a difference of only a little over 10,000 points.”
With so many second-tier spiritual plants on Crimson Flame Peak, the accumulation of minor cultivation points isn't slow. You can also borrow some spiritual items from various places to exchange for minor cultivation points, and pay them back slowly later.
"If that's the case, Uncle-Master, could you give me a clue on how many batches of Qi-Nourishing Pills the sect disciples brought back from the secret realm this time?"
"Based on past experience, we can refine three batches, which will result in a 60% success rate of producing four to six pills."
Ji An thought for a moment and asked:
"If I have enough merit points to exchange for Qi Cultivation Pills, will I be able to obtain the pills this time I open the furnace?"
"Let me check the sect's records," Jia Yu said, taking out his jade token and placing it on the spirit plate to read the exchange information. After a moment, he said:
“There are already five people ahead of you. If it weren’t for the accident in the Canglan Secret Realm, that number would have doubled.”
"Sects can't possibly rely entirely on the harvest from secret realms to refine Qi-Nourishing Pills, can they?"
"Of course not. The sect's medicine garden also grows medicinal herbs for the Qi-Nourishing Pill, but the spiritual herbs in the medicine garden will take about thirty years to mature before two more batches can be refined."
The spiritual fields at high-level spiritual vein nodes are extremely precious; those herb gardens are also used to cultivate spiritual herbs for cultivators in the Nascent Soul stage.
Ji An scratched his head, his heart filled with worry.
He couldn't wait until the next furnace opening, but even if he opened the furnace this time, he might not be able to exchange for the Qi-Nourishing Pill.
All we can do is pray that the alchemist performs exceptionally well and that we can accumulate enough minor merit points as quickly as possible.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the rising agitation in his heart:
"Thank you for your guidance, Uncle-Master. I'll go back and think of a way to quickly accumulate enough minor merit points."
"By the way, could you please provide me with a list of spiritual items that can be exchanged for minor merit points?"
Performing certain tasks can accumulate minor merits, but it's not suitable for him; there's a demon king watching him from outside the sect.
Jia Yu took out a jade slip and handed it over. He opened his mouth as if to say something comforting, but in the end, he didn't say anything.
Ji An took the jade slip, and the two went to the outside of the main hall together.
"Uncle-Master, what's Ancestor Yan doing here?"
He simply couldn't understand why the sect's guardian spirit beast would be sleeping soundly in the treasure pavilion.
Jia Yu explained:
“Yan Zu used to guard the secret vault, and I, who was outside, was just a figurehead.”
The demonic calamity is severe now, and Ancestor Yan frequently patrols the area around the sect to deter the demonic beasts.
Ji An suddenly realized that he had sensed an unusual aura in the secret vault before, and thought it was a change in the energy of the magic array. Now it seemed that it might have been the aura that the Rock Ancestor had unintentionally emitted.
He took out the flying shuttle, cupped his hands in greeting, and said:
"Uncle-Master, this disciple takes his leave."
After he left, Jia Yu took out a golden communication sword and activated it, sending golden light flying towards Yingyue Peak.
He wanted to verify the situation with Senior Brother Lin. Although he didn't think his disciple would lie, it was, after all, a matter to be reported to the Ancestor, so it was better to be cautious.
Half an hour later, a message flew back to the treasure pavilion via a golden sword.
Jia Yu carefully read Lin Qiubai's reply, organized the information, and sent the teleportation sword to the ancestor.
He quickly received the ancestor's approval:
Disciples are allowed to exchange minor merit points for cultivation pills on credit, but they must repay the debt within five years.
Furthermore, if the merchant ships from Central Continent arrive, you will be allowed to purchase a few Qi-Nourishing Pills using spiritual items for future use.
The ancestor is wise indeed. It seems he intends to use the sect's accumulated resources to cultivate more cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage.
Ji An piloted the flying shuttle back to Crimson Flame Peak. He held the seed-shaped object in his hand, wondering what kind of treasure it was that could attract the attention of the Rock Ancestor.
After pondering for a long time, I still couldn't figure it out.
He then hung the strange object around his neck, reminding himself that he should put the pendant away when he visited the treasure pavilion again.
Taking out the jade slip and placing it on his forehead, Ji An began to calculate how many minor merits he could exchange his possessions for.
I still have quite a few metal and fire elemental spirit items from Crimson Flame Peak, enough to exchange for about three thousand minor merits, but the shortfall is still considerable. It looks like I'll need to borrow some spirit items.
During dinner, two golden swords carrying messages arrived at the table one after the other.
Ji An was slightly taken aback. He caught the golden sword and, judging from the magical imprints, one came from his master and the other from his Uncle-Master Jia Yu.
He first checked his master's golden sword. "I still have some resources that can be exchanged for minor merits. You can come and get them when you need them. They can be exchanged for about five thousand minor merits."
However, this is the last thing I leave for Luo Ying; you will have to repay her for it later.
Ji An thought to himself:
'This is Master's last little stash of money; he's probably worried that the matter of the Qi-Nourishing Pill will affect my breakthrough to the Chaoyuan stage.'
He picked up Jia Yu's golden communication sword, his eyes flashing with golden light.
"Thank you, Ancestor!"
Since they allowed him to pay on credit, he immediately replied to his master:
"Thanks to the Ancestor's mercy, I can obtain the Qi-Nourishing Pill through other means. Master, please do not worry."
The golden sword, flashing with light, flew away from Crimson Flame Peak, like a joyful golden carp swimming in a large lake.
The next day, at dawn.
His biological clock, ingrained over many years, made Ji An wake up on time. He went to the cold pool, hastily ate his breakfast, and then rode away in his flying shuttle.
At the end of the Mao hour (5-7 AM), Ji An landed on the mountainside of Chaoyang Peak.
He looked at the tightly closed treasure vault and chuckled foolishly:
"You're early!"
He sat cross-legged at the entrance of the main hall and began to practice the Green Wood Everlasting Technique, not wanting to waste precious time.
As the cultivation technique was activated, the earth elemental energy from the earth and the wood elemental energy from the nearby spiritual trees were drawn in and entered his mouth and nose.
Centered on him, strange phenomena appeared on the ground, such as grass sprouting, growing, and withering.
Time passes, life flourishes and fades.
Jia Yu arrived above the treasure pavilion, looking somewhat dazed.
The manifestation of unusual phenomena in one's cultivation technique when under pressure is different from the natural manifestation of such phenomena during cultivation.
Clearly, this disciple has made progress in understanding the cultivation technique.
'Once he breaks through to the Chaoyuan stage, he should be able to open up the Mu Mansion very quickly! This is too painful!'
At this moment, Ji An was lost in thought, feeling as if he had transformed into a vast grassland.
Spring thunder rumbles and rain falls, life sprouts; summer heat brings lush growth; autumn winds bleak and life gradually withers; winter snow falls and life is buried deep in the earth.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com