Chapter 123: Glazed Gold and Jade Bone Body
Ye Changqing looked out of the house, his gaze distant:
"I really envy you guys, you've caught up with such a good time."
Upon hearing this, Ji An understood what the other party meant, realizing that the sect's cultivation of spiritual veins was nearing its end.
Looking back, I realized that the sect's mandatory missions had been in place for fourteen or fifteen years.
According to the master, cultivating a spiritual vein takes one or two decades to succeed, and it is indeed time to reap the rewards.
Once this spiritual vein is upgraded to the third-grade low-level, the prices of various spiritual items will inevitably drop rapidly.
"Senior brother, please have some tea first."
Ji An walked out and said in a low voice:
"Fellow Daoist Liang, could you please prepare a feast of spirit fish, along with some fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, and make sure the flavors are mild?"
“Okay,” Liang Qiu replied and left.
Ji An found some bowls and plates, filled them with roasted pine nuts, and went back, saying:
"It's almost noon, senior brother, stay and have a cup of wine."
I asked my senior brother Du to brew some pine nut wine, and judging by the time, it's ready to be opened.
Ye Changqing laughed heartily:
"Haha, my junior brother saw right through all my little schemes."
I'm getting old, I've lost my fighting spirit, and I now enjoy refined and delicious food. Please excuse my poor taste.
"The road to enlightenment is long and arduous; who can reach its end? Senior brother's current life is, in a way, quite wonderful."
Half an hour later, Liangqiu had already prepared a feast.
Ji An poured the pine nut wine; the liquid was amber in color, golden and clear, with a faint fragrance wafting through the air.
The two drank and chatted happily, without mentioning anything else.
After a hearty meal, Ye Changqing drank a few cups of spiritual tea and returned home satisfied.
Ji An returned to the stone house, pondering the matter of Crimson Flame Peak.
With the outbreak of the demonic calamity, he will surely receive various missions in the future.
In the conventional sense, Lingnong is not good at fighting, but his cultivation level is high enough that he inevitably receives tasks such as guarding strongholds and controlling magic arrays.
If Crimson Flame Peak erupts just when they happen to be on a mission, Huang Feihu and his men will inevitably learn of its secrets.
Furthermore, given his current demeanor, the Chen family might secretly expose the matter.
The matter will be exposed sooner or later. He has already gained enough benefits, and it is time to find a suitable time to report to the sect.
Second-grade high-quality spiritual items are too rare to be purchased with spirit stones, which is why he became greedy; otherwise, he would have reported the matter to the sect long ago.
After careful consideration, Ji An decided to first find an opportunity to sound out his master's opinion.
As the sun slowly set, the golden-red mist on Crimson Flame Peak fell into the mountainside.
Ji An walked to the edge of the cold pool to check on the growth of the medicinal herbs.
When planting the spiritual herbs needed for the Qi Refining stage, the herbs are sown directly, all weeds are cleared away, and the spiritual field belongs exclusively to the herbs.
As the medicinal herbs being cultivated become more and more advanced, this method becomes unsuitable; simply having sufficient spiritual energy is not enough to cultivate medicinal herbs that grow exceptionally well.
At his feet were several Flame Flowers. This kind of medicinal herb needs to grow alongside Seven Star Vine to accumulate medicinal age more efficiently, while the Seven Star Vine can also be nourished by the Flame Flowers. It's a mutually beneficial thing.
Cultivating high-level medicinal herbs requires establishing a suitable ecosystem for their growth, which greatly tests the knowledge accumulated by the spiritual farmer.
Experienced spiritual farmers carefully observe the surrounding environment and what spiritual plants are growing nearby when transplanting spiritual herbs that have never been cultivated in the wild.
Fortunately, he found a good teacher and directly obtained a lineage. As long as he studied step by step, he could cultivate several hundred kinds of high-level spiritual plants.
When casting spells on elixirs, one must consider not only the needs of the main elixir but also the needs of the accompanying elixirs.
Ji An's hand seals shifted, creating a blur in the air, while countless points of crystalline green light surged with a vibrant energy.
He controlled the rhythm of the spell, dispersing more wood-elemental spiritual energy near the flame flower.
Nourished, the flame flower released pollen resembling sparks from its stamens, and a mist of shimmering light descended.
The Seven Star Vine, which had been lying prostrate on the ground, slowly straightened up. The orange-red spots on the vines shimmered in the spiritual mist, like a group of fireflies dancing lightly.
Walking clockwise around the cold pool, Ji An checked the growth of the other medicinal herbs.
This was a routine task; he had to check it every three to five days. The medicinal herbs grown here were quite precious, so he couldn't be careless.
Several clumps of powder appeared on the branches of a Moon-Eclipse Tree. He probed into them with his divine sense and discovered that they were a group of pests that had entered.
Tiny golden insects, no bigger than lice, were feasting inside the tree's heartwood, gnawing at the spirit wood and devouring the sap, completely unconcerned about his probing.
A faint chill appeared on Ji An's lips. He made a hand seal to activate the Sharp Metal Technique, and specks of golden light shot out from his fingertips. In the next instant, all the pests perished in the heart of the tree.
This pest has a domineering name: the Golden Longhorn Beetle. It specializes in gnawing on the heartwood of high-grade spirit trees.
Despite their small size, they have a relatively thick shell, and ordinary farmers don't have many effective ways to deal with them. They can only try to repel the insects by injecting medicinal liquid into the heartwood of the tree, but that method is slow to take effect.
Ji An is now wielding golden light that can penetrate the bark and wood to reach the heart of the tree, thus precisely killing pests.
At the same time, because the golden rays are extremely small, the damage they cause to trees is negligible, making it an excellent method for pest control.
If Ling Nong's mastery of the Sharp Metal Technique is insufficient, the golden light he unleashes will be unable to penetrate the Golden Heavenly Bull's hard armor.
After completing the tour, it was dinnertime, and Liangqiu had already set out the food and dishes.
After Ji An sat down, he picked up his chopsticks and smiled:
"Eat together, eat together."
Everyone got to work, and after a while, Liang Qiu stopped and said softly:
“Fellow Daoist Ji, in a few years, I will be able to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill I exchanged.”
I plan to immediately go into seclusion to attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and I may not stay here for long.
By the time I received the Foundation Establishment Pill, I was already forty-six years old; I couldn't wait any longer.
There was a hint of reluctance in his tone. He felt quite comfortable living here, and he estimated that his quality of life after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage would not be as good as it is now.
"I received the Foundation Establishment Pill in the same batch as Fellow Daoist Liang, and I am also preparing to immediately go into seclusion to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. We need to find other disciples to take over our mission."
Huang Feihu said that many years ago, Fellow Daoist Ji mentioned recruiting people to assist them, but the matter was never brought up again.
Ji An swallowed his food, nodded, and said:
"The time for parting will come soon. Well, let me first send my blessings and wish you both success in your Foundation Establishment."
"After this year, do you have any reliable candidates to recommend to me?"
In another six months, the day of the eruption of Crimson Flame Peak will arrive again. We will reap the benefits one last time and then report the matter to the sect.
Huang Feihu scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said:
"Thank you for your care over the years. I may have to wait one or two years after I reach the Foundation Establishment stage to repay you for the spirit stones I borrowed in exchange for Foundation Establishment Pills."
After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, he needed to choose a cave dwelling to exchange for cultivation techniques and spells, and also needed to set up a magic array for the cave dwelling. He felt that the spirit stones he had saved up over the years might not be enough.
"Haha, I'm not in a hurry. After Foundation Establishment, it's time to use spirit stones."
Ji An laughed and said that many cultivators do not have enough spirit stones to hold a celebration after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.
He paused, then shook his head and sighed:
“Cultivators may seem to have long lifespans, but cultivation knows no time. Everyone gets busy to improve their cultivation or for other reasons. I hope we can still have time to visit each other more often in the future.”
The day of the demonic calamity is drawing ever closer, and decades from now, some people may never see each other again.
He brushed away the faint sadness that welled up in his heart, took out a jar of pine nut wine, and smiled:
"Come on, let's drink and be merry while we can, and have a drink with our two fellow Daoists."
Huang Feihu hurriedly got up and took the wine jar, while Liang Qiu ran to get the wine cups.
The bright moon shines, a gentle breeze ripples the cold water of the forest, robes flutter lightly, and the three of them raise their cups together, drinking to the full moon.
Three months later, at dusk.
Ji An picked the ripe apricots, gathered thirty-six, and put them into the fruit basket skillfully woven by Liang Qiu.
Half a month ago, he sent a message to his master via a talisman to inquire about his well-being and learned that the master had some free time these past few days.
It has been ten years since we last met, and this time I must bring a generous gift.
He summoned the two beasts, put them into his spirit beast pouch, and then instructed Huang Feihu and the other man:
"I will go to Ningcui Cliff to pay my respects to my master tomorrow. You all keep the magic array closed and do not go out."
"Don't let anyone in, no matter who shouts. We'll discuss everything when I get back."
"Yes, ma'am."
Huang Feihu agreed, but he was somewhat confused about the situation. He sensed something ominous in the other party's explanation.
It's as if the Crimson Flame Summit has been attacked, but which force in the entire Western Continent would dare to attack the Golden Spirit Sect's mountain gate?
Not only him, but Liang Qiu also showed a thoughtful expression. Such an explanation was indeed illogical.
The next day at dawn, Ji An stepped out of the cave.
The surroundings were silent, and there was a slight chill in the air. The jungle at the foot of the mountain resembled a crouching wild beast, giving off an eerie feeling.
He summoned his flying shuttle, and a streak of light took off amidst the fading moonlight.
He used a magic hand seal to open the portal to the restriction, and after flying out of Crimson Flame Peak, he quickly activated the restriction again.
Ji An identified the direction and headed towards Lingxiao Mountain.
The journey was long, and even though he activated the shuttle's high-speed flight mode, it was already noon when he arrived at Lingxiao Mountain.
He hurriedly entered the Transmission Hall and bowed to the guarding cultivator:
"Senior brother, I'd like to choose a relatively quick body-refining technique. Do you have any recommendations?"
With his various spells reaching the pinnacle, he now has more free time.
In the future, you can rely on refining spiritual energy to practice spells and develop a body-refining technique, which will further increase your survival ability.
"Body tempering?"
The cultivator glanced at him and said indifferently:
"If you have a good amount of spirit stones, I recommend that you exchange them for the Golden Jade Bone Body technique. This technique is both internal and external, and it can be considered a top-quality technique even in Yuanhe Mountain."
The tricky way to cultivate is to refine various metal-element spiritual objects into the body, forming a layer of golden film on the body surface.
If life isn't too comfortable, then practice the Cloud Sand Body Refining Technique.
Many cultivators in the Law Enforcement Hall also practice body cultivation. As news of the impending demonic calamity gradually spread, many magic cultivators in the sect also chose to cultivate a body-refining technique as a side practice.
If one's physical strength and magical power are insufficient, body-refining techniques can save one's life in critical moments.
The sect was pleased with this outcome.
"Thank you for your guidance, senior brother."
Ji An thanked them and went to the cultivation method area to compare the Golden Jade Bone Body with several other body refining methods. He then decisively chose the Golden Jade Bone Body.
He handed over the cultivation technique jade slip and his identity jade token, saying:
"Please remove the restriction on the jade slip, senior brother, so I can copy the cultivation technique."
"Junior brother, what courage! Thirty thousand contribution points."
The technique is excellent, so the slightly higher price is reasonable.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com