Chapter 157 Purple Fire Gourd
Several cultivators from the Enforcement Hall turned their gazes toward the person behind Zhong Yue, for the key to the matter lay with the other two.
Based on their understanding of Zhong Yue, he could at least restrain a late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast for a short time, but to kill it would be difficult, almost impossible.
Could it be that the opposing team's two teammates possess extremely powerful offensive magical artifacts?
In theory, a cultivator in the early stages of Foundation Establishment who wields a top-grade magic weapon can effectively kill a late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast if the timing is right.
Han Qingshan felt embarrassed by the stares and subconsciously shrank his head.
Ji An remained calm and nodded in acknowledgment under the inquiring gaze.
Humans have a natural inclination to admire strength, and appropriately demonstrating one's abilities can earn more respect from others.
The monks from the Enforcement Hall immediately understood who had played the decisive role and responded with smiles.
Jia Yu took in everyone's performance. In his impression, Ji An was just a spirit farmer with considerable strength. He did not expect that the other party also had talent in combat.
He coughed, drawing everyone's attention to himself, and continued:
"Tomorrow we will split into two groups. One group will work with the Foundation Establishment cultivators to find the Black Wind Wolves hidden in the mountains. All teams that have not lost any Foundation Establishment cultivators will be included in this group."
Another team surveyed the terrain to locate the suitable spots for the formation.
After assigning the tasks, everyone dispersed.
Other cultivators from the Law Enforcement Hall came over to greet him, and Ji An responded to each of them, becoming familiar with them.
Back at the team's base, Zhong Yue said with high spirits:
"Tonight, make sure you recover your magical power and prepare well, because there might be a tough battle tomorrow."
Han Qingshan shook his head and said:
"We can't possibly surround the entire Mingfeng Mountain. Most of the clever wolf demons have already escaped tonight, so tomorrow's mission should be easy."
The daytime battle left him covered in dust and grime, but fortunately, it was only a gruesome sight; he was not injured at all.
Ji An said:
"Senior Brother Zhong, which weapon refiner made your gourd magic weapon?"
I found it quite mysterious and wanted one too.
Today's battle went quite smoothly. He didn't need to use any of the talismans in his storage bag, and he only used one jar of spirit wine to restore his mana.
Like Han Qingshan, he believed that tomorrow's battles should be easier, consisting of small, scattered engagements with little to prepare for.
"Senior brother has excellent taste!"
Zhong Yue took out his gourd magic artifact and showed it off:
"This is the Fire Cloud Gourd, a top-grade magic weapon that I asked Senior Brother Zhao Lei from the Refining Hall to refine. The engraved magical restrictions can nurture flames."
I happen to cultivate a fire-based technique, which allows me to store and nurture my own magical fire in normal times, releasing it all at once during battle.
The longer the flame is nurtured, the greater its power.
“Junior brother is probably not practicing a fire-based technique. If he wants to use the Fire Cloud Gourd, he will have to find the earth's fire veins to collect the earth fire, which will be quite troublesome.”
What a coincidence!
Ji An grinned and said:
“There happens to be a fire vein in my cave, so it’s not difficult to collect the earth fire.”
I'm fairly familiar with Senior Brother Zhao; I'll go talk to him when I get back to the sect.
It is fate that this magical artifact is destined for me!
Zhong Yue raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled:
"That would be best, but the main ingredient is a Purple Fire Gourd. If you want to refine it, you'll probably have to find the ingredients yourself."
He had heard his senior brother Zhao say that refining magical artifacts was not particularly difficult, but the raw materials were rare.
During a mission, he was fortunate enough to obtain a mature, top-grade Purple Fire Gourd, which enabled him to refine this top-grade magic artifact.
Ji An frowned slightly as he recalled the information about the Purple Fire Gourd.
This is a vine-type fire-elemental spiritual plant, most of which can only grow to the first-tier superior grade.
Unlike spirit trees, it is extremely difficult to cultivate these spirit plants to a higher level. Cultivation ability is one aspect, but the potential of the seed itself is also very important.
Only when both conditions are met can top-quality gourds be grown.
The Purple Fire Gourd grows in fire veins and has very strict requirements for its growing environment. Too much fire elemental energy is not good, nor is too little.
Most importantly, this kind of mediocre spiritual plant is not cultivated by the sect, and it is probably difficult to find seeds in the Diligent Work Hall.
Ji An scratched his head and asked:
"Senior Brother Zhong must have obtained the Purple Fire Gourd. Does he have any gourd seeds in his possession?"
Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice; without seeds to cultivate materials, the task of refining the Fire Cloud Gourd is a complete mystery.
"Yes, wait a moment while I look for it."
I almost forgot that my senior brother is a spirit farmer; he might be able to grow usable Purple Fire Gourds himself.
Zhong Yue channeled his divine sense into his storage bag, retrieved a jade bottle about an inch tall, and said rather apologetically:
"At that time, I obtained nearly a hundred seeds of top-grade purple fire gourds. My friends wanted to refine fire cloud gourds, so we asked the spirit farmer to help us plant them."
As a result, they didn't get even a single top-quality gourd.
There are only seven or eight seeds left now; I'll give them all to my senior brother.
Looking back now, he felt that he was incredibly lucky to have obtained such a top-quality gourd.
He wasn't optimistic about whether the other party could grow top-quality gourds.
A friend with connections once asked Senior Brother Lin Mao to help with the planting. Lin Mao was one of only two late-stage Foundation Establishment spiritual farmers in the sect.
Ji An took the jade bottle, poured out the contents for inspection, and found that the seed's vitality was already quite weak.
Each type of spiritual seed requires a specific method for preservation. The other party is not a spiritual farmer and does not pay much attention to preserving the seeds, which led to the current situation.
However, obtaining the seeds was an unexpected bonus. After returning home, he could try cultivating them for several generations to see if he could be lucky enough to cultivate a top-quality gourd.
Ji An made a hand seal and released the Azure Wood Transformation Technique. Emerald light spots flew around his palm and slowly seeped into the seed.
The seeds were nourished, and their vitality was restored.
A vibrant sense of life spread out, and Zhong Yue felt as if he were in a dense forest after the rain, with wild grass taking root and sprouting under his feet.
Han Qingshan's eyes widened suddenly. His Jade Wood Incarnation Technique had also reached the perfect level, but the magical intent contained in his spell was significantly different from that of his opponent.
'How come my sect has produced such an outstanding spiritual farmer? I haven't heard a single word about it!'
Ji An's hand gestures shifted, releasing a Flamefire Spell that enveloped the seed in warm red light.
The gourd seed's dark red outer skin shimmered faintly with a spiritual light, like a small piece of red-hot iron.
"Senior brother, impressive skill!"
Zhong Yue praised it. Although he did not understand planting, he could feel the magical intent contained in the spell, which did not stop him from applauding.
Ji An carefully collected the seeds, took out a jar of spirit wine, and smiled:
"Thank you, senior brother. I cannot accept such a gift without having done so. This jar of spiritual wine can accelerate the recovery of our magical power and is quite useful to us. Please accept it."
It is impolite not to reciprocate; if someone gives you something, you should naturally give them a gift in return.
That way, if they receive something good in the future, they will remember you.
"No, no, no," Zhong Yue hurriedly waved his hand, declining.
"These seeds are like pearls being wasted on me. The Purple Fire Gourd is unlikely to grow into a high-level gourd and is not worth any spirit stones."
He originally wanted to befriend the other party, and these seeds were useless to him anyway. Wouldn't accepting the spirit wine be a transaction?
Ji An took out another jar of spirit wine, handed it to Han Qingshan, and smiled:
"It is an honor to fight alongside you today. This spirit wine is a gift from me to my two senior brothers. Please accept it as a token of my goodwill."
...
The next day.
Ji An led his disciples on a mountain patrol, and along the way they found some usable medicinal herbs, which they carefully picked.
Those medicinal herbs that haven't reached their full maturity are marked by sticking a wooden stick nearby.
Occasionally, they would encounter some fleeing wolf demons, who were also minor demons in the Qi Refining stage, and they were quickly killed by the group.
Zhong Yue looked up to the sky and sighed, then cried out:
"Why can't we encounter a strong demon beast? At least let us stretch our muscles!"
The wolf demons we killed today will be submitted as materials to be counted as contribution points for the team members.
Han Qingshan muttered softly:
"I think it's great, why do we have to do something so exciting!"
Yesterday, he was attacked by two Foundation Establishment stage Black Wind Wolves. Although he was not seriously injured, the sight of the beasts scratching at the protective aura of his magic artifact still made him feel terrified.
Ji An pointed ahead and said:
"Let's rest for a while after we get past that boulder."
...
Ge Luoying was chasing a Black Wind Wolf in the late Foundation Establishment stage. The beast was covered in blood and sword wounds.
Faced with the threat of death, the Black Wind Wolf pushed its speed to the limit, frantically running headlong down the road.
The fact that a monster's name contains the character "wind" implies that it is fast, and also because some of them are gifted enough to awaken wind-based magic talents.
This black wind wolf is exceptionally talented; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to entangle with the sword cultivator for so long.
Groin's magic power was greatly depleted, and he couldn't catch up for a while.
However, she was not impatient. The monster had clearly unleashed its potential, and its speed was not sustainable. Sooner or later, she would kill it with her sword.
At this point, walking slowly will allow you time to adjust your breathing and recover some of your mana.
She had already killed more than ten high-level demonic beasts, and her magical power was greatly depleted. Now she could give herself a chance to catch her breath.
Suddenly, she saw a large group of sect cultivators appear in the direction the demon beast had fled, and she felt a little anxious.
Today's group consists of Qi Refining stage disciples, led by two or three Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.
Now that the Black Wind Wolf has unleashed its potential, it's probably not something a few early Foundation Establishment cultivators can withstand.
"careful!"
Gloying warned him and urged his sword to speed up.
She wouldn't care if someone got hurt, but the fact that the monster she was chasing still had a chance to injure someone would probably make her a laughingstock among her junior brothers.
She has a brilliant junior brother, which puts a lot of pressure on her.
Previously, she tried her best not to be surpassed by the other party in cultivation; now she tries her best not to fall too far behind.
...
Zhong Yue grinned. He had just been telling the others that he was bored because he hadn't encountered any monsters, and now he'd received a huge surprise.
Judging from the demonic aura emanating from the Black Wind Wolf, it was another late-stage Foundation Establishment demonic beast, and its aura was even stronger than the one they killed yesterday.
Just then, he heard the female cultivator's clear voice, "Be careful!"
How could he be careful at this moment? He could have dodged, but the Black Wind Wolf was too fast, and the group of Qi Refining disciples behind him didn't have time to dodge.
He urged the Fiery Cloud Gourd forward and shouted:
"Senior Brother Ji, I'll feign an attack while you focus your main assault!"
"clear."
Ji An agreed and used his Wind Control Technique to leap to Zhong Yue's vicinity, forming a pincer movement.
The Black Wind Wolf roared with its blood-red maw wide open, its only thought now being to escape as quickly as possible.
It will not attack unless someone stands in its way.
The Fiery Cloud Gourd shone brightly with red light, and the golden flame patterns seemed to come alive. A cloud of fire enveloped the Black Wind Wolf, which neither dodged nor avoided the attack.
The Black Wind Wolf leaped up and pounced on Zhong Yue, spewing out an invisible gale as its innate spell, Wind Roar, was activated.
The fiery cloud was split in two, bypassing the Black Wind Wolf's body, its sharp fangs gleaming with a chilling light.
(End of this chapter)
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